Has camaraderie escaped the Boston Celtics?

In today’s Boston Globe, reporter Gary Washburn bashed the Celtics from all angles.

He wrote about the starters not living up to expectations, and the newcomers to the bench failing to live up to their end of the bargain. He claimed that Nate Robinson’s immaturity has been privately questioned by the organization, and that Rasheed Wallace’s stubborness “has stunned some of his teammates, and it has become apparent why the Pistons wanted him to leave.” Washburn continued to assert that change, necessary after a tumultuous season, “is the only thing that will secure [Doc] Rivers’s involvement long term.”

But within all the bashing, perhaps the most damning accusation Washburn makes is the charge that Boston has a “fractured” locker room.

The Celtics’ locker room is fractured. There are the old schoolers (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Michael Finley), the Sheed crew (Wallace, Robinson, and Daniels), and the future stars (Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins), while the rest bounce from group to group.

Doc Rivers later made an appearance on WEEI, and denied Washurn’s claims of a fractured locker room.

“It’s not [accurate]. There clearly are groups that hang out with each other more than other groups, but that’s no different. Why does that have to be negative? It’s ridiculous. … Come on, guys, that’s just silly talk, and a [reporter] looking for something. Usually you hang out with your age group, there’s no difference in that. Usually, you hang out with guys personality-wise that you match. Larry Bird and Kevin McHale didn’t go out together. So I guess they didn’t like each other. That’s just silly. That’s just looking for stuff and stirring the pot.”

Is this just Washburn stirring the pot, or true? The Celtics haven’t looked like a content team all season, and haven’t played like a cohesive unit.  Gone are the days of the Boston Celtics killing themselves to make a defensive rotation, or zipping the ball around like a hot potato to the open teammate.

So while Doc says it ain’t so, Washburn’s article and the Celtics’ play are signs that point to dissension in the Celtics locker room.