CANTON — Shock. Surprise. Confusion.
Those have been only a few of the phrases utilized by Celtics gamers to explain their reactions to the sudden season-long suspension of head coach Ime Udoka within the wake of a scandal that has rocked the franchise on the eve of a season with enormous expectations. Four days for the reason that determination was made, the emotions have been nonetheless uncooked.
“It’s been hell for us,” Marcus Smart stated Monday at Celtics media day.
And like a lot of the outdoors world, they don’t know a lot in regards to the particulars that led to Udoka’s suspension.
As the Celtics performed an investigation of Udoka this summer season, the whole lot appeared regular to Smart, who stated Udoka visited him and others in Los Angeles. Then, final week the information broke of the coach’s impending suspension. It appeared to blindside most, if not all, of the gamers.
Even Jayson Tatum discovered the way in which most do in 2022.
“On Twitter, just like everybody else,” the Celtics star stated.
“It’s just an unfortunate situation,” Tatum continued. “All things considered, nobody expected this coming into the season. We were all caught off-guard by everything. But we gotta try to move forward and play basketball.”
Soon after the information broke on social media final week, the Celtics held a workforce assembly the place the gamers discovered of Udoka’s destiny. It hit them onerous.
“The initial reaction was literally a state of shock,” Smart stated. “We couldn’t imagine what we have been listening to and particularly on the time we have been listening to it. Three days, 4 days, 5 days, no matter, proper earlier than media day. It’s simply hitting us from all angles, and we’re making an attempt to determine it out, similar to everybody else. …
“It’s frustrating from all ends not knowing, not understanding because you don’t know, so you just try to focus on the things you can control and the things you know.”
Smart was amongst a number of gamers who stated they wished they knew extra particulars, however understood why they don’t know extra but.
“We don’t know what the organization knows, so it’s kind of hard to say that,” stated Smart, who added that he thinks the group has dealt with the scenario the correct approach regardless that they’ve gotten little readability. “We don’t know what they know, so we don’t know what they’re supposed to inform us, or what we’re purported to know, and I believe that’s the place that is at, and why it’s what it’s, as a result of actually nobody is aware of something proper now. We’re nonetheless ready similar to everyone else.
“So as a player, you’d like to know, but that’s none of our business and it’s their lives, the people that are involved, it’s between them and we should respect that privacy.”
No participant stated on Monday that they’ve had any communication with Udoka for the reason that information broke final week.
Smart tried to mood the emotions of dropping Udoka, a coach he and his teammates drastically revered after he led them to an NBA Finals berth.
“Nobody died,” Smart stated. “So, I mean, we didn’t lose anything. I still love Ime as a person and as a coach. It’s just something unfortunate that has happened to him. It doesn’t take away from what he did as a coach. It doesn’t take away how he turned this team around, how he led this team to a first Finals appearance in a long time. It’s just unfortunate that this is where we are at. We still love him, but this is where we are at, and that’s all we can go from there.”
Jaylen Brown, understandably, didn’t appear to know what to say in regards to the scenario. He acknowledged that it’s obscure or assist the workforce’s determination when he doesn’t know the small print of what occurred, however because the season begins, there’s not a lot selection however to place it behind them proper now.
“The best we can say is to move on,” Brown stated. “Initial reaction … I was a little confused. No one really has any of the information so it’s difficult to make a comment on how things were supposed to go and how the process went or anything. The best thing we can do is put our best foot forward.”
Moving ahead could also be simpler stated than executed. A 34-year-old first-time head coach who the Celtics belief in Joe Mazzulla will lead them into unprecedented territory. And although the C’s return a robust group that got here two wins wanting a championship three months in the past, this unexpected hurdle might be a serious problem to beat. There’s no blueprint for one thing like this.
“It definitely puts your leadership to the test,” Brown stated. “Not just mine, but all of ours. We’ll see. Obviously things haven’t gone the way we expected, but that’s life.”
As coaching camp begins Tuesday with their first workforce apply with out Udoka, the C’s will do their finest to maneuver ahead. They nonetheless have the expertise to compete for an additional championship and now the expertise to know how one can get again there. And as onerous as it could be, they know they will’t let this case distract them from their final purpose.
“I think my biggest thing is always looking at perspective and understanding what we have in front of us,” veteran Al Horford stated. “We have a situation that we can’t dwell on anything like that. We have all these expectations, we have this new season coming about. … We spend the whole summer and all I can think about is I can’t wait to get to this point. Really tomorrow. First practice, get after it, start working on it and start building this back up.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com