The Boston Celtics faced off against the LA Clippers last night in a highly anticipated matchup featuring JT+JB vs KL+PG. Celtics were looking to bounce back from a tiring loss to the Warriors over the weekend, but things did not go as planned. Unfortunately for Joe Mazzula's Celtics, and their loving fans, the team failed to deliver and ended up on the losing side once again.
Coming off the loss to the Warriors on Saturday night, the Celtics continued to show signs of fatigue, especially without their big man and anchor, Al Horford. Al missed another game, this time celebrating the birth of his new child, congratulations Big Daddy Al. Should we expect new dad energy for his return later this week?
Jayson Tatum, the leading league MVP candidate and who has been one of the standout players for the Celtics this season, had a below average shooting night. He finished the game with 20 points on 7-20 shooting, well below his season average. Tatum's struggles seemed to be contagious for the second game in a row, as the rest of the team also disjointed from the field. The Celtics shot 43% from the field, including an 9-39 showing from three-point range. Celtics fans this year have become spoiled on the Celtics three point shooting outings this season, so when shots aren't following it tends to really hurt everyones egos.
This loss marks the first time this season that the Celtics have lost back-to-back games. In fact, their last back-to-back losses came last season, so this is a rare occurrence for the team. Both of their losses this week were deserved, as they were outplayed by their opponents on both occasions.
The Celtics will look to bounce back from this rough patch and get back to their winning ways tonight vs the Lakers. However, they will have to do so again without Al Horford. His absence has been felt on the court and in the locker room, and the team will need to find a way to make up for his scoring and defensive capabilities.
In the meantime, Tatum will look to break out of his shooting slump and rediscover his scoring touch and torching of opponents. He has been one of the best young players in the league this season, and the Celtics will need him to play at his best if they hope to keep their highly touted number one spot in the Eastern Conference and League.
Overall, last night's game was a disappointing one for the Celtics and their fans. They will have to regroup and figure out how to overcome the challenges they are currently facing if they hope to get back on track and into the W column.
Let's go Celtics!
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