Karalis: These Boston Celtics lack the edge of their predecessors

There’s one very obvious thing missing from this year’s Boston Celtics. 

When we look back at the Brad Stevens era, most years have had one common thread: his teams had an edge. 

Once the Celtics acquired Isaiah Thomas six years ago, they also traded for an attitude that stuck with the team even after his departure. 

“That (2014-15) team -- we had our things that we weren’t as good at, but we were really tough,” Stevens told me when I asked about Thomas for my book, The Boston Celtics All-Time All-Stars. “That toughness, he helped lead. Everybody knew he was going to compete, that he was always gonna be there at the end to make a play. He wore that chip on his shoulder and I think we all followed that chip on his shoulder.”

The last chips left Boston in the Aron Baynes trade, and while there might have been some lingering fight last season, it is most certainly gone this year. Marcus Smart is the only player on this team anyone should be afraid to fight. He’s the only person who will keep getting up when he’s knocked down, and him missing the most trying portion of this year’s schedule has left this Celtics team without any real extraordinary will to win. 

Here’s Danny Ainge’s assessment of his team this morning on 98.5’s Toucher and Rich.

“I would say last night, there were moments that were great,” he began. “I just felt like, in the second quarter in particular, we just didn't have the resolve to continue to fight defensively when things weren't going our way.”

That’s as damning as assessments get from a front office. To put it more simply, “we didn’t have the will to fight when things got bad.”

“I think that it comes from within. I think it comes from each individual,” Ainge said when asked to explain where to find that resolve. “You can see the body language is not the same when you're making shots, versus when you're missing shots. And when you're not making shots, your defense has to be better than when you're not making shots, not worse.”

As Ainge puts it, this is the sign of a young team, which is true. However, it’s also the sign of this team’s personality. 

Jayson Tatum is a smooth, gliding, finesse player. Jaylen Brown is more of an attacker, but even he is more of a jump shooter than a person hunting souls at the rim. Stevens isn’t as even-keeled as he is perceived during games, but he’s also not likely to ignite any fires either. 

Sometimes a coach needs to get a technical foul, maybe two, to show his team at least someone on this team is willing to put up a fight. 

But that’s not in this team’s DNA. 

“Everybody does it their own way,” Tatum said after last night’s loss. “Some guys are more vocal than others. Just kind of, by your presence, if you lead by example, you do the right things on the court, everybody else will follow. I think I’ve got to do better with that approach, get outside myself a little bit more.”

There is value in leading by example, but this team doesn’t have a revered basketball immortal like LeBron James who leads by doing all the work in practice. Tatum can lead by example and set the precedent that everyone on the team comes in and works hard on off days, but if Tatum wants all the glory that comes with All-Star appearances and selling sandwiches, he’s going to have to follow his own advice, get outside himself, and do more of the little things during games. 

This is where the 23-year-old’s next lessons lie. He didn’t have people doubting him like Thomas. He went to Duke. He was the third pick in the draft (and would have gone first if the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t covet Markelle Fultz). These two All-Star appearances, and the commercials, and the workout with his hero, and the Instagram love from Lebron... this was all part of the plan. 

The 24-year-old Brown has a bit more fuel for his fire. He certainly has more edge than Tatum, and would be more of the candidate to be the “fire” in this “fire and ice” combo. However, Brown is more prone to the problematic mental lapses that lead to things like backdoor cuts and blown assignments. 

That’s not to say neither of these guys can grow into this role. But at least one of them needs to. 

So Ainge is right that some of what we’ve seen is youth in action. This team has done a good job of weathering the storm this season and keeping itself in the hunt as it tries to forge an identity. What this team isn’t doing is saying “F it,” and charging into the rain and wind to save a home that’s being ripped apart. 

That would be an identity.  

The two most emotional players on this team are Smart and Kemba Walker, and neither has been fully available this season. Without them, there is no edge to this team. They’re a butter knife trying to cut through a cheap Delmonico. 

Ainge, who himself was valued by Red Auerbach as an instigator, and who values that quality in players, now has a team lacking them. If his young stars can’t grow into this role, and if his emotional leaders can’t stay healthy enough to maintain that role, then Ainge needs to find that fire somewhere. 

Finesse doesn’t fly in Boston.