(With the team not playing so well and grumblings of possible unhappiness about minutes played, etc., I thought I'd put a different spin on their current dilemma.)

Could it be the Celtics miss Shane Larkin more than they think they would have? Originally, they hoped Jabari Bird would fill that role. That's not happening this year.

Yes, I know he played a minor role. But, it may have been a pivotal or crucial one. He provided an unpredictable spark in so many games last year. On offense he wasn't the greatest shooter, but the tempo of the game always changed whenever he stepped onto the court. (Okay, sometimes for the worse.) Even at that, he wasn't a threat to either Smart or Rozier for playing time because he was considered a marginal player at best.

As it stands the Celtics are predictable on both offense and defense. Perhaps, having someone who darts around helter skelter (like Larkin did) on offense is what the Celtics need right now.

Could it be they are mentally too rigid and trying too hard? Again, maybe an out of control, loosey-goosey guard might help them? Both Bird and Larkin kind of filled that role. i don't see that player on this year's squad.

To further elaborate: Defensively, Shane played maniacally. Not always the best defender for sure, but the best example of how to play your heart out (sacrificing everything) in order to help his team win...the epitome of selflessness. Was his role as a team motivator, instant jittery-spark-plug and an annoying defensive force greater than we gave him credit for?

Personally, I thought Brad made a huge mistake not using him in the playoffs last year. Maybe his injuries were too severe. Can't say....

No, I'm not saying Shane is a great player by any means, just that the Celtics seem to be missing the spark they displayed last year. Putting all the blame on Terry possibly complaining about playing time doesn't seem fair as a number of other players are not playing well either.

(My next hypothesis may be even more incredible to some, even so, here goes....this is all conjecture)

With the addition of Haywood the team now has a new alpha leader....this leadership role used to be shared jointly by unsung heroes such as Brown, Tatum, Terry and the Marcus's, etc. (The only real star being Kyrie.) One player, who wasn't considered a leader or even an unsung hero  was Abdel Nader.

Last year (in this blog) I would read over and over that he couldn't pass, shoot, play good defense, rebound, etc. However, one thing that he was almost never given credit for, is how well the second team played with him on the floor.

In many games the team would not lose much or any ground with him out there. For example, he'd go in the game with the team up by something like 5 points and leave with them up by 3 (or something similar). I believe that is why Brad played him as much as he did. He may have played poorly. Yet, the team as a whole played well.

I'm not saying he didn't have stinker games where the team played worse. But, in a good many of them the team never lost ground no matter how horribly everyone thought he played.

Why might this have benefited the overall team play? Like Larkin, his teammates realized he was only out there filling a minor role and not expected to be a team leader. Nader threatened nobody's minutes, status, role, etc. Everyone was much more equal in their roles. He competed for minutes with Ojeleye at best. This year it might be expectations are higher and there's more inter-squad competition....players are putting pressure on themselves.

Even though the front line players seem to be getting most of the grief perhaps it would help if the bench played with less focus, not be afraid to make silly mistakes, not worry about minutes and just have fun out there. Not sure if that is the answer. Seemed to work in the past.