The Celts have now given up 243 points in the two games on this trip. They no longer have the NBA’s stingiest scoring defense, having surrendered that mantle to Detroit. And this is just the second time this season the C’s have lost two straight.
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And about his team’s defense. "The defense has got to be better, there’s no question about that," Rivers said. "We didn’t lose on the last shot of the game, we lost when the (center) is rolling down the middle of the paint and nobody’s picking him up six times during the game. That’s where you lose the game. We’ve got to get back to doing our job, doing our job full time. We can score. We’ve proven that, but getting into a shootout on the road usually means you lose the game."
The Celtics next opponent is the Suns on Friday. If they keep trying to play the run-and-gun shootout style, we might be looking at our first 3 game losing streak. It isn't as if it gets much easier in Portland on Sunday.
Seems like Tom Thibodeau needs to run some drills in practice today to remind folks about where their focus needs to be.