Player Reaction To Nikola Vučević Trade Explains Why Celtics Exceed All Expectations

You don’t have to look around the league very hard to find teams where guys are upset about something and it affects their performance on the floor.

Just look at the Minnesota Timberwolves and Julius Randle. Earlier this month, the Wolves were the third seed at 40-23, but they’ve since gone 2-4. They're still 1.5 games out of third, but now they're also three games away from seventh and the play-in tournament. Last night, Randle saved the Wolves, who Boston faces on Sunday night, against a tired and shorthanded Phoenix Suns.

It was Randle’s second-straight 32-point game (coming without Anthony Edwards), but it came after a 17-game stretch where he scored 20 points or more only three times. The chatter around the league is that he bristled after hearing his name included in trade rumors for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and it affected his play. The Timberwolves have suffered, and now they have to find themselves again to make a deep playoff run.

This stuff happens all the time, but somehow, we never really hear about it in Boston anymore.

The Celtics locker room has been one of the best in the league for a long time now. Ever since the Kyrie Irving situation went south, the Celtics have made sure to focus on the quality of the person as well as the quality of the player in constructing their teams.

That's highlighted in a story told by Luka Garza as the team unveiled a newly renovated basketball gymnasium at Match Community Day in Hyde Park.

“When the [Nikola Vučević] trade happened, obviously it was an amazing thing for our team, and he's a great player, but obviously guys knew on the team that would probably impact my minutes a little bit,” Garza said. “I was just kind of really surprised at some of the guys coming up to me and really just kind of giving me motivating thoughts and being like, ‘hey, stay ready, we're going to need you, you’ve done so many good things for us.’ Just as people, as players, that's the kind of guys that are in that locker room.”

Garza did stay ready, and he has made an impact, though no one could have anticipated Vučević would break his finger and miss a month. But even before Vučević got hurt, Garza was starting to creep his way back into the lineup. His ability to grab offensive rebounds, screen, and space the floor has been important all year, and it remains so now. It gives Joe Mazzulla a proven option if the Celtics are cold or Vučević is struggling to fit in.

It’s a testament to Garza’s mindset, which he has honed over the years, fighting for time on those same Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, self-motivation can only go so far.

“That really meant a lot,” Garza said of his teammates’ motivational comments. “I'm always going to be the guy with a very positive mindset. But when you hear things like that, it helps you a lot.”

An attitude like this starts at the top, with Brad Stevens building a team with those kinds of personalities. He hasn’t added anyone who would be considered disruptive, and anyone who doesn’t quite fit gets moved quickly.

From there, Mazzulla sets the tone for the team by showing genuine interest for his players.

“Joe's is one of the best people I've ever been around,” Jayson Tatum said of his coach earlier this season. “One of the best, genuine, fierce, like, he's an ultimate competitor, right? He wants to win at all costs, one of the toughest guys I ever met. But more than that, he cares about every single person in that locker room, on the staff, in that organization.”

One of Mazzulla’s defining principles is treating everyone in the building with respect, and making sure they're on the same page. He’s talked at length about how many different people players see, from kitchen staff to trainers, before they get to the floor with the coaches. It’s important to him that everyone the players see from the moment they walk in the door, is carrying the same vibe.

That is very much carried into the locker room, where Tatum and Jaylen Brown set a strong example. Even if some guys aren’t hanging out with other guys, differences in personalities don't morph into different levels of respect. They can have a movie night on the road, which they did in OKC, and everyone will go and just have fun like a regular basketball team full of human beings, and not some collection of ego-driven, me-first individuals.

“I think it's honestly unique just how close we are off the court,” Garza said. “Just everyone wanting to know about each other's personal lives and checking in and all those kinds of things.”

Mutual respect for each other, and genuine caring about the person in the next locker. If you’re looking for a reason why the Celtics seem to be exceeding every expectation, this is the foundation of it all.