The Boston Celtics put in another pour effort in a 126-116 loss to the Chicago Bulls Saturday night at the United Center.
The highs and lows of the Boston Celtics 2018-19 NBA season continued Saturday night in a lackluster 126-116 loss to Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen and the Chicago Bulls.
It was a frustrating night for the Celtics when it came to effort. After a tough loss to the Milwaukee Bucks coming off the NBA All-Star break, it was clear the team wasn’t taking the Bulls serious in this game.
Given the Celtics beat the Bulls by 56 points the last time the two teams met at the United Center, Brad Stevens’ team chalked this one up as an easy win. Except, they forgot to show up and actually play the game before it was too late.
The Bulls have been a struggling basketball team, but they still have talent. Most importantly, they still have players with pride, and it shown as two of their young starts, LaVine and Markkanen, simply put it to the Celtics all night long.
The defensive effort wasn’t there as the Boston Celtics gave up over 30 points in the remaining three quarters after ending the first quarter with a five-point lead. They were also bullied on the boards, out-rebounded 49-32. Despite leading the team in scoring with 37 points and 10 assists, Kyrie Irving really had no impact on the game.
Overall, a disappointing loss on multiple levels.
While Brad Stevens is once again shouldering the blame for the team’s inconsistent play, the players in the locker room opened up about yet another performance that can be chalked up as the “worst loss of the season.”
Playoffs?
Boston Celtics veteran forward Al Horford was one of the few players who came out with energy in Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls.
Along with Jayson Tatum, Horford came out hot from the field. The big man when 5-for-5 from the floor and scored 10 points in the first quarter. But, like the rest of the team, cooled off as the game progressed.
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Perhaps it was the lineup combinations Brad Stevens threw out there, particularly in the second quarter, but whoever is out there need to match the intensity of the opposing team. Knowing what it takes to win in the NBA. Horford stressed working on the team’s issues before even thinking about the playoffs.
"“We have to take it a game at a time,” Horford said, via A. Sherrod Blakely. “We can’t think playoffs. That’s not here yet. There’s a lot of things we have to work out.”"
With a big game coming up against the Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics have to look deep within themselves and figure out what is lacking on nights like Saturday night. They play good basketball against the good teams and barely show up against teams like the Chicago Bulls.
It’s those games and losses that will impact the team’s seeding in the Eastern Conference and whether they have homecourt advantage or not come playoff time.
Where is the fire?
Following a dreadful second quarter against the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics came out in the third quarter following halftime with the same lack of energy and fight.
Falling down by as many as 25 points, the Celtics just couldn’t find a way to match the high-level of intensity the Bulls were playing with until it was basically too late.
As usual, the Celtics did make a run in the game, getting within 8 points early in the fourth quarter. But, again, Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen made big buckets to keep the Bulls ahead and punching back when the Celtics made their run.
On que, Marcus Smart took the team’s performance very personal and called out the team’s fight following the game.
"“Our toughness. Our will to fight. Our will to do everything,” Smart said, via Jay King of the Athletic. “It’s like we ain’t got the will to do it anymore.”"
This isn’t the first time the team’s will to win has been called out. They typically respond for a few games, but then there is a game like Saturday night against the Bulls. Is it a lack of interest or does the team just feel like they can step on the court and win games without the effort?
Whatever it is, it is not the way Marcus Smart is used to playing and it is not the Boston Celtics basketball fans have become accustomed to. Perhaps the impact of Aron Baynes is greater than everyone thinks. It seems the team has played its best basketball when the Australian big man is healthy and on the court.
No time for frustration
After leading the team with 37 points and 10 assists, what did Kyrie Irving have to say about another embarrassing loss?
Well, the All-Star guard surprisingly said he wasn’t worried about the loss. In fact, he insisted that he no longer gets frustrated about his team’s up and down season because the Celtics have proved they can beat and compete against the top teams in the NBA.
Speaking to the media following the game, Irving highlighted that it is a long NBA regular season and what matters most is how the team plays during the playoffs. The only problem with that is the team continues to make things harder on themselves as far as seeding goes with these inexcusable losses.
Still, Kyrie Irving isn’t worried because he is on the team and knows how far the team can go when they play to their capability.
"“It is what it is,” Irving said via NBC Sports Boston. “I don’t get frustrated about this stuff anymore. It’s just part of the regular season. In the playoffs when we’re playing one team, preparing for one team, I still don’t see anybody beating us in seven games.”"
Sounding a lot like LeBron James, Kyrie may be taking the team’s season long inconsistency for granted. The Boston Celtics have the talent and depth to compete with anyone.
The problem is, they have yet to prove they can put together a string of games and do it consistently over a period of time like they will need to do in the playoffs.