The Boston Celtics are widely regarded as the best team right now in the NBA. After all, they are the only team that will finish the season with at least 60 wins, Despite losing to the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks, two Eastern Conference powerhouses, in their last couple of games, the Celtics are still ahead of their rivals in the East by 13 games.
But are the Celtics’ recent struggles on the court a sign of boredom or symptoms of a potential downfall in the playoffs?
Kristaps Porzingis Sounds Off on Boston Celtics’ Outlook in the NBA Playoffs Amid Recent Losses
After the Celtics’ 118-109 loss to the Knicks at home on Thursday night, Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis said that he’s not ruling out the possibility of his team getting a shock in the postseason but stressed that he is confident he and his teammates will get it together right away should they come across any trouble.
Via Jared Weiss of The Athletic:
Kristaps Porziņģis was asked if he’s worried about the Celtics falling back into bad habits when the playoffs start:
“Maybe we will. Maybe we’ll get our ass kicked again to start a series and that will be a wake up call for us. But I bet that we will show up.”
For Porzingis, such a loss to the Knicks can also be considered as a pre-playoff wakeup call for Boston, which has spoiled its fans with the Celtics’ dominant play on the court overall this season.
“It stings to have this loss, but maybe we need this before heading into the postseason with a killer mentality,” the Latvian unicorn said of the loss to Jalen Brunson and the Knicks, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “It’s not who we are. This is not the team our fans love. That wasn’t on display. You best believe we’ll show up when we have to. We know what the goal is and make no mistake about it.”
Porzingis finished the Knicks game with 14 points on 5/12 shooting from the floor to go with eight rebounds, an assist, and two blocks in 25 minutes of action. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 18 points, but was just 5/13 from the field.
The Celtics should be able to take care of business in their final two games of the regular season as they will be taking on lottery-bound franchises Charlotte Hornets this Friday and the Washington Wizards on Sunday — both at home.
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