The losses were not supposed to sting this much.
We were certain that, with a new-look roster and tempered expectations, the Boston Celtics' viewing experience would be largely stress free. We were convinced fans wouldnât feel the bumps in the road as much as they have in past seasons, where every loss in a championship-or-bust campaign felt like a stomach punch. If this new campaign was going to be a bit of a roller coaster, we were prepared with transition-year Dramamine.
We couldnât have been more wrong.
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The losses still gnaw at you -- in large part because, while the team looks different, the losses often look the same.
These Celtics canât hold double-digit leads. Their play vacillates wildly from quarter to quarter. When their 3-point shots are not falling, they remain a tough watch, particularly given their propensity to let empty offensive possessions impact their defensive effort.
On Monday night, the Celtics should have been eager to dust themselves off after a beatdown from the championship-chasing Houston Rockets at the tail end of a five-game-in-seven-days stretch. That one was easy to chalk up as a schedule loss. But Monday was the ultimate âget rightâ game against a Utah Jazz team that had gotten pummeled in Charlotte the night before and was missing one of its key bigs in Walker Kessler.Â
Yet, somehow, it was Boston that didnât have enough gas in the tank in the second half Monday night, as offensive rebounds still came back to bite the Celtics.
After a defensive gem of a first half that put the Celtics ahead by double digits, Bostonâs defense disappeared in the second half, the teamâs effort waning as it repeatedly clanged quality 3-point looks. Keyonte George morphed into Michael Jordan for a stretch, 37-year-old Kevin Love rolled back the clocks, and Jusuf Nurkicâs putback in the final moments lifted Utah to a 105-103 triumph at TD Garden.
The Celticsâ 3-point shooting was historically bad for their volume. The C's set an NBA record by missing 40 their 51 triples, posting the lowest 3-point percentage (21.6 percent) in league history by a team with 50-plus attempts.Â
Would it make you feel any better to know the NBA tracking data suggested all those 3-point looks were pretty good? It probably wonât, right? But 50 of Bostonâs 51 attempts came with 4+ feet of space from the nearest defender. The Celtics made just 2 of 21 attempts with 4 to 6 feet of space, and 9 of 29 attempts with 6+ feet of space.Â
Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, who both made 3s in the opening minutes when Boston ripped off a 10-0 run, quickly reverted to their season-opening struggles. There are 178 players who qualify on the list of NBAâs 3-point percentage leaders this season. Hereâs where Boston players rank:
- 178th: Payton Pritchard
- 171st: Derrick White
- 95th: Anfernee Simons
- 92nd: Jaylen Brown
- 69th: Sam Hauser
Pritchard and White were a combined 7 for 19 on Monday night, which is actually progress. Hauser improbably went 1 for 8 from distance. Simons wasnât much better (2 for 8). Brown missed all nine 3-pointers he attempted, though he kept Bostonâs offense afloat by making 13 of 19 shots inside the arc while producing a team-high 36 points.Â
It seems impossible that White and Pritchard wonât eventually get on track. But as they struggle from distance to start the season, it only makes the margins that much slimmer for a Boston team with a bunch of new vulnerabilities. And, yet, if the Celticsâ defensive energy didn't wane in the second half, they very well might have survived a historically bad shooting night.
Spare us all the chatter about the referees' missed call on a George trip of Brown in the final minute. Yes, it should have been a whistle. No, itâs not a valid excuse for not winning this game. We donât need a Last 2 Minute report to confirm the referee error.
Our Last 24 Minute report notes the Celtics tripped all over themselves repeatedly in the second half without aid from the Jazz or the referees.Â
Brown has been fantastic, and itâs frustrating that Bostonâs supporting cast hasnât been able to help him more. Itâs also annoying that, with multiple last-gasp opportunities in tight games against Philadelphia and Utah, the Celtics have been unable to get Brown a clean look at a winning shot. Brown got whistled (correctly) for a push-off before the Celticsâ final possession with 0.6 seconds to play Monday night.
Brown vented about the missed tripping call after the game but, like a good leader, eventually suggested he has to do more to help his team as this group hunts for an identity early in the new season. The truth is the supporting cast has to do more, and Brownâs efforts have been spoiled by the teamâs shooting funks.
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Neemias Queta will kick himself about a missed late-game free throw and his inability to box out Nurkic on Utahâs winning shot. Josh Minott canât get in early foul trouble, which limited his floor time. Boston needs more from its bench, where every single player not named Chris Boucher was in the negative for plus/minus Monday night.Â
Maybe we shouldnât be surprised that the Celtics are experiencing these growing pains. But it all seems so preventable, which makes it harder to stomach. Boston has all the potential to outkick its tempered expectations and yet hasnât played with anywhere near the sort of consistency that would allow that.
Chalk it up to early-season growing pains, but the Celtics' lack of focus and discipline Monday night was inexcusable. The Rockets were simply on a different level on Saturday and the rest disadvantage didnât help. But much of Bostonâs woes in the team's other four losses this season were largely self-inflicted.
Maybe all this team needs is White and Pritchard to get off the 3-point schneid. Maybe the Celtics just need to be mentally tougher when shots arenât falling and lean into their obvious defensive potential instead of losing their minds.Â
Itâs easy to say we should have braced ourselves for these bumps given the roster changes. But thereâs too much talent and potential here to be OK with the Celtics losing games the way they did Monday night.