There was no one specific play in their loss to the Suns on Friday night that encapsulated all the problems the Celtics have had scoring points.

There were missed jumpers – Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen combined to miss 10 of 13 shots from 16-23 feet. There were 18 turnovers in a 90-possession game, or one every five trips, and a continuing lack of any kind of a consistent post presence.

The Celtics didn’t have Rajon Rondo, which was obviously a problem as their 71-point effort was the low-water mark of a season that has been notable for offensive droughts.

“It takes arguably, probably their best player out of the lineup,” Suns guard Steve Nash said. “It's going to change their team. It's going to put a lot of pressure on everyone else. I think Rondo makes the court open up, puts pressure on the defense and tonight we could close down the court and take away their space.”

Without Rondo the Celtics went from mediocre to abysmal. Yet Avery Bradley stepped in and played reasonably well, scoring 10 points and committing just one turnover. The Celtics' problems began before Rondo sprained his wrist, and run much deeper than one dreadful game in a season where poor offensive performances are becoming the norm. 

“I thought it was similar even when he was in the lineup,” Ray Allen said. “We scored 15 [points] in the first and 16 in the fourth, that’s been a trend that’s been developing this season. We have some great offensive prowess here on this side and it’s frustrating when we can’t put the ball in the hoop. We talk many times about being able to get open looks and we get open looks, sometimes the ball doesn’t go in. That happens one or two games, but right now we’ve got to figure out what we need to do to be better.”

Coach Doc Rivers put it on himself but didn’t mince any words, calling his team’s offense “awful,” which is both accurate and succinct.

“Nothing in the paint, no drives and that part you can say is Rondo,” Rivers said. “But we’ve got to do a better job moving the ball, getting it low. The times we did I thought we were effective. But not enough.”

The Celtics rank 22nd in points per 100 possessions and just once in the last seven games have they exceeded the league average. That, not coincidentally, was the only game they won of the last seven. Their defense also has been subpar, but it has been good enough to win most nights if only they could score some points.

They haven’t received much help from their bench beyond Mickael Pietrus cranking 3-pointers, but on a team where the core four starters and Brandon Bass take 70 percent of the shots, the onus is on the starters to pick up the pace.

Here are three of their most pressing problems:

THEY DON’T SCORE ENOUGH INSIDE

The Celtics rank 21st in attempts at the rim and 25th in makes. When they do get inside their shots are getting rejected at an almost nine-percent rate, the highest mark in the league. That speaks to aging legs, a lack of athleticism and height disparities in the paint and it’s been a team-wide epidemic with one notable exception.

Rondo is averaging almost six attempts a game at the rim and shooting 66 percent, one of the best rates among point guards in the league. But beyond Rondo, there are problems everywhere.

Bass is converting just 44 percent of his shots at the rim, a huge disparity from the 66 percent he made in Orlando, and the Big Three have also struggled mightily inside.

Garnett’s attempts are down from last season and so is his shooting percentage. It’s the same story for Allen who is making only 54 percent of his shots at the rim, down from 65 the previous season. Pierce has had the most dramatic drop-off from a 70 percent conversion rate last season – one of the best in the NBA among small forwards – all the way down to 54 percent. 

There were some hopeful signs in Friday’s game, believe it or not. Garnett converted an alley-oop for a dunk and Pierce had two dunks in the halfcourt set, but this has been the deepest sign of trouble for an aging team.

TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS, TURNOVERS

Turnovers have been the Celtics' biggest offensive issue since the 2007-08 season, but this year the bug has affected everyone. Allen, Pierce and Garnett all have the highest turnover percentage of their careers.

Turnovers are up across the league, but it’s hard to pin down why they have become such an issue for players who have always been solid with the ball. The Celtics simply aren’t capable of playing through their turnovers like they have in the past. Additionally, the turnovers often lead to easy scores on the other end of the court, putting even more pressure on an overtaxed defense.

This is perhaps the most perplexing of their issues.

“If I had a team that had guys on here that couldn’t play, couldn’t understand how to play this game, that were young and had to learn, I would be troubled,” Allen said. “What’s frustrating about it is, I do have guys that do know how to play and understand the game. I don’t know if we’ve got to simplify it or switch it around just a little bit, but I think we’ve got to stop overthinking it.”

WHAT ABOUT RAY?

Allen began the season draining 3-pointers and he hasn’t stopped, knocking down a rather absurd 57 percent of his attempts. The problem is his total attempts have dropped by two per game and he’s shooting just 31 percent on long 2’s from 16-23 feet away. That speaks to a spacing issue.

“I’ve told you guys since I’ve been here when I score it seems like it’s so much easier [for everyone else] because when I’m getting open and getting great looks, Kevin gets great looks and it’s so much easier for Paul,” Allen said. “Right now we don’t have that freedom offensively, that movement.”

Allen broke out of a three-game funk with 14 points on only eight shots against Phoenix, but he’s had more than 10 attempts only once in the last seven games. Invariably, that brings up the question of screens, but Allen wouldn’t single out one factor.

“There’s a combination of things happening,” he said earlier in the week. “Teams are keying in on what I’m doing. We’re not getting stops. We’re not running. It’s just a sequence of events.”

Taken individually, the Celtics have generally been able to play through any one of these issues over the years. But when all three break down, the result is there for all to see. Rivers and his veterans remain convinced they can solve their problems.

“It’s frustrating, honestly,” Rivers said. “But there’s a fix and I’ve got to find it.”