Jaylen Brown missed his fourth straight game on Wednesday night due to a hamstring injury. Then again, the Los Angeles Clippers were also down their All-Stars duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard as well. Still, headed by Brandon Boston Jr.’s 27 points, the league’s 27th-ranked offense dropped 114 points on the Celtics, handing Boston their third loss in four games and putting the C’s back at .500 on the season.
The story of the game? Much of what has plagued the Celtics far too often this season, lack of effort and inconsistency. The team once again came out the gates slow, digging themselves into a 21-point hole early — a deficit they couldn’t dig themselves out of. Following the loss, Dennis Schroder spoke with reporters, where he — as NBC Sports Boston put it — “didn’t mince words” about his team’s efforts and inability to contain Boston Jr.
“I don’t know, you probably don’t know. That’s the reason you’re asking me,” Schroder said, puzzled by the C’s questionable effort. “We’ve just got to come out and do it for 48 minutes. I mean, it can’t happen that we just do it for two or three quarters, or one quarter. I think everybody’s just got to take pride, especially the starters who started tonight, to make sure we come out and give everything we have. We just can’t get in the hole down 20 and try to play. So, we’ve got to figure that out for sure.”
Schroder once again drew the start alongside Marcus Smart in Brown’s absence, finishing just behind Jayson Tatum for the team-lead in scoring with 19 points. However, it’s been a somewhat up-and-down trip to the West Coast for the German guard, who boasts a plus/minus average of -6 and a field goal percentage of 32.1% over two of Boston’s past four games.
No George, Still Problems
Despite George (25.0 points per game) being a late-scratch for the Clippers, Los Angeles made do without their leading scorer. Marcus Morris Sr., a familiar face for Celtics fans, dropped 20 points. Reggie Jackson had his fourth-consecutive 16-plus point performance and Boston Jr. exploded for 18 of his 27 points in the second quarter.
“We talked about George or no George, we’ve been through that this season. We’ve beat teams without players,” said Ime Udoka, via The Boston Herald. “In the Milwaukee win where they didn’t have (Giannis) Antetokounmpo and it doesn’t matter, other guys are going to take advantage of the opportunity. So it wasn’t about George being in or out or our back to back. It was more so the lack of consistency and effort in the second quarter specifically, and self-inflicted, as I mentioned with the turnovers. We didn’t do ourselves any favors by just handing them points.”
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Tatum Talks Frustration
Now 26 games into the regular season and the Celtics, by definition, remain a middle of the pack squad. Their 13-13 record is identical to their record at this time a season ago. They sit in 10th-place in the Eastern Conference standings and own the 17th-ranked offensive rating in basketball (108.1). Losers in five of their last eight outings, frustration is beginning to kick in.
“It is frustrating,” Jayson Tatum conceded. “Part of it, I guess, is human nature and tendencies and habits and, I guess, how you approach certain things. The easy answer would just be that we’ve gotta be better. Gotta be better at that. I think you guys know if we play like we did in the fourth quarter, if we play like that the whole game, the outcome probably would have been different. It’s one thing to say, it’s one thing to know it, but it’s a difference going out there and doing it. And I think that’s on myself and all of us to just try to be more complete throughout the 48 minutes.”
Tatum, Schroder and the rest of the Celtics will look to get back on track on Friday, December 10 against a Phoenix Suns team who has gone 9-1 over the last 10 games.
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Dennis Schroder ‘Didn’t Mince Words’ in Message to Celtics Teammates