February 18, 2021 | 17:48
Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge took the blame for the team’s poor start to the season in an appearance at 98.5’s Toucher and Rich on Thursday.
When asked by the hosts whether he believes the Celtics are a champion team, Ainge replied simply, “I don’t believe it.”
Your point is easy to make. After losing to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday – their third loss in four games against Eastern Conference teams, well below 0.500 – the Celtics are 14-14. According to Cleaning the Glass, they have an efficiency differential of +1.6 – the lowest since 2014-15, when the Celtics were 40-42. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were excellent, but the rest of the team struggled hard to achieve consistent success.
“Our list is obviously not a good one. I mean, we are a 14-14 team, ”said Ainge. “There is no if, and or but about it. We are like this. This team, where we are, 14-14, if there is anyone to blame, this is Danny Ainge to blame. This is not Brad Stevens. It’s not Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown. It is not good enough now. And we all know that. And, you know, we need to improve. “
Stressing that he was not excusing the fights, Ainge noted that the five regular starters have barely played together this season due to injuries and protocols by COVID-19.
“Çand we just didn’t get any kind of consistent flow or rhythm, ”said Ainge. “We had great times, good games, good wins and a lot of failure.”
Ainge added that increasing the depth of the team is not easy when players are injured, because when injured players return, new acquisitions can be left behind.
The interim is not easier, however.
“When you play the player you consider the eighth best player on your team and need to play a certain role – and suddenly he needs to be your fourth best player, you are not that good of a team,” said Ainge. “And you can get away with these things for short periods in one season, but it’s hard to stay away from them for the entire season.”
The NBA’s trading deadline is March 25.
Get browser alerts from Boston.com:
Enable breaking news notifications directly in your internet browser.
Turn on notifications
Great, you signed up!