The vibes are high in Boston. Any lingering disdain from fans after the Jaylen Brown trade has mostly faded, and people are buying into the new-look roster, Jayson Tatum in the leadership role, and a deep and versatile team that’s motivated to go out and prove themselves in a loaded Eastern Conference.
Every report out of training camp is better than the last, with talks of the team getting together and building chemistry off the court, everyone buying into their roles, the young guys taking big leaps, the veterans showing a willingness to mentor, and much more.
It sounds cliché, but it truly does feel like there’s a different energy around this team, and the team is more connected than they’ve been in a long time. So, sure enough, leave it to Joe Mazzulla to drop a turd in the punch bowl and bring everyone out of the clouds and back down to reality.
Mazzulla knows adversity will come for the Celtics eventually
Mazzulla offered a great perspective on the team’s vibes during a recent practice; he relayed the following message to Noa Dalzell of CelticsBlog.
“Every team you lead is the most together team right now. Because we haven’t traveled. No one’s gotten benched. No one’s been on a losing streak. No one’s gotten blamed in the media. No one’s had to go stand in the corner for 10 minutes and not get the ball. So, you learn those things as the season goes on, and you just learn how to work through those things together.”
This is classic Joe-speak, but he’s absolutely right. It’s easy to say all the right things, for everyone to buy in and be all buddy-buddy, but if it doesn’t translate to success on the court, it’s not going to last, and it’s not going to matter.
The reality of the situation is that while the Celtics have a roster with 14 good players, they aren’t all going to be part of the rotation. Joe is going to have to make tough decisions with his lineup, and there are almost certainly going to be some guys who aren’t happy with their minutes and workload.
Depth can be a double-edged sword for Celtics
Part of the reason to be excited about this team is that they are so deep and have so many players who are hungry, but that also means stiff competition for playing time, and there’s only so much of that to go around. Of course, in training camp, before the team has even taken the floor for a preseason game, everyone is going to be in great spirits.
But if the team starts losing some games and certain players aren’t getting the type of minutes they had hoped for, the good vibes could dissipate awfully quickly. I’m not necessarily saying that’s going to be the case, but it’s an excellent point by Mazzulla. It’s easy to be connected and positive in early October, but we’ll see how things go once the first sign of adversity hits.
I’m confident that Mazzulla is the best coach to navigate those issues, and the fact that he’s already offering this type of awareness speaks to his comfort level with this group and his unique leadership qualities. Still, it’s not going to be all rainbows and butterflies all season. Luckily, Joe perfectly understands that and is more than ready to handle whatever challenges come his way.
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