Boston Celtics Clinch The East In an remorseful way

Definitely, there’s an old saying, most likely based on a misreading of the Bible, that says, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” Sometimes, the hands in question are called “the devil’s playground.” Whatever form the expression takes, the Boston Celtics should take its basic message to heart after clinching the Eastern Conference’s top seed while the rest of the NBA was still battling to secure a playoff spot.

For much of Monday night, it looked like the Celtics’ hands were anything but idle, building up a 30-point lead over the Atlanta Hawks in the second quarter. However, when they lost their collective focus, it opened up a window for the Hawks to roar back to life and secure a comeback 120-118 victory. The Celtics’ loss, just their second of the season to a team with a losing record, snapped a nine-game winning streak in the worst possible way.

Okay, yes, the Celtics were playing without Jrue Holiday, who has been out with a concerning “dead arm” issue, and key glue guy Derrick White. That doesn’t at all paper over the fact that this was only the tenth time in NBA history that a team has dropped a lead that large. They also “died by the three,” going 1-for-15 from beyond the three-point line in the game’s second half.

It’s not even that they didn’t have reasons to want to win as the NBA’s best record is still up for grabs. The 51-21 Denver Nuggets, who have a perfect record against Boston this season, could still secure that. Given the Celtics’ tendency to play seven-game series in the playoffs, they should desperately want to secure home court advantage for the finals.

Head coach Joe Mazzulla has been very open about wanting his team to face more adversity during what has been a relatively conflict-free regular season. It’s been a tough ask as the Celtics have had the NBA’s best offensive rating and a top-three defense. For better or worse, this is a team that knows it’s the favorites and it has affected their play: its biggest flaw has been in closing out games after building up large early leads.