Marcus Smart and the Boston Celtics' struggles have been evident in the first half of the 2020-21 NBA campaign. Initially viewed as strong contenders in the loaded Eastern Conference, the Cs underwhelmed early on and currently stand towards the bottom of the playoff picture.
Their 107-96 loss to the Sacramento Kings proved to be the final straw, as Smart and company turned to a team meeting to sort things through. While players usually keep to themselves on what goes on behind the closed doors of the locker room, Smart gave a glimpse of the atmosphere of that emotional meeting (via Taylor Snow of Celtics.com).
“We just kind of sat in the locker room and we just really self-reflected on each other,” Smart shared. “We asked each other, ‘How we want to end the season? How do we want to be remembered for this season?' Everybody agreed, this was a bad feeling and an ugly feeling, and we don't want to feel like this.”
The Celtics responded positively after that talk, snapping their three-game skid with a 112-96 win over the Orlando Magic and improving their record to 21-21 (7th in the East). While Smart admits his team is still not where it needs to be right now, the Celtics have not thrown in the towel just yet.
“The margin for us (turning the season around) is closing, but we still have time to fix it and that's what we are trying to do,” Smart said. “We all came together, and we all agreed that we want to evolve as a team and continue to learn and make each other better.”
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