With Paul George sitting out the second night of a back-to-back and Boston playing their fifth game in eight nights, the Celtics snapped their five-game winning streak and lost to the Rockets 109-93. It was a demoralizing loss to a very good team, made only worse because of who was on the opposing team.
Why the Celtics lost
It’s bittersweet to say, but it’s all about Marcus Smart.
The former Celtic was everywhere on the floor. His stat line doesn’t tell the story. He was 2-for-10 from the field; Alperen Segun paced all
scorers with 26 on 12-of-15 shooting. He was just a +5 off the bench with the Rockets starters doing much of the damage in the game. With the ninth stingiest defense backing up the league’s most efficient offense, the 6-1 Rockets have few weaknesses to take advantage of now that they have Fred Van Vleet and Smart at the point.
However, Boston was in this game. After Smart checked into the game at the 4:35 mark of the third quarter, the Celtics whittled down the lead to four. And then Smart happened.
During one stretch to start the fourth quarter, he was called for two consecutive dead ball defensive fouls that he followed up with back-to-back threes — the epitome of The Marcus Smart Experience that we know all so well. By the time he checked out midway through the final frame, Houston was up 100-82.
Since his departure in 2023, he’s bounced around from four different teams, including a stint with Lakers last season. However, hooking up with Ime Udoka in Houston seems to be the right fit. For more insight to the former Celtics reunion with the Rockets, check out The Athletic’s Will Guillory’s profile on Smart and Udoka. Here’s a snippet:
“There are some guys who have that defensive mentality, but it’s rare to have a guy who comes into the game and impacts it the way he does on that side of the ball,” Udoka said. “You saw it with Dillon, you saw it with Pat (Beverley). There are certain guys you have to prepare for because of what they do defensively. He’s one of them.”
“(Udoka’s) mentality matched mine,” Smart added. “He allowed me to be me without any persecution.”
For the Celtics, they have several candidates that have filled in for Smart’s Tommy Point contributions. Walsh’s on-ball defense made him a starter earlier in the year. Scheierman chips in with the occasional hustle play or heady pass. Gonzalez often has the flair for the dramatic. But nobody has yet to solely take the mantle away from Marcus since his departure.
Numbers game: 28.6%
Last season, the Celtics were 7-11 when they shot under 30% from behind the arc. Before last night, they had endured a miserable game against the Nets in an overtime thriller and Sunday’s brickfest over the Magic, but hitting just 12-of-42 in Houston just wasn’t enough against an elite Rockets team.
Tatum made just one of his 7 triples. Pritchard and Hauser missed all five of their attempts each. The only bright spot was Garza’s 4-for-7 clip.
Maybe it was a lack of legs in the second night of a back-to-back or missing Paul George’s catch-and-shoot prowess on the wing, but stinkers like this are going to happen every sixth game or so. As long as they’re figuring out other ways to win, it shouldn’t be too big of an issue.
Must C’s
Once a Celtic, always a Celtic. Love and trust, Smarty.
Who said what
“To be honest, I gotta figure it out soon. I don’t know.” — Mitchell Robinson on his impact on the offensive boards
After missing the previous game against the Magic, Robinson was replaced by Neemias Queta in the starting lineup. Soon after coming off the bench, he jammed his thumb and went to the locker room for a brief stint in the second quarter. He did make both of his looks from the field, but his one offensive board on the night was just his fifth in three games. That was supposed to be his calling card.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the loss that Robinson’s decreased impact is partly because they have him playmaking by setting screens further away from the rim, but after leading the league last season with 7.7 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes, it’s been a disappointing start for the Celtics’ key free agent signing of the summer.
Just a reminder that today is Election Day and to stress the importance of voting, the league has cleared the calendar with no games scheduled for tonight. If you need help finding you ballot and polling station, the NBA is encouraging fans to Get In The Game and make your voice heard.
The team will return home to TD Garden to host the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday at 7:30 pm EST before heading back out on the road for four games in Charlotte, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Toronto. It continues a road-heavy stretch in November where the team will be away from Boston for twelve out of 16 contests.
