Despite the best record in the NBA and early offensive cohesion that has separated them from last year’s club, the Celtics have their share of issues, as has been exposed over the past week with losses to the Hornets and Magic.
The loss to the Magic may have cost the Celtics a chance at the In-Season Tournament quarterfinals, and Orlando also provided the best way to beat the Celtics: use physicality, run them off the 3-point line, and attack the paint, especially when Kristaps Porzingis is on the bench.
Porzingis may not be available for at least a few days as he was scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging on his left calf, which he tweaked running back on defense in the first half Friday.
Without Porzingis the Celtics lacked any rim protection and the Magic simply brought backup center Luke Kornet away from the basket and attacked off the dribble with their versatile big men. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and even Mo Wagner can score on drives, and Kornet was left exposed and the Magic cashed in with layups.
For some reason, the Celtics decided to send two-way center Neemias Queta, the only other 7-footer on the roster, to G League Maine, so he wasn’t available to provide any support with Porzingis out.
Jrue Holiday also missed Friday’s game with a sprained right ankle and it’s uncertain if he will return for Sunday’s game against the Hawks. Without two starters, there is more pressure on the bench to perform, but what coach Joe Mazzulla hasn’t done through 16 games is determine which reserve can produce with meaningful minutes.
He’s developed a nine-man rotation with Al Horford, Sam Hauser, Kornet, and Payton Pritchard. But they also signed Oshae Brissett, Lamar Stevens, and Svi Mykhailiuk to offer wing help, defense, and shooting. The Celtics still have no idea how much any of those three could help because of inconsistent playing time.
Brissett played 5:19 Friday, committed two fouls, missed two free throws, and was a minus-11. Stevens, who carved out a solid bench role last season with the Cavaliers, has played just 20 minutes this season but Mazzulla has also strangely used him in some quick first-half stints in key games.
Mykhailiuk has played in seven games, 58 total minutes, and made 4 of 14 3-point attempts. The six-year wing has not played in four of the last five games and has reached double-digit minutes just twice this season. Dalano Banton appears to be more of a project player who may not help this season.
There was a perception that the Celtics needed to stay healthy in order to flourish in the Eastern Conference because they lacked depth and that thought may have come to fruition because the bench is not being developed. It’s apparent Mazzulla has faith in Hauser and Pritchard, but neither are plus defenders.
Brissett and Stevens are considered ”dirty work” players to get rebounds, play defense, and make hustle plays. And rebounding has become a major issue for the Celtics. The Celtics have yielded 57 offensive rebounds in the last four games, and the Magic, league leaders in second-chance points, scored 21 off the Celtics to change the game.
One of the issues recently is the Celtics are getting beat off dribble penetration and drawing their big to the driver. If he misses the contested layup, then the opposing big has a free run to the rim for a putback.
The Magic were willing to put the Celtics on the free throw line — a season-high 37 attempts — for the sake of preventing 3-pointers and take a chunk out of them physically. Derrick White walked away with a strained left forearm after a collision with Banchero on a screen. And the Celtics complained consistently about lack of calls in the paint against Orlando’s handsy defense.
“Physical games happen and that’s something that Orlando does every time we play them,” White said. “We have to be ready to meet the challenge for 48 minutes. I felt like we had times where we were the ones delivering the blows and then there were times where they delivered the blows. Hopefully for more of those 48 minutes, we are than they are.
“We know we’re going to get the team’s best shots every night. That’s what you want. That’s what you play for.”
The Celtics have some kinks to work out. Mazzulla’s bench rotations have been so inconsistent that it’s difficult to determine who can contribute. And without the lack of a physical rim protector to back up Porzingis, opposing teams with physical bigs such as Charlotte with Mark Williams (eight in 33 minutes Monday) or Orlando with Jonathan Isaac (three in 16 minutes Friday) are cleaning up on the offensive glass.
They’ll have to adjust to life without Porzingis for at least a few days, and management fully realized backup center would be an issue when it traded Robert Williams to the Trail Blazers. It may be worth looking at Queta, who scored 11 points with eight rebounds in 18 minutes during Maine’s win over Greensboro on Friday.
The Orlando loss should serve as a wake-up call that reinforcements and adjustments are needed. Mazzulla needs to find out more about his bench — and whether the Celtics have more depth than they’ve been showing so far.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.