Because if you are, I can't blame you. The Celtics are now 6-6 in their last 12 games, and that's not exactly up to par for them. A .500 record is enough to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference, but it's not enough to put the fear of God in the league's elites.
The C's are trying to prove that they're still title contenders. And they're not doing a very good job of that.
This team still has a lot of work to do. But here are seven thoughts on where they stand right now.
1. The Celtics lost to the Pacers on Monday night, blowing a fourth-quarter lead and breaking down defensively in the crucial final minutes. While their D was, on the whole, a total mess, here's one positive: The C's finally broke 100 points. They had gone 10 games without reaching the century mark before Monday night, their first such streak of the Big Three era. You can blame Rajon Rondo's struggles, or you can blame the entire team's general apathy for the regular season, but for whatever, the C's just weren't putting points up. Monday night changed that.
2. The Celtics narrowly escaped with a win Sunday night over the Timberwolves, which wasn't pretty. But here's one very nice side effect: The C's dodged losing their third straight game, and they're now one of only two teams in the NBA without a single three-game losing streak all season. Oklahoma City lost three straight in February, and San Antonio is in the midst of a four-game slide without Tim Duncan. The Celtics and Bulls are the only two teams left with out a three-game skid this year.
3. The worst part of the Celtics' loss to the Bobcats on Friday night? It was their first home loss all season against an Eastern Conference team. Going into Friday, they were 21-0 at the TD Garden within the conference, and the last-second loss dropped them to 21-1. But against the East's best — Chicago, Miami, Orlando et al — the C's have been untouchable at the Garden this year. Really makes you think about the importance of that race for home-court advantage in the playoffs.
4. Remember when Rajon Rondo had a stranglehold on the NBA assists lead? Well, that's not the case anymore. The Celtics' point guard has struggled for the past month, and as a result, he's fallen into a dead heat with Steve Nash for the league's top spot. At the moment, Nash is a hair ahead — he's got 772 dimes in 68 games, for an average of 11.353, while Rondo has 689 in 61 contests, of 11.295 per game. This race could go down to the wire.
5. Kevin Garnett only scored 10 points on Wednesday night, when the Celtics lost to the Grizzlies. But 10 was enough for KG to pass Adrian Dantley and move into 20th place on the NBA's all-time list. KG now has 23,210 career points to his name, just barely within the top 20 ahead of Dantley, Elgin Baylor, Dirk Nowitzki and Clyde Drexler. Sitting in 25th on the all-time list is another current Celtic, Ray Allen. In 19th is a past C's legend, Robert Parish.
6. NBA players are always avid March Madness followers, but smart money says that's especially the case in the Celtics' locker room this week. Why? Because two C's starters are currently cheering on their alma maters in the Final Four. Allen, a former UConn Husky, might have a few words of friendly smack talk for Rondo, a former Kentucky Wildcat, in the coming days. The two teams will square off on Saturday in the NCAA national semifinal. Come this weekend, one Celtic backcourt starter will be a very proud alum.
7. Glen Davis was asked this week about the difficulty of integrating new players at midseason, and he had an interesting perspective on the matter. "There's a standard here," he explained after a practice. "You go to the Four Seasons, they're going to make sure your stuff's pressed. You go to the Motel 6, it might still have a couple wrinkles in it, or a stain. There's a standard, and that's Celtic basketball. It's like the Four Seasons." Apparently Davis is likening his teammates' past teams — Oklahoma City, New Jersey, even Miami — to a cheap motel. There's a diss you don't hear every day.
