“I think we’re going to get better,” Stevens said of the defense. “This is the best I’ve felt about us defensively in the last couple of weeks, and I told you that, as crazy as it sounds, but we were much more connected in what we were trying to do. We had a few mistakes, certainly, in schemes, but we were into those guys’ bodies, we tried to make everything as difficult as possible. Obviously Avery [Bradley] helps in that regard, but I thought the guys that were out there did a pretty good job chasing those guards around. I think we’ve got to do a better job of protecting the paint, but again, I think we’re going to watch this film and feel better than worse.”

Globe: Celtics know they need to get better

I’m very happy and willing to put my faith in Brad Stevens. If he says he sees signs that they’re going to get better defensively, then I’ll trust that he sees signs that they’ll get better defensively and hope that it starts happening sometime soon….

Because I don’t see it.

What I did see was CJ McCollum going nuts on us for 26 points in the first half. What I also saw was the Celtics, in desperate need of stops, giving up basket after basket down the stretch. And I definitely saw the Celtics give up 14 points in a five-minute overtime… a pace that would have equaled a 34 point full quarter of play. And there was this in the final minute of overtime…

Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart pointed at the last second, but the gesture came too late. Caught off guard by what he thought might have been the Portland Trail Blazers’ first guard-to-guard screen of the game, Isaiah Thomas failed to switch onto Damian Lillard in time. In a hurry, the Blazers star slipped the screen, slid away from the second line of defense and dove to the rim for an and-one layup.

They now sit in the bottom third of the NBA defensively (21st, with a rating of 109.4). Being without Avery Bradley really hurts, and maybe he would have done enough to get a win last night, but how many points would he have really shaved off the final score?

There were too many back-door cuts… too many open shots… too many fouls (though I’ll concede on the last point that there were a lot of dubious whistles. Marcus Smart’s strip of Damian Lillard at the end of regulation was clean).

The Celtics have a lot to clean up to become a good enough defensive team to be dangerous in the playoffs. I keep waiting for them to become the team we saw last year but it’s time to admit those guys aren’t showing up. At least they’re not showing up anytime soon.

I guess we just wait… and hope Brad’s right.

Page 2: Let’s get positive… and give Terry Rozier some love

“Yeah it felt good, I ain’t gonna lie. I seen it the whole time,” Rozier said of the shot from the right side of the arc, after curling off an Al Horford pick. “Actually it’s the second play drawn up for me to shoot a 3 in the fourth quarter and it means a lot. It just shows his trust in the growth we’re having as the season progresses so that felt good.

“It helps tremendously, through the roof,” he said. “It makes me want to do everything — defense, all that. It’s great, especially to have a guy like Brad trust you.”

Herald: Terry Rozier gets number called for key late shot

But more than the points, the decision by head coach Brad Stevens to draw up a play for him in that moment, a time when most of what Boston does revolves around the shooting of Isaiah Thomas who has been among the top-3 scorers in the fourth quarter most of this season, was surprising to many.

And at that point in the game, Thomas already had 13 fourth-quarter points.

Stevens confirmed after the game that the last shot in the fourth was indeed for Rozier, but Thomas’ presence on the floor was important to its execution.

“He (Thomas) also draws a lot of attention,” Stevens said. “So I think you just weigh kind of … what kind of shot you’re going to get, depending on who it is.”

Rozier had initially screened for Thomas, and Thomas came back and screened for him.

“I was open as soon as I caught … and I let it fly,” Rozier said. “Coach drew up a play for me and it felt good to see the ball go in.”

CSNNE: With Thomas drawing attention, Stevens turns to Rozier in big moment.

Let’s have a look at the play…

Terry Rozier sinks a 3-pointer to tie the game with 8.4 seconds remaining! https://t.co/DyjDkKHmkc

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 22, 2017

My first reaction is to be thankful the whistle-happy refs didn’t bag Horford for a moving screen.

I’ve said it a bunch so I won’t bore you with repetitive stuff… I’ll just leave it at this…

It’s always great to see a guy who doesn’t play much get the call and play well. To have this play in this moment drawn up for him… and to knock that shot down… Is a huge reason why we’ve been high on Terry Rozier’s potential for this team. It’s fun to watch.

And Finally…

Here’s an inside look at Al Horford’s training regimen…

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It’s an interesting look at how much goes into being a professional athlete. Everything from nutrition and the breakdown of his workouts… it’s all precise stuff. You can read about it here, in the Improper Bostonian

“I’m usually doing stuff like that every day… I’m not a fan of being on a machine for an hour or running outside for an hour. It’s all about getting your heart rate up,” Horford says. “During the season, cardio and flexibility are the most important. It’s more about maintaining my strength. Cardio would be 50 percent [of my time]. Flexibility would be 30 percent, and strength is 20.”

It’s definitely worth the read.

The rest of the links:

Herald: Isaiah scores 41, but Celtics fall to Blazers in overtime  |  NBA’s original bomber, ex-Celtic Chris Ford, marvels at spree of 3’s  |  Perfect return for ex-Celtic Evan Turner

Globe: Blazers slip past Celtics in OT  |  Turner happy to see old mates

CSNNE: Celtics force OT, come up short  | Isaiah’s dad: “I call him the biggest beast in the East”

ESPN Boston: Turner on Celtics: “I definitely miss that experience”

WEEI: Loss to Blazers shows how important Bradley is

MassLive: Evan Turner returns: 10 notable quotes/anecdotes from his return  |  Isaiah’s 41 not enough, Celtics fall to Portland