few postcards from the road. The first one from Washington, D.C., features two telling photos. From left to right, there is Joe Johnson throwing an inbounds pass into the arms of Wizards guard Richard Hamilton, ending any chance of a Celtics win in overtime. Beside it is a closeup of Paul Pierce with a postgame look that seems to say, ''How could we fall to Washington and extend our losing streak to four?''
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The second postcard comes from Miami. It captures a moment of unrestrained joy, with the Celtics piling on top of each other after Pierce's buzzer-beating layup. If no one told you it was merely the 12th of 82 regular-season games, you would think the Celtics had just qualified for the playoffs or maybe even won the NBA title.
The final postcard comes from Toronto. The simple picture shows a line of players in green uniforms walking off the court with barely more than a smile after finishing their five-game trip with a 4-1 record and four-game winning streak.
There are many ways to capture the progress Boston made during its nine-day tour of the Eastern Conference. Listen to the Celtics talk about growing as a team or coach Jim O'Brien complimenting improved practice habits. Look at the statistics generated by the team on defense and by individuals on offense. Chart the progress made in their ability to sustain early leads.
But why not also flip through a few snapshots from the road and see how Boston emerged as a team capable of taking care of business, one that can back up its determination to make the playoffs with more authority.
The trip was a far better barometer of the Celtics' potential than the slow-paced, home-laden schedule of the first few weeks. They returned to Boston a more confident, more accomplished, more knowledgeable team than the one that left town almost a week and a half earlier.
''These games that we're losing, and even in ones that we're winning, we're learning,'' said Pierce, who was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for averaging 29 points in four games. ''The thing is, when you learn and go out and do it, it's satisfying. It doesn't really make sense when you know what to do and go out and you don't do it.
''I think that's what we were doing at the beginning. We knew what we needed to do down the stretch. We just didn't do it.
''But now, we're starting to realize what it takes and we're going out there, executing, doing what we have to do to win ballgames. We're going to play in a lot of tight ballgames, and if we can't finish them out, it's going to be a long season. Learning this past week on the road in tough environments is a great confidence booster. Hopefully, it will carry over for the rest of the season.''
The coaching staff, which gave the players yesterday off, has preached the importance of defense all along. For the players, it was a now-you-see-it, now-you-don't proposition. As a result, large leads were lost and the Celtics' play was often unpredictable.
In the four wins, the Celtics held opponents below 40 percent from the field, though they were able to outrebound only New Jersey. When the Celtics were victorious, they held the opposition to 90 or fewer points. There was more communication on defense, more hustle, more attention to detail.
''Sometimes you don't want to beat a dead horse,'' said Kenny Anderson. ''Sometimes it's good to beat a dead horse, defensively. Defense has been on our minds. In the NBA, your shot isn't always going to fall and you can turn it over, but a staple is you can hustle and play defense. Always.''
In addition to emphasizing defense, the coaches have harped on the value of hard work, of not taking time off, during practices or games. That message is important for a team that not so long ago had trouble closing out games.
The Celtics have not been taking time off on offense, either. While Pierce proved capable of rescuing the team and himself from a poor first half by scoring a career-high 48 points against New Jersey, one of the more encouraging signs on the trip was players besides the cocaptains sparking better play.
From Eric Williams's energy to Anderson's assists off drives, to Tony Battie's long-armed deflections, to Erick Strickland's dives after loose balls, everyone became more eager and more able to play roles that benefitted the team in small but significant ways. Boston learned it's a lot easier to win three games in four nights when contributions on both ends come from a number of sources.
''We're two months into this thing, since the start of training camp,'' said O'Brien. ''We're trying to improve on a daily basis. We've been hard from a defensive standpoint on these guys because we know they want to win.
''We knew that if we could get to the point and continue to get to a point where they take tremendous pride in their defense, then all the goals that our players have will come to be.''
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