The media is funny with their Celtics' love

[Plossum]

They were underachieving the whole year and their record didn't make sense given the talent on that squad. I think they're finally playing at the level we'd have expected from them. They have had a bit of a cupcake run so it'll be interesting to see if they've just been on a hot streak or if they've morphed into a genuine contender in the East.

[reload141]

Bad look, homie.

[BoatsNZones]

They have the 4th best SRS in the NBA, and likely the best or 2nd best in the past 2 months. They are the leagues best defense as well. It's not insane to have them 4th in the NBA. The East has no true 1 seed this season, but the Celtics are playing the best basketball in their conference at this point.

[ajones9219]

Since Christmas they have the best defensive rating, best net rating, and have won 9 of their last 10 games. They have 2 stars at 25 or under and id argue one of the most improved players in Rob Williams.

They maybe are getting a little overhype but it's not just about that 9 game streak. That's the difference

[phanman]

2nd in DRTG all year and in the most recent stretch a dominating #1 ranking. Although they are 6th in the East they by-far have the best Net rating @ +5.4 in the East. They also have a winning record of 18-17 vs teams over .500 and a really good record against the following seeds ahead of them now:

#1 Heat: 2-0
#2 Bulls: 1-1
#3 76ers: 2-2
#4 Cavs: 2-1
#5 Bucks: 2-1
#7 Raptors: 2-1

[Jadoogar]

I think Celtics are the 4th best team in the East (potentially 3rd depending on what happens with the Nets). They are starting to put it together and teh team is defending at an elite level. I really like the Derrick White addition (on the court, don't love giving up essentially 2 FRPs) and he has fit in like a glove.

As a raptors fan, i hate saying this but they are contender.

[BostonCouchGM]

It’s embarrassing. There are so many Celtics fanboys in the media that are as delusional as the homers found on our board. 1 championship in the last 36 years but you’d think Ainge walked on water all those years. No matter the move it’s always championed and defended despite it always ending with us as pretenders.

[Bulliever2020]

The Derrick White pickup has seemed to really energize their team.

They're really starting to fill in nicely around the Brown/Tatum/Smart trio finally. With Timelord picking things up I feel like the hype is warranted. They are looking real tough.

[zeebneeb]

Bad look, homie.

You know what's a worse look? A moderator making fun of the OP on the general board with the picture of a crying baby.

Good way to start a thoughtful discussion.

[Feed Your Head]

Bad look, homie.

You know what's a worse look? A moderator making fun of the OP on the general board with the picture of a crying baby.

Good way to start a thoughtful discussion.

Oh please, the post was harmless fun. And I then had a thoughtful discussion with the poster.

Don’t be so serious.

[zeebneeb]

Bad look, homie.

You know what's a worse look? A moderator making fun of the OP on the general board with the picture of a crying baby.

Good way to start a thoughtful discussion.

Oh please, the post was harmless fun. And I then had a discussion with the poster.

Don’t be so serious.

Point stands.

[Feed Your Head]

You know what's a worse look? A moderator making fun of the OP on the general board with the picture of a crying baby.

Good way to start a thoughtful discussion.

Oh please, the post was harmless fun. And I then had a discussion with the poster.

Don’t be so serious.

Point stands.

Well I apologize that the post bothered you. I still think it’s pretty clear that it was lighthearted, but yeah.

[Johnny Bball]

Well..... "We the Other" comes to mind. When CBS sports ran a poll about 4 teams, listed 3 teams (not the Raps) and listed the forth spot as "other" when the raptors were the only other possible answer (literally). So just get used to saying "We the Other" now.

It's comically bad how little some sports hacks seem to know about the Raptors.

[Johnny Bball]

Btw...Had nobody in the world looked at the Celtics schedule the last 20 games? Nobody?

I mean... getting back into the playoff mix was no small feat, but really now.

[LewisnotMiller]

There are some people in the media who focus on the Celts a little more than is warranted. That can be both positive (like now) and negative. The 'break up the Jays' narrative was pretty stupid and half-baked to my mind.

Still, at some level the OP is right. But the recent hype about Boston being a legit contender is largely coming from some pretty compelling advanced stats outliers.

You can subscribe to that or not, and I don't have us at that level (at least, not until I've seen us play a bunch of touch teams). But when 538 has us ranked 1, it's not due to Celtics love, but simply maths. And a possibly flawed statistical model...ahem...

[LewisnotMiller]

Btw...Had nobody in the world looked at the Celtics schedule the last 20 games? Nobody?

I mean... getting back into the playoff mix was no small feat, but really now.

Yeah, we talked about it a lot on the Celts boards.
The team took care of business in an impressive way, and is clearly playing better now, and to a more coherent game plan.

But the tough games lie ahead. We feel ready for them now, doesn't mean we'll win them.

[DarkAzcura]

The Celtics spent the last 5-7 years being underrated by the media except for 2018-2019. They are really only spoken about when they are doing really well; only the Knicks and Lakers get talked about when they are bad to average. This is the first time I’m seeing a bit of overhype in a loooong time, and it’s mostly driven by advanced metrics.

I have no idea why you think the media always loves the Celtics. Outside a couple local podcasts, I struggle to find any decent Celtics content generally. It’s rough out there because most writers from Boston that have gone national try to distance themselves away from being ‘fans’ as much as possible. KOC, Lowe, Jackie, and Simmons talk 90% more about other teams than they do the Celtics, and the rare few times they talk about the Celtics, everyone seems to complain about it.

Don’t know what to tell you other than the attention this time around is primarily because of data.

Btw...Had nobody in the world looked at the Celtics schedule the last 20 games? Nobody?

I mean... getting back into the playoff mix was no small feat, but really now.

I mean their net rating has been the best in the conference across the entire season. The last 20 games has helped that, but they always had a good net rating before that. Their record was underperforming their net rating until recently.

[ITYSL]

Btw...Had nobody in the world looked at the Celtics schedule the last 20 games? Nobody?

I mean... getting back into the playoff mix was no small feat, but really now.

Heat, Hornets (2x), Nets, Nuggets, Hawks (2x), Sixers (2x), Bulls, Blazers

So more than half were vs. teams in playoff position.

Celtics are getting over hyped now, though. I agree with that.

[Floody100]

It’s embarrassing. There are so many Celtics fanboys in the media that are as delusional as the homers found on our board. 1 championship in the last 36 years but you’d think Ainge walked on water all those years. No matter the move it’s always championed and defended despite it always ending with us as pretenders.

I’ll be shocked the day you actually say something positive about the Celtics.

[Johnny Bball]

Btw...Had nobody in the world looked at the Celtics schedule the last 20 games? Nobody?

I mean... getting back into the playoff mix was no small feat, but really now.

Heat, Hornets (2x), Nets, Nuggets, Hawks (2x), Sixers (2x), Bulls, Blazers

So more than half were vs. teams in playoff position.

Celtics are getting over hyped now, though. I agree with that.

Come on....and they are playing above their heads right now.