Boston Celtics blow 24 point lead to the New Orleans Pelicans, lose 115-120 in OT

Sunday Afternoon the Boston Celtics blew what was at one point a 24 point lead against the New Orleans Pelicans in an overtime thriller. The game went down to the wire and the Celtics got some huge buckets from Jayson Tatum down the stretch to keep them in it. Tatum hit the game timing floater at the end of regulation to give the Celtics a chance to try to reclaim the win in OT. Tatum’s performance although impressive down the stretch, was not enough to hold off the surging Pelicans. The Pelicans were fueled by the offensive eruptions from both Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson in the second half that put them back in position to win the game. Williamson got off to a slow start Sunday afternoon only scoring 4 points in the first half. He finished the game with 28 and it seemed like the Celtics didn’t have a single player that could guard him in the last two minutes and into overtime.

Brandon Ingrams 33 points were a huge reason the Celtics couldn’t recover in the second half even after being up so big. They just couldn’t string together stops at all. Ingram hit what would ultimately prove to be the dagger in overtime, cashing out on a catch and shoot 3 from the wing. As great as both Williamson and Ingram did play to get the Pelicans back into position to win the game this, was really a collapse of the Boston Celtics and one of their lowest points of this season.

The fact that the go-ahead play in this game was a catch and shoot 3, from one of this team’s best 3 point shooters, is a microcosm of this Celtics Season and this team’s true identity. In a primetime Sunday showcase match-up with one minute left in overtime rather than being hooked up and ready to go on the defensive end they didn’t even force the Pelicans to beat them, THEY beat themselves. They didn’t force Brandon Ingram to take an off-the-dribble three, contested shot around the basket or even a pull-up from two. The Celtics just broke down. They looked lost and not in sync. You can argue that it was all on the overhelp from Jaylen Brown and that’s why Ingram was even open but you have to consider the guy he was trying to help the driver on was Zion Williamson who the Celtics struggled to stop with one defender all game. Boston currently sits 25th in the NBA in fourth–quarter defensive rating, allowing an unsightly 113.4 points per 100 possessions. They also have one of the worst crunch-time defenses in the NBA allowing 125.4 points per 100 possession when the game is within five points in the last five minutes. These fourth quarter inconsistencies are what kill the Celtics and it’s not just with the actual effort the team displays on defense late in games, it’s an accumulation of many things.

Getting Marcus Smart back from his calf injury sometime in February should defiantly help this team a little defensively but if the Celtics are really determined to stop regressing in the fourth-quarter and in close games they are really going to have to look within. The Celtics haven’t had much consistency with their fourth-quarter lineups, that’s really where it all starts. The only constants we see from the Celtics late in games is that Tatum and Brown are both out there and rightfully so. But what about the rest of the lineup because that’s where the problem has been for the Celtics all year long and not just in the 4th. Celtics have some great pieces but they do not have many reliable pieces. In the fourth quarter, you need guys you can trust both offensively and defensively. Yesterday in Overtime, Tatum hit a huge 3 to bring the Celtics back from down three to start the overtime and Jaylen Brown had a big transition two to put the Celtics up 1 with about a minute and forty seconds left in OT. That’s reliable, the rest of the pieces on this team just haven’t worked out when the Celtics need them. Kemba hasn’t seemed like he’s been able to get in a groove with both Brown and Tatum all season long. Late in games, Kemba needs the ball to be effective and he just hasn’t been very good with it. Walker is shooting just 35.7 percent overall and a dismal 30.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. He gets killed driving to the basket shooting a terrible 18.2 percent on all shots between 3-10 feet, and attempting only 2.8 free throws per game while always pleading for whistles. He’s been inconsistent and doesn’t show much promise or value for this team as presently built. Where it once made sense to believe his game would help elevate that of Brown and Tatum, that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. Brown and Tatum need help and if Kemba can’t get it going then this team is really in trouble. Kemba is supposed to be the 3rd best scoring option for this team and especially in the 4th, do they trust that he can still be that?

Brown and Tatum Combine for 57 Points in the Celtics loss yesterday, the rest of the team managed only 58 points while shooting 4-for-20 from 3-point range. The Boston Celtics have a lot of good pieces to compliment Tatum and Brown but if they want to start trending back in the right direction they are going to need someone to stop being just a piece and really step up. The Celtics are going to need a third guy to be healthy and consistent especially if they really want to compete to win the Eastern Conference.