The Celtics had a player only meeting that lasted 35 minutes after the loss to the Bucks. Here are some comments from the players (mostly Kyrie):
"At this point it comes down to cohesion, being able to trust the pass, trust what we have going on out there," Irving said. "Obviously some selfish play out there where ... we have some really talented guys, but we're better as a team sharing the basketball. And, if it's late in the shot clock, that's when we start shooting our iso plays, as opposed to if we have nothing in transition shooting with 16 or 17 on the clock, or shooting a fadeaway, something like that.
"I get caught up in that as well. For me it's a hard challenge, because there's a balance I have. I literally can do anything I want out there, but at the same time it's what can I do for my teammates to be more successful. I have to be very conscious of that."
While Irving didn't name any players specifically, those references -- the quick shots in transition, and the fadeaways -- applied to shots Jayson Tatum took during Friday's loss. Tatum was yanked out of the game by Brad Stevens after one ill-timed stepback midrange jumper midway through the first quarter, and again after taking another bad shot early in the second -- a mistake he compounded by then getting called for a technical foul as Milwaukee continued to blow the game open.
Irving also, as he has several times this season, pointed out the team's youth as part of the issues the Celtics are attempting to work through as the year progresses.
Jaylen Brown - “It’s not about me. It’s about us. We’re trying to be one as a unit. We’re either going to be all in, or we’re not. So I didn’t take anything personally from it. But we’ve all got to be better.”
Jayson Tatum - “It’s just something we need to keep in the locker room. It’s not for everybody to know what we talked about”.
It's pretty obvious, at least to me, that the quotes were about Tatum and Brown, as well as probably Rozier. So as it relates to those 3 players:
They have consistently taken tough contested shots and have not made the extra pass all year. Perhaps their playoff success last season, which was supposed to be a positive, has made it difficult for them to take a secondary role. They all have had numerous defensive lapses throughout the season and their focus and energy seems to be reflective of how much success they're having, minutes they're playing, and shots they're taking on the offensive end. Tatum is constantly complaining for calls and Brown's defense goes how his offense goes.
Perhaps some of this blame does fall on Brad Stevens. He preaches a "green light for all" approach, but perhaps defined roles in terms of player hierarchy should be in place. Maybe he should yank Brown, Tatum, or Rozier immediately following a contested shot early in the shot clock. You can't really do that to Irving, again player hierarchy and talent gives him a longer leash. This also doesn't apply to Hayward or Horford since they play the right way and always seem to be willing to make the extra pass. Even Morris has stopped the iso-Mo's this season and is playing much more team basketball.
The issue I see is the disconnect from the younger players. Maybe we do have too many young guys (Tatum, Brown, and Rozier) that are still looking for their own personal accolades. It might be time to think of packaging one of them, looking right at Rozier, in order to bring back a more of a team guy (Patrick Beverley comes to mind) and try to change the culture by replacing a young needy player with a hardworking blue-collar type veteran.
