The Boston Celtics rank dead-last (30th) in the NBA in pace so far this season, but according to Barstool’s Dan Greenberg, that might be a good thing, as well as a conscious strategy from head coach Joe Mazzulla. Greenberg reposted an interesting report from The Athletic‘s Anthony Slater, which showed Golden State Warriors Steve Kerr linking increased pace to the increase of soft tissue injuries across the league. The Celtics know a thing or two about that. Their entire 2025-26 season outlook was thrown out of whack by a soft tissue injury to Jayson Tatum. The speedy Indiana Pacers can say the same thing about Tyrese Haliburton. Mazzulla has the Celts playing at the slowest pace in the league and they've had good health. I wonder if they learned something after such a strong offseason push to be faster https://t.co/cBBfeQ6SUR— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) November 18, 2025 The Celts and Pacers aren’t very comparable in pace, though. Indiana is 10th so far this season (even without Hali), and they were 7th in 2024-25. Boston’s slow pace isn’t a new development. They were 29th in 2024-25. Story continues below advertisement NBA team pace, by the way — statistically-speaking — is measured by the number of possessions a team uses per game. The higher the number of possessions a team uses, the greater their pace. Pace of play doesn’t have a crytal clear correlation with wins and losses. If anything, the slower teams are winning more this season. Boston has a winning record (and has played better than their 8-7 mark) despite being last in pace. Some of the best teams out west are slow-paced. The Houston Rockets rank 27th in pace. The San Antonio Spurs rank 25th. The defending champion and 15-1 Oklahoma City Thunder? 24th. The No. 1 pace team, the Miami Heat, are 9-6. But the teams ranked 4th through 7th in pace all stink: Story continues below advertisement 4. Dallas Mavericks (4-12)5. Sacramento Kings (3-12)6. Washington Wizards (1-13)7. Memphis Grizzlies (4-11) The more interesting element in Greenberg’s post is the notion that slower-paced teams are staying healthier. That didn’t apply to Tatum in 2024-25, but the Celtics have been pretty much fully healthy this season. Some fans have pointed out that Jaylen Brown had a worrisome hamstring to begin the season, but JB hasn’t missed a game. The pace stats are surprising in the sense that “Mazzulla Ball” so often seems linked to fast pace (essentially, push the ball up the floor and get open threes, and don’t be shy about launching them). Mazzulla has also described Boston’s offensive philosophy as a mission to create numerical advantages: three-on-twos and two-on-ones. You’d think an uptempo style of basketball would fall in line with that objective. Story continues below advertisement Kerr’s comments are concerning. No one wants to see so many players suffer big injuries, and that”s happening to high-usage stars more and more. Tatum’s Achilles tear was the result of him being the highest-minutes guy in the NBA (regular season and postseason combined) in recent years, as if his body ultimately punished him for being such a durable fixture of a team going on deep playoff runs yearly. It sounds like the schedule should be adjusted. Not necessarily less games (which has been hotly contested), but more space/rest between games seems like a logical next step.