The Celtics’ surprise success this season has hit a couple potholes in the past week. Boston has dropped three of their last four games for the first time since early November, dropping to 24-15 on Monday night after a 98-96 loss to the Pacers.
Jaylen Brown’s absence due to back spasms undoubtedly played a factor in that defeat but the contest marked Boston’s fourth straight crunch time loss over the past 10 games.
Boston is 8-12 in clutch games this year (within five points in final five minutes) but they have been trending in the wrong direction on that front in January.
On the season, Boston’s crunch time defense (and lack of rebounding) was the biggest culprit for the early season woes in this department. They rank 28th in defensive rating during clutch situations on the year.
However, the other side of the floor is the area where things are starting to regress now for Boston. The Celtics have the second best offense in the NBA but their scoring has fallen off a cliff during crunch time in recent matchups.
Over Boston’s last six tight fourth quarter games dating back to December, the team is scoring just 86 points per 100 possessions in crunch time situations.
Those struggles are counteracting Boston’s defensive improvements in those moments (No. 15 in NBA) during that stretch, leaving the Celtics with plenty of tight losses (1-5) during clutch games. Boston has lost to the Nuggets, Spurs, Pacers, Blazers and Pistons in that stretch by a combined 22 points.
The Celtics still sit in a great spot in the Eastern Conference despite these setbacks. They remain just one game behind the Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the East and have a favorable schedule for the rest of January that should allow them to stay in the mix in that race.
However, as Boston continues a four-game road trip that features three likely playoff teams this week, they will be put to the test in these spots again. Better offense in crunch time will be a requirement for the Celtics to avoid their first three-game losing streak since the start of the season.