The basketball world is shaken and Celtics fans are infuriated, to say the least, after Boston bowed down to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday (January 16), 110-97.
The C’s continue to struggle in the middle of the season, and it’s not looking good for the reigning champs. They’ve met the Raptors in just a span of three weeks, but a lot of people were left wondering how the 2024 NBA champions went from destroying Toronto in a 50-point blowout win in December and then proceeded to lose to the same team by 13 points in January. How one of the worst teams in the league right now gave a fully healthy championship-caliber team a lot of trouble offensively and defensively.
Boston Struggles
The Celtics have a split record (7-7) in their last 14 games, which is far from what is expected of them. A healthy championship team should have dominated early on, but it’s not quite what is happening, especially with their subpar performances and going 0.500 in the past month. In addition, much of their losses were against lower-seeded teams like the Bulls, Sixers, and now, the Toronto Raptors, which left everyone feeling confused.
Well, their struggles were exposed against the Toronto Raptors. The two Jays (Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum) both had terrible shooting nights and their point guards went ice-cold.
Brown’s 10 points in 33 minutes is already a season-low for the 2024 Finals MVP. JB also shot 4-for-16 from the field and was -23 in the plus/minus category. It was easily his worst outing this season. Aside from struggling to score, Brown looked a bit lost sometimes. Although this is just one game, Brown’s lackluster performance proves how impactful he is when playing 100%.
Although Tatum only got 16 points and only made 5 of his 15 attempts, he made up for it by crashing the boards and making plays. Meanwhile, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White weren’t as effective as well. White even got benched early after a poor first quarter to give more playing time to Payton Pritchard.
The only good things that came out of their loss are Pritchard’s 20-piece off-the-bench and Kristaps Porzingis playing well after his return. But, overall, it was a brutal night for the Boston Celtics, who’s been wanting to reach 30 wins.
One key reason why they failed to seal the win against Toronto, aside from terrible shooting and scoring struggles, was their inconsistent defense. Boston is known for being one of the defensive juggernauts in the league, but they did not show against the Raptors. It also worsens the situation that the Raptors went on fire behind the arc, despite being a below-average three-point shooting team. All of that on top of Jaylen Brown and Derrick White’s underwhelming performances, apparently, it was bound to happen after all.
Are the Celtics Still Title Favorites?
Despite the loss, the C’s are still the No.2 seed in the East. Although they’re far behind the Cavaliers and the Knicks are slowly closing in from behind, there’s no denying that Boston is still a championship contender.
A core of Brown, Tatum, and Porzingis with the help of Holiday, White, and Pritchard is still arguably one of the best rosters in the league. For some, this may just be a short slump. There are still 40-ish games left in the season. Boston bouncing back isn’t new and fans just have to accept losing this one for now. Hopefully, we see a more productive Jrue Holiday and Derrick White soon, as they have been the most solid contributors in their championship run in 2024.
