Boston Celtics: 5 Things We Learned From 2018-2019 Media Day

2) Many players arrived early and the pickup games are crazy competitive

Sure, it could just be the excitement over basketball being back, but top to bottom, the Boston Celtics players sound incredibly confident and jacked up about the upcoming season. A lot of players returned to Boston early in September to get work in with their teammates and, by all accounts, the ensuing pickup games have been highly competitive.

“The pickup games have been great, so thankful that we have a bunch of guys that were in the facility in September, ” Gordon Hayward said. “For me, that was the first time that I played 5-on-5 and there is nothing like playing basketball.

“Sometimes in pickup games, not everyone is making moves or really trying to score. We have people across the board who can isolate, create their own shot, create shots for others and you can see some of that in the pickup games. Guys are just more confident, not just in themselves but as a teammate. You are confident that when you pass it to them, they are going to get you a good look or make something happen.”

To hear it told, the full-court run resembles the legendary ‘Dream Team’ practice games that Michael Jordan has called “the most fun [I’ve] ever had on a basketball court,” according to Sports Illustrated’s Jack McCallum.

Hopefully, after the Boston Celtics win the NBA championship this year, footage will be revealed of those games, showing Aron Baynes drilling pull-up three’s, Al Horford running fast breaks like Magic Johnson, and Irving dominating the whole time with only his left hand.