The Boston Celtics were against the ropes a couple of days ago, as they fell to a 0-2 hole in the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat, one of the strongest defensive teams this year.
The Celtics blew a major lead in the second half of the game. They just couldn’t execute down the stretch and made a lot of unforced mistakes, clearly struggling to get anything going against Miami’s zone defense.
So, things got a little heated right after the matchup, with Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown reportedly going at it, yelling, and even throwing things in frustration for such a tough and avoidable loss.
Marcus Smart Says The Celtics Are A Family
That’s why All-Defense guard Marcus Smart reached out to Sam Amick of The Athletic to clear the air on what truly happened, admitting that he was -indeed- involved in the altercation but that the team is a family and all families fight eventually:
“Yeah, you know we just got together and made sure that we were on the same page. We told each other that we love each other. It was me, Jaylen, Jayson [Tatum], Kemba [Walker], and Brad Stevens,” Smart said. “You know, we just got together and made sure that what happened in the locker room was really in the locker room. It’s unfortunate that it got out, but it happened. Like I said, we’re a family. Families fight. I don’t expect anything less,” The guard continued.
Marcus Smart Says He Doesn’t Want His Teammates Holding Things In
The Celtics’ pesky defensive specialist went on to say that he’d much rather his teammates saying what they felt because holding things in was only going to come back and hurt them eventually:
“I expect that if a guy feels some way, then say it. I’d rather you say it than hold it in and let it come out too late. Like I said, it was electrifying for us to have it. It was something that probably we should have had a long time ago, but because we kind of just skated through we didn’t have to,” Smart added. “And we knew eventually it was going to come up to bite us with the way we’d been playing, so it was something that needed to happen. Like I said, I love this group of guys. We all love each other. We all know that when any of us get emotional, there’s no malice and no bad intentions behind it. I think that’s kind of where and how we were all able to have the higher (outcome) because we all knew that it was coming from a great place,” Smart concluded.
see also
Ringless: NBA teams that haven't won a championship yet
Sometimes, those kinds of incidents just hold a team closer together. In fact, the Celtics were able to regroup, go back to what made them great and cut the Heat’s lead to 2-1. Now, they’ll look to even the series out and make the NBA Finals for the first time in a decade.
SurveyWho'll win the series?
Who'll win the series?
ALREADY VOTED 0 PEOPLE
