BOSTON — The Boston Celtics are imperfect. Rebounding woes plagued the early portion of the season. Three-point slumps have been unshakable. Clutch-time performances haven’t met the standard. The team is new. Those types of bumps could have been predicted. Integrating new pieces and new styles onto the court isn’t easy.
So, for an organization that focuses on what it can control, building relationships away from the hardwood has always been crucial.
From the very start of the season, this goal was clear.
Chris Boucher got baptized this summer. Joe Mazzulla was there. “I got baptized this week, and he came to that, too,” said Boucher. “So, it just shows how much they care and how much they want me to feel comfortable here.”
He hadn’t even been a Celtic for three months.
Creating Celtics culture goes beyond the court
Jayson Tatum has been recovering from a ruptured Achilles for months. Mazzulla was there. “I was there for the first time he walked, I was there for the first time he ran, and I was there for the first shots that he took,” he said.
Celtics newcomers and returners alike were in the Auerbach Center months earlier than they had to be. “It's different this year,” said Neemias Queta. “We got a bunch of new faces, so it's fun getting to know these guys. Getting to figure out what their interests are, and how they play, and figuring out that stuff. It takes time, and I think we're on the right pace.”
That offseason work was essential, and as the season has rolled on, the Celtics have only gotten closer.
“It's been fun,” said Sam Hauser. “I feel like everybody's kind of jived pretty quickly in terms of just getting to know each other, bonding off the court, stuff like that.”
Creating those connections is how winning happens.
“I think it's just developing relationships with them,” Mazzulla said. “Having an understanding that everyone's unique. Everyone's got strengths, weaknesses, hobbies, things that are annoying. It's just part of it. And then you just blend it together. So, it's not forcing it. It's having an understanding that you just meet people where they're at, and you're just building a relationship with them.”
For Xavier Tillman, that uniqueness Mazzulla mentioned has stood out. Boucher has young kids, just like he does. Josh Minott has an artsy side. “That's something you wouldn't know if you were just looking at him, but if you have a conversation with him, he'll show that,” Tillman noted.
And he’s not the only one to notice Minott’s outgoing personality. “Josh is kind of funny,” Hauser said with a smile. “He's a little bit of a wild card, but he's a funny dude. Just high energy, as you can tell on the court. That's kind of how he is off court, too. Cool dude.”
But for Tillman, the chance to get to know Luka Garza has stood out. “Me and Luka have always been battle partners,” he said.
They grew up in similar basketball circles. The same high school class, the same collegiate years. Yet their paths never crossed until Boston. At least, not on a personal level.
“We never really got a chance to get to know one another,” Tillman sadi. “And so, for me and him, we work out almost every day together, and we just get a chance to talk, even on the bus and stuff like that. We get a chance to just talk and continue to get to know each other and how we came up. So it's been fantastic.”
Those are the small moments that matter. Tatum, still recovering but travelling with the team, pulling Jordan Walsh aside and telling him to tap into his killer instinct. Boston’s assistant coaches throwing some Spanish into their pre-game warm-ups with Hugo Gonzalez. Every small interaction builds into a culture.
“It's been great getting to know everybody and getting to know like where they came from, how they got here, their careers thus far, and even their goals and stuff like that, and what they want to accomplish,” said Tillman. “Everybody's just got different stories.”
The Celtics are more than just the Celtics. They’re parents. Husbands. Boyfriends. Brothers. People who get seen through the lens of 'makes' and 'misses'.
But after the ball stops bouncing, when they head back to the locker room, they need to stay connected. Just because the pick-and-rolls are running and the defensive rotations have stopped doesn’t mean their jobs end.
Their connection needs to dive much, much deeper than that.
“I think it's honestly about being vulnerable,” said Tillman. “I think everybody needs to speak their two cents, so that nobody's assuming that somebody has an agenda they don't have. If somebody is not on their A game today, and somebody just comes in and says, 'See, he's always like this,' vs. like, 'No, he's experiencing something off the court.' But if you don't talk to them, you don't know, and then you go into judging.
“It's very important that you get to know people, and then, it's also important on the other side that if you are feeling some type of way, you got to voice how you're feeling, so then everybody can move accordingly to try to help.”
Without that, all the other work could go out the window.
Connections can’t be forced. They can’t be faked. Not behind the scenes.
But all it takes is one olive branch to cultivate a team-wide habit of openness. Once that ball gets rolling, chemistry forms. And once chemistry forms, everything gets easier.
“You just have to do it yourself and be as vulnerable as possible,” said Tillman. “You really can't force anybody to do anything, but as you are more authentic to yourself, then more and more people feel more comfortable. Like, you know what? If he can do it, why can't I do it? But you definitely can't force anybody to do it. it just won't happen.
“So, the more that you're yourself, people start to break out of the shell, and start to feel like, 'Okay, if he can be himself, then I can be myself, and at least one person will like me for being who I am.'”