Once projected as a second or third seed in the East, the Boston Celtics have had an atrocious start to the season. So why exactly are the C’s playing so bad?
A team that was likely to be a 50-55 win team and a two seed in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics currently sit at 13-12 and as the 5th seed.
Boston hasn’t had the easiest schedule to start off the season, but no team is a free victory in the NBA. The Celtics have struggled to close out close games, beat good teams and win away from home.
In 25 games played so far, the Celtics are 5-8 on the road, a measly 9-4 at home and have most importantly struggled against teams above .500 teams. So why exactly have they played so poor? Well, it is a few rather simple things: the lack of a true rebounder, they cannot close out games and have not played defense well to start the year.
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
On the defensive end this year, Boston is giving up a little over 103 points per game and allowing teams to shoot 50 percent from the field.
As far as the rebounding goes, the Celtics have been horrible. The leading rebounder for the C’s so far is starting 6-1 shooting guard Avery Bradley. That is the exact opposite of a recipe for success.
They also only have three players averaging 5-plus rebounds per game. Boston is third to last in the NBA in RPG just above Sacramento and Dallas, who are two lottery teams.
Teams are also averaging just about 46 rebounds per game against Boston which would but them in the Top 5 in the NBA for per game rebounds as a team on that given night. This is not a situation you want to be in. If Boston would truly like to make a deep run, a rebounder must be found before the deadline.
Another key aspect of the Celtics struggles is that fact that they have not been able to close out games. The Celtics sit at a +1.2 point differential, and they haven’t even lost any game by 20+ for it to be that low.
They are winning games by small margins and losing them by the same. Sixteen out of 25 games Boston has played this year have been within seven points going either way, and five games have been within three going either way.
Almost every game Boston has played so far has been winnable for either team on the court. This could be a good and a bad thing. It means Boston evidently cannot finish games strong and they cannot take advantage of having a lead and capitalize on.
Must Read: Should The Miami Heat Trade Hassan Whiteside?
It is definitely not all she wrote for the Boston Celtics. They still have a decent amount of talent, a fantastic NBA coach. Being the 5th seed is exactly horrible either. If they can make a move before the deadline and improve in crunch time as well as across the ball, they can finish as the 2nd or 3rd seed we thought they would be.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.