Culture building is tough in sports. Most coaches want the same thing, but for every Bill Belichick, there’s an Urban Meyer. For every Gregg Popovich, there’s a David Blatt.
So much of what these guys are trying to accomplish depends on ego and personnel. Get the right mix, and you’re a hit. Too far one way or the other and it can fall apart.
By the end of Brad Stevens’ tenure as head coach, there were rumblings about whether the team was tough enough, and whether Stevens held enough feet to the fire. Plenty of us, myself included, bemoaned a lack of edge on the team. Shoulders were free of chips, and the Celtics seemed to suffer for it.
Enter Ime Udoka, and, at least for now, some welcome intensity. If last year’s team lacked an edge, this year’s team might be one of those knives that cuts through a shoe in an infomercial.
“Nobody’s taking shit,” Robert Williams said after practice on Thursday. “Everybody’s out there battling.”
Today’s battle ended with Marcus Smart and Grant Williams mixing it up. “Verbal,” Robert Williams said describing what happened, but it was still intense.
“I’d rather it happen in here than out on the court,” he said. “I just like the competitive energy from everybody. It’s not ‘Okay, well you’re this player, so I’ma let you do this.’ Nah, everybody’s coming to take shit.”
Udoka, a former player who had to fight for his NBA scraps, has fostered the intensity that has been brought up by multiple players over the past couple of weeks. The competitive spirit is, to Josh Richardson, reminiscent of a past, highly discussed NBA culture.
“I’d say it compares a little closer to when I was in Miami, just the intensity every day of the training camp,” he said. “One of the biggest things I picked up (in Miami) is accountability. Accountability is a big thing there. What I've seen here, it's a big thing too. It's been good.”
It’s hard to know how this will go moving forward. As with most other things right now, it’s early and things are new. Just like any relationship, the early stages run hot and heavy, and so everyone is just rolling with the intensity vibes.
“Every time we start to scrimmage or every time we do something live, it's like everybody is trying to kill each other,” Richardson said. “It's real physical, everyone is talking shit to each other and the way I'm cut and the way a lot of these guys are cut, I can tell that's good for us because it keeps you engaged in practice. It's been great.”
There are some guys who have a little Tyler Durden in them; who want to be hit as hard as they can because it stirs up the competitive juices in them. There’s a certain joie de vivre that comes with the bumping, pushing, and maybe the occasional elbow that somehow manages to connect with a kidney during a box out.
The keys to this staying above board is (a) everyone being on the same page (b) not trying to be dirty about it, and (c) not carrying it into the locker room.
“We brothers, man,” Robert Williams said. “It’s gonna happen every day, damn near.”
Added Richardson, “I kind of like it when it gets chippy like that. I think it’s good for our team and for my whole life I’ve known the guys you get in a fight with normally come out on the other end closer. I think it’s good for us and good for our growth.”
Of course, after all this has been said, we need to know what led to this episode.
“Grant flopping and shit,” Robert Williams explained. “You know how it goes, man. He felt like he ain’t flop, we felt like he flopped, but like I said, it’s better to get that shit out now than when we play against other people.”
Things have to be pretty intense on the floor if Smart and Grant mixed it up over a flop. Maybe that’s why Richardson’s first reaction to the question about the altercation was to laugh pretty heartily about it. If these guys are going to go all out with each other over a flop, what’s going to happen with opponents on the floor?
That’s the next step for Boston; channeling this fury into a laser focus. Unchecked intensity is just chaos, and the lightheartedness associated with it can go away quickly. Focused intensity can fuel teams beyond their physical limits.
Ime Udoka has the Celtics battling on the court in Brighton. Each player seems to be embracing the moment and buying into what’s happening. If they can harness it, then we can really start talking about a renewed Celtics culture.
