The Boston Celtics are currently standing in a peculiar situation.
As the reigning and defending world champions who cemented a historic campaign last year, expectations are sky-high for the Boston Celtics in this 2024-25 season. But recently, they aren’t living up to the hype enough as inconsistencies are evident at their side.
From the losses, lack of effort, and inability to maintain their momentum, doubts and frustrations are now growing for the Celtics heading to the most important part of the regular season.
Their Saturday night 119-115 overtime loss against the Atlanta Hawks offered the Celtics their latest loss..
Boston led by as much as 12 points in the marquee contest and were up by eight early in the fourth quarter, before the Hawks outscored them 46-36 for the remainder of the match.
The Celtics were already on the cusp of winning it with 20.1 seconds left in regulation while leading 103-100, but a Jrue Holiday turnover and a Jayson Tatum free-throw split allowed the Hawks to push for an extension and eventually get the escape victory.
Inquired if he is bothered by this loss as this marks another inefficient performance from Boston, head coach Joe Mazzulla simply brushed off any worries.
“There’s no fear,” Mazzulla said. “I’m actually more excited at this juncture of the season than I was at the beginning.”
He continued: “Because, as I said, this is part of it. It’s the fun part. And again, we talk about what we’ve been able to accomplish as a team in the past, and if we’re going to be on a journey together for however long that is, two years, whatever the case may be, this is what you sign up for.
“This is the most fun part that you have to have. And as long as we’re in it, that’s how we’re going to attack it.
“So, I didn’t mean to cut off your question, but there’s zero fear whatsoever. If anything, there’s excitement. And this is the journey. So, sign me up for this.”
The loss against Atlanta gave Boston its fourth loss over the past seven games. As such, they are now 8-8 in the last 16.
Their slow movement throughout this stretch have made their progress stagnant in establishing their ground atop the Eastern Conference standings. With a 29-13 record, their gap against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (35-6) gets wider. Meanwhile, the New York Knicks are now just 2.5 games behind in trailing them at the No. 2 spot.
At the end of the day, Mazzulla accepts the challenge as he can’t be more confident about his team’s capabilities to respond from adversities.
“We need to fix it. We have to fix the details. And we will. And we’ll do that. But what keeps me one, and kind of what I’m explaining to you is I trust the character and the mindset and the preparation of our team. And over the course of a long stretch, whether that’s ‘til All-Star break, ‘til season, ‘til the playoffs,’ til next year. I don’t know, but there’s just the utmost trust in how they carry themselves.
“There’s not a group of people that I would rather go through something difficult together with. So again, sign me up. It doesn’t mean I’m happy. But this is the thought process about how we’re going to go about it.”
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