Celtics Burned by Familiar Issue in Portland Loss

The Boston Celtics’ West Coast road trip got off to a rough start on Sunday. Joe Mazzulla’s team suffered a 114-108 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, snapping Boston’s four-game win streak in the process.

Defensive rebounding has been a significant issue for the Celtics this season, with the team ranking 23rd in the NBA. During his postgame news conference, Portland big man Donovan Clingan admitted that part of Portland’s game plan was to exploit the offensive glass whenever possible.

“We obviously came out a little slow in those first two minutes,” Clingan said. “We knew that they were going to make a lot of threes. We knew that they were very good. Offensively, we knew one of their weaknesses coming into the game was defensive rebounding. For me, just attacking the glass on both ends, and really just being aggressive, and doing whatever I can for my team.”

Portland ended the night with 16 offensive rebounds, of which Clingan had seven. Yet, despite the Blazers’ dominance on the glass, they still failed to register more shots than Boston, meaning the extra possessions didn’t provide the boost Portland needed.

In truth, it was the Celtics’ poor shot-making that cost them the game. Mazzulla’s team went 13-of-44 from deep and 40-of-91 from the field. If Boston had shot marginally better from the three-point line, it likely would have secured a fifth straight win.

The loss has left the Celtics with a one-game cushion as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. The Toronto Raptors are hot on their heels.

As such, Boston must find a way to secure a win against Will Hardy’s Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Otherwise, the Celtics could find themselves in a scramble to secure their spot in the top three of the East heading into the new year.