As the Boston Celtics put a bow on 2021 and prepare for 2022, it’s no secret that they have some work to do. The new year is supposed to be a time for reflection and improvement, and the C’s clearly need to do both of those things.
December was arguably the toughest stretch on their schedule this season. They wrapped up the month with a 6-9 record, bringing them to 17-19 on the year. While their win over the Phoenix Suns brought some hope, ugly losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and LA Clippers certainly left a bad taste in fans’ mouths.
The A List Podcast decided to cook up some New Year’s resolutions for the Celtics as they embark on the second half of their season. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe joined the show on this episode. When giving his resolution, he did not hold back.
“I mean, get a heart. Get heart. Want this thing. Want this thing as much as your fanbase does. Quit being buddies with all the other players. Quit tripping like losses don’t matter. Take losses hard. Mature as a team. Be tougher. Grind down the stretch. Want this as much as everyone around you does.”
Washburn is not a fan of players being buddy-buddy with opponents before and after games. He also dislikes when Celtics players brush off losses after the game. Responding with “no comment” in postgame interviews can come off the wrong way.
In addition, Washburn noted the losses to Minnesota and LA as standout performances. Unfortunately, they stood out for all the wrong reasons.
“You got 20,000 fans that fill your arena every night and you can’t play hard 100 percent of the time? You gotta have lapses against some of the worst teams in the league? And it’s not the first time this has happened.”
While neither the Timberwolves nor Clippers are bottom-of-the-table teams, each was dealing with a ton of absences when they played the Celtics. Losses like those make it easy to question this team’s commitment, as Washburn pointed out.
“Something’s got to tickle your pride a little bit. Get you upset. Get you to want to be a better team, fulfill your potential. If it’s not for your coach, play for yourself.”
A. Sherrod Blakely took a similar angle when giving his resolution for Boston, but he made sure to throw in a bit of comedy. He quoted Dos Equis’ famous tagline – ‘Stay Thirsty, My Friend.’
“I want them to gather ‘round and just all do shots of Dos Equis. Because the campaign for that particular drink is ‘Stay Thirsty, My Friend.’ And they need to stay thirsty going into the second half of the season. They need to stay thirsty for success. They need to stay thirsty for trying to get better.”
Just as Washburn said the C’s need to “want this,” Blakely wants them to “stay thirsty” for the rest of the year. Consistency has not been this team’s strong suit, but playing with energy and intensity will go a long way.
Kwani A. Lewis was last to give her resolution. And while she went down a similar path as Washburn and Blakely in the sense of challenging Boston’s work ethic and attitude, she took a page out of the 2008 Celtics’ book to do so.
“My resolution, I’m going to borrow something from the ‘08 Celtics and give them a little ubuntu. I was going to do that, but then I was also looking at the days of Kwanzaa… Today is Ujima, which means collective work and responsibility. So I think between both of those things, the Celtics could use a little bit of both to get them on the right path to the playoffs this season.”
