Boston Celtics: Abysmal week cements play-in position

The losing streak is over and a small amount of good vibes returned to the Boston Celtics locker room on Saturday.

How long those vibes will last as Boston preps for one last regular season game and the play-in tournament is anyone’s guess.

Weary and limping into the postseason, the Celtics are grasping for anything positive at the moment. Five key players sat out the 124-108 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves, which snapped Boston’s four-game losing streak.

There is hope that three of these players will be available for the play-in game(s). The status of a fourth, Robert Williams and his big toe, is still up in the air. And Jaylen Brown is done following a season-ending wrist injury.

It’s definitely not the finish the team envisioned one month ago after an 8-1 start in the month of April.

Boston Celtics and the play-in round

The good news for the Celtics is that they’ve locked in the seventh-seed and will have two opportunities to advance to the playoffs. And they get to play host to their opponent(s), whoever that turns out to be.

It’s down to Sunday’s game between the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards that will determine Boston’s opponent for the first game in the play-in round. Boston is 2-1 against both of these teams this season.

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The Indiana Pacers have also clinched a spot in the play-in tournament.

The formula is pretty simple: Win their opening game and advance to the playoffs. Lose, and have one more chance to sneak in.

Unfortunately, a lack of urgency has stagnated the Celtics for the last couple of weeks. This was on display in two losses to the Miami Heat last week; games in which victories instead of losses would have likely meant avoiding the play-in tournament.

And now? Expectations are low for this team, with many out there in support of the team simply tanking.

This is not the answer, when doing so provides very little incentive outside of the very low odds of getting a top-five pick. I’d much rather see this team go down fighting.

Plus, we know what a plucky Celtics team with their backs against the wall can be capable of. The odds are definitely against them and it’s going to take all their available players playing at their best. The inconsistency this season hasn’t exactly instilled confidence but with the talent they do have, I will be clinging to the very little hope there is until the likely bitter end in the first round.

But if Brown and Williams are the only ones out, Boston does have the chance to make things interesting.

Boston Celtics weekly player spotlight

Bench and starter roles have been in a consistent flux all season long. The injuries and health issues have forced constant rotational tweaks, often with the bench contributing unproductive games.

Saturday was not one of those times, as the bench pitched in 51 points.

And none was better than Tremont Waters, who had 14 points and 7 assists. Waters has played in only 24 games this season, but has had some decent moments and huge plays. No matter if Kemba Walker and Marcus Smart are back, it would be nice to see Waters get continued playing time.

Walker was off to a fine start in the losses to the Heat, averaging 27 points per game. He also had seven rebounds and four assists in the 129-121 loss on Tuesday. Walker has only played in four games in May but is averaging just a hair under 30 points per game.

Jayson Tatum continues to power this team. Tatum averaged 29.3 points per game last week to go along with an average of eight rebounds.

It’s going to have to be even more of Tatum if the Celtics hope to advance to the playoffs and to make any sort of noise. There’s a lot that would have to go right, including a magical return of the stellar defense Boston displayed in season’s past. Hope is a strange thing to pin success to and right now, Boston has instilled very little of it in fans.

An exit in the play-in tournament or a first-round playoff exit would not at all be surprising. Stranger things have happened, though, and perhaps that’s right where they want us. Changes will be needed this offseason, for sure, but maybe this team has a few final surprises up its sleeves.

Counting on it? No, but it would sure make the bitter taste of this season slightly more palatable.