The day before, Boston had just lost Game 3 of the conference final against Miami and the Celtics therefore found themselves trailing 3-0 in the series. Joe Mazzulla was the target of all criticism, as was the Tatum-Brown duo, in a group on the verge of implosion. For their coach, there was a general disconnect in Boston.
So during the Tuesday morning video session, assistant Matt Reynolds asked to speak.
According to The Athletichis speech was very short, between 35 and 45 seconds, but the message was clear: ‘Don’t ruin the season because we’re having a bad week’sums up Derrick White.
For point guard/back, Matt Reynolds summed it up perfectly. Joe Mazzulla agrees, and he also echoed the words of his assistant after the victory in Game 5, which brings the Celtics to 3-2.
“One of our assistants put things into perspective. The seasons last nine months and we just had a bad week. explained the coach. “Sometimes we have a bad week at work. We obviously didn’t pick the best time for it to happen, but that’s the way it is. So we’re sticking together and fighting like hell to stay alive, and the guys are really coming together. »
Matt Reynolds’ message was all the stronger because he is not one to make such speeches. Arrived in the club’s video team in 2015, he then rose through the ranks to become an assistant under Brad Stevens. He was one of the few to stay after the coach had gone to the offices.
“The guys weren’t feeling well. They were a bit downcast. We were losing. It’s never fun to lose. It’s never fun to lose like we used to, to be about to get swept away.”
It is that with his humor and his work ethic, he has earned the trust and respect of all the Celtics.
“Everyone loves and respects him. We see the work he does. We really like Matt”explains Derrick White. “He does everything it takes to allow us to go out on the pitch and be competitive”confirms Marcus Smart. “He gives us the videos, he did video sessions, he does the scouting reports. He gives us indications, he watches the sequences with us, he reviews the systems that we could see, the systems that we will see, the systems that we should be ready for. And all the little things a team needs to win.”
For Marcus Smart, this little speech was important to make players realize that they couldn’t just let go of the streak and the season. To put their difficulties into perspective.
“I’ve been here for nine years and I’ve never heard him speak with so much passion”assures the leader squarely. “But we’ve all grown up. We all grew up together. And we all find ways to help this team win. It’s a way he found to help us. We needed it. Really need. The guys weren’t feeling well. They were a bit downcast. We were losing. It’s never fun to lose. It’s never fun to lose like we used to, to be about to get swept away. »
And sometimes, the spark arises from a place which one did not suspect.
“When you have a guy like him who doesn’t say a lot, but says it with a lot of conviction and passion, that pulls you in” concludes Marcus Smart. “We are happy to have Matt with us. And we’re happy that he was able to say, ‘You know what, I have to say something. Because it really gave us energy. Afterwards, we were simply enthusiastic. We were delighted to be together. We were thrilled to have a new opportunity to play basketball. We worked like madmen all year and we let the opportunity pass. We had a bad week. And that’s exactly what he said. We’ve had a bad week, guys. It can’t be worse. Keep playing and things will sort themselves out. Keep playing the right game and trusting yourself. It was his speech. And everyone was in that spirit. We all felt what he said. We took it to heart. »
Will the effect continue until Game 6 of the series? Response next night, still at 2:30 a.m.…
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Jayson Tatum | 74 | 36.9 | 46.6 | 35.0 | 85.4 | 1.1 | 7.7 | 8.8 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 30.1 |
| Jaylen Brown | 67 | 35.9 | 49.1 | 33.5 | 76.5 | 1.2 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 3.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 26.6 |
| Malcolm Brogdon | 67 | 26.0 | 48.4 | 44.4 | 87.0 | 0.6 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 14.9 |
| Derrick White | 82 | 28.3 | 46.2 | 38.1 | 87.5 | 0.6 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.2 | 12.4 |
| Marcus Smart | 61 | 32.1 | 41.5 | 33.6 | 74.6 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 11.5 |
| Al Horford | 63 | 30.5 | 47.6 | 44.6 | 71.4 | 1.2 | 5.0 | 6.2 | 3.0 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 9.8 |
| Grant Williams | 79 | 25.9 | 45.4 | 39.5 | 77.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 4.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 8.1 |
| Robert Williams | 35 | 23.5 | 74.7 | 0.0 | 61.0 | 3.0 | 5.4 | 8.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 8.0 |
| Sam Hauser | 80 | 16.1 | 45.5 | 41.8 | 70.6 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 6.4 |
| Mike Muscala | 20 | 16.2 | 47.2 | 38.5 | 69.2 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 5.9 |
| Payton Pritchard | 48 | 13.4 | 41.2 | 36.4 | 75.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 5.6 |
| Blake Griffin | 41 | 13.9 | 48.5 | 34.8 | 65.6 | 1.1 | 2.6 | 3.8 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 4.1 |
| Luke Kornet | 69 | 11.7 | 66.5 | 23.1 | 82.1 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 3.8 |
| Justin Champagnie | 2 | 11.7 | 16.7 | 20.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Jd Davison | 12 | 5.5 | 42.1 | 28.6 | 50.0 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 |
| Mfiondu Kabengele | 4 | 9.1 | 28.6 | 0.0 | 100.0 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 1.5 |
| noah vonleh | 23 | 7.4 | 45.8 | 25.0 | 100.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 1.1 |
| justin jackson | 23 | 4.7 | 25.9 | 25.0 | 50.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.9 |
