With the Celtics, we are a defensive team. Most of the time we’re a team that will win because of defense. If our defense is what it should be and what we work on every day, then we will always be in the game regardless of how our offense is that night. But we have found that if our defense is below our standards, we will often find ourselves in a game that’s tough for us to win. Calling on our offense to bail us out is not something we want to rely on.

This was evident in our game the other night. We made shot after shot in the first quarter against a team that relies on offense, and they weren’t hitting their shots. As the second quarter unfolded, we started to miss shots, but our defensive rhythm wasn’t there. They started hitting shots; that’s who they are as a team. We were lucky to go into halftime up by 4.

The same pattern held true for the 3rd quarter. Fortunately, we found our defense in the 4th quarter and won the game. The lesson learned is that we either forgot who we were or we thought we could always get back to who we were when we wanted to. We were fortunate, because we’ve found that switches don’t work in the NBA; we cannot turn it on and off. We have to be who we are in order to get to where we want to go!

Almost every level of basketball has reached its season midpoint, which means that right now there are a number of players and coaches who are probably staying away from the mirror. We are going through a tough stretch with our team here in Boston. But what I like about what I see and hear is, for example, Paul Pierce saying, “Doc has given us the answers, but we can’t pass the test.” Or Kevin Garnett, “I need to improve; I need to play better.” Or Doc himself saying to the team,”All of us need to get better — even us coaches.”

What resonates in each of these statements is personal accountability. Each player has looked in the mirror and has been honest with himself. This is what the best do. They look at themselves first to see what they can do better. They don’t place blame on others.

This is a great time of year to look in the mirror — whether it’s a player going through a tough person stretch or a coach whose team is losing. Tthe mirror will focus you on the evaluation you should make first — yourself.