we have a bunch of little "jerks" on our team...Jae calls out IT, are we a team?

[celtics2030]

I just rewatched the game through the bulls broadcast...

Smart and IT do a lot of yelling and shaming on our players. It's embarrassing to see these guys call out player during the game on plays.  Literally lambasting them.

Lol maybe rightfully so but so many times they do dumb things too. Its one of those things I stress to players that I play with and coach. You are a team , no matter what don't ever call out players during the game. Tell them come on man , but don't embarrass them.

IT scolded Smart, and then Smart and IT scold the hell out of Olynyk when he fouled Wade going out of bounds.


This team is finished. Sweep coming for sure.

Then you got Jae Crowder who basically called out IT.....saying "we are down 10 and we try to get a 10 pointer, basketball doesn't work that way" We need to not do that.

This team might not even like each other anymore.

This was never the case in 2008, I never saw this type of shenanigans on the court.

[ederson]

That is how players react when nothing goes in their way. I don't see anything wrong with that. I want to see players stepping up and yell 'what the F are we doing here'

I d want him also to step up in the court too though ....

And as far 2008 goes ... i remember Big Baby crying on the bench when Garnet was all over him. Garnet would yell to anyone not doing his job.


A sweep is not out of the question but if the team is finished because the players can't handle some tough talk then i'll be happy to see them walk in the offseason. They are pros getting millions they don't get to act like babies

[SuddenFame]

A "team" full of bozos and softies. 
Keep JB + 2017 pick --ship the rest, even if it means pennies on the dollar. 
Bozos, absolute clown show out there.

[mr. dee]

Jae have no room to talk. I've caught him ball watching at times and blowing up his assignments. He's also non-existent in the offensive end on this series so far. If there is the biggest entitled player on the team, its him. Remember his rant during the Hayward pitch by the fans?

[green_bballers13]

A "team" full of bozos and softies. 
Keep JB + 2017 pick --ship the rest, even if it means pennies on the dollar. 
Bozos, absolute clown show out there.

Smart isn't a bozo. He will be making meaningful defensive plays at the end of games for years.

IT isn't a bozo either. He's getting exposed (like many predicted), but he's still a good player.

Crowder and Bradley are having a tough early series playing guys that are better than them.

Horford needs to body Lopez next game, plain and simple.

[SuddenFame]

Jae have no room to talk. I've caught him ball watching at times and blowing up his assignments. He's also non-existent in the offensive end on this series so far. If there is the biggest entitled player on the team, its him. Remember his rant during the Hayward pitch by the fans?

Yep . . . he's a prime offender for sure.
Ship the whole lot of em out.  Straight clowns. . . .

[mahonedog88]

I don't know how you don't come away, after the totality of this season, thinking that this team is lacking some sort of mental toughness component.  When you add it all up, it's clear that the DNA of this team needs to be altered a bit.

-softest front court in the league
-numerous times after losses being told by different players that they got "punked"
-Chicago has clearly been the tougher, more physical team this series
-players now starting to yell at each other, feeling the heat of this season crashing down
-Marcus Smart breaking a sort of cardinal sports rule, flipping off his own fans after hearing it from fans after clanking another 3.

Al Horford isn't mean enough, Jae Crowder seems to have lost his mean/physical streak, Bradley's gotten inconsistent with his physicality, Kelly Olynyk - no words necessary, Amir Johnson is too inconsistent and doesn't bring it enough, Tyler Zeller gets pushed around way too easily under the glass, Smart is physical and tough but he clearly still has some trouble harnessing it and having that effort rub off on other players.

This team has suddenly become like jelly soft

[SuddenFame]

A "team" full of bozos and softies. 
Keep JB + 2017 pick --ship the rest, even if it means pennies on the dollar. 
Bozos, absolute clown show out there.

Smart isn't a bozo. He will be making meaningful defensive plays at the end of games for years.

IT isn't a bozo either. He's getting exposed (like many predicted), but he's still a good player.

Crowder and Bradley are having a tough early series playing guys that are better than them.

Horford needs to body Lopez next game, plain and simple.

You wanna see it through a green prism, be my guest. But don't expect me to.
Smart is a bad apple, and the fact that he's a chucker makes him highly expendable. 
He'll be sent packing sooner than later, a future Ron Artest in the making.  All the signs are there.

IT . . . I won't attack him at this time, but I will say he's not the pg of the future for this team.  He simply doesn't have the physical attributes.
Give the keys to Fultz and Brown and let's have some fun watching the kids grow & learn.

[cltc5]

This is no longer a team.  When Stevens allowed it to become the IT show we were done.  Last year we jelled because we spread the wealth.  Someone didn't have the balls to say look Isaiah distribute more or be the 6th man.  When one guy is the team the your kinda outnumbered against your five squad opponent.  Look at Chicago, everyone was involved.  That's why I said smarts growth has been stunted and now brown is missing minutes because the organization is too afraid to take risks.  And sorry no help is coming soon because we'll have he same sloths next year eating up minutes where we should be developing players.

[Fan from VT]

It's tough, hard end to the season (if it is the end).

It is one of the risks of having an overachieving regular season team in a relative down year in the East with a team largely of smoke and mirrors; you run the risk of increased expectations and thus increased disappointment upon falling short.

I mean, IT is a great offensive player, a minus on defense, who has been on a few teams. Bradley and Jae are solid, should be role players, not much more. Amir should be a bench player, same for Olynyk. Horford should be a veteran 3rd banana type at this point. Smart is what he is, net negative on offense, good D. Jaylen is a rookie from the worst draft in recent memory.

If the Celts were in the west, they'd be the #4 seed, losing in a 4-5 matchup with LAC, and no one would be surprised.

And that is using their "actual wins." If you look at more predictive numbers, they only had the 3rd best point differential and 3rd best net offense/defense in the East, behind Cleveland and Toronto. Their overall point differential would suggest a team that "should" have won 49 games, tied for 4/5 spot with Washington in the lesser East, and 49 wins would have been 6th in the West this year.

So I think the stretch of "great" 4th quarter wins gave us a good record, but contributed to the smoke and mirrors; we're just not that good, one of the weakest 1 seeds ever, probably.

[SuddenFame]

This is no longer a team.  When Stevens allowed it to become the IT show we were done.  Last year we jelled because we spread the wealth.  Someone didn't have the balls to say look Isaiah distribute more or be the 6th man.  When one guy is the team the your kinda outnumbered against your five squad opponent.  Look at Chicago, everyone was involved.  That's why I said smarts growth has been stunted and now brown is missing minutes because the organization is too afraid to take risks.  And sorry no help is coming soon because we'll have he same sloths next year eating up minutes where we should be developing players.

major Tommy Point

[Redz]

I just rewatched the game through the bulls broadcast...

Smart and IT do a lot of yelling and shaming on our players. It's embarrassing to see these guys call out player during the game on plays.  Literally lambasting them.

Lol maybe rightfully so but so many times they do dumb things too. Its one of those things I stress to players that I play with and coach. You are a team , no matter what don't ever call out players during the game. Tell them come on man , but don't embarrass them.

IT scolded Smart, and then Smart and IT scold the hell out of Olynyk when he fouled Wade going out of bounds.


This team is finished. Sweep coming for sure.

Then you got Jae Crowder who basically called out IT.....saying "we are down 10 and we try to get a 10 pointer, basketball doesn't work that way" We need to not do that.

This team might not even like each other anymore.

This was never the case in 2008, I never saw this type of shenanigans on the court.

I edited the title.  I don't know that "jerks" quite gives the same feeling as the word you chose, but that one's not appropriate, so we'll roll with "jerks" - Redz.

[PhoSita]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

[PhoSita]

If the Celts were in the west, they'd be the #4 seed, losing in a 4-5 matchup with LAC, and no one would be surprised.

They're not playing against the Clips, though.

For me it's not just that they're the one seed and they haven't played like it.

It's that they're losing in convincing fashion to a very flawed and beatable team that only managed to win 41 games.  I don't care what your flaws are as a roster, if you were good enough to win 53 in the regular season and that's your first round opponent, you need to show something more than what the Celts have shown in this series.

[Hank Finkel]

It is tough to have good chemistry when you're facing adversity off the court and on the court.

That said, I too am disappointed that this team hasn't shown more mental toughness.  You want to see your team come together in times like this, not be at one another's throats.

And again, I know this is the topic du jour of the day, but Brad Stevens bears some responsibility for what is happening with this team's chemistry now that they are facing some major adversity.  It's not a good look.

I agree....Its more on DA though too me.  We have no big man presence inside at all and its been that way since DA traded Perk.  He had a chance to get a rebounder for minimal assets and he sat on his hands.  Now we see the real team out there against tough seasoned vets who have been there before. 
This team is soft and soft doesn't win playoff basketball games.  They have no inside game and no toughness in the paint. Example: Amir is pitiful, he makes Lopez look like a hall of famer.  But there lies the problem, he is a back up 4 playing center.  Until DA decides tough big men are valuable this club is doomed. 
We all knew they weren't winning the east and certainly not the title.  Perhaps now DA will rethink his current roster and structure this team correctly with quality big men in order to build a true contender.