Since the start of the NBA's 2021-2022 season, there have been many teams that have performed well beyond people's imagination, and many teams have not performed as expected. Speaking of teams that performed averagely, the two traditional giants Celtics and Lakers who once used the classic yellow-and-green rivalry to leave fans with wonderful memories seem to be listed. After winning the championship in the 19-20 season, the Lakers finally tied the Celtics in the number of championships in team history. The two teams have been in slightly different situations in recent years, with the Purple and Gold still maintaining a title-contending group at the forefront of the league after James joined the Lakers, while the Celtics are more struggling for playoff qualification after the rise of new stars Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Since the start of the season, the Celtics have obviously faced more trouble than the Los Angeles Lakers, whose form has picked up. The two-win, five-lose Green Army has yet to find the key to open the door to victory, and there seems to be some rifts within them.
In a post-match interview with the last game, Celtics guard Marcus Smart's remarks caused a lot of controversy. The player, who has been with the Celtics for eight years, is clearly unhappy with the two young cores in the team, saying publicly in an interview that Tatum and Jaylen Brown did not pass enough in the game and shot too many difficult shots. Smart also claimed to be a very good passer in interviews, but he did very little when he was in the bottom corner. Perhaps Smart's intention was to let Tatum and Jaylen Brown handle the ball more calmly when the opponents were particularly targeting the two, but he publicly accused his teammates of behaving in an interview or was ungraceful. Retired former Celtic center Perkins criticized Smart's behavior on his talk show, arguing that Smart's behavior would only create a larger area of locker room chaos.
The Celtics, known for their stability, caused the biggest management earthquake of the season in the NBA this summer, and Ainge, the meritorious manager who has worked on the team for decades, left the team, and Stevens, who was originally the head coach, unexpectedly became the new general manager of the Celtics. Stevens hired Uduka, who had no NBA coaching experience, as the team's head coach, and then harvested Richardson in the free market, traded Horford and signed German guard Schroeder, who was abandoned by the Lakers, with a lower salary. The succession of strong players in the free market coupled with the good quality of the draft has made Celtic fans very much looking forward to the performance of the Greenshirts this season. But the premature arrival of injuries apparently disrupted rookie coach Uduka's plans, and the Celtics were completely lost in the early part of the season.
The Celtics actually have the most abundant draft resources in the NBA in recent seasons, and Angie has gained draft picks from various teams in the league at one point. However, it is clear that management instability has affected the real value of these assets. With the exception of Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who were selected in the early draft, the Celtics did not pick another player with All-Star potential in the draft with numerous draft picks, or package deals to get quality assets. Compared with the old rival Lakers, the Celtics obviously have a long way to go to revive, and Smart, as the big brother of the locker room, publicly accused his teammates in a post-game interview that they are obviously extending the Celtics' revival indefinitely. Do fans and friends think the Celtics still have a chance to make the playoffs this season? Welcome to discuss and communicate in the comments section!