C’s turmoil a bad trend
Morris just latest to join in
Marcus Morris, Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart are now part of a troubling trend.
All three, established leaders in this water-and-oil, young-and-veteran locker room, have now called out their team. Morris was the most recent with a Saturday night diatribe that sounds like he can’t wait to be somewhere else once free agency hits on July 1.
That’s the same date, you’ll recall, that Irving has said to check back in regarding his intentions with the Celtics and his own impending free agency in general. Smart is freshly signed, and barring his inclusion in an attempt to trade for Anthony Davis this summer, is part of the longterm plan to somehow toughen up the culture, if he can still stand it.
As evidenced by the Celtics’ last two games, when they frittered away an 18point lead to the Lakers and followed two nights later by blowing a 28-point lead to the Clippers, their culture has softened to the consistency of yogurt. Despite their great league-wide numbers defensively, they allowed Patrick Beverley and Landry Shamet to stand alone in the corner in front of their bench Saturday night and hit unguarded threes down the stretch of a game that never should have reached that point.
So Morris unloaded, calling out everything from the Celtics’ lack of unity on the court and bench (“When I look at us I just see a bunch of individuals”) to a perceived lack of joy (“We don’t have no attitude, we don’t have no toughness, we ain’t having fun”).”
He thus continued what has become a thorny trend. What follows is a summary of the internal angst, maybe even division, that this team doesn’t appear capable of overcoming anytime soon.
“Right now I think it would be nice if we had someone that was a 15-year vet, a 14-year vet.” — Nov. 12. Irving, mildly frustrated on the end of a 1-4 road trip that concluded with a 100-94 loss in Portland, wistfully wonders what it would be like to have an older player who could set an example for the Celtics’ mostly young lineup, even though Al Horford, Aron Baynes, Morris, Smart and Irving himself presumably share that role.
“We’re playing like punks.” — Nov. 22. Smart, tracked down in the hallway by the Herald’s Steve Bulpett after the early season’s low-point, a 117-109 loss to the Knicks, expressed extreme frustration with the Celtics’ permissive ways. Trey Burke toasted them for 29 points that night, and overall New York shot 50 percent (15-for30) from 3-point range. So Smart used the “P” word to describe his team, later adding, “You know, at some point when a guy scores on you repeatedly — a team busts on you repeatedly — eventually you’re going to get tired of it hopefully. But that’s not the case with us. We’re OK with getting down 20 or getting down early or letting teams get hot, letting teams feel comfortable.”
“It’s just good to get stuff out in the air. As grown men and guys that have expectations for themselves, it was good to hear guys talk about what they wanted for themselves and what they wanted for this team.” — Dec. 21. Irving, on players and coaches talking out their issues during a team meeting following a 120-107 loss to Milwaukee.
“There’s a lot of backups who do good because they’re backups. I’m not. Just want to find that balance and I will, with patience.” — Jan. 4.Terry Rozier, who has struggled to this point to re-adapt to a backup role after starting in the playoffs, describes his dilemma to the Herald.
“The things you’re doing, that you’ve done your entire career, of being able to coast by in certain situations, and you’ve gotten away with your youth and stuff like that. Being on a championship ball club, you can’t get away with that.” — Jan. 12. The Celtics had just suffered through another low-point, a 105-103 loss in Orlando in the midst of an 0-3 road trip in an otherwise successful January. Irving, going through his own paces attempting to become a leader, points out a shortcoming among his young teammates.
“Sometimes I may come off and say things, never to question my teammates in public like that ever again, but I just want to win so bad.” — Jan. 14. Irving, sensitive to his younger teammates, admits prior to a loss to the Nets that he should have kept his criticism in-house.
“We’ve just got to have each other’s backs at the end of the day. We can’t make comments, we can’t point fingers.”– Jan. 14. Jaylen Brown, noting that the airing of public grievances isn’t productive in response to Irving’s remarks in Orlando, asks for unity. Brown also says, “It starts from the top to the bottom. Not from the bottom to the top but the top to the bottom.”
“This was a big deal for me, because I had to call and tell him I apologized for being that young player that wanted everything at his fingertips.” — Jan. 16. On the same night as one of the season’s high points – a 117-108 win over Toronto – Irving sheds light on his own frustration with his younger teammates. He called James after the loss in Orlando, bringing a thaw to one of the NBA’s frostiest sagas, after realizing from his Celtics experience that young stars can test your patience.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to do what I feel is best for my career.” — Feb. 1. And with that Irving, who in an emotional moment had told a group of season ticket holders in October that he wanted to remain a Celtic, tossed an undetonated grenade into the Celtics’ longterm plans. As evidenced by his long discourse during a shootaround in Madison Square Garden, Irving is not about to allow an outside party to dictate his future. He was irritated by those linking his name to the destinations of Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant, though it certainly sounds like he wouldn’t mind making New York his in-season home. Above all, though, Irving is waiting to see what happens with his current team. The Celtics have under-performed, and maybe he needs to see an improvement before making a commitment.
It doesn’t help that more Celtics, not less, feel the need to speak out.