Juxtaposing the Celtics against Deflategate and the Red Sox
Apr 14, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jae Crowder (99) reacts after making the game winning basket in the last seconds of play against the Toronto Raptors in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated the Toronto Raptors 95-93. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
David Ortiz refuses to play first base and Tom Brady (allegedly) destroys his cell phone in a half-baked attempt to cover his tracks. The Red Sox are primed to finish last in the American League East, while the Patriots’ best player is headed to court over a bag of deflated footballs. All is not well in the world of Boston sports.
This summer’s rhetoric emanating out of Boston and the national media alike, has predominantly been fixated on the denouncement of Boston athletes. According to almost every media outlet, Boston’s lousy with prima donna athletes – who are either habitual cheaters, or headcases who value themselves ahead of their city.
It has been the summer of disappointment and controversy for Boston athletics (Boston 2024, anybody?).
Broadly speaking, controversies affect teams’ performances negatively, due to the distraction they create. When players should be concentrated on upcoming games but are instead distracted, their teams usually suffer. While the Patriots recent Super Bowl victory – won following the advent of the deflategate saga – contradicts this theory, there’s a reason teams employ publicists, and it’s to curtail negative press stemming from such controversies.
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However, the best way for a team to avoid any extraneous turmoil is to simply avoid trouble. The Celtics have done just this, and have really kept things at an even keel since Danny Ainge’s arrival in Boston as the Celtics General Manager.
Since Ainge’s tenure began, we’ve seen a common trend in the types of athletes he targets. He seems to prefer athletes who play with a chip on their shoulder. These types, much like Ainge himself when he was a Celtic, play extremely aggressively. While their passion may lead to technical fouls – and even the occasional ejection – they, are by no means, prima donnas. The difference between a headcase and a scrapper, is that the scrapper, while often mercurial, always puts his team ahead of himself. The scrapper will dive for loose balls and always look to make the right play – even if it limits their statistical impact. The headcase meanwhile, always looks out for himself and bolts as soon as things begin to go awry.
Recent acquisitions who fit this “scrapper” mold include: Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Amir Johnson and most notably, Jae Crowder.
Yesterday, Crowder told Mark D’Amico and Amanda Pflugrad of Celtics.com, that his decision to return to Boston was a no-brainer because of the city’s support for the Celtics.
In his own words, what cemented Crowder’s decision to return to Boston was “how the city was behind the team, even when things weren’t going good. That’s what you want to be a part of. You don’t want to be part of a city, or a team, or an organization that’s all behind you when everything’s going great [and not when things aren’t going great]”.
Do these sound like the words of a prima donna?
The amount of heart Crowder plays with is, while un-quantifiable, is what earned him $35 million over the next five years. He’ll guard any position on the floor if it makes his team play better. We’ve seen him cover two’s and we’ve seen him cover centers: notably Al Jefferson, who was shut down when Crowder covered him.
He’ll play the entire game if he needs to, and he’ll play five minutes if he’s told to. The best part of all this, is that Crowder’s no different than many of his teammates in this regard.
Have you ever seen Marcus Smart take a play off? If you were to tell Smart to full-court press for the entire game, he’d do it without a second’s hesitation. He’d also play off-the-ball if it means his team has a better shot at winning. In some of Stevens’ small ball lineups, we even saw Smart playing small forward. No problem.
By offering his services in such drastically different scenarios, he’s leading by example. Inevitably, his teammates, especially his younger ones, will emulate Smart’s behavior and adopt his persona.
He gladly assumed the mentor role this summer for the Celtics rookies and summer league invites. The amount patience and camaraderie Smart displayed with his teammates this summer – even if they weren’t NBA material, was extremely rewarding to watch.
Another recent team-first player the C’s recently acquired, was David Lee. As I’m sure you heard during ABC’s Finals broadcasts, Lee – a former All-Star who had grown accustomed to starting – raised zero stink when he was asked to come off-the-bench last season. He chose to remain on the Warriors and help them win a championship, instead of demanding a trade to a team that’d play him more.
Additionally, throughout free agency, Isaiah Thomas took to social media to recruit various free agents in the hopes that it’d entice them to join the Celtics. Thomas’ pleas to other free agents made him seem more like a fanboy recruiting his favorite player, than the star that he is.
Regardless, it’s refreshing to see Thomas embrace the city of Boston to such an extent, that he’d debase himself over social media, in order to help the Celtics and their fans.
All in all, Ainge has built a team that – while devoid of a star – is also, thankfully, devoid of a headcase. The only press you’ll hear out of the Celtics in the coming months will be positive and likely, basketball related – all of which will be properly inflated.