I’ve talked to Al Horford after a lot of losses. Some of them have felt pretty bad in the moment. But Horford always stood in front of the press and professionally delivered the right canned answers in the right tone.
That’s Al. He’s a pro. He talked about watching film, working on things as a group, and trying to be better the next time around.
This time ...
“(Effort is) something that we shouldn't even have to address,” he said, his voice barely creeping above the level where you have to tilt your head and lean forward to hear him. “The minutes that we get out there, guys need to make the most out of it. And that's something that we have to do. We should never question effort."
If Horford is the team dad, then this was the “I’m not mad, I’m disappointed” of press conferences.
“We weren’t focused enough,” he said. “As a unit, we just need to continue just to adapt, do our jobs and be professional. It’s happening right now early in the year, and it’s something that we have to take care of, and I believe we will.”
Oh they’d better, because this can become one ugly year if they don’t. This Celtics team is beginning to come off a bit entitled, a quality that Boston sports fans despise in their teams.
There are going to be stretches when the other team catches fire. There are going to be energy guys like Montrezl Harrell who can come in and change the dynamic of the game. That’s basketball. There’s no realistic argument against runs being made by the other team.
But trying? That should be a given.
“Effort is one point we don’t have to teach somebody,” Dennis Schroder said. “We got that; we did that through preseason. We got that. We just got to focus and bring it 48 minutes and not just 36, not 30 minutes. We’ve just got to bring it.”
And the thing about this game is that Ime Udoka saw it coming.
“For whatever reason, we were lacking in intensity and focus this morning,” he said. “I told them that you’re going to get your ass kicked tonight if you come with that focus in the game, and for three quarters we played the same way. Waited to get down 15 and started to play with the effort that we played in the other four games. It’s disappointing. ... You can’t just pick and choose and think you’re going to beat people.”
Oh, but they do think that.
If this was just an off night, then I could sit here and blow it off as such. Every NBA team has a few stinkers on their resume every season (yes, even Larry Bird’s teams). This is an issue that goes back too far to ignore.
This isn’t a blemish, it’s a cancer. This needs more than a cosmetic fix. Udoka hit on the real problem in passing when he was asked how to avoid falling into big holes.
“Proper respect for your opponent from the start, don't wait to get down,” he said. “It's discouraging we can't hold the lead but also that we aren't playing with the right effort to stay in the game until we get down. It's a habit we definitely have to break.”
Proper respect for your opponent.
This is really at the heart of it all; where the entitlement comes from. There are guys on this team who have come within games -- minutes -- of the NBA Finals. They’ve tasted some pretty good success, albeit not the ultimate success of a championship.
They’ve also been saddled with “mentors” like Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson who heavily rejected the notion that regular-season games carry any importance.
It’s hard to come to any other conclusion than this, and has been, a team that believes it is better than it actually is, and that certain teams are beneath them. It’s been proven time and time and time again.
And while, yes, good teams often take bad teams lightly and it does sometimes cost them, this Celtics team hasn’t earned the right to act that way.
If you’re a Simpsons fan, they’re Homer picturing himself in the mirror.
Whatever success this team has had in the past is meaningless. And whatever accolades anyone has earned prior to this season are just words on a resume. This league requires everyone to prove it over, and over, and over, and over again. Resting on one's laurels is a quick way to get lapped in the NBA. Thinking you’re owed a win, or a foul call, or anything is an easy way to get nothing.
Udoka supposedly has all this buy-in from players, and it’s already time to start cashing in some of that capital. This now falls on him to fix. If appealing to the better senses of these basketball players isn’t cutting it, then he has to find another way. This is what he’s here for. This is what he asked for.
Effort is the easiest fix of all. For the Celtics, it seems it’s just easier said than done.