On Friday night, Brad Stevens, head coach of the Boston Celtics, spent a large part of his press conference, in which he reiterated his commitment to the team and made it clear that he was not going to work to attend Indiana University. When he sat down a few hours later to talk to reporters, the mood was not so jovial.
After the Celtics fell back from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take a short lead, the Celtics fell apart in the piece and lost to the Sacramento Kings, 107-96. It was their third consecutive loss, and the fourth in five games since the All Star break. As a result, at 20-21 they are now again below 0.500 and hold on to eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Stevens was, surprisingly, not happy with the result or the recent trend. He said he believes in his group but wants them to be more resilient and busy with each other.
“I think we need to be more involved with each other,” Stevens said. ‘I think teams are fragile things, guys try – and everyone is really good guys … I can not say enough good things about it [the players]. That’s why I believe it’s there. That’s why I think our ceiling is better than what we played – because I believe in who we have. But we have to do it together. That is the conclusion. ‘
“Fun often follows winning,” Stevens continues. “But which comes first: to win or do hard things?”
It has been a difficult and uninterrupted season for the Celtics, who have been nicely cut all the way. The constant fluctuation of rotations and roles has undoubtedly made it difficult to find and maintain a rhythm, and this is evident in their play and results.
But the external factors do not completely excuse some of their struggle. There is a lot of high-quality talent in this team – Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown made them one of only six teams with multiple All-Stars – and Stevens noted that their ceiling is still quite high. Unfortunately, the floor is also quite low.
Some of it depends on the players and coaching staff. We have already seen the quotes from Stevens, and the players also had their say after the game. “I did not do a good job leading this team,” Brown said. “As a result, I’m losing sleep.” Kemba Walker added: “At the end of the day we have to get together, man … People have to sacrifice certain things. We have to put our pride aside and find out.”
There is also a duty on President Danny Ainge to make adjustments to the March 25 trade deadline. Some of his peripheral movements over the past few years have not yet recovered, and as a result, the Celtics’ supporting cast is contradictory and inappropriate. to compliment the stars’ best skills. They have a huge trade exception via the Gordon Hayward saga, and the addition of an additional shooting and shooting threat on the wing will go a long way in resolving some of the Celtics’ woes.
If Ainge can make something happen in the trade market, or if the players currently in the locker room adapt and work things out internally, the Celtics might make some more noise in the East. But if they stay on their current track, it’s hard to see that happen.