Smart reveals Celtics’ mindset exiting NBA All-Star break originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Celtics finally resume their regular season schedule Thursday night with a matchup against the Brooklyn Nets on the road.
The Celtics entered the All-Star break with nine wins in their last 10 games, including a 3-1 record after acquiring veteran guard Derrick White at the trade deadline.
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What is the team’s mindset coming out of the All-Star break?
“Locked in,” Celtics guard Marcus Smart said Thursday. “We don’t have the luxury to take a deep breath right now. We know it’s not going to be perfect. We understand that’s reality. Things won’t always go your way, but as long as you go out and give everything you got, nine times out of 10 it should work in your favor.
“We just got to continue to do our job and come out with wins. As long as we stick together and keep the same mindset that we had for the last 10 games — except for the Detroit game — we’ll be OK.”
The Celtics have a great chance to build on their recent momentum and open their post-All Star schedule with a win because the Nets will be without most of their good players Thursday night, including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons. Boston beat the Nets in Brooklyn by 35 points earlier this month when Durant, Irving and James Harden all didn’t play.
The Celtics enter Thursday in sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings, but they are only two games out of third place. The C’s are well-positioned to avoid the play-in tournament and potentially earn homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
