In Kyrie's postgame comments last night, he talked about the team needing more "experience."
This might be the case. Maybe some of the young guys who made it to the conference finals last year and haven't had to experience much struggle at the NBA level are taking for granted just how hard it is most of the time.
But Hayward is still erratic. Horford hasn't been his best self this season. Kyrie is still, himself, figuring out how to be a leader and has never had to be a leader in a playoff situation.
Terry and Jaylen have had their struggles this year and Jayson has disappointed in some aspects of his development but I don't think harping on the youth is what's going to turn this team around. It has to be about everybody buying in and working together.
I remember this from Brown's interview with Jackie Mac on ESPN last month:
Despite the analytical scrutiny, the incessant trade rumors that have swirled around him, the "tough love" he has endured from teammates and the realization that his own lofty goals will have to be tempered for now, Brown says he will continue to fight for himself and his firm belief that he's an NBA starter.
"It's probably been the hardest thing I've had to deal with so far in my career," Brown says. "Just coming from a position where you had so much responsibility, and now that responsibility is lessened. Expectations have been raised, but your responsibility goes down, so it's hard to reach those expectations when you aren't being asked to do as much.
"It's been a challenge. It's going to continue to be a challenge. It's all about your mindset, so that's what I'm focusing on."
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25502202/jaylen-brown-new-journey-why-important-boston-celtics-nba
These young guys are in somewhat of a unique position - they had breakout years last year, but (aside from Jayson) they are being rewarded with less minutes, less responsibility, and less shots, to accommodate a) 2 players (Morris and Smart) who were on the bench last season; and b) a player (Hayward) who is struggling to come back after an injury whose absence they adequately filled last season. If you look at their numbers from last season (regular and playoffs) and compare to this year's season to date you can see the drop offs are pretty stark.
Per Game
Season Name Age G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% eFG% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS/G
17-18-R Jayson Tatum 19 80 80 30.5 5.0 10.4 .475 1.3 3.0 .434 3.7 7.4 .492 .538 2.7 3.2 .826 0.6 4.4 5.0 1.6 1.0 0.7 1.4 2.1 13.9
17-18-P Jayson Tatum 19 19 19 35.9 6.5 13.7 .471 1.2 3.7 .324 5.3 10.0 .526 .515 4.3 5.1 .845 0.5 3.8 4.4 2.7 1.2 0.5 2.2 2.6 18.5
18-19-R Jayson Tatum 20 42 42 31.0 5.9 13.3 .445 1.7 4.7 .367 4.2 8.7 .486 .509 2.6 3.0 .858 1.0 5.3 6.3 1.7 1.1 0.7 1.5 2.2 16.2
17-18-R Jaylen Brown 21 70 70 30.7 5.3 11.5 .465 1.7 4.4 .395 3.6 7.1 .507 .540 2.1 3.3 .644 0.9 4.0 4.9 1.6 1.0 0.4 1.8 2.6 14.5
17-18-P Jaylen Brown 21 18 15 32.4 6.9 14.8 .466 2.4 6.2 .393 4.4 8.6 .519 .549 1.8 2.8 .640 0.9 3.9 4.8 1.4 0.8 0.6 1.3 3.2 18.0
18-19-R Jaylen Brown 22 37 21 26.1 4.6 10.3 .445 1.1 3.6 .303 3.5 6.8 .520 .497 1.8 2.7 .657 1.0 3.1 4.1 1.5 0.8 0.6 1.5 2.7 12.0
17-18-R Terry Rozier 23 80 16 25.9 4.0 10.0 .395 1.9 5.0 .381 2.0 5.0 .410 .491 1.4 1.9 .772 0.8 3.9 4.7 2.9 1.0 0.2 1.0 1.5 11.3
17-18-P Terry Rozier 23 19 19 36.6 5.7 14.0 .406 2.7 7.7 .347 3.0 6.3 .479 .502 2.4 2.9 .821 0.4 4.8 5.3 5.7 1.3 0.3 1.2 2.0 16.5
18-19-R Terry Rozier 24 42 4 22.6 3.1 8.1 .377 1.4 4.0 .349 1.7 4.1 .405 .463 1.0 1.3 .778 0.5 3.5 4.0 2.8 0.9 0.3 0.8 1.3 8.5
Per 36 Minutes
Season Name Age G GS MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% 2P 2PA 2P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS
17-18-R Jayson Tatum 19 80 80 2438 5.9 12.3 .475 1.6 3.6 .434 4.3 8.8 .492 3.1 3.8 .826 0.7 5.2 5.9 1.9 1.2 0.9 1.7 2.5 16.4
17-18-P Jayson Tatum 19 19 19 683 6.5 13.8 .471 1.2 3.7 .324 5.3 10.0 .526 4.3 5.1 .845 0.5 3.8 4.4 2.7 1.2 0.5 2.2 2.6 18.5
18-19-R Jayson Tatum 20 42 42 1301 6.9 15.5 .445 2.0 5.4 .367 4.9 10.1 .486 3.0 3.5 .858 1.2 6.1 7.3 2.0 1.2 0.8 1.8 2.5 18.8
17-18-R Jaylen Brown 21 70 70 2152 6.2 13.4 .465 2.0 5.1 .395 4.2 8.3 .507 2.5 3.9 .644 1.1 4.7 5.8 1.9 1.2 0.4 2.1 3.0 17.0
17-18-P Jaylen Brown 21 18 15 583 7.7 16.4 .466 2.7 6.9 .393 4.9 9.5 .519 2.0 3.1 .640 1.0 4.4 5.4 1.6 0.9 0.6 1.4 3.6 20.0
18-19-R Jaylen Brown 22 37 21 967 6.3 14.2 .445 1.5 4.9 .303 4.8 9.3 .520 2.4 3.7 .657 1.4 4.2 5.6 2.1 1.1 0.8 2.0 3.8 16.6
17-18-R Terry Rozier 23 80 16 2068 5.5 13.9 .395 2.7 7.0 .381 2.8 6.9 .410 2.0 2.6 .772 1.1 5.4 6.5 4.0 1.4 0.3 1.4 2.1 15.7
17-18-P Terry Rozier 23 19 19 696 5.6 13.8 .406 2.6 7.6 .347 2.9 6.2 .479 2.4 2.9 .821 0.4 4.8 5.2 5.6 1.2 0.3 1.1 2.0 16.2
18-19-R Terry Rozier 24 42 4 950 4.9 13.0 .377 2.2 6.4 .349 2.7 6.6 .405 1.6 2.0 .778 0.8 5.6 6.4 4.4 1.4 0.5 1.3 2.1 13.6
So when Kyrie says thinks like "everyone has to sacrifice" (which is the right sentiment and as a team leader he is entitled to say it) I wouldn't be surprised if some of the reaction from the "young guys" is "well we did just fine without you in the playoffs, we played our natural games and were a few shots from making it into the finals, now we're being asked to sacrifice but I don't see you (Kyrie) sacrificing that much, you're still the No1 option and plays are run for you so what are you sacrificing? I don't see Morris sacrificing, he's playing more minutes, taking more shots and hogging the ball more than he did last year..." Etc. etc.
It's a difficult situation and I can't think of too many young players in my past 30 years of watching who had to subordinate their performances after having breakout years - maybe the guys in San Antonio back in the day, but not many more. This is a test for Brad and Kyrie - as the coach and the marquee player can they get this team to
consistently be singing from the same hymn sheet, while knowing that it's literally impossible for each of our top 8 players to average 20+ ppg every night? Because it will probably be only one or two, maybe three at most, guys who will be able to shine each night and everyone else may have to play supporting roles where they score less than 10 points. How do you make those guys feel like they were important contributors, not so much when the games are won but when the games are lost? Because winning masks a lot of dissatisfaction - losing is where all the finger pointing and blame comes out.