Friday night’s blockbuster trade sending former Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks prompted many to question whether or not New York now has the talent to beat the reigning-champion Boston Celtics in a seven-game series.
It’s safe to say that the Cs don’t seem to be shaking in their boots over this one.
Sunday marked the first time Boston held practice since the news of the swap broke. Some highlights of the session included duck-duck-goose with the kids and wiffleball.
Now, the Knicks have been a complete joke of a franchise for my entire lifetime. I think I’ve seen them play past the first round of the playoffs just three times. It’s pretty funny that they’ve put together their most talented roster in quite some time just to have the Celtics having the most fun possible, right in their face.
Boston’s fun and games didn’t come without a purpose, though (do you really think Joe Mazzulla would do anything without a reason?). The team was able to invite their families to the Auerbach Center for their final practice before heading to kick of the preseason in Abu Dhabi.
“Gotta keep the balance,” Mazzulla said of Sunday’s family day. “Great to have the kids to watch their dads compete.”
This is nothing new for the Rhode Island native. He hasn’t been shy about seeing just about everything as an opportunity for learning. Mazzulla has had his guys participate in several unorthodox activities since taking over the head coaching role two years ago. Sunday was just another example.
For his players, the non-basketball stuff can be a great way to reset before things really get going in practice.
“You get to get your mind off the game for a second before we all lock in for the practice,” Derrick White said of Mazzulla’s outside-the-box practice activities (h/t Noa Dalzell). “You can learn so much from every sport. Any time you can have fun out here, that’s the goal.”
Mazzulla was sure to note that his guys had been competing hard from the start of training camp and that he was proud of them for setting the tone from the get-go.
As for Towns and his arrival to a rival, he was the recipient of praise from a few Celtics.
If you ask Al Horford, KAT’s versatile skillset is going to be good for Boston’s contending counterpart.
“Karl is a great player. It’s going to be good for them. He does a lot of things on the floor.”
Boston’s man in charge echoed the praise, but stressed that his guys need to focus on themselves and put in the work every single day.
“Karl-Anthony Towns is a great player and they are a great team,” Mazzulla explained. “We’ve gotta focus on us and we’ve gotta get better every day.”
The Celtics will fly to Abu Dhabi on Monday to get ready for Friday’s preseason opener against the Denver Nuggets.
For more on how the Towns trade affects the Celtics, check out the latest “How ‘Bout Them Celtics” episode where Jack Simone and I break it down.
