Kevin Garnett perhaps had the best explanation for what happened last night.
C’s sing: ‘O no, Canada’ - BostonHerald.com
You could pin it on taking the Raptors lightly, simply missing open shots or fatigue catching up with the Celts. Or you could explain it as Kevin Garnett did.
"(Expletive) happens," he said.
And as Forest Gump might say about last night's game - "That's all I have to say about that."
As for the next few games, you could be tempted to say that they don't really matter. I actually tend to agree and think that Doc should use one or both for a chance to rest someone (in addition to the injured Ray Allen). But Paul Pierce doesn't seem to agree.
Said Pierce: "Right now we have a lot to play for. We're playing for playoff position. You know, that's got to be the mindset regardless of who steps on the court. So with the possibility of moving up to three or keeping the fourth seed or whatever, these are must-win games for us. We've got to take care of business for the rest of the season."
That's the flipside to the argument too. This team, as you saw last night, is all too capable of taking the foot off the gas pedal. Maybe treating each game like a playoff game is the only way to keep them sharp for the actual playoffs. I don't know. Doc has some tough decisions to make on lineups. We'll see how he handles them.