With 37 wins and only 4 losses, the Celtics finished with the best record in the league at home last year. Beaten yesterday by the Pacers, Joe Mazzulla's men have already conceded their 6th defeat of the season at TD Garden.
The Celtics are having a harder time winning at home at the moment, and winning at all: only two wins in their last six outings. A dynamic to which the Celtics, winners of 64 meetings last year, are no longer accustomed. “ This might be the hardest time I've had since I've been here with the Celtics “, Derrick White believes.
He arrived from San Antonio in February 2022. Since then, the full-back has, for example, experienced the turbulence of December 2022 – five defeats in six games – but his team has ultimately rarely lost even two games in a row. Which demonstrates its level of excellence.
The defense in question?
How to explain the current tremors? Beyond the fact that Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis were still on the sidelines against the Pacers, Joe Mazzulla points to concerns on defense. “ First, we must pay attention to trends (opposing players). And we have to know where we can help and force the ball to come out. But it starts with our individual defense and continues with our collective defense away from the ball, where we can help “, he analyzes.
Continuing, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both talk about the challenge of communicating better. Their formation has regressed this season in the ranking of the best defenses in the league, from 2nd place last year to 8th. Even if we have to put things into perspective, because with 110 points conceded over 100 possessions, their defensive efficiency remains identical.
Also, Joe Mazzulla believes that “ the irregularity » of the Celtics concerns both ends of the court. “ In several matches it was our attack, other matches our defense. So I would say a bit of both. »
“ It's not our best series, but it's okay. Nobody panics but we have to be better. Each season presents its own challenges, which is again the case this year. We should be used to it, it's been like this for a few years “, recalls Jayson Tatum.
No overconfidence
The latter brushes aside the idea of excess confidence that could manifest among the reigning champions. “ We have humility, because we have been there, moments in the season where we took things for granted. We learned from that. We are at a stage in the season where we are not satisfied with our current position. We must all understand that we played a role in the current situation », Demands the winger.
With 23 wins for 9 losses, the Celtics, 2nd in the East, are under threat from the Knicks (22v-10d) in 3rd place, while the Cavs (27v-4d) have a lead at the top. And their upcoming schedule isn't exactly obvious. After receiving the Raptors on Tuesday, against whom missteps seem forbidden, the C's begin a “road trip” to the West: to Minnesota, to Houston, to OKC and finally to Denver. “ I'm very excited about this, it's going to be fun, great », Qualifies Joe Mazzulla seriously.
After all, his team still has around fifty games in front of it, Jayson Tatum does not forget: “ You have to understand that it's a long season, with a lot of basketball still to be played. We are so far from our ultimate goal, we have had some good times this year, and others not so good. This is my eighth year and still is. It's all about how we navigate the roller coaster of the season. »
| Shots | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Bp | Int | Ct | Party | Pts |
| Jayson Tatum | 29 | 36.6 | 46.6 | 36.7 | 80.6 | 0.7 | 8.9 | 9.6 | 5.6 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 2.6 | 28.5 |
| Jaylen Brown | 27 | 35.7 | 46.1 | 33.5 | 73.4 | 1.4 | 4.5 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 24.9 |
| Kristaps Porzingis | 11 | 27.2 | 45.3 | 32.8 | 84.9 | 1.4 | 5.0 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 18.3 |
| Derrick White | 31 | 34.4 | 44.6 | 38.5 | 84.8 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 2.2 | 16.9 |
| Payton Pritchard | 32 | 28.8 | 46.8 | 41.9 | 85.4 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 15.6 |
| Jrue Holiday | 26 | 30.6 | 44.8 | 32.6 | 88.9 | 1.1 | 3.2 | 4.3 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 12.2 |
| Al Horford | 25 | 27.9 | 43.5 | 38.0 | 83.3 | 0.9 | 4.4 | 5.3 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 9.1 |
| Sam Hauser | 25 | 21.6 | 42.8 | 36.2 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 7.8 |
| Neemias Queta | 26 | 15.7 | 63.7 | 0.0 | 73.3 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 5.3 |
| Luke Kornett | 26 | 16.9 | 60.3 | 0.0 | 74.4 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 5.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| Drew Peterson | 9 | 10.2 | 41.2 | 35.7 | 85.7 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 2.8 |
| Jordan Walsh | 23 | 8.8 | 31.6 | 24.1 | 50.0 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 1.5 |
| Jaden Springer | 12 | 4.4 | 23.1 | 0.0 | 76.9 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 |
| Jd Davison | 5 | 4.7 | 40.0 | 33.3 | 50.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
| Xavier Tillman, Sr. | 20 | 7.9 | 25.7 | 21.1 | 50.0 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
| Baylor Scheierman | 5 | 6.8 | 10.0 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
