Following the Boston Celtics 107-96 win over the Washington Wizards on Friday night, Celtics veteran power forward Marcus Morris got in second-year forward Jayson Tatum’s ear about how Boston has to approach the end of the season.
Referencing the “flip the switch” phrase that’s become commonplace over the last few seasons to describe teams with the ability to perform better on the court than they’ve shown prior to the postseason, Morris would tell Tatum that the Celtics “can’t hit that switch when [they] get to the playoffs. [They] need to hit that switch now and have some camaraderie and have some consistency going into the playoffs.”
In Boston’s win over Washington, their defensive intensity and hustle was worlds away better than they had shown over their last six games. It seemed to start with their loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the previous game, one in which they held talented offensive team to under 100 points and seemed to display more togetherness — or as Morris would say, camaraderie — throughout the game.
Frankly, Friday night’s contest wasn’t the best of nights for Morris or Tatum on offense, who combined to shoot 3-16 from behind-the-arc. However, they would crash the boards, make plays for their teammates and dig in defensively — impacting the game in other ways — even when their shot wasn’t falling.
That’s the type of attitude that the team has to adapt as a whole.
Gritty. Take no prisoners.
“Imposing.”
That’s what led to Friday night’s win and will lead to their ability to make a run to the NBA Finals. They have the talent and the coaching, all they need now is the attitude and swagger to match their elite corps of personnel.
