Forsberg: The embarrassing loss didn’t feel like a ‘one-off’ for the variable C’s of effort originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Boston The Celtics have proven that when they are involved, they could be the best team in basketball. Even while operating at less than full health, the Celtics have routinely reserved their best basketball for the season’s biggest moments.
Alas, those Celtics also had a maddening tendency to lose focus, abandon the styles of play that provide their best basketball, and suffer maddening losses that make you wonder if they’re capable of achieving their highest goals.
The Celtics lost a 28-point lead and lost a double-digit margin of Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. It was the largest lost lead in the NBA this season. The same Celtics who recently owned the Nets Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving who were on the roster were confused by the new group that posted a 1-6 record since the trade deadline overhaul.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla he remained nonchalant as he suggested that such an effort was a “one-off” for his team. And that’s despite being just two days away from Boston, which nearly allowed the Cavaliers to mount an absurd late-game comeback as they attempted the never-successful NBA strategy of trying to run down the clock with 2 minutes to play.
It just doesn’t feel like a one-off for these Celtics. The most terrifying matches for Boston are not the confrontations with Milwaukee or Philadelphia, but the sleepy visits of the Magic, Bullsand a new-look Netse.
The Celtics were on top of the NBA for so much of the 2022-2023 season. that it was easy to shrug off defeat against an inferior opponent. Now Dollars they’ve snapped a 16-game winning streak, Boston has fallen a game behind in the top-seed race and suddenly a real battle for that top spot is looming over the final 18 games.
Boston may suggest that seeding doesn’t matter, but history says otherwise. The Bucks were seeded last year only to watch Boston win the head-to-head tiebreaker and take home court in Game 7 of the season-long Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics already rested four starters when they visited Milwaukee last month and, despite a valiant effort from the depth players, fell in overtime. A road trip to Milwaukee on March 30 will decide who holds the tiebreaker this year.
Celtics vs. Nets scores: The C’s started strong, ended flat in a brutal loss
If the season were to end today, the Celtics would face a first-round matchup against the winner of the Heat/Hawks matchup and a second-round matchup with Philadelphia 76ers (if higher seeds prevailed). The Celtics owned Philadelphia, so maybe that’s not a particularly scary claim. There is no guarantee that the drawing, say, is brisk Cleveland Cavaliers or invading New York Knicks would be a better draw.
But the Celtics should be enticed by the idea of letting go Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo fight for the possible right to meet Boston in the conference finals. That might be the most ideal way forward.
All those winnable games the Celtics have missed could conspire against them securing that No. 1 seed. The Celtics have simply not made life any easier for themselves for the better part of two seasons due to their inability to maintain a high level of play. At least they had the excuse of COVID and injuries last year. This year it simply comes down to energy and focus.
Even while operating at less than full health, the Celtics have routinely reserved their best basketball for the season’s biggest moments. Alas, those Celtics also had a maddening tendency to lose focus, abandon the styles of play that provide their best basketball, and suffer maddening losses that make you wonder if they’re capable of achieving their highest goals.
Chris Forsberg on Boston’s inconsistency
Watching Robert Williams III limp away with hamstring tightness it doesn’t make you feel any better than the home part either. The Celtics starters have had mixed results in the four games combined since the All-Star break and, if Williams III is out for any length of time, and Al Horford rests for the second night out of four remaining in a row, then there won’t be many opportunities for that group to shake off the extra rust.
Mazzulla is tinkering with his big man rotation after the added trade deadline Mike Muscala into the mixture. Grant Williams he pulled off a surprising DNP earlier this week, Luke Kornet he had a rough night after being inserted into the game with the Nets, and the Celtics remain weak in terms of sheer size.
Health has never been an excuse for this team and, if the available players are focused, Boston can still hang with anyone. But while teams like Milwaukee and New York start to improve late in the season, the Celtics can’t stop tripping over their shoelaces.
The Celtics can either tighten things up and head into the playoffs brimming with the confidence they exuded after dominating the league over the final two months of last season. Or they can continue to work at varying levels of effort and further complicate the path back to the final.
Friday night didn’t seem like a one-off. And the Celtics have to decide if they’re willing to make the effort to be great on a more consistent basis.