The Boston Celtics may have lost to Philly on Christmas Day to the Sixers, but there’s no real reason for concern.

I’ve been seeing some sports writers and broadcasters who’ve expressed worries about the Celtics recent struggles through this part of the season. The Celtics’ three-point shooting and lack of strong defense has been taken advantage of against some teams as of late. The Memphis Grizzlies, who beat the Celtics this season let Jrue Holiday shoot the ball from deep wide open and it proved to be successful. And of course, Joe Mazzulla encouraged Holiday to keep shooting. This type of mindset can put the Celtics in some trouble at times.

Throw in the fact that the Celtics are the reigning champs. They’re gonna get the best shot from nearly every team they’ll face. Even the teams that aren’t elite such as Chicago, Charlotte, and yes… the Sixers — are going to play their best against the C’s.

But looking at the most recent loss, the Celtics still showed bright spots. The C’s came back in the game multiple times and lowered the deficit with their ability to put together points in bunches.

The real issue is the fact that the Celtics haven’t played much together completely healthy. Kristaps Porzingis had to sit out a quarter of the season healing from an injury suffered from the NBA Finals. He’s been back and looking good, but he’ll still sit out games. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have missed some games as well (not many though). The truth of the matter is the Celtics are still just figuring things out as far as chemistry. Now with Payton Pritchard balling and playing a larger role, there’s just more figuring out to do.

Don’t be worried, the Celtics are still the team to beat in the east.