On March 3 Jimmy Toscano of csnne quoted Marcus Smart:
"It starts off the court," Marcus Smart said after the Celtics' 116-93 win over the Blazers. "We like each other off the court as individuals, we’re all considered friends. And we look at each other that way. So, when you have that type of bond, that chemistry off the court, it transfers onto the court.
Basketball is a team sport. Other teams may have on paper talent equal to or better than the Celtics, but the Celtics, all the way back to Red Auerbach and the legendary teams back then always included a special spirit off the court that benefited the on the court team.
Who was the last Celtic hated by his teammates? When was the last quote published where a celtic coach or front office person tried to tear down a player? Danny Ainge did mention Sully's weight problem, but it was like: "Sully could be so good if he could get his weight down." A long time ago, Ricky Davis was acting like a knucklehead and could have been very annoying, but the Celtics almost revived his career. And friction with Ray Allen came out only after he left the team: the Celtics big three got along on the court well enough. And even after trading Rondo, Danny Ainge in public was "shocked" how it worked out in Dallas and didn't criticize Rondo or Rick Carlisle (another Celtic with a rather difficult personality at times).
Houston has managed to attract superstar free agents, but can't gel, fired their coach, squabbled and not played to their potential. It starts off the court, I would think. Houston has more talent than the Celtics, but I think the Celts are closer to a championship than Houston.
Celts have no luck in the lottery. NBA is titled towards teams that tank (like Philly). But you can control your coaching decisions. You can control to some extent what kind of people you bring in or keep.
I think the Celtics should stay away from guys like Carmelo, Dwight Howard. The cap space asses is best risked on guys like Horoford. And if Chicago falls apart, I would be very careful about all the players on that team. It is not likely all are guilty, but some of those stars must be responsible for their lack of unity.
In an interview Bill Russel asked, "How did my team win all those championships while Wilt Chamberlain was playing. Wilt was 5 inches taller than me, Wilt had 50 lbs on me, Wilt could run down the floor faster than me. How did we win?" He just pointed to his head. And having a good team is part of being smart. Running fast breaks is smart. Having a deep team tire out the other team is smart. Treating your players with respect is smart.
I think Marcus Smart is understanding what it means to be a Celtic. Smart is smart.
Topic: "It starts off the court" Smart smart (Read 577 times)