Baylee has been toying with the idea of becoming a sports writer one day. (I promise I had nothing to do with this.) For his English assignment, he was to write a column piece, so he decided to write about the Celtics. I know nothing about the numbers and stats, so please offer him some kind words if you wish.
Here it is:
Why the Boston Celtics are the Best Team in the NBA
By: Baylee Adams
The Boston Celtics are the best team in the NBA. They proved this at the end of last season even though they came up short in the Finals and are proving it again this season by having the best record in the league. The team is deep enough to where anything less than the 3rd seed would be disappointing. The team has 14 players who can play at very high levels.
Jayson Tatum is the best player on this team and is my pick for MVP. He is averaging 30.8 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 4.6 APG, and has the highest plus/minus out of all players in the league. For defense, he is averaging 0.9 steals and 1.2 blocks. He is averaging his most BPG, APG, and PPG throughout his career. He is also averaging his 2nd most RBG. If you want to know how impactful he has been on defense just know he is having a better defensive year than 2x DPOY Giannis Antetokounmpo. Tatum also has his best FG% and FT% this year. He did this because he had help from reigning DPOY Marcus Smart.
Marcus Smart is the leader of this team. He is the most passionate athlete I have ever seen. He helps his squad through plays, words of encouragement, and is loved by the whole team. He might be having his best year yet. He is averaging 11.6 PPG, 3.1 RBG, 1.1 SPG, a career high 44% from the field, 35% from 3, and a career high 7.5 APG. Smart continues to show on the court that he is consistently one of the best players on this team. He can go off at any moment and it should not surprise anyone. For example, last night the team had maybe the biggest win of the season outscoring the hornets 121-79 in just 3 quarters. If they kept going 100% they might have dropped 160 points but the final score was 105-140. Smart dropped 22 points and a career high 15 assists. One reason this game shows why they are the best team in the league is because the Celtics did not have their 2nd, 3rd, or 5th best players, one of them being Jaylen Brown who is having the best year of his career.
Jaylen Brown has improved each year of his career. I am so confident every time he shoots the ball and he has never given me a reason to doubt it. He is averaging a career high 26.1 PPG, 6.5 RBG, and 3.4 APG. Tatum and Brown are the highest scoring duo in the league right now and prove it every night. Jaylen is also averaging 1.1 steals and is shooting 51% from the field which is crazy for a guard. Brown was the best player for the Celtics during the playoffs last year. This is the same team who made the finals. The main reason they got to the Finals was because of their offense.
This team has the best offensive rating of all time right now. The players have so much versatility. Grant Williams, Payton Pritchard, and Sam Hauser are confident sharpshooters who are always ready. Robert Williams, Luke Kornet, and Noah Vonleh are gritty old school players who are not afraid to get dirty. Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, and Derrick White are playmakers who can take over at any time. Al Horford and Blake Griffin are veterans and former all-stars who can teach the younger players how to play well but can still get the job done. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can do everything; they can play defense, shoot, finish, pass, and get rebounds. I have known this team was special ever since the run they went on at the end of last season. The team is making noise around the league even with a rookie head coach.
This team is getting coached by someone who is younger than some of the players. Joe Mazzulla stepped up as head coach when Ime Udoka had controversial issues and was forced to step down. Mazzula is 34 years old and is already proving to be one of the best coaches in the league. And if you are thinking that we just have a good roster just look at the Las Vegas Raiders in the NFL. They have one of the most skilled rosters where the players used to be a top 10 QB, a number 1 WR, a top 5 TE, and a skilled defense. As soon as Josh Mcdaniels became their HC, they went downhill. This means Mazzulla is legit. The team has the 5th and 13th highest scorers in the league.
All of the reasons I have listed above just made me think even more that this team should win a ring this year. They are more than capable and they do not even have their 3rd best player until December. They need to win a ring.
Teresa Forester Adams 