[ad_1]
BOSTON – After a long playoff series contested by a young team missing two of its stars, the Boston Celtics have been named as contenders in the Eastern Conference: a busy team with huge potential and Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward is back in training.
One element has however been lacking so far in 2018-2019: the energy and enthusiasm that drove the Celtics to the Eastern Conference finals. Last year, the Celtics were a tough group that refused to give in even against favored opponents. This year's Celtics seemed uncertain trying to utilize all the talents present at all times.
The great Celtics man, Al Horford, thinks the team's recent trip on Route 1 to 4 was a confrontation with reality.
"I think we were entering the season, we were all expecting us to take control, and we are very dangerous, and I think we have been a little humiliated," Horford said after Wednesday's dominant victory over the Chicago Bulls. "We are now in a position that allows us to start building this, and we have to do it every night, and if we can do it, we will have a chance to be special, especially by engaging in defensive endings. . "
Horford's comments joined those of Irving after the Celtics dropped to 7-6 against the Portland Trail Blazers.
"We needed that," Irving said Sunday. "We are not as good as we think, I said at the beginning of the season: the excitement is over – it 's true basketball now, so it' s not a good idea. not only the potential of the team or the place we will be in. We face challenges, we have obstacles to overcome as a team and individually. I will be the most patient I'm not going to get too tired, too high or too low, or things like that, it's a long season, I just understand that for us to be special, we just have to take on challenges. "
After a tough schedule to start the season, Boston's opponents are easing a bit over the next few weeks. Friday and Saturday present tough challenges against the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz, but several clashes with lottery teams follow. If the Celtics need comfortable looks to get their season back on track, games like Wednesday – a 111-82 win – will probably help.
"One of the things that this league is going to teach you is that it's not because you show up that you're going to win or that you can run with the match," Horford said. . "Chicago, of course, came out of combat early and was playing at a high level.It's just these things we need to establish: Keep playing hard throughout the game and exhaust the opponent. evening we did it. "
This state of mind could make all the difference for the Celtics, and the car trip may have taught them.
"It will probably help us, but in reality, we may not be as good as everyone has said," Tatum said Sunday. "So we have to go home, I know everyone wants to go home, and we have to find solutions."
Source link
