No one thought that the Boston Celtics would be where they are at this point in the season. Boston currently has a .500 record at 14-14 and is in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. They have lost eight of their last 12 games as a COVID pause threw them for a loop.

Jayson Tatum missed five games in addition to the three that Boston had postponed because they didn’t have enough healthy players. Marcus Smart is currently nursing a calf injury and Romeo Langford has yet to suit up this season.

Injuries are certainly a reason for the team’s struggles, but President of Basketball Operations, Danny Ainge, recently took responsibility for the team’s shortcomings. He put together the team and didn’t want to throw anyone under the bus.

Now, Danny Ainge has taken it a step further. Earlier Thursday, Ainge said that he does not believe the Celtics are good enough to win a championship with how the roster is currently put together.

Given how the team has produced thus far this season, this isn’t a groundbreaking announcement. The Celtics have not been very good and have gotten throttled by most of the upper echelon teams they have faced off against this season.

It’s not the first time that Ainge has voiced his displeasure with the current configuration of the Celtics’ roster either. He recently expressed how he would like to add more ‘size with shooting’ to complement Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

When Ainge took responsibility for the team’s shortcomings, he mentioned the team not playing with urgency or passion. Could this be a motivational ploy by Ainge, hoping he lights a fire under his players to get them going before the NBA All-Star break rolls in?

Whatever the reason behind what Ainge has said recently, it is refreshing to see a person in a front office talk so candidly. Paper cutter answers that don’t give any insight is usually the route taken, but Ainge decided to take a different route to take some of the pressure and attention off of Brad Stevens and the players.