Celtics 146, Wizards 101
Q. Khris, seven-point game entering the second half and then things derailed from there. What did you notice from your team's defensive effort and disposition on the defensive end?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: Boston came out, wanted to push the tempo, shoot a lot more threes, crash, look for physical. Just got a little bit more into the game. Simple as that. Just got to be more into it.
Q. Did you feel like effort was an issue?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: I'm going to say that. I feel like guys go out there and try and give it their best. At times we get down, we hang our heads at times when things don't go our way. Sometimes that's just a bad habit of being on the team. So we need to get out of this habit sooner than later. But I think for the most part the effort is there, it's just sometimes we led our heads hang too low and for too long at times.
Q. How should players, especially the younger players on the team, feel after a loss like this?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: I'm not going to tell guys how to feel. It sucks losing. I don't think anybody in that locker room wants to lose. We all handle different things in different ways. I've had losses where I sit here and laugh sometimes about it. Sometimes we have to laugh at it, sometimes we're pissed about it. Everybody has their own unique way.
But as a team, I know that we're very disappointed in ourselves, that we could have put up a better fight. So we'll see.
Q. It seems like this team has a lot of games where one half is very well played, but the second half not as much. What do you think is the reasoning behind that?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: Just have to focus for 48 minutes. It's hard to win in this league. It's hard to beat any team. Just got to put our mindset to playing a full 48 minutes, not letting one quarter, one half, one possession be good enough for us and be okay with that. We have to play a complete game start to finish.
Q. Coach Keefe said that he didn't see the team's identity tonight. I'm curious, what would you say the team's identity is right now, or do you think that's still evolving?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: I think that's still evolving. I don't think you definitely want to say that at this point in the season. But we're still trying to learn each other. You've got a lot of guys in and out of the rotation with injuries and whatnot, and young guys trying to step in and give us minutes. It's tough when you're trying to find an identity that way. Not that way, but just in this type of situation.
But like I said, I think guys are trying to go out there and play hard, do the right things. It's just we have to learn. We have to get experience. We have to be better.
Q. You mentioned the habit of hanging your head sometimes happens to young teams, and you've been on pretty young teams before. How do you remember those habits getting snuffed out at Milwaukee?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, that was the same way. That's why I say that. At some point you have to realize that you've just got to dig deeper. You can't feel sorry for yourself. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. Nobody is going to save us. Nobody is going to give us games. You just have to find something within you to dig a little bit deeper.
Q. Is that the message you're telling the young guys, too?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: Yeah, obviously, a lot of different messages, but that's part of it, yeah.
Q. What are the keys to having a good three-point defense, and how can you guys get there?
KHRIS MIDDLETON: You know, with this league these days, it's tough. Every team wants to shoot threes. Even on fast breaks, even if 2 on 1, guys are pulling up for threes. Just got to do a better job trying to contain. Boston is known for shooting a whole bunch of threes in different situations, especially on kick-outs, pull-ups, all different type of ways. So it's just one of those things that we have to pay a little bit more attention to detail in that scouting report and know who we're matching up with.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports