The Celtics dropped a 115-105 loss to the Nets on Friday, letting a 28-point first-half lead crumble into a double-digit loss.
Here’s the takeaway.
- Friday’s loss was an eyesore and a missed opportunity to stay tied with the Bucks in the Eastern Conference standings — Milwaukee is now two games ahead in the loss column.
Still, it was a defeat. The Celtics got hot in the first quarter, and their shot selection impressed when they built up a massive lead. Bad shots turned into empty possessions, the nets started heating up and the lead melted away. The Celtics woke up, but too much momentum had already switched sides, and the Nets pulled away in the second half – leading by 16 in the fourth quarter.
Ranking the Celtics’ worst games this season, Friday’s game could be sandwiched between a 150-117 loss to the Thunder and an early season loss to the Bulls, in which Chicago rallied from 19 points down to win 18.
But the Celtics won the next game comfortably after losing to the Thunder, defeating the Mavericks on the road by nearly 30. It was a nice statement win – a sign that the Celtics recognized how ridiculous it was that they gave 150 points to a lottery team that didn’t even have its top scorer available.
Bad losses happen and are usually not season-defining, even if they do affect the standings. Presumably, the Bucks won’t continue to win every game all the way. The Celtics need to (and can) win a few games to keep themselves in contention for the 1-seed, which would prevent a potential Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals in Milwaukee.
“To me, the area and opportunity for growth comes in making sure that if we are in that position again, it doesn’t happen again,” said Joe Mazzulla.
- In the locker room after the game, a reporter asked Tatum how the Celtics were feeling. The reporter offered “anger” and “disbelief” as possibilities.
“Unbelievable, no. We didn’t play well,” Tatum said with a laugh. They played better than us and usually you lose. So it’s not disbelief. I don’t even know if it’s annoying or not. We play many games to be angry. Go ahead, get ready for the next one. It is what it is, essentially.
Tatum isn’t wrong, which is part of the NBA’s problem right now. If “load management” is indeed a concern, the problem isn’t that players are soft (they aren’t) or that teams employ medical professionals who study how to keep their players healthy for long periods of time ( It’s actually a good thing). The problem is that the regular season consists of 82 games, and as long as that is the case, players will sit. But when they do play, even a very good team’s season will have plenty of games to put up with a loss, no matter how ugly.
The Celtics can’t afford to get too worked up about Friday’s loss. Friday is over. They have to be ready in advance for Sunday.
- Joe Mazzulla doesn’t want the Celtics to shoot too many 3-pointers. He believes the 3-point rate is “the most important stat in the game of basketball, because of shot selection, and because of the ability to go on runs.”
On Friday, the Nets made 44 3-point field-goal attempts, while the Celtics shot just 30. Both teams shot 31 percent from the field, but the Nets scored 18 more points from behind the arc.
“When you’re out-shot from 14 threes, the potential points there are important because it gives you more shots, and it gives you more opportunities,” Majulla said. “And so, for me, I’m not really surprised or worked up about it because a 24-point lead in the first half, the way offenses are in today’s NBA, means almost nothing.”
According to Majulla, the margin in the second half – when the Celtics’ lead dwindled and turned into a deficit – was 23–12. To complicate matters, the Celtics only made two of their attempts. It stifled the offense while the defense allowed 26 free-throw attempts (the Celtics took 20) and 13 offensive rebounds (the Celtics grabbed nine). Majulla also credited Brooklyn’s switching defense.
But Majulla’s offensive philosophy is clear: Generate 3-pointers as often as possible.
“I was actually more nervous at the beginning of the game because we shot less threes, and they were shooting more,” he said. “… We were scoring, but it was not because we were making shots. It was because we were making layoffs, and they are a very analytically strong team.
“So I knew the tide was going to shift because they were going to continue to shoot threes, and if we didn’t play at that level shooting threes and getting offensive rebounds and taking care of the ball, it was going to cost us.” ”
- Jaylen Brown finished with 35 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, shooting 15-for-27 from the field and 3-for-8 from 3-point range.
Brown said the Celtics were careless leading up to Friday’s game.
Brown said, “We had 19 turnovers – any time you get that many turnovers, it’s a reflection of being a little careless with the ball.” “They made more shots than us, and we should have played all the way, but we didn’t.”
- In an anxious moment, Robert Williams asked to be taken out of the game in the second half and went straight to the locker room. The Celtics later announced that Williams was out with hamstring tightness.
Joe Mazzulla said he had not yet spoken with Williams postgame.
- The Nets dealt their entire team composition at the trade deadline, and they’ve lost seven of their last 10 games. Their roster has too many solid role players and little star power.
But the early returns on the new acquisition of Mikal Bridge are very promising. Bridges had 38 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists while shooting 13-for-22 from the field. Bridges had scored 30 points only twice in his career before Friday’s game, but since joining the Nets, he has scored 45, 31, and now 38. Picked an outstanding player with room to develop into a bigger role.
Bridges buried the Celtics with layups, jumpers, and 4-for-6 3-point shooting. A reporter asked Bridges whether scoring that much was particularly satisfying or surreal after topping only 30 times in his career.
“Nah, I mean, even in Phoenix, I wasn’t tripping over my role at all,” Bridges said. “I was just continuing to get better. I think it was right on time when I got traded because when everyone else was out in Phoenix, I had to play another role offensively and be more aggressive.” By the time I made the trade, I was in this great rhythm, and I was confident. It was a great time.
The Celtics will be looking to bounce back against the Knicks on Sunday, buoyed by both Friday’s result as well as their recent loss at Madison Square Garden.