Danny Ainge spoke about Jaylen Brown's comments made after the Celtics' 101-99 win over the New York Knicks Wednesday night at TD Garden.
With the team's struggles, they find themselves at .500 once again and the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. Brown met with Tatum just before tip-off following another disappointing loss Tuesday to the Philadelphia 76ers about blocking "outside noise"
"I see two guys that really like each other," Ainge said Thursday on 98.5 Sports Hub's "Toucher and Rich" of Brown and Tatum's relationship. "I think that from what I gathered – I didn't talk to them about this, I just read it – they're just trying to keep the noise out. There's a lot of people out there who would try to get in between everybody on the team, for that matter. It's a healthy thing that they got together to talk through some of that stuff, because most of the time I see most of my players on their phones just reading things."
"...They're talking," Ainge added. "They're not just talking about the specifics of the outside noise that is trying to get in between them. They all probably follow different people on social media and listen to different voices, and maybe there was somebody who was creating a stir that one of them wanted to talk about. But I think it's a healthy conversation."
Ainge was asked about the current Celtics rosters' chemistry compared to that of the 2008 championship team -- famously known for their camaraderie. Ainge said times have changed while defending Boston's locker room.
"I see these guys every day at practice. They get along great. And they have fun, they're laughing, they're hanging out," Ainge said. "I think it's a different era. It's a different time than even 2008. It’s just different, and I've seen it evolve over time. So I don’t know that you’ll see as many teams like that in the future."Ainge added: "It's just different in that … the players are like in getting a massage and the whole time they're really not even talking to our therapist, or they’re getting treated and they're like looking at their phones. It used to just be human interaction — with your therapist, with your trainer, with your teammate. Now, there's just less of that. And that's what I love about basketball, is that you have to interact (on the court). When you get on the court and start playing, yeah, there's a lot of interaction. But it’s not the deep conversations that possibly could be had when you’re on an airplane or on a team bus or out to dinner on the road. I don't think there's as much conversations about life."
When asked if social media and other outside distractions are a factor when it comes to the lack of chemistry in today's NBA, Ainge says he wouldn't go that far.
"I'm not jumping to that conclusion," Ainge said. "I'm just saying how it's different in how they use their time and what they’re focused on. But I still think they're totally together when they're practicing and playing together."
Whether there'll be more conversations in the future or not it remains to bee seen, but the Celtics will have to learn how to block out all noise, as it shouldn't matter how loud it gets.
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