BOSTON — The Celtics’ key players, Brad Stevens and Joe Mazzulla, spoke on Tuesday at media day, tipping off Boston’s training camp one week before most of the league.
They began answering some of the key questions that’ll determine whether or not the team repeats as champions:
1. How will they sustain without Kristaps Porzingis?
Porzingis spoke about his ankle responding well as he ramped up to light contact over the past week, a good sign after telling ESPN he predicts he’ll return sometime in December from surgery in June. Brad Stevens didn’t want to put a timeline on his recovery but noted that Porzingis’ progression has surprised their staff.
There’s a chance, Porzingis said in the ESPN article, that continued progress could get him back on the floor earlier. Backup centers Xavier Tillman Sr. (knee) and Luke Kornet (wrist) also underwent surgery and returned to the floor earlier this month. Horford mentioned his ramp-up process being ongoing, perhaps opening up an opportunity for Neemias Queta early in the schedule.
“When you think about Celtics basketball, we shouldn’t miss a beat,” Joe Mazzulla said. “I think that’s a strength of our team ever since I’ve been here. Regardless of who’s in, who’s out, we feel like we have an opportunity to win. We all should be getting better and have an understanding that whoever’s in, we’re competing to win and we have a chance to win.”
2. Will there be a championship hangover or bump for Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum?
Brown and Tatum both expressed excitement about returning to training camp early, both due to Boston’s extended playoff run and the Abu Dhabi trip next week — where the Celtics will play two games against the Denver Nuggets.
Brown recalled improving everywhere alongside summer travel, while Tatum and trainer Drew Hanlen began addressing his jump shot last week. Mazzulla and Stevens both emphasized mentality, as they did in summer interviews, specifically maintaining the sacrifice from last year, staying together as a team despite outside noise and being able to adapt to a new environment.
Mazzulla stressed not expecting this year to go a certain way and understanding that, internally or externally, situations might emerge that force the Celtics to become a new team. Brown and Tatum both addressed their Olympic snubs, Brown mostly brushing his off while Tatum admitted that his was tough. Tatum’s approach and shot are two of the biggest early season developments to watch given what Mazzulla and Stevens have emphasized.
“Did I need any extra motivation going into this season? No, I’m not gonna give anybody in particular credit that they’re motivating me,” Tatum said. “It was a unique circumstance, something that I haven’t experienced so far in my playing career, but I’m a believer that everything happens for a reason. I was coming off a championship, the highest of the highs, cover of 2K, new contract and that happened. Whatever the reason is, I haven’t figured it out yet, but I am a believer that everything does happen for a reason.”
3. Who emerges as the biggest threat to Boston?
The Celtics, across the board, declined to address the moves made by rivals, while Mazzulla said you can’t assume teams made moves with the intent of challenging Boston. Stevens came closest to alluding to the improvement of the conference, stressing that the road to repeating will be tough from the first game. He turned the focus inward, though, while comparing the adulation they’ve received to what his Butler team experienced after they nearly defeated Duke in the national championship. The Knicks, 76ers, Bucks and Thunder all made significant additions, including Mikal Bridges, Paul George and Alex Caruso.
4. Can Jaden Springer, Baylor Scheierman, Neemias Queta and the youth contribute?
Letting Oshae Brissett and Svi Mykhailiuk go, along with Porzingis’ injury, opened minutes for the Celtics’ younger cast of players. Springer, Scheierman and Queta, along with second round two-way pick Anton Watson, had strong Summer League performances and could fit into the rotation when a veteran in front of them gets hurt or takes a night off. Springer is entering the final year of his rookie contract after arriving in a trade from Philadelphia at the Feb. 6 trade deadline. He has shined defensively but shot poorly late last year before showing some strides in the opening game in Vegas.
Scheierman shot below expectations during the Summer League slate, but made up for it with passing and shooting. Queta broke out in the second of two games while experimenting with defensive coverages that suit him best. Watson hit shots and defended well in an ancillary role. Scheierman impressed Horford and Hauser in early Auerbach Center workouts.
“All the new additions we’ve had have been great,” Hauser said. “(Scheierman) is a good shooter, but he’s a lot more than a shooter. He’s got a really good feel for the game. He’s pretty crafty … he’s a really good player and he’s got a good feel for things and I think he has a good future in this league.”
5. Will they miss Oshae Brissett?
Brissett remains an unrestricted free agent as roster spots dwindle around the league. While he’s stressed that a return to Boston isn’t out of the question, and could become possible following cuts, it’s hard to imagine the Celtics using their 15th roster spot on him at this point. It’s a disappointing result for both sides after Brissett helped the front court sustain through the regular season, filled in well during the Indiana series and could’ve factored into smaller lineups this season with Porzingis out. The Celtics will continue searching for a shooting four with size after Brissett struggled to find his three in 2024, though he quietly had one of the stronger offensive rebounding seasons (10.9%) in recent franchise history.
6. Will age impact Al Horford, Jrue Holiday this season?
Horford played 2,315 minutes last year, even as the team successfully scaled back his regular-season workload, and now enters his 17th season at 38 years old. He’s become a luxury for Boston across multiple seasons by being able to play starting caliber center minutes while Porzingis and, previously, Robert Williams III struggled to stay healthy.
Jrue Holiday and Brown realized during the postseason run how large of a burden they placed on the veteran. Horford said on Tuesday that he hasn’t considered retirement. There’s less pressure on Holiday, who also rested regularly last season, but some question of when he’ll slow in any way following another extraordinary shooting and All-Defensive campaign. Holiday turned 34 in June.
“Preparation starts in the summer time, in the offseason,” Horford said. “Obviously a shorter summer, different, but putting in the work … once Kristaps went out last year, we all knew we had to step up a little more and we’ll have to play in different ways, and there will be opportunities for different guys to come in and contribute.”
7. Can Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard repeat their standout 2023-24?
Hauser and Pritchard became regular-season bench staples by shooting 42.4% and 38.5% from three, respectively. Into the playoffs, both proved strong enough defenders to sustain their roles into the Finals, where Hauser, in particular, thrived being able to stand in front of Luka Dončić on defense while hitting 11 threes on the other end. Their productivity, along with Kornet’s, allowed what looked like a relatively thin team entering last year to thrive. Boston regularly won games with multiple starters out, Brown joking at media that the Celtics can let Pritchard and Hauser run the show against the Pistons this year and still win.
Jaylen says Boston usually play through players like Payton Pritchard & Sam Hauser vs teams like Detroit
“We gonna play through Payton, let him go for 30. Play through Sam, let him shoot 10 threes tonight. We gonna still win the game”
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 24, 2024
8. Will Lonnie Walker IV make the team?
Walker IV signed an Exhibit 10 contract and will compete for the 15th roster spot with the possibility that he could end up in Maine instead. Walker stressed that need to prove himself while talking to NBC Sports Boston on Tuesday, while Derrick White, who played with Walker IV for four seasons in San Antonio, noted that he’s brought good energy to the gym and can do some special things on the court. However, signing Walker before the season begins would carry a roughly $10 million tax hit, and Boston often leaves that roster spot open.
“Any time you bring in people to camp, obviously all the deals are a little different,” Stevens said. “Evaluate and see how everything plays itself out, how it fits together and how it all goes. He’s a guy who was very excited to be here. I think his relationship with Derrick he’s worked out a lot with Jrue in previous summers. There was an eagerness to be around those guys and to try a new situation. Obviously he’s got a lot of talent, he’s done a lot of good things in the NBA. We’ll see how it fits and plays itself out.”
9. How will Joe Mazzulla approach this season?
Mazzulla’s first press conference of the year reflected the intensity and drive he pushed his team to achieve throughout last season. That’s a good sign for the team maintaining its focus and consistency during the regular season. There’ll be nights where minutes should scale back for the veterans and experimentation could prove helpful later. Last year’s Celtics balanced all that well. Doing so this year will prove to be a greater challenge.
“So many times, people are focused on trying to win,” Mazzulla said. “I think it’s just as important as keeping yourself from losing … it’s not always about winning, it’s about making sure you have an understand of what losing looks like and falling into particular habits that could lead to losing at some point. It’s having a balanced approach toward success and failure … throughout the season, the environment will tell us what we need to adjust to and what we need to maintain.”
10. Luke Kornet or Xavier Tillman Sr.?
Kornet is expected to be Boston’s regular backup center with Porzingis out to begin the year. Tillman Sr. will key the nights where Horford rests, leaving both him and Porzingis on the bench while the latter recovers. While Kornet excelled at the Celtics’ defensive system and made good decisions offensively, Tillman Sr. struggled physically and mostly shot corner threes (28.6% 3PT) on offense in an inconsistent role. An offseason knee scope and strong Finals performance showed promise, with Tillman Sr.’s switching defense an elite skill that gives Boston an alternative to Kornet’s drop-heavy role.
