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bobheckler wrote:Mark Murphy @Murf56
3 minutes ago
Danny Ainge puts responsibility for this slide on himself and the players, but not Brad Stevens


Bob


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Indeed. Starts at the top.

Oh Oh..
February 15, 2021 at 4:20 pm

Ainge: It’s on me and the players, not the coach
Celtics president accepts responsibility for mediocre results
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is bracing for a whirlwind offseason. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is bracing for a whirlwind offseason. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
By MARK MURPHY | Boston Herald
PUBLISHED: February 15, 2021 at 3:16 p.m. | UPDATED: February 15, 2021 at 4:32 p.m.
His team has dropped to a numbing 13-13, his coach is decrying the inconsistency of an under-performing roster, and you name the area — defense, ball movement, energy, respect for opponents — and right now it’s an issue.

Danny Ainge points a finger at himself, considering that the talent on the floor is his responsibility. He singles out the players, because they’re the ones not executing or showing proper respect for the other side. But when asked what share of the blame goes to the coach, the Celtics president drew the line.

Brad Stevens, the least of anyone, is responsible for these current struggles, said Ainge.

“That’s not on Brad,” he said during an interview with the Herald on Monday. “Brad is the opposite of that. Brad is fearful of every opponent and respects every opponent, and is as humble as there is. That is 100 percent on me, meaning that the players that we have selected to be on the team, and it’s on them individually. The last person this is on is the most humble, hard-working person in the entire organization, and that is Brad Stevens.”


With the trade deadline just over five weeks away on March 25, Ainge still has time before using the team’s $28.5 million trade exception. The Celtics currently have access to $19 million of it — their amount under the hard cap — though more can be used in any trade or trades, depending on how much salary they move out.

The Celtics’ needs, though, are immediate, their recent trajectory considered. But Ainge doesn’t necessarily feel pressure to put that traded player exception to use now.


“I don’t feel a pressure to use that,” he said. “Each and every year I’m looking for opportunities to improve our team. But it’s a little more complicated than just using the (trade exception) and all of a sudden our team is going to get better. It’s more than that. It’s not like the (trade exception) is going to save the day from my perspective.

“Could the TPE help us? Sure. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it.”

But Ainge believes that regardless of finding that desirable combination of shooting and size, he has a current lineup that should be more consistent.


“We had a game this week where we had Semi (Ojeleye) knock down six threes,” he said. “We had a different game where Daniel Theis knocked down five threes. I know those guys can make some, but we need to be consistent. I know they’re capable of making shots. So some of what I talk about is we need to get better at it, and of course I watch NBA games every night to see who I think could fit in with our team. Most of the players I think could really fit and come in to help our team, typically most teams don’t want to give away.”

An added challenge may be developing on the market this time around. More teams remain within reach of a playoff seed, thanks to a new postseason play-in tournament that will keep more teams involved down the stretch. As such, there may be fewer sellers at trade deadline time. Orlando, Sacramento and New Orleans, whose rosters are among the most perused by general managers looking for a deal, may be more reluctant to move talent.

“I think that’s true,” Ainge said of how the new playoff format may affect the market. “It’s still early, the trade deadline isn’t for another five or six weeks, so time will tell.

“But I think that sometimes we can embellish the big picture — it’s my job to look at the big picture, it’s my players’ and coaches’ job to do what they can to prepare to win the next game,” he said. “I like the fact that there’s high expectations in wearing a Boston Celtics uniform, and I don’t want to overreact to a couple of bad games that everyone expected us to win, simply because I respect those players that beat us.”

Ainge, like Stevens following back-to-back losses to a pair of bottom-level opponents in Detroit and Washington, believes both were better than their records.

“I know they’re very capable of beating us going into the game. We have to play well to win, it doesn’t matter who we play,” he said. “The good thing is we beat some good teams this year and had some big wins and we know what we’re capable of, but we’ve also been inconsistent. That’s who we are at this stage — a 13-13 team that is an inconsistent, young team at this moment in time. I’m confident we can improve on that.

“There’s a lot of parity in the league right now, and those teams you say are not playing well are still good. If you have Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal on the team, you’re a dang good team — you’re still capable of getting crushed if you don’t show up to play. And Detroit is a team that has good size and length, and they shot the heck out of the ball that night. That’s the NBA.

“I think there’s two things. A, we’re not playing with as much urgency as we need to on a nightly basis. And B, I think for whatever reason we don’t understand how hard we need to play to win. (An opponent) that is not playing good, you don’t know how dangerous they can be and we don’t have the humility to play and respect our opponents to the extent we need to.

Danny Ainge is full of S--t

There are issues at the top with him and his poor decision making, the coach and the players that do not give a complete effort. The very idea that it is on him and on the players but coach Brad has been on point I just plan false.

Unfortunately, Danny is not going to fire himself. The coach should not be fired unless his coaching ability falls behind and/or if his team puts plugs in their ears because they are sick of listening to him. Brad Stevens is a good coach but just like his players he is not on the Championship list. The team is still missing something as both FA additions have been greatly disappointing.

I agree with Bob and kdp regarding Tatum too... It is not uncommon, but it is a bit disheartening to see for me. Jason Tatum got paid. He got paid big time. So Jason Tatum seems to be in a bit of a motivational slump right now, just does not seem to have that fire in him to WIN. JT you are supposed to be our "killer mentality" guy. I had hopes (still do) that you will pull JB with you in that regard. As pointed out by kdp above - what would your idol Kobe have done in such a lame showing. He might have hero balled his team to the loss but he will most certainly NOT have disappeared into an abysmal 4/13 FGA and 0/1 FTAs.

No ganas no glory Jason! Just ask KAT and Wiggins. The ultimate poster boys for getting paid and cruising through their careers (With all due respect to KAT for all the shit he's been through in the last year in his personal life). Great talent does not always equate to greatness.

Jason threw up a klunker for sure and at times makes you scratch your head but I try to keep in mind that he is 22. ( I’m still trying to figure out the only 19 joke that’s going around. I missed something there) I’m not going to make excuses for him. He was pretty bad yesterday. But the entire team has been pretty bad and underwhelming lately. Blaming Tatum and deservedly so is also convenient. However, Our Celtics issues run far deeper than Tatum’s performance in DC

28 Minutes.

As I said in another thread, the 4 core players have only been on the court together 28 minutes this season.

Before we all go into burn the tent down mode, it may be worth considering that.

Yes, better player personnel decisions need to be made, but injuries to the starting rotation have been a big factor.

Get them healthy and see. If the team goes for an early playoff exit, then see if you can trade Al Jefferson and a bunch of youngsters for Kevin Garnett this summer.

28 minutes is not exactly a lot of court time together.  However there is something missing.  Every year we have injuries, some major and some minor.   This team does not have the it factor even with 2 top players.  The things that they are not doing like moving the ball or playing tough defense cannot be blamed entirely on missing players.  Fact is no one is doing good enough not players not coaches and not Mr. Ainge.  This team has lost its' swag and they better find it PDQ.

Ktron wrote:Jason threw up a klunker for sure and at times makes you scratch your head but I try to keep in mind that he is 22. ( I’m still trying to figure out the only 19 joke that’s going around. I missed something there) I’m not going to make excuses for him. He was pretty bad yesterday. But the entire team has been pretty bad and underwhelming lately. Blaming Tatum and deservedly so is also convenient. However, Our Celtics issues run far deeper than Tatum’s performance in DC

Was more referring to the season up until now so far. He had a week where he looked great, but he does not seem to be putting as much effort as last year(when he was trying to force himself into 3 or drive mentality), especially compared to Brown and Smart.

But I agree 100%, the Celtics issues run much deeper than a motivation issue for JT.

I agree with you dboss. I am leery of people who resort to the now oft over-used, bail-out comment/phrase of, "it's my responsibility/I take responsibility for/My fault/I'm to blame"...blah, blah, blah.

Now these phrases are used to get others off your back when one feels pressure. People will naturally back off of someone who says that thinking yeah, you're right it is your fault. But there is no follow-up. Then things move on and with the news cycle in a couple of days we're on to something else. The same reason I don't use a lot of stats in my arguments.

When old schoolers used to say this like say a Larry Bird, Magic Johnson or a Bill Russell, you'd just set off a huge bomb. The player that said it meant it, absorbed the blow, took responsibility and then went out and had a 30-30 night with 30 rebounds and 15 assists. And then did that until the end of the season, into the playoffs and finally hoisted the O'Brien trophy. Now these taking responsibility utterances are just that, wind blowing.

Danny is taking a very measured, soft approach. The house is not on fire in his humble but accurate opinion. And he's not panicking by his comments. Should we be as we look at what seems to be the fact that if this continues, we're out of the playoffs with all this talent? Maybe that's what we need to wake this team up.

db

Can't believe people here are starting to turn on Tatum. I will agree that I find it frustrating when he has a run of 2 for 10 or something, but all in all he is shooting almost 46% from 2, 40% from 3, and 83% from the line, pulling down 7 rebounds and dishing almost 5 assists. Those are good numbers. Never heard him complain, or say or do anything bone-headed. And he is 22 years old. You guys want to trade him for a vet? Well, I'm sure there are 29 other teams willing to give a sold grizzled veteran for JT.

One thing I have noticed about this core is that they do not do well when expectations are high. I'm not sure if it is because they can't handle the pressure, or because they start to believe they are better than they are, but it is almost certainly related to being a young team.

Vankisa wrote:

Ktron wrote:Jason threw up a klunker for sure and at times makes you scratch your head but I try to keep in mind that he is 22. ( I’m still trying to figure out the only 19 joke that’s going around. I missed something there) I’m not going to make excuses for him. He was pretty bad yesterday. But the entire team has been pretty bad and underwhelming lately. Blaming Tatum and deservedly so is also convenient. However, Our Celtics issues run far deeper than Tatum’s performance in DC

Was more referring to the season up until now so far. He had a week where he looked great, but he does not seem to be putting as much effort as last year(when he was trying to force himself into 3 or drive mentality), especially compared to Brown and Smart.

But I agree 100%, the Celtics issues run much deeper than a motivation issue for JT.

I have noticed that as well. Concerning.

A. Sherrod Blakely @ASherrodblakely
about 15 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum said he has experienced some games where he has gotten fatigued quicker than normal, a likely result of his body getting back in game shape following a positive Covid test result which kept him out of the lineup for 5 games.


John Karalis @RedsArmy_John
about 25 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum says he's still feeling the effects of COVID, says it's much easier to get fatigued. It has gotten better, but he still deals with it from time to time


Bob
MY NOTE:  the bigger picture here is that we have a 22 year old professional athlete who is still experiencing lingering side effects of a virus he is technically and officially over.  That should be a very cautionary tale for us oldsters.



.

Damn, this is terrible obviously praying he has no long term effects.

There have been many documented cases of as of yet unexplained post-Covid lingering symptoms, usually for people that had to go through the more serious version. Those could persist for months it is said.

This would also explain a big chunk of his more passive nature recently. These side effects are reported to be more or less at random times, random intervals and pretty much slightly to very different from person to person.

I was hoping JT and RW had only light symptoms and would not develop one of those, but it just goes to show even high level athletes are not immune to this thing. Keeping my fingers crossed for Jason and hoping he gets back to full health soon.

Another great example of we don't know what we don't know.

Impatient fans who started the season hailing Tatum as the next one to hang a number in the rafters take a dump all over him now.

And then it turns out the kid is out there battling his own body because he wants to play and contribute so bad.

Stevens has the demeanor of a middle school English teacher who got roped into coaching the basketball team because nobody else would do it.

Lord knows the long term effects of that damn virus. Prayers for Jayson.

NYCelt wrote:Another great example of we don't know what we don't know.

Impatient fans who started the season hailing Tatum as the next one to hang a number in the rafters take a dump all over him now.

And then it turns out the kid is out there battling his own body because he wants to play and contribute so bad.

calling out anyone special there?


save me the passive aggressive shit OK!


since I am the only one willing to see his faults, I can say I never shit on him...but he certainly takes some on the courts from time to time. and spare me the covid stuff coming from him camp only AFTER playing like crap. IF he's not healthy he shouldn't be playing PERIOD.

but hey..I'll remember to watch what I say around here ..wouldn't want anyone to think I'm picking on their favorite player or anything.

kdp59 wrote:

NYCelt wrote:Another great example of we don't know what we don't know.

Impatient fans who started the season hailing Tatum as the next one to hang a number in the rafters take a dump all over him now.

And then it turns out the kid is out there battling his own body because he wants to play and contribute so bad.

calling out anyone special there?


save me the passive aggressive shit OK!


since I am the only one willing to see his faults, I can say I never shit on him...but he certainly takes some on the courts from time to time. and spare me the covid stuff coming from him camp only AFTER playing like crap. IF he's not healthy he shouldn't be playing PERIOD.

but hey..I'll remember to watch what I say around here ..wouldn't want anyone to think I'm picking on their favorite player or anything.

Passive aggressive? If I was specifically calling you out, I promise you would know it.