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bobheckler
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If You Believe Lack Of Effort Is The Problem, Who Aren't Putting In The Effort?
Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by bobheckler Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:19 am
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/al-horford-effort-one-thing-051508478.html
Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
NBC Sports Boston 10 hours ago
BOSTON – The Boston Celtics locker room had a somber feel about it, which is becoming an all-too-familiar scene following yet another all-too-familiar underwhelming performance.
Following New York's 117-109 win over the Celtics, the run of losses for Boston (9-9) now stands at three in a row, and seven of the last 10.
Just as the losses have mounted, so have the questions as to whether this Celtics team is as good as so many thought they would be this season.
And it's not just fans and media wondering this aloud anymore.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was asked about whether these recent losses serve as a wake-up call of sorts for his team.
"I just don't know if we're that good," Stevens said. "Maybe it's not a wake-up call if you keep getting beat."
The piling on of loss after loss has left the Celtics players no choice but to question what they can do to swing the downward momentum of their play.
"We still all see the potential that's there," said Boston's elder statesman Al Horford. "Our focus needs to be just playing better and our effort level … we should never talk about effort. That's the one thing I feel that's not there, all the time especially on the defensive end. If we're not giving it every time, we're going to find ourselves in this position a lot."
He's right.
"We're certainly not a 48-minute team," Stevens said. "I'm not sure we're a 24-minute team."
The inability to play with any level of consistency has been at the heart of Boston's struggles this season.
Boston trailed by as many as 26 points on Wednesday and was down by 21 points in the fourth quarter, only to rally within one possession when Jaylen Brown made one of two free throws that made it a 112-109 game with 40.3 seconds to play.
But in those final 40 seconds, the Celtics failed to get the necessary defensive stops required to complete the improbable comeback, continuing a trend in which it seems the Celtics rely more on their talent than the toughness required to win on a consistent basis.
Far too often, the Celtics look like a team that doesn't understand what it takes to withstand the best shot from teams on a night-in, night-out basis.
"It's been a little better, but it takes a lot of work," Horford said. "It's hard to play at that level. For whatever reason, we thought it was gonna be easier or since we got all this talent we were just going to get it done. But that's not enough. We have to do the little things, we have to play the Celtic way, that we've played in the past. That's our focus. That's what we have to keep working towards."
And as frustrating and maddening as things are right now, Horford sees a silver lining on the horizon.
"These are the times I feel like make teams stronger," Horford said. "I feel last year, what made us stronger was that adversity that we faced with different injuries and things like that. Different situations make teams tougher. Right now, as much as I don't like losing and going through this, I feel like this is what's making us stronger as a unit."
bob
MY NOTE: Al didn't mention any players by name, that would be neither constructive nor his way. That's our job. :-)
Who do you think isn't putting in the effort? Multiple answers are allowed if you wish to identify more than one player, as are changes of votes. Please accompany your vote with an explanation of who you voted for and why.
An opportunity to stick it to the turkeys. Too bad we don't have any players named 'Tom'...
.
Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
NBC Sports Boston 10 hours ago
BOSTON – The Boston Celtics locker room had a somber feel about it, which is becoming an all-too-familiar scene following yet another all-too-familiar underwhelming performance.
Following New York's 117-109 win over the Celtics, the run of losses for Boston (9-9) now stands at three in a row, and seven of the last 10.
Just as the losses have mounted, so have the questions as to whether this Celtics team is as good as so many thought they would be this season.
And it's not just fans and media wondering this aloud anymore.
Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was asked about whether these recent losses serve as a wake-up call of sorts for his team.
"I just don't know if we're that good," Stevens said. "Maybe it's not a wake-up call if you keep getting beat."
The piling on of loss after loss has left the Celtics players no choice but to question what they can do to swing the downward momentum of their play.
"We still all see the potential that's there," said Boston's elder statesman Al Horford. "Our focus needs to be just playing better and our effort level … we should never talk about effort. That's the one thing I feel that's not there, all the time especially on the defensive end. If we're not giving it every time, we're going to find ourselves in this position a lot."
He's right.
"We're certainly not a 48-minute team," Stevens said. "I'm not sure we're a 24-minute team."
The inability to play with any level of consistency has been at the heart of Boston's struggles this season.
Boston trailed by as many as 26 points on Wednesday and was down by 21 points in the fourth quarter, only to rally within one possession when Jaylen Brown made one of two free throws that made it a 112-109 game with 40.3 seconds to play.
But in those final 40 seconds, the Celtics failed to get the necessary defensive stops required to complete the improbable comeback, continuing a trend in which it seems the Celtics rely more on their talent than the toughness required to win on a consistent basis.
Far too often, the Celtics look like a team that doesn't understand what it takes to withstand the best shot from teams on a night-in, night-out basis.
"It's been a little better, but it takes a lot of work," Horford said. "It's hard to play at that level. For whatever reason, we thought it was gonna be easier or since we got all this talent we were just going to get it done. But that's not enough. We have to do the little things, we have to play the Celtic way, that we've played in the past. That's our focus. That's what we have to keep working towards."
And as frustrating and maddening as things are right now, Horford sees a silver lining on the horizon.
"These are the times I feel like make teams stronger," Horford said. "I feel last year, what made us stronger was that adversity that we faced with different injuries and things like that. Different situations make teams tougher. Right now, as much as I don't like losing and going through this, I feel like this is what's making us stronger as a unit."
bob
MY NOTE: Al didn't mention any players by name, that would be neither constructive nor his way. That's our job. :-)
Who do you think isn't putting in the effort? Multiple answers are allowed if you wish to identify more than one player, as are changes of votes. Please accompany your vote with an explanation of who you voted for and why.
An opportunity to stick it to the turkeys. Too bad we don't have any players named 'Tom'...
.
bobheckler- Posts : 61382
Join date : 2009-10-28
Re: Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by sinus007 Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:07 pm
Hi,
I don't think it's one individual player or 2 or 3. It's the whole team.
It also includes coach Brad who, hopefully, still trying to figure out the way out of this bog.
AK
I don't think it's one individual player or 2 or 3. It's the whole team.
It also includes coach Brad who, hopefully, still trying to figure out the way out of this bog.
AK
sinus007- Posts : 2627
Join date : 2009-10-22
Re: Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by swish Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:15 pm
During slumps like this - speculation tends to run wild but I would guess that we would not be faced with this teams performance - if Tatum, Brown, Hayward and Rozier were shooting as well as they did last year ( Hayward's last year at Utah). For me the big question is whether they over achieved last year or are under achieving this year. The future months ahead should provide that answer. Give it time.
swish
swish
Last edited by swish on Thu Nov 22, 2018 11:11 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : re wording)
swish- Posts : 3147
Join date : 2009-10-16
Age : 92
Re: Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by gyso Thu Nov 22, 2018 12:53 pm
I agree with Sinus. It isn't so much one player or even a handful of players that are not giving an effort. I believe it is a combination of things that have created the losing atmosphere that surrounds the Celtics.
Each player has issues and here is what I think they are:
Al Horford - He is a swiss-army knife. He is not a flashy player with great stats. He tends to make everyone around him better, but age may be getting the best of him. He needs to be moved over to the four and have Baynes or Williams play the five.
Aron Baynes - No hops, he's just a land based bruiser. He cannot rebound successfully against the modern bigs. Brad needs to only play him against the other land beasts and not play him so much against the leaping lizards of the NBA.
Jayson Tatum - As our current second best scoring option, he is now getting the other team's defensive focus. He needs to figure out how to create space now with all eyes on him.
Jaylen Brown - They say he practiced on his handle and free throw shooting over the summer. It doesn't really show. He needs to get his focus back and be aggressive at both ends.
Kyrie Irving - He came into the season not quite ready. He also read the pre-season hype and bought into it, saying he will re-sign next summer. He thought the Celtics would cruise and they haven't even gotten out of second gear. Will he reconsider if the C's don't patch the holes?
Gordon Hayward - He still hasn't built up the confidence of his ankle. He's getting there. He is like Horford, not flashy but he does so many things that don't show up in the stat sheet. I hope he can get his mojo back soon.
Marcus Smart - He is not the problem. He comes to play every day, but sometimes the speediest of the point guards can get by him.
Terry Rozier - I believe he is in a funk. His play last year was a mirage but he thinks it was real. Now he wants to get to the next oasis and has quit on this caravan. Harsh? Yes, but I believe he is the weak link in our rotation and just wants too much too soon.
Daniel Theis - Incomplete. However, he comes to play every time he is on the floor.
Marcus Morris - Surprise of this season. Maybe he was hampered all season with a bum knee and now he is healthy. That and he is playing for his next contract.
The rest are not in our current rotation, but I would like to see more of Semi and Williams.
Semi plays good to great defense and all he needs is to get more confidence in his shot.
Williams needs to be paired up with Horford against the modern leaping lizards of the league. Perhaps he hasn't shown Brad enough in practice to deserve playing time, but can it really get worse? Brad, give it a try.
That's a very brief take on each player. After this turkey gets stuffed, maybe I'll come back and fill in some of the gaps.
gyso
Each player has issues and here is what I think they are:
Al Horford - He is a swiss-army knife. He is not a flashy player with great stats. He tends to make everyone around him better, but age may be getting the best of him. He needs to be moved over to the four and have Baynes or Williams play the five.
Aron Baynes - No hops, he's just a land based bruiser. He cannot rebound successfully against the modern bigs. Brad needs to only play him against the other land beasts and not play him so much against the leaping lizards of the NBA.
Jayson Tatum - As our current second best scoring option, he is now getting the other team's defensive focus. He needs to figure out how to create space now with all eyes on him.
Jaylen Brown - They say he practiced on his handle and free throw shooting over the summer. It doesn't really show. He needs to get his focus back and be aggressive at both ends.
Kyrie Irving - He came into the season not quite ready. He also read the pre-season hype and bought into it, saying he will re-sign next summer. He thought the Celtics would cruise and they haven't even gotten out of second gear. Will he reconsider if the C's don't patch the holes?
Gordon Hayward - He still hasn't built up the confidence of his ankle. He's getting there. He is like Horford, not flashy but he does so many things that don't show up in the stat sheet. I hope he can get his mojo back soon.
Marcus Smart - He is not the problem. He comes to play every day, but sometimes the speediest of the point guards can get by him.
Terry Rozier - I believe he is in a funk. His play last year was a mirage but he thinks it was real. Now he wants to get to the next oasis and has quit on this caravan. Harsh? Yes, but I believe he is the weak link in our rotation and just wants too much too soon.
Daniel Theis - Incomplete. However, he comes to play every time he is on the floor.
Marcus Morris - Surprise of this season. Maybe he was hampered all season with a bum knee and now he is healthy. That and he is playing for his next contract.
The rest are not in our current rotation, but I would like to see more of Semi and Williams.
Semi plays good to great defense and all he needs is to get more confidence in his shot.
Williams needs to be paired up with Horford against the modern leaping lizards of the league. Perhaps he hasn't shown Brad enough in practice to deserve playing time, but can it really get worse? Brad, give it a try.
That's a very brief take on each player. After this turkey gets stuffed, maybe I'll come back and fill in some of the gaps.
gyso
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gyso- Posts : 22104
Join date : 2009-10-13
Re: Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by RosalieTCeltics Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:11 pm
I agree, it is not one player, I believe it is just a group of guys trying to fight their way out of this mess by doing it themselves. One player is not going to be the savior. It is going to be a team effort. Taking those three's and not rebounding, letting the other team build up a head of steam, and hit their shots before we are even back on defense, is a killer. That is how those 20 point leads come about.
I refuse to blame one guy. This is frustrating to say the least. Even Brad looked befuddled last night. If they could put together a series of wins, they would feel so much better about themselves.
Dboss, I am with you, I refuse to give up. The best is yet to come, and I won't be here to see it next week!!!!
I refuse to blame one guy. This is frustrating to say the least. Even Brad looked befuddled last night. If they could put together a series of wins, they would feel so much better about themselves.
Dboss, I am with you, I refuse to give up. The best is yet to come, and I won't be here to see it next week!!!!
RosalieTCeltics- Posts : 40076
Join date : 2009-10-17
Age : 76
Re: Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by international Thu Nov 22, 2018 1:15 pm
My answer is that Brad Stevens is the one who is not putting in the necessary effort.
international- Posts : 752
Join date : 2009-10-21
Age : 64
Re: Al Horford: Effort the one thing that's not there
by RosalieTCeltics Thu Nov 22, 2018 2:37 pm
no one works harder than Brad. Sorry, I cannot agree with you on this one
RosalieTCeltics- Posts : 40076
Join date : 2009-10-17
Age : 76
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