Celtics' culture on display in Summer League loss: 'Stronger than being tired'

Las Vegas -- The Sin City Celtics took the floor on Monday for the third time in four days. It was also the second half of a back-to-back for Boston. The fatigue from that was apparent immediately. There were only five lead changes in their 102-90 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. They trailed by as much as 29 in their first defeat at Summer League. Simply put, they didn't have it.

Their opponent did. Kobe Johnson poured in 30 points; second-round pick and former North Carolina standout center Henri Veesaar contributed 20. The Hawks shot 50 percent from the field and made over 38 percent of the 34 threes they hoisted.

Conversely, the C's shot a frigid 41.3 percent from the field. They made just 11 of 36 attempts from behind the arc, giving them a conversion rate of 30.6 percent on those tries.

However, to their credit, even while committing 18 turnovers, often seeing shots fall off the mark, and struggling to slow down Atlanta's attack, Boston's competitive character was never in question.

"It's awesome," stated the Celtics' Summer League head coach Amile Jefferson, while discussing the fight his team showed in the face of fatigue-induced adversity. "We really get proud of those guys when they don't stop. Sometimes things don't go your way. Sometimes you can't make a shot. And at the end of the day, can you lean in, like I said, on your habits and on the effort and on competitive spirit? And even when it's not going well, can you find ways to make a play? Is that a deflection or a steal? Is it an offensive rebound?

"I tell all our guys every day, everyone can offensive rebound. Everyone can sprint the floor. Everyone can play defense. So, just trying to keep the guys in the right mindset no matter what the score is."

Amile Jefferson tasks gassed Celtics with building stronger habits

For Boston's bench boss, after consecutive wins, his squad wasn't just fighting through exhaustion. It was a group that was playing without burgeoning wing Hugo Gonzalez. Second-year center Amari Williams wasn't out there either.

A challenge like that will sometimes tell someone even more about themself than success. From firing his team up before the third quarter began to his outpouring of energy and coaching through the final whistle, Jefferson embraced this opportunity for growth.

"For me, it was just finding ways to keep coaching these guys and keep motivating them; trying to make our habits stronger than being tired, stronger than being comfortable, stronger than playing a back-to-back. How can we find our habits [and] regain the poise to fight?" said Jefferson while sharing what this experience was like for the young coach who's rising through the ranks.

"As a coach, I think you're always just trying to help the guys, no matter what point of the game it is, and no matter what the score is," he voiced post-game from the bowels of the Cox Pavilion. "I always tell those guys: Instant response, immediate, good or bad. So, how can we move on to the next action, next play, and try to keep getting better?"

Jefferson's attitude, effort, and mindset let his team know he was in the trenches with them. Both sides are fighting for their dream. And the former Duke Blue Devil, who was once in their shoes at Summer League, has first-hand knowledge of what this experience in Las Vegas is like for them.

He wasn't about to shortchange a group fighting for their careers or cheat himself. There's no room for that type of attitude or half-hearted performance.

Not only would that fly in the face of the Celtics' culture, but teams only play a handful of games in Sin City; this opportunity at the helm is fleeting. For Jefferson to maximize his invaluable crack at these head-coaching reps, giving up on a hand because he didn't like the cards he got dealt isn't an option.

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