Firstly, I would like to apologise for my absence from writing about the Celtics over the last month or so, but University exams and assessments took over in January. During my absence it has been an unstable few months for basketball for the Celtics, who have had some impressive victories but also some dreadful defeats to the hands of vastly inferior teams. The team have not been able to emulate their early season success and boast just a .500 record since I last covered them (11-11). Despite my absence from the blog, I have watched virtually all of the Celtics games throughout the end of December and into January and at times it has been a tough watch. However, despite some underwhelming performances they still sit comfortably in second place of the Eastern Conference and are well positioned for hopefully a much-improved end to the season heading into the playoffs. I won’t cover all the games I’ve missed but will begin with covering Boston’s most recent road trip against Western Conference opposition.
Celtics @ Warriors 20/01/25
After a dismal overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks at home the Celtics headed into the Chase Center to face the Golden State Warriors, looking to regain some confidence. The Warriors themselves were in a poor run of form and that became apparent straight away, with Boston jumping out to an easy 11-point lead in the opening quarter. Draymond Green was out for the Warriors and his presence as a defender was sorely missed, but overall, their inability to put points on the board was what kept them from competing in this game. The Celtics and Joe Mazzulla did a fantastic job guarding the Bay’s key players – including Steph Curry – restricting them to just 39 points in the first half. Nobody particularly lit it up offensively for the Cs, but their suffocating defence meant it wouldn’t matter as they escaped with a 40-point win.
Celtics @ Clippers 22/01/25
After a resounding victory against the Warriors everybody expected a comfortable win against a Clippers team missing its top three scorers, but as every Celtics fan has grown to know it wouldn’t be that simple. Boston trailed for the majority of the first half as Joe Mazzulla asked his players to help off of Derrick Jones Jr who had been having a terrible season shooting the ball. However, in typical Celtics fashion he caught fire from beyond the arc connecting on all four of his first four attempts. Kevin Porter Jr also had his moment to shine in the third quarter, after riding the bench for the majority of the season he relished his advanced role in the offense, scoring 26 points and dishing out seven assists. The moment this game really shifted into Boston’s favour was when Jaden Springer entered the game. Springer has seen very little action for the Celtics this season but made some huge defensive plays at the end of the third quarter. Mazzulla then decided to stick with him for the entirety of the fourth quarter and it paid off, Springer hit two huge threes and nabbed four steals, and eventually Boston escaped with a four-point overtime win.
Celtics @ Lakers 23/01/2025
The very next night the Celtics faced their old foes – the LA Lakers – looking for a third successive victory. However, after a long overtime game the night before they crumbled in the first half. They played dreadfully defensively to begin the game allowing 67 points in the opening half of play. The biggest issue for the Celtics offensively this season has been the inconsistency of their guards, which was so apparent in this game Jrue Holiday and Derrick White only managed six points on a combined 2/11 from the field. Aside from Kristaps Porzingis the entire Boston offense ground to a halt as the Lakers claimed a much-needed win to remain in playoff contention.
Celtics @ Mavericks 25/01/2025
The final game of the trip was a rematch of last summer's NBA finals, against the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavs were without superstar Luka Doncic who has been out since Christmas day with a calf injury. They have struggled massively in Doncic’s absence with Kyrie Irving the only player able to create anywhere near the same level of offensive production. After their struggles in Los Angeles, Boston managed to break the shackles offensively in Dallas. Derrick White – who had struggled on this road trip – finally got things going from three-point land on his way to 23 points for the night. Although it was a collective team effort with all five starters surpassing 15 points on the way to a comfortable 15-point road victory.
This road trip perfectly summed up Boston’s struggles throughout this stretch. They played some near perfect basketball in Dallas and against the Warriors but slumped to a horrific loss against the Lakers and only managed an overtime win against the Clippers who were without their best three players. It feels like we are ever so close to seeing the best of the 24/25 Celtics, yet the finest of details have held them back thus far. Hopefully they can work things out leading up to the beginning of the postseason.
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