Kristaps Porzingis has already shown a lot in a short amount of time with the Celtics. Between what we see in games and what the team is seeing in practice, there's a really good feeling at the Auerbach Center about the addition of Porzingis to the roster.
Those good vibed extend to Porzingis himself, who has been smiling and upbeat, even after finishing up hours on the floor and in the weightroom.
“It's been high intensity for sure,” he told reporters at the Auerbach Center Saturday afternoon. “Especially today, we had (Jaylen Brown) and (Jayson Tatum) going at it at the end of the practice. High intensity and high competitiveness, which was really fun. And overall, yeah, very competitive practice with a lot of like, kinda like exhausting, like, hard drills. But, yeah, great energy and having fun while doing it.”
Porzingis has played about 42 minutes this preseason, and only about half of those have included time with Tatum and/or Brown on the floor. They’ve gotten a lot more time together in practice, but he’s looking for more time on the floor with them.
“I would say the main time when we will get that rhythm and that chemistry will be when we're actually playing in a game,” Porzingis said. “Especially training camp, it's high intensity, everybody's kind of like running around, it's a little bit of chaos. I think once we get on the floor, and we have more of that focus, like playing, five on five actual game minutes together, the better off we'll be from that.”
As much as he’s hoping to work on that chemistry, the connection with frontcourt-mate Al Horford is strong.
“I feel pretty good with where we are,” Horford said. “I feel like the fact that we were both in here early in September really helped us get into a nice start. Obviously we have a ways to go continuing to develop the chemistry, but I feel pretty good with where we’re at.”
Having Horford around has helped Porzingis navigate a learning curve in the early stages of his time in Boston.
"It's definitely some new stuff that we're working on and look to do in the game,” Porzingis said. “Especially with Al, it's very easy to play honestly because he covers so much. Given that like this stage of his career, he's always in the -- he has the experience. That's why he's always in the right spot and helping and talking and kind of covering up for some small mistakes that happen on the court. Yeah, so far I love playing with him on both sides, but especially on defense."
It’s still not clear how Joe Mazzulla will choose to start games, but it’s obvious we’ll see plenty of the Horford/Porzingis pairing on the floor. Until Porzingis gets fully up to speed on his offense (which has already been pretty good), he and Horford can hold things down on the other end to give the Celtics a chance to win.
Horford is cool with that.
“I just think he has really good instincts,” Horford said. “Sometimes it’s not easy when you’re on the back line trying to recognize when to come help, when to drop off, things like that. It comes pretty easy, from what I’ve seen. He’s able to recover, make a play and be able to help us.”
INTENSE PRACTICES
Asking around the Auerbach Center about how practices have been has returned a common answer: intense.
Players have been running a lot. One person told me “they were getting after it” after a recent practice. There is a general focus that many are interpreting as encouraging heading into the season.
“We're doing what we set out to do in training camp, which was create a highly competitive environment and continue to work on that. That's most important,” Mazzulla said, also adding “You can't have competitive practice if they’re not willing to be competitive. And so our guys have taken ownership of what our goals are in training camp. And have done a great job coming in, competing every day.”
PRAISING PAYTON PRITCHARD
Pritchard has taken full advantage of his opportunity this preseason, but it’s been more than just hitting shots. Mazzulla noted that Pritchard has shown a lot of improvement in his pick-and-roll execution, as well as situational awareness.
“He executed a perfect end-of-quarter situation on both offense and defense,” Mazzulla said of Pritchard’s most recent performance in Philadelphia. “He’s just developing as a player every day, and like I said before, most people in his position don’t make it to the next contract, don’t make it to where he’s at now. So it just says a lot about who he is.”
Pritchard is an intense worker, which Mazzulla loves.
“The most important thing is that he asks questions. He wants to understand,” Mazzulla said. “And so he’s asking me, he’s asking the assistants, he’s asking his teammates questions, and that gives him the ability to communicate with his teammates. He’s doing a great job of recognizing situational basketball on both ends of the floor and how we can be better at it.”
VAN GUNDY JOINS CELTICS
Jeff Van Gundy, recently let go by ESPN, has joined the Celtics in an advisory role.
“Yeah, he’s been here, helping out, just dropping some words of wisdom,” said Oshae Brissett. “He’s been around the game for a very, very long time. But right now I feel like he’s really just observing and as we get into the nitty gritty of the season, I feel like he’ll do a lot more. Really help out and talk to us and stuff.”
While he’s listed on the team website under the coaching staff, his role is actually well beyond just the on-court product. He’ll be advising the entire basketball operations department, which includes the Maine Celtics.
Mazzulla noted Van Gundy’s unbiased perspective as perhaps the biggest benefit to the hire. Mazzulla has been running a lot by Van Gundy to get “fresh eyes” and a different perspective.
“Any time you can add like high character, high level, professional people, I think it's a no-brainer,” Mazzulla said. “So, fortunate enough that he's here, not just for the coaching staff, but for everybody and he's been through every imaginable situation in the NBA, in coaching, FIBA, NBA and so we're just lucky to have him. And he’s a great listener and a great worker. So he's added a lot of value, even in the first couple of weeks.”
Van Gundy won’t be at every game and when he is, he won’t be on the bench, so you’re more likely to see him in the executive suite with Brad Stevens than you are on the Garden floor.
CASSELL PAIRED WITH TATUM
Sam Cassell has been an instant hit with the Celtics, including with their star Jayson Tatum. Tatum personally requested Cassell be his position coach.
“My first couple of years in the league, Sam worked with (Tyrese) Maxey and he had the same shooting time as our guys,” Mazzulla said. “And so I was always able to observe what Sam was doing pregame with Maxey and with some of the other players. And just during the hiring process, talking to Sam, talking to Doc (Rivers) about what Doc relied on Sam for and what he was able to do, it just kind of made the most sense.”
The Celtics have obviously relied on Tatum to do more distributing for his teammates as he’s grown with the team. Having a former point guard in Cassell, with his vast NBA experience, is part of the calculus with this pairing. But Cassell also has too much experience to share with just one player.
“I think just Sam's been through every situation in the game,” Mazzulla said. “He's worked with players on the court and off the court, right? So as much as he's working with Jayson, like I said before, we need him to have one-on-one conversations with Jaylen, develop Jaylen.
“Like, Sam worked out with Dalano (Banton) yesterday. And so Sam's just been around a long time and he's been relied upon by really good coaches to just kind of navigate the roster because of all his experience. And so like, yes, he's working with Tatum, but we really need him to navigate the roster, meet each individual guy where he's at and then help them get to where we need them to go.”“Any time you can add like high character, high level, professional people, I think it's a no-brainer,” Mazzulla said. “So, fortunate enough that he's here, not just for the coaching staff, but for everybody and he's been through every imaginable situation in the NBA, in coaching, FIBA, NBA and so we're just lucky to have him. And he’s a great listener and a great worker. So he's added a lot of value, even in the first couple of weeks.”
EARNING TIME
Neemias Queta is on a two-way contract with the Celtics, but he’s testing the limits of that deal. The way he’s played so far in the preseason has raised some eyebrows, and might just get him a few minutes of more premium playing time.
“He's earned opportunity. He's done everything we asked him to do,” Mazzulla said. “He's coming every day and has worked. I really liked how he's gotten better and better each time he's been on the floor. So we're excited that we have an opportunity to develop him and, over these next two preseason games, it's definitely a goal to see does he continue to get better, can he continue to execute on both ends?”
WEEK AHEAD
Boston plays at home Tuesday night against the Knicks and then on the road in Charlotte for their preseason finale. Then they have five days off before their season opener.