When you take a look at an NBA team with a 16-19 record, the words “average” or “subpar” often come up into thought or conversation.

Only with the Boston Celtics, they have spiraled into a disaster.

Some fans and supporters want to fire the coach. Some want to trade the supporting cast that surrounds Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Others want to break the duo of Tatum and Brown up. There are even some that, as crazy as it may sound, want to start from scratch.

At the current state that Boston is in, nearly anything should be on the table at this point.

Boston had a severely underwhelming season last year. A season of inconsistency, underachieving, injuries, no team chemistry, players tuning out Brad Stevens, players that don’t fit well together, and of course, COVID-19. No matter what way you sliced it, there were tons of issues in the 2020-21 season for Boston. After their 4th and 5th year for Tatum and Brown, The Celtics took it upon themselves to spend this offseason in making this roster work for the two emerging superstars.

Brad Stevens was appointed as new GM. They traded Kemba Walker, who wasn’t the best fit for the duo. The coach of their choice- Ime Udoka, was hired to be a new voice and change the culture. Reliable veterans in Al Horford, Dennis Schroder, and Josh Richardson were even added to give Tatum and Brown more talent to work with. It all looked like the C’s were ready to change their sinking direction and be the contenders they’re supposed to be, but at 35 games in, it hasn’t worked out.

At all.

Now sitting at 16-19, out of the playoffs, and barely in the play-in tournament, this season has been a mirror image of last year. Inconsistency is perhaps their largest issue, with them doing their best Dr. Jeykll and My. Hyde impression. There have been games where they show up and beat contending teams (like the Bucks twice, the Miami Heat, and the LA Lakers) but then lose to bottom feeders (the San Antonio Spurs, the Minnesota Timberwolves). This isn’t even the worst part, where down below you’ll see just what the C’s have been up to this year:

-On October 30th, the Celtics blew a 109-103 lead with 2:00 left in the game to allow the Wizards to force OT and win the game.

-On November 1st, The Celtics blew a 94-75 3rd quarter lead to Chicago Bulls, and lost the game 128-114 (Chicago went on a 53-20 lead)

-On Christmas day, the Celtics blew a 46-27 2nd quarter lead to the Milwaukee Bucks (Was 89-88), then lost a 109-96 lead with 5:13 left, and allowed the Bucks to rally and win.

-Their loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves was a game where Minnesota did not have their 3 best players, and had to rely on their bench and recalled up G-league affiliate players. A game in which they schooled the Celtics.

-Just last night on December 29, Boston shot an abysmal 4-42 from 3 and lost 91-82 to the Los Angeles Clippers (who didn’t have their 3 best players either), at home.

After all that Boston has been through this year, it’s fair to say they’re a spiraling disaster. Losing to bad competition, blowing leads, having no fight when they’re pushed, etc. With the roster this team has, they should be a lot better than what is being shown to the fans and across the league.

Many point the finger at Brown and Tatum. Some say Tatum is selfish, only cares about his stats, and is not a winning player. Jaylen Brown can’t stay healthy, and when he is, his game isn’t complementing Tatum’s. Whatever the case may be, it’s now more prevalent than ever that these two don’t seem to fit with each other. Both of their games rely on volume scoring, with not a ton of playmaking and elevating the roster around them. Both were supposed to lead this franchise into title contention, and be the superstars the league saw them as being. Instead, they’re the “leaders” of a team who may not even make the play in tournament. As it looks now, trade rumors have spread all around in separating this duo, with Brown being the one that’s been discussed as the one being moved. In doing that, the hope would be for Jayson Tatum to really flourish and grow as a player and leader.

It’s not just the two stars. Ime Udoka has played a part in this situation as well. He’s publicly called out this team a few times after games, being critical of their effort and fight. He also hasn’t given promising young players like Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard a ton of chances, and instead has relied heavily on his veteran guys. He can publicly call this team out all he wants, but nothing has changed.

So where does Boston go from here?

It starts with the roster. Clearly something isn’t working, and there needs to be significant changes. The NBA trade deadline is inching closer by the day, and Brad Stevens has some tough decisions to make in terms of what direction this team is currently heading. It’s going to take names like Marcus Smart or Rob Williams to be moved at the deadline. It may even take 3-4 guys being shipped out and 3-4 new guys coming in. A mini-version of “cleaning house”.

Trading Jaylen Brown wouldn’t make them better. It is very rare in the NBA where you get players/assets of equal value back after trading your star player. I still have hope that Tatum and Brown can make it work, if they play the right way. Instead, Stevens should look into making this more of a roster-friendly team that’ll complement the two Jays. Some examples include: a pass first point guard who can rack up assists and create more opportunities for others (players like Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon), a catch and shoot 3 point marksman (Buddy Hield, Eric Gordon), or a veteran that has won a title and that can be a voice in showing the blueprints on getting to title contention.

A unlikely, but intriguing approach I think that could work is bringing in a strong voice to “get” to the players. Someone in mind would be Kevin Garnett. If Boston could find a way to make him a part time owner or affiliated within the organization, he could be someone that could toughen this team up. Someone that will change the culture of this team, like he did as a player in 2008.

It’s one thing to say and preach all the changes that can and should be made for the remainder of this year. It’s a whole another ballgame in acting on it. Because the Boston Celtics right now are in a world of trouble.