Celtics guard Marcus Smart tries to make a pass while being defended by Nets center DeAndre Jordan during Boston’s 113-89 preseason loss on Friday. Mary Schwalm/Associated Press
Nothing felt right in the TD Garden on Friday night.
The empty seats were hidden by curtains bearing the Celtics logo. The Boston Bruins hockey boards were up to act as a barrier between the media section and the players. When the game was about to begin, the player introductions were made with very little fanfare.
And once the game tipped off, it was pretty clear the Boston Celtics probably didn’t want to be there.
For the second straight preseason game, the Celtics looked mostly lethargic. They quickly fell behind the Brooklyn Nets and, save for an early third-quarter run, rarely showed any fight.
“We got outplayed,” Celtics Coach Brad Stevens said after the 113-89 loss. “We can talk about techniques and coverages and all that other stuff, but it doesn’t really matter. I thought that they played with great poise and purpose and did a great job, they outplayed us in every whichway.”
Preseason games aren’t about wins and losses. They’re not even necessarily about the ball going through the hoop or stopping the other team. It’s mostly about showing progress and effort. Boston did neither.
“I think we’ve got a lot of room for improvement,” Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said. “We got some young guys we’ve got to bring up to speed, and also just build some chemistry, and it’s on all of us. Definitely doing a better job of communicating on defense, but I feel like as the season goes along we’re going to grow and improve in the right direction.”
The effort issues are magnified by the short turnaround from a disappointing end to the Eastern Conference finals. Fans want linear improvement, and see this team as a contender who should be roaring into this season with chips on their collective shoulders after that Miami series. Seeing them look sluggish is, to put it mildly, off-putting to many who were hoping to see more urgency from this team right away.
Still, despite this game being played on Dec. 18, this was a preseason game. It didn’t count for anything besides some indigestion.
“We haven’t played well in the majority of these two games,” Stevens said. “And certainly our first group has not played well, or just generally the guys that are going to play the share of the minutes, so we’re going to have to make sure we get a lot better and get ready for Wednesday. We’ve got a really good team, Milwaukee, coming in. At the same time, these games are exhibition games for a reason, so we’ll learn from them and move on.”
The short turnaround from that Miami series, coupled with injuries to a few important players, has contributed to this mess, but the team is not leaning on that crutch for excuses.
“Just part of it. But it’s not like we’re the only team that’s going through it. Everybody is,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “We acquired them guys, and we don’t have that much time. We’ve got to figure it out. Everybody’s a professional, high IQ. So we’re going to figure it out, the chemistry part, but yeah, I mean, we’ve got to figure it out.”
Stevens also added that the effort, while absent throughout most of these two games, has been there in practice.
“We’ve practiced really hard,” Stevens said. “I thought that these guys played, again, with better purpose than us tonight. It hasn’t been something that I’d say is a concern based on what I’ve seen in camp.”
The on-court product has not been good, but expecting it to be good given the circumstances might have been asking too much. That’s the issue with this short turnaround; the games matter very soon, but progress can only go so quickly with injuries, rookies to integrate, and new veterans building chemistry with their teammates. The Celtics have less than a week before the wins and losses start to count, and there is zero chance they’ll be ready for it.
That’s why the effort is important. Even if they’re not fully cohesive, they can at least work hard while they’re figuring it out.
“We’re not even close to that group that was in the bubble,” Stevens said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to get to that point, we have to play a lot better than we have. Ultimately we have to make sure we’re building the right habits.”
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