Playing down to their competition: Spurs matchup is more significant than many think

On Thursday night at the American Airlines Center, the Boston Celtics sent a message to the rest of the NBA with a resounding win against one of the league’s hottest ball clubs. Despite the victory, the common trend of showing up for the best of the best and overlooking teams in the bottom half of the standings continues. Luka Doncic was no doubt not himself throughout the entire night, but at the end of the day, Boston defeated a team that had not lost a contest since December 19.

Just a few days earlier, the Celtics put together one of the worst displays in the history of the franchise against a club that sits in 13th in the Western Conference. Joe Mazzulla’s squad owns an impressive 18-5 record against teams with a record over .500, but when the competition shifts to clubs with records below the .500 mark, Boston has put up a mediocre 9-7 display so far. Most of these losses have come recently, but when people talk about a team as a championship contender, that ball club should not be laying eggs as they have against teams that are far below them talent-wise.

A couple of those losses have come against competent teams that are playoff contenders like the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, but there is no way there should be a three-game stretch at home where Boston loses to two teams that feature an abundant amount of players that are young, inexperienced, and unproven.

San Antonio is next on tap for the Boston Celtics to conclude their road trip, and while the Spurs will be on the second night of a back-to-back, Mazzulla has to stress the importance of getting the job done against a team like this. What do you do when nobody is watching? That is the question this Celtics’ team has to ask themselves. When the lights are on, this team responds with a game defined by pace and precise decision-making, but when the public’s eye moves away, how do the Cs build a stable sandcastle?

San Antonio has beaten the Cavaliers with Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland healthy and gave both the Grizzlies and Mavericks a run for their money at different points in the campaign. Mixed in are jarring losses by shocking margins, but the results above show just what this young Spurs team is capable of on any given night.

After what happened at the Paycom Center earlier this week, Boston must put its troubles against below .500 competition behind them before it returns home to take on two talented teams looking to knock off the current top dog in the NBA.

The Boston Celtics can beat every team but they sometimes simply play flat

Everyone now knows without hesitation that Jayson Tatum and the rest of the crew are going to get up against the teams in the top half of the standings. From impressive wins on national television against the Bucks, and Mavericks to a convincing victory over the then-best in the West Phoenix Suns, Boston knows what it is going to take to defeat playoff-caliber opponents.

Two top-three teams in their respective conferences and a club that has beaten them twice await around the corner next week, so continuing the momentum that was snatched back in Dallas is vital. Last season, Gregg Popovich’s team was a thorn in Boston’s side, beating them twice while keeping it under 100 points. Friday evening is going to be the 100th time these two foes have faced off in an NBA game. Losses to the Thunder, two to the Magic, and even one to the Pacers have begun the narrative of the C’s lack of mental toughness against some of the bottom-table teams in the league. Brooklyn is breathing down Boston’s neck at the moment, and if the Celtics want to maintain their grip on the Eastern Conference there has to be a focus on bringing the energy night in and night out.

The toxicity of Dennis Schroder on the court was still very much present on the court during the times of the last two matchups between these two teams, but at the end of the day, San Antonio has always been a hurdle the Boston Celtics have always struggled to overcome. Boston has just two wins in the last nine contests against Popovich and the always-competitive Spurs.

This is a championship team, and the title contenders’ task is to put those bottom dwellers around the league in their place. Many Boston Celtics fans after what happened in Dallas assume that Boston is going to roll over the Spurs, but think again. The Cs visit to the AT&T Center is critical in not squashing all the positives that were gained in Dallas. Seven losses so far have come from teams that are below .500, so even if there is a last-minute injury on the opposing team, Boston must come out no matter what like it is playing against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.