The Boston Celtics have the best record in the East (15-5, .750) and the second-best in the NBA to the Minnesota Timberwolves (16-4), but still have trouble closing games in Clutch Time.
In the final five minutes of a game -and the score within five points - Boston has a 7-4 record (.636), not up to par with their overall record. Lack of ball movement, slow pace and turnovers seem to play a role.
In Clutch Time, The Green rank 20th in Assist-To-Turnover rate, 24th in Turnover Percentage and 28th in Pace. In other words, they slow the pace down - don't distribute the ball enough - and lose the ball when they do pass.
To simplify, the Celtics may very well be the best team in the NBA, but they still get rattled with the game on the line. Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday and Jaylen Brown all make the "Top-100" (in that order) for turnovers in Clutch Time. There is no main culprit there. The Celtics choke a bit as a team with the game in question. They need to get better when "under the gun".
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