It starts at the top, as they say. For the Boston Celtics, the top simply hasn’t been as sharp over the past week or so. The Cs played some inspired basketball on the West Coast to start 2026 on the right foot. They ripped off a 4-1 record on their season-long road trip, and looked like they might be immortal.
Jaylen Brown dominated. Derrick White shook off his early-season shooting slump. Things were looking great.
Brown, in particular, put together some otherworldly hoops, headlined by his 50-point explosion at Intuit Dome against the Los Angeles Clippers. On the trip, he was good for 33.8 points per game on 57.5% from the field and 40% from long range.
White, while less efficient, still gave Boston great production on both ends of the floor. He averaged 21 points, 6.2 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 blocks, and 2.0 steals per game on 42.5% from the field and 30.4% from deep.
Once they returned home, however, the story changed.
In four appearances, Brown is down to 24.8 points per game on just 38.5% from the field. He’s also averaging 4.8 turnovers per outing.
Meanwhile, White looks like he did in October and November again. He’s still getting his points at 18.4 per game, but his efficiency has fallen off a cliff. Since the end of the West Coast trip, he’s made just 36.8% of his attempts overall and 23.6% from beyond the arc.
With how little these two have looked like themselves, it’s not shocking that the Celtics are 2-3 in their last five games, with all three losses coming in “clutch games.”
It’s tough to get across the finish line when your best players aren’t able to create great opportunities down the stretch.
The Celtics will get through this rough patch
This isn’t a sign to panic, by the way.
It should actually serve as the opposite. Boston’s supporting cast has remained effective for the most part, which is important in the long run. Getting good production from players like Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, and Hugo Gonzalez gives the Celtics more depth -- something many questioned whether or not they’d have this season.
Star players in the NBA are stars because they’re able to sustain high-level basketball on a consistent basis. Both Brown and White have proven that they’re reliable options for Boston for the past several years.
There’s no reason to believe that either player is going to stay cold forever. Brown, even with the recent cold stretch, is having the best season of his career. The good is more sustainable than the bad.
Five bad games don’t mean this season’s team is cooked, fraudulent, or that they’ll never amount to anything.
Does losing to the league-worst Indiana Pacers suck?
Yeah. But losses like this still happen to above-average to good teams. We’ve all been spoiled for the past two seasons with Boston winning 60+ games in each of them. Championship favorites don’t typically drop games to bottom-three teams.
Unfortunately for us all, it’s #DifferentHere this season. Thanks to the second apron and all of the moving parts the Cs have integrated in the past six months, fans can’t expect perfection.
Thankfully, they’ve gotten better results than most people would’ve expected to this point. Those sunny days should be back soon.