On November 24th, the Celtics lost a disappointing Saturday night contest against the Dallas Mavericks, dropping their record to a disappointing 10-10 for the season and marking the low point of their early season struggles. A Jaylen Brown back injury combined with an earlier demotion for Gordon Hayward paved the way for a new starting lineup that would right the ship heading into December: Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Marcus Morris and Al Horford.
Now, as we turn the page to March, the Celtics have seemingly slipped back into that early season malaise — if not worse.