Chris Boucher relishes hard coaching. He's come to the right place. At the foundation of Joe Mazzulla's ability to get the most out of his players on the court is learning who they are off the hardwood. That gives him an understanding of the approach that works best for them. It also lets them know he is invested in them, enabling him to challenge them.
As a seasoned veteran, the 32-year-old Boucher is accustomed to that style of coaching. That includes his two collegiate campaigns with the Oregon Ducks.
When asked if that or another approach brings the best out of him on Tuesday at the Auerbach Center, he told Hardwood Houdini, "Probably hard coaching. I mean, I think that I've been coached this way a long time," said Boucher.
He also shared that when he first arrived at Oregon, his head coach with the Ducks, Dana Altman, "he really was hard on me, and we did a lot of running, and also, it forced me to be a better player, and I think that this is the type of coaching that I need."
It's why Boucher has felt right at home in a training camp that Jaylen Brown told Hardwood Houdini has "probably been my hardest preseason, I think I've had [from] a conditioning standpoint and a physicality standpoint, but that's what we're going to need this season."
Starting isn't Chris Boucher's priority
The eight-year veteran got the start in Boston's 138-107 victory vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers in Sunday's preseason home opener at TD Garden. With him at center, the hosts deployed a small-ball lineup that outscored the opposition 9-3 in an opening shift that lasted for 3:48.
When asked about getting the start and what being in the first unit means to him, Boucher shared what he's more concerned with than being out there for the opening tip.
"I guess that's Joe's decision," said the former Toronto Raptor. "I'm only focusing on helping this team. Whatever position I am in, and do what I can to be disruptive or be able to speed up the game. Whatever we need out of me during the game."
While Boucher is best suited to play the four in a double-big lineup, a small-ball approach can help the Celtics overcome their imbalance by employing a dynamic offensive attack and generating turnovers.
While Joe Mazzulla stressed not to read into who starts in an exhibition game, he also told Hardwood Houdini, "We have the depth to be able to do a lot of different things and be chaotically structured in what we're trying to do.
"So, at the end of the day, we're going to go with what gives us an opportunity to have that chaotic structure and put us in [a] position to give us a chance to win every single night. So, it was a good start on that."
Boucher's versatility, length, and athleticism are the keys to Boston's optimal small-ball unit. A group that figures to struggle on the defensive glass but can feast in transition when they force turnovers or corral the rebound off a miss. Even when they don't, that lineup, with Boucher at the five, has the skill and dynamicism to, as Mazzulla puts it, "create chaos" for opposing defenses.