It’s been a long December for the Boston Celtics but there’s reason to believe that the coming months will be better than their last. That’s at least according to Brad Stevens, who won’t blame a lack of rest on his team’s recent struggles.
The latest sign of trouble was a Christmas Day game against rival Washington where Kyrie Irving and Co. simply couldn’t find another gear against Brad Beal and John Wall, who pulled away for a 111-103 win at the Garden to avenge Boston’s win in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals last summer.
The Celtics are 27-10 and still have the second best record in the East next to the Toronto Raptors, but a 5-5 stretch in their last 10 games is a clear sign that Boston isn’t clicking like they were at the start of the season. Whether it’s the absence of Gordon Hayward that’s finally making its presence felt or something more spiritual at play, Stevens won’t let his team blame a tight schedule for its current issues.
Stevens told Yahoo Sports’ Chris Mannix that a lack of rest isn’t what’s making the Celtics struggle.
The schedule has been brutal. Boston was tabbed for the NBA’s annual London game this year, and the schedule-makers — at the Celtics’ behest — gave the team four days off before and after. The fallout has been a compressed, pre-London schedule that has had Boston playing more games (37) at this point than any team in the league.
Big deal? Boston doesn’t think so. “Everyone is tired in the league,” coach Brad Stevens said. “Everybody has 82 games. We’ve had plenty of rest.” Still, it’s hard to ignore the evidence. Entering the game against the Wizards, Boston had played 150 more minutes than Washington. The vaunted Celtics defense — No. 1 in the NBA through its first 26 games — has fallen to 18th in its last 10. Turnovers are up. Rebounding has cratered.
It’s a fair answer, but plenty will blame how hard the Celtics have played early on for their general malaise in December. Al Horford, however, thinks the Celtics are getting better despite their record.
“There’s not much difference, I just think you go through ups and downs in a season,” Horford told Yahoo. “We are still the same team. I actually think that we are better.”
That may be true, but they’re not the only team that’s getting “better” as the season goes on. And other teams, most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers, are actually getting back major pieces they’re missing. Hayward might actually return this season, but the Celtics have to get back on track well before that happens if they want to compete for a title this year.
