Last night, the Boston Celtics fell to the Atlanta Hawks 118-120, giving up a 30 point lead during the latter half of the game. While this Atlanta team has been playing well as of late in the absence of Trae Young, this game was lost by a Boston team that refuses to protect a lead rather than won by an Atlanta team playing their best ball without their star.

The 2nd half struggle is not a new thing for the Celtics this year. They are averaging 56.8 2nd half points, including five overtime games (2-3), compared to their 63.4 points average in first halves. Last year, the Celtics averaged 59.4 first-half points before dropping over to 55.6 points in the 2nd, making this 2nd half scoring and inability to close out games seemingly systemic.

One has to wonder what halftime looks like in that locker room. Does Bazooka Joe make them watch a mashup of that Sarah McLachlan dog commercial with the opening scene of UP while the team participates in unsupervised ketamine therapy? It is uncertain and maddening at the same time to watch the way this incredibly capable Celtics team gives away games in the 2nd half. One thing is certain: if this team wants to lift an O'Brien trophy this season, they will need to figure out how to close games and protect leads.