The Celtics dropped below .500 with Tuesday night’s 110-107 loss to a depleted Mavericks team. They have now lost seven of their last 10 and 13 of their last 20, sliding to sixth place in the Eastern Conference in the process.
Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe joined Ordway, Merloni and Fauria on Wednesday to diagnose the Celtics’ problems and explain what needs to change. (Listen to the full interview here.)
Washburn said he believes stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have lost confidence in their teammates’ ability to hit shots, and agreed with Lou Merloni’s assessment that Danny Ainge hasn’t given them enough help, especially when it comes to reliable veteran presences.
“I agree, and that’s the reason they lack confidence,” Washburn said. “Danny Ainge did not give them a lot of help on this bench. They’re holding onto a lot of players -- Javonte Green, Carsen Edwards, Grant Williams is trying but still makes mistakes -- guys who are limited in how they can help the team, and then they’re thrust into these situations. You mentioned Aaron Nesmith -- he’s literally just trying to keep his head above water and not make mistakes. To ask him to come off the bench and hit threes is just too much.
“They don’t have any grey-beards, veterans on the bench. That’s why veterans are needed. You need the 28-, 29-, 30-year-old guy to come off the bench who knows what to do, has a job, knows how to defend, knows how not to foul 30 feet away from the basket when the Celtics have already put a team in the bonus.”
Washburn later expanded on that part about holding onto players, saying Ainge has overvalued draft picks who aren’t contributing much and been too reluctant to move on from them when there have been chances to upgrade the roster, comparing it to a Bill Belichick-like stubbornness to admit mistakes.
“Danny and the organization have refused to admit they’ve made mistakes in the draft, and you just have to move on from those mistakes,” Washburn said. “You look at the other elite teams around the league, Brooklyn, the Lakers -- they make roster moves. The Lakers just released Quinn Cook. Why? To open up a roster spot. Could Quinn Cook play for the Lakers? Of course. But hey, you’re not doing anything right now, and we need to get better.
“Danny’s afraid to make those moves because he doesn’t want to admit he made a mistake in the draft by taking Carsen Edwards or hanging onto Javonte Green or Tremont Waters. There’s some sort of Patriot-like, ‘We know better than you guys. We’re just going to stick to what we do.’ But the Patriots did that and won six Super Bowls. The Celtics haven’t won a title in 13 years. The ‘we know better than all you other guys’ mentality needs to stop.”
While Washburn didn’t go as far as WEEI’s Ken Laird and say it’s time for Ainge to go, he did say the Celtics’ front office could use some shaking up… although he doesn’t think it’ll actually happen.
“Danny’s had the same guys around him working in the organization for years. Maybe it’s time for some fresh blood in the front office, a new voice, a better talent evaluator in terms of the draft,” Washburn said. “I like Aaron Nesmith, but when you see a guy like Saddiq Bey, who was taken five picks after Nesmith -- he’s hit 14 threes against the Celtics this season. I don’t know that Nesmith has hit 14 threes this season by himself. … They need, I think, some fresh voices in the front office, and who knows if that’s ever going to happen.”