As the Celtics embark on what is a meaningful road trip that covers five cities, two time zones, and two countries, they are a team gaining cohesion and confidence, evidenced by the marked improvement of their starting lineup and the increased comfort of their reserves.
It seems coach Brad Stevens is beginning to settle on a rotation — and perhaps injuries have helped pare down his options — but it’s a progression. Jared Sullinger has cemented himself as the starting power forward. David Lee is coming off the bench for a spark and is allowed to do what he likes, which is attack the basket with no hesitation.
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Jonas Jerebko has gained minutes with his energy and Stevens has been astute enough to allow him to play through his mistakes. And the perplexing Kelly Olynyk, for the first time this season Friday, shot the ball as if he actually believed it would swish through.
The Celtics’ 111-78 win Friday was a glaring contrast in chemistry between the Celtics and Wizards. Washington, which had dropped its previous two games — one of which featured a 6-point fourth quarter at Charlotte — looked completely uninterested and disengaged from the opening tip. The Wizards looked as if they were participating in a summer league practice.
They were passionless, hardly motivated enough to snap their losing streak. Considered one of the more disappointing teams in the season’s first month, the Wizards looked as if they had completely tuned out coach Randy Wittman, who said before the game that his players didn’t need to be reminded of the 20-point loss at Boston on Nov. 6 .
They didn’t. They exceeded that ineptitude.
The situation in Washington should encourage Celtics faithful to cherish Stevens, who appears to have the locker room under his guidance. Even when the Celtics don’t play well, they play hard, and that has been the case since Stevens inherited the patchwork roster from the post-Garnett-Pierce team in 2013. And when he senses they aren’t playing with the passion that is required to be successful, he expresses his anger in a way that pierces his players.
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If Stevens was a perpetual screamer, his words wouldn’t have the same effect. But when he does scream, the players react. Maybe all of the players don’t love old coach, but the players all appear to have enough respect for him to realize he is invested in their personal success.
So even when players may gripe about playing time or roles, it seems they understand that rebelling would disrupt the team concept. And one of the caveats of building a team without a legitimate superstar or prima donna is that the players realize they won’t be successful without being a cohesive group. Isaiah Thomas, criticized in his previous stops for being too ball dominant, has learned (sometimes the hard way) that the Celtics won’t win unless he has an even balance between shooting and distributing.
Thomas seems to better comprehend the benefits of being a versatile floor leader on an ascending team, as opposing to a pure scorer on a losing one.
“It’s tough, but winning teams do it though,” Thomas said of sacrificing personal numbers to blend into roles. “They might be mad at the end of the day but they are going to do whatever it takes for their team to be successful and that’s what winning teams do, that’s what the mature teams do.
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“We know at the end of the season there’s a bigger goal than individual success. We have a lot of great guys in this locker room where they understand that.”
All the players don’t have to like Stevens, but they do need to play hard for him. It’s pretty easy to detect during NBA games when the players have quit on the coach. The Rockets lost by 16 at home to the Celtics on Nov. 16 and Hall of Famer Kevin McHale was fired two days later.
A few years ago, a slumping Portland team came into TD Garden during Nate McMillan’s last days in March 2012 and trailed, 65-30, at halftime, and McMillan was fired less than a week later.
Washington trailed by as many as 38 points and it could have been worse Friday if the Celtics had scored in the final three minutes.
This isn’t to say Wittman will be fired or is even on the hot seat. But for Celtics fans, it’s a snapshot of what can occur when the team and coach are disconnected and disjointed, when players don’t appear to enjoy playing together while others disengage in frustration.
Wittman said before the game that he wanted his young leaders to assume control of the team’s fate. He said he wanted to be the one to tell them to harness their enthusiasm for correcting the team’s ills. But what happens when those leaders don’t emerge, when players such as John Wall and Marcin Gortat appear resigned to their current declining state?
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What does a coach do when the voices of reason run out of reasons? We’ll see what happens in Washington, but the Wizards situation should serve as a prime example of when all players don’t appear to buy in.
In Boston, Stevens has appeared to engage his players, despite their differing opinions concerning their roles. And when they perform as they did Friday, it makes digesting the team concept easier because success is the result.
Gary Washburn can be reached at gwashburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.