Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “So Garnett had a right to be inconsolably miffed. ‘So what, man,’ Garnett said of Doc Rivers’ postgame assessment that his team has become a ‘streaky’ defensive one. ‘We have to play some ‘D.’ These teams we’re playing are very high caliber offensively. We know what they are. We know on paper they might not be whatever, but as far as talent, we have to respect that. I don’t even know (the reason). It’s a new group and we’ll fix it. (Things will change) when we decide to play defense. When we put together some multi-stops, we’re able to fuel some offense, but we have to contain. We have to play the whole game like that. We have to start with the relentlessness that we finished the game with.’ … ‘The last two teams – I know we’re a better team than the last two teams, I know we are,’ said Pierce, whose final shot at the buzzer bounced out. ‘We don’t have the right mindset coming out against opponents we’re supposed to beat. (Old bad habits are) creeping up in there when you see we gave up (38) points in the second quarter. I can’t remember the last time we gave up that many points. I mean, shoot. We have injuries, so be it. We’re beating ourselves. We are our own worst enemy right now. We call ourselves a defensive team first? Well, we have to hang our hat on that regardless of how our offense goes.’”

Mark Murphy, Boston Herald – “Though Rondo said yesterday morning he expected to play, his pregame workout didn’t pan out. The point guard, hindered by a sore left hamstring, was ordered by trainer Ed Lacerte to sit. Rivers said Rondo will also likely miss tonight’s game in Atlanta as a precaution. ‘He’s doing better,’ said Rivers. ‘He felt pretty good, just a hamstring. There is a little something there, not bad, but with hamstrings, if this was a playoff game would he play? Yeah. (But) we have back-to-backs, and if we don’t play him in both then we have three days off. We want to get him healthy. You just don’t want to take any chances with that. It was Eddie’s decision. I lean 99 percent to not playing someone in that situation. So I would say (Atlanta) is highly doubtful.’”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “After shooting lights out in the first half, the Raptors missed 23 of 35 shots in the second. ‘We’re strange,’ Rivers said. ‘We’re a spurt defensive team right now. You can’t be that. You’ve got to be a defensive team all the time. You can be a spurt offensive team, but you can’t do that defensively.’ Said Pierce: ‘We may be the worst second-quarter team in all of basketball right now.’ Rivers didn’t argue. ‘You give up 38 points in a quarter, really, you should lose the game,’ Rivers said. ‘And we did.’”

Gary Washburn, Boston Globe – “The Celtics lost yesterday because of a lack of hustle on the boards as much as the strange calls. And some of that slowness to balls is a lack of athleticism, and there is very little Rivers can do to inject athleticism into a older team. So the coach has to stress to his players to get off to aggressive starts. In each of their four losses — Cleveland, Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Toronto — they have been knocked on their heels in the first half, only to rally. The lackadaisical stretches are costing them, especially when they allow upstart teams to make plays, because the Celtics appear tired in the fourth quarter. Yes, a favorable Forte call might have given Boston the win, but it doesn’t eliminate the need to toughen up in the late going.”

Julian Benbow, Boston Globe – “Going with Nate Robinson as the fill-in for an injured Rajon Rondo yesterday, the one concern for Celtics coach Doc Rivers was that Robinson would see the stars around him in the starting lineup and defer. Robinson came out, drained six of his first nine shots, and quickly showed Rivers that wouldn’t be an issue. ‘I told Nate, ‘Be you, and if you’re open, take shots,’ ’ Rivers said. ‘I wasn’t concerned about Nate running the team. I was concerned about Nate trying to run the team and not being an aggressive scorer. I just told him be aggressive, if you’re open shoot the ball, that’s what you do. Everybody else will figure it out.’ In his first start with the Celtics, Robinson scored 22 points, 16 in the first quarter. Rivers gave Robinson the nod over Delonte West ‘mainly because Delonte’s injured, with his back,’ the coach said. ‘We’ve got to watch his minutes.’”

A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE – “‘Nate was great tonight,’ said Kevin Garnett. ‘He did a great job of getting us in sets, took control of his team. He was aggressive. That’s what we need. With Rondo out, everybody has to pitch in a little bit . . . everybody has to pick up those pieces and be responsible with them. I thought he did a great job tonight.’”

Paul Flannery, WEEI – “Garnett had seven shots in the paint and made five of them. Against the Raptors, who have no interior defensive presence whatsoever, Garnett feasted against the likes of Bargnani and Amir Johnson. Rivers has long wanted Garnett to be more of a factor with his post-up game and the Celtics could use some kind of a threat down on the block. On the other hand there is value in Garnett’s ability to knock down 20-footers. He’s one of the best shooting big men in the game, it opens the floor up for Paul Pierce and Rondo to drive and it also allows him to get back on defense in transition quickly. That’s a major point of emphasis for the Celtics who don’t put a premium on crashing the offensive glass. Garnett splits his time evenly between the paint and the perimeter. He’s averaging about six shots a game from 10 feet and in and six attempts from 16-23 feet, according to Hoop Data. That’s a decent balance, but if the Celtics could get more from Garnett on the block, it would only be a benefit because there are few players who can control him down there.”

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Boston – “The Celtics didn’t lose Sunday’s tilt in Toronto based solely on what transpired over the final 21.3 seconds, when the shorthanded Raptors scored the final four points of the game to emerge with a 102-101 triumph. Clearly, allowing 38 second-quarter points hurt the Celtics far more than anything that transpired over the other 36 minutes. Regardless, the final seconds of a close game — fair or not — are magnified based on the additional pressure that typically engulfs those moments and Toronto shined in crunch time. In fact, while re-watching the final moments of Sunday’s game, what stood out most was Toronto’s ability to avoid the pitfalls that most underachieving teams fall prey to. Three examples:”

John Karalis, Red’s Army – “Do I need to go into this rant already?  The one where fans fill the arena for a reason?  The one where fans pay good money to come see you guys play.  The one where the money those fans pay directly ends up in your multi-millionaire pockets so can live the lives you lead? Do you guys think that money magically appears in Wyc Grousbeck’s bank account?  You think 18,000 people just waltz in there for free? I expected letdowns during the season.  I told myself not to get upset over those letdowns.  But I expected them later.  I expected the guys to come out hot… THEN get bored in January and February… then start turning it on again before the playoffs.  I was prepared to accept that. I’m not, however, prepared to accept ‘bored’ November losses to an Oklahoma City team at home without its two best players… and a bad Toronto team missing half its roster to a trade.”

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