The Boston Celtics are clearly a team in transition. Once a team dominated by their Big Three, the Celtics are now a mix of veterans and youngsters with point guard Rajon Rondo being the focal point.
The results so far haven't been so pretty. The Celtics currently stand at 20-21, with losses to the lowly Detroit Pistons and Cleveland Cavaliers the last two games. These are not the kind of results Celtics fans have been accustomed to for the past few years.
Veteran forward Paul Pierce has spoken out about the team's current four-game skid, telling Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe that the Celtics are lacking the mental toughness of team's past.
“I think we got pieces here,” Pierce said. “We just got to come together. We got to figure this thing out. Can’t get discouraged. I think that’s the one thing this team lacks, that mental toughness, man. When we lose our confidence, I’ve never been on teams like that. We got to stay together, we got to play with confidence.
“Yeah, definitely, it hurts me to say that. It’s like I really sometimes don’t believe it. We get down on ourselves. We got to go out there and believe we can win every game. It’s tough sometimes.”
Now Pierce has been on some bad Celtics teams prior to the arrival of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in 2007, and this one isn't quite as bad, but it's probably wearing thin on Pierce's patience.
There's still another half of basketball to play and it'll be interesting to see if general manager Danny Ainge will make a deal to keep the team competitive, let things play out or blow it up altogether.
