Postgame Sidebar

Taylor Snow

The Boston Celtics aren’t getting caught up in their two preseason losses this week, even following a 113-89 loss to the Brooklyn Nets Friday night at TD Garden. That’s because they have faith in their roster, they have trust in their system, and they believe it’ll only be a matter of time before they’re back in a rhythm and playing like the team that was an Eastern Conference finalist just three months ago.

After all, it’s called the preseason for a reason.

“I’m not worried,” Jaylen Brown said following Friday’s loss, which was preceded by a 108-99 loss in Philadelphia Tuesday night. “I’m not worried at all. I believe in our system, our coaching staff and the guys that we have. We’ve just got to come out and get a rhythm and get a feel for playing with each other.

“Obviously we’ve got some guys that are out (Romeo Langford, Tristan Thompson and Kemba Walker), and obviously we’ve got some guys that are stepping into new roles, and we’re just going through that process. It’s a long season. We all know that. We’d love to have that learning process sped up, but we’re going to stick with it. I believe in this organization and system and team, and I feel like we’ll improve in the right direction.”

The Celtics have four days to get themselves headed in the right direction before opening the regular season at home Wednesday night against reigning two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. And the C’s can be sure that these next four days will be jam-packed with film sessions and intense practices geared toward get their minds and bodies ready for the upcoming 72-game grind.

“We’re going to have to make sure we get a lot better and get ready for Wednesday,” said head coach Brad Stevens. “We’ve got a really good team, Milwaukee, coming in. At the same time, these games are exhibition games for a reason, so we’ll learn from them and move on.”

There are several areas in which Stevens and his players believe they can improve, from their shot-making, to their defensive communication, to simply building the right habits whenever they step foot on the court.

Boston was deficient in all of the above Friday night, leading to its defeat. But the good news is that those are all fixable issues.

For example, there aren’t going to be many instances in which we see the Celtics shoot just 34.8 percent from the field and 17.8 percent from 3-point range over the course of a game, which is exactly how they fared Friday night.

“That’s not acceptable. We’ve gotta make some shots,” Brown said of his team’s dismal shooting numbers. “We got open looks. It wasn’t like the defense was stifling. We got open looks and we gotta knock them down – step in with confidence and knock ‘em down. I think if we can do that, the narrative is a little bit different. Brooklyn, obviously give them a lot of credit, those guys look good. But we have a lot of room for improvement.”

As for building the right habits and putting forth a consistent effort, Brown isn’t too concerned about those areas either. Having now been through four full seasons with the Celtics, he knows first-hand how hard this team works and how much pride he and his teammates have in contributing toward Boston’s winning tradition.

“When you’re on the Celtics team, you can’t be counted out because there’s a fight about this city, and there’s a fight about this organization,” the 24-year-old stated. “So we’re going to come out and fight.”

There will be some extra obstacles added to the Celtics’ fight this season, such as the fact that they can no longer rely upon receiving a mental boost from their home fans, which could have come in handy against Friday night’s challenging opponent. But that’s all part of the preseason adjustment process.

“That's part of the challenge, finding our own energy,” said Jayson Tatum. “Kind of like the bubble. We've got to find our own energy.”

“That starts with me,” answered Brown. “That starts with (Marcus) Smart. And that starts with JT. We’ve got to set the tone, and those young guys will follow suit. But it starts with us, and we’ve got to come out and play with more tenacity, more energy. And we will.”

addByline("Taylor C. Snow", "Celtics.com", "taylorcsnow");

brown-unfazed-by-cs-preseason-struggles-i-believe-in-our-system

Brown Unfazed by C’s Preseason Struggles: ‘I Believe in Our System’

There were a handful of lessons to be taken away from Boston’s first scrimmage inside Florida’s NBA bubble Friday night, but one stood above all others to coach Brad Stevens: his team needs to get louder.

Stevens heard constant communication throughout the exhibition matchup against Oklahoma City, but the problem was that it was mostly coming from the opposition, and more specifically from veteran point guard Chris Paul. In this case, the team that talked the talk also walked the walk, as Paul used his vocal cords to guide the Thunder to a 98-84 win.

“Chris Paul dominated the game with his voice, and that’s going to be critical as you move forward – to be connected and communicating,” Stevens said following the game. “And that was a great lesson for us.”

The concept of playing inside of an empty arena is uncharted territory for these athletes. They’re used to feeding off of the energetic forces produced by tens of thousands of fans every night. But now, they will be in total control of creating their own energy, meaning the quieter teams like the Celtics must start to raise their voices a little louder.

“We’re a fairly quiet group, generally,” Stevens said. “And I think that’s going to have to change collectively just because of this environment. Like it’s so unique that the collective voice of a group is going to be important, and so I think that everybody is going to have to do their best to communicate and to help each other through.”

In many ways, it was a blessing for the Celtics to have started off their exhibition schedule against one of the most vocal leaders in the league. Right off the bat, it showed them exactly how they must interact with one another in order to maximize their potential while playing inside of an empty venue.

“The best thing that we take away from this was we all heard Chris Paul dominate the game with his voice. And that’s it,” Stevens said.

Aside from not being able to out-shout Paul, there were a number of positives that the Celtics took away from their first scrimmage. Their offense had some strong moments during the first half, as they moved the ball well and found a lot of open looks.

The reason they were held to 84 points was a combination of great defense from Oklahoma City, along with the fact that the game was shortened to 10-minute quarters. It’s also worth noting that Boston did not play any of its starters during the second half.

The main focal points of Friday’s scrimmage were for the Celtics to shake off some of the cobwebs that may have accumulated over the last four months, to attempt to rediscover some of their pre-hiatus flow, and to also learn a few lessons about their new playing environment. The biggest lesson they learned was that they need to adjust their volume in an attempt to be the loudest team on the court.

“The fastest team that makes that adjustment is going to be the better team,” said Jaylen Brown, who tallied nine points in 17 minutes of action. “So while we’re here, we’ve got to be vocal, we’ve got to reach out, we’ve got to adjust as fast as we can. Chris Paul did a great job of organizing his team, and we’ve got to do a better job of organizing ours. It’s early, we’re young, we’ve got a lot of stuff to work on, but we’re going to get there.”

addByline("Taylor Snow", "Celtics.com", "taylorcsnow");

after-first-nba-bubble-scrimmage-celtics-aim-to-get-louder

After First NBA Bubble Scrimmage, Celtics Aim to Get Louder

INDIANAPOLIS – The Boston Celtics picked the right time to make their biggest statement of the season. With fourth place and home-court advantage for the first round of the Playoffs on the line Friday night, Boston dominated the fifth-place Indiana Pacers on their home court for nearly 48 minutes, leading to a 117-97 win.

“We did what it took to get a convincing win like we did tonight by playing hard, doing the right things, staying aggressive on the defensive end, matching their physicality, and really setting the tone of the game,” said Kyrie Irving, who logged 17 points and six assists during 27 minutes of action. “When we do that, we’re pretty tough to beat, especially when guys are being aggressive going to the basket. We got early in the bonus in the second and third quarters, so we got to the free throw line and really made them play our pace of game. So, I’m just really, really happy with that.”

There was a great deal of buildup leading into the matchup, considering where the two teams sat in the standings. Boston and Indy went in with identical, 47-32 records, though the Celtics had the tiebreaker with a 2-1 advantage in the season series. A loss would have bumped Boston back into fifth place, while a win would give them outstanding odds to capture the fourth seed.

The game lived up to its billing through the first quarter, as the C’s and Pacers battled back and forth at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana had established a 36-35 lead by the 8:25 mark of the second frame, but then Boston went on a game-changing, 23-11 run to carry it into halftime with a 58-47 advantage.

From there, the Celtics coasted past the Pacers to victory lane, leading by as many as 25 points in the process. The win marked Boston’s third straight against Indiana, including its second in the last eight days. That provided the team with a nice confidence boost looking ahead, as they will most certainly match up against the Pacers later next week in the first round of the Playoffs.

“The game plan was just really solid,” said Al Horford, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play. “I thought coach (Brad Stevens) did a great job with everything. It’s going to take us playing at our best to have any chance against this team, because that team is a very tough team. They just continue to compete, and this was one of our better games of the season by far.”

What made the Celtics so successful was how they approached each possession: with extraordinary precision.

“I think that’s the way you have to play against Indiana,” said Stevens. “I think they’re really tough. That wasn’t their best game, and we know that. But if you’re not locked in in the moment against them, they’ll go on a run or they’ll beat you up, and we just have to maintain that throughout the course of the game.”

For Nate McMillan’s group, this game served as an eye-opener heading into the postseason.

“They make you work,” Indiana’s head coach said of the C’s. “They’re long, they’re athletic, they’re physical. We missed some shots and some of those were at the rim, but they made us work. We’ve got to do a better job of trying to screen these guys and get free. A lot of it was taking the ball out of the net and playing a set defense. We weren’t getting a lot of stops. When you’re not getting stops and you’re playing against a set defense like that, it’s going to be tough to score.”

One of the reasons why the Celtics were so difficult to counter was that they had so many different players who contributed to the cause. There was Jayson Tatum, providing 11 of his game-high 22 points in the second quarter to spark Boston’s biggest run of the game. There was Gordon Hayward, who took nine shot attempts and didn’t miss once. There was Aron Baynes, delivering his third consecutive double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. And there were guys like Brad Wanamaker (nine points, three assists and two rebounds), who stepped up to help fill the voids of Jaylen Brown (back spasms) and Terry Rozier (left midway through game with an illness).

The most promising aspect of it all for Boston was that it was a continuation of its uphill climb of late. The team has now won five of its last six games, including four against playoff contending teams.

“I think we’ve certainly played well these last games here, and I think we’ve really been locked in defensively,” said Hayward. “It’s going well for us and we’ve got to continue.”

If Friday’s statement win in Indianapolis serves as any indication, then these Celtics shouldn’t have a problem continuing their strong play into the postseason. As long as they keep approaching each possession with purpose, this team, like Irving said, should be very tough to beat.

statement-win-in-indy-lands-celtics-in-drivers-seat-for-fourth-seed

Statement Win in Indy Lands Celtics in Driver's Seat for Fourth Seed

MIAMI – Gordon Hayward did his best impression of the Miami Heat logo Wednesday night at AmericanAirlines Arena, where he streaked to the rim like a flaming asteroid possession after possession. The veteran Celtics wing came off the bench to score a game-high 25 points, of which 12 were earned from the free-throw line, to help lead Boston to a 112-102 win over the Heat.

Driving to the rim with confidence is something that Hayward has been progressing on while making his way back from last year’s season-ending ankle injury. One sign of that growth has been the increase he’s seen in free-throw attempts of late, including the season-high of 13 that he tallied Wednesday night.

“It’s night and day,” teammate Al Horford said of Hayward’s aggressiveness now compared to at the beginning of the season. “I just think not only is he understanding what he needs to do and is feeling good, but also our guys starting to understand how to play with Gordon a little more. And when the ball is in his hands, usually good things happen. We just need him to continue to play with that confidence.”

Hayward, who also shot 5-of-10 from the field to go along with his 12-of-13 effort from the line, says he’s been making a concerted effort to drive to the basket more while trying to create contact. One of the reasons he has been able to do that more often is that he’s feeling far more explosive now than he did earlier in the season.

“I think doing all the (ankle) exercises is paying off,” Hayward said after his well-rounded effort, which also included eight rebounds, five assists and zero turnovers. “Just having more and more reps, and also just more time from the injury – that’s all helping.

“Finishing is something I’m still working on a lot and something I worked on a lot before the injury,” he added. “I think some of the timings are there, and I think the only thing is deciding when to go up and challenge bigs and when to kick out.”

Hayward wasn’t alone in challenging Miami’s bigs Wednesday night. His teammates joined him to combine for 31 trips to the charity stripe, of which 27 were converted.

Boston typically relies more on its perimeter shooting than its driving, having entered the contest averaging 34 3-point attempts per game compared to just 19.4 free-throw attempts. On this occasion, however, the C’s actually attempted seven more free-throws than triples.

“You want a happy balance, especially when you’re playing with the type of players that we have on this team,” Kyrie Irving said of the team’s distribution of drives and jump-shots. “We want to stay aggressive in getting to the rim, and we challenged them at the rim and stayed aggressive and got rewarded with some early bonus situations in quarters. Then really down the stretch, were able to extend our lead by slowing the game down and really getting to the free-throw line and knocking one out of two or two out of two down.”

What was impressive about Boston’s ability to get to the line so often Wednesday night was that it did so despite being without two of its top five free-throw attempt leaders – Jaylen Brown (back spasms) and Marcus Morris (knee soreness).

Fortunately, Hayward had more than enough drives in his back pocket to help make up for both of their absences.

“I think that he’s just trying things now and doing it with more confidence,” said Irving, who scored 23 points. “He’s getting into the lane, getting fouled and really understanding his size again, where at 6-9, he’s able to post guys up, able to come off screen-and-rolls and make great decisions.

“We’re best when he’s looking for his shot,” the point guard continued. “He’s a great facilitator, but we need ‘G’ to score. I told him that, and I’m going to keep telling him to stay aggressive, be himself, and really be that 20-point scorer that he was (before the injury).”

It’s worth noting that the Celtics are 5-0 this season in games which Hayward has scored 20 points or more. With the aggressive style he’s displayed of late, there’s plenty of reason to believe that we’ll be seeing many more of those explosive offensive efforts in the near future.

haywards-aggressive-attack-sets-tone-for-cs-win-in-miami

Hayward’s Aggressive Attack Sets Tone For C’s Win in Miami

BOSTON – Al Horford found himself in a familiar statistical situation late Monday night at TD Garden, where he and the Celtics were in the midst of a fourth-quarter battle against the Miami Heat. With three minutes remaining, he had 17 points, nine rebounds and nine assists under his belt. The prestigious triple-double was in sight, but Horford knows as well as anyone how hard it can be to complete the feat.

On several occasions during his two-plus seasons with the C’s, Horford had knocked on the door of a triple-double, including four times where he had fallen either one point or one assist short.

This time, Horford received a little nudge from his wife Amelia, with whom he locked eyes late in the fourth quarter while she was sitting half a dozen rows back at center court.

“She was like, 'Better get it. You got one rebound, one assist,'” Horford recalled later on with a chuckle. “She just kept looking at me and I was like, 'I got you, I got you.'”

Moments later, he delivered in the assist category, as he dished an overhead pass to a Jayson Tatum, who cut across the top of the free-throw arc and knocked down a mid-range jumper – thanks to a lucky bounce from the back of the rim – to give the C’s a 103-96 lead with 2:54 left.

That left Horford with just a handful of possessions remaining to corral that final rebound.

The Heat wouldn’t make things easy on him, however as they connected on their next two shots attempts, leaving Horford with less than two minutes to get his 10th board.

Finally, at the 1:29 mark, Dion Waiters gave Horford exactly what he was looking for.

With his team trailing 103-100, Waiters rose up for a potential game-tying 3-pointer. As the ball sailed through the air, Horford sidestepped into the paint and then watched as it grazed the inner front of the rim and caromed high off the back, before snatching it out of the air.

From there, Horford handed the ball off to Kyrie Irving, who sprinted the length of the floor for an and-one layup. Irving went on to sink his free throw, putting the C’s ahead by six points and giving them enough breathing room to eventually walk away with a 110-105 win.

For Horford, the win was all that mattered, but it was still relieving to finally earn that long-awaited triple-double of 19 points, 11 rebound and 10 assists after falling short of the feat on so many occasions.

“It feels good. There’s been a lot of games like that,” Horford reflected. “I just try to continue to play the right way and I'm glad it worked out in my favor.”

Horford’s teammates were also aware of his close brushes with triple-doubles in the past, so they, too, were ecstatic to see him finally get over the hump.

“Al is a great player, a great guy, a great teammate, he does everything right, and he’s a winner,” said Marcus Smart, who tallied 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field. “He deserves every accolade, every award, and every mention that his name has, so we’re happy for him.”

For Horford, it was just his second career triple-double, having logged a 21-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist effort back on Jan. 13, 2015 when he was a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

Not many NBA big men approach triple-double numbers on a regular basis like Horford, but his unique skillset, especially when he’s playing at the 4 like he was for most of Monday night’s matchup, allows him to contribute to the game in so many ways.

“Versatility is what makes him very special, being able to play the 4 and 5 spot,” said Kyrie Irving, who notched 25 point and eight rebounds. “But when he’s in that four spot he’s able to facilitate, post up, make great passes, make great plays. It helps us as a team.”

Horford’s help went far beyond the box score Monday night, as his presence alone helped to make the difference in the game. Miami stormed back from a 23-point deficit, largely thanks to their implementation of a zone defense. Boston’s best answer to that adjustment, according to Stevens, was Horford.

“He played in the middle of that zone a lot, and I thought when he did, we were at our best,” said the coach.  “I don’t think we can overstate his importance to our team.”

Horford’s overall importance isn’t something that can always show up in print, but his impact Monday night was clear as day in the form of a well-deserved, and long-awaited triple-double.

celtics-hold-off-heat-rally-behind-al-horfords-triple-double

Celtics Hold Off Heat Rally Behind Al Horford’s Triple-Double

BOSTON – Al Horford and the Boston Celtics expected to see the toughest version of one of the most physical teams in the NBA Friday night, as they duked it out with the Indiana Pacers in a battle for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Sure, enough the Pacers came into TD Garden dealing punch after punch.

“We took several, yeah,” Al Horford later confirmed with an exhausted half-smile.

However, for each punch the C’s received, they hit back even harder. For every rally that the Pacers had in them, Boston had an answer, as it fought all the way to the finish for a 114-112 win.

In what was likely a preview game for the first round of the Playoffs, this was exactly the type of effort that Horford wanted to see out of his group.

“That team plays really hard, they play really well,” he said of the Pacers. “And the fact that we were able to respond and stay poised, I thought was very good for our group.”

Being able to match Indiana’s toughness was the main matter that C’s coach Brad Stevens highlighted during his pregame press conference, noting multiple times how physical this Pacers team is.

“I think they’re the litmus test for that,” he reiterated after the game. “I think they play as hard and physical as anybody.”

Indiana showed off that toughness throughout Friday night’s matchup, and was sure to take advantage of physical mismatches whenever there was an opportunity to do so.

“Right when we went small, they decided to go right to the post,” said Stevens. “They didn’t waste time, they didn’t waste possessions.  We tried to buy a few minutes there without our double bigs and it was hard. So, at the end of the day, they put us in a lot of tough spots.”

As tough as those spots were, the Celtics found a way to fight back time and time again.

“We just had to be resilient,” said Kyrie Irving, who scored 30 points including the game-winning lay-up with half of a second remaining in regulation. “They do a great job mucking up the game, being in the paint, Myles Turner (whom Irving beat to the basket on his game-winning shot) does a great job of coming over and contesting a lot of shots. But (Aron) Baynes was in the middle of the paint tonight, so it was hard for him to come over and commit to a few of our layups, which enabled me to get a few easy ones where he sealed Myles. We did a great job tonight of just playing with that pace and playing with that physicality to match theirs.”

Not only did the Celtics match Indy’s physicality, but in many ways, they exceeded it. Boston won the rebounding battle, 43-41, it outscored the Pacers 54-40 in the paint, it produced 16 second-chance points, largely thanks to the six offensive rebounds that Baynes and Horford contributed, and its starting backcourt of Irving and Marcus Smart snagged a total of seven steals.

With all of those efforts combined, the Celtics were able to out-battle one of the league’s most physical teams in a critical game that could help determine playoff seeding and primary location for the first round.

“It was definitely a great feel-out game, if you want to call it, for the Playoffs,” Irving said. “Home-court advantage was at stake and we see them again one more time (next Friday in Indianapolis). We’ll see how that goes and just keep on getting better for the rest of the regular season.”

cs-outlast-indys-physicality-move-into-fourth-place

C’s Outlast Indy’s Physicality, Move Into Fourth Place

CLEVELAND – The Boston Celtics returned to their double-big starting lineup Tuesday night in Cleveland, pairing center Aron Baynes and power forward Al Horford together for the first time since Nov. 23, 2018. In doing so, Boston was able to clog the lane out of the gate against a large, physical Cavaliers team, setting the tone defensively for a 116-106 win at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Celtics started the Baynes-Horford tandem throughout the majority of last season, while also having the option to start small, with Horford at the 5 and Marcus Morris at the 4, against long, athletic teams.

Prior to Tuesday night, however, Boston’s frontcourt versatility had been limited. Baynes and Horford had started together only three times over the course of the season, mostly due to the fact that both of them had dealt with various injuries dating back to around Thanksgiving.

With the two of them now healthy, the C’s once again have the option to go big whenever they please.

“I think it’s one of the strengths of our group,” said Horford, who returned after missing two games due to left knee soreness and logged 19 points, eight rebounds and five assists. “I think it plays to our advantage – sometimes that’s good, other times it’s good to go smaller. Coach felt like it was important that we went big tonight.”

Why it was important against this particular team was because Cleveland features one of the NBA's most lethal frontcourt combinations in Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Between the pair, they are averaging 29.0 points and 22.1 rebounds per game. However, against the C’s Tuesday night, they were limited to a total of 17 points and 14 rebounds, while combining to shoot just 5-of-17 from the field.

Baynes and Horford made it particularly tough on Love, who was held scoreless during the first half while shooting 0-for-8 from the field.

“I thought both Baynes and Al Horford – they play him tough and they do a lot of switching,” Cavs coach Larry Drew said of the difficulties his leading scorer faced. “I think the switching did kind of disrupt Kevin’s rhythm a little bit, because they have not only the size of the switch, but also their perimeters are pretty strong and lengthy.”

The unsung hero in the lineup change was Marcus Morris, who returned to the second unit for the first time since Nov. 21. Not all players would take kindly if asked to transition from a starting role to a bench role, but the veteran swingman did so without complaint. On top of that, he contributed 14 points, including some clutch scoring just before the start of the fourth quarter.

“I told our guys today, you need guys like Morris who are flexible like that,” Stevens praised. “Morris came in and I thought his two threes in the late third were huge.”

Added teammate Marcus Smart, “For Morris to take on that responsibility, it shows his maturity and the professional that he is. He could’ve easily thrown a fit about it, but he didn’t. He controlled what he could control. He came out and gave us big minutes when he got out there and did what he was supposed to.”

Just because Morris didn’t get the start Tuesday night, doesn’t mean he’s out of the starting rotation permanently. Stevens says that the frontcourt pairing will be a “game-to-game decision” from here on out, meaning it will be totally matchup-based.

The Celtics missed having such versatility throughout the season, but now that their frontcourt is entirely healthy, they could use it to their advantage as they gear up for the postseason.

starting-double-bigs-gives-cs-defensive-boost-in-cleveland

Starting Double Bigs Gives C’s Defensive Boost in Cleveland

BOSTON – It’s easy for a team to get caught up in the negative emotions of a losing streak, especially when it’s trying to establish a rhythm before heading into the Playoffs. The Boston Celtics, despite being in the midst of a difficult stretch, are not that type of team.

After dropping their fourth straight game Sunday night, 115-96 to the San Antonio Spurs, the C’s made sure to circulate an even-keeled and progressive mindset throughout their locker room at TD Garden. For they know that improvement over the last eight regular-season games will only come if a positive approach is maintained.

“We’ve just got to take a deep breath,” Marcus Smart calmly stated after the game as he leaned back in a chair in front of his locker. “We’ve just gotta take a deep breath and calm down. We’re anxious, we want to get some wins, and we want to get back on the track of winning, but we really got to take a deep breath and get back to the team that really got us the reputation that we upheld into this season. Just being dogs on the court, making nobody want to play against us. Right now, teams just feel like they can do whatever they want against us. That’s on us, we gotta fix it. We will.”

Most of those fixes start on the defensive end, where Boston has always prided itself. The C’s started off the season strong defensively, but they have noticed some drop-offs in that capacity of late.

“I think recently transition defense has been a problem for us,” said Gordon Hayward, who emerged from the NBA’s concussion protocol Sunday night to deliver a 13-point, 10 rebound performance. “I think a lot of times, for the most part, when we are able to set our defense, we’ve been pretty tough, but sometimes we’re not getting back. Some of that’s offensive blows, shot selection, long rebounds, turnovers – but definitely transition defense. When they’re coming at you and you’re not set, that’s tough to defend. So that’s been a key of ours in film sessions and we’ve gotta make sure that we hold ourselves to that.”

How do they hold themselves to that standard during the games that remain?

“Just our commitment to just getting back, being in the right spots and maintaining the shell on defense,” said Kyrie Irving, who logged 11 points and 12 assists against the Spurs. “When we’re not being very communicative with one another we’re all over the place, and that’s not when we’re great. Our strength is when we’re really flying around, being physical, playing with intensity, and then that leads to our fast break and our opportunities on the other end.”

Smart, who scored a team-high 14 points Sunday night, says the team spent a good amount of time after the game dissecting film and discussing how they can improve upon their recent deficiencies.

“We’re all trying to get better as professionals,” Smart said of the post-game gathering. “We’re trying to find, the next game, mistakes not to make again. That’s a good sign for us. We weren’t doing that early on. Guys were all chiming in on this and that rotation, or what we could do differently. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Having that type of open conversation allowed the players to leave the locker room in a positive frame of mind.

“I know we’ve been here plenty of times before saying the exact same thing –‘We’re gonna get it, we’re not worried about it’ – but we can’t put extra, extra, extra stress and more weight on ourselves,” said Smart. “We’ve got to take a deep breath, breathe, just relax, and then go out there and have fun and play basketball.”