Boston Celtics: 5 keys to winning the East in 2019
By Tony Pesta
4. Team chemistry
When watching the Boston Celtics, something just feels off. Outside of a few bench players, the team looks uninterested and discombobulated as a unit. The issues with team chemistry are something that absolutely needs to be fixed.
As Adam Silver stated in an interview with Bill Simmons, NBA players are more isolated than ever before. In the past, championship teams were a band of brothers who communicated frequently. In contrast, the bus/plane rides in today’s NBA often consist of players sitting alone with their headphones in.
Adam Silver on the "unhappiness" of NBA players caused by social media and being isolated is very interesting and worth a listen. pic.twitter.com/tRhTB7n0F2
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 3, 2019
The Celtics seem to be one team that has been affected the most by this isolation. Some of these players don’t appear to be on the same page and many of them might not even like each other. As a result, there have been multiple verbal altercations between teammates on the bench this season.
Aside from the isolation factor, another reason this team might be dealing with chemistry issues is their lack of a pecking order. At the top, the Celtics have a borderline superstar in Kyrie Irving and a five-time All-Star with Al Horford. But who comes next in the food chain?
Gordon Hayward was an All-Star just two years ago but has now been reserved to a bench role. Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are still hungry to prove they can be stars in this league.
At some point, someone on this team is going to have to make a sacrifice. It’s not possible to have everyone playing with the mentality that they are the alpha dog. A few players will need to accept a decreased role and trust that the team’s success is greater than any individual benefits.