Celtics Don't Look Like a Playoff Team

Over the past couple of weeks, the Celtics have looked like they don't care whether or not they win.  There has been no sense of urgency, and they are sliding down the Eastern Conference standings.  They have lost six of their last ten games, and if the slide continues, they will be in third in the conference in no time.  The last two games have been especially disappointing as they have lost to the Grizzlies and the Bobcats, two teams that shouldn't stand a chance against the C's.  The games that they have won lately were ugly wins where they had to come back from  fairly large deficits.

Why are they struggling right now?  They don't have the same excuse they had last year when they had a lot of injuries to their starting players.  The problem could be that the newer players have needed some time to find their place in the lineup, but that still isn't a good excuse for the starting players' struggles.  It almost seems that they are still upset that Perk was traded, and that they have lost the motivation to win.  They were a tight squad before the trade, but the NBA is a business, and the team needs to get over the loss.  I think that they are more talented after the trades and signings, and once the guys get over their hurt feelings they will play the championship-caliber basketball we are used to.