Celtics irregularity worries Joe Mazzulla

The Celtics are in the tough and one month from the start of the playoffs, Joe Mazzulla begins to worry about the situation. In Houston tonight, his team conceded their fifth loss in their last eight games.

This latest poor performance against the last of the class in the West concludes a series of alarming signals, between the two defeats conceded in overtime against New York and Cleveland, which hurt the skull, or even the cracking of Marcus Smart ahead of Trae Young this weekend.

Back to basics

Jayson Tatum’s missed layup on the night to force a last-second overtime as Jabari Smith Jr. missed a free throw to keep Boston alive was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

After the meeting, the Celtics coach therefore insisted on the importance of ensuring the small details to facilitate the task in tight matches like the one of the night. Whether it’s the rebound, free throw skill or stray balls, three key areas on which the C’s have foiled.

“It’s playoff basketball at its best, the ability to win in these circumstances, so it’s concerning that we’re not consistent on that. We have to go down this path, whatever our opponent, whatever the situation, whatever the number of matches remaining. It does not matter. We have to commit to these points”, thus hammered Joe Mazzulla.

The second place in the balance

If Jaylen Brown tried everything to try to reverse the trend with his 43 points, Jayson Tatum was in more difficulty, especially on the outside shot (2/10), another recurring problem for Boston this night (12/42), the Smart-Hauser pair (1/5 and 1/6) also suffered in this area. But for Joe Mazzulla, the essential is elsewhere.

“People like to talk about 3-point shots. But free throws, offensive rebounds, second chance baskets and lost balls, that’s the game. That’s the case for all games. The margins that can be obtained in these sectors are extremely important. I don’t care if you take shots from midfield. If you don’t earn these essential points, you won’t win many games. When we’re at our best, we do, and when we’re inconsistent, we don’t. We need to be more involved on these points,” he added.

13 games from the end of the regular season, Boston (47 wins – 22 losses), in the middle of a six-game road trip, almost said goodbye to first place in the Eastern Conference of the Bucks (49-19). The objective will now be to keep the second while the Sixers (45-22) of Joel Embiid come back strong.