For most teams, an 8-6 month would be acceptable. But for the Celtics, they knew they had more to give. Much more.
So, before heading out on their road trip to start the new year, they held a meeting to address their shortcomings from December.
“We had a good meeting before this trip,” said Kristaps Porzingis. “Looking in the mirror type of meeting, seeing where we can improve and what we can do better, because teams are obviously coming for us, and some of them are playing their best basketball against us. So, small adjustments we want to make and try to keep improving as a team.”
The adjustments paid off.
With a 118-106 win over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, the Celtics wrapped up the road trip with a 3-1 record. That 3-1 finish came against four teams, all with records of .500 or better, and placed in the top eight of the Western Conference standings: first (Thunder), second (Rockets), fourth (Nuggets), and eighth (Timberwolves).
To take three out of four games in such a brutal six-day stretch, with travel and absences piling up, was a success. Coming off their worst month record-wise since March 2023, the trip was a nice bounce-back for the Celtics. But they know there is still room for improvement.
“I’d give us a 7.5 out of 10,” Porzingis said following the Denver win. “Not ideal, but I think we’re getting better as a team, honestly. I feel like we’re going to turn the corner very soon and go on a nice run.”
A 7.5 seems like a fair assessment.
The win against Minnesota was solid, especially with Porzingis and Jaylen Brown sidelined. The Celtics took some punches from the Timberwolves but stayed steady, sticking to their brand of basketball and making plays when it mattered most.
Against Houston, despite not getting to their hotel until 2 a.m., 1,200 miles from their previous game in Minnesota just hours before, the Celtics had five players finish in double figures. They locked down defensively, holding Houston to just 55 points over the final three quarters, cruising to a 23-point victory.
Oklahoma City? Well, they lose some points there. The first half was fine, but they struggled with the physicality of the young Thunder, scoring just 27 points in the second half—setting a new season-low for any team—and marking their lowest-scoring half since 2012.
They also lose some points for their second quarter against the Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets. Jokic, of course, has won MVP in three of the last four seasons and is on pace to be the first player to average 30 points (31.5), 13 rebounds (13.0), and nearly 10 assists (9.7).
You’d expect the Nuggets to struggle without their superstar, but the numbers show just how much worse they are. Denver’s net rating drops by 25.8 points with Jokic off the court, from +11.0 to -14.8. For reference, only one team in the 21st century has finished with a net rating of -13.0 or worse: the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats, who won just seven games in a shortened season—the worst winning percentage in NBA history (.106).
After a strong 37-point first quarter, where the Celtics built a 12-point lead and held Denver to 25 points, they allowed the Nuggets to post a 135.4 offensive rating in the second quarter. Denver shot 63.2% from the field and 50% from deep, outscoring Boston 32-20 to tie the game at halftime. The game stayed closer than it needed to be until the Celtics finally pulled away with a 15-0 run in the fourth quarter.
It’s a two-fold issue. Maybe the Celtics wouldn’t have let their guard down had Jokic been on the floor. But regardless, the Celtics pride themselves on being engaged for a full 48 minutes on both ends. They got away from that in the second quarter, making things more difficult than they had to be.
Nonetheless, the Celtics prevailed through the tired legs, turned up in the fourth quarter behind 10 points from Jrue Holiday, and head home with a 3-1 record (it could’ve been 4-0 if not for, by far, their worst shooting half of the season in OKC) and a better team than when they left.
“We were supposed to be 4-0, but the second-best option was 3-1,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Everybody said this road trip was ‘brutal,’ I think is what a couple of people used to start. So it was great, and I just liked the way our guys handled it. I liked the way that we approached it. It was four tough environments – I thought our defense kind of carried us, and our offense is what helped us. But what I really liked about it was just the guys – the road trip mentality they brought. The physicality throughout the course of all four games was there. The connectivity. I think this road trip, we became a better team.”
As the Celtics return to Boston, they know there’s still work to do.
Although Derrick White and Jordan Walsh missed Tuesday night’s game in Denver due to illness, the team is starting to get healthier. The injuries and illnesses that have kept players in and out of the lineup are subsiding, giving the Celtics the opportunity to build on what they’ve started during the road trip—now at full strength.
“When you look at the rhythm and reps that we’ve gotten, we’re almost at the beginning of training camp,” said Mazzulla. “You can’t underestimate how that impacts each other. Not positively or negatively, it just does. It impacts matchups. It impacts coverages. It impacts rhythm.”
Boston will now have two days off before welcoming the 18-19 Sacramento Kings to town on Friday and the 7-30 New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday.
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