The Boston Celtics were back in the Auerbach Center, finally enjoying a comfortable stretch of not only being home, but having three days off in between games. It gives the Celtics time to hit the film room again, and then walk out onto their own practice court and work somewhat extensively on what they saw.
“To tighten up some things offensively and defensively, working on execution, offensively some of the things we did well late-game, and stressing the defensive points we improved on from the road trip,” Ime Udoka said after the Wednesday practice. “Looking at those things today, getting a ton of shots up and resting our bodies some - preparing for a unique opponent.”
The Golden State Warriors aren’t Boston’s only upcoming challenge. Seven of their next eight games are against current playoff-seeded teams and one, the Minnesota Timberwolves, sitting at ninth and in play-in tournament contention.
The Celtics, meanwhile, sit in ninth themselves, dead-even at 19-19, but just 2.5 games behind the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers -- next Wednesday’s opponent.
“You're somewhat confident that you can get back in the mix, obviously, if you put a run stretch of games well,” Udoka said “But it's more so one at a time and looking at the next game instead of looking ahead and the players, we're definitely not asking them to do that.
“But we start to look at games that you had a chance with, that you may have given away some early and you want to get those back and know where you would be if you had taken care of business. So something that we're conscious of and want to string a few good games together. As I've mentioned before, we're not looking at opponents or the home stretch. We do have 15 out of 20 here, but that's not just an automatic that because we're home, we want to play well and string some together and get some consistency going.”
Consistency is Boston’s holy grail. If they can find it, they can cut themselves a path into the upper half of the standings. Of course, I’ve written some version of that last sentence just about every week for a very long time.
Consistency is elusive. Udoka says finding it is about work and attitude.
“Repetition. What we did today, what we will do for the next few practices is continuing to go over the things we do well,” he said. “We can't get confident or content with what we're doing there. We have to keep pressing until the stuff is second nature. A lot of the drills we're doing from training camp, we're getting back to those and doing them every chance we get.
“It's more so the focus and the repetition and execution of those more so than the actual speed. We're conscious of saving guys' legs but certain things you have to continue to work on until their second nature. Not sweeping under the rug if we do it well one game, we continue to show what we did well against Milwaukee, we worked on it today and we have two more practices to do that as well as focus on Golden State.”
JAYLEN BROWN FEELING GOOD
Brown took a little longer in his second stint of missed games to heal his right hamstring. The first time around, he dealt with soreness and tightness. This time, apparently, went a lot better.
“He was good. He said he felt better than the first time around,” Udoka said. “Didn't mention it and I think you could see in his legs and explosion, he was a better player.”
JOSH RICHARDSON AVAILABLE
When the curtain went up at Celtics practice, there was an unexpected face on the free-throw line: Josh Richardson.
Richardson was stuck in Phoenix in Health & Safety protocols but came out sooner than someone who tested positive would have, which means he either had inconclusive or false positive tests, or he was stuck in close contact exposure isolation due to being unvaccinated.
The Celtics have been very quiet about details, with Udoka only saying today that “League determined he’s out of health and safety protocols, so he’s back.”
In fact, there are no injuries to report after today’s practice.
“Good news,” Udoka said.
CELEBRATING STEPH CURRY
The Celtics face Golden State and Steph Curry on Friday, and it will be his first opening tip as the NBA’s all-time 3-point leader.
“He’s changed the game, the way he shoots the ball obviously,” Udoka said. “The thing that’s almost more impressive is 511 less games than Ray Allen. It shows how the game has changed, the attempts and everything he does. Definitely a revolutionary player and well-deserved. A tough guard.”
Udoka acknowledges that the analytics make today’s 3-point heavy approach the correct one. And trying to stop Curry’s particular brand of basketball is especially tough.
“The way they all hunt shots for him is very unique. It’s five guys trying to get one guy a shot, let alone the way he opens and stretches the floor out,” he said. “But you can’t get enamored with the threes and the crazy shots, because they get a lot of points in the paint based on how people are defending them, so you have to protect the paint as well. Know who you can help off of. It’s very unique.”
Overreact to Curry and he’ll burn you with passes or dribble penetration. Send the same look at him and he’ll adjust within a play or two. Play off him for any amount of time once he’s over half court and you risk a logo bomb.
“We have to bring our big higher in the screen and the pick-and-roll. The air space for him is an open shot,” Udoka said. “Some things we’ll have to do differently, but we have to stay with our physicality and give him multiple looks. You can’t keep a single (coverage) on him because he adjusts too well.”
DANNY AINGE JOINS UTAH JAZZ
It was no surprise to see Danny Ainge stick around basketball after he left the Celtics. He had been doing some consulting with the Utah Jazz, and today, Utah announced he is being hired in a new role as CEO of Utah Jazz Basketball. Ainge will also represent the team as an Alternate Governor for the Utah Jazz on the NBA’s Board of Governors.
Justin Zanick, their current General Manager, will remain with the team.
“I have known and respected Ryan and Ashley Smith for many years. What they are doing here in Utah is amazing and I am excited to be a part of their vision for the Jazz and Smith Entertainment Group as a whole,” Danny Ainge said in a statement. “Joining the Jazz was a natural and perfect fit for me, as my roots in Utah are deep and strong. This is a team that has a tremendous foundation of players and people, and Justin and Quin are doing an amazing job. I am excited to collaborate with them, be a resource, and share the perspective I have as we work together to bring our fans the success that they deserve.”