The Celtics have been notorious for two things during Joe Mazzulla’s tenure as head coach: winning and shooting tons of threes. With the significant roster changes the front office made this summer, at least one of those things is going to have to change.
In an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Zolak & Bertrand, Mazzulla explained how he’s had to adapt his offensive game plan to complement the 2025-26 roster.
“With our team dynamics of the last two years, threes were easy because there were five guys on the floor who could shoot at all times,” he explained. “This is the first year where we don’t have a stretch five. Not having a stretch five, that’s at least 8-10 threes that you’re going to have to turn into different types of shots, or you’re going to have to create different types of 2-on-1s.”
Mazzulla-ball is more than just 3-Point shooting. The Celtics Head Coach shared his thoughts with @ZoandBertrand pic.twitter.com/XWbY2MLJQr
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Different 2-on-1s could mean a few different things. Pick-and-roll situations, big men spacing the floor from the dunker’s spot, and putting pressure on the defense by getting out in transition.
Anyone who predicted the Celtics to push the pace was absolutely right
Throughout training camp and even earlier in the offseason, many speculated that the Celtics would lean into the latter this season. Speed may be one of their greatest assets, without players like Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, and Jayson Tatum, who is still recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Mazzulla all but confirmed that we’ll be seeing a sped-up Celtics team in the upcoming campaign.
“I think your shot profile is always going to match the strengths of your roster,” he continued. “We have different types of strengths. We’re a little bit younger. We’re a little bit faster. We’re a little bit more athletic. At the end of the day, we’re going to take the shots that the defense gives us and we’re going to look to find different ways to create 2-on-1s.”
Pace was a common theme throughout Monday’s Media Day at the Auerbach Center.
“I want to play fast, play faster,” Jaylen Brown explained.
“Well, I definitely think we need to adapt,” Payton Pritchard pointed out. “We do not have the same team, a lot of different players. We need to play a lot faster.”
“We definitely speak about just the pace we want to play with,” said Josh Minott. “We want to be the fastest team. We want to have no lag time in any decision-making we do, whether that be taking the ball out after a bucket or [in] transition. We’re definitely making it a point of emphasis to be the fastest team on the court.”
Even if they’ll be without legitimate championship aspirations, the pace-driven Celtics should be an exciting team for fans to watch this season.