BOSTON — The Celtics got the win, but it wasn’t pretty down the stretch of their narrow 120-119 victory over the Pelicans on Sunday. There were key moments that allowed New Orleans to stick around when the C’s looked like they secured the victory.
But regardless, the Celtics improved to 28-11 on the season, the third-best mark in the league. Despite that, it still comes with the context the Celtics have struggled over the past month. C’s coach Joe Mazzulla put his team’s record and those challenges into context after the win.
“I would say the ultimate compliment is we’re 28-11 and these are the types of conversations that we’re having,” Mazzulla said. “So it’s a beautiful place to be. I’m serious. I think it’s great. It’s a great standard and a great expectation to have — and we have to deliver. We all know that.”
Of course, multiple factors can be true at the same time. The reigning champs only trail the 33-5 Cavaliers and the 32-6 Thunder in the standings, two teams with impressive records. But the C’s are also 7-6 over their last 13 games, showcasing some struggles over that stretch. So, while the overall record is great, the recent play hasn’t been up to their standards.
There are a number of reasons for some of those shortcomings. In the recent Kings loss, Mazzulla said there were short-term effort issues. The Celtics also haven’t shot the 3-pointer well in those six losses, converting just 28.0% from deep. In the seven wins, they’re at 39.5% on 3s. Sometimes it is that simple.
The Pelicans came to play Sunday as they were relatively healthy with their lineup. Notably, they also shot 45.9% from 3, getting big shooting nights from Dejounte Murray (6-for-9) and Trey Murphy (5-for-10). The Celtics, on the other side, shot just 29.5% from 3. The late-game execution, too, was lacking as the C’s slipped and barely hung on late Sunday.
Fortunately for the Celtics, they still have plenty of time to fix some of these recent deficiencies. It’s only mid-January — they just need to play their best basketball starting in three months from now. But the regular season is about building habits, and the C’s will look to clean up their process going forward.
“We’re just not playing our best basketball,” Mazzulla said. “When you’re 7-6 over 13, it’s not just one thing. … Just because we were this last year, you can’t take for granted — the details, habit, execution, togetherness, trust, like all that stuff has to be rebuilt. And I think sometimes when you have the same team, we have this expectation that we’re just going to pick up there.”
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