Tuesday’s 118-106 win over the Denver Nuggets capped off a four-game road trip out west for the Boston Celtics. The Cs logged a 3-1 record, falling only to the 30-5 Oklahoma City Thunder.
I think if you told Celtics fans that the team would fare this way when the NBA released its schedule back in August, they’d feel pretty happy with it. Hell, if you told them that a week ago, they’d react the same. Taking three of four from a trio of Western Conference heavies on the road, plus an up-and-coming Houston Rockets team is no joke (even if Nikola Jokic didn’t play for the Nuggets).
The timing of this stretch was ideal.
Boston had just limped through December, dropping a handful of winnable games on their way to an 8-6 record. They needed a bounce-back like this. Not only did they bounce back in the win column, but they simply took some strides forward in some important areas.
How about some defense?
Perhaps the largest looming question after that lackluster December was about the Celtics’ defense. After every loss, Joe Mazzulla would take the podium and be questioned about his team’s effort levels and focus on that side of the ball.
The man in charge didn’t completely give his team a pass, but did shine some light on the possibility that they were in a slump and the bounces weren’t going their way despite a solid effort.
Asked Joe Mazzulla if he feels when teams struggle on offense, it’s seen as a slump, but other things are inherently seen as a matter of effort:
“That is the most profound statement in my three years, is what you just said.”
“Me and you are going to grow in our relationship.” pic.twitter.com/sp71tk0D2b
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) December 31, 2024
“It is so easy to blame effort as opposed to ‘just make a shot,’” Mazzulla told reporters ahead of the New Year’s Eve win over the Toronto Raptors. “Because our expected defense is No. 1 in the last 10 games, and our layup percentage defense is No. 1 in the last 10 games, and our expected points per shot defense is like No. 3 in the last 10 games. But you know what our 3-point percentage is? It’s 28th… We do have to play better, though, on both ends of the floor. Let me be very clear. There’s 10 to 12 possessions per game where we absolutely have to be better on the defensive end of the floor. I want to make sure I’m 100 percent clear on that. But it is very, very easy when things aren’t going well to blame defense and effort.”
The Celtics packed that effort up and brought it out west with them, for sure. With the exception of the opening game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston held each team to at least 10 fewer points than their season averages.
During the four-game span, they allowed the fewest field goals per game in the league at 33 and the fifth-lowest field-goal percentage at 44%.
Even in the game where they allowed Minnesota to put up 115 points, the Celtics left star guard Anthony Edwards in shambles. After his team fell to the reigning champs, Edwards ranted to reporters about how Boston made him play a more passive game, rather than allowing him to be the team’s primary scorer.
“It’s not how I want to play, of course,” he said. “I’m only 23, I don’t wanna just be passing the ball all night… But the way they’re guarding me, I think I have to.”
Edwards added that it was “super hard” to stay engaged as the Cs effectively took the ball out of his hands.
On the contrary, Boston managed to stay engaged on defense, despite struggling to score the ball. They averaged just 109 points per game on this road trip, a total ranking in the bottom third of the league during the four-game span.
Without the strong defensive showing, the results out west could’ve been different.
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KP cleared for takeoff?
Kristaps Porzingis shined in Denver on Tuesday night. He logged his first double-double of the season with 25 points on an efficient 9-18 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds.
“I think the force that he played with tonight on both ends, that block on DJ [DeAndre Jordan], and the force he played with on the offensive end: drawing fouls, attacking the mismatches, getting offensive rebounds,” said Jayson Tatum of Porzingis’ play. “He had a couple of put-back dunks.
I think that really helped us separate [in] the game and changed the momentum. So, the way he played tonight was much needed.”
When Porzingis is good, he’s really good and a legitimate game-changer for the reigning champions.
Unfortunately for the Cs, the Latvian big man hasn’t quite been himself.
It’s been a shaky start for KP since his return from offseason surgery. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been fine but hasn’t quite been the type of guy who’s “changed the momentum,” as Tatum put it, as frequently — not yet.
He also just hasn’t been able to stay healthy. So far in the 2024-25 campaign, he’s already sustained four different injuries since returning, the most recent of which had sidelined him up until last Friday’s game in Houston.
Porzingis netted 11 points in his return to the lineup, helping Boston to a blowout win over the Rockets.
Again, in no way was it a “bad game,” but it’s another example of how the frequent injuries have kept KP on the tarmac as he awaits takeoff toward his true form.
This past road trip could be the stretch that’s finally waved him towards the runway.
Despite the loss in OKC on Sunday, Porzingis impacted the game on multiple levels. He provided a strong scoring punch with 19 points on 6-12, but unfortunately went cold (as did the entire team) in the second half. Even so, he made his presence known.
KP played with a fire that we hadn’t gotten to see much of this year. He was hitting the glass hard, running in transition, and even hustling after loose balls to get the Cs some much-needed extra possessions.
For him, the challenge of getting his sharpness still looms, but is an attainable goal.
“I have to play my way back into good shape, and then, obviously, I can exert more energy on things. But I know this is what everybody expects from me; this is what I showed last season.
“And now, I’m just working my way back up, and honestly, tonight was, in my opinion, one of the first games that I felt like I’m getting close to feeling healthy, feeling good, and getting back in good shape.”
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Beware of wear and tear
Alright, so, this might sound like an annoying coping mechanism, but I truly feel it’s got some legs.
Boston’s scoring was in the bottom third of the NBA during this trip. They’ve been inconsistent shooting the ball for a large part of the last month and it’s hurt them.
Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Sam Hauser, and Porzingis have all regressed in their efficiency this season. Coincidentally, all of these guys have been dealing with injuries. Holiday missed time with some knee issues and recently had a problem with his shoulder. For Brown, it’s been his hip and shoulder. Hauser has had back issues.
When guys are out on the floor playing through pain, it can be easy to forget that they’re doing just that — playing through pain. It’s going to affect their games until they’re able to get right and we’ve gotten a look at that in recent outings on both ends of the spectrum.
Holiday is looking more and more comfortable with each game back. In Denver, he scored 19 points and dished out seven assists. The veteran guard also had his fingerprints all over Boston’s game-sealing fourth-quarter run, as he made winning play after winning play.
Hauser has been pretty inconsistent this season by his standards, but put together a few impressive shooting performances out west.
Meanwhile, Brown has shown flashes of dominance but hasn’t been able to put together a full game of it, since returning from his shoulder injury on Sunday. He started off red hot in OKC, went ghost in the second half, then didn’t score in the opening half in Denver, before finishing strong.
He’ll get there, but it’s clear that he’s going through the same thing that some of his teammates have dealt with — readjustment.
Nagging injuries are just going to be a thing with this Celtics team. They’ve got a group of players who have played deep into the playoffs year after year, not to mention that Tatum, White, and Holiday suited up for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
The important thing is for the team to continue building towards being their best when the playoffs roll around. Their most-daunting trip of the year may have been the right first step towards that goal.
