BOSTON – Now and again, confetti nonetheless falls from the rafters at TD Backyard. In a Saturday night time Celtics thrashing, a small piece of paper landed on Derrick White’s head. On Sunday, a couple of items have been collected by an excited courtside fan who instantly handed them to a younger boy sitting a couple of rows again.
The sporadically falling confetti serves as a reminder that the Celtics are lower than 4 months faraway from a postseason run that noticed them go 16-3 en path to an 18th championship. It’s a becoming sight: a Payton Pritchard-led Celtics workforce leads by 40, and the falling celebratory tokens intensify the lopsided scoreboard.
An evening after the Celtics blew out the 76ers by 50, they ran the Toronto Raptors out of the constructing, too (except for a fourth quarter that featured few gamers more likely to make both groups’ roster). The pair of resounding residence wins got here only a week after two preseason victories towards the Denver Nuggets in Abu Dhabi.
The preseason dominance demonstrates a sentiment that Joe Mazzulla and the remainder of the Celtics have expressed since coaching camp started: final yr’s championship is final yr’s, and there will likely be no championship hangover in Boston this season.
Thus far, that’s been the case no matter who has been on the ground. On Sunday, a lineup that includes Jordan Walsh, Lonnie Walker IV, Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta jumped out to a 20-point first quarter lead towards the Raptors, who had two common season starters on the market in Scottie Barnes (an All-Star) and Jakob Poeltl.
Jordan Walsh, who spent most of final season within the G-League, capitalized on his preseason begin, posting 16 factors and 10 rebounds. Whereas a lot of the Celtics’ rotation gamers have been out — Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Vacation, Derrick White, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman have been all unavailable — the Celtics nonetheless locked down defensively to make sure the win.
“We all know what the usual is, being right here,” Walsh advised reporters after the sport. “We all know what the accountability of being a Celtic is — taking part in protection.”
Jordan Walsh was requested about how at this time’s beginning group of him, Lonnie Walker, Sam Hauser, and Payton Pritchard didn’t miss a beat:
“We all know what the usual is being right here. We all know what the accountability of being a Celtics is — taking part in protection.”
(By way of @CelticsCLNS) pic.twitter.com/psMWAdjp0H
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) October 14, 2024
All of it begins with Joe Mazzulla and the coach employees, a younger, analytically-driven group who’ve collectively created an offensive and defensive system that breeds profitable.
Mazzulla Ball, because it’s turn into colloquially recognized, is a three-point-heavy offense that facilities on making straightforward reads, creating two-on-one benefits, and emphasizing the simple connection between protection and offense. The ideas are comparatively easy, however the schemes are advanced, and the right learn is the results of a complete lot of number-crunching that gamers have discovered to include into their decision-making.
Final yr, the Celtics used Mazzulla Ball to outscore opponents by 10.7 factors per sport — the fifth-best level differential in NBA historical past. In addition they ran probably the most environment friendly offense in NBA historical past, scoring 122.2 factors per 100 possessions, and posted the second-best protection within the league.
Within the nationwide media, a number of the profitable was attributed to the sheer expertise on the roster — and there was actually no scarcity of that — however an underrated a part of final yr’s success was that the workforce hardly ever missed a beat within the absence of key gamers.
Within the 2023-24 season, the Celtics went 21-4 with out Kristaps Porzingis, 7-1 with out Jayson Tatum, and 12-0 with out Jaylen Brown. And, it was two Celtics bench gamers, not stars, who held one of the best internet scores within the league final season. Sam Hauser (+14.2), Payton Pritchard (+13.6), Derrick White (+12.5), and Luke Kornet (+12.1) rounded out the top-four particular person scores.
Thus far this preseason, the Celtics are outscoring opponents by 20.5 factors per sport, whereas no different workforce has a internet score of greater than +8.9. Via 4 video games, they’ve the league’s highest offensive score. Payton Pritchard once more boasts the second-best internet score within the league, at +17.8 in 4 video games performed.
Preseason outcomes don’t actually matter, however the Celtics’ dominance is indicative of a bigger pattern: that Joe Mazzulla and his employees have created a tradition of profitable that, to this point, has withstood substitution patterns and accidents.
Pritchard has completely embodied the steadiness between pursuing particular person greatness — he’s made it clear that that’s what he believes he’s able to — whereas nonetheless taking part in throughout the Celtics system and thriving in his position because the backup level guard.
“I’ve massive desires for myself, and other people need to put limits, and I put no limits on myself,” Pritchard stated. “However I even have an understanding of what’s in entrance of me — we’ve got an incredible workforce that would win one other championship.”
“On the finish of the day, I’m a winner and I need to do no matter it takes to assist the workforce win. I’m not going to take a seat out right here and say ‘oh, I deserve extra.’ We simply received a championship, and I need to go and do my position one of the best I can. However, if there’s an harm or something, I need to have the ability to step up in these moments and assist the workforce.”
There’s been an simple degree of focus, an unapologetic mindset, that’s permeated the starters who’ve performed this preseason. Jaylen Brown started his preseason residence debut by making a “too small” gesture after scoring on 76ers undrafted rookie Justin Edwards.
Brown, contemporary off a Finals MVP and what he’s deemed one of the best summer season of his life, racked up 18 factors (7-12 FG), 8 rebounds, and 4 assists in 23 minutes on Saturday.
The Celtics starters have been dealing with a bunch of end-of-bench gamers, however, for higher or worse, they didn’t act prefer it for a minute.
“It’s about us. So, each time we step out on the ground, it doesn’t actually matter who the opponent is,” Brown stated after the win over the 76ers. “We simply gotta play our commonplace of basketball. That’s the tone that we set all through coaching camp, and that’s the mindset that we’ve got.”
It’s nonetheless early, however the Celtics have additionally appeared to have prevented the notorious championship hangover. Whereas Nuggets coach Michael Malone lamented his workforce’s poor conditioning after three consecutive preseason losses, Mazzulla has routinely praised what he’s seen throughout the board at coaching camp. There isn’t a speak of a title protection; as an alternative, the workforce is on the assault.
“The phrase ‘defending a title’ is a really passive-aggressive time period,” Mazzulla famously stated on the Locked on Celtics podcast this summer season. “In the event you take a look at the animal kingdom, a number of the strongest animals don’t defend; they’re probably the most aggressive, they usually assault probably the most. Whether or not you’ve received or haven’t received, your mindset can’t change. It’s a must to perceive what goes into profitable and shedding, decide to the main points each day, and stay aggressive. You’re not defending one thing, you’re attacking a brand new objective.”
Likening a championship pursuit to the animal kingdom would possibly sound unusual at first sight, however the Celtics are each used to and acquired into unorthodox comparisons and views from Mazzulla. And, they’re glad to take part in a grueling coaching camp in preparation of one other likelihood at a title run.
“Joe Mazzulla is a psycho in a great way,” Jaylen Brown stated final month. “It’s in all probability one of many more durable coaching camps I’ve had by way of depth conditioning, physicality, and defensive warrior-type mentality.”
Jrue Vacation joked that the early days of camp have been so troublesome, he wished he may have missed them as he did final season.
Jrue Vacation jokes about how troublesome coaching camp has been via two days:
“I used to be traded final yr, and I feel I missed the primary day. I want I missed the primary day this yr too.” pic.twitter.com/luOQq8msYk
— Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) September 26, 2024
“I used to be traded final yr, and I feel I missed the primary day,” stated Vacation. “I want I missed the primary day this yr, too.”
The truth is that no NBA workforce has received back-to-back titles for the reason that Kevin Durant Warriors did it in 2017. Actually, no defending champion — sorry, Joe — has even made it previous the second spherical since then.
The Celtics have an extended street to go — they haven’t even raised the 18th banner — however via a month of coaching camp and preseason dominance, it’s apparent that their 36-year-old coach has created a system that provides them nearly as good an opportunity as anybody — irrespective of who’s taking part in, or who they’re taking part in towards.
