The Celtics haven’t been in this position in a while.
The last time they started a season 0-3 was more than a decade ago, back in 2013-14. Thrift Shop by Macklemore topped the Billboard Hot 100, “selfie” was Oxford’s Word of the Year, and Adam Silver was in the process of replacing David Stern as NBA commissioner. The opening-night lineup for the Celtics that season featured Gerald Wallace, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Avery Bradley, and Vítor Faverani.
Entering Sunday, the Celtics had started 0-3 just nine times in their 80 seasons of basketball. Their 119-113 loss to the Pistons added another to that short list, marking the tenth. Of those previous nine teams, only four finished with a winning record, and just three made the postseason. It’s Boston’s first three-game losing streak since March of 2023, 182 games ago.
“It’s unfamiliar,” said Payton Pritchard. “It’s a little adversity. But you look at this, it’ll make us better.”
The only way this is going to make the Celtics better is if they figure out how to rebound the basketball. They had a chance to win on Sunday, but giving up 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 30 second-chance points, including nine offensive rebounds and 11 second-chance points in the fourth quarter alone, is nearly impossible to overcome. And in the end, it was.
They knew this was going to be an issue. There’s a reason Joe Mazzulla spent the preseason yanking anyone who gave up offensive rebounds and pleading for all five players to crash the glass. It’s no secret: Jayson Tatum, their best rebounder, is out indefinitely. Al Horford, who ranked third in total rebounds, Luke Kornet, second in total rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingis, second in rebounds per game, are all gone. Of course, the rebounding isn't going to be as strong.
But now, the Celtics are left trying to piece it together with the roster they have. And, as expected, it hasn’t been pretty.
“There are ones that we have to get – We have to be physical. We have to be tougher. We have to get those. We have to do a better job of creating turnovers and getting offensive rebounds to combat that,” Mazzulla said. “But the timely ones, we have to fight to try and get those. We just have to do that.”
Through three games, the Celtics have allowed a league-high 50 offensive rebounds. In their last two alone, they’ve given up 39 — their most in any two-game span without overtime since November 2016. They have grabbed just 58.4 percent of available defensive rebounds, dead last in the NBA, and their worst mark over a three-game stretch since 2004.
Opponents have turned those second-chance opportunities into 74 points, good for 21.7 percent of the total points the Celtics have allowed this season. All told, Boston has been outrebounded 147-117 overall, including 49-30 on the offensive glass.
“We’ve got to figure that out. I think a lot of our issues can be solved just on the defensive glass. I’ve got to get more involved. I’ve got to get some more rebounds,” said Jaylen Brown, whose 41-point night wasn’t enough to compensate for the lack of rebounding. “Rebounding is definitely the biggest issue for us right now.”
Still, there doesn’t appear to be panic. The team knows rebounding is a significant issue, and they’re working to figure out how to address it. They also understand they’re still learning to play together with eight new faces. They know shooting has been a problem as well, with Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Anfernee Simons combining to shoot just 19-for-74 (25.6 percent) on three-pointers through three games — something they’re confident will improve.
“If we shoot it how I know we can shoot it, then it’s probably two games now that we win. Everybody would be acting a lot differently if we were 2-1 right now. It’ll come. We’re great shooters, and we’ve shown that. So I’m not really stressing over a three-game stretch of not shooting it how we’re capable of. It’ll come.”
It was never going to be easy for this team. There’s a reason expectations were measured entering the season. But as they navigate early adversity, they’re leaning on the plan they’ve laid out and the process, which has shown flashes of success this year.
“What matters is making sure we continue to stick to the process of trying to win. We had a 17-point lead today. We’ve got to close the second quarter better. Obviously, the fouls and the rebounds," Mazzulla said. “We played a complete game with effort. Now we have to play a complete game with effort and execution.”
“We need to maximize our potential. I think Joe does a good job of that. Focusing on the details and the process rather than the result. The results will come if we stay with the process,” Brown added. “We’ve played some good basketball. I just really think the glass. The glass will solve a lot of our issues.”
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