Dominant Celtics Narrowly Miss Phil Jackson's Famous Championship Milestone
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It's early March and the NBA season is approaching the three-quarter mark. The Boston Celtics played their 60th game on Sunday, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 114-98 at TD Garden.
It was the Celtics' 40th win of the year, making them just the fourth NBA team and second in the Eastern Conference to reach that milestone.
Boston suffered its 20th loss of the season against the Denver Nuggets last Wednesday, however, narrowly missing Phil Jackson's famous 40-20 rule.
Per Jackson's rule of thumb, true NBA title contenders typically reach 40 wins before 20 losses. 40 of the last 44 NBA champions did so.
According to Phil Jackson’s infamous 40-20 rule, only 3 teams meet the criteria: Thunder, Pistons and Spurs 👀
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 26, 2026
Do you think one of these teams are winning the NBA championship? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/utRQFIHYUn
Only three teams met Jackson's standard this season: the Oklahoma City Thunder, the San Antonio Spurs and the Detroit Pistons. The Celtics missed the mark by one loss despite being without Jayson Tatum for the entire season so far.
Even so, Boston's been on a remarkable run lately. The Celtics are 11-2 over their last 13 games, surging to 40 wins. They're also 35-13 since starting the year 5-7 and have an expected record of 43-17 based on point differential.
Boston's dominating in other metrics, too, leading the NBA in fewest points allowed per game. The Celtics also rank second in offensive rating, second in net rating and sixth in defensive rating.
Boston will look to keep rolling on Monday night on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks, who are 26-33 and may be without Giannis Antetokounmpo again. The two-time NBA MVP is dealing with a calf injury and hasn't played since Jan. 23.
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