The Celtics’ latest loss didn’t just leave them with a 109-93 defeat to the Houston Rockets. It put a spotlight on the same issue that keeps surfacing early in the season: the little stuff that snowballs into bigger problems.
Boston entered its seventh game with a shot at tying the Pistons for the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but the Rockets made sure that never became a real conversation. Joe Mazzulla’s group had no one top 20 points, and Jayson Tatum was held to 19 points while shooting 31.25% from the field and 0.059% from three. Marcus Smart and Amen Thompson were part of the defensive pressure that helped make life miserable for him.
Afterward, Tatum pointed to the area that bothered him most. As he told Jay King, "There were a bunch of little things that contributed.
It really was just the offensive rebounds, just giving them second- and third-chance opportunities. Eventually, they are going to hit a shot," Tatum declared.
That message fits the bigger picture for Boston. The Celtics actually finished with 13 offensive rebounds to Houston’s nine in this game, but the broader trend has been shaky. They had only 14 offensive boards against the Orlando Magic and nine against the Chicago Bulls in the two games before this one, and that’s a problem because offensive rebounding was one of the main areas they targeted this offseason.
Mazzulla and Brad Stevens brought in Mitchell Robinson specifically to help clean up the glass. Robinson came in with a career-high 23.9% offensive rebound percentage, but that number has dropped to 10.9% with Boston. The Celtics’ defensive rebounding has also slipped to 27th in the league at 69%.
For a team trying to stay in the title picture, rebounding is not a side issue. It’s the foundation. Tatum and Mazzulla have already worked through other issues together, and this one now sits at the center of Boston’s early-season cleanup job.
In Other News...
Luka Garza Just Gave Celtics Fans A Real Rotation Debate
Luka Garza gave the Celtics something different in a recent game, and it came at a time when their offense needed a jolt. His perimeter shooting stood out as one of the few bright spots in a loss to Houston, where Boston had trouble generating enough clean looks and the Rockets dictated the game inside and in transition.
For a frontcourt that is still sorting out its nightly mix, Garzas ability to stretch the floor adds a wrinkle the coaching staff may have to weigh more seriously. The Celtics have options to consider, and even in a defeat, he made a case that his shooting can change the conversation about how that rotation should look going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durants Postgame Frustration Says Plenty About Bostons New Problem
After Houstons win over the Celtics, Kevin Durant made it clear he was not interested in turning the postgame conversation into a referendum on his shot volume. When Houston Chronicle reporter Varun Shankar asked about the low number of attempts, Durant pushed back and stressed that his value goes well beyond how often he puts the ball up, a familiar theme for a veteran star whose gravity can shape a game even when he is not piling up shots.
For Boston, the exchange is another reminder of the problem that comes with facing a player like Durant on a night when he does not need to dominate the box score to tilt the floor. He has taken 10 or fewer field goal attempts in half of Houstons games this season while still averaging 20.8 points per game, which is exactly why the Celtics cannot afford to treat quiet scoring nights as a sign of relief. [Read more 🡒]
Mitchell Robinson Already Faces Pressure In Bostons Center Gamble
Bostons bet on Mitchell Robinson looked straightforward when it brought him in on a three-year deal and penciled him in as the starting center for the 2026-27 season. But the early read has been less tidy, with Robinson still trying to rediscover the impact that made him such a force in New York and Boston already having to sort through its frontcourt rotation.
Robinson has been candid about the adjustment, noting that he needs to improve and get comfortable in a new setting after eight seasons with the Knicks. The pressure is obvious now, because the Celtics did not bring him in to be a placeholder, and every uneven night only sharpens the scrutiny around how quickly he can settle in and whether Bostons center plan will hold. [Read more 🡒]