Celtics' March Madness: Boston's Toughest Test Might Be Complacency
The Boston Celtics roll into Memphis tonight on a three-game heater, fresh off slapping the Detroit Pistons around 119-94. They’ve won six of their last seven, their only hiccup a 115-109 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 5. Jayson Tatum dropped 38 points against the Pistons, looking like he’d just woken up and decided to be great. The team is sitting pretty at 46-23, second in the East, a comfortable 3.5 games ahead of the third-place Milwaukee Bucks. Everything looks rosy.
But here’s the thing: sometimes, these trap games are the ones that bite you. The Memphis Grizzlies, limping along at 24-44, are a shell of the team that pushed the Golden State Warriors in the 2022 playoffs. They’re missing Ja Morant, who’s out for the season after shoulder surgery. Desmond Bane has been sidelined for long stretches. Marcus Smart, the guy who used to bleed green, is now wearing blue and limping with a finger injury. They just got waxed by the Charlotte Hornets, 110-98, on Monday. On paper, this is a cakewalk for Boston.
And that's precisely why it's dangerous.
**Boston's Road Record: Not Always Clean**
Look, the Celtics have been phenomenal at TD Garden, boasting a 27-7 home record. But on the road, they've been a little more… human. Their 19-16 away record isn't bad by any stretch, but it's not the dominant mark of a truly elite team. They dropped games earlier in the season to the Oklahoma City Thunder (127-123 on January 2) and the Golden State Warriors (132-126 in overtime on December 19) – two quality teams, sure, but games where Boston didn't quite have that road warrior grit. Then there’s that embarrassing 105-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets on March 7, where Nikola Jokic put up a triple-double and the Celtics couldn't buy a bucket in the clutch.
Real talk: the Celtics sometimes play down to their competition, especially on the road. They get a little sloppy with the ball – 12.3 turnovers per game, which is middle of the pack in the league. Tonight, against a Grizzlies team with nothing to lose, those lazy passes or missed rotations could lead to easy buckets and an unexpected dogfight. You don't want to give a struggling team any reason to believe they can hang around. Memphis has still got some athletes, even with all the injuries. Guys like Jaren Jackson Jr., who scored 30 points against the Hornets, can still get hot.
**Memphis's Pride Factor**
Sure, the Grizzlies are out of the playoff picture, sitting 11th in the West, miles behind the Play-In tournament. But there's a certain pride that comes with playing a team like the Celtics. No one wants to be embarrassed on their home floor. They’ll be looking to make a statement, even if it's just to mess up Boston's win streak. Think back to last year, when the Grizzlies, a top-tier team, came into Boston and beat them 103-100 on February 12, 2023. Different teams, different circumstances, but the idea holds. Marcus Smart, if he plays, will be extra motivated against his old team, looking to prove he still has it. Even if he’s hobbled, his competitive fire is contagious.
My hot take? The Celtics get caught looking ahead to their big matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. They come out flat tonight, turn the ball over too much, and the Grizzlies, fueled by a surprisingly strong second-half performance from Jaren Jackson Jr. and a few key bench contributions, pull off a shocker. Memphis beats Boston 108-105, snapping the Celtics' win streak and giving Joe Mazzulla plenty to yell about in film session.