Boston Celtics: 10 Reasons Why They Lost Game 2 to the Philadelphia 76ers

The Boston Celtics blew a golden opportunity to take a 2-0 lead over the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, dropping Game 2 of their conference semifinal matchup 82-81. So, what is the reason for the Celtics' seemingly inexcusable loss? Let's break it down.

1. Not Enough Kevin Garnett

It took Doc Rivers way too long to get Kevin Garnett the ball. After seeing the way Garnett dismantled Philadelphia's front line in Game 1, you would think Rivers would continue to make a concerted effort to get K.G. the ball as much as possible.

Well, that didn't happen until the fourth quarter. Garnett only got three shots in the first half, and that's because he was hardly getting any touches. The Celtics entered the fourth trailing by eight, and that was when Rivers decided to get Garnett involved. K.G. obliged, doing all he could to take over the game, but it was too little too late.

Had Garnett been a bigger part of the offense earlier, Boston likely wouldn't have even had to sweat much in the final 12 minutes and would be looking at a 2-0 lead right now heading into Game 3.

2. Too Much Brandon Bass

Brandon Bass took 15 shots, more than any other player on the C's. That is a huge problem, especially when K.G. is only getting 12 shots.

Early in the first quarter, Bass was hitting his trademark mid-range jumper, but then he couldn't seem to buy a bucket, and I counted three times where he was stripped underneath the basket in the first half. He may have been fouled on one or two of those occasions, but still, he has to go up stronger. By the way, Bass only hit five of his 15 shot attempts. That is not going to get it done.

3. Avery Bradley's Shoulder

Avery Bradley's shoulder popped out (again), and he was forced to miss two quarters. That killed Boston, as his plus/minus stat of plus-18 was the best on the team (even better than Garnett's plus-16). Had he not gotten injured, this game may have ended very differently, since in his 20 minutes on the floor, he was tremendous.

4. Rajon Rondo's Decision Making

Rajon Rondo's decision making was questionable. With the C's up 75-74 late in the game, Rondo nearly dribbled out the entire shot clock and refused to hit a wide open Ray Allen (who was hitting his shots last night, shooting 7-of-14) on the left wing. He also made no effort to get Garnett the ball in the post.

Instead, he let the shot clock run all the way down and fired up a long jumper which caromed off the back iron. The 76ers would proceed to come down the floor and take the lead on an Evan Turner layup. That decision by Rondo proved very costly.

5. Mickael Pietrus' Benching

For the first time in this entire postseason, Mickael Pietrus got hot, draining two gigantic threes in the fourth quarter to get Boston back in the game. So what does Rivers do? He pulls Pietrus.

That move made absolutely no sense to me. Pietrus had the hot hand and had just trimmed Philadelphia's lead to two by knocking down those treys, and you bench him? Obviously, there is a reason why Rivers is coaching in the NBA and I am sitting here writing about it, but still, I cannot be the only one who questioned Rivers' decision there.

6. Poor Rebounding

They lost the rebounding battle, 47-36, and gave up 11 offensive boards. I don't think I need to say much more for this one.

7. Horrific Third Quarter

The Celtics played arguably their worst quarter of basketball I've ever seen in the Big Three era in the third, as they simply could not buy a bucket, scoring just 11 points. It was an absolutely pathetic offensive display and is the biggest reason why they are facing a crucial Game 3 in Philly on Wednesday, instead of essentially playing with house money in that contest.

8. End-Game Management

Why did Rivers instruct Rondo to foul down by one with 14.4 seconds left in the game? At that point, there was about a four-second differential between the game clock and the shot clock. That would have given the Celtics another possession had they gotten a stop. Instead, Rondo fouled, the shot clock reset to 14, and then Boston was forced to foul and put Philly at the line. I don't understand the thought process behind that.

9. Overconfidence

Charles Barkley made a very interesting comment at halftime. He said that he doesn't think Boston respects the Sixers and that it is really disinterested in this series. It seems to me that he's right. The C's displayed no sense of urgency last night. Hopefully, this serves as a wake up call and they come out with a purpose in Game 3.

10. Paul Pierce is Playing Injured

Finally, Paul Pierce is clearly not 100 percent. He's not even close. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure he's even at 60 percent. He had absolutely no mobility and was not a factor in the offense, managing just seven points in Game 2.

If he's healthy, Boston is undoubtedly up in this series, but he isn't, and that is a problem. That said, I expect a big game out of him on Wednesday. He knows his team's back is against is the wall, and that is when The Truth always plays his best. He might not be fully healthy, but I think he will gut it out en route to a huge Game 3. You can mark that down.

Prediction

To conclude, I still think the Celtics will win this series. It's never a good thing to lose, but maybe the Game 2 loss will give the C's a smack of reality and help them realize that you cannot just show up in the playoffs and expect to win. To put it plainly, the 76ers are not as good as this Boston team, but the Celtics have to come out and demonstrate that for the rest of the series.

I think they will.