Brad Stevens still considering rotation changes, Jaylen Brown opens up on struggles

The Celtics were back at practice in Boston for the first time in two weeks on Tuesday and the message was quite clear from Brad Stevens coming off a 1-4 road trip.

"We've got a lot of things we need to work on," Stevens deadpanned.

There won't be much time for the Green to work on those things in practice with eight games looming over the next 13 days, making each offday carrying some added importance now as the team tries to snap out of a road funk.

The question everyone will be left wondering as the team takes the floor on Wednesday night is whether any tweaks will be made to the starting group. Stevens acknowledged on Tuesday that it was a possibility but did not sound like he was leaning towards a switch for the time being. 

"We're still talking about it," he admitted. "Obviously, the easy question and the easy thought is always who starts, and I think it's just as much rotations in the game that we need to be better with, and maybe find some groups that play a little bit better together. I thought actually in the Portland game we saw some of that in the second half. The hard part right now is, when we play really urgent and desperate, we're pretty good. We're just not there enough. So it's hard to really pin that on a lineup, on a person, as much as we just have to be better."

One of the groups that hasn’t been there enough has been the starting five, particularly on the offensive end. They've got one of the worst offensive ratings out of any team in the NBA but Stevens still likes the shots that group is getting.

"I think you can go game to game with that," Stevens said. "If you look at the start of the Denver, Utah and Phoenix games, the shots we got were unbelievable. In the Phoenix game, we didn’t make one in that first five minutes of the game. But that group hasn't played much beyond those first five minutes of those first two halves. But the shots they generated at times have been, as I said last week, some of our best basketball we've had here in the last few years. We just don't do it consistently enough, so that's something we're going to work on."

The focus, for now, seems to be on Stevens trying to put his guys in a better spot to win. He sounds like someone who is going to try to create more accountability across the board within his rotation.

"I think one of the things that we all have to make sure that we do is remember how hard it is to win," Stevens said. "And I think, as a coach, your job is making sure that everybody's accountable for all those controllables, and I would say that I need to be better. So I would say that we all play a role in it, but that's my job. So we'll be better."

Gordon Hayward has minutes limit loosened

The swingman has not been given an all-clear for his minutes going forward, but he played a season-high 31 on Sunday night in Portland, a large jump from his 25-27 minute range over the first few weeks of the season.

"I think it’s something we’re monitoring, game-by-game," Hayward said. "I hope that I have no more restriction. Like I said, I feel great, physically. My ankle feels great. So we’ll go from there."

Whether or not Hayward is worthy of a heavier minutes load at this point is up for debate (his on/off numbers would indicate no) but the former All-Star believes that some longer stints will help him and his teammates find better cohesion on the floor.

"Normally for me, finding a rhythm, being able to feel the game out, just from a timing and a rhythm perspective -- I think, also, it helps some of the other guys, too," he continued, "Because some of my minutes they were in like kinda weird spurts. It’s hard to play with, too. I think it will help everybody."

Jaylen Brown opens up on challenges of a deep roster

Few players have had a rougher start to the 2018-19 campaign than Jaylen Brown. While some struggles have been expected (Hayward) in the starting five, the third-year guard is posting the worst numbers of his career almost across the board as he tries to find his place in the team's new starting five. The pressure of the slow start has begun to weigh on him as Boston has stumbled out of the gate.

“We’ve gotta play better," Brown acknowledged. "I’ve gotta play better. It’s been a rocky start to my third year, but we just have to continue to get better. Things are different, things have changed, we have to adapt. I knew it coming in, I knew it like after the first five games it was going to be a struggle each and every day until we figure things out because we’re not playing as fluid as we can be playing. So we have to find ways to make things work and find ways to win. That’s a part of being a professional, being mature, and figuring things out, and adapting to the team we’ve got.”

Brown has been one of the Celtics who has been repeatedly shuffled in and out of crunch time lineups over the course of the opening 13 games. The excess of talent on the roster and the fight for playing time has been taking its toll on the 22-year-old as he tries to find his footing in year three.

"That's a part of it, definitely, trying to develop a rhythm out there, just knowing there are guys behind you that are coming in and playing well," Brown explained. "Instead of looking over your shoulder, thinking about those guys, everyone just has to come out and play their game. It definitely is a factor, there are so many guys, and it's hard to necessarily get a rhythm. The ball is not moving and things like that, you can see a lot of people struggling."

While Stevens may end up tweaking things a bit more to create a better sense of continuity in the rotation and lineups, the roadmap to success for Brown and the Celtics starts with a simple thing: Trust.

"Just coming out and playing basketball," Brown said of how the C's get back on track. "We've been playing together for two years, so we have to continue to trust the offense, trust Brad and trust in each other.

"On that road trip there were a lot of good teams we played and a lot of games we were in and could have won. So we have to figure it out. But I think we’ll be all right. We’re going to get better. I’m looking forward to this week, looking forward to responding tomorrow vs. Chicago. And continue to go on a positive note. What we’ve just seen on the road, I think that’s the worst it will get.”