Here's the one stat that should thrill Celtics fans through seven games

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Here's the one stat that should thrill Celtics fans through seven games



By Darren Hartwell

November 08, 2019 12:25 PM




The cautions of small sample size still apply to the Boston Celtics, who at 6-1 sit alone atop the NBA's Eastern Conference.

But there are plenty of positive trends through seven games of the Celtics' 2019-20 season, including one that should get Boston fans pretty excited.

After their 108-87 rout of the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night, the Celtics have three players averaging north of 20 points per game: Kemba Walker (24.3 points per game), Jayson Tatum (21.6 points per game) and Gordon Hayward (20.3 points per game).

Only one other NBA team can say the same: the 6-3 Los Angeles Clippers, with Kawhi Leonard, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell all averaging 20-plus points.

That kind of balanced scoring production obviously bodes well for Boston. How well, you ask? The "Boston Sports Info" Twitter account crunched the numbers and found some very promising results.


Celtics players 20 ppg


This is just the fifth time in Celtics franchise history the C's have had three 20-point scorers through seven games. Three of those other four Boston teams win on to win the NBA title, including the 2008 "Big Three" team featuring Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

The Celtics expected this level of scoring from Walker, who's averaged more than 20 points per game each of the last five seasons. But the key to Boston's early success has been the improved play of Hayward and Tatum.

After an inconsistent 2018-19 campaign plagued by the lingering effects of his ankle injury, Hayward has looked extremely comfortable, shooting at a 56.4 percent clip while effortlessly scoring in the flow of the Celtics' offense.

Tatum has taken a step forward, as well, connecting on 45.8 percent of his 3-pointers through seven games after shooting just 37.3 percent from distance last season.

The Celtics even have a fourth viable offensive weapon in Jaylen Brown, who has missed time due to illness but is averaging 16.0 points through four games played.

The C's have a lot of basketball ahead of them, so it's much too early to make the 2008 comparisons. But history has shown that a three-headed monster like the current one in Boston could be very dangerous come playoff time.


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