Boston Celtics underlying metrics soar after blowout Lakers win

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Boston Celtics underlying metrics soar after blowout Lakers win

Souichi Terada · MassLive

Sat, Dec 6, 2025 ·

3 min read

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BOSTON — When the Celtics started 0-3 then floated around the .500 mark, it looked like they could be in for a long season. There were murmurs of potentially tanking ahead of what’s looking like a loaded 2026 NBA Draft .

But the C’s have not only bounced back, but some of the underlying metrics pop out after their blowout win over the Lakers on Friday . The Celtics are now fifth in the NBA in net rating at a plus-7.2. That only trails the Knicks in the East, who are at a plus-8.3. The C’s are also all the way up to third in the NBA in offensive rating at 121.9.

“I feel like you’re never perfect as a team, and you’re always learning and growing together,” Sam Hauser . “And we’ve only played 23 games with this group together, so you get 82 of them to figure out what works and what doesn’t, and set yourself up for success in the playoffs. We’re doing well right now. We’re throwing the fastballs when the fastball is there, and trying to work on our change-up and slider.”

The Celtics are now at 13-9 on the season, winners of four straight and nine of 11. That record — in a wide open East — is tied for fourth place. They’re 1.5 games behind second place of the 15-7 Knicks. Considering there’s a lot of uncertainty in the East, the C’s look like a team that could make some noise the rest of the season.

The defensive rating is still a work-in-progress as they’re 16th at 114.7. Still, considering they lost so much production from last season’s roster, it’s no surprise to see them adjusting to this new life. The offense also continues to produce as that’s been an early strength for Boston.

Despite the personnel changes, the Celtics are still putting up shots from beyond the arc as they’re third in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game. They also crash the offensive glass hard to get second-chance points. The Celtics importantly are the best in the NBA at avoiding turnovers, only averaging 11.8 per game.

The season is still young and a little past the quarter mark, so there’s a lot of basketball to be played. The C’s have also been relatively fortunate in injury luck, though that doesn’t include Jayson Tatum being sidelined . Regardless, the early underlying stats show a team that’s trending upwards.

“Everybody overanalyzes the beginning of the year so much,” Payton Pritchard said. “It’s just like, we’re trying to figure out roles. Everybody’s in a different role. Different offense from the couple years we played, and different shots. But we’re slowly starting to figure out when’s the time to be more aggressive in certain moments for guys like me. Obviously, like, ( Jaylen Brown ), ( Derrick White ), they’re gonna be aggressive all game. But once everybody figures that out, that’s what makes the offense great.”

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