The Boston Celtics continue along their predictably unpredictable ways with Saturday night’s 110-96 loss at Brooklyn.
After a thrilling win over Indiana Friday night that put Boston in the driver’s seat for home court advantage through the first round, Boston seemingly coughed it up less than 24 hours later.
But as much as they’ve shown an inability to prosper when the opportunity presents itself, the Indiana Pacers - Boston’s stiffest competition for the No. 4 seed and the home court advantage that comes with it - are in need of the Heimlich maneuver even more than the Celtics.
Hours after the Celtics slipped back to the No. 5 spot with Saturday’s loss, Boston was catapulted back into being the fourth-best team in the East after the Pacers lost at home to the Orlando Magic who are among the teams still in the fight for one of the last couple playoff seeds in the East.
While the Celtics were without Al Horford (knee) and Kyrie Irving (back soreness) on Saturday, that’s no excuse for this team seemingly finding new ways to lose games.
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Often it has been the defense.
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Other times, it has been poor communication.
On Saturday?
The team’s shot selection was just, in a word, horrible.
“I didn’t think our shot selection was very good all night,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “So that’s something that you know, again, I think that that goes back to like, we have to value the ball, we have to value possessions. That’s a big part of playing the right way …”
Of course the Brooklyn Nets had a role in Boston’s offensive struggles, particularly Jarrett Allen whose ability to roam the paint often deters shooters from attacking the rim as much as they usually do.
“So again, layups are really hard to come by,” Stevens said. “They don't foul and they do a really good job of ... late-switching on the shooters. So you have to make some of those(shots) but you have to probe for good ones first.”
And that’s among the many problems with this Celtics team at this point in the season.
There are basic, championship-caliber traits that you don’t develop or work on this time of year.
You’re sharpening them, making them as powerful and as precise as possible because you’ve had a nearly a season’s worth of time together to work out the kinks.
And the whole “flip the switch” concept is one that this team has no business thinking about doing.
Why?
NETS 110, CELTICS 96
Because the teams that have done that successfully, are those that have been through the kind of on-the-court battles that only harden one’s resolve over time; years, not months.
And as great as Boston’s postseason journey a year ago was, one season isn’t enough.
This time of year, it’s not as much about winning games as it is about winning with a style of play that’s universally accepted by all the players on a team.
And far too often, this Celtics team looks disjointed on the floor, showing a lack of connectivity that again, a team with this level of talent this deep into the season, shouldn’t be experiencing.
But as the Celtics players have reminded us often, their focus through this entire journey has been on making noise in the playoffs, regardless of how they get there.
“Everyone is going to doubt us because of the year we’ve had,” Boston’s Marcus Morris told reporters following Saturday’s loss. “When the playoffs hit, it’s basically a new season. We still have a chance to turn this thing around.
Morris added, “Hopefully in ten years from now, they’ll do a 30-for-30 on this team.”
Indeed, we will find out soon whether the Celtics can turn over a new leaf in the postseason and play closer towards the title-contending club that so many have envisioned as being this team’s destiny which would only add yet another unexpected chapter to the narrative of this team being predictably unpredictable.
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