Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown Hold Themselves Accountable As Celtics Struggle

The Boston Celtics have been an exasperating team to watch throughout the 2020-21 season.

And the most frustrating part? You can’t pinpoint any one big issue that’s prevented them from reaching the expectations projected upon them. And there doesn’t seem to be any off-the-court drama to at least make these struggles more interesting to watch.

In fact, it’s been quite the opposite.

With Boston’s third straight loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday, the Celtics fell back below .500 thanks to an uninspired performance save for a third-quarter comeback that, on trend, they couldn’t close out in the fourth.

So while it’s hard to put your thumb on what exactly is going wrong, the team at least is being accountable. Every member of the Celtics who spoke after the loss to the Kings — head coach Brad Stevens, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown — took blame for their struggles.

We’ll start with Stevens, who critiqued Boston’s lack of engagement and desire to play well together, which clearly is impacting how much fun the team is having.

“I think the fun follows that, right?” Stevens told reporters Friday. “And, and you know what, it’s fair to say that that’s on me. And it’s fair to say that that’s something that I need to make sure that we have. And I’m gonna do my best. Whether it’s finding different groups or whether it’s getting the most out of the group that I know has the highest potential. And that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Celtics Notes: Brad Stevens Goes On Passionate Rant After Loss To Kings

Mar 19, 2021

The Celtics can’t seem to find an offensive identity, which can be put on a coach some in normal seasons. But this year, by nature, is an outlier because the lack of practice as a condensed schedule doesn’t help.

But at a point, players need to step up and bring them some energy.

Brown has done that all season, but he shared how he doesn’t think he’s doing a great job being a leader. He even went as far as to reveal that it’s something he loses sleep over. Walker noted he wasn’t his usual, upbeat self against Sacramento either.

“I’ve got to be there all times, you know, and this showed,” Walker said postgame. “Whenever I’m not upbeat, whenever I’m not bringing energy, you know, we’re just a whole different team.”

Stevens, Brown and Walker were the only three members of the Celtics to speak after the Kings’ loss, but perhaps more of them would take the blame if they were. They seem to like each other. A lot. So why can’t they fall into a rhythm? It’s just strange to see a team bending so much, but not snapping in terms of the locker room dynamic.

“The reason guys are putting it on themselves is because we have such great dudes with very high character,” Walker said. “And I don’t know if you’ll find many teammates who will really put the blame on themselves, especially on one team, you know? So I really do appreciate my teammates and respect my teammates for that. At the end of the day we got to come together, man, if we want to win and we want to be successful.”