The season begins at Madison Square Garden for the Celtics after a contested training camp. One of Jaylen Brown’s greatest professional moments, he said. Boston attempted experimenting with zone defenses and full court trapping, recognized the value of a variety of different bench players, and effortlessly merged two stars in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. While Brown and Jayson Tatum assumed more senior leadership positions, former Celtics players Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo filled in and provided championship perspective.
What was noteworthy in the first month leading up to the Celtics’ pivotal season is as follows:
1. The Celtics, with a team full of stars, are emphasizing sacrifice.
Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White have all indicated their desire to start off the bench for a team that Joe Mazzulla feels has seven or eight starting players. Mazzulla intends to start games by committee, stating on Sunday that the term “starter” will be irrelevant because he will court so many different groups to start games.
Holiday’s participation in that group—which Mazzulla claimed goes beyond a talk between Holiday and Horford—came as a surprise to some and may have only served to buy the coaching staff some further time to speak with Horford, who has only appeared off the bench 14 times in his career. Though the Celtics see sacrifice as a larger theme than starting and coming off the bench, Mazzulla’s mention of New York’s double big bench lineups suggests that Horford will at least come off the bench on Wednesday. Over the summer, Pierce discussed it with Tatum, who made it his top objective to involve every player on the squad.
Everyone is willing to make sacrifices, according to Porzingis. “It’s not a huge sacrifice for a broader aim. What are you giving up if you’re succeeding? Your personal winning statistics? Every day, I would make that trade. Playing with these other amazing players who you know can accomplish amazing things and being able to practically just be there to assist them when required is a little bit of everything. Who cares if our stats all slightly decline? I’m simply going to play my game, and everyone else is going to play theirs. Our goal is to triumph. That is all.
As he gets ready to play with two potent scorers in Brown and Tatum, Holiday will strike a balance between a point guard role and a more off-ball, scoring threat, much like Marcus Smart did when he played with the Jays. Mazzulla plans to include Holiday more into the lineups for late games in the hopes that his passing prowess, which at times propelled the Bucks in their quest for a championship, can help alleviate some of the offensive staleness and turnover problems Boston saw in the closing minutes of its previous two postseason trips. Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo shared pick-and-roll duties, averaging 7.4 assists per game. However, the Celtics will probably use Holiday more for off-ball screening, shooting, and cutting than they did for Milwaukee. Rajon Rondo, Holiday’s former teammate, attended practice this past weekend, and Holiday
“Point guards are scoring a little more now,” stated Holiday. Although Rondo loved to pass and put players up, we still knew he could score. He had a great love for making passes and lobs that you never would have guessed were there. I believe this is a lost skill. It’s possible that I still have that part of me, where I can score as well as play-make and get guys open. We are aware that J.B. and J.T. are our men when the chips are down, and that K.P. poses a threat due to his ability to score as well. Thus, it’s all about setting them up for me. However, concurrently, perhaps it facilitates my ability.
Payton Pritchard’s combination of playmaking and scoring has cemented him a regular role. Sam Hauser showed enough to keep many players from competing for the backup wing position. while Neemias Queta’s advancements, Luke Kornet is still the preferred backup center while admitting he has had to adapt to new defensive strategies and teammates. Keep an eye out for Lamar Stevens, who joined the club as a defensive, energy-infusing player under specific situations, including a stint at the five, and Dalano Banton, who Mazzulla adored as an offensive ball-handler and defensive wing. While Jordan Walsh, Svi Mykhailiuk, and Oshae Brissett still need to improve to be consistent players, Boston now has enough flexibility to accommodate injuries, different matchups, and shooting slumps.
Can you manage being in and out of the lineup? is the most important factor, according to Mazzulla. “If your name is called, it’s because we truly need you to carry out your duties and contribute to our victory. We want you to be here by the conclusion of the season, All-Star break, and postseason. Can you answer the bell when your name is called and can you improve every single day? That is the long-term development plan that our development team has set in place.
