Celtics-Spurs Overreactions: C's won't get far with this defensive effort

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The Boston Celtics' defensive woes came back to haunt them again on Wednesday night as they fell to the San Antonio Spurs, 110-106.

The C's were outscored by 19 points in a disastrous second quarter, and that ultimately led to their demise as they were unable to hold on to a lead in the second half.

Celtics-Spurs highlights: Second quarter haunts C's in 110-106 loss

This was the first time we got to see Boston's "Big Three" of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker all in action this season. How did their first game together go?

Time to overreact to that, and more from the Celtics' loss.

1. Celtics' "Big Three" looks rusty.

It wasn't the prettiest first game with Tatum, Brown, and Walker each in the lineup, but the trio did work well together in the second half to get the C's back into it vs. San Antonio.

Jayson Tatum (25 pts) came up clutch down the stretch on multiple ocassions, Jaylen Brown (24 pts) overcame a slow start to boast another MIP-caliber performance, and Kemba Walker (14 pts) -- although he did get picked by Dejounte Murray to seal the loss -- had a couple of clutch shots of his own.

There's nothing to worry about here. The "Big Three" will earn that title as the season goes on as long as they stay healthy. So far, so good on that front as Walker looks like himself again.

Verdict: Overreaction

2. C's defense (or lack thereof) is a major issue.

Our own Chris Forsberg wrote last week about the Celtics needing to find their defensive identity.

Clearly, they're still searching for it.

After being outscored 36-17 in the second half (the Spurs literally couldn't miss a shot for a 10-minute stretch), Brad Stevens switched to zone in the second half. It worked for the most part, but that isn't what you want to see from a supposed contender at this point in the season.

Kendrick Perkins summed up the Celtics' defensive woes on "Celtics Postgame Live," as did Stevens in his postgame press conference:

One thing is for sure, they better find some semblance of defensive identity when they host the Lakers on Saturday.

Verdict: Not an overreaction

3. Robert Williams needs to get more minutes.

Tristan Thompson has been unspectacular for most of his first season in Celtics Green. Daniel Theis has played better when at the 5 rather than the 4, but the two bigs with the most minutes for Boston this season have mostly been subpar.

Williams was not subpar on Wednesday night, and the 23-year-old's performance could hint toward what may help the C's find that defensive identity we keep talking about. Williams finished with 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 block in 13 minutes off the bench. Stevens may want to consider giving Time Lord more time (pun intended) going forward, as his fellow big men haven't been cutting it as of late.

Verdict: Not an overreaction

Next up for the Celtics is a Saturday night matchup vs. the Los Angeles Lakers at 8:30 p.m. ET.

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