While the Celtics saw some major changes on their roster this summer, it doesn’t change how they’re still led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in the pursuit of Banner No. 18. But going into training camp — which is still roughly two months away — the C’s will need to alter how they play. Marcus Smart is off to Memphis while the Celtics made a calculated risk in acquiring big man Kristaps Porzingis.
Losing a player like Smart, the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year and the team’s longtime emotional leader, is bound to have some ripple effects. But C’s coach Joe Mazzulla said last week that they still figure to have similar principles to last season with Tatum, Brown and Porzingis leading the way.
“You’re obviously going to do some different things to adhere to your roster on both ends of the floor,” Mazzulla said. “But at the end of the day, our principles remain the same: Our ability to defend at a high level and our ability to execute on the offensive end and just continue to work to be the well-balanced team that we were last year but at the same time find small ways to reinvent and get better.”
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Talking after signing his five-year supermax contract extension, Brown stressed he wants to see the Celtics still commit to the defensive end of the court. Near the end of the season, when taking on the Heat, there were comments made the C’s lost some of that defensive juice that led them to the 2022 NBA Finals. Of course, improving defensively without Smart will be a tough task considering how much the guard affected on that end of the court.
But Porzingis, coming off a career season, was stellar defensively and should shore up the team’s rim protection. The big man’s fit alongside Al Horford and Robert Williams III should also give the Celtics flexibility and options next season. Mazzulla said they’ll “probably” play more double big compared to last season, which is a testament to how Porzingis should fit with the rest of the roster, not just Tatum and Brown.
“You have to commit to it daily, you have to talk about it,” Mazzulla said of the defense. “But at the same time, we’ve had multiple systems. This team and organization has always been built on defense. And so a few years ago, when we played double big, there was a bunch of maintaining and a physical way to play. ... I think we have an opportunity to kind of blend both of them to where we do maintain our system and do some of the things we did well for the majority of the season, and then just kind of reinvent and find small ways that adhere to our roster.”
Regardless, the Celtics should be right back to their title-contending ways next season. There will be new voices and adjustments, but the Tatum-Brown duo has led the C’s consistently to the East Finals when both healthy. But it’s about getting over that championship hump for the next few seasons.
“I’m excited to get started with the journey as well,” Brown said. “I think what Kristaps can bring to us defensively and the additions some of our other guys can bring to us defensively. I want to make sure that’s where we hang our hats this year and that starts with me, that starts with Jayson, that starts with guys, Rob. With Marcus gone, we don’t want our defensive identity to go out the door as well, so we have to really emphasize that at the start of training camp.”
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How Celtics see Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis fit together - MassLive.com
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