Seventy-one games in, and with over three weeks until the start of the NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics have taught us a lot. For one, they’re no pushover destined for the Play-In — that’s obvious. They’re among the best two-way teams in the league, ranking in the top four in both offensive and defensive rating. The excitement behind their overachievement has even dimmed a bit, going from unforeseen to expected. But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing, despite what a 47-24 record would suggest.
Throughout
the season, one glaring challenge has persisted: keeping up with the heavyweights of the Western Conference.
Sunday night’s 102-92 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves became the latest in a string of grappling matches in which the Celtics came up short. So far this season, Boston is just 2-9 against Minnesota, the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, and Oklahoma City Thunder — five of the West’s top six teams — suffering three season sweeps along the way. The only team they’ve bested more than once is the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers, and their Dec. 5 win came without Luka Dončić or LeBron James.
“It’s a good wake-up,” Jaylen Brown said Sunday night. “We can get back to it, watch it, learn from it and move forward.”
The Celtics have averaged just 103.2 points across those nine games, shooting 41 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from three. They’ve lost by 19 or more points three times and have exceeded their season average of 12.3 turnovers four times, producing a perplexing sample size.
Here’s what we’ve seen — so far:
San Antonio Spurs (Jan. 10, March 10)
Twice, the NBA schedule teased a JB–Wemby must-watch duel — and twice, the Celtics came away empty-handed.
In their first meeting in Boston, the Celtics attempted just four free throws in a 100–95 loss, compared to 20 for San Antonio. Brown didn’t take a single one, and his frustration with the officiating later resulted in a $35,000 fine from the league.
If that wasn’t enough, two months later in San Antonio, Brown was ejected with nearly four minutes left in the first half of the rematch. That forced Mazzulla to throw Ron Harper Jr. into the fire, and while the 25-year-old delivered a career-best 22-point breakout, it wasn’t enough to prevent a 125–119 loss.
When facing Boston, Wembanyama has more than lived up to the hype. The third-year big dropped 39 points and knocked down eight 3-pointers on March 10 — at 7-foot-4, no less. But the Spurs didn’t have to deal with guarding Brown for nearly 28 minutes, while taking both wins over Boston by no more than six points.
Denver Nuggets (Jan. 7, Feb. 25)
Three-time MVP Nikola Jokić was unavailable for the first of two matchups between Boston and Denver.
Jokić missed the Jan. 7 meeting in Boston due to a non-COVID illness, leaving the Nuggets without their leader in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. At the time, Denver was 7-4 without him, but all seven wins had come against non-playoff teams, including two against the Milwaukee Bucks and two more against the Washington Wizards.
The odds tilted heavily in Boston’s favor.
Still, the Celtics failed to capitalize. Denver beat them at their own game, leaning into Mazzulla-ball by shooting 45 percent from three while committing just seven turnovers to Boston’s 14 in a 114–110 Celtics loss.
In the rematch on Feb. 25 in Denver, Boston’s three-point struggles resurfaced. The Celtics shot 27.9 percent from deep, finishing 12-of-43 and missing several quality looks. Despite the 103–84 loss, Brown struck a more optimistic tone, saying the team would be “pleased” with the number of open shots their offense generated against Denver’s defense.
Minnesota Timberwolves (Nov. 29, March 22)
Brown notched his second of five 40-point games this season against Anthony Edwards in Minnesota on Nov. 29, and it still wasn’t enough.
Edwards took over late, scoring nine straight points to give the Timberwolves a 110–98 lead with 3:52 remaining. Then he got the best of Derrick White’s defense — the very, very best. With under 20 seconds left in the game and less than six seconds on the shot clock, Edwards lost his dribble, gathered, and launched a desperation three over White. He drilled it, pushing Minnesota ahead by six with 14 seconds to play.
Boston went on to fall, 119–114.
When the two teams met again in Boston this past Sunday, Edwards was ruled out with right knee inflammation. This time, the Celtics also had Jayson Tatum back, now seven games into his return.
It didn’t matter.
An effort Brown later called “lackadaisical” allowed the shorthanded Timberwolves to control the game throughout. Bones Hyland led all bench scorers with 23 points, nearly outscoring Boston’s entire reserve unit (26 points) by himself. The starters also didn’t provide much relief. Outside of Brown’s 29 points, the rest of the lineup combined for just 37 and shot 3-of-15 from three.
Tatum attempted only four shots in the first half, and Boston’s 15-point fourth quarter on 5-of-27 shooting marked a season low, sealing a 102–92 loss and a winless season series against Minnesota.
Houston Rockets (Nov. 1, Feb. 4)
The Celtics opened the season 0–3, slowly acclimating to a new-look roster without Tatum. Ten days after tipping off against the Philadelphia 76ers, they faced their first real test from the West, hosting Ime Udoka, Kevin Durant, and the Rockets on Nov. 1.
Boston got outclassed, plain and simple. In the words of Payton Pritchard, they got “punked.”
Houston dominated the margins, outrebounding Boston 53–36 and shooting 65.5 percent from three compared to 31.8 percent from the Celtics. Scoring was a grind early on, as was navigating life without Tatum. The Rockets held them to 24 points in three separate quarters, and the ginormous frontcourt of Durant, Jabari Smith Jr., and Alperen Şengün overwhelmed them in a 128–101 loss.
More than three months later, the Celtics grew. They became a completely different team than they were in November.
Neemias Queta, just days after Boston acquired 15-year veteran center Nikola Vučević at the trade deadline, made a strong case to remain the starting big. In the rematch on Feb. 4, Queta showcased his growth with 10 points and 19 rebounds in a 114–93 win over Houston. He stepped up in a major way, as Boston played shorthanded without Brown, Sam Hauser, and Vučević — who had yet to join the team.
That performance stands as Boston’s most convincing statement win over an elite Western Conference opponent.
Oklahoma City Thunder (March 12)
During their lone trip to Oklahoma City less than three weeks ago, Boston took the floor without Tatum or White. Still, the Celtics didn’t just compete; they pushed the Thunder to the brink.
Contributions came from everywhere. Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and rookie Hugo González all flashed their readiness for bigger moments. Garza, Walsh, and Scheierman battled on the offensive glass for second-chance opportunities, while González made his presence felt defensively, including a third-quarter block on Jaylin Williams’ 3-point attempt in Boston’s 104–102 loss.
There are no moral victories in the standings, but if there were, this would qualify as Boston’s most telling.
Veterans like Brown and Pritchard kept their reactions brief because it’s no longer surprising. The Celtics aren’t oohing and ahhing over Garza’s hustle or González’s flashes of a Marcus Smart disciple. Those moments have become the expectation.
Now, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will see it again, with the teams meeting for the final time in the regular season Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET in Boston.
