What Brad Stevens' blunt comments say about state of Celtics

Even though the Mavericks have been without Luka Doncic since the 10:30 mark in the first quarter of their game against the Heat on Saturday, they've still played very well. They almost beat Miami. They knocked off the Bucks. Then Dallas only lost to the Celtics by six on Wednesday.

The absence of Gordon Hayward (foot), Marcus Smart (eye infection) and Robert Williams (left hip bone edema) certainly didn't help Boston's cause — specifically, the latter two on the defensive end. Because even though Dallas didn't light up the scoreboard in Boston's 109-103 win, Brad Stevens, flat out, was not happy with his team's defensive execution. (For a complete recap of the Celtics' win, click here.)

"I thought we were awful defensively," Stevens said to reporters. "They missed a lot of open shots. We played it well enough to win, but not as good as we need to, to be a really good team. And then we had moments late where we strung together some stops, but we have to be much more committed to being on that end of the floor."

Doesn't get much more straightforward than that.

Tatum to the BASKET! -- pic.twitter.com/hTGUjp0w6t

In addition to leaving shooters open, Stevens also expressed Boston's transition defense was a problem, as well as their communication. Essentially everything. The lack of bodies didn't help, and the fact one of them was Smart definitely played a role.

Either way, it was made abundantly clear the Celtics could've been much better defensively.

But Stevens' frankness on the matter didn't solely highlight the flaws in Boston's win. He illustrated something else about this team.

This group can handle Stevens being upset. They aren't going to crumble because the boss disapproved of a few things.

There have been plenty of times where the Celtics head coach got his message across to the media without seeming exasperated — there's no way this is the first time he's ever been this frustrated with the team. He could've done that again on Wednesday while still making his point behind closed doors. Stevens — who's always very calculated with everything he does — chose to air it out a little bit on Wednesday.

Get. The. Ball. To. Kemba. Walker. pic.twitter.com/uBvomQ2U91

The Celtics still need to clean things up. This doesn't absolve them of their faults. But, it does display Stevens is comfortable being himself with this group, and he recognizes this approach won't have a negative impact on the locker room.

"A lot of it was me," Jaylen Brown said of Boston's defensive issues. "I need to be a little bit more sound, especially with Smart out. When Smart is not here I'm the defensive captain, so I have to come out and make sure that I'm a little bit more sound. I made some good plays and we executed some good stops, but I think we can get a little bit better starting with my energy and starting with me."

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