The Boston Celtics have gone an ideal 3-0 to start their preseason and with two exhibitions left, the reigning champions have gone proper again to work, virtually as if they’d by no means gained the NBA Finals and captured their 18th Larry O’Brien Trophy.
That’s the best way to go, proper?
Placing apart the belated season debut of Kristaps Porzingis, the new-look Jap Convention rosters and the Olympic taking pictures woes of Jayson Tatum, the Celtics have one issue that inherently plagues most championship groups: themselves. Falling content material after reaching the mountaintop as soon as is a sensible and relevant fear that’s stored Boston on its toes to maintain the title defenders from falling by itself sword — even when it means treating each preseason exhibition like an in-season battle for the highest seed.
Boston hosted the Sixers on Saturday night time, with out Paul George, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Andre Drummond and Kyle Lowry amongst others, and gave Philadelphia head coach Nick Nurse hell for 48 minutes. In reality, by the point the primary 12 minutes had come and gone, the Celtics tallied 40 factors on the scoreboard and adopted that thunderous first quarter with a 70-point first half to finish the night time lengthy earlier than the ultimate buzzer sounded.
“One of many strengths of this workforce is no matter who’s in or nor, we execute at a excessive stage, we play effort and I believe that’s the best way that we attempt to maintain one another accountable to that,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla advised reporters after the 139-89 Celtics win, as seen on NBC Sports activities Boston’s postgame protection. “I get pleasure from teaching them they usually work onerous so I believe it’s key to attempt to hold that.”
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Regardless that Mazzulla launched the starters on the Sixers, alternatives have been in place for Boston’s reserves and newcomers to additionally make an affect.
Offseason signee Lonnie Walker IV performed a team-high 25 minutes and scored 9 factors on 4-of-7 taking pictures from the sphere 4 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and a block, ending the night time a plus-27. It was Walker’s first probability to capitalize on prolonged minutes, but the 25-year-old adjusted Boston’s playbook comparatively simply and made a notable stride amid the continuing battle to grab a roster spot earlier than Opening Night time.
“I’m actually completely happy that I obtained some motion at the moment. I obtained my ft moist,” Walker advised reporters, per CLNS Media. “… Made some good reads, did stable on the defensive finish — I believe I gotta decide that up as properly and rebound. So far as simply what I gotta present for the workforce is simply different methods to affect successful. It’s not simply scoring. I believe everybody is aware of I can rating so it’s extra of all the opposite little issues and sort of bumping that to an entire different notch.”
Mazzulla’s affect and locker room belief have grown tremendously ever for the reason that 35-year-old’s interim tag was eliminated midway by way of debuting as head coach. Now, beneath new circumstances and because the workforce with the largest goal on its again, Mazzulla’s message, too, has readjusted fairly a bit. Boston remains to be treating the upcoming marketing campaign just like the 29 groups that didn’t win the Finals. The chase isn’t any totally different simply because the Celtics are the one workforce that’ll open their season by elevating a banner or being offered with a championship ring. Boston is treating the 12 months as in the event that they by no means gained, getting a head begin to the mid-season type by treating the meaningless preseason like there’s one thing at stake. Though when you ask Mazzulla, there completely is.
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“I believe there’s a normal that’s been set by the folks which were right here for a very long time — the gamers,” Mazzulla stated, per NBC Sports activities Boston. “After which we attempt to convey guys in that wanna uphold that. So it’s a credit score to the locker room for setting that one for a very long time and it’s a credit score to the blokes coming in that work to be part of that.”
Boston’s closing two preseason contests will come towards the Toronto Raptors.
