Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka did not seem happy with the team’s effort and focus in his post-game press conference after a loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves Monday night. The Celtics have been a defensive-minded team all season, but that faltered in the second half Monday as they gave up 63 points in the final 24 minutes.
“Undisciplined defensively. A lot of ways off-ball switching was an issue, we got carved up there. Something we’ve been doing decent to well all year,” Udoka explained. “And lack of communication there so defensively that hurt… the off-ball defense was glaring, that stood out.”
Udoka called it the “one of the poorest losses of the year,” later saying he felt the team was outhustled by a team “as depleted as we are.” The Timberwolves had eight inactive players, including key starters Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards and D’Angelo Russell.
The Celtics fell to 16-18 with the loss, which is ninth in the Eastern Conference behind the Charlotte Hornets.