Kristaps Porzingis Offers Brutally Honest Take on Celtics' Recent Slump

It’s hard to imagine a team in second place in the Eastern Conference with only 11 losses on the season is experiencing a “slump”, but after Friday night’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, the Boston Celtics now have a few areas of concern to address as the season progresses.

The Celtics have just come off a four-game Western Conference road trip where they took home a comfortable three wins and one loss. The series ended with an impressive win over recent NBA Champions Denver Nuggets.

The team, seemingly playing at full strength, seemed prepared for the Kings prior to Friday’s matchup, but they fell apart in the fourth quarter giving Sacramento the winning edge.

Boston kept it close for three quarters, but a combination of poor rebounding and defensive stretches mixed with an off-shooting night prevented the Celtics from outlasting the Kings. Sacramento has been hot since appointing Doug Christie as interim head coach, having now won six consecutive matchups.

The Kings’ Domantas Sabonis had a dominant performance on both ends of the floor scoring 23 points and grabbing a massive 28 rebounds. The Celtics struggled keeping Sabonis from scoring second chance points, which really hurt them down the stretch.

The Celtics got most of their scoring contribution from Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis. Brown led Boston with 28 while Porzingis added 22 points and 10 rebounds. The only other Celtic to score in double figures is Jayson Tatum who finished the night with 15 points.

Following the matchup a few Celtic players commented on the team’s performance. Porzingis seems hopeful his team will figure things out in the near future.

“We're gonna get past it,” he said after a 22-point, 10-rebound night. “I’m telling you, I’m confident we’ll bounce back. We’re just having not the prettiest moment right now as a team, and it’s completely normal. But believe me, we’ll figure it out.”

Brown also made a statement saying the Celtics just need to be better.

“Film doesn't lie,” Brown said. “Accept it. Just be better. Accept criticism well. Are you willing to be coached and come out and put your best foot forward? Do what your team needs you to do to win and be excellent at that. Anything that's ever been asked of me, I always try to lead by example, and we gotta do that as a unit. So, I'm looking forward to it. We've gotta continue to figure it out as a group. It's part of the journey. It might not be as pretty as some would like. But I believe in this team. I believe in these guys, and I think we'll be alright."

More on Celtics; Celtics News: Domantas Sabonis First to Post Historic Stat Line vs Boston in 54 Years