Celtics Must Find More Varied Threat After 3rd Straight Defeat
Boston head coach Ime Udoka says the Celtics got ‘too cute’ as they gave away a 19-point second half lead on Monday.
The Celtics eventually lost 128-114 to the Chicago Bulls, and fell to 2-5 in the process. It was their third straight defeat.
The Celtics lead by 103 – 89 entering the fourth quarter. However, the Bulls scored the first 12 points of the quarter. Afterwards, the Celtics star duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum ran out of ideas.
“We got up, got comfortable, got a little bit too cute thinking the game was over in the third quarter,” said Ime Udoka. “We started celebrating early. It’s a good lesson learned: You mess with the game, it will come back to bite you.”
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Teammate Marcus Smart called for Brown and Tatum to involve their teammates more often after the game.
“Every team knows we’re trying to go to Jayson and Jaylen,” Smart said.
“Every team is programmed and studied to stop Jayson and Jaylen. I think everybody’s scouting report is to make those guys pass the ball. They don’t want to pass the ball.”
Despite combining for 48 points, the pair came unstuck in the crucial fourth quarter. Tatum scored 2 points on 1-of-8 shooting. Meanwhile, Brown made just two shots, scoring zero points.
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“That’s something that they’re going to learn,” Smart said. “They’re still learning. We’re proud of the progress they’re making, but they’re going to have to make another step and find ways to not only create for themselves but create for others on this team to open up the court for them later down in the game.
“… It’s something we’ve been asking them to do and they’re learning. We just gotta continue to help those guys do that to help our team.”
