I don’t know about you, but I’m still a bit amazed that Sunday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies is the last one of the regular season. It’s been such a wild journey so far and I feel like there's still so much to figure out about these guys.
In reality, this journey is just beginning for these guys. We don’t know how far they’ll go in these playoffs, but this is already one hell of a first step for first-year head coach Ime Udoka and his guys. There will be time when all is said and done for a proper post mortem, but here are a few random thoughts about the team as the regular season draws to a close.
A LOT OF TEAMS WILL REGRET NOT HIRING IME UDOKA
Coaching is similar to playing in that situation matters quite a bit. While I never thought Brad Stevens was the problem, he’s very clearly stated that he was ready for something new and his team would benefit from a new perspective, so Ime Udoka came to the Boston Celtics at what turned out to be the right time.
We know things went early on, and Udoka will be the first person to tell you that it wasn’t easy. But what has been for Udoka over the course of his basketball career? He was a journeyman whose playing career ended before he wanted it to. He got into coaching at a time when an overseas playing contract was on the table. He knows what the grind is.
There was never any panic with Udoka. He was always honest in his assessments of the team, even if it meant saying so when people like me asked about it. He set the expectations at a certain level, and he lived up to them.
That's how you earn respect. Telling someone “this is how I’m going to be,” and then being that exact person earns you trust. Udoka had a prior relationship with a few of these players through USA Basketball, but that only goes so far as a head coach. Udoka didn’t lean on that to get his message across. He leaned on being who he is, and it worked.
At the same time, he’s invested in his guys. He’s not just barking out orders and yelling “do things my way or we’re doing sprints!” He’s not some egomaniacal college coach demanding things be his way. He gets the league because he played in it. He gets it because he’s coached in it for a decade. He gets it because he’s learned from the best and he owns a championship ring. He knows that NBA players are grown men who have reached the pinnacle of their profession and don’t necessarily want to be bossed around; that this is a collaborative effort between adults.
Having seen a full season of Udoka in action, I can tell you that I’m incredibly impressed by it all. He’s tough but not unyielding. He’s serious but still has personality. He’s focused but open to ideas.
A lot of teams are looking at the job he did in just a few short months and wishing they had made different decisions. He’s been a finalist in places that have had more than once coach since interviewing him. Don’t think those teams aren’t asking each other who in the organization was against the hiring and why.
CAN WE REACH A CONSENSUS ON MARCUS SMART NOW?
It’s been a full season. I think, by now, we can just accept that Marcus Smart is a good point guard.
I don’t think we need to go overboard with it. We all know he’s not an All-Star. He’s an All-Defensive team player (and maybe even Defensive Player of the Year), and he’s capable of running a team with multiple stars at other positions.
Frankly, I never understood the disdain for Smart. This dude is as Boston as it gets. He doesn’t have the supernatural gifts of the star players but he busts his ass, dives for every loose ball, and will try just about anything to get the win. He’s one of those gritty guys Boston tends to love.
But…
That just hasn’t always been the case. I know this is probably more of a vocal minority kind of thing, but it’s a very vocal minority. I actually think it’s a sports talk radio-fueled thing, and most of Boston sports talk radio is blathering trash by a bunch of people whose pre-show meetings consist of divvying up hot takes and fake arguing just to get people to call in.
(That’s why you should be listening to podcasts instead. Just sayin’.)
Smart is an agent of chaos wrapped in the body of a good basketball player. His basketball IQ is extremely high, and his number one priority is winning basketball games.
Oh, and by the way, he’s extraordinarily generous with his charitable efforts, he is inclusive with his messaging so as to encourage everyone of all creeds, colors, and genders to participate in the sport so they can learn and grow with it, and he’s a model citizen.
Appreciate what you have in this dude. Seriously. You’re wasting a lot of energy by disliking this guy.
JAYSON TATUM TOOK A LEAP THIS SEASON
I need to save a lot of the evidentiary arguments for this for whenever I need to write the end-of-season evaluations of these guys, but Tatum’s leap has been tremendous. In fact, it’s been so good that I’ve heard some people talking about him as an honorable mention Most Improved Player candidate because his jump from great to MVP candidate is one of the most difficult to make in the game.
Let’s be clear on this: Tatum will finish in the top-five in MVP voting this season. He might finish fourth or fifth, depending on the growing momentum to get Devin Booker into more of the discussion.
The future of MVP voting is going to be very difficult because the current contenders are still pretty much in their prime and Tatum, Booker, Luka Doncic, and Ja Morant are busting down the door (oh, and Kevin Durant and Steph Curry still exist).
Tatum’s ability and willingness to draw multiple defenders and kick the ball out to open teammates has been one of the top reasons for Boston’s turnaround. The way he attacks the rim can only be described as “relentless” at this point (ok, maybe there are a few other synonyms, but you get what I’m saying).
And the best part, weirdly, is that he has a lot of things to fix in his game. He’s nowhere close to a finished product.
Just think … Danny Ainge was able to trade down and still get Tatum in the draft. I wonder how the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers feel about that.
I’ll save the rest for another time. For now, let’s see where this team lands in the playoff seeding and go from there.