The Boston Celtics are 12-12 so far this season and gave up 100 points or more for the fourth straight game in Tuesday night's loss. In the players' eyes, the team is desperately lacking an identity on defense.

“Right now we have no identity, that’s simple and plain,” Pierce said on Tuesday. “We’re supposed to be a defensive team, give up 100 points every night, inconsistent on both ends of the court.

“We’re searching, trying to find out who we want to be for this season.”

Meanwhile, Doc Rivers has been confused about his team's struggles.

“We’re going to keep searching, this team is not a good team right now,” Rivers said. “It’s who we are right now. I’ve been saying that. This is who we are. We’re a .500 team and we play like that. We’ve won two games in a row [once this] season. Right now we’re not a good team. We’re going to find it, but we’re not right now.”