A missed opportunity: Seven Takeaways from Celtics/Kings

Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images1. Splitting the first two games of a five-game west coast swing isn’t the worst thing. The Sacramento King are also no longer the KANGZ, where you just show up and get a victory. Losing to them on a back-to-back isn’t anything to be ashamed of. And Boston was without their top three options as lead ballhandlers.

That said, this was a missed opportunity. A couple of defensive breakdowns and a couple of sloppy possessions late in the fourth and that was that. Now, to salvage a good result from the trip, the Celtics need to beat either the Clippers, Suns or Jazz. None will be easy. The guess here is Boston wins at least one of those games and returns home with a…