The Celtics are one of best teams in NBA history, according to the numbers

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The numbers suggest these Celtics are one of the very best teams in NBA history.

The Boston Celtics have been playing like the best team in the NBA all season, but over the last month a more dramatic trend has emerged: the Celtics are now playing like one of the best teams in NBA history.

The Celtics smashed the Golden State Warriors, 140-88, in perhaps their most impressive showing yet. Boston dominated from the opening tip, opening up a 44-point lead by halftime. The Warriors responded by resting Stephen Curry for the entire second half, while Celtics coach Joe Mazzula decided to pull his starters for the rest of the night during the third quarter.

It’s the 11th straight win for Boston. This team isn’t just beating teams — they are crushing them. The Celtics have out-scored their opponents by 243 points during this winning streak, which is the largest point differential by any team over any 11-game stretch in NBA history. The Celtics have an average margin of victory of more than 22 points per game over this stretch.

Somehow, that’s not even the best evidence of the Celtics’ overwhelming power right now.

The Celtics have an NBA best +11.6 net-rating now, according to NBA.com. The data on the site goes back to the 1996-1997 season, and over that time frame, these Celtics have the second-best net-rating ever, only behind Michael Jordan’s 1996-1997 Bulls.

Here are all the teams to finish the regular season with a net-rating of +10 or more:

Chicago Bulls, 1996-1997, +11.8
Boston Celtics, 2023-2024, +11.6
Golden State Warriors, 2016-2017, +11.4

San Antonio Spurs, 2015-2016, +11.1
Boston Celtics, 2007-2008, +10.8

Here’s a list of the 10 best net-ratings ever, according to Stat Muse, which calculates the statistic slightly different. Still, only MJ’s Bulls have been more dominant than this year’s Celtics.

If you go by raw average point-differential, these Celtics are still among the best teams in NBA history.

The 1972 Lakers — led by Gail Goodrich, Wilt Chamberbain, and Jerry West — have the best point-differential ever at +12.28. The ‘71 Milwaukee Bucks with 23-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and 32-year-old Oscar Robertson are in second, followed by Jordan’s record-breaking 1996 Bulls, and the Curry-Kevin Durant Warriors from 2017.

This massive rout of the Warriors felt symbolic in more ways than one. The Warriors beat the Celtics in the NBA Finals in 2022. Boston led that series 2-1 heading into Game 4, when Curry had one of the best performances of his career to change the course of the series. Jayson Tatum was only 24 years old in that series. As Boston blew out Golden State on Sunday, Tatum celebrated his 26th birthday with the huge win.

Tatum is older and more polished now. He has an improved supporting cast, led by Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis — who didn’t even play in this win over the Warriors because of injury. Boston keeps rolling at an incredible level. Anything less than a championship this season will be seen as a big disappointment.