You could hear the snap from the other side of the TV screen on the other side of the world. Less than six minutes into the season, Gordon Hayward came down hard after trying to challenge for an alley-oop pass from Kyrie Irving. His leg gave way underneath him and his left ankle dislocated as his tibia fractured under the pressure. It was a $128 million contract he signed in July. For four years and a leaked Players Tribune article. He will play exactly 5 minutes and 15 seconds of basketball this season.

So there goes the Celtics season, right? Erm, wrong, actually. Boston went on to lose that season opener against Cleveland and would get Giannis-ed against Milwaukee next up. 0-2 to start the campaign, missing their star offseason recruit. Mate, it didn’t even matter.

The Celtics all of a sudden then ripped off a winning streak for the ages, it’s up to 16 straight and counting at the time of writing, following a 13-point fourth quarter comeback in Dallas that they iced in overtime. How in the hell does this happen for a team that lost its most expensive player halfway through the first quarter of the damned season?

It starts with the dude who was arguably the more important summer acquisition anyway: Kyrie Irving. The dude who shot 16/22 for 47 points in Win #16. You may recall the small happening of their trading for Kyrie with the Cavs a few months back (about six weeks or so after Hayward signed). It cost them Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas, Ante Zizic, a 2020 second rounder and, most notably, Brooklyn’s 2018 first round pick. Pretty hefty stuff, even if you accept that they were planning on letting IT walk after this last year of his contract – he blossomed into an All Star in Boston but he was injured and the Celtics couldn’t afford to extend him based on all their other plans. Effectively they chose Hayward instead of IT, you could say.

But still, that Brooklyn pick is gonna be worth plenty. The Nets aren’t as terrible as they were last season but it’s still hard to imagine them finishing much higher than, what, thirteenth in the East? They should be able to hold off the Hawks and Bulls, barring injuries, but that’s about it based on the first month of basketball. The Western Conference has a couple more battlers at the very bottom (and a whole lot more contenders at the top) but that pick still oughta be top five, definitely top ten. And there are at least five potentially brilliant players in the upcoming class.

Yeah but you see the Celtics are (blessedly) done with the draft pick hoarding. After years of Danny Ainge sitting on his hands while the Celtics were (deliberately) linked with every available superstar in the league, they finally got one in Kyrie. The earth may not be flat… but neither are these highlights.

Kyrie got sick of playing with LeBron and asked for a trade. Fair enough, an eagle’s gotta spread its wings. What’s funny is that his numbers have been worse in Boston than they were in Cleveland, although that’s overlooking where this lad has been dominating: the fourth quarter. Isaiah Thomas had a habit of taking over in the fourth the last two years too now Kyrie has inherited that and then some. You’ll notice all those highlights above are 4Q highlights, por favor.

Irving has the best ball handling in the NBA, only Steph Curry can even rival him there. Obviously Steph’s the far superior shooter but Irving’s good enough to average over 38% from deep and 45% from the field for his career. He’ll hit his jumpers alright… but it’s when he gets that ball on the floor that you really wanna avoid this bloke. When he drives to the rim he’s so fast, so skilful… you’re already dead by the time he drops his head.

Multiple games this season he’s been poor in the first half then completely torn it up in the second – the best example was that OKC game where he started 1/10 in a game the Thunder led by 18 points at half-time, then went 9/12 for the rest of it to finish with 25 points & 6 assists in the win. Or the brilliant win over Golden State which solidified this win streak, the 14th W, in which he only scored 16 points on 4/16 shooting but he made all four of his shots in the last five minutes, guiding the C’s to a 92-88 win.

So Kyrie Irving’s been the big man on campus, but Al Horford has probably been their MVP. Offensively it’s been a good-enough-is-good-enough strategy yet off the ball is where Brad Stevens’ team is really thriving. The most amazing thing about that Warriors win was that they kept the champs to only 88 points – on the very same night the Houston Rockets scored more than that in the first half against Phoenix! The Celtics give up only 94.4 points per game, the fewest in the NBA by three (Portland = 97.5). Their opponents are hitting field goals at 43.0%, also the worst mark in the NBA. They give up the seventh fewest rebounds, the sixth fewest assists, the fourth worst 3PT%, the fewest steals… they’re the best defence in the league. And Al Horford is their best defensive player.

Kyrie still deserves some credit here for playing the best defence of his career, looking tuned in in a way he never really has before. But you can probably thank Al Horford for that too. (By the way, those two already look to have a special connection playing off those high screens on offence too). Horford’s max deal last year was mostly applauded but it also didn’t exactly make waves. That’s coz Horford’s not that kind of player. He doesn’t light up any particular stat line. He shoots beautifully for a big man but not in a way that rivals the very best in his position (although he’s at 42% from deep so far in 17-18). However here’s another thing he doesn’t do: make mistakes.

The fact that he’s averaging better than 14p/8r/5a doesn’t hurt either.

Then you’ve got the young chap making up for Gordon Hayward’s lost minutes, 19 year old Jayson Tatum. Turns out this guy’s incredible. Tatum was picked third overall after the Celtics traded down from first (Markelle Fultz). We’re only a month into their long respective NBA careers but right now that looks like a masterstroke. Tatum is perfect for this team. He’s long and versatile, he can score and he’s already a solid NBA defender. Plus there’s his best mate Jaylen Brown who in his second season has stunningly emerged as a genuine three point shooter, popping three more attempts per game than last season and more than doubling his scoring and rebounding in the process. The surge he’s made from year one to year two – and it’s still early days – has been crazy. Tatum and Brown are both much strong than you’d first reckon too, allowing for some solid wingman rebounding figures.

You add in solid defenders like Marcus Morris, Marcus Smart and Aron Baynes and there’s your best defence in the NBA. Clearly there’s work to do as far as scoring goes but that’s where the injury of Gordon Hayward comes in. This isn’t even this team’s final form – they’ve got 20-25 ppg coming back next season.

And, sure, a lot of this lovin’ needs to fall back on the coach Brad Stevens. But Brad Stevens was getting massive credit for his work with the Celtics long before he even won a playoff series – Boston fans, bro, honestly – so Brad Stevens can chill with the coach of the year stuff for now, if only to level things out.

Helluva team he’s got here though.

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