Despite the fact that we live in a world in which the NBA is dominated by superstar performances, such as Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry's 51-point explosion against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night or Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook's nearly unfathomable stretch of three consecutive triple-double performances, there exists one franchise that is garnering success in the absence of such a player.
51 games into the regular season, the Boston Celtics sit in a tie with the Atlanta Hawks for third place in the Eastern Conference behind the formidable Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors, having emerged victorious in nine of their last 12 games.
What makes the Celtics' relevance so enticing is that they have achieved this prosperity by acquiring the right pieces to fit into the system of budding head coach Brad Stevens rather than reaching to acquire superstar-caliber talent, and the statistics prove that general manager Danny Ainge's work in managing the team to date has paid off brilliantly.
With an offense predicated on applying pressure on the opposition on the other side of the ball while pushing the pace in transition as a result, Boston averages an Eastern Conference-best 104.6 points per game, despite the fact that their most abundant scorer, diminutive All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas, ranks just 13th in the NBA in scoring with 21.4 points per game.
By comparison, the four teams in the Western Conference which average a higher per-game scoring average than the Celtics all have players ranked in the top four in the league in scoring (Curry, Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden, Thunder small forward Kevin Durant, and Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins).
Rather than rely on a ball-demanding superstar to direct their offense, the Celtics offense is dominated by a propensity for sharing the rock, with the Spalding hardly spending more than a few seconds in any one player's hands on any given possession.
Furthermore, featuring a group of unheralded players who all feel as if they have something to prove to the rest of the NBA, Boston has morphed into one of the most dangerous defensive teams in the league, a focus which feeds into their offense and which makes the TD Garden a difficult place to win an away game regardless of who a team's roster boasts (just ask the Warriors).
With the likes of defensive stalwarts Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, and Marcus Smart manning the backcourt, the Celtics have the means to slow down any high-scoring guards, while big men Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson have transformed into a tandem which refuses to be bullied on the low block, evidenced by Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond's lack of low post touches until the fourth quarter in the Celtics 102-95 win over the East's current eight-seed on Wednesday night.
The amount of chemistry that is present in the Boston locker room, evidenced by their superiority on the court as of late, should make Ainge hesitant to pull the trigger on a trade-deadline deal that could bring a superstar to Beantown at the expense of the team's unparalleled depth and future draft picks.
The Celtics currently hold the rights to the Brooklyn Nets' 2016 first-rounder, which is appearing to potentially be a high lottery selection, in addition to the Dallas Mavericks 2016 first-rounder, a protected 2016 first-rounder from the Minnesota Timberwolves, the ability to swap 2017 first-rounders with Brooklyn, and the unprotected rights to the Nets 2018 first-rounder.
With the Nets projected to be a cellar-dweller in the Eastern Conference over the next few seasons barring a splash in free agency, Boston should look to add to their outstanding foundation of players through the draft, rather than sacrificing these selections in addition to the likes of Smart or 7-foot weapon Kelly Olynyk for a star who could alter the fluidity of Stevens' system in a negative fashion.
Who knows, with the luck of a ping pong ball falling their way this spring, the Celtics could be in line for the likes of LSU forward Ben Simmons or Duke small forward Brandon Ingram, supreme talents who could be playing a Curry or Westbrook-type role in the NBA a half-decade from now.