It is said that the first step to correcting one’s problem is admitting you have one.
In this light, the Celtics have been owning up to temporal transgressions rather frequently of late. It’s the correcting part that’s eluded them.
“It feels like (expletive) right now,” said Kristaps Porzingis after Wednesday’s loss to a Toronto club in line for a ticket to the Cooper Flagg lottery. “We’re playing some bad basketball.”
True dat.
The difference with the Celtics is that the solution lies within. While other teams seeking to contend for the 2025 NBA title must look to significant trades and lighting candles in prayer to the basketball gods, the Bostonian flock needs mainly to back up their faith with deeds (James 2:14-17). In biblical translation: pass and cut on offense and get thine ass back on D.
Celtics Remain a Good Team making Bad Mistakes
As one league executive told Heavy Sports, “There may be only two teams in the league that wouldn’t trade places with Boston … and OKC and the Cavs might think different about that when the postseason starts getting hairy.”
That shouldn’t take away from the fact the Celtics — owners of the third-best record in the NBA, but just 7-7 in their last 14 trips to the hardwood — are learning it can be difficult to find success when their head gets caught in their nether region for stretches.
“It can be hard to watch a team that good make those kind of mistakes,” said an NBA scout. “I mean, it gives all the rest of us hope, but when you see one guy fall asleep on defense and not close out to a shooter, that’s just bad basketball. You’ll see one of their guys stop to complain about a call and not get back on defense.
“That’s just such a good team, with good people and all that, too. When you see them lose their focus and make the mistakes that bad teams make, it almost seems… surreal.”
Hot Start Fading in Boston
So far, the Celtics and their followers have been able to lean on their hot start to the season, while league voices have explained bad losses and close wins over weaker teams as boredom with the process after summiting the NBA mountain last June.
With half the regular season remaining and, thus, ample time to steer out of this skid, there remains just one non-health danger: that the bad reactions to bad possessions become habit. That when they reach for their crisp offense and ultra-connected defense in the playoffs, the gig speed will be slower than necessary.
Porzingis spoke of the lack of personality and spirit after getting taken down by the now 10-31 Raptors.
“We’re in a bad moment right now, for sure,” he said. “We have to be realistic, like look in the mirror. We’re not playing the best basketball. We’re not executing. We’re not doing this, this, this. … We have to be honest with ourselves; otherwise we’ll keep going like this.
“We just can’t keep cruising and expect to just turn it up towards the end. It’s in our hands.”
They won’t have to wait long to be tested, with Orlando and Atlanta — two squads built on energy — coming to town for a Friday-Saturday back-to-back.
A couple of wins would do much to lower the blood pressure of Greenhearts (but, hey, let’s keep cutting back on the sodium, right?) who live in the moment.
Focus Still on the Long Run
The view from 30,000 feet offers perhaps a greater perspective.
One rival exec who’s been dealing with the Celtics for years offered a fairly comprehensive analysis.
“I think what’s happening right now probably helps them in the long run,” he told Heavy Sports. “Now they’ve got a challenge in front of them, instead of just waiting for the playoffs to start.
“Look, they need to be healthy in the playoffs. They need to have to have some sustained play together with all of them and get a feeling of who the team is again in this second half of the year. I mean, they know their roles, but every year is a little different.
“Even if you know what you want to be as a team, you have to go out and establish that you’re willing to do it again. There’s a lot of dirty work that goes into being a great team — the thankless stuff that doesn’t necessarily show up on the stat sheet. You can’t just breeze through the small details just because you’ve got a championship ring in your safety deposit box.”
Not pausing for what would seem to be a shot at the C’s, he continued: “But I think Boston is set up right to do what they need to, both from a talent standpoint and an attitude standpoint, too. Sure, Tatum and Brown may go off on their own once in a while, but they know how to reel it in. And for a team that shoots as many 3’s as they do, you have to be able to dig in and rely on your fundamentals when the outside shots aren’t falling.
“Boston needs to bring it’s A defense to win it again. I think it’s been good when they want it to be this year, when they’re healthy. But that’s a commitment.”
To paraphrase Porzingis, they must commit — or continue to feel like s***.
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Celtics Searching for Solutions as ‘Bad Moment’ Drags On