The Boston line-up is perhaps the most anonymous in the NBA, which is no small thing in this season of faceless rosters.
They have a rookie NBA coach who looks like he should still be a student at Butler University, where he was coaching a year ago.
They are playing without four of their top five scorers from last season, trading away three. They did not add a player of significance.
Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Jason Terry and Doc Rivers, the coach, have all left the club and the point guard Rajon Rondo is still sidelined by injury, but the Celtics are the surprise leaders of the NBA’s Atlantic Division.
It is faint praise, to an extent; the Atlantic is the NBA’s weakest division and the Celtics have won only 10 of 22 games. But they have won three in succession and are surprisingly competitive for a team thought to be intent on finishing in the draft lottery.
Brad Stevens, 37, has made the Celtics into a defensive force. Opponents are scoring 96.9 points per game; only six of 30 teams in the league allow fewer points.
“We’re making shots, being aggressive and executing out there,” said Jeff Green, the forward.
With the trade of Garnett and Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets for three first-round draft picks and a collection of lesser players, Green has become the club’s leading scorer, albeit at a relatively modest 16.6 points per game.
The former reserves Jordan Crawford (13.9 points, 5.4 assists), Jared Sullinger (13.4 points, 7.0 rebounds), Avery Bradley (13.1) and Brandon Bass (11.5 points, 5.9 rebounds) have otherwise led the surge.
They managed enough offence on Sunday to rout the New York Knicks 114-73 in Madison Square Garden, the most lopsided game of the season. It left a struggling Knicks team red-faced.
“What Boston came in here and did was an embarrassment,” the Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said. But it was not a surprise.
The Celtics all but announced they were giving up on the current season when they traded their old stars for the three first-round picks, adding a fourth from the Los Angeles Clippers when Rivers jumped to LA. But Boston’s plans for the future have not kept the players of the present from competing and contending.
“People know each other better and we take it upon ourselves to get others involved,” Crawford said.
They play well together, seem to be improving and are the sort of overachievers fans come to love. Plus, Rondo is expected back from his knee surgery shortly. Celtics executives may find it difficult to turn this into a lost season.
sports@thenational.ae
Company%20Profile
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Match statistics
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 36 Bahrain 32
Harlequins
Tries: Penalty 2, Stevenson, Teasdale, Semple
Cons: Stevenson 2
Pens: Stevenson
Bahrain
Tries: Wallace 2, Heath, Evans, Behan
Cons: Radley 2
Pen: Radley
Man of the match: Craig Nutt (Harlequins)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Tank warfare
Lt Gen Erik Petersen, deputy chief of programs, US Army, has argued it took a “three decade holiday” on modernising tanks.
“There clearly remains a significant armoured heavy ground manoeuvre threat in this world and maintaining a world class armoured force is absolutely vital,” the general said in London last week.
“We are developing next generation capabilities to compete with and deter adversaries to prevent opportunism or miscalculation, and, if necessary, defeat any foe decisively.”
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: CVT auto
Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km
On sale: now
Price: from Dh195,000
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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