If there was one phrase to explain the opening week of Celtics coaching camp, it could be “quick.”
Gamers up and down the roster – from locked-in starters to deep reserves – have talked about how Boston’s plan to push the pace this season is showing up on the practice court. Camp periods have been high-energy and exhausting, with assistant coach Sam Cassell saying this has been the toughest coaching camp he’s seen in his 34 years within the NBA.
Quick, although, shouldn’t be confused with finesse. One take a look at Payton Pritchard on Saturday was proof of that.
Pritchard sported a big and outstanding scratch on his neck as he addressed reporters after the Celtics’ fourth official observe – the outcome, he mentioned, of a very bodily exercise the day prior to this.
“It’s been very bodily,” the sixth-year guard mentioned. “It’s undoubtedly been a battle on the market. I’m drained, however it’s good to push the physique to those limits to prepare for the season. Undoubtedly pushing ourselves.”
Pushing, and getting ready. Pritchard mentioned the new-look Celtics, along with adopting a faster tempo offensively, play to play with extra aggression on the defensive finish this season. He pointed to the success the NBA champion Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder had with that strategy in 2024-25.
“Once you see OKC and them win the championship, they obtained away with lots of fingers, fouls, lots of physicality. Stuff like that,” he mentioned. “The NBA, I really feel like, within the playoffs is permitting much more physicality now. However you’ve obtained to learn to play by it and be extra bodily. We’re emphasizing it. It’s been good.”
Earlier Joe Mazzulla-coached Celtics groups prioritized defending responsibly and conserving opponents off the foul line. In every of the final two seasons, Boston dedicated the second-fewest fouls within the NBA and allowed the fewest opponent free-throw makes an attempt. The trade-off was that it didn’t power many turnovers, rating bottom-five within the league in that class in every of Mazzulla’s first three campaigns (twenty seventh final season).
OKC, in the meantime, dedicated the sixth-most fouls and allowed the fourth-most opponent free-throw makes an attempt, however it was by far the best crew at creating turnovers, main the NBA in that metric and in steals.
Requested concerning the Thunder’s willingness to foul, Pritchard replied: “Yeah, for certain. We’ve obtained to have that.”
“I imply, you get six fouls, however it’s only a totally different emphasis,” he mentioned. “Like, earlier than, we had been taking part in extra of a protected protection of switching, stay with contested photographs, don’t foul, don’t put individuals to the free-throw line. However that’s sort of modified. The NBA evolves yearly, so that you’ve obtained to alter your sport with it. It labored for us after we gained the championship, didn’t work for us as a lot final yr. So we’ve obtained to evolve.”
Mazzulla additionally talked about that evolution, pointing to a notable shift in officiating halfway by final season. The Celtics, he mentioned, want to regulate their defensive philosophy to account for that change.
“I feel midway by final yr, the league made a little bit little bit of a change the place the sport turned far more bodily,” Mazzulla mentioned. “I feel it’s what’s finest for the league, and we simply must adapt to that. I feel the sport is in an amazing place so far as the way it’s being officiated, the way it’s being referred to as, the way it’s being performed. That’s one of many issues now we have to proceed to enhance on, is our continued physicality, no matter if it’s common season or playoffs.
There’s a restrict to that aggressiveness, in fact – a essential stability to strike between productive ball-hawking and committing low-cost fouls that result in straightforward factors.
“I feel all the things’s simply situational, proper?” Mazzulla added. “I feel it simply sort of is dependent upon time, rating, bonus, not bonus, quarters one by three versus quarter 4. Are you successful? Are you not successful? I feel there’s simply a lot of that. However on the identical time, we need to develop a mindset of being a little bit bit extra bodily. And once more, if there’s an upside to these potential fouls, then that’s good. If there’s not an upside to them, then it’s a must to right it.”
The group of gamers tasked with executing Mazzulla’s new imaginative and prescient is youthful and extra athletic than the rosters Boston fielded lately, however far much less skilled and achieved.
The Celtics swapped out veterans Jrue Vacation, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornet for newcomers Anfernee Simons, Luka Garza, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher and Hugo Gonzalez this offseason. They’ll even be with out Jayson Tatum for the foreseeable future whereas he recovers from Achilles surgical procedure.
Vacation is a six-time All-Defensive choice. Porzingis is a top-tier rim protector. Tatum is each Boston’s finest offensive participant and one in every of its most gifted and versatile defenders. These are massive sneakers to fill for this revamped Celtics squad, which options simply 4 wholesome rotation holdovers (Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Sam Hauser and Pritchard).
“Proper now, we’re simply attempting to emphasise tempo and physicality,” Pritchard mentioned.
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