Stevens Sets Tone For Skidding Celtics: "Laying Down Is Not An Option"

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2014/01/brad_stevens_sets_tone_for_ski.html


Brad Stevens sets tone for skidding Boston Celtics: 'Laying down is not an option'


Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
on January 12, 2014 at 2:45 AM, updated January 12, 2014 at 4:06 AM


PORTLAND, Ore. – This season has never been about this season, and the Boston Celtics understand that.

They can act defiant about the r-word (rebuilding) and the t-word (tanking), but in reality the players and coaches know the franchise’s objective. The current roster only makes sense because it presents president of basketball operations Danny Ainge with enough flexibility to mold something better – and hopefully championship-quality – in the future.

But do not tell these players, or this coaching staff, this season amounts to nothing. Do not tell that to head coach Brad Stevens, who said he is “sick” about the growing list of defeats. After falling at Portland Saturday night, 112-104, his crew has lost eight straight now and 10 out of 11.

Though Stevens will keep a level head about all this because he always does, he set a tone Saturday for how to deal with this stretch of basketball misery. If a team’s mentality starts at the top and permeates to everybody else, the Celtics will attack their current plight with the knowledge that victories mean both nothing and everything all at once.

“You know what, it’s not real adversity,” Stevens said. “When things aren’t going your way, when you lose a couple games, it’s not real adversity. The way that you should respond is that you’re fortunate to do this job. You’re going to go after it and you’re going to do the very best you can. We’re not getting what we want, and I’m sick about that. But at the end of the day, laying down is not an option. Doing things and continuing to go after it every day is what you do when things get tough.”

At Butler, Stevens won without as much talent as his opponents. Despite coaching just two NBA players over his six-year stay at the school, he advanced to two consecutive national championship games. The second year came after Butler lost Gordon Hayward to the NBA draft lottery. But already the Celtics have lost more than half as many games as Stevens did during his entire Butler career. The challenges now are different than they were then.

After dropping all five games of a Western Conference road trip by a combined 70 points, having a patsy next on the schedule would have been nice. But when the Celtics finally return to the TD Garden on Monday, the 24-14 Houston Rockets will be waiting. Stevens likes to live by what he calls “the process,” a quest for daily improvement, but focusing on personal betterment must be more difficult when the disappointment of defeat persists.

The Celtics swear they remain together, and perhaps their last three games provide evidence of their honesty. After two blowout losses, they played three of the West’s top teams tough. But they still lost, and losses can multiply and grow fangs and carry weapons and change an entire team’s mentality. It’s easy to believe when things are going well, when you surprisingly sit across the Atlantic Division, when praise is coming because you seem like a plucky group of overachievers.

But losing can burn locker rooms to ashes and cause in-fighting among teammates.

Not all of the Celtics have dealt with losing. Consider Jared Sullinger, who led his high school team to a No. 1 national ranking as a senior and anchored an Ohio State team that lost 11 games total during his two seasons there.

“It’s definitely the longest losing streak I’ve ever been on,” Sullinger said, not needing any time to answer the question.

“This is something – I have to grow us a person,” he explained. “When I was younger – shoot, two years ago – if we lost one I would hold onto it. Now you just learn from it. You just go into the next game with a clear mind. Every game has a different flavor to it. It’s not all the same Kool-Aid, so you just have to keep playing hard.”

Gerald Wallace often rips his team after defeats and he did so again Saturday, noting that the Celtics led by just two at halftime despite shooting out of their minds. Wallace wants the Celtics to play with more of a defensive mindset. He wants them to play harder, mostly. He sometimes speaks harshly, but his message, I believe, really does come from the right place. He does not want this season to crash and burn like others he has experienced. He wants these Celtics to bond and grow and grit their teeth so defeats stop coming in such thick layers.

So does Avery Bradley.

“I hope it makes everybody hungry because this is kind of embarrassing,” Bradley said. “You don’t want to ever lose (eight) games in a row. But we’re sticking together. I know everybody wants to improve and get better, and get a win next game against Houston.”

Rajon Rondo appears close to a return, so the Celtics have that boost to look forward to. His help could lift Boston right back into the playoff picture, assuming Ainge does not dump some of his veterans at the trade deadline. But still, these eight straight losses seem like a crossroads.

“A saying that coach always says is, you’re not too far from being good, you’re not too far from being bad,” Jordan Crawford said.

“Everybody’s still communicating well, still love being around each other. It’s just more, it’s going to be adversity. This right here is testing everybody. It’s important to stay together and know that we’re family. That’s the main thing,” Crawford added. “I think we’re a good group. We just have to stay together. It’s a tough time, a lot of people saying stuff from the outside. It’s important for everybody to stay together. And it’s going to get better.”




bob


.

The Celtics seem able to maintain high energy levels for short periods—but their lower energy levels are for longer periods and become more problematic as games wear on. One or two runs per game don't make it in this league. Multiple runs are the name of the game. I don't believe the Celts could be accused of "laying down," but their moments of peak energy are far too infrequent.

Sam