Getty Ime Udoka, head coach of the Boston Celtics
Midway through the second quarter of the Boston Celtics game against the Orlando Magic, a report regarding a player’s only meeting began to circle Twitter.
Reporting for NBA Countdown on the Celtics holding a players-only meeting in Orlando – and how there remains a lot of work to be done among franchise’s key players.
However, following the Celtics victory, head coach Ime Udoka refuted those claims. “It wasn’t really a player’s only meeting, we had a team dinner scheduled way before anything happened. That was planned for some weeks now, and we gave the players some time before any of the coaching staff came down, so it wasn’t anything scheduled by them,” Udoka said, “It’s what we already had planned, and like I said, we gave them time to enjoy each other before we came down 30 minutes later.”
Adrian Wojnarowski said the player’s meeting was “not a terribly productive meeting, maybe not even beneficial.”
As a first-year head coach, Ime Udoka is already steering the Celtics through an early-season slump, which has only been worsened by Smart’s post-game comments and the team stuttering out to a 3-5 start to the season.
Udoka, an assistant coach for nine years, is well regarded as a communicator who builds solid relationships with his players, and he will need those people skills as he tries to help the Celtics rediscover a winning mentality over the next couple of weeks.
Al Horford: ‘We Had a Gathering’
During his post-game press availability, Al Horford answered questions centered around the player’s meeting.
“We had a gathering, you know, a team dinner, managed to break bread together and hang out. Most importantly, we talked about making sure we come out here and have a good outing tonight. Defensively, I felt like we took some steps there, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow, whatever happens against Miami.”
Horford, who returned to the Celtics during the summer as part of the trade that saw Kemba Walker head to the Oklahoma City Thunder, also advised his teammates to embrace their opportunity together this season.
“I tell the guys to make sure we make the most out of the opportunity. I’m very grateful to be here, playing with the Celtics, and it doesn’t matter what’s happened in the past, we have an opportunity now, this season, and we have all the pieces that we need to be successful. I just tell them to take advantage of this.”
Since returning to the Celtics, Horford has been their most consistent player, providing the team with a reliable floor spacer, better than expected rebounding, and currently leads the league in blocks per game, per NBA Stats.
Jaylen Brown: ‘It’s all About Trying to Win’
Whether the meeting was impromptu or not, Brown was confident it had a positive effect.
“Team meeting, you know, just an opportunity to talk as a group, to get some communication going and move forward. At the end of the day, we’ve been playing basketball together for a long time, especially our core group. When it comes down to it, it’s all about trying to find ways to win, and that’s what most of the conversation was about.”
Brown likened the team to a family when discussing the Celtics’ willingness to hold each other accountable, whether in public or behind closed doors.
“We definitely spend a lot of time with each other, which makes it good to be able to talk to somebody, but also there’s lots of ups and downs you go through as a family and things like that,” Brown said, “I think we have healthy conversations moving forwards, and the energy is just focused on winning.”
Brown missed the playoffs last season due to injury and a portion of preseason and training camp after contracting COVID but has started the season in blisteringly hot form. In seven games thus far, Brown is averaging 26.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists, on shooting splits of 50.7 FG%, 37.7 3P%, and 77.8 FT% per Basketball-Reference.
The Celtics will need the best version of Brown and Tatum on Thursday night, as the team takes on the Miami Heat in the second game of a back-to-back.