The Boston Celtics are on course for a dominant No. 1 seed finish to the regular season, having secured the top seed in the East a month ago. They've stumbled to losses at the hands of the Bucks and Knicks in their last two outings, but head coach Joe Mazzulla chalks that up to the desperation the other two teams played with.
"I did not like the effort level in the first half, but like you said, it's just a tough spot to be in. I think the guys have handled it the best they could in our last two games against teams that are highly desperate. As much as we want to be able to simulate that, that's just not the position we're in."
Mazzulla added that he doesn't mind the team facing some adversity.
"I actually don't mind the results of the last few games because I think it's important. Going in with a bunch of wins and feeling good about yourself isn't any better than having little bit of a bloody lip."
Mazzulla added to calling teams fighting for playoff seeds desperate when asked about the Celtics giving up open threes in the loss to the Knicks.
"I saw that there's only one team in the Eastern Conference that has their seed settled and no one else does. I saw a high level of desperacy."
The Celtics have a 62-18 record, which gives them a lot of reasons to feel comfortable at this point. They're miles ahead of everyone else in the East with losses having no impact on their standing. He's right about other teams being desperate as well, with both the Knicks and Bucks currently scrapping over the No. 2 seed.
The Celtics Are Being Called Overrated
The Celtics are clearly not focusing on the end of the regular season, which could be a good move in ensuring the team is at top fitness when the playoffs start. However, this is a team that has had more playoff failures than successes in recent years, with fans waiting to see if this is the season they finally win the title.
Until that happens, their record will be considered overrated by some, as Shaquille O'Neal recently said.
“You’ve got to show me. I've been in this league a long time, seen a lot of guys that have had a great regular season but they didn't win championships.”
Jayson Tatum will receive consideration for All-NBA First Team after averaging 26.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists this season on a dominant Celtics roster. But that accolade isn't what he's after, with Tatum chasing a championship. The Celtics are united in that goal and have put together an expensive lineup to fulfill that pursuit.
The Celtics have a golden opportunity this season, with whoever coming out of the West needing to go through a tough road in a stacked Conference. The Celtics have proven their class over their competition in the East but they can't get too comfortable with what they've achieved or else they could fall victim to another shocking elimination by a lower seed.
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