MIAMI – Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 147-129 loss to the Boston Celtics:

– Even before yet another beatdown by the Celtics, there was candor from Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

– More than four months into the season, the play-in round again is his team’s sobering reality.

– The very thing the Heat vowed to avoid.

– So how do you motivate when there already is a degree of failure?

– That is the challenge now.

– With ultimate play-in success potentially meaning . . . a first-round series against the Celtics.

– And you thought it was bad in last year’s opening round?

– (OK, it was bad, record-setting bad against the Cavaliers.)

– So, with the Heat now again to live a play-in reality, Spoelstra was asked about motivating his team for a fourth such appearance in that round in as many years.

– “Our guys already started that process,” Spoelstra said of the reality looming ahead. “We have great competitors, so look, there are some disappointing games of late, and you want your guys having that level of care factor and frustration and even anger, all of that. It means our guys really care about this.”

– Anger and caring are one thing, pushing back is another.

– In this one, the minimum requirement was fight.

– There was none in the Celtics’ 53-point first quarter.

– At least on the defensive end.

– As it has been the case all too often this season, particularly of late.

– It’s as if the Heat will go into the play-in defenseless.

– “We weren’t able to take advantage of a couple opportunities that we wanted to,” Spoelstra said of the trail leading to Wednesday night, “but we still have an opportunity where we are, and we have to focus now on compartmentalizing and really just taking each game as an opportunity to take another step forward.”

– Instead, another step back, to No. 10 in the East.

– Which makes each of the five remaining games all about play-in seeding.

– “Each one of these games can prepare us for what we have ahead,” he said.

– Can they?

– Hard to contend that this one did that.

– With only one game over the next five days (Saturday at home against the Wizards), there could be time to regroup.

– But the reality is so much of the Eastern Conference has passed them by.

– Most notably the Celtics.

– With Norman Powell missing a third consecutive game due to illness, the Heat again opened with Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo, Pelle Larsson,  Andrew Wiggins and Davion Mitchell.

– Kel’el Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. entered together first off the Heat bench.

– With Dru Smith then again playing ahead of Kasparas Jakucionis.

– Simone Fontecchio made it nine deep for the Heat.

– With not much from the bench.

– Including Jaquez being -20 in just 6:31 in the opening period.

– And Smith somehow -18 in 3:53 in his first-quarter minutes.

– As for the faith factor, it is decidedly minimal with Ware at the moment.

– Seemingly with the only alternative being to run Adebayo into the ground.

– Which is why the failure of Nikola Jovic has stung.

– He could have helped.

– If he ever showed the fight to play in the power rotation.