Boston Celtics' struggles continue in the Eastern Conference - How the stats stack up for Celtics?

Boston Celtics' President of Basketball Operations while talking to the Bleacher report stated that 'Winning is hard in the league', however coming from a team that was heading in an excellent direction before the current season with two of the stars Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum has hit a roadblock. 

Executives around the league have started doubting the Boston Celtics' elite status as they have failed to reach past Eastern Conference Finals for more than a decade now.  Their last championship was won in 2008 with the Big 3, Paul Pierce - Ray Allen - Kevin Garnett. 

The whole downfall started post Isaiah Thomas's trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Kyrie Irving in the year 2018-19 which eventually became a 2 year rental for the Celtics as Irving later opted to go with Kevin Durant to the Brooklyn Nets.

With failed trade market for the current season and Kemba Walker's struggles, the whole playmaking has been one to question for, as their playmaking and scoring duties have all been laid down to Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Brown who is not notably known for his playmaking skills has also been pushed this season to bail them out of crunch situations. 

The Boston Celtics perimeter defense has been like an open house, the looters come in, score the points without any hassle. 

Considering the last game against the Dallas Mavericks, the team scored 19 of 39 from beyond the arc. if we look at the last 7 games, the Celtics have allowed the teams to score 41.6% from the 3 point range. 

For the 2019-20 season, Boston Celtics ranked 1st in the 3 point perimeter defense compared to 19th in the current standings

Let's talk about the coach Brad Stevens who came into the league with immense popularity in the NCAA and took over as Boston Celtics head coach in the year in the year 2013. 

Since then Brad has guided the Boston Celtics in 2 Eastern Conference Finals in 2018 and 2020 and has a coaching record of 341-271 with a winning percentage of 55.7%. During his era in Boston, the team was known for its defensive intensity. 

Each season Boston Celtics have had a minimum of 2 bigs in the squad and one All-Defensive player who used to give it all on the court. Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Tristian Thompson, Daniel Theis to name a few during his tenure. 

Let us Compare the Stats for 2019-20 and 2020 -21 Regular Season for the C's

If we have a look at the season stats a year ago and the current season, in just 48 games the Boston Celtics have been below par at almost half of the Statistics. 

The only improvement here which could be seen is improved  Field Goal Percentage which is bound to get down as the season moves ahead before the playoffs.

However, this season has not panned out as expected for the Boston Celtics big's, Robert Williams who was earlier suffering from knee issues was ruled out minutes before the game against the Dallas Mavericks, and Tristian Thompson has not been that kind of a player who was once with LeBron James during his earlier days as a Cleveland Cavalier. 

He has definitely not hit the ground running since his arrival at the Boston Celtics. The Celtics even tried to trade him at the deadline but could not find any suiters. 

One of their perimeter defender Daniel Theis has been traded to the Chicago Bulls as a part of Evan Fornier's deal with the Boston Celtics which left the Celtics helpless and having to start Mo Wagner.

The Boston Celtics who currently lie 8th seed in the Eastern Conference with a record of 23-25, 2 short of .500 winning percentage face a tough task for the month of April. 

With 15 games lined up for the month with a tough stretch of games against the teams fighting for playoff places which includes back-to-back games against the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers, LA Lakers, Golden State Warriors, Chicago Bulls, Pheonix Suns, and the Brooklyn Nets. This will be one hell of a ride to seal the fate of the Boston Celtics for the coming playoffs. 

Featured Image Credits - cbssports.com