Boston Celtics Continue to Play Down to Competition

The Boston Celtics continue to suffer because they play down to their competition

In what was one of the strangest two game stretches of the season for the Boston Celtics, they went from taking down the conference leading Cavaliers, to losing to the bottom dwelling and tanking Suns. Unfortunately, that is only continuing a troubling trend for the Celtics this season, as they once agai struggle to get separation from far inferior teams.

The Celtics have done a remarkable job of winning their close games this season, largely because of Isaiah Thomas’ unparalleled scoring rate in the fourth, but that has become too much of a crutch for a team who is taking that success for granted.

The Celtics are used to things going their way in close games this season, but with the way they continually allow lesser teams to hang around and out perform them, a disaster was looming, and that is what happened against the Suns.

The Celtics have a great record against teams under .500, but it feels as though every single game they play comes down to the wire, and that should not be the case for the second best team in the East.

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Going all the way back to the first game of the season where the Celtics barely edged out the Nets for a five point victory, the Celtics are yet to figure out how to consistently play their best. The Celtics showed what they are capable of by defeating the Cavaliers, but that team is showing up far too infrequently this season.

Add on two slight victories over the 76ers, a tough win against the Knicks, and now this loss to the Suns, and the Celtics have far too many games where they look far from contenders. The Celtics have done a great job of figuring out how to win close games, but now it is time for them to figure out how to avoid having close games against the worst teams in the league.

The Celtics have very few blow out victories this season, and if it is any team other than the Magic, the Celtics continue to put themselves in far too difficult positions. A lot of it has to do with execution and a lot of it has to do with effort. The Celtics know that they are not putting together many complete games this season, and that is going to be a major problem in the playoffs.

The Celtics know that they are good enough to get commanding victories against these sub .500 teams, but if they continue to tolerate these sub par performances, they will be leaving themselves with absolutely no room for error in the playoffs.

Thomas has saved the Celtics time and time again this season, but that is not how they will be at their best. If the Celtics can combine Thomas’ remarkable fourth quarter play, with a complete effort for the other three quarters, then they will start to get the separation that they know they are capable of.

The Celtics are in a great position because of the strength of their schedule for the remainder of the season. They are in a commanding position for the two seed, with an outside chance at getting that one seed. The Celtics lose every advantage their schedule gives them if they continue to play like they did against the Sun against inferior teams.

The Celtics cannot expect to edge out every single close game, and that will be their biggest obstacle for the remainder of the season. The Celtics need to focus on consistently playing at the same level, no matter who the competition is, and then they can go into the playoffs at their strongest.

One good sign for the Celtics is that they have been phenomenal at bouncing back from these loses. They, better than anyone outside the team, realize how much better they are capable of playing. Even if Horford or Bradley do not return, the Celtics will bring a better effort against the Clippers, and they will certainly need it.

The Celtics had their best victory of the season against the Cavaliers, immediately after a terrible loss and effort against the Hawks. The Celtics need to similarly bounce back, but they will need a short memory with the Clippers coming on a back to back. They need to find that form and they need to keep it because things get even harder with the Warriors up next.

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Two victories against those teams will make the Suns loss significantly better, but that will not fix this problem with playing inferior teams. The playoffs are just around the corner and now would be the best time to finally figure out how to put away teams that should not be keeping up with the Celtics.

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