“Everything in this world today is recency bias,” he said. “Every time is this is the best ever. We don’t remember the way we felt last year or two years ago or three years ago. That’s just a classic recency bias of whatever you’re going through right today is the biggest, the best, the most important, the hardest, the easiest. None of that really matters. It depends on where you’re at in the moment.”
Said Derrick White on camp: “It’s been hard. It’s been fun. A lot of competition, not a lot of breaks, so it’s been fun.”
It’s just a name
The Celtics’ 3-point heavy arsenal has been labeled “Mazzulla Ball” over the past few years. “Mazzulla Ball” may have to evolve into something more 2-point reliant because of the team losing solid 3-point shooters in Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Al Horford as well as Jayson Tatum expected to miss a majority of the season.
Mazzulla said he doesn’t think about the term “Mazzulla Ball” or consider it associated with 3-point shooting.
“I don’t really put too much thought into that,” he said. “We find the two-on-one and the most important thing is executing at both ends of the floor. I don’t pay too much attention to that. I hope it turns into Celtics basketball. I’m not the one who’s playing. I’m not shooting. I’m not doing anything. It’s the players that are executing. It’s really just Celtics basketball.
“Every year we look at the guys we have on our team and we pinpoint what gives us the best chance to win, the best chance to execute on the offensive end. I’d like to look at as Celtics basketball. I have absolutely nothing to do with most of that. We’ll do whatever we have to win to win that particular night.”
The Celtics will definitely have to adjust their offense but Mazzulla won’t say whether they will take fewer 3-pointers. It’s just a matter of creating more mismatches, wherever they are on the floor. The retooled Celtics offense will again rely on being tactical and capitalizing on spacing and ball movement.
“Everything comes down to two-on-ones‚” Mazzulla said. “How we’re creating the two-on-ones, how we’re being defended, and what the execution looks like versus that defense. Shot profile will obviously change a little bit because of the roster but it will also change because of the coverage, because of the team you’re playing against.”
Signs of progress
White is a man of few words when describing his game but he will be relied upon to make more plays as the expected No. 2 option behind Jaylen Brown. White has been the Celtics most versatile player in his 3½ seasons in Boston, giving the team a lift with his scoring, rebounding, passing, and defense. While White’s shot attempts and minutes should increase, he seeks to just become a better overall player in his ninth NBA season.
“It all comes down to consistency,” he said. “That’s what the best players in this league do. If I can do it every single night, then I’m doing something right. What I focused on this summer is how I can do it more consistently.”
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
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