The Boston Celtics have been the team to beat throughout the regular season. But like any team, they're not perfect.

In fact, they Celtics have looked especially vulnerable in recent days. The Atlanta Hawks erased a 30-point deficit to defeat the C's 120-118 on Monday and then handed Boston another close loss on Thursday, this time prevailing 123-122.

While Boston's late-game offense has been the easy target for pundits to criticize, the two disappointing performances against Atlanta reveal a completely different problem. So, let's delve into the Celtics' offensive rebounding issues and discuss what it means for the title favorites ahead of the 2024 NBA Playoffs.

Boston's offensive rebounding is a glaring weakness

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzuilla looks to his bench during the game against the Atlanta Hawks during the first half at State Farm Arena.
Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Offensive rebounding isn't as hot a topic as last-second misses and turnovers, yet that doesn't make it any less significant.

Although Boston averages the fifth-most total rebounds per game, it struggles on the offensive side of the glass. The C's are 13th in offensive rebounds per outing and eight of their 16 losses have come in games when they don't grab more offensive boards than their opponents.

On Monday, the Hawks had 15 offensive rebounds to Boston's 12. That disparity wasn't enormous, but it was enough to make an impact down the stretch in a tight game. The second-chance points generated from those boards have been major factors in both of the Celtics' losses to Atlanta.

For instance, with 15 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray missed a dagger jumper while up 117-116. If Boston grabbed that rebound, it could've taken a timeout with a little more than 10 seconds on the clock and had a great opportunity for a go-ahead bucket.

Instead, the Celtics gave up an offensive board to center Clint Capela and he dished it out to De'Andre Hunter on the perimeter. Hunter splashed the triple and the C's were down two possessions with just 9.2 seconds remaining.

The Celtics couldn't overcome that back-breaking 3-pointer. But at least the board they let up was to Capela, who has the most offensive rebounds in the NBA this season.

Unfortunately, the rebounding woes don't end there. On Thursday night, Boston had only nine offensive rebounds to Atlanta's 17. That difference of eight certainly hurt the Celtics, as they were outscored 28-11 on second-chance points. Boston allows 13.5 second-chance points per game, which ranks around the middle of the pack in the league.

To make matters even worse, these second-chance points often came at the worst possible times. For example, the Celtics were up three points with 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and a single defensive stop could've sealed the game.

Even though the Celtics played Atlanta tough and forced a tough shot from Murray, Hunter ended up with the rebound and passed it to an open Bogdan Bogdanović. The sharp-shooting guard connected from deep and tied the game, sending it to overtime and an eventual Hawks' victory.

Following the loss, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla admitted his team got outworked a few times, yet also stood up for his guys, via CelticsBlog reporter Noa Dalzell.

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“I don't think it's becoming an issue,” Mazzulla said when asked about whether or not offensive rebounding was a problem. “[The Hawks] do a good job of crashing … I'm sure there's a few of them that we can get better at, but that's, to me, the game right there: offensive rebounds, second-chance points. I thought we played a hell of a game outside of that.”

Despite getting beat on the boards, Boston's effort was relatively high in the second half. The Celtics didn't collapse like they did on Monday, but they also couldn't stop Murray from scoring a career-high 44 points–with 11 of those coming in overtime.

Atlanta aside, the Celtics had late-game rebounding troubles against the Cleveland Cavaliers too. In early March, Boston held a 104-103 lead against an undermanned Cavs squad with less than 30 seconds to go. It looked like the Celtics earned a much-needed stop after point guard Darius Garland missed a layup, yet forward Dean Wade came flying in for the putback dunk to give Cleveland the advantage. Celtics star Jayson Tatum tried to answer with a potential game-winning jumper, but it didn't fall.

Evidently, this isn't a one-off situation for the Celtics. Although some of the offensive rebounds have been bad breaks, they'll still need to limit the amount of extra possessions they allow. If they can't, they'll leave the door wide open for eager teams hoping to take the league-leading Celtics down.