Picks 'n Pops: Celtics University, avoiding intrusive thoughts, and a new pro league

Every week, I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because I had to do something to pass the time in line to return these socks.

- Jaylen Brown revealed that this season is what he and Joe Mazzulla call “Celtic University.”

“It's like you're in class and you’ve got to pay attention. Sometimes you’ve got to clap your hands — wake up, Josh, or something like that. But it's like being in school where we're going through breaking down the footage and trying to really expand our knowledge for the game.”

Interesting that he singled out Josh Minott for the “wake up” bit. So, what are the core tenets of Celtics University, then?

“Be the smarter-playing team. We've been saying it from the beginning, and sometimes it doesn't look like it, but we look at how to approach each and every game from a strategy, tactics standpoint. And I like from the start of the season to the point we’re at now, our basketball IQ has increased, our poise has increased, our understanding of the game has increased, and that's really what it's about. Continue to grow and get better. And I feel like I’ve watched these guys become better basketball players in a matter of three months.”

This goes hand-in-hand with the note last week about teaching decision-making versus memorization. The Celtics are being pushed into making the decisions for themselves instead of being told to mechanically be in one spot and then the next. The spots they should occupy depend on what the defense does. 

That's not an easy process. Guys have to learn the process and then build that IQ to turn it into instant reactions when they see it. Any hesitation throws the timing off. Getting these guys to be any good at it is a remarkable coaching achievement. 

- After the Pacers game, I asked Luka Garza about how he gets through the “downs” of his career; the stretches of DNPs and whatnot. He had been speaking a lot about staying ready through hard work, which is fine, but I wanted to know how he prevented the intrusive thoughts from seeping in and derailing him. Here’s his full answer: 

“It’s been a journey. I mean this is my fifth year in the league and I’ve been on the outside looking in more than I’ve been in the rotation, so I’ve dealt with it a lot. My rookie year, it was really tough. I struggled a lot and I felt like when I was getting out there, I was trying to force too much, or I was losing my confidence. And then I was cut and I was out of the league and had to take an (Exhibit 10 contract) to try to make a team to try to get back in. So that moment just gave me a whole bunch more perspective on everything and understanding that at the end of the day, even if I’m not playing or I’m not in the rotation, I’m living my dream. I never really thought I was going to be here in the league and obviously playing for the Celtics or something like that. So I try to always make sure – I feel like there’s so much work that’s done on the physical side of the game and people don’t talk about the work you have to put in on the mental. And that for me is like, I’m journaling, I’m meditating, I’m doing all sorts of things to try to keep my mental right, especially in those moments where I have even more of a sense of urgency to work on it.”

Follow-up: When did you start doing it?

“My sophomore year of college, I had a stretch when I was playing really well and then I followed that up – it was like the best four games of my career, and I followed that up with like the worst six. I felt like I was always up and down and so I needed to make a change, and that offseason is when I started to implement that stuff, and I feel like it changed the course of my career going from junior to senior year, obviously into the league. So that was a breaking-point moment, a fork in the road in my career of was I really going to allow – you know, as a guy that works so hard, you want to go out there and perform at the level you’re capable of, but sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself to do that. So that moment in my career helped me out and pushed me to get past that.”

It’s important, to me, that these guys be seen as human beings with extraordinary skills rather than some kind of robot or video game character. All too often, these athletes are simply brushed aside as “not good enough” and never given a second thought. 

And that's part of the business. The whole thing is transactional by nature. We talk about them in terms of assets and contracts. We trade them like baseball cards. This is part of the tradeoff for making millions of dollars to play a sport. They live great lives. 

So this isn’t about feeling sorry for anyone. It’s just understanding that you can be a pro athlete and have it tough sometimes. These are humans who have to deal with success and failure at work like the rest of us. I think it’s important to see them as such from time to time. 

- Congratulations to Mazzulla on becoming the third-fastest coach (Steve Kerr, Phil Jackson) to 200 wins. 

- Congratulations to Bob Cousy on getting the Holy Cross court named after him. He’s only 97, Holy Cross, why not take a few more years to stew over the decision? 

- Jake Fischer reports the Celtics are willing to keep Anfernee Simons past the trade deadline, a scenario I’ve been floating for a little bit, including last week’s Picks ‘n Pops. I never thought they’d dump him just for tax relief. I think he’ll either be traded in order to get a center, he’ll be allowed to walk to free up space next season, or they’ll try to keep him on a mid-level deal. 

I’ll just repeat myself here: Signing Simons to a mid-level deal makes perfect sense if he’s willing and able to continue on in a bench role when Jayson Tatum returns. Not only would he give Boston great depth, teams can use mid-level exceptions to absorb contracts in a trade, so he becomes more valuable as a trade piece next season. 

And because the Celtics have his Bird Rights, they can sign him to that deal without using the exception themselves. I don’t see where they’d find a bench guy quite like Simons anywhere else this offseason. The key would be convincing him to accept that role so he can thrive in it. He can be a superstar in that role if he wants to be. 

- The Wednesday, January 7 game against the Denver Nuggets has been moved to ESPN. That should tell you a lot about how this season is going. They flexed Bucks-Warriors OUT so they could move Celtics-Nuggets into that spot. 

- Jaylen Brown does not lack confidence, that's for sure. 

- Nikola Jokic had 56/16/15 last night to beat the Timberwolves in OT. 

Sorry Jaylen, he’s doing it better than you right now. 

- The Cavs might have just been a flash in the pan. 

- The Spurs are real. But this is a crucial point in their development. Are these young players going to continue with the right attitudes to push this thing forward, or will some of them let their heads get too big and ruin a good thing?

- It was nice to see Al Horford back and hitting shots last night. 

- Things seem to be going just fine for the Lakers

This is a turning point for them. They will either respond well to this tough coaching or they’ll fold and Redick will be back on TV. 

It’s a good thing there's nothing JJ has ever said that can be thrown in his face at a time like this. 

- Anthony Davis left a game with an injury that could sideline him for a while? I’m SHOCKED! Who could have seen this coming?

- I’m fascinated by the decision to allow James Nnaji back into college basketball AFTER he was drafted in 2023 and played professionally overseas. He never signed an NBA contract, but the Knicks hold his draft rights. 

Does this mean teams can draft guys in the second round, hold their rights, and send them back to college to develop further? 

And we’re in the middle of the college season. Does this mean low-level pros can come to college to cash in on NIL money? Guys who left early to go pro can come back if they never signed an NBA deal? International players making okay money can come to college to cash in on NIL money?

NIL was supposed to be “let’s give these college kids a cut of the money they're earning these universities.” Now it’s turning the NCAA into another pro league. 

And I’m not going on some pious diatribe about how the sanctity of the sport has been ruined. The NCAA has been too corrupt an organization to have earned that kind of lore. Still, what’s happening is problematic and needs to be fixed. 

- I’m not a college football guy. Was the USC-Notre Dame rivalry really a huge thing? I feel like true college rivalries transcend the sport. I know about Ohio State and Michigan. I know about Alabama and Auburn. Am I wrong in saying USC-ND is nowhere near that level?

- Hey, camera man, you have to keep your head on a swivel at all times when the game is going on. 

- The Ringer is moving to Netflix, which is a wild play. Are people really going to open up Netflix to get their podcasts now? I doubt it, but I’m curious to see how it goes. 

My feeling is that YouTube will become more podcast-friendly in response. They're not going to let Netflix encroach on their turf. 

- The Spurs beat the Thunder last night, moving to 3-0 against the defending champs this season. The Thunder have been treated as inevitable and invincible this season, so the humbling at the hands of the Spurs makes things a little more interesting this year. For knocking the Thunder down a peg, and for rising to the top of the West so quickly … and for continuing to enjoy all the awesomeness Luke Kornet has to offer …

The Spurs are having the BEST WEEK EVER!

- Here’s my latest podcast, if you’re bored.