The Boston Celtics had two days to stew over their loss against the Los Angeles Lakers. That’s two days to watch film. Two days to sit with the underperformance and lack of effort. Some time to practice. And, most importantly, some time to rest and recover.
Coming in against the Memphis Grizzlies, the Celtics knew they faced a similar trap game. Memphis will be without its primary rotation for the remainder of the season. They’ve running deep bench and two-way guys as their starters and primary bench group.
That’s the type of trap game the Celtics would likely have preferred to avoid after their malaise against Los Angeles.