Saying the Boston Celtics got blown out by the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night undersells just how thoroughly Boston got run out of the gym. The Celtics looked listless in their 118-95 loss in Canada, getting out-played and out-hustled in a game that shows how far they have to go to catch up to the Eastern Conference’s elite.
Boston has enough talent to be among the NBA’s elite, but every time the team gets a tiny bit of positive momentum, everything comes crashing down. There’s nothing in the league quite like it, and currently, the Celtics have lost three in a row and five of their last seven.
Following the loss to Toronto, all eyes were on how Boston would respond while meeting with the press. Both Brad Stevens and Marcus Smart agreed the team’s biggest issue right now is a disconnect between, well, everyone.
Marcus Smart: “We’re just not together. Not together at all.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 27, 2019
Brad Stevens: “We have to be a lot more connected as a team. That’s been a theme for a while.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 27, 2019
Stevens identified another area where he thinks the Celtics can stand to improve. In his eyes, the team has to stop taking shortcuts on the defensive end of the floor.
Brad Stevens: “I thought we were all over the place defensively, and when I say all over the place I mean we were taking a lot of shortcuts.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 27, 2019
This sentiment may or may not have been shared by Marcus Morris, who didn’t want to answer a question about this.
Marcus Morris on whether the Celtics have been taking shortcuts these last couple of games: "Next question."
— Boston.com Celtics News (@BDCCeltics) February 27, 2019
As for Kyrie Irving, well, he certainly thinks that Stevens’ comments were said by his head coach.
Kyrie Irving wasn’t into sharing an answer elaborate response to Brad Stevens saying Celtics are trying to take “shortcuts,” and Marcus Morris saying the team isn’t playing together. pic.twitter.com/Kt4NKYS861
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) February 27, 2019
But the craziest thing about the Celtics is how everyone on their team seems to honestly believe that, once a switch gets flipped, Boston will become the juggernaut they were expected to be at the start of the year.
More Horford: "I really believe that as long as we're sticking together — and the going gets tough and we continue to stick together — I feel like we can figure this out."
— Boston.com Celtics News (@BDCCeltics) February 27, 2019
Marcus Smart stressed he’s confident the Celtics will turn things around.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) February 27, 2019
Marcus Morris on seesaw season:
"We’ve been up and down, up and down, up and down. The best thing about it is we still got a lot of games to correct it. … Once we start going, man, we’re going to be having the same conversation about why we playing so well."
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) February 27, 2019
There is certainly something to be said for having optimism that better days are possible, but the Celtics’ issue this season has been an inability to get to that point. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard players say they’re optimistic they can turn it around when they hit rough patches, so at a certain point — one that is approaching rapidly with 20 games left in the season — they have to go from saying things to doing things.
It’s all a bit funny, because the Celtics are a very respectable 37-24 and their biggest problem has been an inability to live up to lofty preseason expectations. Still, that’s a big deal, and if they don’t get this thing on track soon, a year that started with so much promise very well could end up falling flat on its face.
