"These games really mean something pretty much for everybody, for us too," Pierce said. "We're trying to win, we're trying to move up. You want to get as high a seed as possible because you never know what could happen as far as upsets or home-court advantage in a certain round. We're trying to move up too, and every game is important to us and also for the other two teams."
And on the loss to Washington last Friday:
"It doesn't feel right when you lose those types of games to a team that you're supposed to really crush," Pierce said. "It never feels good. It was embarrassing."
The Celtics currently trail the Atlanta Hawks by a game for a tie for the third seed in the Eastern Conference (since the Celtics won the Atlantic Division, they hold the tiebreaker). The Hawks are in Milwaukee tonight, and conclude their season on Wednesday at home against the Cavaliers.
The Celtics are back in action tomorrow night in Chicago to take on the Bulls, who vaulted over Toronto for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference last night, so they'll have something to play for. The C's wrap up their schedule Wednesday at home against the Bucks.