Why Kristaps Porzingis believes ‘house cat’ Celtics are on verge of turnaround

The 2023-24 Celtics were a juggernaut, facing little real resistance on their march to an NBA title. That has not been true for Boston’s current team.

Thanks to an increase in injuries, effort lapses and opponent intensity, the Celtics are just a shade over .500 since the middle of December. Overall, they’re 32-14 following Saturday’s 122-107 win over the Dallas Mavericks, trailing the first-place Cleveland Cavaliers by 4 1/2 games in the Eastern Conference.

Last season, the Celtics did not lose their 14th game until March 7.

Kristaps Porzingis, a near-constant source of optimism since his return from offseason leg surgery, contextualized the team’s new normal after Saturday’s NBA Finals rematch.

“We were a lion last season, and some games this season, we’ve looked like a house cat,” the center told reporters in Dallas. “We want to have that spirit as a team this year, and it’s tough. Obviously, we can’t trick ourselves and make it like it’s playoffs every game. It’s tough, just human nature. But we know the group that we have, and we know that we’re going to bring it to the big games, but we need to bring it consistently and keep building on good wins like tonight.”

After a 22-6 start to the season, the Celtics are 11-9 in their last 20 games, with four of their last five losses coming by double digits. They’ve struggled to maintain momentum during that middling stretch, going 3-8 in games after wins.

After losses, though, Boston is 13-1 this season, with an average margin of victory of 22.9 points in those bounce-back victories. Porzingis has been terrific since returning from the ankle injury he suffered on Christmas Day, averaging 19.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game over his last 10 contests while shooting 47.3% from 3-point range. The Celtics’ starting lineup, alarmingly inefficient until recently, also has shown clear improvement of late.

Against the Mavs, all five Boston starters scored at least 17 points for the first time since Jan. 30, 2024, and just the fifth time in the last 10 seasons.

“We’re definitely working towards getting our killer instinct back,” Porzingis told reporters. “We want to have that. Some moments, we’ve looked really good. Some moments, not so good. Some moments, we’ve cruised a little bit, and it’s kind of been a mix of everything. So I think it’s important for us to keep adding to what we have in these kind of games — to keep adding, to keep making steps forward, to keep pushing each other, keep holding each other accountable — and we have great support around us with the coaching staff and everybody.”

The Celtics have nine games remaining before the All-Star break, beginning with Monday night’s home matchup against the Houston Rockets at TD Garden. Included in that span are road games against Boston’s top two Eastern Conference challengers: at Cleveland on Feb. 4 and at the New York Knicks on Feb. 8.

“We just have to keep making steps forward as a team, and I think it’s happening,” Porzingis told reporters. I think it’s happening. So just patience and not overreacting to every little bump on the road.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/xISw0od