There’s 11 games left for the Boston Celtics in the regular season and just 24 days until the postseason begins. However, according to Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving, a six-time All-Star and the team’s offensive leader, Boston has not yet adopted a playoff mindset.
“No,” Irving said when asked if a playoff mindset has set in for the Celtics. “We need more focus and discipline in order for that switch to be turned on.”
“…We have yet to figure out what that switch is for us going into the postseason,” Irving elaborated. “But that’s why we have 11 games left.”
11 games and three weeks in the NBA can feel like an eternity to players and ultimately, there’s a chance that the Celtics can achieve the necessary mindset to excel in the playoffs before they actually begin. However, with Hayward missing Wednesday’s heavyweight contest against the Philadelphia 76ers and both Irving and Al Horford planning on missing multiple games before the regular season ends so that they can be well-rested entering the postseason, Boston actually has fewer than 11 games to right the ship.
Furthermore, though the Celtics have made strides in recent weeks in how they approach the game mentally and get along with one another off-the-court, they’ve only just started trending in a positive direction again after a horrendous February slate that saw them go 5-6, their first month with a losing record since going 7-8 in November. Looking at what they’ve done since then, aside from a handy defeat of the Golden State Warriors earlier in March, it’s still been far from smooth sailing for Boston.
They suffered an embarrassing defeat against the Houston Rockets on March 3, needed a game-winner to defeat the Sacramento Kings on March 6, lost by 25 points to the Los Angeles Clippers on March 11, squeaked out a win against the Kings on March 14 and nearly let a 25-point lead slip away against the Atlanta Hawks on March 16. Oh, and they just lost to the Denver Nuggets on Monday, in one of the team’s worst offensive showings this season.
They’ll get a bit of reprieve after Wednesday’s game, with four of their last 10 games coming against teams who won’t reach the playoffs in the East and with three other games coming against teams ranked 7th or 8th in the Eastern Conference standings. That said, should the team take a step backward in the short time, it could make for a short postseason run and a long offseason.
The Celtics still rank in the top-10 in offensive rating (112.4), defensive rating (107.3), effective field goal percentage (53.5), three-point field goals (6.7), three-point percentage (36.4), assists (26.5), steals (8.9), blocks (5.4) and turnovers (13.1), all categories that are heavily important in a team’s attempt to win a game. However, the game is about more than numbers but about experience, mindset, unity and effort as well.
Boston is inconsistent in their effort, unity and mental approach to the game. They’re one of the most inexperienced teams in the league as well, with just four players in their regular rotation at least 28-years-old. Irving, though a NBA champion and six-time All-Star at 26-years-old, is inexperienced as a leader. A fact that’s reared it’s ugly head at various points this season.
The confidence that existed in the Celtics at the beginning of the season has since faded but there’s still, as Irving notes, a little bit of time left for Boston. The million dollar question is if they’ll reach their potential before it’s too late.
*All stats gathered from Basketball Reference
