Brad Stevens, Danny Ainge discuss Boston Celtics' lack of an obvious starting center

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2013/09/2013_boston_celtics_training_c_2.html


Brad Stevens, Danny Ainge discuss Boston Celtics' lack of an obvious starting center; 2013 training camp roster likely set at 18

Print Jay King, MassLive.com By Jay King, MassLive.com
on September 24, 2013 at 2:26 PM




Brad Stevens, Danny Ainge discuss Boston Celtics' lack of an obvious starting center; 2013 training camp roster likely set at 18
Jared Sullinger's potential punishment 'pending conclusion' of domestic violence case against Boston Celtics forward



MILTON – Brad Stevens thought back to his Butler days.

Maybe he remembered the several inches Matt Howard always seemed to surrender in the team’s biggest matchups. Maybe he recalled wing man Gordon Hayward battling opponents in the post. Maybe his memories were more vague, just a collage of smallish Butler players trying to defend larger ones from another team.

Regardless of Stevens’ exact focus, the new Boston Celtics head coach has come to a conclusion: his college days could help prepare him for trying to hide the Celtics’ obvious lack of height.

“In my thirteen years in coaching, we’ve had one year – two years – with a true center,” Stevens said Tuesday at Wollaston Golf Club in Milton, where the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation hosted the sixth annual Teeing Up For Kids Golf Tournament presented by Optum. “I think at the end of the day, a lot of people play small. So I’m not worried about whether a guy fits a number or not, or a position label or not. We have to figure out with a smaller lineup, how to get guys off the glass, how to defend the post, how to be as tough and play without fouling as much as possible.”

Though Boston doesn’t have an obvious choice at center, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge suggested Brazilian rookie Vitor Faverani – an international man of mystery, as very little is known about what he could contribute – is “a legit five.” That doesn’t mean Faverani will earn a spot in the first unit, though. Asked who might start at power forward and center, Ainge spoke like perhaps Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk have the inside track. The two youngsters would pose issues for opponents with their offensive skills, but could struggle matching up with more athletic frontcourts.

“I think you’ll see Kelly and Jared playing together,” Ainge said. “Who’s the four and who’s the five, I’m not sure it really matters. Depending on who we’re playing and how we’re playing, I could see Jared playing some five defensively. But that’s an interesting combination with those two guys, and Vitor fits into that mix also. But I’m not sure who’s going to win those jobs.”

Potentially complicating matters: Both Olynyk and Faverani have developed cases of plantar fasciitis, a painful foot condition that can bother players for months.

“Kelly had a sore – a plantar fasciitis – and a little back tightness, but he’s fine now. He’s playing, he’s working out every day. He should be fine for training camp,” said Ainge.

“Vitor’s been working hard,” Ainge added. “He also has a little bit of a plantar fasciitis, so he doesn’t do a lot of the extra conditioning. He’s got his own conditioning, he doesn’t condition with the team as much. But he has been playing, he’s a very talented player. We saw Vitor even before he got here, we have had no surprises. He’s got some great skills, he can pass, he can shoot, he can score in the post. But he’s going to have to be more consistent, take better care of the ball than he has in the past, and really engrain himself into our defensive system. But he’s a 6-11, 265-pound guy with some skill, and we’re excited about his possibilities.”

Though some might question Ainge's sincerity, he claims to be very excited about the Celtics roster as training camp arrives. But that doesn’t mean he believes the team is without issues. On the contrary, he understands Stevens will need to do plenty of mixing and matching, since the depth chart doesn’t make nearly perfect sense.

“I wouldn’t say that this is a team that you put up there and you go, ‘Okay, it’s a perfect mesh of players.’ But I would like to see them, how they play together, and see who sort of wins jobs and opportunities, and just how players fit – mentally, emotionally, physically, how they mesh and fit our system and Brad’s style of play,” said Ainge. “I like the competitiveness of training camp. I also am very excited about the team, because I just think there’s just so many questions to be answered and so many unknowns of what’s going to happen. Who’s going to step up and who’s not?”

Training camp roster all set

With training camp just one week away, Ainge said he does not envision adding any more players to the roster.

In addition to the 14 players under guaranteed contracts, Chris Babb (Iowa State), Kammron Taylor (Wisconsin), Damen Bell-Holter (Oral Roberts) and DeShawn Sims (Michigan) have all been invited to training camp. They could potentially all be fighting for the 15th and final roster spot -- Boston has enough room under the luxury tax threshold to add one player on a rookie minimum contract, for which all the training camp invites qualify.

Stevens keeps it short and sweet

As Stevens prepares for his first NBA training camp, a reporter reminded him of one change from the college game: Stevens won't hold Midnight Madness this year.

“I’ve never had one before,” he replied with a smile. “We went to work.”

When the Celtics begin going to work at training camp next week, they shouldn’t expect marathon practices. Stevens believes short and intense practices are more beneficial than longer ones.

“I’ve never been a long practice guy, first and foremost,” he said. “I want us to practice with pace, and I want us to get what we need to get done, and then get off the court and take care of our bodies. That has always been the case and it will always be the case.”

With just a week of practice before Boston’s first exhibition game and less than a month between the first practice and the season opener, Stevens knows he’ll be against the clock while implementing his new system.

“I think what you have to do is, you have to treat the exhibition games like practices in a lot of ways,” he said. “You’re going to go out, you’re going to compete, you’re going to try to win, you’re going to do the best that you can, but you also have to learn a lot from those films. You have to practice your execution on both ends of the floor, and I think that’s the way we’re going to approach it.”



bob


.