Fine by me scolding Smart - the guy has terrible attitude, and I'm honestly getting sick of seeing it.
AB was basically pining for Rondo's leadership in the post-game.
This is where Al's laid-back nature is a problem. This team needs a guy who can lead on both ends. Al has the game and the experience to do it, but he's not stepping into the void.
Avery Bradley is quite literally the closest thing we have to veteran leader right now - he leads in the locker room by saying what needs to be said, and he leads on the court by playing as hard as anybody else out there every night.
It's ironic that Boston signed Horford specifically for his veteran savvy and leadership - but he offers none of that. He's too [dang] soft. I'm sure hes great at making pop talks and telling everybody to just stay positive and all that nice guy stuff, but we need somebody who will call guys out when they aren't pulling their weight, or when they make stupid play, so that they don't make the same stupid mistake again.
I thought maybe Amir would be that guy, but he seems to be too nice too. Horford is too soft. Stevens is too soft. Everybody else on our team is too young.
This is part of why I was actually ok with the idea of trading for Carmelo. Because no matter what anybody says, that guy plays with heart and with passion. There is no way he would ever be out there on the court looking defeated, believing that the game was over with 10 minutes still to play. He could be down by 10 with 3 minutes left, and in his head the game still isn't over. We need guys like that.
And the best part is that other guys on the roster would buy in to that, because everybody knows that Carmelo is the type of guy who COULD score 15 points in 3 minutes, single handedly, so when you have a guy like that on your team nobody ever believes the game is over until its over.
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.
Yup. I have been saying that for a couple of days here. I learned nothing new from the 2 losses.
I've been saying it for years. The Celtics weren't great rebounders even when they had Perk and KG, and they've been mostly awful since then. You have to have size to win in the postseason; it's that simple. Danny thinks we can win with undersized bigs and undersized guards. Never gonna happen.
Exactly!!!! My question is, why does DA think this way? He played with some of the better big men ever (Bird, McHale, Parish). The league hasn't changed that much, you still need quality rebounding big men to win championships. We have zero on the team right now and it is exposed big time in the playoffs.
It's ridiculous.
For years on end now we have needed a starting calibre big man with legit size who can rebound and protect the paint at a capable level. He doesn't need to be a 12 rebound a night guy, he doesn't have to block 3 shots a game - he just needs to be capable. A 6'11" - 7'0" guy who can give us 9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 30 minutes would be perfectly fine to start alongside a smaller and more skilled big like Horford.
Dwight Howard would have been the perfect person for us at center. At 6'11" / 265 lbs he gives you a legit presence in the paint, and his averages of 13 points, 13 rebounds and 1.2 blocks combined with his physicality would have given us a dominant presence in the post - even at his current point in his career. Plus he's the same age as Horford and actually ended up signed for less money...
Greg Monroe would have been great too. He's not exactly Perk tough, and his defence isn't great...but he is big, he is physical, he's an exceptional rebounder, and he's a dominant scorer in the paint. He's somebody who would demand double teams every time he touches the ball, and he's somebody that Robin Lopez would never be able to outplay two games in a row.
Nerlens Noel honestly would have been a decent fit too. Good rim protector who can also switch on to quicker players, good (if not great) rebounder, and lots of upside.
I've no doubts we could have had any one of those guys if we wanted them, for a fair price, but Danny is happy playing soft-as-pillows Horford and too-old-to-play-extended-minutes Amir.
Topic: we have a bunch of little "jerks" on our team...Jae calls out IT, are we a team? (Read 4640 times)