Why Former NBA Player Believes Celtics Road Trip Was ‘Terrible’

One former NBA champ wasn’t too impressed with the latest Boston Celtics road trip.

Richard Jefferson, who spent 17 seasons in the NBA, wasn’t too impressed by the Celtics’ six-game road trip. After defeating the Brooklyn Nets, Phoenix Suns, and Toronto Raptors, the Celtics fell on back-to-back nights against the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers. Yet, after capping off the trip with a nail-biting overtime win over the Los Angeles Lakers, Jefferson described the 4-2 run as “terrible.”

“Yes, the Boston Celtics are a great team, they are good, but if you’re gonna have the highest of standards, this was a terrible road trip for them,” Jefferson said on ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Thursday. “Four and two could be a bad road trip for a great team.”

While the Celtics didn’t come out and display their NBA-best offense (119.4 points per game) in both losses, labeling the trip as “terrible” is a mighty stretch. After the Celtics nearly blew every opponent off the floor offensively when entering their matchups against the Warriors and Clippers, Boston was due for some sense of vulnerability. And after they showed it, they bounced right back.

Against the Lakers, Jefferson failed to acknowledge what the Celtics showed. After they trailed Los Angeles by 12 with 4:47 minutes left to play in the game, Boston proved why they’ve sat atop the NBA standings. While most teams would fall flat on their faces in such a situation, the Celtics being a “great” team is what allowed them to muster a comeback when needed.

The Celtics will begin their seven-game homestand with back-to-back matchups against the Orlando Magic (9-20). Tipoff at TD Garden on Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.