Celtics take playing slow to extremes, and it continues to cost them late in close games

Here we are again.

Okay. Let’s do this one last time. I’m going to make this a clear as I possibly can. 

This is not about losing a game to the Hawks. Hell, I told you after the last game that I could feel a loss coming. They were futzing around and not defending against Chicago. I knew they’d get too cute or casual in one of these games. It happens. I really don’t care that they lost. 

It’s not about them blowing a 30-point lead. This isn't the same group that routinely gave up big leads and pissed away games in the past. This has nothing to do with that. I’m willing to look at this second half and chalk it up to a team acting in a way it hasn’t, without either of their starting guards, and a combustible Hawks offense finding a spark. Things happen.

And this is not a reflection on their chances to win a championship. Well, most of it isn’t, anyway. They're still the best team in the league. They're still utterly dominant when they play to their capabilities. This isn’t part of the roller coaster ride, like Homer Simpson deciding whether he loves Bart or Lisa depending on who was doing better at the time.

The Celtics are fine. Well, except for that one thing they keep doing when the game gets close and they need to score. 

They grind the game to a halt. 

Jayson Tatum’s eight-second violation with 8:26 to go in a game Boston suddenly trailed triggered something visceral in me. It was an “are you F’ing kidding me right now?” feeling. It was both the absolute perfect encapsulation of Boston’s late-game issues and the single biggest indicator that the Celtics don’t fully grasp what those issues really are. And I think it’s because the Celtics might be blinded by the things they could have done to prevent being in that situation, rather than dealing with what to do when they're in that spot.

For Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics, the postgame comments are always about getting the necessary stops, making some of the open shots they got, and grabbing an extra few rebounds. And those are all things that, had they happened, would have won Boston this game. There's no doubt about that. 

But at the same time, the glacial pace of play to close out games continues to be an issue. As I’ve said a million times, and it’s something no one on the team will deny, Boston’s best basketball comes from ball and player movement, stretching and bending the defense, and attacking the exposed weaknesses. 

And yet time, and time, and time again, the Celtics slow the game down to such an extreme degree that they often barely get the ball over halfcourt in eight seconds. I’ve seen players quickly shuffle their feet over the line to make sure they beat the clock before, and every time I do I know it will be a rough possession. 

But at least they get the ball over half court. 

Mazzulla is right when he says Boston has to win margins by protecting the ball, clearing rebounds, and making shots. But the Celtics are wrong to think they can do it with four guys standing around and either Tatum or Jaylen Brown doing all the heavy lifting. That's been their biggest issue for years.

Brad Stevens got them Kristaps Porzingis because of it. Porzingis was supposed to be one of the answers to the bogged-down offense problem. We were told that Porzingis post-ups were going to save the Celtics in those situations, but where was he in the fourth quarter? 

Getting just two shot attempts. That's where he was. 

The Celtics are the NBA’s ninth-fastest team in the first quarter, playing at a pace of 102.03. That number represents how many possessions they’d get in an NBA game played at that pace. In the fourth quarter, that number drops to 93.92. 

Of course, all teams slow down in the fourth. For example, the Indiana Pacers, the league’s second-best offense behind Boston, are at 104.22 in first quarters and 100.19 in the fourth. The Bucks are the third-best offense and they go from 103.24 to 99.41. The Clippers are fourth and go from 98.74 to 95.91. OKC is fifth and they go from 101.34 to 97.80.

Team pace numbers seem to drop about four or five from first to fourth quarters. Boston’s is basically twice that. They are taking the slow-down to extremes. 

Oh, and the top six fourth-quarter offenses are, in order: Bucks, Clippers, Pacers, Thunder, Bulls (Chicago’s pace only drops by two), and Celtics. 

Here’s a recent screen shot that has made the rounds on social media: