Training Camp Thread

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Marc D'Amico
@celtics about 1 hour ago
Brad Stevens says he told the team to go at 30 percent speed in first drill. "If that was 30 percent, we're gonna be able to fly around."

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Marc D'Amico
Marc D'Amico
@celtics about 1 hour ago
Jaylen Brown says of his understanding of the team's schemes, "I do feel like I'm a little bit ahead of where I'm supposed to be."

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Marc D'Amico
@celtics about 1 hour ago
Horford on how his 1st C's practice differed from ATL: "The pace of the practice is what I noticed the most. The pace is definitely faster."

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https://www.instagram.com/p/BK3V4ZvBxhJ/


Scott Souza
@Scott_Souza 1 hour ago
#Celtics coach Brad Stevens praised Avery Bradley's improved efficiency seeking out 3s over long 2s.

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http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2016/09/boston_celtics_open_scrimmage_1.html



Boston Celtics open scrimmage notes: Jaylen Brown throws down big dunk, Marcus Smart impressive from downtown

Jaylen Brown
Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown speaks to media during NBA basketball training camp, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in Waltham, Mass. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)


Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on September 30, 2016 at 11:52 PM



BOSTON -- After nine years in the NBA, Al Horford finally knows where to find the Boston Celtics home locker room. It's only about 15 feet from the visitor's locker room, but he never knew that before Friday night.

"It's literally right there," Horford said. "I always thought for years it was like on the other side (of the hallway). So that caught me off guard. I know they have a curtain there, but I honestly didn't know it was right there. That caught me off guard."

For the first time, Horford played for the Celtics at TD Garden. It was just an intrasquad scrimmage, but some notes from the game follow below.

-- Jaylen Brown's debut offered everything we should have expected: a couple of monster dunks, a handful of fun moments, and a load of inexperienced mistakes. When he found space in transition, he was brilliant:



In more crowded areas, he didn't always know exactly what to do. His first drive ended with the ball sliding out of his hands, and he forced the action too often off the bounce. Once, Jae Crowder swatted Brown from behind. Another time, Brown spun past his defender in the paint -- a beautiful move -- but didn't loft his floater far enough. During his best half-court move, the rookie froze a big man with a hesitation dribble and knocked down a short jump shot. He ended up scoring a fair amount of points, but didn't really make a positive impact until most of the rotation guys were sitting on the bench.

Brown's performance was symbolized by one defensive possession, when he jumped at Jae Crowder's up fake not once, not twice but three times in a row. The lesson: stay on your feet, young man. Still, leaping quickly enough to overcome his own overzealousness, Brown contested the shot well enough to force an airball. He will screw up, learn, fly around, and occasionally do awesome basketball things. Shout out to the time he grabbed a rebound, pushed the ball in transition and led Tyler Zeller straight to the hoop with a beautiful bounce pass.

Also shout out to this:


Tom Westerholm –  ‏@Tom_NBA

When you get way up in the air and there’s no one to dunk on, but you dunk on Tyler Zeller anyway.


https://mobile.twitter.com/Tom_NBA/status/782008183564955649/photo/1


-- Horford didn't score 1 million points or anything, but he's Al Horford so I suspect he'll be OK.

-- Just in case you were wondering, Isaiah Thomas remains capable of outrageous finishes near the hoop. The first highlight here shows the All-Star bursting past Tyler Zeller, splitting Zeller and Jonas Jerebko, and scissor-kicking his way to a right-handed (!) and-1 reverse:

-- Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart both starred in the first 10-minute scrimmage, which pitted the starters vs. the second unit, plus subs for both teams. It's starting to feel like Rozier is earning more and more playing time by the day. He really looked comfortable, as you can read about here.

After one of the guard's 3-pointers, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge said on CSNNE: "I think that guy that just hit a three right there is going to eat a lot of (Evan Turner's) minutes up. ... Evan was a terrific player for us but Terry's really biting at the bit for this opportunity. He's had a fantastic summer league and training camp. You can ask Avery (Bradley) and IT what they think of Rozier because he's given them a handful in camp."

-- There's been a lot of talk about Smart changing his shooting form this summer. It's way too early to tell how much progress he made, but he hit three triples (by my unofficial count) Friday night and also nailed a pull-up jumper. A couple of his misses were harsh, but it was a good night for optimists hoping he has fixed some of the issues with his outside stroke.

-- Smart also had one bully move in the post to draw contact from the defending Avery Bradley. It would be neat if Smart has figured out more ways to use his strength.

-- The green team featured Thomas, Bradley, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson and Horford, which seems like the best bet for an opening-night starting lineup. That could be one heck of a defensive group -- with Smart off the bench to further the bash brother vibes.

-- Other observations: R.J. Hunter did not have a great night, James Young had a few decent moments, and two players (Gerald Green and Kelly Olynyk) sat expectedly due to injuries. The Celtics are back. Sort of. Preseason begins Tuesday night.


bob
MY NOTE:  Uncopyable scrimmage highlights available at the link provided on top.  "See Jaylen.  See Jaylen dunk.  Dunk, Jaylen, dunk!".

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Jay King
@ByJayKing about 6 hours ago
One thing I forgot to mention in my notes: Amir Johnson diving after a loose ball. Awesome hustle play from the Big Dog.

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bob


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http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/10/01/boston-celtics-scrimmage-takeaways/



Robb: Takeaways From Celtics Intrasquad Scrimmage



By Brian Robb, CBSBoston.com


October 1, 2016 7:59 PM
Filed Under: 98.5, Boston Celtics, The Sports Hub
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)



BOSTON (CBS) – Preseason action does not officially get underway for the Celtics until Tuesday at UMass-Amherst, but the team gave season ticket holders a little taste of what’s in store Friday night at an intrasquad scrimmage at TD Garden.

Boston’s 20-man training camp roster was divided into a two squads, with everyone seeing the court for portions of the session in front of a crowd of over 6,000. The live action gave us our first in-depth glimpse into training camp, and with Danny Ainge giving commentary on the TV broadcast, we learned a few lessons about who is sticking out during training camp thus far.


Terry Rozier is Turning Heads

The second-year guard knew there was plenty of opportunity awaiting him in the Boston backcourt following the departure of Evan Turner and he’s wasted no time in taking advantage. The ex-Louisville standout out was the best player on the floor for long portions of the scrimmage, showing off a smooth 3-point shot, making smart decisions in the paint and pestering Isaiah Thomas regularly on defense.

The performance was a throwback to Rozier’s summer league effort in Utah and Leas Vegas in which he stood out above the rest of Boston’s young roster. It’s a change that isn’t lost on head coach Brad Stevens either.

“You can see, like, Terry’s a different guy in Year 2 than he was in the first couple of days in Year 1,” Stevens said at practice earlier this week. “It just stands out right now.”

“I just think (his) feel of everything (has improved),” Stevens continued. “Things move really fast for everybody. When you’re the guy with the ball it moves even faster because you’ve got to be able to not only gauge what you need to be doing, but you need to make sure everybody else is there. And he’s got the ball a lot. I think he’s doing a really good job of attacking and picking his spots to attack. We can all get better at that. But the biggest thing that I’ve always said about Terry is he’s going to improve because the guy works. From the minute we met him in the draft process, it was like there are work ethics and there are real work ethics. And he’s got a real one. And so I think he’ll do well.”

The Celtics already have an embarrassment of riches in the backcourt with Thomas, Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart. If Rozier continues to step up his game, don’t be surprised if Stevens goes smaller more often in order to maximize his talented guards.


Marcus Smart’s Revamped Jumper Looks Better

The reserve guard took a major step back with his outside shot in his second NBA season, shooting a dismal 25 percent from beyond the arc. He committed to smoothing out his stroke over the summer and the early returns were good in the scrimmage. He fired with confidence and hit three of his attempts from downtown and a pullup jumper as well. The question now is whether he will be able to sustain that progress and return to a respectable 33 percent mark from downtown that he managed during his rookie season.


The R.J. Hunter/James Young Competition Remains Tight

These two are battling for one of the final spots on the roster and the coaching staff had them go head-to-head in this scrimmage. Neither had a particularly good night, although Young was more productive on the offensive end overall. There’s no guarantee either will see minutes with Gerald Green also lurking for playing time, but both will have to show more in the coming weeks to strengthen their respective cases.


Pace is a Priority for Celtics Offense

With the Celtics ditching one of their slower big men (Jared Sullinger) in favor of Al Horford, it was hard not to notice the frantic pace that both the starters and second unit played at Friday night. Boston’s halfcourt offense has always been somewhat of a Achilles’ heel due to the team’s lackluster outside shooting. In response, pushing the ball in transition against unorganized defenses should remain a big theme all season long to help the team unlock better looks as we saw Friday night.


bob


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Marc D'Amico
Marc D'Amico
@celtics about 34 minutes ago
Brad Stevens: "Marcus is basically - Marcus is a sixth starter. Marcus is going to play starter-minutes."

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MY NOTE:  And there you have it, Celtic fans, your 2016 Boston Celtics 6th Man.


bob


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