Celtics show surprising effort issues in loss to Spurs

The boo birds have not been out much at the TD Garden this season but they made an understandable appearance in the first quarter of Wednesday’s stinker as the C’s fell down by 24-5 against a sub .500 Spurs squad. It was the fourth consecutive game that the hosts have faced a double-digit deficit in the first quarter and the C’s are probably lucky to escape with a 2-2 record in those contests.

Ugly losses like these were a trademark of last year’s Celtics but they have been a non-issue for this group prior to the past few weeks. However, this revamped group has started showing some of their vulnerability in these contests. The bench has come back to earth, All-Star candidates aren’t playing like themselves, even the return of Kemba Walker wasn’t enough to shake Boston out of their funk. After the dismal performance, the head coach called out the Celtics for a bigger issue that has emerged in the past week during the busiest stretch of the season.

“We didn’t play hard enough,” Brad Stevens acknowledged. “San Antonio played hard and we didn’t. San Antonio played great, we hoped a few shots went in so we could stay afloat. But we’re not playing hard enough the last two games, bottom line. The other teams deserve credit for beating us. Washington played great. I don’t want to take anything away from them. San Antonio was awesome. They were awesome against the Bucks. But if you’re not going to play to your max then you’re going to get beat in this league. And often badly.”

It was only the third double-digit loss for the season for the C’s in 35 games so the harsh words from the head coach were chosen carefully. He does not want to make a mountain out of a molehill for a team that has overachieved on paper for the better part of 35 games.

“I don't know about that,” Stevens said on whether he saw the slippage coming. “I think you know you are going to go through this in the regular season. It’s just a matter of if you stop it or not. I thought in the first half, they played with so much purpose and intent and we played just sloppy. There is a level of competitive effort that it takes to be in a game, let alone win a game and we just didn’t have it tonight.”

The effort issues were compounded by offensive struggles that were on full display in a subpar 47-point first half. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were a combined 10-of-30 from the field and 1-of-11 from 3-point range. Marcus Smart remained in his lengthy shooting funk (3-of-10). With Walker still feeling his way back after a three-game absence, the C’s didn’t have anyone to keep pace with the Spurs firepower, allowing them to shoot 55 percent from the field.

Were the misses leading to the lackluster effort?

“I know the best teams I've been a part of -- and a lot of these guys have been on them -- it didn't matter,” Stevens said of the impact of missed shots on defensive effort. “They kept guarding all the way through it, competing all the way through it. This team has been good about that all year. We're in a funk the last two games. At the end of the day, we need to play hard tomorrow night. If we don't play hard again, we will get pounded again.”

The good news for Boston is that their battle with Philadelphia on Thursday night will be more of a fair fight despite it being the fifth game in seven nights for the C’s. Joel Embiid (finger sprain) has been declared out so a Sixers squad that has gone just 3-4 this season in games without the big man will be far from a scheduled loss.

“We get another chance tomorrow to try to prove ourselves and try to forget this one,” Gordon Hayward said. “I think with each game you try to learn from it, take some of the things you did well and see that; take some of the things you didn’t do well and see that too, and try to improve on the next one. That’s what you’ve got to do. We can’t dwell on this one.”

While the competition won’t always be this tough (the Spurs look like a different team lately after blowing out the Bucks on Monday), the schedule is not going to get any easier this month when it comes to volume. There is going to be a game at the least every other day until the All-Star Break so playing without effort despite some tired legs is going to be a recipe for disaster. When you factor in some of the regression the C’s are seeing across the roster right now, this team could fall back in the pack for the race for the No. 2 seed in a hurry if they can’t stop the bleeding.

With the Sixers game serving as a potential crucial swing game in the standings (Sixers will clinch tiebreaker with a win), this game should have been circled on the calendar already for the Celtics. For a team that has failed to lead during the past two games, the sense of urgency should reach another level. Positive results may not be there due to the fifth game in seven nights but the effort needs to be at a different level to maintain the identity this team has built over 35-plus games. Otherwise, a stellar start could quickly become a distant memory.