The Boston Celtics regular season struggles continued tonight after they fell to the Chicago Bulls 126-116.
It seems like the Celtics have a long way to go in ironing out the rut they are currently in, and big man Al Horford believes that they should focus on addressing their woes right now, per A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston.
"We have to take it a game at a time. We can't think playoffs. That's not here yet. There's a lot of things we have to work out." – #Celtics Al Horford.
— A. Sherrod Blakely (@ASherrodblakely) February 24, 2019
The Celtics dropped their second straight outing post-All-Star break after a slim 98-97 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks. What makes this loss much worse is that it came at the hands of the lowly Bulls.
A team that is as stacked as Boston should be able to easily take care of a Chicago team that is clearly on the tank job. However, the Celtics are still struggling to find their identity and have not shown any semblance of consistency this season.
Just look at their last game against these same Bulls in the United Center back in December. This game is an absolute far cry from that. The Celtics romped the Windy City team to a 56-point drubbing that night, as Chicago fans booed their squad out of the building.
Article Continues BelowBut tonight, fans at the United Center had plenty to cheer about as Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen gave them a show, notching 42 points and 35 points respectively.
The Celtics, on the other hand, were led by Kyrie Irving, who scored 37 points. They weren't too bad on offense as well, scoring 116 points on the night. However, they failed to stop Chicago defensively, allowing them for 126 points on an efficient 53.4 percent shooting overall. Boston also struggled on the boards, as they totaled just 32 rebounds compared to the Bulls' 49.
While it seems like Boston still has a lot to iron out before the playoffs begin, this was also the theme for them heading into last year's post-season. Of course, they were without Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward at that time, so it's understandable for a young squad to struggle like that.
But that gritty young group found their footing eventually in the playoffs and came within seconds of making the NBA Finals without two of their best players.
It still, however, remains to be seen if they can afford to take the similar path heading into a much more stacked four-team race to the NBA Finals in the Eastern Conference.