Why are the Boston Celtics struggling at home this season?
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics hung a new banner at TD Garden back in October, but the team hasn't looked like a championship bunch on their home court this season. The Celtics put up another stinker in front of their home fans on Thursday night, losing 127-120 to an undermanned Dallas Mavericks team.
Thursday night was no NBA Finals rematch in Boston, since Luka Doncic is now in Los Angeles. The Mavs didn't even have new addition Anthony Davis, who isn't making his Dallas debut until this weekend, and were also without regulars Dereck Lively II and P.J. Washington.
It appears once news of all those DNPs reached the Celtics, they decided to coast. Again. It led to yet another disappointing loss on the TD Garden floor.
The Celtics have now lost three of their last five games at home and six of their last 11. So you can understand why green teamers were miffed as the team fell behind by as many as 24 points in the second half. Boston led for just 13 seconds against the Mavs, and it was in the opening minute of the tilt.
It was just another disappointing night at TD Garden for the defending champs, which has become an unfortunate trend for the Celtics..
Celtics lost to Mavs because of their defense
Focus and effort were the big issues for Boston right from the jump Thursday night. The Celtics turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter, including two each by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. It let the Mavericks gain early momentum, which they didn't cede until Joe Mazzulla benched his starters with 9:35 left in the game.
Boston's 14 turnovers on the night were a product of the team's lack of focus. But the Celtics were smoked on defense because of their lack of effort.
The Celtics were lethargic and slow on defense all night, and gave Dallas shooters little resistance when getting to their spots. Klay Thompson erupted for 10 points in the first quarter and dropped 25 on Boston for the night, hitting 11 of his 17 shots for his best game in a Dallas uniform. The Mavericks scored 67 points in the first half, knocking down 58.3 percent of their shots overall and 41.2 percent from three.
Usually when the Celtics are hitting their shots from downtown, the team wins. Boston hit half of its threes in the first half, going 9-of-18, and 43.2 percent for the night.
But the Celtics let the Mavs do just about whatever they wanted on the offensive end, and Dallas shot a blistering 55.7 percent overall and 45.5 percent from three-point land. Kyrie Irving scored 19 on his former team, while Dante Exum scored 15 points off 4-of-6 shooting from three.
Spencer Dinwiddie feasted on Boston's disjointed defense, hitting seven of his 10 shots (going 3-of-5 from three) for 22 points off the bench. Naji Marshall put in 20 points over his 29 minutes, as he hit nine of his 15 shots. Dallas newcomer Max Christie fit right in with his new team, adding 15 points off the pine.
Defense is all about effort. Celtics fans saw none of that on Thursday night, and players were hit with a smattering of boos as they walked off the floor down 21 points at the end of the third quarter.
"Defensively, we haven't been as strong as we need to be," Brown said after the loss. "Part of that is on me as a captain. But we've just got to be better to close the break, and then reassess to start the second half of the season."
Boston Celtics home struggles
Maybe the Celtics are just in a lull before the All-Star break, as Brown alluded to. But that doesn't explain why they're such a good team on the road -- an NBA-best 20-6 -- and so mid in their own building.
Thursday night's loss followed a strong road trip by the Celtics, which is another developing trend this season. Thursday night marked the fourth time this season the Celtics have returned from a road trip of at least three games and lost their first game back on their home court.
Boston went 3-1 on its first extended road trip of the season, only to return home and lose a much-anticipated battle with Steve Kerr and the Warriors. The Celtics went 3-1 on their first Western Conference road trip of the season, and then returned home to lay an egg against the Sacramento Kings. After another 3-1 trip through the West, they blew a fourth-quarter lead to the Houston Rockets when they got back to TD Garden.
Thursday's loss followed a 3-0 trip that concluded with a solid win against the top-seeded Cavaliers in their house. But any momentum from that victory was left in Cleveland, as the Celtics were embarrassed by a Mavs team playing without three of its starters.
For whatever reason, the Celtics' home cooking has been nearly inedible the last few months. They've been much more prone to take their foot off the gas at home than on the road, sporting a 111.8 defensive rating at TD Garden (10th in the NBA) and a 108.2 defensive rating (second in the NBA) away from it.
"That's something we've got to fix," said Payton Pritchard, who scored 21 points off the Boston bench. "I don't know if it's just like the effort side of things or something. They played good basketball."
The Celtics were 37-4 at home last season and 32-9 the season before. They are just 16-10 at TD Garden this season, losing games to the likes of the Bulls, the 76ers (in blowout fashion on Christmas Day), and twice to the Hawks.
A midseason malaise isn't uncommon for a defending champ. The Celtics are playing with a giant target on their backs and get an opponent's best effort every night. It's a struggle to match that intensity over an 82-game season, especially in these middle months of the season.
It should also be noted that the Celtics were 7-1 on the road in the playoffs last season en route to their title. But losing at home makes life a lot harder for a team trying to add another banner, and a lot more frustrating to the fans that go out to see them in action.
It'd be nice if the Celtics can reverse this trend and get back to their home dominance ahead of the postseason.
