Celtics would like to go into the postseason ‘playing better'

BOSTON –  The NBA has plenty of games of great significance tonight.

There are teams looking to strengthen their playoff position, while others are emptying the bench while preparing for the draft lottery.

And then you have the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, two teams that are miles apart in terms of wins and losses, but very much in synch when it comes to tonight’s game and what it offers them besides being another opportunity to play.

• MORE CELTICS - 'Effort wasn't there' for Celtics in loss to Wizards

Boston (54-27) is locked in as the No. 2 seed and will face either Miami, Milwaukee or Washington in the first round.

However, the Celtics would like to go into the postseason playing better.

Boston has lost four of its five games this month, securing the Celtics’ first losing month since January of 2015 (5-11).

But what happened last night involved more than it being a bad night for the Celtics.

The bigger concern has to be how Boston was so ineffective at both ends of the floor, primarily with the group that it will primarily use in the postseason.

“We didn’t have a tremendous effort on our part, on either end,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “Our offense is going to be what it is. You’re going to have moments where you score, where you don’t score… defensively, we can’t be a sieve either.”

Brooklyn will finish among the league’s bottom-10 record-wise, but the Nets' first-round pick belongs to Cleveland courtesy of the Celtics who traded it, along with Isaiah Thomas (now with the Los Angeles Lakers), Jae Crowder (now with the Utah Jazz), Ante Zizic and a future second-round pick from the Miami Heat, to the Cavs in exchange for Kyrie Irving.

While the Nets have struggled this season, they come into tonight’s game having won three in a row and they're looking to build upon that success.

“It’s so important for our culture… for us to finish on a good note. We’re trending that way,” said Nets coach Kenny Atkins. “It’s huge going into an important offseason for us.”

Here are five under-the-radar storylines for the Celtics as they host Brooklyn with an eye towards sweeping the Nets for the second year in a row:

GIVING SEASON ENDS

You know that feeling when you finally pay off that high-priced credit card? That’s where the Brooklyn Nets are now after fulfilling the last piece of the 2013 trade that sent Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to Brooklyn. Brooklyn’s 2018 first round pick was part of the trade, but the Celtics included it in their trade for Kyrie Irving from Cleveland.

SCARY TERRY

Terry Rozier’s hand didn’t look to be in good shape following Tuesday’s loss at Washington, which might explain his struggles lately when it comes to shooting the ball. In the month of April, Rozier has shot just 10-for-37 (27.0 percent) from the field and 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) from 3-point range, while averaging just 6.7 points per game.

JAYLEN BROWN

The Jaylen Brown we saw in the first quarter of Tuesday’s loss at Washington was unstoppable, scoring 21 points in the quarter which was one less than the entire Wizards team in the first. But he would only score six points over the next three quarters in part because he didn’t get much of a chance to build off his strong start in the second quarter. Brown played four minutes, 15 seconds in the second. The only Celtic who played in the second to see less action was Aron Baynes (three minutes, 15 seconds). Boston doesn’t have the luxury of allowing a hot hand to cool, assuming another will take over.

SEMI OJELEYE

The Celtics were hopeful that Semi Ojeleye could come in and give them some minutes this season. But the second round pick, like many Celtics players, has been able to earn more minutes than anticipated. In fact, he is one of just three rookies (Memphis’ Dillon Brooks and the Clippers’ Sindarius Thornwell are the others) to log more than 1,000 minutes played this season. Ojeleye has played 1,122 minutes as a rookie this season.

MAKE IT A DOUBLE PLEASE

Al Horford has made a career out of being a player whose impact doesn’t always show up in the final stats. But when he puts up big numbers, wins come at a pretty high rate. This season, Boston is 12-3 when Horford tallies a double-double. And when he has had at least 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists, the Celtics are 8-0 this season, 14-2 since he became a Celtic.