DALLAS — For all of the Celtics’ faults and imperfections over the past two months, there has remained one constant: They rarely go on a losing streak. Even after an ugly collapse or uninspiring loss, the Celtics have consistently bounced back in their next game.
Even C’s coach Joe Mazzulla was surprised to learn they’ve dropped back-to-back games just once this season. But that’s reality. After beating the Mavericks on Saturday at American Airlines Center, the C’s are now 13-1 after losing the previous game.
“For us, on the inside, we just stick together and have an understanding of what the standard is and we don’t really get too worked up,” Mazzulla said. “When we lose, we have an understanding of why we did it and we’re pissed off. And when we win, we still say, ‘Hey, there’s 10-15 possessions we have to get better at.’ So I think the connectivity of the group and the balance of the group is really important.”
The lone time this season the Celtics have gone on a losing streak was back in December, when they lost on the road to the Magic on Dec. 23 then Christmas Day against the 76ers. But otherwise, they haven’t dropped games in a row. So even after an 8-6 December and now 8-5 January, the C’s have rarely strung together consecutive defeats.
Of course, it’s not all sunshine amid the Celtics’ inconsistencies. The flip side of this staunch streak is that they haven’t been able to string together wins. They’ve had modest win streaks, but have yet to rip off a long one like they have over the past few years. Still, it brings perspective in that the Celtics’ struggles need more context.
“We just gotta keep working,” Jaylen Brown said. “It’s coming. We just gotta keep fighting. If you want to be what you say you want to be, you gotta be tested and you gotta pass those tests and be worthy of it. It’s been hard. Shots not going in. It’s been a little bit ugly at times. The energy hasn’t been flowing like we’re used to.
“But that’s alright. Just keep your mind and keep your spirit lifted, keep your teammates’ spirit lifted and you come out and play basketball. The tide will turn.”
This current stretch hasn’t been up to the Celtics’ standards — they know and accept that. The offense has sputtered at times as shots don’t go down, and the game-to-game steadiness hasn’t been there. Issues have popped up, whether it’s crunch-time execution or otherwise.
Considering the Celtics have one of the most talented rosters in the league, they should be held to that higher standard. That’s life as the reigning champs. The trends haven’t all been positive like past seasons, when the C’s dominated the regular season. But their resiliency — especially after losses — makes it so even their struggles comes with the asterisk that the process hasn’t completely fallen apart.
The C’s return home after another 3-1 road trip out West. It’s the second time this month they embarked on a four-game road trip against West teams and went 3-1. The champs have been vulnerable, but they almost always don’t let those shortcomings snowball over multiple games. And as Kristaps Porzingis put it, they’re looking to find the edge that’s been missing this season.
“We’re definitely working towards getting our killer instinct back,” Porzingis said. “We want to have that. Some moments we’ve looked really good, some moments not so good, some moments we’ve cruised a little bit and it’s kind of been a mix of everything. So I think it’s important for us to keep adding to what we have in these kinds of games.”
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