Contemporary off Banner 18, the Boston Celtics are retaining Banner 18.5 sq. of their sights. After years of failure, they lastly acquired over the hump, however just some weeks later, they discover themselves locked again in like they by no means left. Boston desires the Summer time League crown.
“It’s the Celtics. In fact,” Summer time League head coach DJ MacLeay mentioned when requested if he feels stress to win. “The expectation is to win right here, and we take pleasure in that and welcome that.”
The Celtics put collectively a stacked Summer time League roster that features 5 gamers from final season’s roster, two drafted rookies, and 6 different intriguing kids.
Among the many latter bunch are Eddie Home’s son, Jaelen, Jayson Tatum’s highschool teammate, Tyler Prepare dinner, and Xavier Tillman’s former teammate Killian Tillie.
MacLeay has been with the Celtics since 2021 and remained with the crew after Joe Mazzulla took over. Since then, he’s constantly moved up the bench. And now, he’s hoping to instill the identical philosophies that simply helped Boston win a championship into his Summer time League squad.
“I feel the principle aim for Summer time League is constructing a mindset,” mentioned MacLeay. “A mindset of what we’ve with an expectation and a mindset of what we’ve with [our] regular crew.
“After which I feel normally from [an] Xs and Os perspective, we’re making an attempt to instill offensively and defensively ideas, themes, ideas, issues that our regular crew does with these guys right here, and we’re making an attempt to construct that into what they do and the way they play.”
Photograph by Chris Marion/NBAE through Getty Photographs
As for his personal head teaching model, he’s nonetheless toying round with it. However he’s positively going to let his voice be heard.
“I might say I’m positively figuring it out,” MacLeay mentioned. “Yeah, I’m studying. I’m rising. I don’t know but. I can inform you for a indisputable fact that I’m loud. So, you’ll hear me. I simply don’t know the way I’ll try this.”
By MacLeay’s first few practices with the Summer time League Celtics, competitiveness has been the theme. Whether or not it’s the returning guys, Boston’s rookies, or the gamers trying to break into the league, everyone seems to be leaving their coronary heart on the ground.
Baylor Scheierman, who the Celtics drafted with choose No. 30, performed his closing two years of school ball at Creighton after three years with South Dakota State. Throughout his collegiate profession, he confronted off in opposition to a few of the guys on Boston’s Summer time League squad.
He is aware of how arduous they play, and he’s seen it from them and everybody else within the first few Auerbach Middle classes.
“I performed in opposition to Jordan Walsh in faculty and performed JD Davison in faculty,” Scheierman mentioned. “Clearly, each terrific athletes and really expert. They prefer to compete.
“I feel that’s the most important factor that I’ve seen simply from all my teammates is simply on the competitiveness and the willingness to be, humility, after which simply, we share the ball nicely, which is lots of enjoyable to play with.”
Scheierman put himself and Home on the prime of the competitiveness pedestal.
“Shoot, I’ll say myself,” Scheierman mentioned. “Jaelen Home is fairly aggressive as nicely. However like we mentioned earlier, we acquired lots of guys that prefer to compete, and that makes observe lots of enjoyable.”
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And the gamers have gotten the identical vitality from MacLeay and his teaching workers.
“I similar to [that they are] very personable,” Sceierman mentioned of the coaches. “They relate to you nicely, and so they convey lots of vitality, and that simply makes observe much more enjoyable, much more aggressive, when the coaches are bringing that as nicely.”
Even after monopolizing Boston’s confetti provide whereas celebrating their greatest accomplishment in 16 years, the Celtics have been able to snap proper again to enterprise.
The group places an emphasis on profitable, it doesn’t matter what stage they’re enjoying at. Whether or not or not it’s competing for an NBA Championship, a G League Championship, or a Summer time League Championship, they need the glory.
“Simply winners,” Watson mentioned of his first impression of the Celtics. “Legacy. Simply the mentality in direction of every little thing. The primary time we met [I was] in right here, they mentioned, ‘It’s totally different right here.’ So, that’s form of the vibe you get right here. I feel they’ve acquired the fitting strategy on issues.”
JD Davison and Drew Peterson shall be again on two-way contracts subsequent 12 months, and Watson could possibly be the early favourite to land the third after the Celtics drafted him with the No. 54 choose.
That, mixed with the probability that they go away the fifteenth roster spot open to protect flexibility and lighten their luxurious tax invoice, means the possibilities of making the crew out of Summer time League are slim.
However they aren’t zero.
“I’ll all the time say, we’re all the time retaining our eyes open and every little thing,” mentioned assistant common supervisor Austin Ainge. “However we really feel fairly good about issues, and we’ve the core all in place. However yeah, we’re all the time trying.
“That’s a message for these Summer time League guys, is that they’re not simply competing with the fellows on the court docket, they’re competing with guys on all of the Summer time League groups, and different guys which might be sitting at dwelling, and different guys which might be enjoying within the Olympics. It’s an enormous world with lots of expertise, and our job is to be all the time evaluating.”
Photograph by Chris Marion/NBAE through Getty Photographs
Above all, the Celtics simply wish to assist their group enhance. MacLeay desires to win Summer time League gold, and the crew does, too, however they perceive what this set of video games can do for the gamers.
MacLeay is prepared and keen to assist them get shifting on the fitting path within the basketball world.
“At the beginning, there’s a mindset of enchancment, proper?” MacLeay mentioned. “Like three weeks in the past, yesterday, we have been within the Backyard profitable a championship, proper? And now we’re right here in a state of affairs the place we’ve a possibility to develop in direction of the subsequent one. And I feel, pondering again on the previous of Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard, these guys began their progress factors right here.
“And I feel that every 12 months you get a possibility to do that, it’s a time to get higher, and for them, they every have particular person issues that they’re engaged on from a basketball perspective, however it’s the mindset of progress. How are you going to get higher each day? How are you going to begin that journey in direction of the subsequent title? How are you going to begin that journey in direction of the subsequent season? I feel are issues that we’re working in direction of and making an attempt to do right here.”
