Avoiding a letdown, Stauskas' new perspective, Isaiah Thomas reaching out to Boston, and other Celtics notes

The Celtics are back to riding high after three straight wins over Atlanta, Memphis and Brooklyn to start the month of March. The assemblers of weekly power rankings have pushed the Celtics to their highest point this season, including third on John Schuhmann’s NBA.com ranking.

Things are going great. 

That hasn’t always been the best position for the Celtics this season. One of their earlier weaknesses was an inability to really handle success, and the win over Brooklyn especially has created a new atmosphere for this team. With high expectations back and talk of potentially going to the Finals, it would be easy for Boston to get full of themselves and overlook a team like Charlotte tomorrow night.

“It’s all for nothing if you give them back against a certain opponent,” Ime Udoka said. “So, looking at our games against Charlotte, we know how difficult they are, the pace they play with and the problems they present … we can't get complacent at all with what we're doing. It's more so building and moving forward and not having any slip-ups.”

If anything, Udoka can use the past failures in similar situations as the proof he needs to show his team what happens when they let up, versus what playing the right way gets them. 

“I would say more so look at the streak, 21-6 in the last 27, the nine-game winning streak where we were taking care of business in the appropriate fashion,” Udoka said. “Come out with the proper focus, respect of your opponent, and handle your business. And so that's what you point to more so than anything, the progression throughout the season of early season losses against some lower teams and the wins and the way we won convincingly lately.”

Udoka’s messages seem to get through to the players, including this one. 

“We don’t view any team as being higher than the other,” Grant Williams said. “We have to do our best job of not only honing in on what we do well, but doing them no matter who we’re playing. Charlotte, Detroit, no matter who you put out there in front of us, we’re going to be who we are and accomplish the things we want to accomplish.” 

It’s one thing to say it, but it’s another to do it. The Celtics ended February with a disappointing loss to the Indiana Pacers where they didn’t play up to their standards. If they’d won that game, they’d be tied with the Chicago Bulls for the fourth seed right now instead of a half game behind. 

Every winnable game that falls by the wayside is magnified right now. Not only does it cost the team in the standings, but it erodes confidence they’ve recently earned in how good they really are. 

“We’re near the end of the year, going into the postseason, and this is where it starts,” Williams said. “Instead of reading the headlines about us beating that team or that team, just really focus in on the process and enjoying the process of winning every game and valuing every single one as a metric on the board.”

NIK STAUSKAS MAKING THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITY

There's nothing like losing something to make you appreciate what you had. Be it money, love, a job, or something else, having something suddenly ripped away from you changes your perspective on life. 

Nik Stauskas can attest to that. The 6’6” shooting guard is now a member of the Boston Celtics, the 11th stop in his professional career.

“I've lost count,” Stauskas said Tuesday afternoon, admitting that he was close to giving it all up. “Especially having a wife and having a kid on the way, I was just like, man, it's not about just me anymore. There's stresses outside of basketball put on my family. That kind of forced me to get to that point where I was like, damn, I don't know if I want to keep doing this.”

Just five days ago, Stauskas came to grips with the possibility of quitting the game. He was fresh off a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat that didn’t get renewed. He then went back to his G League team in Grand Rapids and dropped 57 points in one game, then 43 in the next. 

“It’s just crazy that in the last 72-96 hours that everything kind of transpired the way it did,” He said. “It’s been my love for the game that’s kept me going, even through the highs and the lows, through injuries and the doubts – not knowing what the next day brings. So definitely glad I stuck with it on those days just to kind of get back to this point. But I’ve got a lot of work to do to get to where I want to be personally. So just trying to keep my head up and keep working the same way I have the past couple of years.”

The Celtics had plenty of roster spots after their flurry of activity at the trade deadline. The players they’ve picked up since, including elevating Sam Hauser to a guaranteed deal, all seem to fit a certain profile. 

“We were always looking at available shooters,” Udoka said. “(He’s) a proven NBA guy that's played some minutes played into it as well. We were looking into it before the Aaron (Nesmith) injury, so that didn't play too much into it, but the shooting and the fact he's been there done that.”

The experience on the floor might be what got him onto the roster, but it’s his experience away from the NBA that gives him a new perspective. 

“There were times throughout my first five years where maybe I was on the bench not playing games, that truly affected me in a way where my energy was down, my relationships were down,” he said. “Having that taken away from you and being out of the league, even last game, not playing a single second like, I just have a different appreciation now for being in this, having this opportunity. Trying to make the most of it.”

Stauskas signed a two-year, partially guaranteed deal with the team, so he’ll stick around at least through the playoffs. Maybe a blowout or some rest days will give Stauskas a chance to show what he can do on the court. Until then, he will do what he can to take advantage of his return to the league. 

“If I'm not going to play, I'm going to be the first guy waving the towel, pumping everyone else up,” Stauskas said. “For me, that's growth because that's something that I wasn't willing to do just a couple years ago in my first stint in the league. Once I had that taken away from me, I think it gave me that perspective I needed to just be very grateful, as I've said before. For me, mentally, it's kind of good to have that new perspective and just be appreciative of everything that's been given to me."

ISAIAH THOMAS WANTS A REUNION

It’s hard not to love and root for Isaiah Thomas. 

The man just loves basketball. LOVES it. He also loves Boston. Not only was it his most successful stop, the fans continue to show him how much they love him by begging for him to come back. 

And he’s tried. Thomas, now a member of the Charlotte Hornets on a 10-day contract, says he’s in constant contact with Brad Stevens and has reached out before in an effort to join the team. 

“I've tried to have conversations about that,” he said. “It's hard to speak on, because I've opened my arms to try to come back in so many ways. And it's not even about playing and trying to, you know, pick up where I left off, like I'm past that moment. But I know there's been times where I can help in that locker room.”

The Celtics never bit on any of the opportunities to bring in Thomas. Going back to the Stauskas signing, most of Boston’s acquisitions have been switchy wings who can shoot.

“Point guard was never really a position of need,” Udoka said. “So with Marcus (Smart) playing at the level he is, and Peyton (Pritchard) getting the opportunity, and then Derrick (White) being able to do some, as well as Jayson (Tatum) and Jaylen (Brown) handling quite a bit, point guard was never really a position of need. It was some more so other positions, and you see we filled those roster spots with other guys.”

Thomas, though, isn't worried about the need on the court. He seems to have embraced a new chapter in his basketball life, and is hoping he can be a positive on a team, Boston or otherwise, just by being there.

“Each and every day I can make an impact on a younger guy. I can make an impact on a coaching staff. I can make an impact in the locker room,” he said. “That's bigger than me going out there and playing 40 minutes a game and starting. Yes, I think I can do that. Yes, I know we've given the opportunity I can play at a high level of skill. But I'm not chasing that. If that opportunity comes I'm gonna take it and run with it and not look back but if it doesn't, I'm gonna still be in here everyday working with a smile on my face impacting the guys that look up to me each and every day in any locker room that I'm a part of.”

GRANT THE GOOFBALL

In his introductory press conference nearly three years ago, Grant Williams described himself as “a nerd and a goofball.” 

He’s found ways to prove that since, and today he added one more piece of video to the resume’. Here he is at the practice facility trying his best to distract Ime Udoka during the coach’s media availability.