Let’s see here: Was it Kristaps Porzingis taking time to admire the rotation on his missed 3-pointer while his defender, Jaxson Hayes, darted down the floor for an uncontested layup, or was it watching Taurean Prince dribble down the floor for an easy bucket after the Celtics had just sliced the deficit to 6 points?
Or how about Jayson Tatum just fouling Lakers in frustration after he missed yet another contested layup?
There were dozens of examples Thursday why the Celtics were soundly defeated by a Lakers team without two of the league’s top 75 players of all time. LeBron James and Anthony Davis watched in street clothes from the sideline and enjoyed their homies pummeling the Celtics, 114-105, with energy, strong defense, and 3-point shooting.
The Celtics knew hours before the game that James and Davis would not play and coach Joe Mazzulla had plenty of time to warn his league-best team about avoiding a letdown. And still, it happened. Still, Austin Reaves looked like Stephen Curry. D’Angelo Russell, as flawed as he is, picked apart the Celtics’ swiss cheese defense with his pinpoint passing.
And Hayes, discarded by the Pelicans for lack of production, scored at the paint with ease. These much-maligned Lakers’ complements were better than their Celtics counterparts because they played harder.
The Celtics didn’t play hard and they should be embarrassed. It’s one thing to miss shots and just have a game in which execution falls short. It’s another not to give enough effort, especially for those fans in the 300 section who may be watching their only Celtics game of the season because they can’t afford the exorbitant prices for NBA games.
Instead of being upset, Mazzulla was strangely chipper. He pointed to the perils of the midseason, when the games run together and the All-Star break looks like a banana to Ms. Pac-Man. Instead of a humiliating loss, it’s an opportunity for the Celtics to improve and reflect on why they are struggling.
But there is a disconnect here. The Celtics knew five hours before game time James and Davis were out. They had time to prepare for the other Lakers and they weren’t prepared. They were exposed and Mazzulla insisted he implored his guys to be prepared for a motivated team, and they didn’t listen.
Mazzulla’s press conference was bizarre, and that’s saying something. He laughed several times. He called the Celtics’ nine first-quarter turnovers, “pretty fun, weren’t they?”
When asked why his team was so careless with the ball, something that allowed the Lakers to take a lead they did not relinquish, Mazzulla said: “I don’t know. Just happens. I think it’s how the game goes sometimes. It was some interesting turnovers, though, weren’t they?”
Now that we’ve established the first-quarter turnovers were fun and interesting, it still does not answer the question why a team with championship aspirations came out so lethargic and unfocused. Why would they be so willing to give away such a winnable game, and then when they lose the No. 1 seed by a game, they’ll be pointing to Feb. 1 and saying, “man, we should have played harder against the Lakers.”
“Stretches of bad basketball happen,” Mazzulla said. “You work your butt off every day to minimize those but stretches of bad basketball and you can’t sit here and act like we’re too entitled for it to happen to us. It happens.”
"Stretches of bad basketball happen."
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) February 2, 2024
Joe Mazzulla reacts to tough loss to the Lakers, and how playing without AD and LeBron James impacted both teams pic.twitter.com/xmXTzvVht5
But this wasn’t bad basketball. This was effortless basketball. This was not giving 100 percent, even when the game was winnable. Every team is due a clunker and the Celtics had one of those last Saturday against the Clippers.
This wasn’t a clunker. This was pure arrogance; disrespecting the opponent.
Effort shouldn’t have to be encouraged or stressed. The Celtics had a day off, so fatigue shouldn’t be an issue. Mazzulla’s message to take their opponent seriously went flat, and he had no reason why that happens, besides to point out that sometimes players don’t listen.
“You know things I tell them [not to do] that still happens?” he asked. “All the time.”
Mazzulla said if the reporter who asked that question had kids, he wouldn’t be asking that question about players not listening. But these aren’t kids he’s dealing with. These are grown men who went out and played their worst game of the season.
In the long run this may not have much significance, but right now, when the Celtics are trying to get back to their elite play and pad some wins on a season-long homestand, it’s significant, more significant than brushing it off with the, “you know young people, they just don’t listen” excuse.
“I’m not happy about it but I’m not concerned by it,” Mazzulla said. “I think it’s unacceptable. But it doesn’t mean that I’m concerned. It’s unacceptable but it’s a matter of holding guys accountable and working through it.”
The hope is the Celtics learn from this embarrassment and ensure that these nights don’t happen again. Not the missing shots or playing poor defense part; the not giving 100 percent part, or expecting an opponent to relent simply because they’re shorthanded and on paper, you’re better.
The Lakers, without two future Hall of Famers, were the better team and that’s not something to laugh off.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.