The Boston Celtics have a lot of good things going for them, but star power isn’t exactly one of them. So, when the Celtics found themselves down early Monday night to the talent-laden Los Angeles Clippers, they faced a bit of a dilemma: Chip away with hard-nosed play, or try to match the Clippers shot for shot.
Needless to say, they chose the wrong course of action.
Boston’s offense suffered through one of its more disappointing outputs of the season, as the C’s shot 35 percent from the floor and placed just three players (Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley) in double figures in a 24-point loss at Staples Center.
“I thought any time that we got close, we didn’t play with any composure to get back over the hump,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said in a postgame interview aired on CSN New England. “I think that part of that has to do with being competitive and trying to hit home runs all the time when you’re trying to mount a comeback, but we’ve got to do a better job in those situations than we did (Monday night).”
It’s hard to fault a team for its competitiveness, but on this particular night, the Celtics’ will to win seemed to backfire. The Clippers shot lights-out in the first half, going 7-for-11 from 3-point range as part of a 67-point outburst before halftime. They kept firing away in the second half, as Jamal Crawford hit a pair of absurd 3-pointers in the third quarter to put L.A. up by 20.
The Clippers’ shooting display threw Boston off its game, as the Celtics took uncharacteristically quick shots in attempt to keep pace with L.A.’s attack. Unfortunately, the C’s didn’t have nearly the firepower to find success with this strategy:Â Boston attempted a total of 45 shots in the second and third quarters combined but made just 13, while the Clippers made 22 shots 44 attempts in the same span.
“When you’re down 20, it’s not an easy thing, right?” Stevens added. “So, your competitive spirit, the part of you that wants to get it all back at once, thinks ‘home run, home run,’ and you really just have to hit singles and hope that you can chip away one possession at a time.
“We did that at times, but then when they make a basket — I thought we had three or four possessions there in the third quarter where just came down kind of haphazard and were hoping more than knowing. And we just have to be better than that.”
The Celtics are capable of playing at a fast pace, but they’re not going to out-slug many teams, especially a sharpshooting bunch like the Clippers. They’d do well to learn that lesson quickly, though, as a matchup with the most fearsome “hitters” in the NBA awaits Friday in the Golden State Warriors.
Thumbnail photo via Richard Mackson/USA TODAY Sports Images
