Is youth the problem on this team? Are the problems we are having unique to this Celtics team? Here are some quotes that could have come from the Herald or the Globe following any of our recent losses...

"We played a strong first half again,' he (the coach) said, "And then we folded our tents again. We missed key baskets. We never made an important shot. When we get everyone involved, we play well. When we don't... I'm not very happy with this."

How do you explain a ... basketball team, that shoots 73 percent in the first half and leads by 13 points - and scores 37 points the rest of the night? How do you explain twenty-nine turnovers and only three offensive rebounds in one evening and just one basket in seven minutes during the final quarter? How do you explain a 108-101 loss to a (team) who had three starters hurt and a reserve guard missing?

And then they come out for the third quarter and it all vanishes in a vapor trail. Balls are thrown out of bounds. The rebounding dries up. The 24-second clock ticks down to the dregs and (one of the players) is still pounding the ball at the top of the key, waiting for somebody - anybody - to move. Three minutes pass without a basket. Seven minutes. And an 81-73 lead becomes a 90-84 hole.

But they just aren't doing it. We have people who are not contributing consistently. Oh, a game here and there they'll do it, but there is not the dedication to concentration that you have to have. There are not a lot of things. There has not been a willingness to work hard for 48 minutes. There are not enough people who want to do the uncomfortable little things that win games - like banging the boards, moving without the ball, playing knuckles down defense.