Boston Celtics: 5 problems facing the ‘team to beat’
By Jordan Daly
5. Team chemistry
True Celtics fans have known all season: something was off about this team. Rumors were thrown around and blame was placed on individual players.
Following the blown game against the Clippers where Boston gave up a 21-point lead, a frustrated Marcus Morris faced the media:
"“For me, it’s not really about the loss it’s about the attitudes that we’re playing with. You got guys hanging their heads. It’s just not fun. I don’t see the joy in the game. I watch all these other teams in the league, guys jumping on the bench, jumping on the court…when I look at us I see a bunch of individuals.”"
In the 2018 NBA Playoffs, with Kyrie and Hayward out with injuries, the bench players stepped up and delivered. After every successful play, the bench would go insane with celebrations and high-fives being passed out. It made every single play fun. That enthusiasm seems to have disappeared this year.
With budding stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and a deep roster full of guys that could be starting on other NBA teams, frustrations are bound to happen.
How can they fix this? Revisit their roots.
In the 2007-08 championship season, the Celtics faced similar issues. One word made all of their problems go away: Ubuntu.
Then head coach Doc Rivers instilled it among the star-studded cast of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and the rest of the Boston roster to underline the importance of selflessness, unity and teamwork. “A person is a person through another person. I can’t be all I can be unless you are all you can be.”
If the Celtics want any chance of winning this year, they need to come together as a team and accept the Ubuntu mentality.