In a normal NBA season, the Celtics could be expected to summon whatever inner strength lies with their ancient, battle-tested bodies and figure out a way to stop a two-game losing streak. Not once did they have a losing streak of longer than two games last season and in the last four years it’s happened only five times with three of them coming in the dreary 2009-10 regular season.

A three-game losing streak to start the season is suddenly a very real possibility with a dreaded back-to-back looming at New Orleans on Wednesday night following a crushing loss to the Knicks on Christmas Day and a bizarro 115-107 loss at Miami on Tuesday.

How strange was it? Consider that the Celtics’ defense was shredded to the tune of 56 percent shooting and they were only able to get back in the game after switching to a zone defense that mystified Miami and turned rookie Norris Cole into its best offensive player down the stretch and Ray Allen into a small forward.

The Celtics shot 51 percent and had no inside game beyond Rajon Rondo’s drives to the basket and fast-break layups. Rondo was 4-for-6 at the rim and that included a self-induced airballed layup. The rest of the team managed only 10 attempts. (Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were 16-for-20). 

Credit where credit is due: The Celtics should have been run out of the gym, but their zone combined with red-hot shooting by Allen and Keyon Dooling almost allowed them to steal a win. Allen had an unreal 95.6 True Shooting Percentage.

Nothing the Celtics did was sustainable, which is definitely cause for concern. But this season is anything but normal – the Celtics, Bulls, Lakers and Mavs are a combined 2-7 – and it’s nowhere near time to panic. It is time to make some choices, however.

Sasha Pavlovic has been a non-entity in two starts for the ailing Paul Pierce and while it’s understandable that coach Doc Rivers prefers to bring Marquis Daniels off the bench, Pavlovic’s minutes would be better served going to Avery Bradley or E’Twaun Moore until Pierce returns or Mickael Pietrus is able to play.

Without Pierce, the Celtics are extremely guardable in the halfcourt. Their spacing is in shambles and Allen is seeing traps when he comes off screens. They had some success with a three-guard look featuring Rondo, Dooling and Allen alongside Brandon Bass and Kevin Garnett, which was successful in spreading the court.

The Celtics may also be without Chris Wilcox who injured his left shoulder and while X-rays were negative, he’s doubtful to play against the Hornets. Kevin Garnett looked a step slower against Miami than he did on Christmas and he’s already played 70 minutes. Will we get our first look at JaJuan Johnson or Greg Stiemsma? It’s not as if they can be any worse defensively than what the Celtics have shown thus far.

That’s their biggest problem and there’s no time to stop and fix it. They’ll have to do it on the floor and thankfully for the Celtics, their next five games are against New Orleans, Detroit, Washington (twice) and New Jersey. If they can’t work it out against those teams then it will be time to freak out.

Dooling’s dimension

The Celtics bench has a whole new look and unlike previous seasons, its strength may lie on the offensive side of the ball. Brandon Bass has already endeared himself with his shooting and hustle and against Miami, Keyon Dooling was able to show off his game, which features a quick pace, a funky, but fearless release, and a handful of turnovers.

In other words, he’s sort of what the Celtics wanted from Nate Robinson.

Dooling isn’t a walk it up the court and pound it inside kind of point guard. In fact he’s barely played any point at all, working most of his minutes with Rondo in the backcourt. That was a look that Rivers tried with little success in the past, teaming Rondo with Robinson and Delonte West but Dooling may be a better tag-team partner in a helter-skelter pace.

In 24 minutes against Miami, Dooling got up 10 shots and attempted four free throws, using more than 28 percent of the Celtics possessions, the highest rate on the team. The Celtics have been an offensive team without a true shot-creator, a dangerous tactic to say the least, but Dooling allows them to play at a different pace and that may be necessary until Pierce is able to return.

Frontcourt woes

Garnett was not at his best on Tuesday. He had 12 points and five rebounds and was outplayed by Bosh (17 and 11). That’s going to happen at times this season, but it illustrated the Celtics’ lack of depth up front.

Bass did his thing, scoring 13 points to go with five rebounds and two blocks in 32 minutes, but Wilcox and Jermaine O’Neal combined for one shot attempt and four rebounds in 30 minutes of work. The Celtics were crushed in the paint (52-26) and outrebounded on the glass (38-28) against a frontline that aside from Bosh is not one of the league’s bigger teams.

Without Wilcox, it may be time to see what they have in Johnson and Stiemsma. Of the two, Johnson is more advanced offensively but Stiemsma has posted solid shot-blocking numbers in the D-League. Both players will need time to adjust to the NBA, but that’s not a luxury the Celtics have right now.

Rondo and Ray and pray for help?

The good news, such as it is, from Tuesday's loss is that Rondo again went to the free throw line early and often, making 7-of-11 and bringing his season total to 23 foul shots. He also had 12 assists but that was an inflated number as 10 of those came on long jump shots or 3-pointers. Rondo was once again in attack mode and he looked to finish on the fast break instead of padding his assist totals.

What can anyone say about Allen that hasn't already been said? He has less space to shoot and has to work harder for his attempts without Pierce, but he drilled 6-of-8 3-point attempts and finished with 28 points. The danger, and it's not going away anytime soon, is that they both played over 40 minutes. Without them on the court, the Celtics could have lost by 20 and they're going to need some support soon.