For the second straight game the Celtics had 10 players available and for the second straight game the Celtics couldn’t finish off a comeback against a team they should have beat. Actually they really had eight players when you consider that rookie Avery Bradley clearly isn’t ready for the NBA yet and veteran Troy Murphy just isn’t ready for anything right now.

Their 89-86 loss to Philadelphia Friday night (click here for a recap) wasn’t quite as bad as the defensively-challenged effort they put forward Wednesday against the Clippers. There’s also no real shame in losing on the road to a Philly team that has won eight of its last 10 games. The Sixers are more experienced than the Clips, better-coached and likely to give someone a very difficult time in the first round of the playoffs, considering the defense they play. 

But there were some disturbing parallels between the two games. Kevin Garnett had another off shooting night (5-for-13) and Philly got way too many dunks in the first half before the Celtics finally started closing off the paint. The offensive execution reverted to the kind of one-on-one maneuvering Doc Rivers likes to call “Hero ball.” Most troubling is that Rivers correctly called the Sixers the more physical team.

All that can be corrected, although it’s a little worrisome that the Celtics are picking up bad habits this late in the season. It’s also not on the new guys.

Nenad Krstic may not be a bruiser on defense, but when was the last time a Celtics center put up 16 points and 15 rebounds? Jeff Green scored 18 points in 18 minutes, which is exactly the kind of production they’re looking for from him.

Sasha Pavlovic and Carlos Arroyo were fine in their limited time, although Rivers may have wanted a do-over on his decision to put Pavlovic in for defense in the final 12 seconds, even though Paul Pierce had five fouls, after Andre Iguodala took him right to the basket and scored the clinching points.

The real issue is that the big four need some help. Rajon Rondo had a bit of a bounce-back game, but when Ray Allen shoots 2-for-11 there isn’t much that can save them. The four All-Stars have simply played too many minutes since the trades went down, but there may finally be help on the way.

Glen Davis is expected to be back on Sunday when they play the Bucks and his return will be most welcome. Rivers has been forced to use Green as his third big man and that’s just not going to work against most teams in this league.

Shaquille O’Neal has proclaimed himself just about ready to play and there seems to be some jostling between him and the team about his return. Shaq wants to play, but they don’t want him to have any more setbacks.

That’s in keeping with something Rivers said after practice earlier this week. “I’m not going to push them,” he said. “The clock is ticking no doubt about it, but one thing I told [trainer] Eddie [Lacerte], we need them on the floor but we need them healthy too. We’re going to choose health first.”

In the long run that’s surely the right decision, but in the short-term the Celtics have a problem. In less than a week they have gone from a commanding position at the top of the Eastern Conference to just a half-game edge over Chicago.

The Bulls’ rise has gone from slow and steady to sudden and furious and it has coincided with the return of Joakim Noah to the lineup. Since Noah came back, the Bulls have defeated Miami (twice) Orlando, New Orleans and Atlanta, while winning eight of 10 overall. It’s time to stop thinking about Chicago as the other team in the East.

The Bulls’ defense has rivaled the Celtics as the best in the NBA all season and may have surpassed it. They rank first in defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions), first in opponents’ field goal percentage, first in 3-point percentage defense and third in defensive rebounding rate.

They’re deep up front with five big men ranging from good to very good and they have Derrick Rose, who is not the sure-fire MVP some people think he is, but who has demonstrably moved into elite status. The Rose and Carlos Boozer high pick-and-roll is a dangerous weapon now and will be even more effective in the slow-down grind of the playoffs. (The Bulls’ main weakness? Outside shooting with only Kyle Korver ranking as a significant 3-point threat).

The difference between the first and second seed in the East is huge because the top seed not only avoids the Heat in the second round, it also gets a first round matchup against the likes of Indiana, Charlotte or Milwaukee. No. 2 will get either Philly or New York, which won’t be an easy task.

The Celtics schedule is about to get messy. Beginning Sunday against Milwaukee, they will play 10 games in 16 days including three sets of back-to-backs. Only three of those games are against teams with winning records – Houston, New Orleans and New York – but at this point of the season the schedule is the opponent as much as whoever lines up on the other side.

More than anything the reinforcements are needed to simply survive this stretch of games. The tricky task of figuring out who plays in what role will be determined over the final four weeks, which won’t make the transition any easier. The Celtics are by no means in trouble, but they are looking for answers and time is running short.