They’re aiming to draw upon a lesson learned
ATLANTA — It’s been two days since the Celtics meltdown that led to a blown 30-point lead against the Hawks. In the standings, the 120-118 loss meant nothing. The Celtics clinched the Eastern Conference prior to the game.
Psychologically, it may have been more damaging. The Celtics have prided themselves this season on taking every opponent seriously and coveting large leads. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has consistently pointed to the March 3, 2023, loss to the Brooklyn Nets, where the Celtics wasted a 28-point firsthalf lead before losing, 115-105.
So as the team completed practice Wednesday at Georgia Tech University, Mazzulla was left to explain why his team sustained a mid-game letdown and allowed the Hawks to score 82 points in the final 28 minutes of the game.
“Just continue to work the habits and the stuff that we’re doing,” Mazzulla said about the purpose of Wednesday’s practice. “There’s multiple perspectives you can look at, you can focus on all the negative or you can focus on the positive. And you can focus on the habits of what we’ve [accomplished] over the course of the season where [blowing big leads] usually doesn’t happen to us.
“I thought it was important to understand that it’s a learning opportunity, kind of creates a little bit of hunger, a little bit of humility but at the same time we’ve got to continue to work on the details on both ends of the floor.”
Mazzulla said the team has been most consistent and focused this season, choosing to view Monday as an aberration. He added the team wants to avoid such a breakdown from occurring again, especially in the postseason.
“Acknowledging the fact that we’ve more than not haven’t taken our foot off the gas,” he said. “You can’t just . . . think that this is something habitual. In order to not have it [be] habitual, you got to have an awareness of it. So more times than not, that doesn’t happen.
“At the same time, the way the game is played; it’s a combination of everything. It’s defending the 3-point line, offensive rebounding, live-ball turnovers, not fouling and it’s fighting for your execution even when it becomes so easy for you. You’ve got to work those things through and do the best you can to minimize those.”
One of the more glaring plays down the stretch occurred in Celtics’ final possession when Jaylen Brown dribbled the shot clock down and then launched a contested 3-pointer that clanged off the rim with the Hawks leading by 1. The Celtics would never get the ball back.
Mazzulla said Brown would have been better served attacking the basket and either scoring at the rim or drawing a foul.
“So when Jaylen got the ball, the first thing that came to my mind was like he’s one of our best straight-line drivers,” Mazzulla said. “It’s one of the best things he does. This is a great opportunity to drive the ball.
But I have to be better at making sure we’re on the same page getting to the spacing. It was obviously loud in there. But saying what was supposed to happen, we really don’t know but ideally when Jaylen has the ball in that situation we want to give him as much space as possible.
“But I reiterated to Jaylen today, ‘Hey if you have the ball in a situation like that, we should be thinking space. We should be thinking drive, it’s one of the best things you do.’ Just got to clean that up.”
Mazzulla said Brown and Jayson Tatum have improved this season in their decisionmaking and late-game execution.
“I would say this year, they’ve gone down the road of better habits than they have,” he said. “It’s been very few moments where those habits have let them down. I think their growth and the habits they’ve been building and really their recognition of every single possession on both ends of the floor has drastically improved because of their work they’ve put in. They’ve minimized those a ton.
“You’ve always got to know that you have to empower your best players to go make a play at the end of the game. There’s nothing better than he does straight-live driving. It’s just constant conversation about what we do well.”
Tatum said the loss was a bitter lesson.
“Winning in the NBA is tough,” he said. “You never let your foot off the gas regardless how much time [is left] or how much you [are] up. Obviously, leads are gone all the time. It’s tough to be on the other side of it, but it’s a great lesson we can learn.”
Holiday getting close
Guard Jrue Holiday, who missed the past five games with an AC joint injury in his right shoulder, could return to action Thursday after practicing fully Wednesday. Holiday said he was improving after feeling discomfort following a hard screen from Washington’s Richaun Holmes on March 17. Xavier Tillman, who missed Monday’s game, was upgraded to questionable. Al Horford and Jaden Springer were also listed as questionable.
Derrick White, who also missed Monday, is expected to play, meaning the Celtics could start their projected playoff starting lineup — White, Holiday, Tatum, Brown and Kristaps Porzingis — for the first time since March 7.