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After a 1-2 start in the first week of the NBA season, the Boston Celtics went 2-1 in the second week and as a result Boston moved up one spot in the latest NBA power rankings.
The Celtics are No. 9 in the latest NBA power rankings from SB Nation. That is up one spot from the No. 10 Boston was ranked after the first week of the season. The Celtics still have plenty of issues to work out -- including defensively, where Boston ranks 23rd in the league in points allowed -- but as Seth Rosenthal wrote, the fact Boston has been able to pick up wins despite not playing extremely well is an encouraging sign.
Boston's letting opponents shoot uncomfortably well, especially when Kevin Garnett isn't around to babysit. Saturday's win over the Bucks felt important, though. Jeff Green finally brought some defense off the bench and Jason Terry continued to score efficiently in a starting role. Doc Rivers and company have quite a bit to figure out, but the fact that they're scrapping out close wins even while playing pretty poorly is encouraging.
After leading the NBA in defensive field goal percentage last season at 41.9 percent, the Celtics are 23rd in the NBA this season at 45.5 percent. Boston ranked in the top three in the league in defensive field goal percentage each of the last two seasons.
The complete NBA power rankings can be found at SB Nation.com.