The Celtics flaunted unusual continuity in recent years. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have been the backbones of the franchise for nearly a decade, and last season Boston returned every key rotation player from the 2024 championship squad.
In addition to the obvious benefit that comes from simply keeping good players on a roster for an extended period, their familiarity with one another was a clear asset. It helped with comfort, cohesion, and timing.
But this season’s team will need to build that. Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday, and Luke Kornet are gone, and Tatum is out indefinitely with an Achilles’ injury. Brown said Monday that during this strenuous training camp, the team has been working to get into lockstep on offense.
“We’re working through some of the kinks in our timing,” Brown said. “I think that’s the biggest difference in how you can determine chemistry. When you see a team that has great chemistry, they have great timing is a big part of it. We’ve really got to get that down. We’ve really been working on it. Some of those more experienced players, they have that because they’ve played in the league for a long time. Establishing that timing is something that we’re really trying to develop. We’ve been putting in that work, but we got some more work to do, for sure.”
Brown said Boston’s three best big men last season knew where they needed to be to set efficient screens, and they also knew when to get out of the way and let the team’s most dangerous weapons operate.
Brown said film work, practice, and the team’s upcoming preseason games should help develop good timing.
During training camp, Boston has put a heavy emphasis on playing quickly and relentlessly. But coach Joe Mazzulla said regardless of how suddenly an offensive possession unfolds, the Celtics simply need to become comfortable making the proper reads.
“Regardless of if we’re in transition or if we’re in the halfcourt,” Mazzulla said. “So, they just have to have an understanding of what the coverage is, what the best screen is at that particular time, and how each screen can get us an advantage. They’ve gotten better at it, but they’ll be tested on it because they will be setting a ton of them. And so, every screen is an opportunity to make the right read, and we just have to be able to do that.”
Brown finding his voice
Horford and Holiday were two of Boston’s veteran leaders last season, and the Celtics followed Tatum’s quiet but confident leadership on the court as well. So Brown is aware that he will need to be a more prominent presence.
“Just being more vocal,” he said. “I think more guys are, for sure, looking to hear my voice and to help them out a little bit. So just being a little bit more vocal, I would say. But even just setting the tone, kind of like commanding the troops on offense and defense, being loud, letting people know where to go on defense, and letting people know where to go on offense. . . . I’ve been vocal before at times, but I think this team needs it a lot more.”
Early expectations
The Celtics will open the preseason Wednesday with a road game against the Grizzlies before visiting the Raptors on Friday. Mazzulla said he will simply be focused on overall execution.
“Make sure everybody on the team plays,” he said. “Make sure the guys know their jobs, know what they’re supposed to do. So, the priority is just to get guys to play and evaluate where we’re at and where we need to get better.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
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