The Boston Celtics’ scorching start to the 2023-24 season came to a pause on Monday night when they faced the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Celtics experienced their first defeat of the season, ending the game with a 114-109 score. In the final moments of regulation, the Celtics had a chance to secure the victory, but Jaylen Brown missed a game-winning three-pointer, leading to an overtime period where Anthony Edwards dominated.

While the Celtics had an impressive start to the season, they faced challenges in containing Edwards defensively and converting their open shots in this particular game. Their performance in overtime was also scattered, reminding fans of past Boston teams that had difficulty closing out games in clutch situations, as was the case here.

Losing in sports is always disappointing, but it was unrealistic to expect the Celtics to maintain an undefeated record throughout the season. Losses are inevitable. Despite the disappointment of this game, there is no need to panic just yet. The Celtics demonstrated their resilience by competing in this contest, even when it didn’t go their way. This resilience sets them apart from previous Celtics teams, and there is still plenty of season ahead to make amends.

The Celtics don’t have to freak out after one loss

In their first five games of the season, the Celtics lived up to the high expectations set after their significant offseason acquisitions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. Their offense was formidable, especially when they found their three-point range, and their defensive adaptability presented formidable challenges to their opponents.

Against the Timberwolves, the Celtics put forth a commendable performance. Anthony Edwards had an exceptional night, recording 38 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, despite facing foul trouble. However, he was the standout performer for Minnesota, with others struggling to make a significant impact. Jaden McDaniels scored 20 points but required 18 shot attempts, Karl-Anthony Towns was hampered by foul trouble and Rudy Gobert was intentionally sent to the free-throw line, where he struggled with a 2-11 shooting performance.

The issue for Boston in this game was their offensive struggles, which can happen from time to time in a long season. The Celtics shot just 39.1 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from beyond the arc, but they came close to defeating the Timberwolves, who shot 51.8 percent from the field and 35.1 percent from three-point range.

Looking at their previous close games, it appears that the strategy to beat Boston at the moment is to excel offensively, as they’ve primarily faced teams that were on fire offensively. The Timberwolves narrowly managed a win using this approach, following unsuccessful attempts by the New York Knicks and Miami Heat in the Celtics’ first two games of the season.

Identifying Boston’s struggles in this game is relatively straightforward. Both Jrue Holiday (12 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists) and Kristaps Porzingis (20 points, 5 rebounds) had difficulties with their shooting. This placed a significant scoring burden on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Tatum scored 32 points, and Brown contributed 26, but they encountered challenges down the stretch as Minnesota’s defense focused on them.

It’s unlikely that Holiday will consistently shoot at just 25 percent from the field, and Porzingis needed to play a more active role against a Timberwolves team heavily reliant on Towns and Gobert. The absence of Derrick White was also a significant factor, as his presence would have forced Gobert to guard Porzingis on the perimeter. Al Horford, who started in White’s place, didn’t pose the same threat, and Gobert was able to disrupt Boston’s offensive flow.

In summary, while the Celtics could have won this game, it’s not a cause for panic. There might be overreactions in the local Boston media, but it’s important to focus on the bigger picture and the next game. Boston remains a formidable team in the Eastern Conference, and their performance against the Timberwolves, even on an off night, underlines their toughness to beat.