The Boston Celtics came into the bubble as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. With a record of 43-21, many believed that this young Boston team would come back from the hiatus as a contender. However, the team’s projected value and talent have yet to soar as many thought it would have.
In three games in Orlando, the Celtics only won one. That came in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers, which went down to the last seconds and was only won by free throws. The Celtics would lose against the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat in their first and third games of the return.
The game against Milwaukee showed the rust that players had after not playing in a professional game since early March. Jayson Tatum had a miserable game; Giannis Antetokounmpo and co. completely shut down the rising star. Tatum would have one of the worst NBA games of his career, shooting at a two-for-18 clip from the field.
With their superstar playing as if the “Mon-Stars” had stolen his basketball abilities, the Celtics would have to rely on the remainder of the team. The rest of the team had a decent game as Marcus Smart led the team in points with 23. What also hurt the Celtics in their first game back was the minute restrictions placed on point guard Kemba Walker.
Walker was recovering from a left knee injury and returned to the team in Orlando with some discomfort. The injury will sideline Walker for their game against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday after already holding him to a very strict minute restriction previously. With Walker playing roughly no more than 25 minutes per game, the team is without their veteran playmaker.
Boston also took a hefty loss to the Miami Heat, who are creeping up on the third seed. With this loss, the Heat are now 1.5 games behind in the standings. This was a tough loss for Boston as the Heat did not have Jimmy Butler on the court. This should have been a game to separate the two teams in the standings, but the Heat came out strong and were torching the Celtics’ perimeter defense. To make matters worse, Marcus Smart would foul out of the game halfway through the third quarter.
Jaylen Brown has been solid for the team throughout the three games but has yet to reach the level of dominance he was boasting earlier in the year. Brown’s play needs to take another step with Walker battling an injury and Tatum slumping on offense.
But what is truly causing the Celtics’ slow start in Orlando? One can look at the poor officiating. In each game, Celtics players were called for technicals on small comments or are being called for very light physical contact. Others can look at the Walker situation, and that his injury may be holding the team back from performing at their best.
But the real problem that the Celtics are facing is their defense.
Brad Stevens is a mastermind when it comes to defensive rotations. Perimeter defense has never been a problem for the Celtics in Stevens’s tenure as the head coach. However, in these past three games, the players have been exposed by the other team from deep.
Another reason why the Celtics are struggling is that Tatum is not playing aggressive enough. Looking back to early this year, Tatum would attack the basket at a very efficient rate. His mid-range game also benefited from this as he could easily pull up mid-way through a drive. But in his time in the bubble, Tatum has been very lackadaisical in his driving ability. Keeping the ball high and away from his body will result in a tougher shot and more turnovers.
The Celtics will need to find their pace of play, just like they had when it was March. But if they continue this skid, they will lose their third-place seed and could fall as far as the sixth seed, which would not be favorable for them in the playoffs.
Boston’s next game is tonight at 9:00 p.m. on ESPN against the Brooklyn Nets.
