It is said that men and women lie. Numbers are known for being fair, but they don’t always tell the truth at the start of an NBA season, when small sample sizes can be misleading.

Despite the dangers of responding to early-season trends, I tried to cut through the noise and find eight of the most important stats from the Celtics’ first eight games. The Celtics improved to 7-1 after Monday night’s 123-93 win in Atlanta.

13.3: Jayson Tatum’s average in the first quarter

Over the years, Jaylen Brown has often been the Celtics’ most aggressive player early in games. He has often dealt their first blow.

The first quarter has become Tatum’s time. Unlike previous seasons, the coaching staff has typically asked him to play the entire quarter. He’s rewarded that change with an average of 13.3 points per first quarter so far. In the NBA, only Paolo Banchero (10.4) and Anthony Edwards (10.1) have joined Tatum in double figures in first-quarter averages.

Tatum has sought out early haymakers, like a young Mike Tyson. And Tatum is taking most of his hits, shooting 60.3 percent on his field goal attempts in the first quarter, including 47.1 percent on his three-point attempts. How hot was he early in games? He has averaged two three-pointers per first quarter. Having played all but three first quarter minutes so far, the Celtics have crushed their opponents by 30.8 points per 100 possessions in the first quarter.

Tatum leads the Celtics in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He will be expected to help them across the board, but the way he takes charge at the start of games is new.

Minus-3.0: Net rating without Derrick White

Other factors helped the Celtics rise last season, but the decision to give White more responsibilities was high on the list of reasons why they took the final step toward a championship. They’re just better when he’s on the field.

White does everything. It can suit anyone. He has become a knockdown shooter. He can run the offense or fill any role off the ball. On defense, he continues to pursue the game even when it looks like he’s been defeated. The Celtics have a long list of great players to lean on if he goes to the bench, but are still in trouble without him on the court. Over 125 minutes so far, lineups without him have a net rating of minus 3.0, meaning Boston has played like the Detroit Pistons when White sits down.

D-White always on time ⏰ pic.twitter.com/M4AytV5AhF

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 5, 2024

On-off stats are affected by a lot of noise, especially early in the season. The Celtics’ ugly garbage-time performance has added to the damage without White. He isn’t responsible for all the good things that happened while he was on the field, just like his absence isn’t responsible for all the mistakes the team made without him. Still, the on-off numbers underscore White’s importance to the team, as he joined the Celtics since the 2022 trade deadline. Boston was 23.9 points per 100 possessions better with the guard on the court through its first eight games. Averaging 19.9 points per game, White has increased his production after a career year. Like some of his teammates, he seems even more comfortable from behind the arc.

50.9: 3-point attempts per game

Based on 3-point percentage, the Celtics had a rough outside shooting performance against the Hawks on Monday night. They still made 18 three-pointers, more than any team has ever averaged in a season. Through eight games, Boston is on pace to break the old record with an average of 19 points from 3 points per game.

Kristaps Porziņģis, one of the NBA’s best big men, hasn’t played yet. Sam Hauser, one of the league’s top scorers, has missed three games. The Celtics have often used double-major lineups, with at least one non-shooter on the court. None of this has stopped them from producing eight more three-point attempts per game than last season. They have harnessed the power of the three-point arc like no other team before them.

The Celtics have made 55 more three-pointers than their opponents so far. They beat opponents from behind the line by an average of 20.6 points per game. Given the importance of the three-point shot in today’s game, they’ve given themselves a huge margin for error elsewhere.

9.3: Average three-point attempts from Payton Pritchard

Several Celtics regulars have increased their three-point volume this season. Tatum, after a summer of debate over his broken jump shot, finished within a stone’s throw of leading the league in attempts on Monday. Still, no one in the Boston rotation has taken the green light more seriously than Pritchard.

Pritchard has nearly doubled his three-point attempts per game. Without a single start, he has made more three-point attempts per game than Stephen Curry. Pritchard has also earned more than Curry while playing as an early favorite for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Payton Pritchard scorched the nets from 3-point range early this season. (Paul Rutherford / Image Images)

Will Pritchard continue his torrid 43.2 percent pace? Probably not. If he does that at his current volume, it would go down as one of the best shooting seasons ever. Even if his accuracy declines, his willingness to chase three-pointers will stress opposing defenses to the breaking point on certain nights. It’s a skill to hit as many triples as Pritchard, let alone make them as consistently as he does. Only five players in NBA history have averaged at least four three-pointers per game in a single season (Curry, Damian Lillard, James Harden and Luka Doncic have all done it multiple times). Pritchard and Tatum are on their way to joining that group.

Minus-23.4: Net rating of Luke Kornet-Xavier Tillman lineups

On their own, Kornet and Tillman can each help the Celtics, although the latter big man has lost some minutes of late to Neemias Queta. Together, Kornet and Tillman are just an odd fit.

It wasn’t surprising that Joe Mazzulla tried the combination during Hauser’s three-game absence early in the season; the Celtics have more depth at the big man spots than they do on the perimeter. Still, a Kornet-Tillman duo might be too awkward in 2024.

Mazzulla said the Celtics’ defensive system is “a little tricky when it comes to the double-majors.” During the minutes with Kornet and Tillman, it certainly looked that way so far. Some of their playing time together has involved big leads, which may have led to less focused play, but the lineups with both backup big men have been crushed thus far with a net rating of minus 23.4 over 26 minutes. Such a small sample size can be misleading, but Mazzulla was distracted from the look, perhaps because he had seen enough to judge. He started using Jordan Walsh in the rotation before Hauser returned and has stuck with Walsh ever since. The second-year pro drops the glass and defends with gusto, but still needs to show he can knock down shots and impact games consistently. If he can do that, it would give the Celtics needed perimeter depth at the end of the rotation.

Their lineup, including two backup centers, is probably not the wisest idea. Supersized basketball can thrive when Al Horford and/or Porziņģis are involved in the frontcourt. The Horford-Kornet and Horford-Queta duos have worked for the Celtics so far, but it’s clear why the Kornet-Tillman lineups are already gone.

55 percent: Brown finishes at the rim

Jaylen Brown’s efficiency soared into a new stratosphere during last season’s playoffs. While he was the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and the Finals MVP, he shot at least 50 percent from the field in 14 of the Celtics’ 19 postseason games. Despite uncharacteristically cold three-point shooting, his true shooting percentage during the Celtics’ championship run (59.1) eclipsed that of any regular season during his career. He shot 60.7 percent on two-point attempts, an extremely impressive feat considering the difficulty of such attempts.

According to Cleaning the Glass, he is now shooting 55 percent at the rim. That would be the worst sign of his career. It would mark a significant dip after shooting 67 percent on such attempts last season. And it could be largely due to a hip injury that has sidelined him for the past two games. The issue affected Brown for a number of games before he was finally rested. He hinted that it limited him during a loss to the Pacers, saying he didn’t feel like his legs were underneath him during that game.

Brown’s two-point shooting (47.1 percent) would be the worst of his career. He has made just 12 of 45 three-point attempts (26.7 percent) in the six games played. His numbers suggest the hip has hurt his efficiency. The tape suggests he didn’t have his normal explosiveness and burst. He should bounce back once the hip starts feeling good again, but so far he hasn’t finished like himself.

15.5: Opposite orbital velocity

Don’t look now, but the Celtics, who haven’t forced many turnovers under Mazzulla, rank seventh in opposing turnovers. They also rank ninth in steals per game, a reason why they have played much more offense in transition thus far.

31.6: Percentage of opponent’s shots within four feet

According to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics ranked second last season in percentage of shots allowed within four feet of the basket. When they arrived on Monday evening, they had fallen to 12th place in the same category. They also didn’t protect the edge.

Porziņģis should help with that. Although the Celtics rose from 13th to fifth in the defensive rankings after Monday’s upset in Atlanta, their defense hasn’t always operated at a feverish level. That may be partly due to the amount of large leads they’ve had. Human nature often convinces teams to relax in front of them. Still, when Porziņģis returns, the Celtics will have room to improve.

(Top photo of Jayson Tatum: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)