After a 10-point loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Boston's seventh defeat in nine games, Doc Rivers and Jason Terry remained optimistic.
If Boston Celtics head coach Doc Rivers had reeked of disappointment Monday night, nobody would have been surprised. His team, after all, dropped its seventh game in nine tries, surrendering 62 points in the paint to the Kevin Love-less Minnesota Timberwolves.
After the loss to Minnesota, Boston leads Milwaukee by just one game in the race for the Eastern Conference's all-important seventh seed. Rivers could have ripped his team for non-existent interior defense or cursed the basketball gods for taking four of his five starters. He could have spent hours praying for Kevin Garnett's health or worrying that a first-round meeting with the Miami Heat is becoming more possible.
Instead, Rivers cracked an April Fool's joke to reporters and indicated he was pleased with the Celtics' effort.
"I thought we played pretty hard," he said.
"We had our chances tonight. But I get it, too," he added, likely referring to the long odds against Boston while playing without Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger. "I just want us to play the right way and do things our way. I think overall, we did that.”
The Celtics surely had some bright spots. Avery Bradley shot better than he had in almost a month. Terrence Williams played maybe his best game of the season. Jordan Crawford delivered some pretty passes and (for the most part) kept his uncontrollable nature on a leash. Without many of its best players, Boston shot 51.9 percent from the floor, scored 100 points and outrebounded the Timberwolves 37-31.
But still, even while taking a viewpoint of sunshine, Rivers had to admit these Celtics need work. Several new faces are getting minutes. This is a process, as the playoffs approach and Boston tries to maintain its weak hold on the No. 7 seed.
"One of the things I told them was that seven out of the last nine games, we’ve given up 100 points." Rivers said. "We’ve proven we can score. We scored 100 tonight even without 50 points of our offense (in Garnett, Pierce and Rondo). We’ll be able to score but, especially with all the new guys, learning the little things on our defense, we need a lot of work with them, and it showed tonight.”
"We've proven we can score" could be considered strong wording, since Boston's offense has lagged well behind its defense for years. Yet it can't be argued: the current unit -- without Kevin Garnett -- needs help stopping foes. Playing without an interior presence isn't advised. The Celtics allowed Nikola Pekovic to drive a stake into the paint and claim it as his own. After the center scored 29 points, Rivers even called Pekovic a "monster."
Yet Rivers can still afford optimism, perhaps, because reinforcements are on the way. Paul Pierce will return Wednesday after sitting out against Minnesota for personal reasons. Garnett should reappear in the lineup shortly, too, as long as his injury isn't worse than the organization's letting on. When the Celtics start the postseason in a couple weeks, they should display considerably more talent than they did Monday night at the Target Center.
As such, Boston doesn't seem to be worried yet.
"The way we've performed defensively -- regardless of who's been in uniform -- hasn't been up to standard. It will be though," Jason Terry said. "We're very optimistic."
Very optimistic, indeed. Even after another unsightly defeat.