There is a lot new about these Boston Celtics. We’ve spent all summer wondering about so many things that we might be excused for wondering if the first day of practice might have produced something significantly different than what we’ve been used to over the years.
It turns out evolution is a bit more gradual.
“It was a good day one. We had one day of practice,” Jayson Tatum said after it was all over. “Obviously it’s a different voice, it’s a different person. We learned some new things today. Overall, it was just a good day. Everybody was excited, first day, just to get out there and be with each other for the first time. It was just a good day overall.”
Brad Stevens was spotted walking off the practice court, but the day belonged to Ime Udoka, who is at the helm for the first time as a head coach.
“It was fun, I enjoy our group,” he said. “Obviously I know our coaches well. Nothing I haven’t done before, just in a different capacity now, whether it’s summer league. What (Gregg Popovich) let us do in San Antonio was similar as well. It’s fun to implement your stuff, get the group together. Good to get out there for the first day.”
We’ve heard all summer about how Udoka would lean on his own NBA past as he enters this phase of his career. His playing and coaching career spanned an evolution in how the NBA does business, and how hard teams are pushed, and he’s carrying those lessons into today.
“This isn’t the 90’s anymore where you’re running two and a half hour practices twice a day,” he said. “We’re not in a rush to try to put 100 plays in. It’s more so getting the concepts across and getting the coverages and different schemes and terminology across. It’s not reinventing the wheel.
“We don’t want to skip any steps starting over like it is Day 1, especially with a new staff and new players added. So we’ll take that slow and really use these first practices and preseason games to implement the stuff we want to get to. Then we’ll get to more specific sets and things guys do naturally already.”
It might be natural for a new head coach to come in and heavy-handedly try to put a stamp on the team, especially when the former coach is in an office up the hall. Where Udoka’s first taste of success may lie is in the ease of sliding into a new system. It helps to have players like Al Horford and Josh Richardson, who Udoka has coached in Philadelphia, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who have Team USA experience with their new head coach, to lean on in this transition.
“It’s good to see guys I’ve coached in the past, like Josh and Al, as well as Jayson and some of those guys,” Udoka said. “Familiar faces is good, but I’ll enjoy getting to know some of the other guys as well.”
Everyone loves the first day of practice because they haven’t had much time to piss each other off. Everyone is loud in their defensive communication drills in September. Udoka’s biggest challenge will be to keep those voices loud in the January doldrums and the March playoff push. His biggest question is whether he can truly connect with guys and get them to do what’s needed.
“You can only be who you are. I'm a guy that is not going to sweep stuff under the rug. I'm going to be straightforward, blunt and direct with them,” Udoka said. “They've asked for that but it's just who I am in general. I can't come in and not be what I am. They know that about me already. With me coming in and me having worked with a lot of people before, they know I'm going to be honest with them, be upfront and it's a lot that's required of you that we are.”
OTHER PRACTICE NOTES
- As we look for signs of how the Celtics will approach their starting lineup, it’s clear that there is a strong chance that Al Horford is in that mix.
Udoka has now twice mentioned taking advantage of mismatches when Horford is on the floor.
“Some of the things I mentioned in Philadelphia were teams putting their big on Joel (Embiid) and two guards on (Horford) at times and we didn’t always take advantage of it,” Udoka said. “So I told him to be who he is. He got back to that somewhat in Oklahoma City last year and we’re looking to take advantage of that. If teams are going to put a small on him or something like that we’ll definitely try to make them pay more often.”
This isn’t a discussion of what to do about the other team switching on pick-and-rolls. This seems like a discussion of what to do when two bigs are on the floor.
Of course, he could just be referring to the lineup the Sixers used, but he could also be referencing it because Horford and Robert Williams will be sharing the floor. Pre and early-season experimentation will certainly lead to some interesting combinations, so it will be interesting to watch for how often Udoka chooses to use Horford and Williams in tandem versus in a starter/backup dynamic.
- Speaking of Robert Williams ... it’s still unclear what his role will exactly be, even though a lot of us on the outside presume he’s going to be the starter. There is still a matter of earning that spot, and being capable of holding onto it.
“We do want to build him up,” Udoka said. “Growth is a constant thing with all of our guys. He’s at a stage in his career and an age where you want to see him improve overall. Health is a big part of it obviously. I saw that first hand in the playoffs last year and the difference with him being on and off the court in that Brooklyn series. We know how he impacts a game and how the difference he makes when he’s healthy. It’s just showing improvement and growth overall, and that’s increasing his minutes, increasing his role, and that (contract) extension is a vote of confidence from us in what he can do for our team.”
- Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard are hoping to carve out roles on this team. The competition will be fierce, but each is hoping to force their way into the mix.
“We had a conversation with Ime, there’s roles in basketball, not everybody does the same thing,” Nesmith said. “It’s some people’s job to go out and score points, it’s somebody’s job to get eight rebounds and that’s what the team needs. Just understanding that and adjusting. Once you figure that out and you buy in, everything is going to take care of itself.”
Pritchard will especially feel a squeeze. As well as he played last season and over the summer, there are still names ahead of him on the depth chart.
“I think I just approach it the same way that I’ve always approached it my whole life,” he said. “I’m going to go out and compete. That’s all you can do. And then you leave it up to the coaches. At the end of the day we all just want to win so that’s what we’re here to do.”
