Celts lose way

Miss opportunity to grab Hub’s attention

WALTHAM — It was, for the Celtics, a glorious opportunity. The Patriots had just left the region’s fans feeling all queasy and questioning, and the good

CELTICS BEAT Steve Bulpett

citizens turned to the Brad Boys seeking comfort and the chance to feel all first place and stuff again.

They came home after a long football journey from autumn into winter looking for nourishment, but the Celtics gave them three losses in four games, trailing by as many as 26 in one and 29 in two others — and a slide from first to second in the Eastern Conference.

People must have thought all the reports of a team that could get to the NBA Finals and even give the Golden State Warriors a run for their rings was just so much fake news.

The 121-99 loss to Cleveland was ABC’s most watched Sunday showcase in five years, which means a whole lot of people think the Celtics are 40-18 on paper but not in real life.

“I’ve said all along I don’t think we’re quite as good as our record, and I think we’ve got to get a lot better,” Brad Stevens said after yesterday’s practice. “I still feel that way.

“After a tough week, sometimes it makes you take even more of a hard look at it, and it reminds you that you’re never as bad as you think you are. And I think there were a lot of things that we could do better in the last few games, but there’s a lot of things that we can build off of. I think getting healthy after (the All-Star) break will help us greatly. But our team has done a good job of not leaning on that. We’ve covered for a lot of guys out all year, and we’re going to have to do it again (tonight vs. the Clippers).”

The coach is referencing the absences of Marcus Smart (hand, picture frame, etc.) and Shane Larkin (knee), but there was a lot more going on in the bad losses to the Raptors, Pacers and Cavaliers.

“First of all, against Toronto, we need to play fast,” Stevens said. “Obviously with Shane and Smart, they will play roles against those guys. Against Washington (overtime victory), I didn’t think we played as well, and we won the game. Against Indiana, we played terrible out of the gate but then had one of the best third quarters we’ve played all year. And then Cleveland, we followed that up with one of our best first quarters we’ve played on the offensive end.

“We just haven’t put it all together against really good teams. This was a stretch of games that you knew would be very tough, but we didn’t play as well as we’d like. That’s probably the most concerning thing. Not surprising, but concerning.”

In the moments following the Cavs game, Stevens defended his lads better than they had defended the LeBrons, saying, “I don’t question the fight of this group . . . . I don’t have any doubt that this group will respond when hit in the mouth generally.”

Yesterday, he allowed that generally didn’t include Sunday.

“I certainly don’t think we can make a habit of getting down the way we’ve gotten down,” Stevens said, lamenting how the Celtics didn’t respond well after narrowing the deficit early in the second half. “I thought we didn’t respond with the same kind of grit that we usually do. That was probably the most concerning thing about the other day.”

In terms of execution, the coach believes improvement is but a fine line away.

“We’re 18th in offense right now, according to our numbers,” Stevens said. “If we score two more points a half, we’re fifth. One layup, one basket, one better shot selection, one more time at the free throw line. Like, there’s not a lot of margin for error between being good and really good. We’re not really good yet, but I think that if we really hone in here, then we’ve got a chance to play better.”

People like Kyrie Irving are trying to make sure the Celtics ride out the season’s storms and move closer to their desired port.

“You’ve got to enjoy the ups and downs of it, as hard as it is, and just learn as much as you can,” Irving said.

“This is a new stage for me, a new environment for me to really develop characteristics as a leader and just consistently test it. You’ve got a group of guys that were afforded some opportunities that going into the season I don’t think they necessarily were as prepared for with Gordon (Hayward) going down. So we’ve depended on them a lot and they’ve learned a lot. But you’ve got to remember, they’re one, two years in the league, and peaks and valleys come with that, and how you respond is the most important thing. And I think that once we have a consistency in terms of our response going from game to game, we’ll be all right.”

In terms of holding the gaze of New England and Bostonians scattered beyond, it would help to play more to their record soon.

The Red Sox hold their first workout today.