Jaylen Brown didn’t even need to hear the rest of the question.
“Jaylen, you guys have struggled a little bit in the first game —”
“Long road trip,” Brown interjected, his head nodding knowingly.
There’s a long-standing NBA belief that the first game back after a lengthy road trip is one of the toughest. Teams often struggle to regain their rhythm and energy after extended travel and multiple games. The Celtics have certainly felt the weight of that this season.
It had letdown written all over it. The Celtics entered the night 0-4 in their first game back after a road trip of more than two games. After their 124-104 loss to the Miami Heat, they’re now 0-5 in such games, with two of those losses among their worst by point differential (-17 vs. Sacramento, -21 vs. Miami).”
Of course, it didn’t help that Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Al Horford were all in street clothes. On top of that, Miami has been on a roll, winning six straight games and emerging as a potential first-round opponent for Boston.
“We were on the road for, like, 10-12 days. It’s not an excuse or anything, but, you know, that first game back, it’s always a tough one,” said Brown. “Just from a calibration standpoint, you’ve been in three different time zones, been away from home. You just get home and kind of get settled, and then you got to come play a basketball game. It be like that sometimes. It’s not an excuse; of course, we don’t make excuses. But, you know, the first game back off a long road trip is always tough.”
The good news for the Celtics is that they won’t have to deal with another one of those games. They have two more road games remaining, and the longest a team can be on the road in the playoffs is two games. They’ve been much better at handling the return from shorter road trips, posting an 8-4 record in their first game back at the Garden when the trip is two games or shorter.
The bad news? There won’t be a 10-game win streak this season. Not that it really matters. Does anyone even remember what their longest streak was last year? Probably not, but if you’re curious—it was 11 games.
Beyond that, this loss means nothing.
Boston has locked up the number two seed, sitting eight games ahead of the New York Knicks with six games remaining. Even with Cleveland's recent struggles, Boston was never going to catch them for the top spot.
For a team that’s powered through an eight-week delayed championship hangover and scattered injuries, they’re still right where they need to be. They only need four more wins to hit 60 for the second straight season—a feat the franchise hasn’t pulled off in 15 years.
On top of that, they entered the night with a 25-5 record in their last 30 games and a 17-3 mark since the All-Star break.
They weren’t going to ride a 16-game win streak into the playoffs—only five teams in Celtics history have ever even reached a winning streak that long, and only two since the turn of the century.
They’re in a great spot, even if it didn’t feel that way after this one.
“We’re all pissed. I mean, we all hate losing, and that was my message. It was a good reminder that losing still sucks,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I love the fact that the staff is miserable. Guys are pissed. We’re not happy about it, but we got to come back and do it again the next day. And I think it’s great. At the end of the day, it doesn’t have much of an impact, but it still sucks, and we’re all miserable right now. So, we’ll get back after it the next day.”
At this point, all that matters for the Celtics is that they are going into the postseason healthy. Sure, they’d love (and are likely gunning) to break the franchise record for most road wins—they need just one more. They can tie the NBA record (held by the 2015-16 Warriors at 34) by winning both. But health is the priority—namely, Brown’s knee, which he provided an update on after the game.
“I’ve had to come to grips that every night, I’m not gonna feel my normal self. But that doesn’t mean I still can’t make plays and things like that,” the All-Star wing said. “It’s just something that we are working through. Today was a good step forward.”
Brown was efficient, finishing with a team-high 24 points on 10-of-20 shooting (50%), nine rebounds and four assists. But he admitted he played through pain—something he and the team will continue to manage down the stretch.
“I was in some pain today, but you know, just pushing through it,” Brown said. “Trying to find ways to still be aggressive and add value to the team and stuff like that. But you know, it’s just something I got to work through and manage.”
The Celtics have 16 days between now and the start of the playoffs on April 19. More than anything, that time is about fine-tuning and staying healthy. Brown knows that better than anyone.
“Come playoffs, my goal is to be feeling my best. So we’re just working through that, and it’s a thing that we kind of have to manage and push through,” he said. “We got a good plan in place. So come playoffs, my goal is to be feeling my best.”
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