Green With Envy: Making sense of another loss

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty ImagesBy the time a team makes it to the playoffs, most of the kinks in their rotation should be worked out, and their execution should be approaching its peak level. The occasional slip is to be expected, but for the most part, you would hope game-altering mistakes are kept to a minimum.

Yet, against the Atlanta Hawks in game five of the Boston Celtics' first-round playoff series, the mistakes piled up — from both a coaching and player perspective. Everything was looking rosy. The Celtics were holding the Hawks at arm's length, and the intensity on defense looked to be stifling at times.

Then, midway through the fourth quarter, somebody slammed on the…