BOSTON - If the NBA playoffs were to start today . . .
. . . the Celtics would be at home watching on TV.
Luckily for them, the playoffs don't start today.
There are nine games left for the 32-41 Celtics, currently a half-game out of the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference behind the Brooklyn Nets (32-40).
Boston's loss to the Clippers on Sunday dropped them out of the playoffs while the Nets took care of business against the Lakers.
Meanwhile, the Pacers beat the Mavericks and the Heat beat the Pistons - so it was not a good day for the Celtics.
Indiana's win gives them an identical record to the Celtics, while Miami's improves them to 34-39, two games ahead of the Celtics and in the seventh seed.
The Celtics have a big week up ahead. On Monday they are in Charlotte, facing a Hornets team that's just a half-game behind them in the standings. A loss would flip the Hornets ahead of the Celtics and also give Charlotte the tie-breaker.
You don't have to tell anybody in the Celtics locker room what kind of games these are.
"Very important," Isaiah Thomas said. "Even if we won [on Sunday] it would have been an important game, but the fact that we lost, we need it [Monday]. I think it's a must-win."
Celtics center Tyler Zeller echoed Thomas' words.
"Tomorrow is pretty much a must-win game for us," Zeller said. "It's one of the teams that we're battling against so we have to come out and play hard."
And it doesn't end on Monday, either.
The Celtics will host the Pacers on Wednesday, and the currently sixth-seeded Bucks on Friday. We're going to really see what this team is made of by the weekend.