I don't get how Roy is misrepresenting the OP. Can the OP restate his premise then, in clearer words? From my vantage point, it seems like the OP is saying our players are underperforming, or in his words, "performing uncharacteristically" because of IT's tragedy. That emotional wellness should be just as important as physical wellness.
The OP is clear and this thread proves the point. Society to a large extent does not appreciate emotional trauma. Look how readily Roy acknowledges the effect of physical injuries on the 1987 team yet will not even acknowledge that this team may have been traumatized emotionally. Roy likens this to readiness for a trial despite having a grieving co-worker when in fact this is more akin tothe grieving coworker being an indispensable part of the trial team.
One poster referred to the concept of emotional trauma as nonsense while another says it lacks any scientific basis. These people need to talk to those who make a living practicing psychiatry, psychology, and neuro-psychology.
My wife is a psychiatric clinician and is a supervisor at a psychiatric hospital. I understand that emotional trauma exists.
What I disagree with is that the empathy of IT's teammates resembles a team-wide series of debilitating injuries. Rather, if the 14 non-IT members of the team are unable to focus and compartmentalize their emotions, they are missing a key skill for an NBA basketball player. It would be a liability, akin to an overly emotional surgeon or firefighter.
But, I don't buy the theory that the team is sucking because they've been emotionally traumatized. Danny makes the occasional bad decision, but he didn't put together a roster of 14 guys prone to emotional injury.
Similarly, I have a hard time connecting the emotional impact of Bias' death with the physical injuries the 1987 Celtics collapsed from. The physical impact of playing less minutes if Bias was in the rotation? Sure. But Bill Walton's body breaking down because he was emotional that a draft pick died? I don't think that even science fiction can make that connection.