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Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics took down the Indiana Pacers on Monday, but it wasn't the most beautiful win. And for head coach Ime Udoka, it only highlights the persistent problems they've been facing all season long.
While Udoka is satisfied they got the W against a rebuilding Pacers team, he acknowledged that they still have a lot to do offensively. He praised the Celtics' defense for their performance in the contest, but he highlighted how the offense needs to be sharper if they want to compete for playoff positioning in the East.
Udoka was particular on how the Celtics took care of the ball, committing 20 turnovers in total. Tatum had the bulk of the turnovers, losing the ball eight times and getting close to what could have been an ugly triple-double for him after scoring 24 points and getting 14 rebounds.
Ime Udoka thinks the Celtics need to be much sharper and crisper offensively. He said they’re turning the ball over too much, including in transition, where they should be getting easy buckets. He liked the defense tonight though.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) January 11, 2022
The Celtics escaped with a 101-98 win, but they almost let it slip away after allowing the Pacers to come back with 29 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime. They simply had no answer for Domantas Sabonis, who had a monster triple-double for Indiana with 23 rebounds on top of 11 points and 10 assists.
Ime Udoka admitted it was an “ugly” victory, but he and the Celtics will take it given the fact that they need every W they can get. Boston improved to 20-21 on the season, good for 10th place in the East. However, they surely don't want to settle there and fight in the play-in tournament instead.
Jayson Tatum and the rest of the Celtics need to turn things around quickly, and as Udoka said, it starts with their offense.
