“The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
Right?
Change was a massive theme for the Boston Celtics this summer. The front office shook up the roster and made several cost-cutting moves to avoid spending above the second apron for a third straight season.
Expectations around the team changed. Instead of being championship favorites, they now project to be a middle-of-the-road type of squad that still lends itself to some optimism.
In spite of all of the change, Boston started its season the same way they ended the last -- by blowing a lead.
Celtics' playoff collapses vs. Knicks were replicated vs. 76ers
Their 117-116 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers in Wednesday’s opener felt like it was going to be a win late in the fourth quarter. The Celtics found themselves up by nine with just 3:47 remaining, but couldn’t hold off the Sixers and a red-hot Tyrese Maxey, who scored 15 of his 40 points in the final frame.
It kind of felt like rewatching a scary movie. You know the jumpscare is coming, but it still sort of gets you.
I want to sit here and be really mad about this, but I can't quite get there.
The collapse, if you want to call it that, didn’t feel as gutwrenching as the two 20-point letdowns in last season’s playoff series against the New York Knicks.
Maybe it was because the stakes were significantly lower, as were the expectations. Maybe it was because of how it happened. Maybe I'm just happy to have basketball back.
Instead of Boston’s offense coming to a screeching halt like it did back in May, the buckets kept coming. They created plenty of good opportunities and still managed to score 30 points in the fourth, which isn’t bad by any means.
Sure, it’s not difficult to nitpick the final possession. Payton Pritchard wound up taking two tough shots to try and win the game. Why didn’t the ball find Jaylen Brown or Derrick White? Why didn’t Pritchard kick to open shooters when he hit the paint?
The 76ers did everything they could to keep the ball out of Brown or White’s hands, while Pritchard navigated the growing pains that came with his first real NBA game-winning opportunity.
It could’ve been better, but it wasn’t the only reason why the outcome was what it was.
If you’re looking for the main reason, look no further than the fourth-quarter defense.
“I mean, if you give up 42, you probably give up a little bit of everything,” Joe Mazzulla told reporters after the game.
There’s a layer to this where it’s tough to win a game in crunch time when the opposing team has the two hottest scorers on the floor. Maxey and VJ Edgecombe were just on another level. It was unbelievable to watch.
If you ask the Celtics, that’s no excuse for the 42 points that they allowed down the stretch.
“We got to do a better job, especially on one of their better players on the floor,” Jaylen Brown explained. “Got to be more attention to detail on him. We let him kind of play free a little bit. Somebody got to make sure we can't let that happen. I don't know if we were too focused on the offense end, but we can't just let guys come here and just do what they want.”
With the influx of new players, growth is going to be a big theme throughout the year for this Celtics team. Losing the opener wasn’t the outcome they’d hoped for, but there’s plenty of time to improve.