The Boston Celtics barely got it done against the New Orleans Pelicans, winning 120-119 in a game that was far from pretty. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – that fourth quarter was rough. If you’d dropped me into this game without context, I might’ve thought these were two bottom-feeders chasing draft picks. But hey, a win is a win, right?
Let’s start with the positives. The Celtics got the W, bringing their record to 28-11. That’s only a game and a half off last year’s pace when we were 29-9 at this point. Not too shabby for a team that’s clearly not firing on all cylinders yet.
But man, those turnovers. We had 12, which doesn’t sound awful, but it led to 17 Pelicans points. That’s a killer, especially in a one-point game. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were both guilty parties here. It’s frustrating because we’ve seen flashes of brilliance from them – Jaylen’s passing in the second quarter, Tatum’s drives to the rim – but those turnovers just erase all that good work.
Three-point shooting is another major concern, but not in the way you might think. We actually only took five threes in the fourth quarter. The real issue? We’re getting outshot from deep. The Pelicans went 17-for-37 (45.9%) while we struggled at 13-for-44 (29.5%). Guys like Dejounte Murray and Trey Murphy were lighting us up, while our usual sharpshooters couldn’t find the mark.
Tatum went 2-for-10, Brown 0-for-2, Derrick White 0-for-5, and Jrue Holiday 1-for-4 from beyond the arc. That’s not gonna cut it, especially when we’re giving up so many threes on the other end.
Here’s the thing – in November, we had a massive three-point advantage over our opponents. We were taking about 15 more threes per game and making six more on average. That gave us an 18-point cushion before the game even started. Now? We’re actually losing the three-point battle by about two makes per game. That’s a 24-point swing!
We’ve got to get back to what made us successful. Take the open threes when they’re there, but also be more selective with our drives. Right now, we’re forcing both, and it’s leading to ugly misses at the rim and contested bricks from deep.
Look, I know it’s frustrating to watch right now. But remember, you don’t want to be peaking in January. If this is our worst basketball of the season, that means our best is still ahead of us. And that’s exactly where we want to be come playoff time.
For more insights and a deeper dive into the Celtics’ recent struggles and path forward, tune into the Locked On Celtics podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Celtics Podcast:
• Derrick White’s uncharacteristic turnovers
• The controversial five-second call
• How the Celtics compare to other hot teams like Cleveland and OKC
