Hardwood Houdini
Fansided

3 Boston Celtics New Year’s resolutions for 2022

By Andrew DiIorio

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - DECEMBER 22: The Boston Celtics bench reacts to Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on December 22, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - DECEMBER 22: The Boston Celtics bench reacts to Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden on December 22, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 3
Next

After a surprising win against the largely dominant Phoenix Suns, the Boston Celtics moved back to 17-19 on the season. In a calendar year filled with .500 level basketball, the C’s are looking to right the ship.

Currently, Boston finds themselves in the 9th position in the Eastern Conference, slotting them in for a seed in the play-in tournament. This result would signify a failure of a season, as with both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on the roster, the team should at least grab a secure playoff spot.

While the transition from head coach to president of basketball operations for Brad Stevens has not paid dividends just yet, there’s still time to turn it around considering the age and flexibility of the roster. Similarly, new head coach Ime Udoka has drawn criticism for his rotations among other coaching decisions.

The Boston Celtics need a change in the new year

It’s obvious the Boston Celtics need some drastic changes to consider themselves a contender for the NBA championship in the foreseeable future. Let’s look at three new year’s resolutions to help that goal.

Boston Celtics new year’s resolution #1: Fourth quarter improvement

It’s abundantly clear that one of the main issues for the Boston Celtics is their fourth-quarter struggles. They hold the second-worst net rating in the league in the final period at -9.6, only better than the Denver Nuggets (-13.2).

The C’s often play to the level or even better than their competition, yet let it all slip away in the final 12 minutes, falling into poor offensive habits and allowing the opposition to score quick points.

In this period, they’re 29th in effective FG% at 47.6%, only above the lowly 5-28 Detroit Pistons. For reference, a middle-of-the-pack team shoots around 51.6% in the fourth quarter. This extremely poor statistic is partly due to bad luck shooting-wise, but mostly due to a core philosophy and tendency of the late-game Celtics’ offense.

In the last five minutes, Boston almost always finds themselves running down the shot clock, having to rely on isolation buckets from either Brown or Tatum. Although both of them have the ability to get a shot for themselves in a one-on-one scenario, neither is necessarily efficient in those situations.

Sure, Boston has certainly missed their fair share of makeable shots at the end of games, but the consistent process of creating open looks has not been present over an extended period of time. If the Celtics can start to treat the fourth quarter just like any other quarter, they might be able to climb back into the playoff race.

However, as of now, their fourth-quarter woes are holding them back from going on any sort of winning streak.

Home/Celtics News