BOSTON — 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.

The Celtics played without Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Al Horford in the defeat, giving a clear opportunity to depth options down Boston’s bench to shore up the rotation for one night. Despite plenty of mixing and matching by Mazzulla in a good test for the hosts against an elite opponent, the net results were largely underwhelming from that specific group.

Xavier Tillman emerged for the first time in weeks after being buried on the bench amid some shooting woes and those struggles continued Monday. He missed three shots in the first quarter playing alongside Neemias Queta and didn’t get off the bench again. Jordan Walsh missed his only 3-point attempt in the first half and wasn’t seen again either.

Two-way wing Drew Peterson got a chance after Boston’s bench struggled in the first half in the third quarter but only saw three minutes. Meanwhile, Jaden Springer provided a little bit of a spark, hitting a 3 and grabbing a steal in his 11 minutes of second half action.

Ultimately, outside of Springer, none of those guys did anything to earn any more trust from Mazzulla as the game continued and that showed with how the minutes were delegated. Jayson Tatum (41) and Jaylen Brown (38) carried huge loads for a regular season game while guys like Luke Kornet (33) easily hit their max.

Coming off a Finals win and a short offseason for many veterans (with the Olympics mixed in) it’s evident Mazzulla needs more guys he can trust right now when he’s down bodies. It’s on the front office to make that happen in the coming weeks, whether it comes via trade or free agency/buyouts.

When push comes to shove, no one acquired should be making any type of impact when the Celtics are at full strength or close to it. However, an injury in a key spot to Horford or any starter could quickly throw Boston’s rotation in turmoil against good teams.

Springer looks like the most intriguing candidate of this bench bunch right now but his contract ($4 million) also makes him the most likely candidate to be moved next week (for the luxury tax savings). Without him, there’s not much there for Mazzulla to choose from on the wing and that was evident on against an athletic Rockets squad that worked their way into the paint for a good chunk in the night.

The Celtics can’t be piling up 40-minute regular season nights on Tatum and Brown amid a regular season grind just because there aren’t enough viable options to play beyond the top ten players on the roster. There was obviously hope Tillman, Walsh or Baylor Scheierman could be those guys but the team can’t afford to wait around for them much longer.

The Celtics in all likelihood won’t have the luxury of this much depth beyond this season, so they need to do their best to fortify this group now. Bringing in more reliable depth for a roster that’s vulnerable to injury is the best way to maintain a good regular season seed in the East without overtaxing Boston’s regulars.

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