Once the preseason ends, it disappears from existence. Stats evaporate into dust, standings are erased, and rosters get cut down from 21 to 15. By all accounts, all of the games the Boston Celtics are playing right now are meaningless. But treating them as such would go against everything they have fought to accomplish.
Capping off last season with Banner 18 was more than a testament to the talent on the roster. It proved that the mentality Joe Mazzulla helped instill in the roster works and that it works well enough to beat out 29 other teams. So, while the preseason won’t contribute to Boston’s goal to repeat that success, the Celtics maintain the game goal every time they touch the hardwood:
Play Celtics basketball.
The Celtics aren't going to get caught by the championship hangover
Boston welcomed the Philadelphia 76ers to town on Friday night for their first preseason game at TD Garden this year. However, the real Sixers stayed home. Instead, Philly rolled out a lineup of G Leaguers, training camp guys, and rookies.
The talent gap between the two sides was evident from the jump, but that didn’t change the Celtics’ course of action.
“It's about us,” Jaylen Brown said after the game. “Every time we step on the floor, it don't really matter who the opponent is. We just got to play our standard of basketball. So, that's the tone that we set throughout training camp, and that's the mindset that we have.”
Treat others the way you want to be treated. It’s the golden rule. And in this case, it applies to the Celtics’ treatment of what should be deemed the 66ers: Boston wouldn’t want other teams to take it easy on them, so why should they do it?
The result? A 50-point victory and all of the showboating that comes along with a shellacking that significant.
Within the first quarter of the game, Brown was already throwing out “too little” celebrations. A mid-range jumper over rookie Justin Edwards was enough to bring that out. Luke Kornet got in on the action, too, breaking out a couple of celebrations on the court.
For Mazzulla, the golden rule meant showing the end-of-the-bench guys the same coaching style he uses with the starters.
By the time there was 6:02 left in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were up by 48 points. But the Sixers drained two threes in a row. A JD Davison miss led to the ball going out of bounds, and a TV timeout ensued. But based on Mazzulla’s body language, it was more than a TV timeout.
Philadelphia had scored on four of their last five possessions, and Mazzulla walked onto the court with purpose heading into the timeout. No matter the situation, no matter the personnel on the floor, he wants to coach the same.
“It's important. I mean, I think the way you treat those guys shows the continuity,” Mazzulla said. “One of the strengths of this team is, regardless of who's in or not, we execute at a high level we play with effort, and I think that's the way that we try to hold each other accountable to that. So, I enjoy coaching them, and they work hard, so I think it's key to try to keep that.”
Preseason or not, basketball is basketball, and Mazzulla doesn’t want to skip any steps.
This year’s training camp has been intense. The players have said it, Mazzulla has said it, and it’s been displayed by the team’s work ethic.
The Celtics are actively doing everything they can to avoid slipping into the traps that come with winning a championship. The dreaded championship hangover is a curse many teams have been struck by, but the Celtics don't want to be one of them. Too often, title teams get caught lollygagging through the following year, assuming the same good fortune will come their way.
Brown, Mazzulla, and the rest of the Celtics know that isn’t how the NBA works, and on Friday night, their beatdown of the C-list Sixers was evidence of their understanding.