Marcus Smart hints at off-court issues adding to Celtics problems

The Boston Celtics are reeling again after an embarrassing loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. They're now sitting at .500 and, after last night's games, tied with the Charlotte Hornets for the seventh seed.

This obviously isn't where they saw themselves being this far along into this season. There are many that contribute to their difficulties, like injuries to key players, COVID-19, and the even more condensed schedule as a result of postponements.

But in a post-shoot around media availability, Marcus Smart hinted at off-court issues contributing to the problems.

“Yeah those things affect the team, but for us, we got to refocus our energy," he said. "A lot of things have happened in our lives, personally, individually, where it's hard to come in here and give that energy to somebody else when in your own individual personal life, energy has been drained or you don't really have it. We got to find a way to pick each other when that energy is down from that standpoint."

It would be reckless to speculate who he's talking about or what that might mean, but it's pretty clear from the tone of his entire availability that something is impacting someone, and it's being carried over onto the court.

"A lot of guys -- the court is supposed to be the outlet for them but unfortunately, they have stuff going on individually, that when they come here and things aren't going right here, it just adds on," he said. "We have to continue to help one another, like I said and keep repeating but it's true. We have to look out for one another because no one else is."

Another factor making this more difficult is that normal team-building exercises aren't allowed at the moment. Players aren't in a bubble like they were in Orlando, but they're very limited in what they can do in their personal lives. So those group movie outings, or Smart's annual charity bowling event, are out.

"It's kind of tough with the rules and guidelines and stuff, it's really tough to really do stuff off the court," he said. "We have to go out there (on the court) and we got to have fun again. We're not having fun, we're not playing like we are having fun, we're not playing with that energy and same fire."

This is one of the side-effects of the NBA's decision to play this season the way they have. In exchange for retaining most of their full salary, players agreed to strict off-court guidelines and a compressed schedule. Every team is going through the same rigors, and it's showing up on the court all over the league. The Celtics, however, seem to be impacted a little bit more than most. 

"That's just what it is. We have to pick it up and continue to try to help one another," Smart said. "Nobody said this is going to be easy. When you try to do something great, it's not easy. You're going to have obstacles, you're going to have adversity, you're going to have a lot of brick walls you have to go over or under or around. You just have to continue to keep pushing and not let it bring you down."

Each loss make the noise louder. The Celtics have talked about staying together through adversity in the past, and they're going to have to circle the wagons again, especially if something beyond basketball is starting to drag them down.

"It's okay, we understand it, we get it," Smart said. "Like I said, this isn't our first time being under fire early on in the season, getting ready. Obviously, we have to fix it. We know it, we hear it, we see it, we feel it. We just got to find a way. "