A few concerns about the Boston Celtics have surfaced

BOSTON -- The Celtics remain one of the best teams in the NBA and have shown that they're capable of making another deep playoff run. And if they can get back to the Finals, there is good reason to believe that they'll win it this time around.

But something has felt a little off as of late. Boston's dominant start to the season is a thing of the past, and now, so is their lead atop the Eastern Conference. With the Bucks picking up their 15th straight win on Tuesday night, Milwaukee now owns a half-game advantage over Boston for the one-seed in the East.

We're far from borrowing Bob Lobel's "Panic Button" and the Duck Boats could still be busy come July. The Celtics can, obviously, still retake first place, which is where they've been seated for roughly 90 percent of the regular season. But if they start to put health over wins, and get Jayson Tatum the rest he needs ahead of the playoffs, living the life as the two-seed may become a reality for the team in green.

Will seeding ultimately matter? It might not if the Celtics return to their explosive offensive selves, and also reengage on the defensive end. Basically, if they play like they did last postseason -- this time with a much deeper and more talented bench -- the sky (or TD Garden rafters) is the limit for this team.

But there are some concerns brewing. After such a dominant start, a 9-6 record over their last 15 games is... slightly worrisome for the Celtics. And their 3-2 stretch over the last two weeks is just scratching the surface of those concerns.

Tatum's Struggles

Something is off with Tatum as of late. When he hasn't been dominating an All-Star Game, he's been struggling to hit shots in games that matter. 

Over his last 11 games, Tatum is shooting just 42 percent from the floor and 35 percent from three. His deep attack has been meh all season (a career-low 35.1 percent), but it's been especially brutal over the last three games. Since returning from the break, Tatum has hit just seven of his 29 3-point attempts for a 24 percent success rate. Not what you'd expect from a guy who was in the 3-point contest.

When he's been off, Tatum has really been off. He's hit a third or fewer of his attempts five times over his last 15 games, including 3-for-16, 3-for-15, and 8-for-25 efforts. Thanks to the team's depth (mostly Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon), the Celtics were 2-1 in those contests. 

But that kind of inconsistency is really going to cost Tatum in the MVP race. If he wants to be mentioned among the league's best, he cannot be having nights like that once a week.

What will be keeping Tatum in the MVP conversation is his all-around play. When his shot has been off, he's still been able to make an impact with his rebounding, his passing, and his underrated defense. And even on nights where his shot isn't falling for 47-plus minutes, Tatum can still hit a shot when it matters the most, as was the case when he canned a game-winning three with 1.3 seconds left in Saturday night's win over the 76ers.

Add in the fact that Tatum tends to follow up his rough shooting stretches with some otherworldly numbers, and he could be on the verge of a very special run during the final stretch of the regular season and the postseason. 

Where's the D? 

The Celtics rode a dominant defense to the NBA Finals last season. The defense is still playing at a high level this season, but nowhere near the terrifying peak it enjoyed in 2022 when it left opponents trembling.

Boston defenders were an absolute menace at guarding the 3-point line last season, finishing No. 1 in the league with opponents hitting 33.9 percent of their 34.9 attempts from downtown. The Celtics had the third-best perimeter defense in the playoffs, holding opponents to a 33.2 percent clip.

This season, the Celtics currently rank 11th at 3-point defense, with opponents hitting 35.6 percent of their attempts. Celtics defenders just aren't in everyone's shorts when they line up behind the arc this season.

Overall, the defense is allowing 112 points per game, which ranks ninth in the NBA. It's been good, but not at the level we know they're capable of playing. A big part of this is that Rob Williams hasn't been Rob Williams all season. He's had bursts of energy and some bounce on offense, but he's nowhere near the defensive presence he can be for Boston.

The Celtics reached a new offensive stratosphere under Joe Mazzulla when the season first started, but now they need to refocus on the defensive end. That's the only way they'll win on nights when the offense isn't on point.

The Bucks Have It Figured Out

Holy smokes do the Bucks have it figured out right now. They've now won 15 straight, and picked up a few of those wins with Giannis slightly hobbled. Granted, one of the 15 wins came when the Bucks barely squeaked out a home victory against a Celtics team that was playing without Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Al Horford, but it was a win nonetheless. With the two teams neck-and-neck in the East standings, their March 30 tilt in Milwaukee could ultimately decide the 1-seed in the conference.

That is, unless the Bucks pull ahead and run away with the top seed over the next three weeks.

The Celtics can beat the Bucks, and they can do it in Milwaukee, as we saw last postseason. But with the way the Bucks are playing right now, it'd be much better to have a deciding game take place in Boston.

Tough Road Ahead

Tatum alluded to some home cooking to get him back on track after Monday's loss, noting that he hasn't been home in nearly two weeks. The Celtics will now play four of their next five games at TD Garden, but it won't be any walk in the park.

Four of those games will come against playoff teams in the East (with the Nets and the Knicks coming to Boston, plus home and road tilts against the Cavaliers). The fifth game will be against a Portland Trail Blazers team currently battling for a playoff spot in the West.

These will not be easy games, but maybe it's the kind of stretch the Celtics need to refocus. They're currently 0-2 against the Cavs this season, and 1-2 against the Knicks. It's time to exact some revenge. And these home games are extremely important, with a six-game road trip (over an 11-day span) on the horizon.

OK, lets finish by stepping out of Negativity Town and looking at the bright side of everything. The Celtics are still a really good basketball team. A really, really, really good team. They've got as good a shot as anybody else to bring home a title this summer.

Maybe this recent malaise is just a talented team hitting neutral, as many tend to do around the All-Star break. And while players will be getting nights off to save themselves for the postseason, the Celtics are pretty healthy for the first time this season. 

Boston's regular starting five of Tatum-Brown-Smart-Horford-Williams have barely played together. At least one starter has been missing from 25 games this season. They should get a lot more time together as they gear up for the postseason.

A historic season where the Celtics won 60-plus games and easily marched to a championship would have been great. But nothing is that easy. And just about every good team has hit a bit of a bump in the road.

The Celtics are going through a bit of one now. But if they're as great as we believe they are, it should only make them stronger when the games really start to matter in mid-April.