Slow starts have plagued the Celtics this season.
Boston ranks 29th in the NBA in both scoring (25.0 PPG) and field goal percentage (42.2 percent) in the first quarter, and Brad Stevens's club is dead last in three-point shooting in the first quarter (27.4 percent).
Luckily for the C's, they've fared much better over the first quarter of the NBA season, compiling a 14-5 record that has them tied for third place in the Eastern Conference, just two and a half games back of the Bucks.
To have that kind of success even without their full lineup on the floor — thanks to Gordon Hayward's broken hand — is a testament to the chemistry the Celtics have been able to build in the early going.
A lot of the question marks entering the season are trending positively and, yet, Boston still hasn’t seemingly played its best basketball and there’s plenty of areas to tighten up that could ultimately raise the ceiling of this squad.
Instead of our typical weekly report card, let’s hand out grades for the first quarter of the season.
Click here for Chris Forsberg's Celtics Report Card.>>>>>
Boston Celtics
Don't miss NBC Sports Boston's coverage of Celtics-Heat, which tips off Wednesday at 7 p.m. with Celtics Pregame Live, and then Tommy & Mike have the call at 7:30 p.m. You can also stream the game on the MyTeams App.