Following the Boston Celtics 97-92 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told reporters that he left the game “feeling encouraged because the reason [Boston] lost is that [they] were pressing.”
“A lot more encouraged tonight than last night,” added Stevens, while praising the Celtics defense against a top-10 offense.
The Blazers, who average 113.8 points per game (ninth in the NBA) and have an offensive rating of 113.7 (ranked fourth in the NBA), shot just 42.2 percent from the field against Boston and 18.2 percent from three-point range.
Further, they only generated 14 assists on 38 field goals.
For the season, Portland has shot 46.5 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three-point range.
The primary cause of the Blazers struggles were the shooting woes of guards C.J. McCollum (6-19 from the field), Rodney Hood (0-5 from the field) and Seth Curry (0-4 from the field), with the Celtics using a switch-heavy defense to effect their shots with length.
However, as Stevens would note, Boston seemed to often be pressing. Though it was an encouraging sight that the Celtics were playing with the energy and fight that they too often seemed to miss throughout the season, turnovers and poor shot selection would bite Boston in the second half.
With the playoffs a little more than a month away, the Celtics need to gain as much momentum as possible in the final quarter of the season. Wednesday’s game against the Blazers would seem to be a good step.
*All stats gathered from Basketball Reference
