The Boston Celtics caused a bit of a stir after their Game 2 loss to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Reports came out of Marcus Smart causing a bit of a ruckus in the locker room after the game, with further reporting indicating that he and Jaylen Brown got into it. After everyone cooled off, Brad Stevens sat down with his team leaders — Brown, Smart, Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker — to talk things through.
Considering the stakes of this series and the 0-2 hole Boston faces, it’s unsurprising that Smart got riled up. But in the eyes of one of the NBA’s best provocateurs, this doesn’t mean anything other than his belief that Boston is a winning team. Draymond Green has joined Turner for its coverage of the NBA postseason, and on Friday evening, the Golden State Warriors’ emotional leader laid out the dynamics that are at play on good and bad teams, particularly when it comes to how they interact with one another in moments of tension.
“Winning teams argue way more than losing teams.”@Money23Green reacts to reports of an outburst in the Celtics locker room after Game 2. pic.twitter.com/E4ICjcbaEM
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) September 19, 2020
“The reality is, though, I think winning teams argue way more than losing teams,” Green said. “Because losing teams, they bicker. So if I’m on a losing team, I’m gonna come to you, Ernie, and say, ‘Hey man, Shaq ain’t pass me the ball and he’s freezing me out.’ And then you partner up with me, and me and you look at Shaq like he’s crazy. A winning team is gonna say, ‘Jayson, your body language was terrible in the first quarter,’ because that’s what I saw when I was watching the game. Their offense is on the run, they’re up a couple points, and he’s not touching the ball and he’s dropping his shoulders, but you’re the best player on the team. So yes, I am going to say something about that.
“Winning teams will always argue more than losing teams,” Green continued. “And in fact, the media can love losing teams if they want, if they don’t want any arguing, and those teams will just lose, and that’s that.”
It is the least surprising thing in the world that Green would take this approach to internal strife, but it is still interesting that he clearly believes this can end up being a good thing for Boston. They’ll get the chance to prove him right on Saturday evening when they take on the Heat in Game 3 of the conference finals.
