The Boston Celtics dropped their second game in a row with a brutal 108-103 loss against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The C’s did well to build a double-digit lead but surrendered it after a poor second-half performance. This happens far too often with this shamrocks squad and they just can’t seem to figure out how to fix things.
It certainly didn’t help that Jayson Tatum entered Health and Safety Protocols before tonight’s game but they should have had more than enough firepower to beat an equally shorthanded, if not even more so Timberwolves team.
The Wolves were without all five of their starters and had absolutely no business beating the Boston Celtics Monday night.
Throughout the outing, there was some good, some bad, and lots of ugly as the C’s find themselves with more questions than answers following the loss:
The good: Al Horford & Grant Williams return to action with strong performances
Al Horford and Grant Williams missed the last few games after entering NBA’s Health and Safety Protocols. Both players have been huge positives for the Boston Celtics this season and their absence has been noticeable.
Horford played a great all-around game by scoring 16 points, grabbing nine boards, and dishing out six assists. The big man adds another dimension to this offense with his playmaking ability and provides great leadership when he’s on and off the floor.
The C’s center shot 50 percent from deep on eight attempts. When he’s shooting well from beyond the arc Boston should be virtually unbeatable. For a team that loves isolation scoring, having a big man that can stretch the floor should open the court for players like Jaylen Brown to operate efficiently, but unfortunately they were not able to capitalize on this.
Grant Williams proved once again that he has developed into a legitimate 3-point threat. He scored 15 points in his return and finished with three of his five attempts from beyond the arc falling.
It wasn’t that long ago when Williams missed his first 25 3-point attempts for his career, but now he is shooting a phenomenal 45.3 percent on 3.4 attempts per game.
Horford’s all-around play and William’s stellar long-range shooting is going to be crucial for the Celtics moving forward if they are to turn their season around.
The bad: Robert Williams III was outplayed by both of Minnesota’s big men
Robert Williams III has been great for the Boston Celtics this season. When he’s been healthy, he provides them with great rim protection, a crazy athletic lob threat, and great passing for a center.
Unfortunately, during Monday’s outing, Williams was unable to match his usual play and was outperformed by his matchups as a result.
The fourth-year center didn’t have a poor stat line by any means. He finished with eight points, 11 rebounds, and a game-high four blocks.
Despite these solid numbers, however, he just couldn’t prevent Nathan Knight and Greg Monroe from eating him up inside.
Knight finished with 20 points and 11 boards, both of which are well above his season averages of 2.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. He got all of his looks around the rim and Time Lord didn’t make his presence felt as much as he should have.
As for former Boston Celtics big Greg Monroe, he looked phenomenal in his first game back after a two-and-a-half-year hiatus. He did a little bit of everything for the Wolves and flirted with a triple-double, as he posted11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists were crucial to the team’s second-half comeback.
It isn’t entirely fair to put all the blame on Williams III here, but the C’s have grown accustomed to a certain level of play from him that he just couldn’t match tonight.
Knight and Monroe both played outstanding games but realistically Williams should dominate those matchups on both ends of the floor so it was a disappointing performance from the fourth-year center to say the least.
The ugly: The Boston Celtics blew yet another double-digit second-half lead
There are not enough words to describe how ugly this Boston Celtics team can be.
They seem to make just enough plays to put themselves in a position to win before collapsing down the stretch.
They blew a double-digit second-half lead to a team with a record below .500 and that is missing all five of their starters.
The Celtics had no excuse to lose this game but not only did they lose, but they also blew it in a way that is becoming all too familiar for this team.
This happened a few times early in the season for Boston, but the general consensus among fans was that it is still early and this team will figure it out. The NBA is approaching the midway point of the season and the Boston Celtics… well, haven’t figured out anything.
They find themselves two games below .500 now and more than half of their losses were due to some type of collapse in the second half.
The C’s have now collapsed in back-to-back games, both of which they should’ve closed out. At least in the case of the Bucks collapse, there was a superstar on the other team in Giannis Antetokounmpo making superstar plays, but during Monday’s match, there was no such superstar.
The T-Wolves are a roster full of bench players and 10-day contracts yet they were able to claw their way back and beat a Celtics team that, yes is also shorthanded, but should be more than capable of pulling away with a win.
Things really can’t get any uglier for these Boston Celtics… right?