The Boston Celtics haven’t had the start to the season many imagined.
Following Friday night’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics now sit at 18-13 and in fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Boston opened the season 10-10 before rattling off eight straight while looking like the NBA Finals contender they were projected to be. The good times didn’t last, though, as the Celtics now have lost three straight and had to have a closed-door team meeting following the loss to the Bucks.
While some people have been shocked by the Celtics’ early-season inconsistency, Paul Pierce isn’t one of them.
“I’m not surprised by what’s gone on,” Pierce told Boston.com’s Chad Finn. “With Kyrie (Irving) and Gordon (Hayward back), a lot of people’s roles have changed since the playoffs last summer, and that’s why they’ve struggled to be consistent. Terry Rozier got used to playing a certain way. Jaylen Brown got used to playing a certain way, getting a certain number of touches, getting those play calls. Same with Jayson Tatum.
“Now, guys are being put into a lot more reduced roles now that they have two All-Stars back. It’s an adjustment period. And it can be tough on a player when they felt comfortable in a role that benefited the team and helped them win and now they have to adapt to a new role for the better of the team. They want to win, but they want to establish themselves too. They’ve got contracts coming up. There’s a lot of things that they’re playing for. And some of that stuff can get in the way of the ultimate goal. That’s what I’m seeing.”
If Pierce were a member of this Celtics team, he thinks he’d know what to say.
“We’ve got the ability to win and all the talent in the world to win a championship, but it can’t be on our individual terms,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to be ready to sacrifice and doing what it takes to win it. If it’s not your night, it’s just not your night. Jayson, I know you’re capable of putting up 20. Jaylen, I know you’re capable of it. But that’s not always what this team is going to need. There are going to be certain nights you do shine, but it may not be every night because we have so much talent on this team. And you’re going to have to swallow that.”
So, can they the Celtics turn it around? Pierce has no doubt.
“They had that eight-game winning streak where they were playing some of the best offense and defense in the league,” he said. “It’s there. The potential is there, and they have good guys on that team who care about winning. They just need to do it, commit to it, be more consistent with it.”
