The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Celtics are the biggest disappointment thanks to injuries, offseason misfires
Last year’s Boston Celtics thrived thanks to sound structure and pluck, qualities that have proved elusive in what has been a maddening season to date.
In the bubble, the pieces fit brilliantly and roles were clear: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were the wing leaders, Kemba Walker provided backcourt scoring pop, Marcus Smart brought the hustle and Daniel Theis did the dirty work inside. Boston breezed through the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round, gutted out tough wins over the Toronto Raptors in the conference semifinals and rallied from an early hole against the Miami Heat to turn in a respectable showing before losing in the conference finals. The tandem rises of Tatum and Brown promised a long championship window, and Boston departed Disney World with every reason to believe it would be the team to beat in the East.
But the Celtics’ horrific collapse against the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, in which they blew a
24-point third-quarter lead to lose 120-115 in overtime, was the latest illustration of how far this season has strayed from those rosy dreams. Boston sits at 15-15, pondering existential questions about its structure, camaraderie and longerterm direction.
“We’ve got to figure some things out,” Walker said after a Feb. 14 loss to the Washington Wizards. “It ain’t many positives. I’m going to be honest. We’re not good right now.” Later, Walker added that “it can’t get no worse than this” and “we’re not playing hard,” for emphasis.
Early warning signs emerged in the offseason: Gordon Hayward departed in free agency for a bigger contract and larger role with the Charlotte Hornets, while Walker received treatment for a bothersome knee that cost him the first 11 games of the year. Losing Hayward with nothing in return was a crushing blow in the neverending arms race among contenders, and Walker’s poor play since returning from injury has only compounded those concerns.
After serving as a capable stand-in for Kyrie Irving and earning a 2020 all-star selection, Walker is shooting just
37.1% overall this season, he’s taking a career-low 10% of his shots from within three feet, and he’s averaging a career-low 3.1 free throw attempts. Given his lack of size and limited defensive impact, Walker isn’t an especially helpful player if he can’t get to the rim, earn trips to the line or keep defenses honest with his jumper.
Tatum and Brown, who should both be named allstar reserves this week, have ably picked up the slack. Both are averaging careerhighs in scoring, and they continue to form one of the league’s most intriguing wing duos. The 22-year-old Tatum has done so despite a recent bout with covid-19, which he said left him getting “fatigued a lot quicker
than normal” because it “messes with your breathing a little bit.”
The balanced lineups that surrounded Tatum and Brown last season are gone, replaced by groups that often feature two centers, simultaneously. The result is an offense that has dropped from fifth last year to 16th this year in efficiency, with Tatum and Brown often settling for tough, bailout shots due to spacing concerns and a lack of secondary shooters. Boston has also plummeted to 22nd in threepoint attempts, ahead of only a few projected playoff teams.
“One of the challenges of our team is that when you get past our best perimeter players, the next three best guys as far as production goes, at first blush, are [centers],” Celtics Coach Brad Stevens acknowledged on Sunday, referring to Theis, Tristan Thompson and Robert Williams.