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The Boston Celtics experienced a rough outing against the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. The Celtics suffered a 125-104 loss and it was never particularly close. The Hornets ran the Celtics out of the gym with their speed and scoring, and their switchability gave the Celtics some trouble on defense.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens summed it all up after the game:
Brad Stevens: "We got out-played, out-coached, out-hustled. I thought their speed gave us fits today. They were fast to get it up the floor and fast to move it. We were slow to get it up the floor and slow to move it."
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 25, 2021
The Celtics need to batten down the hatches and win games like this down the stretch of the season in order to avoid the play-in tournament. Boston is now 32-29 on the season, which is good for the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference. However, the Celtics have the same record as the seventh-seeded Miami Heat, so they can't afford many more performances like this one.
The Hornets stepped up Sunday in the absence of stars LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward. They are solidly in the No. 8 slot, meaning they will likely have to play in the play-in, but it has been a successful season nonetheless. Ball is expected to return at some point in the near future.
Many would argue that the Celtics have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. They have had COVID-19 struggles and other injury issues, but many of their struggles fall squarely on the roster. They have been incredibly inconsistent on both ends. They rely far too much on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to create all of their offense, especially when Kemba Walker misses games.
The Celtics will need to find their consistency if they want to avoid the play-in.
