The 2019–20 NBA season is well underway now, with almost two weeks’ worth of play in the rearview already, and things have been as entertaining as could have been hoped for coming into the new year. Storylines are developing across the league beautifully. The Warriors are bad—as in, truly atrocious. They have a 1–3 record, and have been enduring some of the worst losses the franchise has ever taken. D’Angelo Russell does not quite look to be filling in the role one-time MVP Kevin Durant left in his absence, and on top of all else, Stephen Curry, the face of the franchise, sustained an injury in a loss against the Phoenix Suns that turned out to be a broken left hand, which will likely see the only ever unanimous MVP of the league sidelined for the foreseeable future. Otherwise out west, the Spurs sit atop the conference, steadily racking up wins, bolstering head coach Greg Popovich’s record of third-most all time wins for a head coach in the NBA. As of now, the Lakers sit higher in the standings than the Clippers, with LeBron and AD looking to finally be getting into their rhythm together, though the Clippers have still yet to see both of their stars in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George take the court together, so it is safe to say this is still a close race. Back east, Philadelphia leads the conference, followed up in second place by last year’s Champions, the Toronto Raptors. Still quite early in the season, however just as surprisingly, the Miami Heat are tied for third place with Boston, who themselves have displayed a very promising start. The league’s latest season is overall primed to be one of the best and most exciting in years. As for one specific fan base—that of the Boston Celtics—if these first weeks of the season are to be any indicators of what is to come, Boston fans may be in for an especially fun season.

The Boston Celtics lost their first game of the season to the Philadelphia 76ers, and have yet to lose a game since. Of their limited competition so far, the 76ers have surely been the toughest foe, and as such will serve as the team Boston most needs to be prepared for come later in the season. As far as the Celtics themselves go, the team thus far has been playing about as damn well as any Boston fan could wish for. The newest addition to the team, Kemba Walker, has been as seamless a substitution for Kyrie Irving as possible. Kemba’s selflessness shines through on the court, and is very apparently rubbing off onto his teammates. Each of the teams’ starters thus far are averaging at least 2.0 APG, led by Kemba’s 3.5. He too leads the team in scoring, averaging 24.5 PPG, and was able to rack up and score 30-plus points consecutively in just the team’s third and fourth games. Second behind him in scoring is third-year rising star Jayson Tatum, who at 21.5 PPG and 8 RPG is looking to be coming into his own in this league, which should scare everybody else. Gordon Hayward, who is now two years removed from the gruesome leg injury that saw him miss an entire season, is looking to take that next step towards leading this still rather young team. At 17.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 3.5 APG, Hayward is truly looking to be getting back to his once All-Star self, and if he continues his gradual progression back toward that level and beyond, the Celtics just might seem to have themselves a rather decent top three players on their hands.

The Celtics just pulled out an impressive 116–105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, who last year eliminated Boston in the second round of the playoffs 4–1. The Bucks came back this year more or less the same team, if not slightly improved, over last year’s. Granted it may only have been the fourth game of the season, now the Celtics asserting early that they are a team on the road to revenge, and that are up to the task to do so, is impressive and rather reassuring. And that is the thing, as exciting as it is, and as I want to be over the team’s hot start, it is imperative it be understood that the season is still very young, and there is a ways to go. Being a fan of this sport means being a marathon runner, not a sprinter. But so long as the actual athletes I am rooting for are winning, which in this case, they are, I will continue jumping and cheering from my couch as much as I possibly can, and would never recommend against you doing so too.