Photo Courtesy of ESPN
Can a six game losing streak ever be looked at as positive? Well in the Celtics case, it can! The Celtics are currently riding a six game losing streak, and in the grand scheme of things, this is a positive thing for the franchise. While most Celtics fans will look on this losing streak with distaste, I look upon it as the future. The Celtics losing means they have a better shot at one of the franchise changing talents in this year’s loaded draft class. Jabari Parker, Andre Wiggins, Dante Exum, or Julius Randle are all up for grabs, and with the Celtics losing like this, it is much easier to picture one of these four talents in a Celtics jersey. In summary, Celtics fans do not worry about the losing streak, this is a rebuilding season. Lets take a look at an in game breakdown of each of the Celtics three contests against the: Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, and the Indiana Pacers in the past week.
Houston Rockets
The Celtics lost on the road to a tough Houston team by a staggering margin of 109-85. What went wrong? Offensively, Avery Bradley went wrong. Bradley took 22 shots in Houston and only made 5. Yes that is right. The Texas product shot 5-22 (22%) from the field. Celtics fans watching this game wanted to claw their eyes out every time Avery Bradley shot the ball. Every player, no matter how great, has off nights and only the truly great players realize when they are having a bad night and they adjust their game accordingly reverting to distributing rather than scoring. Bradley didn’t... The Celtics also allowed Terrence Jones to score a career high 24 points, to go along with his 9 rebounds. This was simply an ugly game played by the Celtics.
San Antonio Spurs
Another game... Another blowout. This time the Celtics lost to the ever immortal San Antonio Spurs 104-93. This game was not as ugly as the Celtics previous game and in fact, it did have his upsides. Jared Sullinger had an electrifying performance with 19 points and 17 boards. However, this performance is not as perfect as it seems. Sullinger shot with a reckless abandonment from behind the arc going 1-5 on the game. Since when is Sullinger a three point marksman? Sullinger, a career 23% three point shooter, should not plan to take 5 threes a game throughout the rest of the season, and if he does the Celtics are guaranteed Andrew Wiggins...
Indiana Pacers
Do I have to say it again? Another game... Another blowout. The Indiana Pacers won by 15 points in the Garden with a 97-82 victory over the Boston Celtics on their home court. This game was much better, than the Celtics two previous stints in Texas, and Jeff Green and Jordan Crawford emerged as a dynamic duo against the suffocating Indiana defense. Crawford had 24 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals when shooting a terrific 10-12 (83%) from the field. Jeff Green had 20 points and also shot the ball well, shooting 8-13 (62%) from the field. There is not much to complain about this game. It simply comes down to the fact that the Indiana Pacers are arguably the best team in the NBA right now, and the Celtics simply do not have the firepower to beat an elite team like Indiana.
I may be a little harsh on the Celtics as they did face three teams that are contending for a Larry O’ Brien trophy this summer, but the bad shooting from the Celtics is a major issue that must be fixed if the Celtics wish to contend within the next few seasons.
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