Before the season started, the Boston Celtics were the overwhelming favorite to win the Eastern Conference. After their first 20 games, the Celtics are only 10-10 and backup guard Marcus Smart says opposing teams don't fear Boston anymore.
Boston lost to the Dallas Mavericks Saturday night by a final score of 113-104. After the game, Marcus Smart told reporters that the team isn't as good as they think they are.
Smart: "When guys aren't scared of you anymore there's nothing you can do about it." pic.twitter.com/opZJdSQY2v
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 25, 2018
The Celtics went to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2018 playoffs. They did all that without the services of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, who both missed the playoffs due to seperate injuries The prevailing thought was that with Irving and Hayward back this year, the Celtics would cruise through the Eastern Conference and represent the East in the NBA Finals.
Things have been anything but smooth so far for the Celtics. The team entered Saturday averaging just 106.4 points per game. That's 23rd in the league. Gordon Hayward is struggling after missing a year of basketball. The small forward is coming off the bench now after averaging just 10.1 points per game as a starter.
There's still a long season ahead for the Celtics to turn things around. They have too much talent on the roster to not build some type of rhythm here soon. However, if things don't get better in Boston quickly, this is a team to pay attention to at the trade deadline.
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