Are the Celtics officially on fraud watch?
Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images
An absolute nightmare scenario. The Boston Celtics just lost to the Houston Rockets, who now have an absolutely atrocious 16-52 record on the season. Poor rebounding, forcing threes, missing free throws, lazy defense... a complete disaster. The only player who actually wanted to win was Jaylen Brown, who had 43 points on 64% shooting.
The Celtics, who started the season 21-5, are now 22-17 since. A team that once held the first seed in the NBA is now tied with the 76ers in the loss column, and now has to fight just to maintain the 2nd seed.
It seems like the Bucks are now going to run away with the first seed, and if the bad habits on display against the Rockets don't get fixed before the playoffs, the finals expectations placed on the Celtics at the beginning of the season will begin to look more and more fraudulent. Where do the Celtics go from here?
Tatum: "We kind of played with the game and tried to win at the end instead of playing how we’re supposed to play the entire game."
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) March 14, 2023
This quote by Tatum following the loss to the Rockets is so astronomically frustrating. For years now the Celtics have come out lazy and sloppy against bad teams, and fans have had to watch their favorite team get embarrassed by the bottom feeders of the NBA.
"The free throws, the rebounding, the turnovers, the second chances... It's concerning"
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) March 14, 2023
Joe Mazzulla addresses new concerns with the Celtics after loss to Rockets pic.twitter.com/FJkyad7Adz
Many people will write this loss off, along with the other terrible chokejobs this season, as Boston coasting there way into the playoffs. I disagree.
Terrible shot selection, sloppy turnovers, and pathetic effort defensively are not traits of championship caliber teams. Not to mention the complete lack of offensive structure in the 4th quarter. The way Boston is playing basketball does not win championships.
In short, the Celtics need to get their shit together. The losses aren't the problem, its the manner in which they are losing. The playoff aspirations for a team that was up 2-1 in the NBA Finals last year are now completely up in the air. Is it on the players? Is it on the coach? Is it both? If they are going to figure it out this season, then this loss has to be the wake up call.
