BOSTON — Joe Mazzulla rarely, if ever, approaches the podium with a message prepared before taking any questions. But before anyone asked about Jaylen Brown during the first Celtics media day without him since the beginning of the 2016 season, he wanted to share some appreciation for Brown one more time. And push the conversation forward.
“I just wanted to start by paying respects to Jaylen and what he’s done for this organization and community for the last 10 years,” Mazzulla said. “What he’s been able to accomplish has been great, and it’s not a one-time thing to where you let go of that … and that should not be forgotten. At the same time, today’s the first day of our 26-27 season … shifting our focus toward the players and that team.”
That mostly took place as old and new faces spoke from the Celtics’ practice facility in Brighton on Monday, where the process of forming a new identity and identifying their play-style will continue. Brad Stevens doesn’t expect perfection early, Mazzulla expressed that Boston will adapt to how teams play the Celtics differently and players plan to embrace extra opportunity and sacrifice, when necessary.
Paul George began that process by hosting offseason workouts in Los Angeles. Mazzulla visited returning players across the United States, Portugal and Spain, including Mitchell Robinson, who he joked about free throw shooting alongside bonding in Nashville. Payton Pritchard scrimmaged at the Auerbach Center from August on, focused on generating more free throw attempts and plans to push the pace without focusing on filling Brown’s void himself.
“We have a lot of good players,” Pritchard said. “Everybody’s gotta excel and get better, but no, I don’t think it’s gonna be on one particular person who has to do more. I’m not coming into this season like oh, now Jaylen’s gone and it’s my turn. That’s not at all what the mindset is. Everyone of us has to take a jump and get better. I thin
Stevens also teased a faster approach with more offensive action in open space. George expressed excitement about fitting into that during his introduction earlier this month, Robinson predicted he’ll maintain his role doing the dirty work while Baylor Scheierman anticipated more on-ball responsibilities. Many of the team’s less experienced and younger players who took steps in their careers last season will gain even more responsibility this year, and the team’s veterans and leaders atop the organization stressed that they’ll juggle a variety of roles and usages throughout the year.
Sam Hauser raved about the development staff’s ability to put those players in positions to succeed, which Hugo González and Scheierman described as doing whatever the team needed, while balancing working on ways for those players to show more. They’ll also need to find ways to utilize three centers between Neemias Queta, Luka Garza and Robinson. Mazzulla raved about their ability to bring different impacts to the game, and deemed Robinson as one of the best centers in the league.
“They bring three different kinds,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously, Mitch’s resume speaks for itself. Neemy and Luka, they both are significantly better players than they were at the beginning of last season … you want them to take the next step. They both had great offseasons, they both deserve to be given more responsibility within the framework of our team … playing through (Queta) a little bit, whether it’s off-ball or situations like that … Mitch’s ability to finish around the rim and then his offensive rebounding.”
Tatum texted the Celtics’ group chat to organize the LA runs, which gave the team a head start from a chemistry perspective, with on-court work coinciding with dinners and golf outings. Pritchard embraced whatever advice he could pull from Mike Conley, while George embraced increasingly becoming a player many of his teammates looked up to when they were younger. He had already served as a mentor to Tatum and Brandon Miller in the past. His experience playing alongside another star wing in Kawhi Leonard also prepared him for this moment.
George’s excitement about this situation reflected his statements from weeks ago, even as Stevens lauded the team’s optionality into the future again. That balance between the future-facing moves that could be necessary to form the next championship contender, and maximizing the current roster could present an even greater challenge than one year ago: with a clear focus on everyone maintaining until Tatum returned. This group could take more time to form an identity.
It helps that their best player begins this year fully healthy. George, also, said his recent struggles with injury lay behind him. Robinson expressed confidence after a full season of working on his body. Stevens knocked on wood, and declared full health to begin camp. They haven’t played much 5-on-5 together yet, though, so finding themselves remains a work in progress — with a vision.
“The hardest teams to prepare (in college) for were teams that could beat you in a matchup, beat you in pick-and-roll and can beat you in movement,” Stevens said. “They could really bounce to any of those three categories throughout the game if you’re taking one away … and I think we’re gonna be able to do some of that. It’ll be fun to watch and fun to see it come together.”
