Both The Celtics And The Patriots Picked A Bad Day To Have One Of The Worst Performances Of Their Respective Seasons

Over the last 25 years, there have been a ton of great sports days for the people and sports teams of New England. Safe to say, many more than most.

Unfortunately, February 8th 2026 will not be one of those days. 

On this day, we saw both the Celtics and Patriots not just lose and get blown out, but put up arguably the worst games of their respective seasons at the worst possible time. For the Celts, it was a big Eastern Conference showdown at home against the Knicks. For the Pats, it was this little thing called the Super Bowl. Admittedly, these two games didn't have quite the same level of stakes, but in the context of each team's season, they were big moments.

The Celtics got the day started with their fewest points scored in any game of the entire 2025-26 season and the 2nd fewest points scored in any game in the Joe Mazzulla Era (89), while getting their dicks completely kicked in by the Knicks

The Pats ended the day with their 2nd fewest points scored in any game this season (13) while getting their dicks completely kicked in by the Seahawks.

Giphy Images.

Usually, the Celts SB day game followed by the Pats at night is a joyous occasion. Yesterday, it was like watching the exact same performance unfold despite watching two completely different sports. It's actually comical how similar they were, but not in a "ha ha this is funny" type of way. More of a "oh what the fuck this stinks" kind of way. Slow starts, a complete lack of offense, careless turnovers, missing wide open shots/throws, the best player playing like shit, the list goes on and on. 

For the Celts, their dogshit performance didn't exactly cost them a championship, but it was another matchup against a contending team that they once again fell short in. If you look at their recent schedule, they dropped games to the Nuggets (no Jokic), Spurs, Pistons (2x), and now Knicks. The only "contender" they've beaten recently is that very impressive B2B Rockets win. In fact, since December 2nd, it's really only the Knicks once and the Rockets. All the other "tests" we've seen them have since then, they've fallen short.

Now, some of those are one or two possession losses, so in a way, those are toss-ups. That was NOT the case yesterday. Celts were at home, they were rested, and outside of Sam Hauser, everyone played. Not to mention the Knicks were without OG. 

Little did we know that while watching one of the worst performances the Celts have had in 4 years, that it was actually a precursor to what would be taking place later that day. That was some bullshit, but that's sports.

Let's begin.

The Good

- I'll be honest with ya, there wasn't a whole lot to choose from when it comes to this game. Almost everyone on the roster laid an egg, which isn't exactly what you're looking for in an important game against a team you are in a battle with in the standings. Especially rested and playing at home.

But the one bright spot? Baylor Scheierman

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There were a lot of issues yesterday, but the play of Baylor Scheierman was not one of them. One of the best parts about Baylor's season is that at every opportunity Joe has given him, we've seen Baylor make the most of it. It's been that way since Day 1 of the season. The progress and development he's made as a defender and a rebounder are not only why he's in the rotation, but how he's been able to earn Joe's trust.

It may not seem like much, but every night since being put back into the rotation we see Baylor go out and thrive in his role. On this team, that's defending and rebounding while also making your open 3s every once in a while. The rebounding and the defense are really what stand out, and it's becoming a consistent part of Baylor's game

After his rookie year, there were plenty of fair questions as to whether or not Baylor was an NBA caliber player and if that pick was a hit or a miss. 

Based on what we're seeing in Year 2? I'd say we're inching closer to the "hit" side than the "miss" side. When you're the 30th pick, it's always a crapshoot. To be getting any sort of legit NBA contribution from that pick is pretty rare, and I'd say we're off to a good start. What's been pretty clear about this roster is that it's about finding guys who can excel at one or two things, and then only really asking them to do those one or two things.

For Baylor, that's his energy, rebounding and defense. The way he crashes the offensive glass probably earns the Celts 4-5 extra possessions a game. He's getting better and better at moving his feet, staying grounded, and defending without fouling. He was solid with pretty much everyone he matched up with, holding Brunson to just 2 points on 8 possessions and Bridges to just 3 points on 20 possessions, all while committing only 1 personal foul. That's progress baby!

I will say this though. I do think it's important that people understand and accept that he is NOT the level of shooter we see form a guy like Sam Hauser. I feel like that's something you heard a lot over the last year or so. That the Celts could move off Hauser because they have Baylor's shooting. No. Not even close. He's a "fine" shooter. But as we saw yesterday, he's not the same level or even the same type of shooter as Hauser and for me, that's his next step.

Year 2 is about the rebounding and defense leap. Year 3 needs to be the shooting leap.

- Is it weird to say Baylor's performance was really the only positive takeaway from this shit sandwhich? I would lie and throw something else in here, but I think we can just move on.

The Bad

- It hasn't happened too often, but I thought this was one of Neemias Queta's worst all around performances of the season. The turnovers, the fouls, the lack of quick processing, the lack of rebounding, it was all pretty bad.

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Starting the game double big didn't exactly help either, and I did find it interesting that Joe went back to it after openly admitting this was a mistake to start the game in their win over the Heat. He talked about how that was a big reason why the team started slow, so to go back with double big against a Knicks team that was playing small was an odd choice, and the results were pretty much the same.

Over the last 2 games, the Queta/Garza lineups have been what I would call….pretty shitty

ORTG: 91.9

DRTG: 105.1

NET: -13.2

I know he's been great from deep all year, but I'm not sure I love the whole Garza being a spot up corner 3 shooter. I feel like taking him away from the basket removes his greatest strengths, but when you're playing two bigs, the spacing isn't exactly great. He has to be out there. 

I'm also ready to be over the whole idea of guarding Josh Hart with a big. He's shown us time and time again, whether it was a game like last night or the playoffs, that he can punish that decision. While the starting frontcourt wasn't the only issue yesterday, it was hard to ignore their play while also watching KAT/Robinson get whatever they wanted. 

- Down by as many as 24, only 3 ties and 4 lead changes, and after the Celts led like 13-11, they were never a real threat to take over the lead the rest of the way.

While this technically wasn't a wire-to-wire loss, it certainly felt like it. 

- Celts fans may not want to hear it, but this team has a Jalen Brunson problem. They can't guard him. Since the start of last season including the playoffs, so 13 games, Brunson is averaging 26 a game on 47/39% splits. Outside of his one stinker earlier this year, he's been torching the Celts at pretty much every opportunity

Yesterday it was more of the same. The Celts allowed Brunson to get hot early which is what helped the Knicks get off to a great start, and he's now shot 50% or better in 4 of his last 6 games against the Celts defense. 

In this win, he owned the matchup against Jaylen, with 9 points on 3-4 shooting. He owned the Walsh matchup with 8 points on 3-4 shooting, and even Derrick White had issues, with Brunson finishing 2-2 against White as well. It didn't matter what type of defender the Celts tried, Brunson had an answer. 

Just like we saw in the playoffs, he came into the Garden and was the best player on the floor. Sorry if that offends, but it's the truth. Is it any surprise that in both the Knicks' wins this season, he had 30+ on great efficiency? Until that gets figured out, the Celts are going to continue to have issues playing the Knicks.

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- Tough to beat good team when essentially your entire second unit no shows. This isn't to say the starters were all that great, because they weren't, but playing in your own building I think it's fair to expect a little bit better producton from the "others" than this

I hated pretty much eveything I saw from Payton Pritchard in this game. The missing wide open looks is one thing, but what I hated more about that is the fact that Payton basically stopped being aggressive. Only 9 FGA? Not good. These are the games the team needs someone like Pritchard to elevate in, and I don't think he's had a good game against the Knicks so far this season. I don't care if he's a starter or a bench player, we've seen him produce in both roles. No showing like this, especially when the starters got off to a slow start was pretty significant.

Then there's the Vuc part. He obviously gets a gigantic pass given he's been on the team for about 4 days, but I do think this type of game helps show the adjustment that the roster has now gone through by flipping Simons for Vuc.

The biggest different to me, is the fact that you went from a player with the ball in his hands who could create his own shot, to a player who now requires someone to give him the ball. The shot creation on the team took a hit in favor of rebounding and some postup production, but as we saw in this game, when possessions get tigh,t and the clock gets low, there's a pretty big difference between Vuc in those situations and Ant. This doesn't mean one option is better to have than the other, but more so how different the roster now is and how they'll have to adjust their play.

You can't really give Vuc the ball with a low clock and tell him to make something out of it. When we saw that happen in this loss, it was a disaster. The outside shooting wasn't their either, but that was more of an entire roster problem.

What we're seeing is that when the Celts only have Jaylen on the floor, no other player is really a threat to create their own shot, and as such, the defense can adjust. This is largely why the non-Jaylen minutes looked so shitty in the first quarter, which was when the Knicks made their initial push. While there are plenty of things Vuc helps you with, the drastic drop off in lineup shot creation can't be ignored. As defenses tighten up in the playoffs, that is a bit of a concern for me, especially if Payton Pritchard is also going to struggle.

- Just like with the Heat game, I see Jaylen's 26 points. I understand that nobody on the team could make a shot and that forced him to have to create something out of nothing. I get that his turnovers were low.

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I get all that.

I still don't think he played that well in this game either. As the game went on it was clear Jaylen's legs were shot, as pretty much every shot he took was short. From midway through the 3rd quarter to the end of the game, he went 2-9 (0-2) and was a -15 while on the floor. Given this was a 4 point game with about 5:45 left in the 3rd, I'd say that's pretty poor.

Unlike the Heat game where it felt like he was forcing things into traffic and low percentage looks, that wasn't really the case here. This was more about trying to overcompensate for the lack of shotmaking by the supporting cast, which warped Jaylen's approach compared to what we saw early. Once he started to get tired, we saw him miss open 3s and bunnies, but it also felt like he was too often trying to hit the homerun play as opposed to just chipping away and putting pressure on the Knicks. In my opinion, he needs to be better and can be better.

- The whistle was bullshit, but you should be used to that by now. Just no consistency from one end of the floor to the next. Jaylen penalized for a level of contact that is then immediately allowed on the other end by KAT. Players allowed to defend with their face. Just one of those things you have to fight through, and the Celts most certainly did not.

The Ugly

- If this performance gave you some PTSD about the 2025 playoff series between these two, I can understand why

A brutal 7-41 from deep, and look at some of these 3PA. 

WIDE THE FUCK OPEN.

Feels familiar right? Pretty sure we lived through this exact thing in May last year. Just a complete lack of shotmaking from the entire roster, even on open and wide open looks. What's so annoying about this is the fact that it wasn't even the Knicks defense. The Celts were able to generate great looks all game. The issue, is you cannot miss every single one you take. That just cannot happen.

So between the Celts inability to make a wide open shot combined with Brunson getting whatever he wanted and some annoying Hart 3s and prayer Diawara production, this was basically a carbon copy of the playoff series these two teams just played.

- Over the last handful of games, it seems as though the Celts find at least one quarter to have a complete disaster showing. In this game, it was the 3rd quarter. More specifically, the back half of the quarter.

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I mean, what the fuck lol. This team cannot help itself when it comes to putting up one of the most disgusting quarters of basketball you'll ever see. Again, this was a 4 point game midway through the quarter, and the Celts ended the frame down 17 points. They didn't score a single point for nearly 6 minutes. If you're looking for where the game got away from them, this is it. 

To only score 39 points in an entire half is pathetic, and I don't even know how to explain that 3rd quarter. Every other Celtic not named Jaylen Brown made 1 basket. That feels impossible, yet here we are.

In the end, the Celts were completely outplayed on both ends of the floor, couldn't execute when it mattered most, never toook advantage of their momentum plays, and as a result got blown out on their home floor. Again, not a huge deal as they are tied for 2nd in the East and whatnot, but it was most definitely another missed opportunity against a good team, something that has been a bit of a trend this season. They now need a new 6 game winning streak to hit 40/20, so that dream is on life support as well.

The good news is this was just a regular season game in February and not ya know, the Super Bowl, but it's hard to argue that both the Celts and Pats didn't have their worst showings of the season on a day that we hoped would give us the exact opposite. That was unfortunate.