After a five game winning streak and victories in nine of their last 10 games, the Boston Celtics looked to rounding into form, and were slowly gaining ground on the Atlantic-leading Philadelphia 76ers. Then poor execution caused them to lose a home game to the Lakers Thursday night, which they followed up with a terrible loss to the lowly Toronto Raptors the next night. Celtics' coach, Doc Rivers, was visibly upset with his team and called out their lack of execution.
"I was really frustrated with our execution," Rivers told reporters in Toronto. "We couldn't run a play out of a timeout, so that's just frustrating, [and] that's focus or something. We have to fix that. Because we've been playing too well for this to go back down this road again.
He went on to specify a certain set where one player didn't know the play, which he deemed "unacceptable", then had some strong words for those questioning whether the poor showing against the Raptors was a direct result of fatigue following the Lakers loss.
"If they want to use the overtime [Thursday] night, then we are not mentally tough enough to be a winner," said Rivers. "If you're tough, you come in and you grind this one out and win it, too. If you're not, then you use [Thursday] night as an excuse."
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