The Boston Celtics suffered a humbling defeat by the hands of the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder on Sunday as Joe Mazzulla’s workforce was held to only 27 factors in the course of the second half.
5 members of the Celtics’ rotation mixed for 0-of-19 within the ultimate 24 minutes of the sport, with 13 of their photographs coming from deep.
All through the competition, the Celtics took 46 three-point photographs regardless of being ice-cold from deep. Boston completed the night time with a 19.6% conversion fee. But, regardless of its struggles, the Celtics by no means modified their method.
Oklahoma Metropolis is likely one of the finest defensive groups within the NBA. Coming into the sport, it knew Boston led the league in perimeter makes an attempt however ranked 28th in rim frequency. Each shot Boston took from three-point vary was a small victory for the Thunder’s protection.
That is the place Mazzulla and his teaching employees should enhance. It is one factor to have an outlined fashion of play, however it’s one other to stay to your weapons when it is clear issues aren’t working. This is not the primary time Mazzulla has allowed the Celtics to shoot themselves out of a recreation, and sadly, it will not be the final.
Nonetheless, the actual fact stays that if a workforce is content material to remove your airspace and drive contested threes, the most effective counter is to drive the lane. The Celtics had a substantial measurement benefit towards the Thunder, but they hardly ever labored out of a Kristaps Porzingis post-up or allowed Jaylen Brown to blow up downhill off a display.
It is exhausting to criticize a Celtics workforce that dominated its solution to an NBA championship just some months in the past. But, different groups across the league have improved. Those self same groups have additionally gathered extra information on find out how to decelerate Boston’s offense.
If Mazzulla cannot discover a secondary offensive system to ease the strain when photographs aren’t falling, Boston’s possibilities of successful back-to-back titles are going to take a major blow.