The Three Celtics with the most to learn from the IST Championship

The Celtics missed a golden opportunity to be playing for the IST championship tonight. But there are three Celtics who would benefit greatly from coming up short in the knockout round to Indiana.

Derrick White was very atypical Derrick White vs Indiana in knockout round loss. Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

Tonight will be the inaugural In Season Tournament championship and the Boston Celtics will be doing the same thing you and I will be doing - watching it from afar.

Of the eight teams that made it to the knockout stage of the IST, the good folks in Las Vegas were justified in picking the Celtics as the odds-on favorites to win it all.

But an inspired Indiana Pacers played with a Game 7 sense of urgency while Boston treated it like just another one of 82 games, major factors in the Pacers beating Boston and later Milwaukee to advance to the tonight’s championship game where they will meet LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Boston is indeed on the outside looking in at the IST championship, but even in their role as spectator, there are some valuable lessons to learned that could be just what they need as they continue on the journey that they hope ends with the Larry O’Brien trophy calling Boston home in June.