Celtics seem to have their focus back

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2018/02/bulpett_celtics_seem_to_have_their_focus_back



Bulpett: Celtics seem to have their focus back




Steve Bulpett Tuesday, February 27, 2018




LOOKING GOOD: Jaylen Brown goes to the basket during the Celtics’ win over the Grizzlies last night at the Garden.  
Credit: Christopher Evans



Not that it was on their bucket list or anything, but the Celtics learned last night what it’s like to ride a see-saw alone.

The Grizzlies were at the Garden, if you want to get technical about it. But, in all practical reality, Memphis was, in the famous words of Marshawn Lynch, “only here so I won’t get fined.”

But it’s to the Celtics’ credit that they chose not to play down to the competition — and I can’t believe I just typed that last word with a straight face, for there was none last evening. The Bostonians won’t get any style points for this 109-98 victory, not after they led by as many as 28 and pulled the parachute for a slow and steady re-entry. But they get credit for keeping Memphis at arm’s length.

That they would defeat a team that arrived with nine consecutive losses was not truly in question, but, then again, they did lose to Orlando here last month, right?

The best thing the Celtics did here was maintain their aim, and that had been a recent issue until they reconvened from winter vacation last week. There have since been three games and three wins, all against sub-.500 outfits. But while this streak is, therefore, no cause to gas up the duck boats, it is a positive sign for a team that had begun to drift.

“Like, I don’t know how our record breakdown is against teams per record or whatever the case may be,” said coach Brad Stevens, “but through 60-some-odd games, I’d say overall this team’s pretty darn good at bringing it, being focused, doing the right things.

“But, without question we, we weren’t as good post-London prior to the All-Star break for whatever reason. So, you know, we’re just trying to get a little bit better.”

The C’s left Great Britain with a 114-103 win over Philadelphia and a 34-10 record. They then proceeded to lose nine of their next 15 games, falling out of first place in the Eastern Conference.

Now they stand at 43-19 and the key number seems to be the 20 in the games-remaining column — or the 23 left when they veered out of All-Star weekend and turned for home.

Last night, the Celtics shot 72.7 percent on 3-pointers in the first quarter (8-for-11) and took a 33-24 lead into the second quarter, where they bear-trapped the Grizzlies, 34-17. The remaining 24 minutes were less a necessity and more an NBA requirement.

“I think in the second quarter we were great,” said Al Horford, who was allowed to be something less than that with five points on 1-for-7 shooting (but with four assists) in 23:42.


“I felt like our guys, we weren’t looking so much at the opponent; we were just looking to try to be the best that we could. And I was happy to see that approach from our group.”

Especially as the regular season’s end approaches. There are now but 20 games to go.

“I think that coach has made it very clear that we have a certain window.” Horford said. “We only have a certain amount of games, and we have no time to mess around. And I think the guys are really trying to play the right way.”

The difference between now and a few weeks ago when the C’s found themselves regularly falling behind by 20-plus points is an injection of urgency in their play.

Even when they were reeling off 16 straight wins and surprising the sneakers off the rest of the league in October and November, the C’s were digging holes for themselves and escaping. After April 11, there will be no time for short naps.

The Celts seem to have figured out what’s required, the aforementioned urgency.

“I think so,” said Horford. “I think that’s the right word to say. I think we’re more urgent. You know, we’re really trying to defensively get back to that tough defense that we were playing early in the year. So, yeah, I think that’s the best way to describe it.”

The opponent and its record be damned.

“I think it’s important for us to do what we do, because you start looking at the opponent and you can have trouble,” Horford said. “I think that’s what happened to us in certain games that we just kind of played down, let them hang around. Teams got confident and we lost. So hopefully that won’t happen again, but I think that there’s a better sense of urgency trying to play the right way.”



bob
MY NOTE: If we hadn't played more games than any other team by the ASB we were close to #1. Mental fatigue sets in.


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