The Celtics were tested with the In-Season Tournament, and now it’s time to learn from it

The Indiana Pacers defeated the Celtics 122-112 in an electric, must win knockout round. While some dislike the tournament, it provided Boston a playoff type atmosphere.

If we learned anything from last night’s loss, the Indiana Pacers are passionate, and so are their fans. You would’ve thought this was an NBA championship game.

The Boston Celtics made a strong statement after their 27-blowout victory over the Chicago Bulls to advance to the In-Season Tournament first round last week. They wanted to go to Vegas.

On Monday night, they fell short of a victory over the Indiana Pacers. While some could argue the In-Season Tournament is distracting, I believe it was the closest approximation of a playoff atmosphere and matchup as you could get.

In fact, the Celtics were tested Monday night, in which they were caught sleeping, especially in the third quarter. Which such a newly constructed roster, is a little competition early on in the season such a bad thing? Let’s break it down.

The C’s still have a .750-win percentage and stand at 15-5 after the defeat on Monday. Leading the league with a +8.4-point differential, Boston has an average point differential of +13.7 points in winning matchups. While a few wins have been close against the Bucks, Grizzlies, and the Raptors, the Celtics cruised to several victories. In fact, they’ve won a majority of games thus far by a large margin.

The Indiana Pacers are a sleeper team, and they have an extremely deep bench. To be fair, I didn’t expect Indiana, led by Rick Carlisle, to lead the NBA in offensive efficiency and total points scored with the emergence and stardom of Tyrese Haliburton, former Knick Obi Toppin and former Celtic Aaron Nesmith. You combine those players with Myles Turner, Bruce Brown, and Buddy Hield, this is absolutely a contending team. Not only do they have a solid starting five, but they also lead the league in total bench points per game. This is a dangerous team that attacks from anywhere on the court, regardless of their defensive struggles this season.

The matchup on Monday was crucial, with both teams clearly having the desire to advance to the semis. In its inaugural season, the tournament gives teams a chance that haven’t seen a lick of playoff success in years, or ever for that matter. Having never won a championship in franchise history, the Pacers felt the playoffs vibes for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. Carlisle’s team didn’t let their foot off the gas for 48 minutes and played each and every possession as if it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

And to top it off, up by 7 points, Buddy Hield sunk a three-point shot to rub it in.

“I don’t care, I could care less,” Joe Mazzulla told the press when asked about the final shot. For Mazzulla, the Celtics had a horrendous third quarter, and made it clear you can’t win games with 18 turnovers. To be blunt, the Celtics simply were caught off guard with the level of effort and grit put on display by the Pacers. Haliburton finished with his first career triple double, and couldn’t be tamed anywhere on the court.

For most championship contenders, they don’t see this type of atmosphere until April, unless it’s an intense rival matchup. With a 7-point lead at half time, the Cs completely collapsed, falling behind 83-75 with 1:30 left in the third. Outscoring Boston 37-23, the Pacers forced 6 turnovers alone in the third quarter, and held the C’s to just 9-22 field goal shooting. Mazzulla’s squad put their old habits on full display in one of the most vital games of the year so far.

There are three lessons the Celtics can take away from this loss. First, they didn’t play at their own speed and decided to full throttle it against the opponent’s pace. With Indiana leading the league in pace, they are an aggressive team with lightning speed. Often times, they already have a shot off 2 to 3 seconds up to court. That style of offense certainly threw off the Celtic’s defense, not giving them ample time to reset.

Second, playing at that level of speed will leave this team exhausted, especially a unit that’s extremely top heavy. Not executing at a comfortable pace left the C’s struggling to set up offensive plays, especially in the fourth quarter.

Third, it was a good first trial for a unit that doesn’t have a ton of chemistry together. Whether you love the tournament or not, this was a simple win or go home type of matchup. Down 11 points, the Celtics panicked, and often rushed shots, especially down the stretch.

Tied 105 all with 1:38 left to go in regulation, everyone was on their feet, including the fans and both sides of the benches. With Tyrese Haliburton sinking a go-ahead four-point play, the C’s fell victim to the atmosphere and energy around them. While this is a great first evaluation, we can’t forget the Pacers currently sit as the number 6 seed in the East.

Although Kristaps Porzingis was out with a calf injury, Boston once against struggled with perimeter shooting, and protecting penetration to the basket. While Banner 18 is the only goal in mind, the Celtics will need to learn how to adapt to any particular play style, while staying poised in pressure situations without folding in April. While all the regular season wins are great, the Pacers are a perfect example of a team that could potentially knock off a higher seed, if they reach the playoffs.