In the grand scheme of things, a December loss at Golden State is nothing to get worked up about, especially when you have the best record in the NBA, had won 17 of 19 going in, and had just blown out one of the other top teams in the league in the Phoenix Suns.
Still, Saturday night's 123-107 loss to the Warriors felt like a big missed opportunity for the Celtics. Everything about this great start to the season has been framed against the backdrop of last year's NBA Finals.
That loss to the Warriors served as their motivation all summer. Their only goal this season, or at least their No. 1 goal by a mile, is to get back to the Finals and finish the job this time. That single-minded drive and focus has, by and large, shown up in their play.
Now, they were getting a chance not to avenge last year's Finals loss (that can't possibly happen until the spring), but at least to show that they were in a better spot now. They certainly had the much better record than Golden State, as the Warriors entered the night at 13-13 and sitting in 11th place in the West. It could have been a statement game.
Perhaps it still was, but definitely not in the way the Celtics would have hoped. Instead of showing they might be ready to turn the tables on the Warriors, the Celtics looked an awful lot like the team that wasn't quite ready for prime time last spring, that didn't yet have the experience or composure to hang with the dynastic Warriors.
Their offense, which had been scoring at a record pace this season, looked more like the one that failed to crack 100 points in all four Finals losses. They did crack 100 in this one, but they shot just 43.7% from the field and 30% from three. They had a season-low 17 assists. They got out-rebounded 53-39.
Jayson Tatum, playing at an MVP level this season, looked more like the player who struggled in the Finals last year. He shot just 6-of-21 from the field, 2-of-9 from three and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line, including missing two crucial free throws with five minutes left and the Celtics still in the game down by eight. Those missed free throws killed the Celtics' momentum and ended their comeback bid, as the Warriors went on a 7-0 run right after to put the game away.
The Celtics' bench, which has been so good this season, looked more like the bench that was nowhere to be found in the Finals. Malcolm Brogdon (16 points on 6-of-10 shooting) did his part, but the rest of the Boston bench combined for 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Derrick White's Warriors issues popped up again, as he shot 1-of-7 from the field and 0-for-4 from three.
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson got pretty much whatever they wanted offensively, combining for 66 points on 26-of-47 shooting, including going 10-of-22 from behind the arc. The Celtics, and Tatum in particular, still couldn't solve Draymond Green's defense.
"That's a good team. Regardless of their record, they're a good team," Celtics interim coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. "They took away our space. They took away our separation. I thought we missed some good shots. And they tested us. They forced us to work to make the right play, so credit to their defense for doing that. That's good for us to go through so we can learn just another style of defense that we have to execute against.
"…I'm not disappointed at all. Just another opportunity -- as we talked about before, every game gives you information. What did we do well? Where can we get better? And what do we have to focus on?"
It's the right approach for Mazzulla and the Celtics to take. Again, this loss shouldn't derail their season. It doesn't mean their great start is a fluke or they can't win the title or anything like that. But it's certainly understandable if their fans don't quite share Mazzulla's sentiment about not being disappointed by what they saw Saturday night.
