Celtics Break from Salve Regina

http://bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/celtics_insider/2013/10/celtics_break_from_salve_regina


Celtics break from Salve Regina
Thursday, October 3, 2013 PrintEmail Comments (0)
By:
Mark Murphy
Brad Stevens, sensing that his disparate band of youngsters and veterans were dragging down the floor this morning, cut back on scrimmage activity for the last day of practice at Salve Regina College in Newport.

The team will resume practice Saturday, and little on this rebuilding team has been clarified.

"Am I happy where we are? I don’t think I’ve ever been happy after the first three days of practice," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said this afternoon when asked about his initial level of satisfaction. "I don’t think it’s in my DNA. All of the answers aren’t there. We still don’t have separation from a personnel standpoint. We have a lot of bases to cover on offense and defense to cover. Until we get to that point, I may not ever be happy. It’s just the nature of the beast."

Though the Celtics open their exhibition season Monday night with a game against Toronto, Stevens isn't particularly anxious to see how his roster performs in an actual game.

"I’m not. I’ll be anxious for Saturday morning’s practice and Saturday afternoon’s practice," he said. "The game still seems like a million miles away to me. We’re going to play it like a practice. We’re going to try to win, but we’re still in practice mode." ... Kelly Olynyk, not surprisingly, has been a quick study.

The rookie center is also happy with his early matchups against his veteran teamates.

"I felt pretty good. I can pick up a lot of offensive stuff pretty quickly," he said. "Some of the defensive stuff related to the NBA I need to work on a lot.

(physical matchups) I feel pretty good. Obviously they’re real strong, real good, real big and you have to match their intensity. You have to bring it every play. That’s the biggest thing defensively and offensively. I’m picking up a lot of things. The vets are so experienced and their knowledge is so high, you can learn from each and every one of them." ... Olynyk and his fellow rookies formed two lines and two-stepped their way through a performance of "Happy Birthday," with 28-year-old Courtney Lee the guest of honor.

Jared Sullinger was charged with organizing the performance.

"He only played (45) games last year, so as far as we're concerned he's still a rookie," said Lee. "If we don't like something they've done, we'll yell at him, and then he can yell at them."

Early reviews weren't all good.

"We have a lot to work on there," Olynyk said of the group's singing ability. ... Stevens has said that Newport seems like such a pleasant place, it wouldn't be his first choice for a location condusive to toughening up a team. That doesn't mean he won't bring the Celtics back here next fall.

"If not the Stevens (family) will be back some time," he said with a laugh.



bob


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sam wrote:Why does Kelly Olynyk seem like a human sponge to me? He seems to have the ability to absorb details without sacrificing the big picture. He still reminds me of Ed MacAuley, who was a wonderful offensive player and all-star—a member of the Celtics' "Big Three" of the time. But Ed never could provide the toughness, defense, and rebound ability the Cousy Celtics required. Of course, after establishing his credentials, Easy Ed was traded, in effect, for Bill Russell. Hmmm.

Sam

Sam,


One more brick in the wall as to why I love coach's sons.

And why I have hope for pint-sized Phil Pressey.


bob



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