The Boston Celtics have been unbalanced over the last three games during this road trip. Let’s take a look at what we’ve seen from the Celtics over these last three games.

Joe Mazzulla

Joe Mazzulla is still figuring things out regarding his lineup and rotations. The lineup is something that should already have been solidified by this point in the season and it’s hurting the Celtics down the stretch.

Derrick White didn’t play in the fourth quarter on Saturday night in Utah, in a game that Marcus Smart didn’t play in. He is the best playmaker and paint scorer on the team and he wasn’t on the floor for the final play — a designed play — that malfunctioned due to being unorganized.

Mazzulla has limited Grant Williams to the point where this tough love approach isn’t working. He goes from DNPCD’s, to coming off the bench in the fourth quarter, to starting games. There’s too much inconsistencies regarding Grant’s game right now and this could be a result of that. The Celtics will need Grant to confident in himself when the playoffs come around.

Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum has been inconsistent and just not playing like the MVP frontrunner like he was in the first and middle parts of the season. He’s shooting way too many 3’s, averaging only 30.8 percent in the month of March. 

Although it’s against Mazzulla’s philosophy, Tatum needs to get back to attacking the lane and pull up from the midrange more than he has been. He just looks completely disinterested in finishing the regular season, as they’ve already clinched a spot in the playoffs.

Defense

The pick-and-choose defensive style isn’t going to get them far in the playoffs. A lot of the defensive issues are linked to Rob Williams being out with injury again, however, that can’t be true. 

Boston’s 112.2 defensive rating is fourth in the NBA right now, as they’ve hovered around this figure for most of the season. They’ve done this without Rob for most of the season.

I don’t want to take anything away from him, as I believe he’s the ultimate gamechanger, but Rob’s only played in 28 games this season and Boston’s been quite successful in his absence. 

The Celtics have blown four double-digit leads this month alone. There needs to be more of emphasis on defense and putting the proper players on the court, even if that means sacrificing a little bit on the offensive end. 

Load Management

With only 12 games left of the regular season, it’s worth considering resting players in preparation of a long playoff run. We saw fatigue kick in too soon last year in the NBA Finals and it’s reappearing now at the end of the regular season.

Playoffs

The Celtics clinched their playoff invitation over the weekend, despite losing to the Jazz. Boston is currently the third seed, as Philadelphia has one loss less on the season right now. There’s room to regain the second seed before the start of the playoffs, but it’s getting tight, and as the Celtics regress, the rest of the conference is progressing forward.

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Photo Credit: David Butler II, USA TODAY Sports