The Boston Celtics have stumbled out of the gates a bit this season, but it’s not as bad as it might seem. It’s not great, but it’s also not the end of the world.
The problem right now for the Celtics is that so much of what we’re seeing is so familiar. Mistakes are fine, repeated mistakes need addressing, and if they keep happening after that ...
Well...
It’s easy to paint with a broad brush in these situations -- throw the baby out with the bathwater as it were -- but there is always something deeper going on.
With that in mind, here are some thoughts rattling around in my skull. There’s nothing behind them besides trying to connect dots. Just wondering out loud.
What is it that’s bothering Marcus Smart?
I’ve been wondering since media day whether something is going on with Smart. As I’ve said and written before, I get the same vibe of Smart this season as I do from a family member or friend that prompts me to ask if everything is alright.
It’s a general uneasiness that could be nothing, but could be something.
I thought it might be something to do with his contract negotiations, but those went in his favor. It could be something personal, which would be something that hopefully works out in a positive way.
Or it could be something about the team.
It hit me after the past couple of days that Boston signing Dennis Schröder might have been the source of it. When I sat down with Smart in the preseason, he lamented the fact that Boston had brought in point guards over the course of his entire career, constantly overlooking him in his mind.
“They drafted me … and they had (Rajon) Rondo,” Smart said. “Rondo leaves and they bring in Jameer Nelson. Nelson leaves and they bring in (Isaiah Thomas), and then they bring in Kyrie (Irving) and then Kemba (Walker).”
Walker was traded and then Smart got a big extension and, if I’m right, the idea in his mind that he’s now the starting point guard with Payton Pritchard or some guy Boston signs with not much money to back him up.
What he, and none of us, really, didn’t expect, was that some guy to be Schröder, another guy who sees himself as a starting point guard who deserves a lot of minutes to run the team. It’s possible that in his mind, he’s adding ‘and then they signed Dennis’ to the end of that quote from a month ago.
When Smart plays next to Schröder, Smart mostly plays off the ball, which puts him in a catch-and-shoot position, often above the break. Above the break Smart 3’s are bad 3’s. And while he’s done a good job taking a lot more corner 3’s this season, there’s still room to grow when it comes to that shot selection. Putting Smart in positions where he’s going to take the wrong shots helps no one.
Smart has struggled offensively so far this season, feeding into his worst habits at the worst times, magnifying their negative impact. And while he’s played some wonderful defense for long stretches, he’s not immune to slip-ups and miscommunications in Ime Udoka’s new system.
Again, this is just a guess about what’s bothering him, but it was clear from my sit-down that the string of point guard signings in Boston bugged him before. I’m curious as to whether that is part of what’s bugging him now.
Jaylen Brown’s up and down start.
This could be a simple case of COVID recovery where Brown has one big burst in him and it takes him longer to recover.
If that's the case, then the Celtics just need to work with it until he’s fully healthy. Why not limit him minutes-wise and give Aaron Nesmith a shot?
“The contrast of some of those previous games, especially Charlotte and the New York game and the way you see him come out tonight is kind of mind-boggling,” Udoka said after the Washington game. "It can be a number of things. He was out for 10 days and was banged up with the knee but just got to find the juice from the start.”
If Brown doesn't have it, and it’s because of COVID, then they shouldn’t force it. Same with his knee. If he’s hurt or impaired somehow, then Brown and the Celtics should just listen to his body. That will take Brown being honest and the Celtics paying attention.
I’d rather watch the Celtics lose with maximum effort from a lesser player than with subpar effort from a great player who can’t summon another gear because of this virus.
Jayson Tatum and emotions.
“Everybody, I guess even myself included, gets emotional or loses their cool at times,” Tatum said after the loss. “But that’s why it’s a team sport and we just have to be there for each other at those times to regroup, regather and get focused.”
Basketball is an emotional game. Players use emotion to reach into depths they didn’t know existed to gut out wins or make an incredible play. The adrenaline rush of the crowd and the momentum of the game is impossible to describe.
That’s both good and bad, because sometimes it’s too easy to get caught up in those emotions, and that’s what happened to Tatum against Washington (and in other games).
Against Washington, Tatum had just two assists, no secondary assists (the pass that led to an assist), no free throw assists (passes that led to a player drawing a shooting foul), and five potential assists.
Compare that to eight assists and 11 potential assists, plus one secondary assist, against Charlotte and you can see that Tatum just simply didn’t move the ball like he has been and could have.
“We tried to make the home run plays when we got back in it. It happened several times,” Udoka said. “We had 14 assists at halftime and finished with 18, so it’s our lowest of the year. I think guys tried to do it a little bit on their own, and I said ‘play together, we know we can get the open looks, and don’t try to do it all yourself. Do what got you here.’”
Whether it was going one-on-one with his best friend Bradley Beal or something else, Tatum needs to understand that sheer scoring alone doesn't make a player great.
Two of Michael Jordan’s most famous plays were passes in clutch situations. He needs to get his emotions in check and focus them in the right place.
The overall theme to these thoughts: the Boston Celtics need to get their heads right. Whatever it is or was that has been bothering them needs to be tabled for the greater good.
This really is a choice for everyone involved. Whether it’s someone’s standing or pride on the line, the choices being made have repercussions. Everyone has a choice to make for the greater good.