Celtics need trade reinforcements to hang with elite benches: 4 things we learned from Boston’s loss to Jazz

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/03/celtics-need-trade-reinforcements-to-hang-with-elite-benches-4-things-we-learned-from-bostons-loss-to-jazz.html



Celtics need trade reinforcements to hang with elite benches: 4 things we learned from Boston’s loss to Jazz



Updated 6:00 AM; Today 6:00 AM


Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell looks to pass the ball while guarded by Boston Celtics during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, March 16, 2021, in Boston. From left are Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7), guard Payton Pritchard (11) and forward Jayson Tatum (0). (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)



By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com



The Celtics considered themselves contenders before the season started but another loss to a top team in the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night provided a tough reminder of how far this group has to go before being considered among the league’s elite.

A high-powered Jazz offense picked apart Boston late to the tune of 40 points in a 117-109 victory at TD Garden, using tremendous ball movement to find holes in the Celtics’ defense. Jaylen Brown knows that type of consistency and cohesion is something this group needs to work towards.

“It’s something that we have to do more of,” Brown said. “It’s not the movement, it’s the timing. We probably have to get it out of our hands quicker. Half a second can make the biggest difference. Making the right play, right on time is important for us. I know I’ve gotten better at that as the season has gone on and I’m going to continue to get better at it. We have to continue to get better as a team.”

Four things we learned from Tuesday’s contest:

The Celtics bench continues to struggle against elite teams: Just days after being dominated by the Brooklyn Nets’ second unit, the Celtics couldn’t hang with one of the best benches in the NBA. Led by Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz bench built a huge scoring edge over Boston’s reserves, doubling them up in the scoring column 45-21, a major contributor factor in the defeat. Outside of a big night for Rob Williams (14 points on 7-of-10 FG), the rest of Boston’s reserves were remarkably quiet offensively, going a putrid 2-of-14 shooting from the field with just seven points scored. That gap in production prevented Boston’s offense from keeping pace once the Jazz offense got rolling in the final three quarters.

Jaylen Brown loves what the team is getting from Williams in more consistent minutes but knows the rest of the bench needs to round into form for the Celtics to have a chance against good teams.

“Rob has been great for us,” Brown said. I’ve been enjoying his development. Since he’s been here, he’s always had the potential and now he’s kind of like manifesting and turning into consistency every single night. We look forward to him continuing to make big plays for us. We obviously need guys who continue to step up. We have young guys on our team and we have older guys on our team and we all have to make constant efforts to be good every single night. Rob has been a great contributor for us so far and we are looking to get other guys going as well.”

With just over one week remaining until the trade deadline and the Celtics winless against top-five teams in the NBA, Danny Ainge can’t feel great about the supporting cast he’s put around his stars at this point for these top-tier matchups.

The Celtics tied a franchise record for fewest free throws in a game: Getting to the free throw line has never been a strength for Boston during the Brad Stevens era, but it reached a new low on Tuesday night as the team tied a franchise-low in both free throws made (three) and free throws attempted (four) against a stout Jazz defense. Utah and Boston actually ended up committing the same number of fouls in the game (18) but the Jazz piled up a massive 24-4 edge at the free throw line all night.

That margin increased when Boston started fouling intentionally at the end of the game but the Celtics did not receive many friendly whistles over the course of the evening despite piling up 60 points in the paint. An inability to get to the line as well as match the Jazz from beyond the arc (19-10 edge for Utah in 3-point makes) prevented the Celtics from winning a game in which they shoot better from the field than the winners and took a whopping 18 more shots.

“If you would have told me we took 18 more shots in the game, I would have felt pretty good about our chances,” Stevens said. “But I do think the quality of shots, as far as, just from an efficiency standpoint, favored to them quite a bit. As it has all year. They’ve been the best in the league at it.”

A surprising team is now ahead of the Celtics in the standings: Boston fell to 20-19 on the season with the loss on Tuesday night, putting them still safely in the East playoff picture for now at the sixth seed at the end of the night’s contests. However, the setback dropped the Celtics below a team in the standings that wasn’t expected to be on the same playing field as Boston this year and that’s the Charlotte Hornets. Former Celtics Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward have put together standout campaigns for what is largely a young roster and a four-game winning streak has put them a half-game ahead of Boston nearly 60 percent into the regular season.

A lighter schedule in the coming week for Boston should help them close that gap (next four opponents are sub .500 teams) but the Hornets look like one team that will be competing with the Celtics and the Heat for home court advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference postseason the rest of the way.

The Celtics are really struggling when Jayson Tatum is off the court: The two-time All-Star has found his groove in the last two weeks after slumping for much of February following his COVID-19 diagnosis. Tatum shoot over 50 percent from the field for the fifth straight game on Tuesday night, scoring a game-high 29 points over his 37 minutes. The Celtics outscored the Jazz by 12 points over those 37 minutes, which means Utah had a +20 point differential over Tatum’s 11 minutes of rest in the second and fourth quarters.

Boston’s offense fell flat during those stints, partially due to lackluster play from the bench but Boston’s core players weren’t able to hold their own against Utah’s firepower in those moments either. Marcus Smart (2-of-10) struggled with his shoot in big moments while Kemba Walker (16 points) had a pedestrian performance yet against one of the best teams in the league.

As the losses pile up in these contests despite stellar outings from Boston’s stars, the case is strengthened that this mismatched roster needs to be reworked to avoid such a sharp drop-off when Tatum leaves the floor.


Bob


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