Karalis: Ime Udoka rumors are rock bottom for the Celtics, and there's only one way to redeem themselves

MIAMI -- The Celtics are on the verge of an embarrassing exit from the NBA playoffs. Down 3-0 to the Miami Heat, the Celtics will have to do something no NBA team has ever accomplished in order to save themselves from a summer of scorn. 

This team, however, doesn’t seem content to confine their embarrassment to the floor. Through a leak to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, someone took the absolutely ridiculous step of dredging up the Ime Udoka mess as an excuse. 

“This team, this locker room, they never got over Ime Udoka’s dismissal,” the ESPN report began. “These players did not accept the organization’s reasoning for doing it. They felt it was a wild overreaction … it was an HR matter. I think for this team, in talking with management, they felt they never got the answers, they got any more answers, than the public.”

It’s hard to say where a leak like this came from. There might be a player or players on the team still unhappy about how this all went down, but for it to come out now that the team has never gotten over Udoka’s dismissal is pouring salt into old wounds. 

For what it’s worth, I asked Marcus Smart at the team’s shoot-around if the Udoka dismissal was still lingering. 

“No. No. Regardless of if Ime was here or not, we’re the ones out there playing. We gotta go out there and play,” he said. “Joe does a great job of putting us in the right positions. They come up with a game plan. It’s on us. There's only so much any coach can do for you out there as a player. At some point, you gotta look at yourself and figure it out.” 

Looking at themselves seems to be tough for someone in that locker room. 

Yes, Udoka's dismissal was surprising eight months ago. The team also stormed out of the gates, sat on top of the standings for most of the season, and cruised the rest of the way to finish with the league’s second-best offense and defense. They’ve gotten past Atlanta and Philadelphia, albeit in less than dominant fashion. 

For this to come up as a crutch now is the epitome of weakness. Yes, Joe Mazzulla seems to be struggling with the moment. The image of him standing stonefaced as Erik Spoelstra is gesturing like C. Montgomery Burns coaching third base is an enduring image that highlights the difference between coaches. After the game, Mazzulla took all the responsibility. 

“I feel like I can't put all that on him at all because we are the ones out there playing,” Robert Wiliams said. “It comes down to effort, on the court and off the court, player-wise and coaching-wise, staying connected and staying together, being able to trust one another.”

The players play, and the players are playing their worst basketball of the season. There is no heart, no poise, no fight in these guys, and pinning the blame on the coach for it is the ultimate admission of guilt. 

The coach doesn’t tell them to argue with the refs and not get back on defense. The coach doesn’t tell the guys to go one-on-five on offense and turn the ball over. The coach doesn’t say help off strong-side shooters and give up open 3-pointers. Anyone blaming the coach for that stuff is hot marshmallow levels of soft. 

There is no sin in sports quite as damning as being the soft label. There is no respect for those kinds of players around the league. They're probably in way too deep to do anything besides save some face, but anything is better than the absolute nothing they’ve given so far. 

“We can’t worry about the last three games,” Smart said. “We can't worry about our mistakes in those last few games. We’ve got to come out and everything and the focus has to be on tonight and every little detail, and come out with a victory.”

This is absolute rock bottom for Boston. They're playing their worst, their old coach is resurfacing in rumors, and there are louder and more frequent calls to fire the current one. The only way to shake that is to come out in Game 5 and start the process of turning things around. 

“I feel very good about tonight,” Smart said. “Don’t let us get one. Just don’t let us get one.” 

If desperation can’t save these guys. Nothing can.