The Celtics Are Currently Suffering From Extremely Mediocre Basketball Syndrome And The Only Cure Is Them Getting Their Heads Out Of Their Asses

Brian Fluharty. Getty Images.

How bad has the month of December been for the defending champs? Well, the last time we've seen the Celts have a stretch of dogshit play like this, a run where they've lost 3 of 4, 4 of 6, and 5 of 9, is Joe Mazzulla's first season. Celts lost 3 of 4 in October to start that season (4-3), then they also had a stretch where they lost 5 of 6 in mid December, and you may remember that as the run that was started by the Finals rematch loss in GS that sparked a tailspin. 

It happened again in late January when they lost 3 of 4 and 4 of 6, and then a stretch in early March where they lost 4 of 5. You then of course remember losing 3 straight in the ECF. 

With this current version? It's never come close to happening. The Celts didn't have a 7-6 stretch at any point in last year's season. There was a stretch where they went 3-3 over 6 games, but never a month like this. In fact, here's every month listed out just so you can visualize it

October '23: 3-0

November '23: 11-4

December '23: 12-2

January '24: 11-5

February '24: 9-1

March '24: 12-4

April '24: 6-2

October '24: 4-1

November '24: 12-2

December '24: 7-6

Easily the worst month the Celtics have had in 1.25 seasons and it's not even close. The prior worst was that stretch in January I mentioned above, and they still finished that month 11-5. There was an 8-6 month of December Joe's first season, so we're basically reliving that assuming the Celtics can beat the Raptors. 

To enter the month 16-3 and leave the month 23-9 (with 1 game pending), with over half of those losses (4) coming at home, and 3 of those 4 home losses coming against teams under .500, this is about as awful a stretch as this team is physically capable of having. Think they're coasting, don't care about the regular season, only care about health, that's all fine and good. But this whole operation hinges on the assumption that when the Celtics are facing bad teams on their home floor, those are games I should be able to bank as a win. Especially at a time when you need to turn things around and start to get back to playing positive basketball.

Instead, it was one step forward one step back. The one thing I was hoping to avoid, happened. Once again it was the same issues that we know lose the Celtics games. Poor shooting, nonexistent defense, poor rebounding, and costly turnovers. This time, against a team you had just beaten by 37 points a few nights prior. 

It's OK to call it what things are at this moment in time. The Celtics are stuck playing extremely mediocre basketball. It's like they are infected with inconsistent-itis and the only cure is removing their heads from their asses and getting back to playing Celtics basketball. 

Let's begin.

The Good

- I'm going to be honest with you guys. My level of disgust is so high at the moment that I can't even really bring myself to care about any of the good things that we saw in this game. Jaylen with another efficient 30 ball and 6 assists, Payton Pritchard finding his shot and making 5 3s off the bench, it's all clouded by the rest of what happened. 

How many good quarters would you say the Celts had in this game? Maybe 1.5? And if the question was how many complete two way performances did they have, the answer is 0. So really, we don't need to waste too much time trying to spinzone bad basketball. We know it when we see it. 

But I also can't leave you with nothing. We all need to drown the pain somehow, so go ahead and watch Jaylen's 31 and we can move on to the more serious business.

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The Bad

- With the addition of Andrew Nembhard can into the lineup, as a Celtics fan you should have known this was going to change the type of Pacers team they were going to face. I'll go to my grave saying that Nembhard was probably the second best guard the Celts faced on their way to the title last season. He allows them to play fast, his midrange is automatic, and he's a player who has proven to give this team fits. Add in the extra motivation from being embarrassed in the prior game, this was going to be an entirely different challenge.

Right from the jump, the Celtics were not ready.

In a game like that, you want to be the one that punches first. End their momentum before they even have a chance to build it. Instead, it was the opposite. Nonexistent defense showed up from the very start of the game, with the Pacers having no problem getting into the paint and the rim at will

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Mind you, this was just the first few minutes. For the Celtics defense to be effective, it requires elite perimeter defense. There needs to be actual resistance against ball handlers, especially in games where there's no KP on the backline to save everyone's asses at the rim. Stop putting that pressure on Al Horford, he's a billion years old. 

Whether it was the first quarter or the 4th quarter it didn't matter. This was an issue all night long and in my opinion, was the biggest reason for this loss and why the Celtics defense looks so awful lately. You HAVE to guard. Period. That is not a request, it is a baseline expectation. I mean look at this shit

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Derrick, what the hell man? What on Earth was that? Things have to be tougher for the ball handler in those spots. There was zero resistance, in fact he sort of got cooked. That can't happen.

Then on the biggest defensive possession of the game down 2, what kind of effort is that from Tatum? Again, zero resistance. He's better than that, we all know it. Jaylen getting blown by early, and Tatum getting blown by late. On what planet is that a winning standard, these are clips of all your best defenders! 

It's no secret that the rim protection and paint defense is different when Porzingis is out. He's a game-changer in that area. But we just saw this team limit the Pacers paint production without KP in the game before. Why? Their perimeter defense was much better. They didn't just allow guys free access to the rim whenever they wanted it. So for that to completely change was very annoying. This team can still be effective at paint defense and rim protection without Porzingis on the floor, but they actually have to guard to do it. 

- When you can't make a shot and you start turning the ball over, you feed into exactly what the Pacers want to do. They want to get out and run. It's no surprise then that given how the Celts played they lost the fastbreak points battle 18-4.

This loss was an example of how your inability to execute on offense can put your defense in a tough spot. In terms of halfcourt production, things were relatively close. The Pacers put up 110.8 points per 100 and the Celts 107.6. It's not like one was severely out-executing the other in the halfcourt. Where they got killed was in transition. The Pacers were able to take those misses and turnovers and really make the Celtics pay, finishing +6.5 points/possession compared to a -2.3 for the Celtics. Essentially, the Celtics did nothing with the few transition opportunities they had, whereas the Pacers used it to bury them.

- While Sam Hauser's shot did find a way to make an appearance (3-6, 3-6), it was almost like it came at the expense of his defense. On the night, Hauser defended 9 shots. His opponent scored on 8 of them. This is where not having Jrue hurt you. They needed Hauser on the floor due to his spacing, Walsh was already playing due to guys out, but you can't run him too long given his offensive issues, so it's a night where Hauser really needs to be solid in his minutes.

The way he was getting blown by and overpowered outweighed his 3s. That's the type of stuff that kills you on nights you're shorthanded. 

- For whatever reason, it took way too long for Tatum to lock into this game. I'm not sure if it's because he started 0-3 (0-3) or what, but then when he came back in to lead the second unit to start the 2nd quarter, he backed that up ith a 1-5 and -9 while playing all 12 minutes. 

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It's not often that Tatum's offensive struggles impact his defensive impact, but for the majority of this game that's kind of what happened. We know what a locked in Tatum looks like, shit we just saw it the game before. Last night was what it looks like when he's laying an egg, something that has also become pretty rare. That's why you know it when you see it. 

Just 5 points in the first half on 1-8 (0-6) and a -13, this was a Tatum stinker. It is what it is. 

- After starting the season 6-0 in games they shot under 30% from three, suddenly the Celts are having a hard time winning games where they miss 70% of their 3PA. 

It's no surprise that 3 of these instances have come in this hell month of December. 

1. 25% vs CHI on 12/19. Loss.

2. 24% vs ORL on 12/23. Loss.

3. 29% vs IND on 12/29. Loss.

You can also include the 30% in the loss to the Grizzlies to start December if you wish. The point is, if all of these losses feel familiar, it's because they are. All of them include shooting 30% or worse from three. All of them include horrific defense, especially in the 4th quarter. All of them include games where you got killed on the glass. 

If you're going to struggle from three, you have to defend. We know this team could do it because prior to December they were 4-0 in games they shot under 32% from deep. This month, 0-4 with the following point allowed totals: 

127, 117, 108, 123

That, is losing basketball. 

- It's pretty obvious that for things to get back on track, the Celts need to be much better about how they are generating their offense. To me, this means your best player has to touch the ball. That doesn't mean he needs to force things and the ball shouldn't be shared for the best look.

I simply mean he has to touch the ball. 

Far too often we are seeing offensive lapses where Tatum doesn't get a single touch. That's bad coaching, that's bad process, and that's bad situational awareness from everyone on the floor. He doesn't have to take every shot or make every pass, but outside of some P&R sets, there should be very few possessions where he never even touches the rock. That's hurting yourself for no reason because I promise you, Tatum will make the right decision with the basketball. 

The Ugly

- I hate to do it to the guy, but unfortunately, there's nowhere else to put Al Horford's brutal night. A devastating 2-12 (1-10), his misses felt like daggers to the heart every single time. There was a moment where he looked to redeem himself with a big corner 3 to bring things within 5, but overall it was nowhere close to good enough. Considering the majority of them were open and wide open looks, that stung. Horford's ability to consistently make his open jumpers is so important, especially in non-KP games. In order for the spacing to work that threat has to be present.

I'd also say the same thing for Derrick and his wide open 3PA. Just 3-11 from him in this game, he can't seem to buy an open jumper either. Suddenly it's 2022 all over again or something. Given how he also struggled defensively at times, the lack of a jumper really made the Derrick minutes tough. 

- You know how they say when it rains it pours? That's how I would describe these 4th quarter TOs from Payton Pritchard

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These are backbreaking plays at a time when you just cannot be making this type of mistake. I'm not sure what is happening to the brains of this roster once a game enters the fourth quarter, but it's almost as if they can't help themselves from making the worst possible decisions at the worst possible times. Payton Pritchard never turns the ball over. That's kind of his thing. And how he's getting picked off on back to back possessions by TJ McConnell? What the hell? 

Shit like this is why executions matter. It's why every possession matters. When it comes time to win a game and execute on both ends of the floor, the Celtics have been downright terrible at it. That's not me being dramatic, that's the numbers and the current reality

Last night they had a 92 ORTG with a 41.1% TS%. Once they cut the lead to 2, they immediately allowed the Pacers to go on an 18-4 run to close this game. Until this team figures out it's end of game problems, they will not break out of this stretch of mediocrity. It's that simple. This is not what that looks like

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A lack of execution in the 4th quarter is the root of all these recent losses. I would argue it's been their problem in every loss this month. Team that can't close are inconsistent, mediocre basketball teams. The Celtics aren't special, they aren't immune to that either. 

They've been unable to execute and close out games, and as a result are playing inconsistent, mediocre basketball. Given the fact that their issues are on both ends of the floor, they have no one to blame but themselves.

The fact of the matter is none of this means the season is over or the Celts playoff chances are cooked. I get why people say that, but those people are morons. But what it does mean is that right now, the Celts are playing losing basketball. Until they figure out a way to snap out of this funk on both ends of the floor and sure up their late game execution, things will not change.

And this doesn't mean doing it for 1 game. It means doing it every single night. You know, the standard that they have created for themselves. It sure would be nice if they could get back to it.