The Boston Celtics have won three of the last five games after the team suffered three straight losses following the loss of All-Star offseason signing Al Horford to a concussion injury. The improvement comes after a players-only meeting held following a 118-93 blowout loss on the road to the Washington Wizards.
“We had to look ourselves in the mirror and come to the conclusion that it is us and we’re the ones playing and that we have to get it together,” Marcus Smart told A. Sherrod Blakely of CSN New England.
During the five-game stretch after the meeting was held, the Celtics defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions) ranks third in the NBA. For the season, Boston’s defensive rating ranks 20th in the league for the season.
If it wasn't clear enough that defense is the Celtics calling card, the team held opponents under 100 points in three of their wins post-meeting; their only losses? — a 106-105 last minute-heartbreaker against the New Orleans Pelicans and a 104-88 loss to the NBA's superstar-studded Golden State Warriors.
While Boston has suffered injuries to their key personnel, it's no excuse not to dig deep and take the challenge head-on, something which has shown results so far, including their most recent 90-83 victory against the Dallas Mavericks.
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