{"id":120198,"date":"2025-01-27T03:36:16","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T08:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=120198"},"modified":"2025-01-27T03:36:16","modified_gmt":"2025-01-27T08:36:16","slug":"celtics-notes-disease-of-more-regular-season-disinterest-tatum-mvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/27\/celtics-notes-disease-of-more-regular-season-disinterest-tatum-mvp\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtics: Disease Of More, Regular Season Disinterest, Tatum MVP"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Celtics<\/a> are the defending NBA champions. However, their current season raises questions about their chemistry. The team has already suffered 14 losses\u2014a mark they reached much later last season. These Celtics notes will juxtapose two possible explanations behind their recent struggles as well as what Jayson Tatum<\/a> is lacking in the MVP conversation.<\/p>\n

Celtics Notes: Disease Of More, Regular Season Disinterest, Tatum VS MVP<\/h2>\n

On the surface, not much has changed for the Celtics. The core remains intact, with Tatum and Jaylen Brown<\/a> leading the way. Their production remains high, though their shooting percentages have dipped. The supporting cast, featuring interchangeable guards and versatile bigs, is still solid.<\/p>\n

But something feels different. Bill Simmons recently noted<\/a>, \u201cThe camaraderie\/connection with the guys doesn\u2019t seem the same right now.\u201d He observed moments where the players seemed disconnected. Simmons hinted at a possible cause: \u201cThe Disease of More.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pat Riley coined this concept, explaining how championship teams crumble due to a desire for \u201cmore minutes, more money, and more shots.\u201d Simmons elaborated in The Book of Basketball<\/em>, \u201cYear after year, at least one contender fell short for reasons that had little or nothing to do with basketball.\u201d If Riley\u2019s theory holds true, the Celtics might be struggling with internal cohesion.<\/p>\n

Regular Season Disinterest<\/h3>\n

Another explanation for the Celtics\u2019 underwhelming form could be regular season disinterest. This team has consistently performed in the postseason during the Jayson Tatum era.<\/p>\n

Since Tatum<\/a> joined, the Celtics have won fewer than 48 games only once, during the 2020-21<\/a> season. That year, they were a seventh seed and missed the Eastern Conference Finals. Every season the Celtics have won at least 50 games, they have been among the East\u2019s elite.\u00a0 Currently, they have 32 wins through 46 games, sitting second in the conference. They\u2019re on pace for 59<\/a> wins, which would secure their usual postseason threshold.<\/p>\n

This regular-season complacency mirrors other championship teams. For example, the Golden State Warriors<\/a> famously coasted during their dominant years. Players often conserve energy and avoid injuries, prioritizing the postseason over regular-season records.<\/p>\n

The Celtics also face immense pressure to build their legacy. Tatum, in particular, shoulders the weight of comparisons to Celtics legends like Larry Bird<\/a> and Bill Russell<\/a>. A second championship could place this team among Boston\u2019s all-time greats.<\/p>\n

Tatum vs. the MVP Ladder<\/h3>\n

Tatum\u2019s performance remains stellar. He\u2019s averaging 27.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.3 steals on 59% true shooting. Despite this, he ranks fourth<\/a> on the MVP ladder, behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/a>, Nikola Jokic<\/a>, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.<\/a><\/p>\n

The gap between Tatum and the top three lies in situational dominance. When his team struggles, Tatum doesn\u2019t always elevate. A recent example highlights this difference.<\/p>\n

Against the Utah Jazz,<\/a> Shai scored<\/a> 54 points to secure a win despite limited help. In contrast, Tatum recently faced a Toronto Raptors<\/a> team missing Immanuel Quickley<\/a>. The Celtics struggled<\/a> offensively, scoring only 97 points in a loss. Tatum scored just 16 points when his team needed more.<\/p>\n

MVP candidates shine on any given night. Jokic, Giannis, and Shai consistently deliver when their teams falter. For Tatum to join their ranks, he must develop this same consistency in crucial moments.<\/p>\n

Celtics Notes: The Celtics Must Navigate Current Chemistry and Effort Concerns to Repeat as Champions<\/h3>\n

The Celtics\u2019 current season poses unique challenges. Whether battling \u201cThe Disease of More\u201d or disinterest in the regular season, they lack their usual sharpness. Tatum remains a cornerstone but must elevate his game to compete for MVP honors.<\/p>\n

Despite these issues, the Celtics remain on track for postseason success. Their championship aspirations hinge on rediscovering cohesion and focus when it matters most.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions. However, their current season raises questions about their chemistry. The team has already suffered 14 losses\u2014a mark they reached much later last season. These Celtics notes will juxtapose two possible explanations behind their recent struggles as well as what Jayson Tatum is lacking in the MVP conversation. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":120201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,5],"tags":[49979,2101,49341,1591,306,3178,450,798,455,564,72,1489],"class_list":["post-120198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-celtics","tag-2024-25-nba-season","tag-bill-russell","tag-bill-simmons","tag-eastern-conference-finals","tag-giannis-antetokounmpo","tag-immanuel-quickley","tag-jaylen-brown","tag-jayson-tatum","tag-larry-bird","tag-nba-mvp","tag-nikola-jokic","tag-shai-gilgeous-alexander"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120198"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120202,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120198\/revisions\/120202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}