This weekend I was listening to the most recent episode of the Lowe Post, in which Zach spoke to Bobby Marks about moves that teams made at the Trade Deadline.
At one point Marks and Lowe were speaking with admiration about the Milwaukee Bucks.
They said things like:
"Everybody knows their role and doesn't try to play beyond it."
"They play with such freedom without having to break out of the system."
"They know exactly what their identity is."
As I listened to that, my mind turned to Marcus Morris's words after the Clippers game -- how the Celtics just "aren't having fun," how guys are playing for themselves and not for each other, etc.
That description of the Bucks felt like a perfect description of all of the things that the Celtics have lacked this year.
Who are the 18-19 Celtics?
Are they an offensive team that is going to win by sharing the ball, finding the open man, and raining threes, with Kyrie's haymaker shots as the coup de grace?
Are they an aggressive, ball-hawking defensive team that's going to choke opponents out and score just enough buckets on the strength of Kyrie's crunch time wizardry?
Are they a team of versatility and skill in the vein of Kyrie, Horford, Hayward, Tatum?
Are they a tough, physical, never-back-down team in the vein of Smart, Morris, Baynes, Rozier?
Are they a team of young guys determined to prove their place in the league?
Are they a veteran team led by Kyrie, Smart, Morris, and Horford, with a talented supporting cast of young players who will get their time to shine eventually?
I don't think anybody has a clear answer to that. Which was fine in October and even November. It's not fine in February.
And now the additional question:
Are they Kyrie Irving plus a pile of assets to be traded for Anthony Davis this summer?