One of those games

Even the coach of a 29-4 team feels helpless sometimes.

“Once [Charlotte] got back in the game, I didn’t think we could turn them off,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said after tonight’s loss to the Bobcats.

Rivers blamed his team’s defensive execution, lamented its poor passing, and gave credit to the Bobcats for having a better gameplan.

“I told [Celtics players] we got our butt kicked,” said Rivers. “I didn’t sugarcoat it. Sam Vincent did a better job than me. Their players did a better job than our players… I actually thought we did come to play tonight. I just thought Charlotte played better.”

Every good NBA team suffers unexpected losses. The Spurs can lose to the Grizzlies. The Pistons can lose to the Bulls (twice). The Celtics can lose to a team that, coming into tonight’s game, had lost 11 straight on the road.

“I wasn’t waiting for one [of these losses], I can tell you that,” said Rivers. “And I was hoping we never had one. I don’t know if the word is surprised, but I can accept it. I can. As long as I think the intent was there. I thought we came with the right intent tonight; we just didn’t carry it out.”