Bill Simmons warns of Celtics’ lack of camaraderie

Although it certainly cares about a full eviscerationThe Ringer’s Bill Simmons used a recent podcast for ask a question that many fans in New England were wondering: “What’s Happening to the Celtics?” The The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA championsbut they have already lost 14 games this season, a month and a half earlier than they suffered their 14th loss last year.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like there is a lot different from last year to this year. Much of the Celtics core remains the same, and so does theirs superstar tandem — Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown — has been just as productive this season as last, even though their shooting percentage has been are down. Their supporting cast remains solid, led by a trio of interchangeable guards and versatile bigs.

So what is it that causes the Celts to be made they look different this year? I’ll leave it to the body language doctor to break it down.

“The camaraderie/relationship with the guys doesn’t seem the same right now,” Simmons noted. “It could just be like ‘oh, they’re an older couple, they’ve done this, they’ve been together, they don’t have to do that.’ But there’s a lot of games where there’s only five guys on the field that just don’t seem connected in any way.”

Simmons went on to note that the team’s personality seems to have changed from last year, and anyone who has read or listened to Sports Guy often knows that it may be the “More Disease” that is plaguing the Celtics. In his 2009 bestseller, “The Book of Basketball,” Simmons discussed the Pat Riley-inspired concept, which focuses on championship-caliber teams falling apart because of a desire for “more minutes, more money and more shots.”

“Year after year, at least one candidate failed for reasons that had little or nothing to do with basketball,” Simmons noted. “And year after year, the championship team won because they got along and everyone committed to their roles.”

Is this happening to the 2024-25 Celtics? Only time will tell, but if anyone is qualified to identify it before it comes to fruition, it’s Bill Simmons.