‘I made mistakes’: Danny Ainge discussed Celtics struggles

After the Celtics suffered a humiliating 127-112 loss to the Hawks on Wednesday – Boston’s third straight loss, bringing the team’s record down to 15-17 – basketball operations president Danny Ainge called for his weekly maintenance on 98.5 morning of the Sports Hub show “Touch & Rich”.

In the middle of a conversation that covered a range of topics relating to the Celtics’ current struggles, Ainge made a categorical admission.

“We play terribly,” he said. “We don’t have a good enough team in my opinion.”

Part of the problem stems from the shortened offseason in which Gordon Hayward left the Celtics in a trade with the Hornets. Other rumors about the 30-year-old have failed.

On reflection, the longtime Celtics executive also criticized his own performance.

“I made mistakes,” Ainge said after being asked if he had any regrets. “There are things I wish I could have done better and thank goodness we live in a basketball world and there are ways to fix them, although generally these methods don’t happen overnight. They take time.

Despite the turmoil, Ainge doesn’t think it all stems from the behind-the-scenes drama of the team itself.

“No, definitely not,” he replied when asked if there was a problem between the players or the coaches. He also backed Celtics coach Brad Stevens, dismissing the idea that players were listening to him.

“When I hear that a player or a coach is listening, it’s usually a coach who just screams and screams,” Ainge said.

Here’s a look at some of the topics Ainge touched on in his interview, including the pair of Boston All-Stars handling a new level of review, and the potential for trades before the March 25 deadline.

He shared his thoughts on the team’s current issues.

For the Celtics, it’s not just that the team is currently in a three-game losing streak, but none of the teams Boston lost to during the streak is currently over .500. And due to the slippage, the Celtics are also now below the .500 mark, a first after so many games in a season since 2014.

“It’s hard to explain,” Ainge said. “I mean we talked last week about the intensity level and the fact that it hasn’t been. I have no explanation. The team is not playing well, we are not playing consistently hard. We have great stretches for most games except last night. We didn’t have good times until the game was over with six minutes to go and the guys who don’t play a lot have to play.

Despite the series of setbacks, Ainge remains convinced the Celtics are capable of playing better.

“I’m still convinced that our team can have a run, just like Dallas did a run, and Washington recently had a run,” Ainge offered, noting the increased level of parity across the league in what he has. described as “very strange” season 2020-2021.

“Each team is close to .500 minus the top six or seven teams right now,” Ainge explained. “They are all hovering around [.500]. Miami was in the final last year. They have less than .500. And losing to Miami … that wouldn’t be a slam depending on the Miami you get. I just think it’s an interesting year. I wish I had some answers for you. I do not. I believe in my players. I love them all individually. I think they all have a good future.

“I just think right now our team is in a major funk, and I don’t know all the answers as to why,” said Ainge. “I wish they had played better, for themselves and for our fans.”

Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and “Stopping the Ball”

Regarding Celtics All-Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Ainge was asked what he thought of the idea that the duo – prolific scorers as they are – also had a deleterious effect on the movement of the bullet in the attack. Specifically, that Brown and Tatum are “ball blockers”, stopping the passing team to force their own shots.

“I think it’s unfair to just say they’re ball blockers,” Ainge explained, adding that the conversation around the two players goes beyond offensive use. “The most important thing about Jaylen and Jayson is that they’ve already been protected because they’ve had other really good players and veterans around them as they’ve grown and gone to three out of four of the Eastern Conference. [Finals]. Now it’s on them. Now, they’re the stars, and they got the big contracts, and they got the All-Star nods, so the microscope is on them.

Ainge thanked Brown, 24, and Tatum, 22, for their poise in the current crisis.

“I think they’re both very mature kids for their age,” Ainge said. “I think they handle it well, in my opinion. I don’t think they are pointing fingers.

Comparing offenses designed for “great players like Paul Pierce and Kobe Bryant”, Ainge said Boston allowed its stars “to stop the ball.”

“I think it’s’ a little unfair to just hold the ball on them, but I understand that and I think they will improve,” Ainge said. “I think we need to surround them with more points on the bench, we need guys to play with more swagger and confidence and who are not subordinate to Jaylen and Jayson, and who will go and play their game too and the will simply leave. to go.”

Ainge blamed himself for bigger issues with the Celtics’ current roster.

“It’s a problem of me,” concluded Ainge. “And I say I love my two young guys. They’re not perfect and they’re learning, and that adversity is part of their growth and development, not intentionally, it’s just the nature of the beast.

What he had to say about the possibility of an exchange

After being blamed for the Celtics’ problems, Ainge was also asked how he could try to ease the issues with a potential trade.

“We’ll see if we can make any changes,” Ainge replied. “I’m not just looking to do something to do something, but I’m looking to do something that can make a difference in our team.”

Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck also interviewed the 98.5 on Wednesday, hinting at the possibility that Boston could not use the big trade exception it got in exchange for Hayward leaving until the summer. .

Ainge was asked if this was an unspoken admission that the team was abandoning the current season potentially waiting for the offseason to use the traded exception.

“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Ainge replied. “What I would say, timing is important. We would use this trade exception if the right deal were done, but I think what Wyc is probably saying – because we’ve talked about it a lot internally – is that the most likely scenario of a deal we’d want along the way. ‘offseason as opposed to the here and now. That’s not to say we can’t use some parts of it at this point, but it could prevent something bigger in the offseason. “

Regarding how to resolve the team’s short-term issues with a possible trade, Ainge reiterated that “I don’t have those answers and it’s probably not the time that they’re going to be answered.”

Yet a month before the trade deadline, Ainge hasn’t ruled out anything.

“We talk and we try to do certain things,” he said of a possible exchange. “We have been close several times. I do not know the answer. Time will tell us.”