Are Celtics’ late-game woes a cause for long-term concern?

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Are Celtics’ late-game woes a cause for long-term concern? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Rocky late-game execution is nothing new for the core of this Boston Celtics team.

Last April, as these Celtics prepared to launch into postseason play, we wrote a story with the headline, “Celtics ready to prove they can thrive in playoff crunch time,” with Boston players adamant they’d be better than their regular-season crunch-time numbers suggested.

Boston’s inconsistent late-game execution was one of the only things to nitpick during its dominant 2023-24 regular season. And players swore they’d learn from those missteps. True to their word, the Celtics were downright unflappable in clutch situations while steamrolling their way to Banner 18.

Fast forward nine months, and the 2024-25 Celtics can’t get out of their own way in clutch situations.

While the raw numbers are OK — Boston is 13-9 (.591) in games within five points in the final five minutes — things get a lot less glossy when you find that Boston is a mere 9-8 in one-possession games (plus or minutes three points) in the final minute this season.

That essentially mirrors Boston’s output from last season, when the team was 21-12 in clutch games (.636) but 12-11 in one-possession games in the final minute. Those same Celtics went 6-0 in clutch games in the 2024 playoffs with a staggering +46.9 net rating in 24 minutes of clutch play.

Data has long suggested that poor clutch play in the regular season does not predict postseason struggles. Veteran teams routinely tighten up their late-game execution and perform better than regular-season data suggests.

The Celtics were a perfect 6-0 in clutch situations during the 2024 season with a +46.9 net rating.

That doesn’t make it any easier to watch the Celtics routinely fumble their way through late-game situations. Boston is now 3-4 in games within one possession in the final minute since their roller coaster play began in late December.

From Jaylen Brown straying too far as Tristan Da Silva hit a dagger for the shorthanded Magic in Orlando, to Jrue Holiday passing up a game-sealing layup before…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-game-woes-cause-long-125612629.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2025-01-28 12:56:00

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