Preview: Celtics at Hornets
Just when it seemed as if the Boston Celtics had figured some things out and might be primed for a breakout, they put up another clunker. The Celtics will try to bounce back from a woeful offensive effort at home when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
"You know, I had an old friend [Paul Patterson, a longtime coach at Taylor University], and the phrase that his team used was, 'The game honors toughness.' And boy, is that true," Boston coach Brad Stevens told the media after Saturday's 98-86 loss to the Utah Jazz. "You see that over and over. And so, I would say that if we're struggling with the ball going in the hole that we should just lock into what we need to do better, and that will take care of itself." Stevens was forced to pull several starters early in the fourth quarter as the Jazz took over with a series of dunks and his team -- which ranks 29th in the NBA in shooting at 43.2 percent -- could not recover. The Celtics must now contend with a motivated Kemba Walker, whose career-high and franchise-record 60 points were not enough in a 122-119 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. "I'm still proud, that's an unbelievable thing to do right there," Walker told reporters of his effort. "I'm just mad that we lost. I'm a competitor. It would have been even better with a win."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (9-7): Leader Kyrie Irving had some pointed words following Saturday's loss, and it was rather evident that he was taking aim at young teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. "I think last year, the young guys that are in the locker room now, some of the guys that are playing, they were a little bit younger," he told the media. "They weren't expected to do as much, and I think that the amount of pressure that we put on them to perform every single night is something that they have to get used to, being part of a great team like this. If you're not playing to the standard then, as a team, we just don't all click." Brown shot 1-of-9 in the loss to see his field-goal percentage dip to 36.2 from 46.5 a season ago, while Tatum is down to 42.4 percent -- also from 46.5 in 2017-18.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (7-8): Walker, who scored seven points on 2-of-16 shooting in a loss at Cleveland his previous game, was 21-of-34 from the floor against the Sixers while chipping in seven rebounds and four steals. "Kemba Walker is just an amazing ball player," coach James Borrego told reporters. "He's just an incredible ball player. What happened tonight was very unfortunate." The two-time All-Star is averaging 31.1 points on 53.8 percent shooting in seven home games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Boston PG Terry Rozier missed all 12 of his 3-point attempts over a three-game span.
2. Hornets SG Jeremy Lamb is averaging 21 points and eight rebounds during the team's two-game losing streak.
3. The Celtics have won seven straight meetings, including a 134-106 rout in the previous encounter in February.
PREDICTION: Celtics 108, Hornets 106
Just when it seemed as if the Boston Celtics had figured some things out and might be primed for a breakout, they put up another clunker. The Celtics will try to bounce back from a woeful offensive effort at home when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
"You know, I had an old friend [Paul Patterson, a longtime coach at Taylor University], and the phrase that his team used was, 'The game honors toughness.' And boy, is that true," Boston coach Brad Stevens told the media after Saturday's 98-86 loss to the Utah Jazz. "You see that over and over. And so, I would say that if we're struggling with the ball going in the hole that we should just lock into what we need to do better, and that will take care of itself." Stevens was forced to pull several starters early in the fourth quarter as the Jazz took over with a series of dunks and his team -- which ranks 29th in the NBA in shooting at 43.2 percent -- could not recover. The Celtics must now contend with a motivated Kemba Walker, whose career-high and franchise-record 60 points were not enough in a 122-119 overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday. "I'm still proud, that's an unbelievable thing to do right there," Walker told reporters of his effort. "I'm just mad that we lost. I'm a competitor. It would have been even better with a win."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (9-7): Leader Kyrie Irving had some pointed words following Saturday's loss, and it was rather evident that he was taking aim at young teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. "I think last year, the young guys that are in the locker room now, some of the guys that are playing, they were a little bit younger," he told the media. "They weren't expected to do as much, and I think that the amount of pressure that we put on them to perform every single night is something that they have to get used to, being part of a great team like this. If you're not playing to the standard then, as a team, we just don't all click." Brown shot 1-of-9 in the loss to see his field-goal percentage dip to 36.2 from 46.5 a season ago, while Tatum is down to 42.4 percent -- also from 46.5 in 2017-18.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (7-8): Walker, who scored seven points on 2-of-16 shooting in a loss at Cleveland his previous game, was 21-of-34 from the floor against the Sixers while chipping in seven rebounds and four steals. "Kemba Walker is just an amazing ball player," coach James Borrego told reporters. "He's just an incredible ball player. What happened tonight was very unfortunate." The two-time All-Star is averaging 31.1 points on 53.8 percent shooting in seven home games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Boston PG Terry Rozier missed all 12 of his 3-point attempts over a three-game span.
2. Hornets SG Jeremy Lamb is averaging 21 points and eight rebounds during the team's two-game losing streak.
3. The Celtics have won seven straight meetings, including a 134-106 rout in the previous encounter in February.
PREDICTION: Celtics 108, Hornets 106
