The Boston Celtics once again bounced back with a victory against the Memphis Grizzlies
We are still not at a point where we can say the Boston Celtics have broken out of the worst stretch of the season. They still have lost three of their last six games, and that is no where near the standard of winning this team needs to establish.
The Celtics need to get their defense back on track, and they need to be playing more consistently. They need to get back to doing more of the little things, so that their surging offense can show the league what kind of damage they can really do.
The Celtics have lost ground in the standings, and look like they have come back to earth, but it has not been all bad during this stretch. One great thing to look at is that the Celtics are showing how good they are at bouncing back.
Obviously, they need to add some consistency, but the Celtics are refusing to lose multiple games in a row, and that is saving the number one seed for them.
More from Hardwood Houdini
- Boston Celtics’ two-way contract decision will be made after training camp
- Proposed trade sends Boston Celtics playoff killer to the Cs from rival
- ‘Face of Germany’s stunning run’ in FIBA World Cup not the only ex-Boston Celtics player to win gold
- Proposed Boston Celtics trade target pitched for reunion with fired coach
- Battle For Banner 18: Will Boston Celtics battle historical foe in 2024 Finals?
Other than the first two games of the season, the Celtics have followed up every single loss with a win, and this most recent one was on back to backs. During this stretch, it has felt like the Celtics have been a bit more tentative, and have taken things for granted. Fortunately, the Celtics are not doing that after a loss, preventing their struggles from snowballing too much.
Bouncing back against the Memphis Grizzlies is hardly something to get too excited about, but it was a nice confidence booster for their defense and for Jayson Tatum. Kyrie Irving was back to his brilliance, and the depth helped out. Maybe the Celtics needed an easy opponent to settle back into playing their best, because they looked like the team we saw during that great stretch to start the season against the Grizzlies.
The problem is that the Celtics still have a lack of practice time and a set of back to backs because of an odd part of the schedule, and this recent habit of following every win with a loss is on the verge of costing them home court advantage.
Bouncing back after one loss is great for this team, but they need to build on it. They still have not been bringing their best offense with their best defense, and now that they are struggling like this, it is a more pressing issue to get that peak balance. The Grizzlies win was a start, but where they go from here will determine whether or not the Celtics have truly bounced back from this tough stretch.
Hopefully, Stevens really got the attention of the team by calling out their effort and intensity following the last loss. This team has immense talent, but they are still waiting for everything to come together properly, before that talent will carry them to commanding victories.
The way the Celtics set such a great standard of winning to start the season is because of that effort and the extra plays made on top of the immense talent. During this stretch, it feels like the Celtics are taking a bit more for granted, and that needs to stop.
Next: Celtics No Longer Winning Ugly
For now, there is still reason to be uneasy. The Celtics need to get on another strong winning streak before they can really be confident about where they are this season, and anything less than that could cost them the number one seed.