I ultimately don't think Kyrie is the player we need to win a championship, but the fans need to accept that the team has had a number of smaller failures that have just added up to a bigger disappointment. I think we could have done a few things strategically to be better, and Kyrie could have been willing to adapt to the team's makeup quite a bit better, but we were in trouble this year, regardless.
Hayward just hasn't been anything other than a non-starting rotation level player.
Horford hasn't had a great year and can't be relied on every game.
Likewise, Baynes has missed a lot of games with injuries and can't maintain his role.
Tatum isn't what we thought he was.
Morris surged early, but has regressed to being the borderline starter he's always been
Brown slumped early, and the team has struggled to establish a consistent role for him.
Rozier was handed a diminished role and has handled it badly.
The net result is there is no one established in a reliable scoring role for this team except Kyrie. The expectation was that Tatum would be that guy, and that Hayward would be getting there by now. Both guys have been big disappointments.
For their part, Ainge and Stevens could have had better years too. Ainge should have cared about roles more, and moved Morris and Rozier.
Stevens should demand that the team to play faster and move the ball more consistently. I also just don't understand what he is doing with Jaylen Brown. He's the only one on the roster right now who looks like he should be doing more. Try him as the second option and see what happens.
I gave you 5 TPs for this because it ties so fluidly into something I believe most need to understand, that being, the Celtics are a team and the failure of this season is that of the whole team.
Ainge: He signed Bird and obviously missed he had an unstable individual on the team. What Bird did is his fault, and that all adds in but we will get to him later. Ainge's handling of Bird hurt because it took up a roster spot that Ainge could have used to help the club. He took until February to do it. Bird should have been salary dumped in November and someone added to help this team. Ainge's fault.
Ainge: He appears frozen into doing nothing but wait for the offseason to trade for Davis. Also, how much did being so very little over the luxury tax affect his decision making in making additions or trades? If the plan was to hope for a Finals run and then add Davis, well, in concentrating on the latter he screwed up the former. Ainge's fault.
Stevens: Poor handling of Hayward and his minutes and being able to identify the psychology of what was happening in his locker and be able to prevent the division that occurred. Inability to define roles and get the players to buy into those roles. The inability to get his players to consistently give an effort. The inability to get his players to stop taking so many lazy threes a game. Really bad season of knowing when to take timeouts. Steven's fault.
Players: There is everything td450 said:
"Hayward just hasn't been anything other than a non-starting rotation level player.
Horford hasn't had a great year and can't be relied on every game.
Likewise, Baynes has missed a lot of games with injuries and can't maintain his role.
Tatum isn't what we thought he was.
Morris surged early, but has regressed to being the borderline starter he's always been
Brown slumped early, and the team has struggled to establish a consistent role for him.
Rozier was handed a diminished role and has handled it badly." All those players faults.
Also:
Kyrie: Exceptional play all year. Just fantastic. Probably top 3 PG in the league this year. Candidate for worst leader ever. His very public criticism of the young guys and bringing locker room problems out of the locker room really hurt this team. His handling of the media during the whole Klutch manufactured drama hurt this team as well. Kyrie's fault.
Bird: I truly wonder how Bird's actions just before training camp started affected this team. Maybe none but, he was close with Brown and could have been close to many of the others as he was part of last year's team the whole year. If his actions caused a distraction that affected this team...Bird's fault.
Yabusele and Williams: Both players, as far as we fans can see in the ridiculously small amount of minutes both have played, haven't developed to help this team. Yabu's and RW's fault.
Smart: Awesome year but Smart being Smart means he still does a bunch of silly to stupid things. Forcing passes. Ridiculous layups. Bad threes. And of course stuff like the Philly game. I think he matures out of all those things in another couple years but for now, even in a great season, he still did some things that weren't great. Smart's fault.
The reason I include Smart is because I think everyone on this team is, in their own way, no matter how much, responsible for the season that is occurring. If this season turns out to be a failure, then it will be the failure of the whole team. From Ainge to Stevens to the rest of the coaching staff to the scouting department to each and every player including Jabari Bird, everyone on this team is at fault for the failure if this year ends up a failure.
It's not just one person's fault.