Marcus Morris provided some insight into the Celtics‘ locker room situation after Saturday’s loss to the Clippers, relays Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Morris’ comments came at the end of a miserable night for the team, which squandered a 28-point lead and saw Kyrie Irving leave in the second quarter with a sprained right knee.
With the Celtics reeling from back-to-back losses to both L.A. teams, Morris said the season “just hasn’t been fun for a long time.” Boston, which was projected to be the top team in the East, has underachieved all season long, sporting a 35-21 record and holding the fifth spot in the conference. Players have been asked to adjust to new roles, Irving has publicly called out his younger teammates, speculation has started that he might break his verbal commitment to re-sign with Boston and there have been persistent rumors that the team will break up its core in a few months to chase Anthony Davis.
“For me, it’s not really about [Saturday’s] loss. It’s about the attitudes that we’re playing with,” Morris said. “Guys are hanging their heads. It’s just not fun. It’s not fun. We’re not competing at a high level.
“Even though we’re winning, it’s not fun. I don’t see the joy in the game. I watch all these other teams around the league and guys are up on the bench, they’re jumping on the court, they’re doing all of this other stuff that looks like they’re enjoying their teammates’ success, they’re enjoying everything, and they’re playing together and they’re playing to win. And when I look at us, I just see a bunch of individuals.”
Morris volunteered to give up his starting role if a rotation shakeup might help the team, but Forsberg suggests that’s not the best solution. The Celtics’ starting five has been among the NBA’s best when Irving has been healthy.
As Forsberg notes, there’s no obvious solution to what has gone wrong. Talent isn’t the issue, as prior to the trade deadline, Morris lobbied the front office to keep the current team together. It appeared players were starting to embrace their roles amid a recent winning streak, but the last two losses have raised questions again.
“I’ve never seen a team that’s not having fun, that’s not bonding well on the court, win a championship,” said Morris. “If the goal is to win a championship, that has to change first.”
Good marketing tactic for AD…
The Morris brothers are terminal cancer.
talk to me when you make the all star team. celtics 7-3 in their last 10 games and have a favorable second half schedule.
Isn’t that two blown leads the last two games. One I believe vs the Lakers now vs the clippers.
brutal losses
He isn’t saying the team is bad or doesn’t have a shot, he’s saying this season hasn’t been fun and thats likely because of some internal issues. A team can still be successful while having chemistry/locker room issues, but those issues become exposed when the team starts losing/is hidden when the team starts winning.
Celtics are fine, it’s just the East has gotten a lot better. Toronto, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee added great pieces. Last years team wouldn’t be any better than this one in this league. They still have a great shot at making the finals.
I agree about the East getting better. But they didn’t lose to the East. They lost to the Clippers (who blew up their roster at the deadline) after leading by 28 and the Lakers (who had lost by 41 the game before) after
leading by 18 – and BOTH of those losses were at home. You’ve GOT to think that there’s something to worry about, no?
What worse 4 teams around team did something to improve. While Boston did nothing
what?!
Team chemistry has been way off which is why Ainge should’ve made a deal at the deadline instead of putting all his eggs in one basket for Davis in the offseason.
If Morris isn’t having fun, then Kyrie surely isn’t and if Kyrie leaves then there’s no sense trading the kitchen sink for AD.
I said it all summer, adding Kyrie & Gordon this year would bring more problems than success, as you have a young team working very well, too much talent ain’t good for guys developing, that is why I always thought Boston would be #3 in the east at best… so far right, I hope Boston can find a way to get better, but can’t see it happening this year, without this chemistry is no way they will make the NBA Finals. Now with Philly & if Milwaukee keeps the team I think Boston’s window is fast closing.
I think you’re right in some ways, but “window fast closing”? When did it open? This is a decent young team with a lot of assets.It’s never been a “contender” despite the preseason hype.
I think it might get worse for the Celtics before it gets better because with this coming out now all the max FA’s are going to talk about it at the All-Star break when all the back room deals get done and the C’s environment might start to get a bad reputation in the league.
Stevens treating Gordon Hayward like the Teachers Pet can’t be helping. If Hayward is on any other contender he’s buried deep in the rotation, not playing crunch time minutes watching his man blow past him.
Idk what your talking about dude was a star on the jazz before he came to the Cs.
Hayward isn’t consistently the same player he was, but he’s slowly getting there.
Oh look Kuzma has 23 points in the first quarter and the Celtics blew another 20+ point lead. But Celtics fans swear Kuzma sucks and is not a trade piece but Jaylen Brown will make the Pelicans happy
Yeah, we all swear those two things.
What?
Wasn’t M. Morris the guy the Knicks floated as a possible UFA pick up for this summer? On the microscopic chance they don’t get KD and KI. If he can put aside winning, he can have fun with Fiz’ Kids (everyone plays some, ice cream after every game, etc.).
Double negative alert! I don’t think that’s your opinion re KD+KI.
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I view MM’s comments as being as much about MM than the team, (and from a distance not a good reflection), but still. . . The issue of a split lockerroom that gets attributed to the Lakers, post-AD talk, can just as easily be applied to the Celtics. I don’t want to buy it either way though.
I wonder if both Tatum and Ingram might both wish that Irving & James had stayed in Cleveland. Or is that just me.
Come on Danny, forget about A.D.! Ask Kyrie if he is going to stay, if not, trade him for whatever u can get. I think we play better team ball without him. Keep building OUR OWN TEAM.
He can no longer be traded.
Hasn’t been fun? I mean that tells you how high the expectations were for these guys. 35-21 is underachieving. This isn’t last year and that sucks for some guys who were used to set roles. But they added two dynamic players back to the roster. I don’t know why Morris would think it wouldn’t change. Next year when some players leave, they’ll realize how it was a much better situation than it was in their minds at the time.
What’s different from last year’s team? The one common denominator is, was and will continue to be is Kyrie! The team came together last year without him or getting an Anthony Davis and look what they accomplished. Then the season starts and Kyrie’s the man and we can trade anyone else to get Davis. What a slap in their faces. Shame on Danny. Let Kyrie walk and let Davis and his big head go to the Lakers. He and Irving will self destruct anyway. Kyrie can’t play a whole week without an injury. The biggest injury and problem he has is his swelled head. Ice it down Kyrie, but do it anywhere other than Boston. Marcus is right to speak up. We have great talent without those two self proclaimed superstars. Save the money Wyc, you have guys already here and will thrive if given a chance. Don’t play into LeBron method of becoming a champ. He lets a team and players work and grow and then he joins them to win a championship. What weak ass way to get to the top. Teams that grow together, stay together and win many titles as teammates. Yeah Teammates! Kyrie, Davis, LeBron might not have heard about those teammates, but look back at Celtics history. Every guy wearing Celtic green was a teammate, no players with egos to stroke. I hope Danny smartens up before he blows the fantastic core group he already has, because have worked their asses of to be great together as one! That’s the Celtic way!!!
Uhh, they had a better winning percentage last year with Kyrie then without him.
Yeah they did, but they didn’t have Hayward either and Kyrie didn’t contribute a thing to the second half of the season, let alone the playoffs. My point is the team made it within one win of going to the finals. Kyrie doesn’t give a rats ass about the team or teammates success unless he is part of it. That’s why you didn’t see him on the teams bench for game 7 w/ Cavs last year. If Kyrie isn’t going to benefit or be praised, he could care less. Anthony Davis will be KyrieX10 and will leave Celtics in shambles after they trade all their talent to get him and he walks. Celtics young guys grew up last year and so much was expected of them, but since Kyrie wants everything to revolve around him, their growth has been cast aside in favor of the Kyrie show. The players hate this guy and can’t put up with his, I will teach you all to win attitude. He already thinks of himself as a living legend. Screw Kyrie. I trust the future of Tatum, Brown, Rozier, Smart , Al , Morris anyway over Irving. He needs to show me something before I trust this guy with future of the Celtics. So far, he hasn’t shown me SQUAT.
Love his honesty. The C’s have to little minutes to share to all the deserving players they have on the roster. Everyone knows their pay is going to take a cut if they don’t put up numbers and it’s hard to get in a groove when playing time is so limited on a nightly basis. The C’s should have made a trade to reduce the total number of players on the roster, but improve the talent of those playing… or trade for a yet another pick in the future.
Has anyone considered the possibility that Kyrie is the problem? He was not the ideal teammate in Cleveland. He misses so many games due to injuries, then criticizes teammates for not giving their best effort. Now he is dropping hints that he may not be re-signing. Is it a coincidence that Tatum, Brown, Rozier, and Morris play better when Kyrie is out. Does anyone know the C’s record when Kyrie doesn’t play?
IRVING is a liability. It’s like having a parttime player. He’s a one-way player and I think he could give a rats butt about the team. He needs to go and he will go. He’s a good player but he’s injury prone and it reflects back to his teammates. The bench looks as if someone died.