It was only a matter of time before the Boston Celtics sat down to hash things out.
Veteran guard Marcus Smart confirmed Sunday that the Celtics held a team meeting Friday night after a loss to the Sacramento Kings, their third in a row which dropped them to 20-20 on the season.
According to Smart, the theme of the meeting was two-fold: reflecting on why the team had underachieved through 40 games and looking ahead to how it can turn things around.
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"It was just us," Smart told reporters after Boston's 112-96 win over the Orlando Magic, as seen in the video above. "Really focusing on what we want this season to be, what we want to leave behind this season."
"We understand that we haven't been playing to the criteria that we expected and that others expect us to. We are a young team and we're learning. This biggest thing about growth is understanding and accepting your faults ... individually and as a team. And I think (in) the talk that we had, we did that.
"We just tried to sit down and figure it out and just listen to one another and help not only ourselves but the team. And it showed tonight."
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Indeed, the Celtics showcased much better energy and body language against the Magic. They assisted on 27 of their 40 made attempts and answered Brad Stevens' directive to be "more engaged in each other."
Celtics-Magic takeaways: Starters answer Stevens' challenge
A win over the NBA's fourth-worst team doesn't mean the season is saved, however. Boston will need to carry Sunday's effort into a grueling four-game road trip that begins Monday in Memphis and includes two games against the mighty Milwaukee Bucks.
But according to Smart, the Celtics made a commitment Friday night that could help them through that tough stretch.
"Everybody agreed this is a bad feeling, this is an ugly feeling that we're feeling, and we don't want to feel like this," Smart added. "We don't want to look back on this season and be like, 'Damn, we could've done this, we could've done this.'
"... We still have time to fix this, and that's what we're trying to do. So, we all came together and we all agreed that we want to evolve as a team and continue to learn and continue to make each other better."