NBA Power Rankings, Week 11: Celtics starting to look good again

Coming off back-to-back victories this week against the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards, the Boston Celtics are starting to feel good about themselves again but was it enough to rise in the Week 11 NBA Power Rankings.

The bad news is no, but the good news is they didn’t fall either.

In improving their record to 17-17, the Celtics come in just ahead of the New York Knicks, yes, the Knicks at No. 15 in this week’s rankings, but it looks like the team is ready to rise again after seeing great performances out of Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum in the last two victories.

Boston Celtics rank No. 15 in Week 11 NBA Power Rankings

The Celtics have also seen positive impacts off the bench from players such as Aaron Nesmith and Robert Williams.

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But there is still something missing from this team and it’s not just Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown sitting out games due to injury.

There is no doubt this Boston Celtics team can score with any team in the NBA, including the Utah Jazz, Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks (all rounding out the top 5 this week), but they lack a certain attitude on the defensive end that needs to be addressed before or at the NBA trade deadline.

They also need leadership and Kemba is starting to look more like that leader now that his offensive game is shaping back to All-Star level.

According to NBA.com’s John Schuhmann, the Celtics just need to figure out how to win in the games Walker sits out:

"“Kemba Walker hasn’t played in both games of a back-to-back, but he’s averaged 27.3 ppg on an effective field goal percentage of 63 percent over his last four games following a game off. The latest of those was Friday, when Walker scored a season-high 32 points (with a season-high eight free throw attempts) in a comeback win over the Pacers. Speaking of comebacks, the Celtics got back to .500 by pulling a win out of a hat on Sunday, with Jayson Tatum scoring six points (all at the rim) in the final 43 seconds. They had lost their last six games that were within five points in the last five minutes (despite a couple of huge buckets from Jaylen Brown in Dallas on Tuesday) before beating Indiana and Washington over the weekend.”"

In losing the last four games they have played without Walker, another scorer along with another big man seems to be the remedy to get the Celtics back near the top.

Could that player be Victor Oladipo? NBA trade rumors has the Celtics as a possible destination for the Houston Rockets star. However, it may take swapping Kemba Walker to get that done.

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Speaking of Kemba Walker, the Celtics veteran guard had himself a night against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, scoring a season-high 32 points and looking very much like the Kemba Walker who used to kill the Celtics.

With the team falling down early in that game, it was Walker who willed the team back showing leadership and also getting his teammates involved by dissing out 6 assists.

He followed that up Sunday against the Wizards with 21 points and a season-high 8 assists. In all, it looks like Kemba is shaping back in to form just at the right time for the Celtics.

What’s next for the Boston Celtics

The Celtics have a pair of home games coming up against the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors.

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Although they may be without Jaylen Brown in one or both of those games, these two games will certainly test the Celtics and whether they are truly ready to make a run now that they are back to the .500 mark.

It would be nice to end the week on a 4-game winning streak. The Boston Celtics would definitely be looking good again if that did occur.

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