Count Boston Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck among those disappointed with the team's performance of late.
Speaking Saturday at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Grousbeck said the Celtics just finished the "worst February" he can remember since taking over the team in 2002. The Celtics were 5-6 last month, including a finishing stretch in which they lost four straight games.
Grousbeck acknowledged that the Celtics aren't necessarily worried about finishing with the best record in the Eastern Conference, adding that the team as constructed has "the capability of getting to the Finals."
"We also have the capability of losing in the first round," Grousbeck said, according to Boston.com. "We have a very, very good set of opponents in the East, all of whom have beaten us in the last month."
Grousbeck's uncertainty echoes comments that some of his team's players have made during the season. Amid that losing stretch to finish February, guard Marcus Smart said the team is "just not together," while Kyrie Irving has more than once discussed the need for some of the younger Celtics players to mature and understand their roles.
"I don't think anybody wants to play us in the playoffs. I really do think, after 16 years in the league, that these guys still have a chance." Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck
Heading into Sunday's game against the Houston Rockets (3:30 p.m. ET, ABC), the Celtics (38-25) sit in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the Philadelphia 76ers for fourth and home-court advantage in the first round.
"I really have a lot of hope for these guys," Grousbeck said. "I give us a chance. I don't think anybody wants to play us in the playoffs. I really do think, after 16 years in the league, that these guys still have a chance."
Grousbeck also took a positive spin on how this month has started.
"Thank God it's March," he said. "We're undefeated in March."
