Rachel Nichols sounds alarm on Celtics' 'red flag' after suffering back-to-back defeats

The Boston Celtics have already clinched a playoff spot, and clinched their spot as the best team in the East. With just nine games left in the season, the team sits in a comfortable spot, with an 11-game lead over the Milwaukee Bucks in second place. Despite the dominance displayed by the team throughout the season, they've struggled this week, dropping back to back losses to the Atlanta Hawks.

With Trae Young on the sidelines, Dejounte Murray was able to give the Hawks a massive win on Thursday, bringing the team back from down 30. While many were dismissive of the situation given that the Celtics already have their postseason spot secured, Rachel Nichols sounded the alarm, pointing out a big red flag.

The way she sees things, the team is struggling to close games, something that could be problematic for the team during the postseason. While speaking on a recent episode of Undisputed on Fox Sports 1 she shared her thoughts on the Celtics' stunning loss to the Hawks.

"I still would consider Boston the favorite to go to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference. This doesn't change that. It's not that kind of level of concern. But I do think you have to look at this and say this is a serious red flag ... If you cannot focus in games like this, that is a problem."

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Joe Mazzulla opens up on Boston Celtics' stunning loss to the Atlanta Hawks

Thursday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks saw the Boston Celtics lose back-to-back games for just the third time this season. The difference between the current two-game skid and the team's prior two-game skids this season is that both have come to the Atlanta Hawks.

While the Celtics sit atop the Eastern Conference, the Hawks sit in 10th place, where they're preparing to compete in the play-in tournament against the Bulls. Given that, as Rachel Nichols indicated, many believe this could be indicative of a bigger problem heading into the postseason.

For example, in overtime Dejounte Murray was able to get switches on Kristaps Porzingis at will, using the mismatch to create opportunities. According to Joe Mazzulla, however, the move was intentional with the Boston Celtics using the situation as an opportunity to work on their 1-5 switching with Porzingis.

Speaking to media members after the game he opened up on what he thought was the biggest concern surrounding the loss:

“They had 17 offensive rebounds. That’s the game. I don’t think it’s becoming an issue. They do a good job of crashing. I’m sure there’s a few of them we can get better at, but that to me is the game right there. I thought we played a hell of a game outside of that component.”

With the postseason in sight, it will be interesting to see how the loss impacts the team.