Porziņģis: Celtics 'a House Cat' in Some Games This Season, 'Were a Lion' Last Year

Boston Celtics star Kristaps Porziņģis feels the team has lacked the same sharpness it displayed last year, when it conquered the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.

"We were a lion last season, and some games this year we've looked like a house cat," Porziņģis said Saturday after a 122-107 win over the Mavs, per ESPN's Tim MacMahon. "We want to have that spirit as a team this year, and it's tough. Obviously we can't trick ourselves and make it [like] it's playoffs every game. It's tough, just human nature. But we know the group that we have and we know that we're going to bring it to the big games, but we need to bring it consistently and keep building on top of good wins like tonight."

The veteran big man did strike an optimistic tone, though, when he said the Celtics are "definitely working towards getting our killer instinct back."

At 32-14, Boston isn't matching the 64-win pace it set in 2023-24. The team is also second in the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games back of the Cleveland Cavaliers, after finishing 14 games clear of the New York Knicks for the top seed a year ago.

Still, the Celtics arguably remain the championship favorites. They're third in net rating (plus-9.0), per NBA.com, so it's not as though their collective performance has fallen off much. They also possess a clear edge in playoff experience over the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers, the two teams ahead of them.

Boston's next game presents a great opportunity to deliver a strong statement. The defending champions welcome in the Houston Rockets, who have won eight of their last 10 and are fresh off a 135-131 victory against the Cavs.

Comfortably dispatching of the Rockets would be a way for the Celtics to reinforce where they stand in the NBA's hierarchy.