As the Boston Celtics get ready to return from the All-Star break, they're second in the Eastern Conference standings. They're generating the second-best offensive rating, limiting opponents to the second-fewest points per game, and they rank third in net rating. They have the hallmarks of a legitimate title contender.
That outlook defied what many on the outside envisioned when projecting how their season would unfold. Yet for all the changes, seeing members of their championship core depart, losing front-office fixtures Austin Ainge and Remy Cofield, and Jayson Tatum rehabbing from a torn Achilles, their identity, culture, and work ethic stayed the same.
"People just counted us out," said Sam Cassell in an interview lightly edited for clarity and grammar. "We're just a hard group, a hard group of guys playing basketball, coaching a game of basketball, we're together as a unit. Our staff is wonderful. Our players are wonderful. Our players allow us to coach them hard, and the result they're getting is because they're driven, and they allow us to coach them the way we coach them."
It's also paramount that everyone understands and buys into their role. It's not easy to go from a lifetime as a star player to someone the team isn't looking at to score. However, the ability to embrace that and primarily contribute to winning in other ways is an essential ingredient in achieving collective success.
"Our guys, they don't want to just be the stars of the NBA," conveyed Cassell. "They just want to be good players in the NBA. The best team in the NBA, and teams, don't just come from who's scoring all the points. It takes a team to win one NBA game, and I think we have a pretty good team that we understand how we have got to win and what we have to do to win."
Adapt or get left behind
What that requires from them became more demanding without the likes of Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet. The Celtics didn't just need to respond to that loss in talent; they had to keep up with where the league is going and figure out how to maximize their current personnel.
Understanding they had to play faster, they've gone from ranking last in average speed on offense a year ago to an increased tempo this season, per NBA.com.
"We have to play faster because the league is turning that way, and we don't want to be the team that's left out," stated Cassell.
The coaching staff also had to figure out how to overcome losing the option of leaning on pick-and-rolls that centered on Jayson Tatum methodically attacking the weak link in the defense that switched on to him. The answer has been a beautiful, multi-option, read-oriented offense.
"You always have to have an understanding of where the league is heading," said Joe Mazzulla in late November. "And I think the league is heading -- just playing, as you can see, playing at such a faster pace. I also think with the physicality, the effort defensively, I think a lot of teams are adjusting more on the fly of, like, you're never going to see the same possession, same coverage, 2,3,4, plays in a row. And so, going to a faster pace, a read-oriented thing, a little bit more of that, it matches our personnel. But it's also, I think, kind of where the league is headed."
It also helps that their roster's makeover gave them a group, from Jaylen Brown to Jordan Walsh, that was eager to prove what they could showcase with more responsibility. For many, from Walsh to Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta, and Luka Garza, this was far and away their best chance to prove themselves on the NBA stage.
What that has translated to is a relentless effort. It has become a core part of Boston's identity. It's a crucial part of why the Celtics are overcoming the fact that they don't have the same margin for error they grew accustomed to and why they're defying external expectations.
"We compete," voiced Cassell. "We did, we competed the last two years, but we understood that we were so talented the last two season that, some days we didn't compete. We still won games that we really didn't compete in. "So, we were that good, but we understand that we are good, but we have to compete as much as possible for us to win.
"I think our guys, from 1 to 10, have bought into that system and they enjoy the system, and on the days we do compete, and we lose, we know, we just -- we commend the other team and get better for the next game."
What makes Joe Mazzulla special
Across the Association, there are compelling cases for who should win Coach of the Year this season. The oddsmakers recognize Joe Mazzulla's candidacy, placing him in the top three. However, they don't deem him the betting favorite. In this author's opinion, he has the most compelling case.
The Celtics' coaching staff -- and it is an award shared by an entire staff, not just the person at the helm of it -- has changed Boston's approach at both ends of the floor. They've helped maximize their current personnel and keep Boston in the title picture despite losing five of its top players, including Tatum, while he goes through rehab.
What stands out to Cassell about the job Mazzulla is doing this season?
"He's an awesome communicator. He doesn't pretend to have all the answers to all of the problems. That's the best thing about him," said Cassell. "Being an assistant coach on his staff, I understand that if there's something that he doesn't know or understand about, he will ask; it doesn't matter who on the staff, he will ask. And that's a sign of a good leader in my eyes.
"He understands what it's going to take for us to win every night. And if we don't have one ingredient that night, he may be pissed, or I may be pissed, but we get over it and try to get better for the next game. It's always the next game, you know, it's always the next game with us. We want to compete for 48 minutes, and that's the makeup of our team. We want to compete."
Beyond the communication, there's a care factor with Mazzulla. Whether it's supporting Tatum throughout his recovery, visiting Queta at his alma mater, Utah State, this offseason, or attending former Celtic Chris Boucher's baptism in Montreal, he builds meaningful and lasting relationships with those around him.
Knowing he has their back and has an understanding of who they are off the court and what they want to accomplish on it, allows Mazzulla to push his players to help get the most from them.
"It's just like any other thing. It just takes time. It takes trust," said Cassell. "Trust comes from two sides; it comes from the players' side, and it comes from the coaching side. When a coach and a player have a mutual respect for each other, a player might not want to hear what the coach has to say all the time, but he respects it, and he'll listen to it."
Sam Cassell's head coaching pursuit
The former All-NBA guard spent 15 years as a floor general and an on-court extension of his head coach. He's now in his 17th season as an assistant coach. Cassell has helped the ascent of players ranging from John Wall, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Maxey, and Tatum. His time flanking Mazzulla includes helping guide Boston to banner 18 and the work that has gone into engineering this expectation-defying campaign.
Cassell has paid his dues and earned his opportunity to become a head coach. Unfortunately, whether it was an NBA franchise or his alma mater, Florida State, that chance has yet to come. To his credit, he hasn't given up on that pursuit.
"God is good," says Cassell. "You know what I'm saying? So I'm not giving up. Hopefully, it happens for me. I would like to have an opportunity to coach one of these teams, but the enjoyment I get from being a coach in basketball is seeing young men, when they are first getting in the league, and their progress in life is becoming good basketball players, becoming family men, and becoming fathers. That's the part I enjoy.
"The coaching thing, I would love to have an opportunity to do it. I'm striving for it because I still love this. I wouldn't do it if I didn't love it at all. I love this. I love what I'm doing. I always have a smile on my face. I'm just upbeat. I enjoy being a part of the Association, especially being part of the Boston Celtics."