Derrick White sat at the podium with the hood of his black Celtics sweatshirt on his head.
He rubbed his forehead as he was asked about Boston’s lack of defensive intensity in it’s 123-114 loss to Indiana Sunday night. The loss concluded a rough December for the defending NBA champions.
After winning 16 of their first 19 games, the Celtics began to backslide and finished the month 7-6. They’ve lost four of their last six games, three of them against teams that are at eighth place or lower in the conference standings.
Boston let Tyrese Haliburton (31 points, 7 assists, 11-19 shooting) slash into the paint and carve up its defense like a holiday ham.