Championing a new cause
C’s prepare for lower expectations
There was one word noticeably less employed yesterday than it was at this time a year ago. The Celtics aren’t throwing “championship” around in their conversations, as was the case when they were all but acclaimed at least conference champions before they had played a 2018-19 game.
And when they do mention NBA titles now, it’s generally tied to the franchise’s history.
Grand expectation left town with Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, though one could argue it was seen with a boarding pass at Logan back in the splintered winter.
Back then at least, the Celts had the talent to win. They just lacked most everything else that would allow them to do so.
The question now is whether the roster as Danny Ainge has presently assembled is capable. And the answer wouldn’t appear all that optimistic.
While Danny Ainge stopped short of going full Norman Dale and saying,
“This is your team,” he admitted to the Herald that, barring any unforeseen stars becoming available in the late summer, what you see now is what you’re going to get.
“I mean, obviously the answer’s yes,” he said. “We brought in a lot of new guys. But you never know what opportunities come.
“But, I mean, I’m not looking to move players. I like every guy that we’ve signed, every guy that we have. Now it’s just a matter of, are we the right fit? And that’s going to be up to Brad (Stevens) and I to try to figure out the best thing. But, yeah, I’m very satisfied with where we stand right now.”
The question is then a matter of proximity from said stance to a winning it all.
“I don’t know,” Ainge said. “Just like I didn’t know last year about our team. On paper doesn’t win. I say that all the time, every year, it seems like.
“I thought expectations were a little bit out of control last year, even though I thought our team was very talented. And I feel like the game is played on the court, and that’s what I love about sports is that how players fit with one another means a lot.
“We know that talent wins. I’m not trying to just say a bunch of cliches. I mean, I believe that this team has a lot of potential, and I’m very excited about it. But I don’t even want to talk about championships yet. I don’t even know who the team is, and we haven’t put a team on the court yet.”
If it’s a matter of fit, that would make Stevens the tailor. And he knew enough not to take needle and thread to a question about this team’s ability to compete for a title.
“That’s always the goal in Boston,” he said. “I mean, that’s been the goal since Day 1 each of the last six years.
“Obviously you enter some seasons with, you know, things that you think you have a higher margin for error than not. But I really like our team, and we have a great chance to be really good. We’re going to have to work hard to be really good, but the goal is to win the next game. That’s always it.
“I don’t think the job of a coach is to put a ceiling on a team. We always think that.”
As it appears from here, the largest obstacle between this roster and playing in June would seem to be interior defense. And Ainge even brought up that end of the floor when asked about the main area in need of improvement.
“I always think defense is critical,” he said. “You know, we have to be able to play good enough defense. Brad’s done a fantastic job I think with the personnel that we’ve had and the lineups that we’ve played over the last couple of years. I think he’s done a terrific job with our team defense. So I’m confident that we’ll find a way.”
When I mentioned that interior defense looks like a particular concern, Ainge said, “Defense everywhere. Most of the time you have bad interior defense because your perimeters are getting beat off the dribble. So, to me, it’s all connected. And quite honestly I don’t even like focusing on specifics of the game, because I think offense and defense are connected. How you play offense and what shots you shoot have an impact on your defense, and vice versa. Defensive rebounding gives your offense a chance to improve.”
Though the Celtics are manifestly diminished by the losses of Horford and Irving, there was the hope and belief Wednesday they will be a more together outfit. Ainge looked even beyond the reason for the event, the official signings of Kemba Walker and Enes Kanter.
“What I do like about our team is I like the spirit that I’m feeling,” he said. “We have more guys in right now at this time of year than we’ve ever had. Like, we have six or seven guys out here working out every day.
“Gordon (Hayward) sold his house in San Diego and is living here full time and working out every day, and that has set a tone. We have a whole bunch of people here, including eight or 10 coaches that are working out with those guys.”
All of that may not be enough to get this team playing into the deep end of the playoffs. It will, however, give the 2019-20 Celtics a chance to be greater than, or at least equal to, the sum of their parts — a goal that eluded their immediate predecessors.