Celtics Surprisingly Lead NBA in Strange Type of Loss Since Last Season

Boston doesn't lose much, but when it does, it loses in style.

Oct 24, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) celebrates with Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) against the Washington Wizards in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The reigning champion Boston Celtics don't lose much, but when they do, they do so in the must frustrating way possible for gamblers.

According to ESPN, Boston has lost five games where they've been favored by 14 or more points since the start of their title-winning 2023-24 season — matching the combined mark of the league's other NBA teams in that same duration.

On the surface, it's a surprising stat.

But digging a little, it does make sense.

Boston has gone all in on using 3-point shooting, drives and quick-tempo sets to win games. But that kind of game plan can lead to a high variance, as long range shooting is naturally quite streaky, and Boston takes more triples — 51.0 a night, which will be a league record if the team keeps up this pace — than the next-most prolific squad, the Chicago Bulls (who take 43.9), by a whopping 7.1 attempts per bout. On nights where Boston doesn't have it, Boston really doesn't have it.

In fairness, more often than not, the Celtics really, really do have it. At 22-6, Boston is the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed, behind only the 25-4 Cleveland Cavaliers. By mere percentage points, the Celtics sport the NBA's third-best record, behind Cleveland and the 22-5 Oklahoma City Thunder.

Looking back to last year, Boston is 86-24 in regular season games since the beginning of 2023-24. If you add the team's borderline-impeccable 16-3 run through the East playoffs last spring, the Celtics have gone 102-27 overall. So Boston has really had scant opportunities to disappoint bettors so much, which makes it all the more remarkable that they have so outpaced the rest of their NBA brethren in this very specific department.

Led by five-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum, this year's Celtics look primed to be among the league's inner circle of title contenders once again when the playoffs tip off in April. Tatum has played at an MVP level, most recently submitting an insane 43-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple double against their 3-point shooting rivals, the Bulls, on Saturday in a 123-98 blowout victory. The 26-year-old, a four-time All-NBA honoree, is averaging 28.8 points on .463/.372/.803 shooting splits, 9.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks a night, and could have his best shot yet at capturing that elusive MPV honor.

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