No excuses from C’s
The Celtics have spent the last two days being measured for their demise. With the cavalry that was supposed to be Kyrie Irving now unable to ride in over Beacon Hill to save the day, they are not expected to survive for long in the playoffs.
Maybe they’ll win a round. Maybe they won’t. Maybe the gallon of milk in the refrigerator has a longer life expectancy.
But definitely the Celtics do not care about the scorching hot takes.
“I don’t care what everybody thinks,” said Terry Rozier before leading the Celts out against Chicago last night. “I don’t even watch TV. I don’t fall into none of that, so I don’t really care.
“We’ve still got games to play. We’ve still got games to win. We’ve still got the playoffs. So people can think whatever they want, but we’re going to ride the train anyway, so that’s just how it goes. I’m not really worried about that other stuff.”
That other stuff includes a second knee surgery for Irving today that will keep him out the rest of the season. After last Saturday’s initial procedure to remove a tension wire in his left knee, it was expected he’d be back shortly after the beginning of the playoffs. But an infection intercepted that prognosis.
“It’s just the hand we was dealt,” said Rozier. “It’s something we’ve got to get through. We’ve got to take care of business. Nobody’s going to make an excuse for us. We’re not going to make an excuse for ourselves.
“As soon as you make an excuse for yourself, that’s when you take a step back. I mean, obviously it’s tough losing a guy like Kyrie and having Gordon (Hayward) being out since the first game of the season and losing (Daniel) Theis and being without Marcus Smart, one of the best defenders on our team. But ain’t no excuses. It just is what it is, and I’m pretty sure we’ve all got a goal, and that’s to make it to the Finals.”
If anything, the prophets of their doom have gassed up the Celtic tank.
“Definitely,” said Greg Monroe. “Anybody that has pride, you know, if anyone doubts you, you want to use that as fuel. Obviously we would much rather have Kyrie, that’s for sure. But there are still games to be played. We still have to go out there and perform and win games. You see all that stuff, and obviously with a guy that good, you see why people say it, but as a player, you definitely have to have a sense of pride and you’ve got to use that to be the best you can.
“I’m confident. I believe in everyone in here. We’ve lost a great player, an elite player, but guys understand that they have to come out and do whatever it takes to win games.
“I know coach trusts everyone. I know everyone’s on the same page. It’s just about going out there and executing.”
Brad Stevens went through this after Hayward was lost to a fractured ankle just minutes into opening night. He’s had practice avoiding that sinking feeling.
“We’re focusing on the next game,” the coach said. “I mean, you always try to win the next possession and the next game. If you play to the best of your ability, you’ve got a great shot at doing that. That’s where our focus will continue to be.
“That’s what our focus would have been if everybody’s healthy, so it’s the same exact approach. Obviously we won’t be able to play the exact same amount of guys, and some guys will play an extended amount of minutes. But that’s not going to change, whether we’re fully healthy or less than that. I believe in the guys in our locker room. I think they believe in themselves. And that’s the most important thing.
“I feel for the guys,” Stevens said. “When I mean the guys, the guys that are impacted by the injury. I believe in the guys that are in the locker room, and my job is to coach the guys that are available. At the end of the day, I don’t think about it in terms of what it does to impact your team on offense and defense. I think about it in terms of it’s disappointing for, you know, Gordon, Kyrie, those guys that are unable to play.”
The guys that have had practice being without the guys who aren’t.
“We’ve been fighting injuries all year,” said Rozier, “and we’ve gotten to play without those guys that aren’t going to be with us for the last probably month or so. So we’re kind of used to it. We’ve just got to take care of business.”
Added Stevens on Irving, “I guess in some ways, I mean, I don’t know how many games we’ve played without him now, but we’ve played a handful of games without him. And we didn’t anticipate having him back through the regular season and then maybe even the first couple of games of the playoffs anyways. So ultimately we were preparing for his return, but we were really focused on the task at hand with the guys we have. Basically that’s just solidified that this is where our focus needs to be from the standpoint of who we have and how we move forward.”
Or, as Stevens put it, “I don’t play the what-if game, the what-could-be game. I just play tonight.”