Boston Celtics: What to make of recent losing skid
After what looked to be another big win streak in the making, the Boston Celtics find themselves on a three-game skid. Here’s a look at what to make of this losing streak.
The last three games represent the worst stretch the Boston Celtics have gone through this season. Until recently, the most games in a row this team had lost was two. They recently lost to the New Orleans Pelicans, Philadelphia 76ers and then the Orlando Magic.
The Pelicans can either be really good, or have a complete off night. On paper they’re a lot better than how they play. However, they have caught fire and now hold the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Seeing as how they have All-Stars Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, the two can easily put together monster nights. When they’re on, they’re very hard to beat. This was the case on Jan. 16, as Davis was easily the star of the show. He put together eye-boggling numbers, which included 45 points and 16 rebounds.
The same can be said about the 76ers; they’re so young that they’re either firing or struggling. This game was sort of a slug fest for both teams. It was very slow, and a complete defensive effort. Neither team was able to break 90 points, but in the Celtics’ defense, they were without All-Star Kyrie Irving.
However, losing to the Magic is not something you want to do. That’s a game you usually can mark on the calendar as a guaranteed win. Oddly enough, the Magic do play well against good teams. They’ve beaten teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Despite falling victim the past three games, there are some things that caused some of these issues. For one, being without Irving certainly helped, and the offense was nowhere to be found.
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Losing your best player will certainly help towards losing a game. He was held out of the Sixers game with a sore shoulder. In that game, the Celtics were only able to score 80 points — the fewest points scored this season for the Celtics. He’s their best offensive player, and there’s no debate about that. He has some of the best handles the game has ever seen, he can finish around the rim with ease and he can stroke it — covered or not — from anywhere on the floor.
Irving is averaging 24.5 points per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from 3. Losing him certainly played a major role in the C’s offense lagging behind.
While Irving was only left out of one game during that span, the underlying issue has been the injuries seen throughout the season. There’s no question this team has faced its fair share throughout the season. For this team to be successful, it needs to stay healthy.
The other big storyline is the offense. Over the last three games, the Celtics averaged 96.0 points per game. The game against the Pelicans was the only game in which they scored over 100 points, and that game went into overtime.
Not only that, but the Celtics had one of the worst offensive ratings over that span, ranking 28th in the league with an ugly 93.6 points per 100 possessions. The biggest issue other than the injuries is the Celtics’ ability to score the ball. For one, having one of the worst scoring benches in the league has caused a major issue in some of the offensive struggles.
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If the Celtics want to end this losing skid, then they’ll have to fix some of their offensive woes, and find a way to heal up. The Celtics will look to turn this ship around against the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night.