The Boston Celtics losing streak hit three games by virtue of their loss at the hands of the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night. The team has dropped six of their last eight games amid what is far and away their worst slump of the season.
The Celtics were without the services of Kemba Walker (knee) and Jaylen Brown (thumb) and as a result, their offense simply couldn't do enough. Despite a superb effort from Marcus Smart (more on that later), the Celtics fell by a score of 123-119. And they'll have to start thinking about making some changes moving forward to ensure they snap out of this skid.
Here are three instant overreactions from the C's loss, which brings them to 27-14 on the year.
1. Marcus Smart is becoming a knockdown 3-point shooter
Verdict: Overreaction
Marcus Smart just had the best 3-point shooting game in Celtics history. He scored a career-high 37 points and his offense was essentially the only thing that kept the C's in the game against the Suns.
Boston Celtics
Smart is hot from downtown. He was to start the season for the Celtics and in the team's first 11 games, he was hitting 40 percent of his shots. Now, he's on a similar hot streak.
After struggling to hit shots in the wake of an eye infection, Smart has been on fire from beyond the arc in his last six games. He has gone 19-of-38 from deep in that stretch and has been one of the team's most consistent shooters during their slump.
As much as we'd love to believe that Smart has turned the corner, it's hard to recommend trusting Smart from long-range long-term. He's simply too streaky of a 3-point shooter and it's important to remember that he had a 15-game stretch where he shot just 23 percent from downtown.
The Celtics will keep riding the hot hand while Smart has it. But eventually, he will cool off, so the team shouldn't plan on him being a high-volume 3-point scorer. Maybe he'll finish the season with a career-high in 3-point shooting, but seeing him making 40+ percent of his threes is likely unsustainable.
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2. Javonte Green needs more minutes
Verdict: Not an overreaction
When the Celtics were in need of a jolt in the first half, Brad Stevens turned to Javonte Green as the team operated with a short bench. And in his action, Green didn't disappoint.
Green provided the Celtics with the energy that they needed to spark a comeback against the Suns. He drew the team's first free throws of the game early in the second quarterback by driving to the rim. He aggressively attacked the boards. And he made plays to snap the Celtics out of their early first-quarter funk.
Green finished the game with six points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal. That said, he only logged three minutes in the second half despite his solid first-half effort.
Moving forward, Green deserves more minutes for the squad. He's just a rookie so he may not be consistent, but he deserves more than the six-odd minutes that he had been averaging in the previous five games the Celtics played.
3. Devin Booker is the Celtics kryptonite
Verdict: Not an overreaction
Celtics fans everywhere should be thankful that Devin Booker plays for a non-contending Western Conference team. If he was in the Eastern Conference, the C's would have a lot of trouble dealing with him.
Entering the Celtics game with the Suns, Booker ranked second all-time in points per game against the Celtics with 29.6. Exiting the game, he was tied for first all-time with an average of 30.7 points per game against the C's.
And who is he tied with? That would be Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest player in NBA history.
Booker netted 39 points on 12-of-20 shooting. He was efficient and also added 10 rebounds and nine assists in a near triple-double. Even though Marcus Smart did well on him at times, the team simply couldn't stop him from scoring when he wanted to.
Again, the C's struggles against Booker doesn't matter much in the long run as long as he's on the Suns. But his presence will certainly create problems every time that the team has to play against Phoenix.
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