Celtics Notes: Why Brad Stevens Is ‘More Encouraged Than Discouraged’ By Loss

The Celtics were a hot mess Sunday afternoon, plain and simple.

Boston fell 100-91 to the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena, dropping to 12-10 as a result. Marcus Smart (left calf tear) and Jaylen Brown (left knee soreness) were out of commission, and it was pretty noticeable from the start on the frontcourt.

The C’s completed just 33 of their 93 shots for a measly 35.5% success rate. They had an especially difficult time with the two, hitting just 16 of 49 attempts.

Believe it or not, however, Brad Stevens wasn’t too upset by the loss. In fact, he actually looks at the loss in a positive light.

“Tonight just wasn’t our night shooting the ball,” Stevens told reporters during his postgame video press conference, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “I told the team just now, I’m more encouraged than discouraged because we’re going to have days like this. And when you have a day like that, you’ve got to give yourself a chance to win. … That one could have been worse because of the way we shot the ball, especially the two.”

Fair enough.

The Celtics’ biggest problem at the moment is consistency. Even Danny Ainge has pointed this out. And with the East becoming increasingly competitive this season, there’s little room for error as the season goes along.

So if Boston wants another shot at the title, they still need to shape up a bit. But ultimately, no team will ever be immune to losses like this.

Here are some more notes from Sunday’s Celtics-Suns game:

— Kemba Walker just did not look good.

The veteran point guard sank just four of 20 shots in addition to committing three turnovers and three fouls Sunday afternoon. But Stevens isn’t worried about the flux in play.

“I mean, it’s going to change, there’s no doubt. He just came off of a good solid game in Golden State followed by a really good game in L.A. He’s played really well on this trip. He didn’t play in the Sacramento game …. I think that one of the things we’ve got, we’ll go back and look at some of his drives and how he can help space the floor form better. I think we all can do a better job for him. And that’s what we all will focus on, that’s what I’ll focus on because I know he’s going to focus on himself.

— Payton Pritchard got off to a bit of a slow start but played a key role in the Celtics’ attempted comeback in the fourth.

Stevens is pleased with what he saw from the rookie in the latter half of Sunday’s contest.

“He helped us get back in the game in the late third, and then had some big shots in the fourth that gave us a chance,” Stevens said. “Credit to him, he went down and capitalized on a couple of possessions when they really had to and he deserves a lot of credit for that. … He wasn’t as good in the first quarter (or) the first half but he was a totally different guy in the second.”

— Only 23 fouls were committed between both teams in Sunday’s game.

Boston had 11. Phoenix had 15.

— The Celtics can get back in the win column Tuesday night against the Utah Jazz. Tip-off is slated for 10 p.m. ET.