Grant Williams’ walk to the free throw line, exchange with Donovan Mitchell and rim-rattling attempts that followed became the defining images of another collapse. A more familiar trend surrounded them as the Celtics shot 2-for-13 to close the fourth quarter before Grant’s follow try chasing Payton Pritchard’s missed layup in transition — and 1-for-8 after in overtime.
The 118-114 loss to Cleveland came short-handed, without either starting big man available, Al Horford resting and Robert Williams III (hamstring) expected to miss at least two more games based on Joe Mazzulla’s comments on Sunday. Jayson Tatum stayed home for the one-game road trip before a monstrous one spanning six cities begins this weekend, one crucial in the race for the No. 1 seed. Boston trails Milwaukee by 2.0 games with 16 remaining. Philadelphia chased closer to the Celtics, 2.o games behind the two seed.
“I don’t think it’s that excruciating,” Mazzulla said on Monday. “It’s part of it. We did a lot of good things for a long time, after coming off a double overtime game, second night of a back-to-back, playing 3.5 quarters really well and then just not executing down the stretch. You have to go through those things. To me, in order to experience success, you have to have failures. I don’t like losing, I hate losing, but I understand it and I know you need to do it in order to get to where you want to get to.”
The loss, however excruciating on its own, nearly provided an outlet for Williams to dig himself out of a mounting productivity and playing time hole. After drilling four threes in a six minute span to place the Celtics ahead by double-digits in the second quarter, an advantage they mostly maintained until the closing stages of the fourth quarter. Williams played only seven minutes after halftime to finish the game with 16:07.
Mazzulla told Williams he loved him, an approach he took earlier this season after Jaylen Brown missed potential game winning free throws against New York. He said Williams needs to be an important part of the Celtics, but as frustrations increase, including a discussion with Tatum about his positioning over a late play against the Knicks on Sunday. Mazzulla continued to search for other options. Mike Muscala and Blake Griffin started the game and Luke Kornet returned to outplay him with 18 minutes. Mazzulla entered the night telling Sean Grande he should’ve played Derrick White more against New York.
A poor late on the defensive effort pissed the head coach off, a rare public pronouncement of frustration in his team this year. A late one just slipped past Grant’s outstretched arms. Size didn’t matter though, as White started a second straight game in Williams III’s absence and shifted the Celtics back toward small ball. Lamar Stevens made them pay on the glass like Caris LeVert did in the fall. Layers of ball movement generated a 48.2% start from the field against the Cavaliers’ tough defensive unit and Brown in the flow on his way to nine assists. Then, it disappeared.
“I don’t have that answer,” Horford said regarding the late game challenges. “It is frustrating, how you look so good on one end and then on the other end, it’s been the complete opposite. All year, we’ve had a good mindset of good or bad, continuing to play through things, and for whatever reason, these last few games we haven’t been like that. It’s literally these last two games. Before that, I thought we were on good pace. This is something that we need to be conscious of and need to be better, and try to eliminate those bad runs. That’s the biggest thing.”
The Celtics set themselves up admirably late against New York, forcing overtime after trailing by seven points with 85 seconds remaining. Horford received a look he liked to end double overtime, saying he needed to stay in his shot a little more. That loss saw Boston recommit to the three point shot after Mazzulla emphasized the volume and four factor statistical comparison as what got away from them in Friday’s meltdown against Brooklyn.
The Celtics shot 59 and made 21, adding another in a growing list of losses when they shoot below 36%, the league average, from three. They’re now 14-16 and 9-15 in those games since their 21-5 start, meaning they stacked up below averaged nights from deep in 24 of their last 40 games, though they boast a 15-1 mark when they rise above that threshold, like they did against the Cavaliers last weekend.
Brown watched their worst loss from home and thought Boston took too many, a contrast from his coach’s message all season. Poor shooting nights appeared more frequently into the second half of the season, the latest coming with a 33.3% finish in Cleveland. Marcus Smart attempted an ill-advised three two seconds into a new shot clock ahead by one point with 37 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Celtics shot 1-for-6 from three to close regulation, the lone make coming when White bounced a shot following hot potato possession with Brown above the break up and into the rim, before Boston closed 0-for-4 in overtime. Grant closed 0-for-1 from deep and Muscala hit 1-of-5 in his spot start.
“It’s a balance,” Brown said, addressing his earlier comments after the loss to Brooklyn. “I think that any time a team gets more shots than you, with more turnovers and all the above, it’s a recipe for disaster. No matter what the shot is, as long as we shoot more shots, we’ll be in good shape to win. Tonight wasn’t that case. I think they got a lot more shots than us and outplayed us and out-toughed us a little bit, but it is a balance trying to find a rhythm between taking threes and getting to the basket. A couple of plays in the second half, I felt like I could’ve gotten to the basket and I shot a three when I probably could’ve gotten to the basket, so I’m just trying to find that rhythm and make the best decisions.”
Worse, Boston’s defensive identity from last year, switching everything, disappeared as Mazzulla tried to drop Kornet in the late stages of the game, minutes where Darius Garland torched the Celtics with jump shots and outscored them by 17 points. Mitchell dunked over Muscala’s head in the drop and no Horford meant an inability to play the scheme that proved so dominant one year ago. Boston held opponents to 0.80 points per possession in isolation last season, drawing them into that trap often, to lead the league and allowed 0.97 PPP (23rd) before Monday’s loss.
Playing to take away the paint proved wise early, but the Cavs’ great scoring guards broke it open late and Boston couldn’t adjust. With Williams III out, it appears unlikely Boston finds enough time to gel in the starting unit that got outscored by 12.4 points per 100 possessions in its first 10 games back together. Being forced to go small will create a new challenge for the team on the glass evident late at the Cavs.
It also fit Malcolm Brogdon in more with Smart, who struggled again, and White, who’s emerging as the most consistent back court member late this year, adding to Mazzulla’s challenges. Horford’s amazing season helps tie it all together, and the pressure and reliance on him late this year escalates with Williams III’s injury.
It’s not panic time in Boston. The greater sample size paints a positive picture about this team’s ability to prevail on talent alone. That might allow them to play three rounds, but this group didn’t play in four last year to fall short. In some ways they’ve advanced, in others, a loose play style, injuries and juggled lineups have them appearing behind schedule as the playoffs loom, and only beginning to register concerns with the slip-ups.
“Zero concern,” Mazzulla said on Sunday, despite miscommunications late in the game. “Just because there’s 17 games left, doesn’t mean it’s any different than how a stretch of the season would go. You obviously want to be playing your best basketball later in the season as you get closer to the playoffs, but this is a tough stretch and whatever this stretch has, we have to learn from it so we can use it later in the year.”
