Celts Moving Forward After Disappointing L

Marc D'Amico
Team Reporter and Analyst

WASHINGTON – One singular message echoed throughout Boston’s locker room following its 118-92 loss Wednesday night in Washington: move forward.

“It’s in the past,” Kelly Olynyk said. “You can’t dwell on it. You just have to keep moving forward.”

Kelly Olynyk drives to the basket in Washington

Kelly Olynyk and the Celtics are planning on putting Wednesday night's loss in the rearview mirror.
Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images

It’s understandable that Olynyk and his teammates would head into Thursday with such a mindset. On Wednesday, as Brad Stevens said, they “laid an egg.”

The Wizards did not.

Washington had a lot on the line heading into Wednesday’s action. A win would secure the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2008.

The Wizards secured that berth thanks to an impressive effort that began at the opening tip. They made their first five shots of the night and before they knew it, they were on top by 15 points just five minutes into the game.

“The game started with three or four shots right at the rim,” Stevens said. “Three of them were dunks. We just didn’t provide enough. We didn’t provide enough. And so we got what we deserved tonight.”

Olynyk followed that up by saying, “I think we gave a lot of easy stuff at the beginning. We weren’t playing very hard. After that they kind of picked us apart and they were getting whatever they wanted.”

Nights like these have been few and far between for the Celtics this season. That being said, they’ve learned a lot from those handful of experiences.

Boston’s players know that there’s only one way to move on from a blowout loss. Forget about it and move on.

“I think Friday is another opportunity and we just need to take advantage of it,” said Jerryd Bayless. “… We have a winnable game on Friday and hopefully we’re able to pull it out and then go to Detroit on Saturday and win as well.”

That’s literally what every Celtics player is thinking right now. Wednesday is long gone.

“You’ve got to put it in the past and just keep moving forward, and on to the next one,” said Olynyk.

The next one happens to be against the Philadelphia 76ers, who come to town Friday night. Boston will get back to its roots of playing as hard as possible for 48 minutes.

“We have to play better and no matter what happens,” Stevens said. “We have to compete every single night and lay it all down and lay it all on the floor.”

That didn’t happen Wednesday night, but Wednesday’s in the past. The Celtics are moving forward.