The Celtics are facing a self-made obstacle, one they should be able to remove from their path just as quickly as they erected it.

The stats say the Celtics have been one of the NBA's best teams since mid-December. Their record says otherwise. What's the problem? Joe Mazzulla had a simple and obvious explanation.

Mazzulla says the pressure on the Celtics is coming from comparisons to Cavs and Thunder: "Oh, you're not as good because you're not them."

"Those last two plays are on me. Those are my fault." Joe Mazzulla pointed the finger at himself after the Celtics dropped a 114-112 thriller to the Rockets on Monday night.

Boston’s options for adding on that front are quite limited with the assumption they don’t want to touch anyone in the existing rotation. Jaden Springer’s $4 million salary caps what the team can send out for a player in a swap since the Celtics can’t aggregate salaries as a second apron.

During a recent news conference, the Celtics head coach discussed the difficulties and importance of finding minutes for younger players looking to improve their game. He explained the balancing act it takes and why it's a high priority for the team to ensure a pipeline is in place.

The shorthanded Celtics put up a good fight in a 114-112 loss to the Rockets on Monday night but last minute defensive blunders ultimately cost Boston the win. Plenty of attention will be paid to the miscues that Joe Mazzulla took responsibility for in the final ten seconds of the setback but there was much more to Monday’s defeat than those crunch time issues.

Mazzulla placed trust in Jaden Springer and he delivered, holding Kevin Porter Jr. scoreless in the fourth quarter and adding a key 3-pointer in overtime to ensure the Celtics would prevail on a night they didn’t play well.

To make matters worse for the Bulls, the Celtics have upgraded superstar forward Jayson Tatum to active after being listed as questionable with right knee tendinopathy.

Joe Mazzulla can only blame himself for the overthinking as the Celtics blundered on defense in their loss to the Rockets.

Boston nearly pulled off a great win, but fell for the seventh time this season after leading by at least 10 points.

The Celtics played without Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Al Horford, giving an opportunity for players deeper on Boston’s bench to shore up the rotation. Despite plenty of mixing and matching by Mazzulla against an elite opponent, the results were largely underwhelming.