Celtics lose against the Pacers due to a lack of effort.
Celtics that are sluggish have plenty of time to improve.
Effort levels typically wax and wane during an NBA season. It’s a bit ridiculous to expect athletes to give it their all every time they take the field because the 82-game schedule is quite taxing on the body and mind. It’s also common for a team’s bad shooting to negatively affect their aggressive rebounding and defense.
It is abnormal for a team that has dropped four of their previous five games to appear more sleepy than they have throughout the entire season when they go into a game. If there was ever a moment to put in a great effort in a regular season game, it was the Celtics vs. Pacers game on Wednesday night. However, they accomplished nothing of the kind in the first half, and their strong comeback in the second half was insufficient to make up for their terrible first two quarters.
React slowly
It won’t be a nice film session analyzing Wednesday’s defeat, particularly the first half. For a team the caliber of the Celtics, a few of the defensive and rebounding lapses are just unacceptable.
Tatum and White respond slowly to the Nesmith rebound on this play. Tatum should be crashing the glass or getting back on defense, but instead he’s caught loitering in the corner. He’s in no man’s land; this is just a total mental slip-up. And White, well, White just doesn’t run as hard to rejoin the action as he ought to or can. That is all there is to it.
In spite of Hield’s excellent rebounding position, White, Tatum, and Brown have no inclination to throw a body on him in this play. lengthy shots result in lengthy rebounds, but White and the Boston star tandem don’t realize that since they believe their athleticism will be sufficient to win the game. It isn’t and probably never will be, especially when playing inferior teams.
The piece essentially represents Wednesday’s whooping in miniature. After Horford is outmuscled and outjumped by Jalen Smith, many Pacers players cut to the rim, leaving Hauser, White, and Brown practically flat-footed outside the paint. When McConnell and Nesmith both slash to the rim, someone should tag them both, but no one does, leading to what is possibly the most disturbing possession of the game. All you need to do is play with greater intensity and effort than that.
Why I don’t feel as anxious
Yes, I am aware of it. Last night was unsightly. I’m not attempting to erase your memories or suggest that the effort level wasn’t that high—that would be untrue and completely out of touch. But I really believe that we will be more than alright.
