Marcus Morris rips teammates after embarrassing loss to Clippers

Marcus Morris was the last Celtic in the locker room on Saturday night. He took some extra time to blow off some steam with a postgame workout in the wake of an embarrassing 123-112 loss to the Clippers that saw the Celtics blow a 28-point lead against a revamped LA roster that had practiced just one day together. In a season full of tension, trade drama, team meetings and playing below expectations, a boiling point arrived as Morris answered questions after Boston's worst defeat of the year. The postgame workout did nothing to lower the veteran's frustration level and he let loose on a Celtics team that has not been able to get on the same page for much of the season.

“For me, it’s not really about the loss. It’s about the attitudes that we’re playing with," Morris said. "Guys are hanging their heads. It’s just not fun. It’s not fun. We’re not competing at a high level. Even though we’re winning, it’s not fun. I don’t see the joy in the game. I watch all these other teams around the league and guys are up on the bench, they’re jumping on the court, they’re doing all of this other stuff that looks like they’re enjoying their teammates’ success, they’re enjoying everything, and they’re playing together and they’re playing to win. And when I look at us, I just see a bunch of individuals.”

Those types of individual performances were everywhere in the second half from the Celtics on Saturday night as the visiting Clippers outscored Boston 70-38 in the worst half of basketball the hosts have played all season. With Kyrie Irving (sprained knee in the second quarter) watching from the sidelines, it's as if the entire roster tried to put the team on its back at various points and the results were ugly.

“You've seen a way tougher, more aggressive team. That’s just the bottom line," Morris said about the Clippers. "They were just way tougher, way more aggressive -- emphasize the word ‘team’.”

The pointed comments come after Boston seemingly turning the corner on their early-season struggles with 10 wins in 11 games through most of January and early February. However, old habits crept back to the surface in back-to-back home losses to the Clippers and Lakers and that had Morris questioning this team's motives once more with some scathing criticism.  

“The goal has to be to win," he said. "Bottom line. We’ve gotta play to win. That’s sacrificing playing hard, that’s sacrificing being a better teammate, that’s sacrificing whatever it is. We have to put it to the side. No one’s getting traded. The trade deadline’s over. We’re competing for a championship. And that’s how we’ve gotta approach these games. Win, lose or draw, man. We’re going to lose games, but we don’t have no attitude, we don’t have no toughness, we ain’t having fun. It’s been a long season.”

It wasn't just Morris venting afterward about the defeat. Brad Stevens pointed the finger squarely at himself when evaluating what exactly needs to be done to address the significant dropoff this team has experienced in the middle quarters of games.

"It is disappointing to have 20-point leads in consecutive games and lose, that’s for sure," Stevens admitted. "Again, I think I need to look at myself first and figure out what I can do to help that not happen. If that means we need to play different rotations, call different things, start differently in quarters than we are, whatever the case may be there’s an answer out there and we just have to find it."

In a rare change of pace for the Stevens' teams, it's been the defense that has loomed large as the biggest problem in these setbacks from an on-court standpoint. After allowing 93 points in the final 30 minutes of Thursday's loss to the Lakers, they followed suit with 88 points allowed in the final 30 in Saturday's collapse, including 42 in the fourth quarter alone.

Changes may be coming ahead of a showdown with the new-look Sixers on Tuesday and Morris is open to whatever the future brings on that front.

“I have nothing to do with that. He’s the coach, if that’s what it is, so be it,” Morris said. “I just want to win, man. I just want to have fun. I want to win. Down the line, it’s just gotta be fun. Just gotta have fun doing this thing, man. I look at all these other teams and guys are jumping on the court and guys are moving the ball or guys helping each other on defense, guys are genuinely happy for each other. I look on this team, I don’t see that.”

The entire situation is a monster created by Danny Ainge's choosing. He decided to keep this young collection of talent together after a breakout postseason for many young players within the group. Smaller roles have been harder to accept than anticipated by those youngsters and despite some inner conflict, Ainge elected to stand pat at the trade deadline and ride things out with this group. This is the hand that Stevens has been dealt and it's going to be on him to do some serious damage control here to keep this group unified after Morris put everyone on notice.

“This shit has to change, man.” Morris said. “We have to genuinely want to win, that has to be the first goal, whatever that change is, I’m with it. They want to take me out of the starting lineup, get some juice in there, I’m with it man. But I’m trying to win. That’s the main goal. Trade deadline is over, this is the team we rocking with, this is what we going with. End of the day, man, it’s unacceptable what we did tonight. It’s very unacceptable for a team of our caliber.”

Fittingly, the loss on Saturday night dropped Boston into the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference, putting the preseason East favorites in a situation where opening a first-round series at home is far from a sure thing. Boston has the toughest schedule remaining among the East's top teams with road games looming against the Sixers, Bucks, Raptors and Warriors in the next eight games, starting with Philadelphia on Tuesday night.

With 26 games remaining in the regular season, there still is an opportunity to right the ship but this group's warts remain front and center. Member of this roster hasn't responded particularly well to public criticism in the past so getting lit up by a veteran free agent to be will be an interesting test for this group. Despite his harsh words, the 29-year-old still thinks there is hope for this squad.

“I mean, I really do. I think it can,” Morris said of a potential turnaround. “But you have to start somewhere.”

Morris picked a hell of a spot to start. Either way, this feels like a potential turning point for this group, but the direction it goes from here remains to be seen.