After starting the season at 21-5, the Boston Celtics were bound to hit a wall. Well… that wall has finally presented itself, and Jayson Tatum seems to have an idea of why.
The Celtics have lost each of their last two games, dropping back-to-back contests against the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers out in California. It’s not the first time this season that Boston has lost two in a row, but the pair of performances put forth on Saturday and Monday night were far from what C’s fans have become used to this season.
The losses to Golden State and Los Angeles came by a combined 36 points, with Boston scoring 107 and 93 points, respectively. Those offensive performances are a far cry from the 121.8 points per game they were averaging in their 10 previous contests. While fans could quickly get discouraged by the dwindling offense, Tatum seemed to believe the issue had more to do with the Celtics’ lack of fun.
“Get some rest, just kind of get back to having fun,” Tatum said following Monday’s loss to the Clippers, per The Athletic. “We didn’t have fun tonight. We didn’t have fun against Golden State. Whether it’s fatigue or whatever it is. Maybe playing a little too tense.”
This isn’t the first time one of the Celtics’ stars has believed the team was too tense, Jaylen Brown made the very same point following the Warriors loss.
Part of what has gotten to the Celtics in the last couple of contests is a lack of physicality. Tatum and Brown have been tremendous at getting downhill and finishing to start the season, but with Al Horford out of the lineup, those two have settled for more looks outside the 3-point line. And when they have gotten physical, it has come in the wrong situations.
“I don’t think I was ready for the Clippers’ best punch and I just made some bad decisions to get in foul trouble,” Brown said Monday night. “But we just gotta be better as a group. It’s not one, it’s not two, it’s all of us.”
Brown had three fouls by the middle of the second quarter against Los Angeles, forcing Boston interim coach Joe Mazzulla to dip into his bench that was already down one with the absence of Horford. Mazzulla then played his starters well into the fourth quarter, which has become a trend of its own.
When the Celtics play the sixth and final game of their extended road trip Tuesday night, they’ll do so against a clearly inferior Los Angeles Lakers squad. Putting a beatdown on LeBron James and the boys will surely help Tatum and co. get back to having fun. Tipoff is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET.
