Game 5 wasn’t first time they’ve fallen flat
Tuesday’s embarrassing performance against the 76ers was the Celtics’ “first really, really bad game of the playoffs,” according to Boston coach Joe Mazzulla.
“That was the first game of the playoffs that we didn’t play well, in my opinion,” Mazzulla said after a 115-103 defeat. “It doesn’t come at necessarily the best time, but we just have to shift our perspective and get ready for the next game.”
While Mazzulla may deem Game 5 of the second round his team’s worst showing of the postseason, the Celtics have fallen flat on multiple occasions — and nobody seems to have an explanation for why the lackluster efforts keep happening.
There’s no primary culprit. Looking at Tuesday alone . . . Jayson Tatum started the game 0 for 6, following up his 0-for-8 start in Game 4. Al Horford, who considers himself an “elite shooter,” missed all seven of his 3-point attempts, including some wide-open looks. Grant Williams committed two ill-advised fouls within 33 seconds, leading to four free throws for Joel Embiid.
The Celtics bench, one of the team’s greatest strengths, combined for just 11 points before Mazzulla pulled the starters in the fourth quarter. The Celtics shot just 31.6 percent from behind the arc. When they make at least 40 percent of their 3-pointers, they are 34-2 (regular season and playoffs). When they can’t convert at that rate, they are 2927.
Embiid and James Harden in the pick-and-roll picked apart the Celtics defense, with Embiid scoring the majority of his points on mid-range jumpers. Harden said after the game that the two established a rhythm in response to Boston’s drop coverage, and the Celtics never adjusted.
Perhaps of most concern, given the circumstances, is that the Celtics lacked focus and urgency. Mazzulla wasn’t sure if disappointment carried over from their Game 4 overtime loss. He tried to explain the night by saying the Celtics had such a strong desire to win that it led to poor play.
“I think when you have the intentions of really, really wanting to win, it doesn’t work out for you well sometimes,” he said. “I think we had intentions of really, really wanting to win, and trying to win it, sometimes when that happens, it has a negative effect. You just have to play with a freer mind and take a deep breath. Regardless of the situation, we just have to be ready to play.”
Looking back further . . . Jaylen Brown decided to double Embiid in the final moments of Game 4, leaving Harden open from the 3-point arc. Then Mazzulla didn’t call a timeout, as Tatum and Marcus Smart took their time and couldn’t get a shot off on the last play.
Looking back even further . . . Up, 3-1, in their first-round series, the Celtics had a chance to close out the seventh-seeded Hawks in five games. Doing so would have pushed up the start date of their second-round series, cutting into the recovery time for Embiid’s sprained knee. But they surrendered a 13-point fourth-quarter lead and lost on a 30-foot game-winner from Trae Young.
As the Celtics search for answers, there are some tweaks Mazzulla can try. Derrick White, a primary contributor on both ends of the floor during the regular season and first round, has largely disappeared in this series but has remained in the starting lineup. Mazzulla could instead start Robert Williams for a double-big lineup.
But it’s possible the most effective solution is simply trying harder. The Celtics have a talented roster with postseason experience. Up until Tuesday night, Las Vegas considered them the favorites to win the championship.
The Celtics don’t have much time to regroup and diagnose whatever has been going wrong. Whatever the changes are, one thing is clear: Both Mazzulla and the players are deserving of blame — and both will have to step up Thursday in Game 6.