Blinksportsnews247There is no avoiding it. The Celtics haven’t appeared to be playing well lately. After some wobbly victories over New Orleans and Indianapolis, there was the humiliating loss to the undermanned Lakers, followed by the Clippers game romp.
Any one of these games alone might be dismissed as “one of those days,” but when combined, they raise additional red flags. The extent to which this is concerning is debatable.
The Celtics are a team with an abundance of talent and firepower. Thus, from where I sit on my comfortable couch, it appears to be an issue inherent in human nature. They have a 4.5-game margin, solidly holding top position. It follows that there will inevitably be days when the sense of urgency is lacking, especially when an opponent is without two stars.
That’s an issue because, as we’ve all discovered, if you don’t take them seriously and give them the proper amount of effort, any team may win on any given day. The task is to execute every day, no matter who the opponent is. Naturally, it’s simpler to say that from the comfort of one’s couch than it is to execute on the court.
Our stars ought to be faultless. in order to reach such success levels. Truly, you have to be a mission-driven monomaniac. Consider Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan. Every minute of every day, they were hyper-competitive and possessed a killing mindset. A small number of people are simply wired that way, and when you add in athletic talent, there’s no limit to what they can achieve.
Of course, there is a cost involved. I’m not the first to argue that leading such a life cannot be healthful. To understand what I mean, simply watch The Last Dance again. Thirty years later, MJ is still resentful about imagined slights that may or may not have occurred.
The Celtics, including Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, are really competitive, in my opinion. If there was a means to assess such things, they could even be among the top 1% in the world. Without it, you could never succeed to their degree. However, it’s possible that they also possess a good sense of perspective and equilibrium. They give themselves permission to fail and grow from it.
This does not justify the defeats and poor performance. Winning every game is the goal, but even the best teams experience ups and downs. What occurs in the postseason is what matters most. Will the difficulties of the recent emphasis shift when the playoffs become more difficult? Or will there be a hidden problem that surface just when it counts the most?
We can make reference to two recent instances. One is the Celtics team from the previous season, who, despite some lucky shooting moments, began the playoffs hot and quickly lost their footing against the Heat. Another point of reference is the Denver Nuggets from the previous season.
Their seemingly aimless final couple months of the regular season drew a lot of attention. However, something changed when the playoffs arrived, and they rode their superstar all the way to a championship. Not to mention that Nikola Jokic is able to scout horses on the other side of the world and still win the game.
Call me too optimistic if you will, but I have a tendency to believe that this club will be able to settle down and (mainly) remain focused on the task at hand once the playoffs arrive. Gaining victories early enough in the series to allow for a margin of error in the event that more unexpected outliers occur later on will be crucial.
The Celtics appear to need some rest and relaxation as the All-Star break approaches. According to Tankathon, they also have the second-simplest remaining strength of schedule. The group gets a chance to try out a few new plays, schemes, and rotations. They can continue to stack the victories if they stay focused. (With the recent play as a major “if,” but nonetheless)
Even if the player doesn’t wind up playing much in the playoffs, the trade deadline or buyout season may be a nice chance to bring in a fresh face and possibly a somewhat different aspect to the mix.
Getting the correct amount of focus and energy out of players is one of the toughest tasks a coaching staff has every day. Because each person is wired differently, it can be exceedingly difficult to identify the appropriate buttons to press and to determine when to do so. Additionally, because people change over time, this is a changing target.
Will this team resolve its issues by spring? Depending on the habits they develop over the remainder of this winter, perhaps. Simply said, until we get there, we won’t know for sure.
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