Despite the at-large success of the Boston Celtics more than halfway through the season, a four-game skid was enough reason to iron out the issues causing the slump.

According to the team's franchise player; Kyrie Irving, the recent “team meeting” called prior to a 113-102 win over the L.A. Clippers was a time to re-calibrate after hitting a bump on the road.

“I'm trying to think of the right things to say before it gets misconstrued, because it happens all the time,” Irving told reporters, according to Tomer Azarly of ClutchPoints. “We could call every time we meet a ‘team meeting.' Throughout your professional career, there are going to be times when you are tested. For us, it was things that we can control and everyone being great at their role and us collectively coming together even better as a group. When you're hitting a lull of losing games, you can continue to go your own direction and try to figure it out.”

Many had their reservations about Irving being traded to Boston, not knowing whether he would walk after his contract is up at the end of two seasons. But his intellectual synergy with head coach Brad Stevens has been spot-on throughout the season, as there is mutual admiration between player and coach.

“For us, we have great leadership at the top in Brad,” said Irving. “He echoes a message to us leaders on the team and we try to go out and try to maximize the opportunity of getting better every single day and I thought we did a great job just putting everything on the table and being professional and going out there and executing.”

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
celtics heat prediction

Nathanial Duffett ·

Mavericks' Luka Doncic and Mavericks' Kyrie Irving both inside of the American Airlines Center with their eyes popping out looking to the left.

Joey Mistretta ·

Heat fans accuse Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla of calling a Code Red against heat

Steve Silverman ·

Even after hitting a bump on the road, the Celtics are still atop the Eastern Conference and boast the third-best record in the league at 35-14, a game-and-a-half clear of the second-place Toronto Raptors and a massive six-and-a-half game advantage over the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers.