The Celtics just couldn’t shake off their frustrations last night against the Bulls. It was a weird game, one we haven’t seen in a while from this team. Usually, they’re able to battle through tough shooting nights or questionable calls, but not this time.
Let’s break it down. The first half wasn’t terrible. We were up by three at the break, despite Zach LaVine going off for 20 points. Our defense was mostly solid, but the Bulls were hitting some tough shots. Jayson Tatum was playing well, Kristaps Porzingis was contributing, and Derrick White was doing his usual thing.
But then the second half hit, and things went south. The frustration started showing on guys’ faces. Derrick White, who’s usually so composed, was visibly upset after LaVine hit a tough shot against some good defense. It was just... off.
This loss felt like a throwback to a few years ago when we’d let bad shooting nights affect our defense. We’d stop playing with full effort, give up offensive rebounds, and let teams get easy layups. It’s been a while since we’ve seen that movie, and I hope we don’t see it again anytime soon.
Now, I don’t want to make excuses, but it’s been a rough week for some of our guys. Jaylen Brown had that scary situation with someone trying to break into his mom’s house. Kristaps Porzingis lost a former Latvian teammate to suicide. Real life stuff that makes basketball seem trivial.
The officiating? Yeah, it was bad. Those technical fouls in the fourth quarter were questionable at best. But here’s the thing – we’ve got to keep our cool in those situations. We let our frustrations get the best of us, and it cost us.
Credit to the Bulls, though. They outshot us from three, which almost never happens. They put up 52 three-pointers, matching our volume, and it paid off for them.
Look, this is a flushable game. It’s out of character for this team, and I’m not worried about it being the start of a trend. Sometimes you need a reminder to be better, and this might be it for us.
For more insights and a deeper dive into this game and the Celtics’ performance, tune into the Locked On Celtics podcast for this and much more.
Other Topics in Today’s Locked On Celtics Podcast:
• Jaylen Brown’s tough week and its impact on his game
• The challenge of balancing real-life issues with NBA performance
• Jayson Tatum’s strong first three quarters
• Payton Pritchard’s impact off the bench
