There are just 10 games left on the Celtics' regular-season schedule, leaving Boston with little wiggle room ahead of the postseason.
The C's remain in sixth place among Eastern Conference teams despite Tuesday night's loss to the lowly Thunder at TD Garden. Oklahoma City snapped a 14-game losing streak with the victory, while Boston saw its streak extend to three.
Bust the Celtics aren't giving up on themselves despite the circumstances. Head coach Brad Stevens plans to do what he typically does after losses like this: move on.
"I'm going to get ready for tomorrow's game," Stevens told reporters during his postgame press conference. "I think that's what we have to do. I'm not going to beat up the group that was out there. We should have played better. We could have played better. They played better than us and they deserved to win. And I'm going to get ready for the Charlotte (Hornets) game tomorrow night."
Based on his expletive-laden postgame press conference, Jaylen Brown wasn't pleased with the loss either. But he, too, still has faith in his team, so long as they improve in one particular area.
"We've got to play with more of a sense of urgency," Brown said. "Tonight, I feel like we didn't have the sense of urgency that we needed across the board. And a team that has some young talented players came ready to play and we got beat. We've got to come and have some pride and play with some urgency. I didn't think tonight was a night we played with urgency, especially after a tough game against Charlotte where we got our (expletive) kicked.
"... We've got stop getting hit in the face and then trying to respond," he later added. "We've got to punch first. As a unit, everybody has to be engaged on that. ... I believe in this organization, I believe in the guys in this locker room."
As Brown noted, Boston needs to find its "inner flame," and fast.
