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Tim BontempsESPN
DALLAS – The Boston Celtics have lost ground again and a 113-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night leaves Boston back to .500 in the quarterfinal of the regular season. Celtics goaltender Marcus Smart quoted Yogi Berra as a summary of his frustration with the team's current situation.
"Words can not even explain it," says Smart. "We feel like we are already seen again.
"We keep saying and doing the same thing after every game, it gets really annoying … I do not even know what to say to you at this point, guys."
To say that's not the way the Celtics – or frankly, anybody – has imagined this team looking through the first 20 games of the season is a euphemism. However, here, Boston beats to 10-10 and already beats six games to win the first place of the Eastern Conference. Boston was to assert itself after LeBron James abdicated his throne over the East by joining Los Angeles. Angeles Lakers this summer.
And, as Smart said, the Celtics find themselves saying the same thing, match after match. Their attack remains ineffective, mired in the last 10 of the league despite a profusion of players able to fill it. Too often, their first quarter are like those of Boston Saturday night, while the Mavericks had a 32-18 lead, behind a spectacular production of shooting and play Luka Doncic, the sensational rookie Mavericks.
Even the Boston defensive, which is normally among the best in the league – and which ranks second behind the Oklahoma City Thunder in terms of efficiency during the season – has slightly slipped in recent times . The Mavericks stole the Celtics several times at this end of the track on Saturday night, knocking down 16 of 41 3-point markers (39%) and finding DeAndre Jordan several times on the rim for easy dunks.
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Harrison Barnes made 5 attempts in 7 starting from three points in the first period against the Celtics.
"I thought we were a slow pace all night," said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. "I thought they were putting us on our heels.
"They made tons of effort, put a lot of things on the board, and then we could not hold the player … these records really hurt us. corner, put it in, and have a few, lobs … these are just killers. "
The Celtics have been the target of many such moments recently. Not only did Saturday's loss lead Boston to seventh overall, but the Celtics have now lost four of their last five and eight of their last 12. Of these four wins, two came in overtime, including a miraculous comeback in Arizona. against the unfortunate Phoenix Suns. The other two faced the equally unfortunate Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.
Boston simply did not look like the team we were expecting from the season. So what's the problem?
Perhaps there is something to say about the fact that the Celtics have to adapt to the feeling of being the favorite as opposed to the oppressed rambling.
In recent seasons, Boston has been seen as a team that exceeds its weight. First, when Isaiah Thomas lit up the dashboards two or three seasons ago, then last year when Gordon Hayward and then Kyrie Irving were marginalized. injuries in progress.
The return of these stars was to make Boston a juggernaut. Instead, the Celtics look like a team stuck between identities, constantly looking for the mix that will unlock his talent and start playing as he was supposed to do from the beginning.
"It's definitely hard, because you're going through things you're probably not used to," Irving said. "I mean in terms of achieving that goal, and last year we just won games, won a series of victories and managed throughout the season.
"But this year we had expectations, this goal as you said, it's something that we all have to get used to as a team," Irving continued. "Individually, some of us have gone through this event, some teams are going to attack us, some teams are going to put their forearms in our chest and try us in. The way we react now, we have to react better."
Some of the team's problems can be traced back to Hayward, and to his ongoing recovery from the terrible ankle and leg injury of last season. Hayward, who did not participate in Saturday's game as a training day in this recovery, has gradually improved over the seasons. His explosion at the rim is just not even the same, though – a natural thing to live with, since he has not played for a full calendar year.
But for Boston to realize its true potential, he needs Hayward's return from his days in Utah – the league's top 20 player, who was a force at both ends of the field.
| Celtics under Stevens | After 20 games | End of the season | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 10-10 | ?? | ?? |
| 2017-18 | 17-3 | 55-27 | Lost in Conf. finals |
| 2016-17 | 12-8 | 53-29 | Lost in Conf. finals |
| 2015-16 | 11-9 | 48-34 | Lost in the first round |
| 2014-15 | 7-13 | 40-42 | Lost in the first round |
| 2013-14 | 8-12 | 25-57 | Lottery |
| >> Hired Brad Stevens as Head Coach July 3, 2013 | |||
It would be unfair, however, to say that the Celtics are 10-10 to 20 games away because of Hayward. The embarrassment and restructuring of the lineup is evident when the young children who drove Boston to the doors of the NBA finals were turned into smaller roles this season.
It's a mix that, coupled with an attempt at readjustment to the presence of Hayward and Irving, makes the Celtics play at a level well below the sum of their roles. And while they are looking for answers, they are already starting to lose touch with the teams at the top of the conference.
This could leave them, once they know it, face a steep climb to get the field advantage in the playoffs – making the path they had to take to escape the East even harder to cross.
Meanwhile, Boston will take the road to face the Pelicans in New Orleans are wondering what to do to escape their discomfort.
"I do not know," Smart said. "That's the problem." If I knew it, we would not have this discussion, right?
"Once we understand that, things will start to change, but by then we will continue to have our ass well done."
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