NBA 2017-18: Best & Worst of the Christmas Day slate

Worst: Boston Celtics regress to the mean?

The Celtics' 2 Jay's Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum

Despite losing All-Star Gordon Hayward on opening night, the Boston Celtics surprised everybody by still being among the league's elite. After losing the first two games of the season, they went on a charge winning 22 of the next 24 games, including a 16-game win streak. But, now the team is surprising the league once again, however, this time for the wrong reasons.

Over the past 11 games, the Celtics have been below par with a record of 5-6. They rank second in defensive rating (101.0), only behind the Golden State Warriors. However, over the past 11 games, their defense has slipped to the middle of the pack (15th, 106.4).

Now, this could just be regressing to the mean for the young and relatively inexperienced Celtics squad or it could be their schedule. Boston has played 37 games so far, the next best is 34 played by a handful of teams. That has been to accommodate some rest period before and after their London fixture against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Is their recent form a sign of regression or just being overwhelmed by the compressed schedule over the past two-and-a-half weeks (11 games in 17 days)?