Boston Celtics: Why now is not the time to panic

The Boston Celtics have lost four of their last five, and find themselves with a .500 record. But guess what, it’s still November, and there’s no need to panic.

The Boston Celtics are off to a much slower start than what most NBA fans expected in 2018-2019.

As of Monday morning, they’re 10-10 and have lost four of their last five contests. By comparison, Boston didn’t receive their 10th loss until Christmas day during the 2017 season.

Their lowest moment of the year came during a 113-104 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night, where the ageless J.J. Barea dropped 20 points on 9-16 shooting, to go along with eight assists. The uninspired performance led Boston’s very own Bill Simmons to tweet this.

The problem stems from too many threes, and surprisingly lackluster defense (according to NBA.com, they rank 12th in the NBA in general defense).

More from Chowder and Champions

• 3 Midseason Chaim Bloom Decisions That Have Killed the 2023 Red Sox
• 10 Patriots Who Will Be Cut by Tuesday’s Roster Deadline
• MLB Screws Red Sox Fans With Broadcast for Mookie Betts Return
• 3 Most Underpaid Celtics Heading Into the 2023 Season
• Red Sox Continue Rollercoaster Season With Massive Win

Not to mention, Jaylen Brown is struggling mightily in his third official season in the NBA. He’s shooting 25 percent from three-point range on 4 attempts per game, which is abysmal for a guy many compared to Paul George. It’s equally as surprising when you think his role is much smaller than it was in the playoffs back in May.

Gordon Hayward is also continuing his recovery, making things harder for Brad Stevens when thinking of what lineup changes he should make on a day-to-day basis.

Also, the organization still needs to figure out the ongoing problem of their inability to get Al Horford the ball. Regardless, there’s no need to worry as a Boston Celtics fan.

Why there’s no need to worry

Sure, the Boston Celtics may be the biggest disappointment so far in 2018, but it’s only November. There have been plenty of other teams that have started off the year even slower, and still managed to have a decent record heading into the postseason.

For example, the 2004-2005 Chicago Bulls squad started their regular season at 1-9, before finishing 47-35. Clearly, this Celtics squad is much more talented than that Bulls organization that featured Ben Gordon and a young Tyson Chandler as their best players. No one on that team even comes close to matching Kyrie Irving’s raw talent, or Al Horford’s veteran presence.

It’s not like the Celtics have been abysmal either, just severely inconsistent. One can surely be worried, but I still trust Brad Stevens ability to bring them together when needed. Honestly, they can rattle off eight wins in a row at any moment.

Their schedule features their next ten games against opponents who have either had their own slow start to the season or have just been flat out terrible. These include games with the Bulls, Suns, and Pistons. All are winnable contests.

Their vaunted beginning of the year road trip is also in the rear view, meaning they won’t have to deal with traveling to the west coast until March. It’s always tough starting your year away from your home court.

In the meantime, the success of the Boston Celtics will solely depend on finding out everyone’s roles and working more as a team. Moving the ball, and getting it into the spot will be the next step for improvement. With the Sixers, Bucks, and Raptors all playing phenomenal, things need to improve for Boston.

Whether it takes until Christmas, or as late as March, this Celtics team will turn it on eventually. And when that happens, it will be special.