Heading into Monday, the Boston Celtics have a 2.0 game lead over the Toronto Raptors and rank first in the Eastern Conference with a 34-13 record.However, they’re in the midst of their first bit of adversity as a team since Gordon Hayward suffered his horrific injury in the season opener.After winning seven-straight games between December 27 and January 11, Boston fell to the New Orleans Pelicans 116-113 in overtime on January 16 before losing 89-80 to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday and then 103-95 to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.The Magic were tied with the Sacramento Kings for the NBA’s worst record when they took down the Celtics in Boston on Sunday.As one of the most consistent teams in the league this season, Sunday’s loss in particular was a bit surprising. But, star point guard Kyrie Irving found a silver lining, per Taylor Snow of Celtics.com.“You’ve gotta hit some adversity,” said Irving, who dropped a game-high 40 points, seven rebounds and five assists in the losing effort. “We have to hit something. We need it as a team. There’s a lot more adversity down the road. You’ve got to be able to weather the storm no matter what. That’s part of the game in learning one another and being able to figure out, ‘How do you respond to that?”The Celtics will now head west on a four-game road trip where they’ll square off against the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets. According to Irving, the team will find out a lot about itself over that span.“We’re playing against some hungry teams out in the Western Conference,” explained Irving. “Those teams have come in here and played pretty well against us, except for the Clippers (who we haven’t played yet). This trip is just great for a young, developing team like we have, and it’s fun because you can learn so much more about one another, and going on the road is a test.”

Since the Celtics have a slew of young and inexperienced players on the roster, Irving believes that this could be a key moment in establishing a resilient identity as a group.

“Us, as a group, we’ve come together in the last four or five months, so it’s new,” Irving noted. “And we need to hit something like this in order for us to grow. It’s part of the game, part of being on a team, part of being a professional on any team in any environment. You’ve just got to have stuff like this where you gotta figure it out.”

Boston will look to snap their losing streak on Tuesday when they take on the Lakers at Staples Center.