BOSTON — Let’s be real: The Boston Celtics have a lot of problems. But before they can fix them all (which they probably won’t do) they first must fix one of them.
Before the start of the season, the starting lineup — or “death lineup,” as it was called in those days — was low on the list of potential concerns. Heck, it probably wasn’t even on anybody’s list. But whether it be starting games slow or playing uninspired out of halftime, Boston’s starting five has been inconsistent all season long, regardless of its form. And that trend continued Sunday night in a disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets.
It’s hard to imagine Celtics head coach Brad Stevens pulling Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum or Al Horford from the starting five. But Marcus Morris? That’s a different story.
After an All-Star-caliber start to the season, Morris’ play has dropped off over the last two months. Prior to the new year, Morris started in 16 of 33 games, averaging 15.5 points while shooting 50.1 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from 3-point range. In the 25 games since (all starts), he’s averaging 13.0 points while shooting 42.2 percent from the field and 31.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Oh, and those numbers don’t factor in his dud Sunday night: A zero-point, zero-assist effort while going 0-for-3 from the field, 0-for-2 from distance and 0-for-2 from the free-throw line. He was benched for much of the second half.
There’s also the eye test to consider, and Morris simply isn’t playing as well nor providing the same impact as he was a couple months ago.
Jaylen Brown, by contrast, is surging.
Since Dec. 31, Brown is averaging 14.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists while shooting 47.9 percent from the field. His 3-point percentage (36.2 percent in that stretch) still is an eyesore, but overall, the third-year guard’s play has drastically improved since an ugly start to the season.
So, whether it be replacing Morris or even guard Marcus Smart, Brown (who began the season in the starting lineup) is making a case for being re-inserted into the starting five.
However, Stevens doesn’t seem ready to pull the trigger on a lineup shuffle.
“We’ll look at everything — we’ve been looking at everything after every game,” Stevens said after Sunday’s loss at TD Garden. ” … There’s things that are helpful in (considering lineup changes), and things things that are not helpful. And if it’s the root of your issues, then a small tweak can help.
“I’m not sure that that’s our root. That said, we still are evaluating tweaks regardless. So, we have to just — we just have to keep working to all play better, rather than when we play.”
Again, the Celtics have a myriad of issues, and a lineup tweak is unlikely to cure what ails them. But at this point (losing seven of their last 10 games), it might be time to try anything.
Here are some other notes from Celtics-Rockets:Â
— Kyrie Irving again was brief and short with his answers during the post game, offering somewhere between 20-40 words overall.
— And that shouldn’t be surprising, given how testy he was when arriving to the game.
— The Celtics, who trailed by 20-plus for much of the game, scored the first 10 points of the fourth quarter and outscored Houston 26-15 in the frame. They narrowed the deficit to eight at one point after trailing by 28 points in the second half.
— James Harden (42 points) and Eric Gordon (32 points) combined to score 74 points while shooting 14-for-30 from 3-point range.
— Irving finished with a team-high 24 points for the Celtics.
— Center Aron Baynes (foot) returned from his 11-game absence and scored four points while puling down four rebounds in 12 minutes.
