The Celtics had plenty of chances down the stretch in Sunday’s contest against the Trail Blazers, but their execution failed them badly late in a 114-108 loss.
Here are the takeaways.
The loss is fine … probably
Celtics fans seemingly have taken much of this season in stride, secure in the knowledge that this team likely isn’t a contender (although the recent stretch of wins begs some interesting questions). Some of the heavy expectations that have burdened the increasingly broad shoulders of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown for nearly a decade were lifted by Tatum’s injury, and a retooling year became a season for some players to develop (Hugo González, Jordan Walsh), for some players to test their limits (Payton Pritchard, Derrick White), and for some players to simply show out (Brown).