BOSTON — When the Celtics humiliated the Suns with a blowout victory in early December, it seemed to be something of a decisive warning shot to the rest of the NBA. At that point, the C’s had rarely cratered en route to their 21-5 start.
But that victory ultimately came with an important lesson to recall. Their first slump of the season came directly after, and when the Celtics were blown out in a similar fashion in Oklahoma City in January, interim head coach Joe Mazzulla reminded them of that game in Phoenix.
The message? Don’t get too high on the victories and not too low over the losses. And it takes more than a great start to be a great team.
