The Celtics lost another game against a bad team on the road in the second part of a back-to-back on Monday. The list of inglorious setbacks now includes: Cleveland, Washington, Charlotte and New Jersey after the Celtics lost 88-79 to the Nets on Monday (click here for a full recap). Add to that list an awful performance against Phoenix back in January and it’s easy to say that without the back-to-back meltdowns the Celtics would be comfortably atop the Eastern Conference standings.

The Nets loss followed the typical Celtics back-to-back script of successful spurts followed by long droughts, a lack of movement on offense and untimely defensive breakdowns. They led 23-14 after one quarter and then scored only 15 points in the second. They were up seven in the third quarter and down 10 in the fourth. The Celtics held the Nets to less than 40 percent shooting, but also allowed them to make 11-of-25 3-pointers.

It’s that kind of in-game inconsistency that is so grating at this point in this season and no, it didn’t start when Danny Ainge traded Kendrick Perkins. The Celtics have had problems with back-to-backs all season long.

“It doesn’t bother me unless they start having back-to-backs in the playoffs,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said to reporters in New Jersey. “It bothers me that we’re not mentally tough.”

It’s not going to get any easier either. The Celtics are now tied with the Bulls for the best record in the Eastern Conference and oh by the way, the Heat just blew out San Antonio coming off their win over the Lakers and are now two games behind the Celtics and Bulls.

The Celtics have four more sets of back-to-backs in front of them and three of those are on the road. All told they play 17 games in the final 30 days of the season, which gives them ample time to work things out on the court but far less time on the practice floor.

The Bulls also have a string of back-to-backs, but play only three teams with winning records over their next dozen games before a showdown with the Celtics on April 7. The team that handles the schedule the best will ultimately earn the top spot. 

Rivers said on Sunday before the Bucks game that the top seed was not his Number One priority and he’s coaching like that right now. No one topped Ray Allen’s 34 minutes on Monday and Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett were all in the 30-32 minute range.

There’s also no practice on Tuesday, which is in keeping with Rivers’ season-long policy of not practicing after back-to-backs.

“Some times you have to wait for your team,” Rivers said. “I’m waiting for them to kick back into gear.”

It starts, as always, with Rajon Rondo:

RONDO’S SCUFFLING

Ever since Rondo turned Steve Nash inside-out in a phenomenal performance against Phoenix, he has turned in a half-dozen games that have ranged from mediocre to dreadful. On Monday, he was dreadful.

Rondo went 1-for-10 with four turnovers and rolled his ankle for good measure. He left the game early in the third quarter and went back to the locker room to have it re-taped. The good news is that he was able to return. The bad news is that his play didn’t recover with him.

Rivers dismissed questions about his point guard after the game, saying in effect that everyone goes through bad stretches like this. That’s true enough but considering all the leg and foot injuries he’s had this season it’s worth considering that he’s playing in pain right now.

The Celtics are fortunate that Carlos Arroyo was available for nothing because he’s been the second-best addition after Nenad Krstic. Arroyo hasn’t been as brilliant Jeff Green has been at times, but he has been more consistent and he was on the floor in the fourth quarter when the Celtics got back in the game.

Delonte West is slotted to return on Wednesday against the Pacers and it’s no guarantee that he will assume the backup point duties. Arroyo has played well enough to at least press the issue.

Even with West and Arroyo, the Celtics will go nowhere fast as long as long as Rondo is struggling. If they are going to make a deep run in the playoffs they will need all four of their All-Stars to play at a high level.

BIG BABY PROVIDES A BIG LIFT

There are games when Glen Davis has a big impact but does little that appears in the box score. His value comes from doing the little things that steal possessions or prolongs them, such as taking charges and grabbing long rebounds. This was not one of those games.

Davis did all the small things, but he also did a number of big ones too, scoring 16 points and grabbing a season-high 14 rebounds. He was so good that Rivers left him on the floor for the final 18 minutes after Krstic picked up his fourth foul in the third quarter.

The difference between Davis and Krstic on the defensive end is immense, but that doesn’t mean that both aren’t important to what the Celtics are trying to accomplish. Krstic provides an offensive threat that they simply haven’t had before and in a perfect world Rivers would have a multitude of options to throw in the post depending on the situation.

As long as Davis is healthy the Celtics have a big part of their fourth quarter equation in place. The other complementary components are still up for grabs.

IS THERE ENOUGH TIME TO MAKE IT WORK?

Not counting the surreal game in Denver before Green and Krstic arrived, the Celtics have played nine games since the huge roster shake-up and won six of them.

The problem is that outside of the beatdown against Milwaukee on Sunday they haven’t played like the Celtics of old. They’ve given away leads and generally played like a team that was trying to outscore their opponents, instead of relying on their suffocating defense. While people are looking for signs of progress, the Celtics have been treading water.

Here’s the good and bad news: In many ways the process has just begun because the reinforcements are on the way. With Davis back and presumably West and then Shaq on the way, the Celtics will look very different over the final month of the season before they head into the playoffs. Of the 10 players that saw the court on Monday, there’s a good chance that at least three of them won’t be a part of the playoff rotation.

The reality is that there isn’t a blueprint for this kind of transformation. It’s one thing to add a significant piece or two, but the Celtics are incorporating 10 different players who were either traded, signed or injured into the mix.

Yes, there is time but losses like the one they had on Monday don’t help the cause.