Over the past few seasons, the Boston Celtics have been one of the most successful teams in the league, culminating in them winning the 2024 NBA Championship. The Celtics are known for their high-powered offense, especially their three-point dominance. However, oddly enough, since the calendar has flipped to 2025, the Celtics have scored under 100 points in four games, and Boston has a 7-5 record in 2025. To put this number in perspective, last year, the Celtics only had three games where they scored under 100 points. In the 2024 portion of this season, they had zero. After an embarrassing 117-96 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston’s offense has never looked worse. Let’s dive into some of the Celtics’ recent offensive struggles.
Games where the Celtics have scored under 100 points in 2025: 4
Last season: 3
In the 2024 portion of this season: 0
— Eamon Cassels (@EamonCassels) January 24, 2025
Concerning Stat Highlights Celtics Recent Struggles
The Celtics’ overall record of 31-14 ranks second in the Eastern Conference and third in the league. Moreover, the Celtics still have the league’s third-best offense. However, there’s no denying the start of 2025 is cause for concern. Many of the Celtics’ struggles go back to December when they posted an 8-6 record. In 2025, Boston has the 16th-ranked offense, in January losses the Celtics’ offense is 28th in the league, a far cry from their top-ranked offense last season. Looking at the teams the Celtics have scored under 100 points against, only the Oklahoma City Thunder have a top-10 defense. The Sacramento Kings (14th-ranked defense), Lakers (21st), and Toronto Raptors (27th) are all unacceptable defenses to go completely cold against.
Shooting Slumps
One key issue is four players are in shooting slumps this month. These players are Jaylen Brown (41.7 FG%, 30% 3FG%), Jayson Tatum (41.3 FG%, 31.3 3FG%), Derrick White (37.4 FG%, 30.1 3FG%), and Payton Pritchard (43 FG%, 33.3 3FG%). In losses this month, all of these players are shooting below 40 percent from the field, with White shooting an abysmal 27.3 percent from the field and 20.9 percent from beyond the arc.
The Celtics’ offense runs through the Jays, and with both of them struggling, it’s difficult for the team to find a rhythm offensively. Additionally, White has been the Celtics’ third option for much of the season; his ability as a spot-up shooter is crucial to Boston’s offensive identity, and Pritchard has been one of the Celtics’ few consistent sources of offense off the bench. With these key players in slumps, it’s incredibly difficult for the Celtics to have any offensive success. These shooting slumps help explain some of the Celtics’ shocking offensive numbers.
Kristaps Porzingis is one of the few players who isn’t struggling. This month, Porzingis is averaging 19.7 points on 49.2/46/82.9 shooting splits; he has been one of the few consistent scoring options for the Celtics. His 8.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game have also been vital to the Celtics. For Boston to break out of this cold stretch, one of the struggling players has to join Porzingis as a consistent and efficient offensive threat. Having at least two consistent offensive threats would make a massive difference. Given the talent of these players, especially Tatum and Brown, it’s likely they will get back on track soon.
Fourth Quarter Play and Shot Diet
Another key issue for the Celtics has been their late-game execution. The Celtics’ already struggling offense plummets to 26th in the fourth quarter this month while their defense falls to 17th. Shooting slumps are a key reason for these struggles. Furthermore, at times, the Celtics’ offense can be very predictable along with frequent mental mistakes, this helps explain much of their fourth-quarter issues. Three-point shooting has been the Celtics’ offensive identity these past three seasons. However, during this cold streak, they must start attacking the rim more.
In January, the Celtics rank 22nd in three-point percentage despite leading the league in three-point attempts. Conversely, on the season, Boston ranks dead last in points in the paint. Notably, all three of the Celtics players who are in a slump shoot above 60 percent at the rim on the season. Tatum specifically needs to start attacking the rim more, this month, he is shooting 64.7 percent at the rim on 5.7 attempts per game compared to 9.6 threes on 31.3 percent shooting. Shooting nearly double the amount of threes with 33 percent worse efficiency is beyond questionable. Tatum needs to start using his strength and athleticism to his advantage, especially during this shooting slump.
On the season, Porzingis is shooting 71 percent at the rim on 3.1 shots per game, he is shooting 38.5 percent on 5.9 threes per game. While he is efficient in both areas it would be in Boston’s best interest to make him more involved in their offense and increase his paint touches.
The Last Word
Ultimately, a combination of shooting slumps, shot diet, and fourth-quarter lapses are central to the Celtics’ recent offensive shortcomings. Having one of their stars break out of their slump while mixing up the shot diet just a little bit would help the Celtics get back on track. This is the most concerning stretch for the Celtics over the past few seasons. However, it’s not time to hit the panic button yet and the Celtics are talented enough to overcome this rough patch.
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