Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora has paid close attention to the remarkable in-season turnaround by a team he shares the city with, the Boston Celtics, and it’s led him to think his group on the diamond can learn a lesson from the crosstown professionals on the hardwood.
Cora, speaking with The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey for a story published Monday, acknowledged how he’s enjoyed watching head coach Ime Udoka and the Celtics put together a second half of the season which now has them in the Eastern Conference finals.
Cora specifically shared how he believed patience inside the organization went a long way.
“I like to follow the other teams to see how people react to them,” Cora told The Athletic. “At one point, people were screaming to break that team up. And now, they’re in the conference finals. I think patience paid off. They were very patient with the kids. Having (Al) Horford, that calming influence in the locker room, it’s been great. And they decided to start playing defense. I think it was Dec. 31, if I’m not mistaken, and that was the day everything changed.”
The Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 31 and no team has played better since the calendar turned to 2022. Their disheartening loss to the New York Knicks less than a week later now is widely viewed as the game which turned it all around.
“It’s been a great learning experience the last few years working here just to see how every program, they do it differently in a sense, but at the end we’re all getting to where we want to get, to be in the playoffs,” Cora said. “(The Celtics) decided to go with Brad running the show and then he made decisions and look at him now. I remember a few years ago (the fans) wanted Brad out. I mean, probably two days ago they wanted me out for something.
“All joking aside, it’s an interesting dynamic, one that I’m very proud to be part of because all of us are pulling for each other,” Cora added.
The Red Sox, a group that’s won three of their last four, certainly could use a Celtics-like turnaround as they sit seven games below .500. Boston will continue its series against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Fenway Park with an extensive homestand (13 of next 15) serving as a potential contributor should a turnaround take place.
