A Culture of Respect
With the Celtics primed and ready to make a playoff run in Orlando, I wanted to touch on something Sam (@ParquetPress) and I discussed with Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) on a recent podcast.
I obviously don’t know the players personally, but every single person on the roster seems like a genuinely good dude, and teammate. Whilst talking to Tom, he mentioned this fact and how Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens were looking to build a culture where players can thrive. After all the drama and public backlash of last year, there was a large hope that the team could move forward with a better mindset. Now I don’t think there are any hard feelings between the players and Kyrie, or any of the former Celtics for that matter, but the chemistry just wasn’t there.
This season, however, we see the team getting along in what seems like perfect harmony. Kemba Walker came to Boston with the attitude that he wanted to learn. He was even quoted saying something about wanting to learn from the young guys because “they had been there before”, in reference to the fact that he himself had never made a deep playoff run like Boston did in 2018. Due to this attitude, the mentality of the team seemed to change.
No one really cared who got the ball at the end of games. If Kemba was hot, he’d probably get the shot. Same for Tatum, Brown, and even Smart at times. The great thing about it was no one ever felt like they were being disrespected if they didn’t get all the shots. It’s this type of attitude that allowed Jaylen Brown to develop into an All-Star caliber player, and Jayson Tatum to develop into an All-NBA level player. Every single player on the Celtics just has a demeanor about them where they seem like good people.
A general manager can build the best team he possibly can, with the most talented players in the NBA, and they can do pretty well. However, I would argue it’s much more valuable to have a group of guys who can get along and play well together. Whether it’s bonding during quarantine or simply respecting the talent around them, the Celtics roster is full of stand up guys.
I’d invite any one of them to my BBQ.
