7 things to watch for in Celtics camp this week

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2017/09/bulpett_7_things_to_watch_for_in_celtics_camp_this_week



Bulpett: 7 things to watch for in Celtics camp this week



Steve Bulpett


Sunday, September 24, 2017




Credit: The Associated Press
Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving, left, and Gordon Hayward hold up their new jerseys with General Manager Danny Ainge, right, during a news conference in Boston, Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)




There are so many things I’m interested to see as the Celtics open training camp this week. Here are just seven:


1. Take me to your leader: I have no concerns at all regarding Kyrie Irving as a player, but his job will be different here — and not just because he’ll be cast as more of a true point guard. As the man in the spotlight, Irving will be looked to by his teammates and everyone on the outside to provide leadership. No doubt Al Horford will continue to be a key presence, on and off the floor, and Marcus Smart’s grit will set a tone, as well. But we’ll be looking for clues from Kyrie.

Does he embrace media duties as part of the job and, more importantly, a chance to communicate team goals to the public and to his teammates, who — despite what they might say — will hear every word?

It’ll be interesting to see if and how Irving uses his platform to build confidence in the younger players.


2. Didn’t you use to be Marcus Smart? He’s slimmed down and is built more for speed and endurance now, but the Celts still need his strong safety mentality.

Before he left the C’s rather than take a different role, then-strength coach Bryan Doo talked to me about Smart: “Marcus is always trying to get better, trying to get to that next level. He wants to get his body fat down a little bit. And Marcus is the one pushing all this, which is awesome. We talk all the time during the season about, you know, the wear and tear and how hard he goes. Now it’s about trying to better prepare himself for that.”

Smart will look different now, but the true measure of his work will likely be in improved conditioning later in the season.


3. How much tailoring will be required? We might get a small idea in the preseason games, and we probably won’t know how things are really going until the Celtics roll into Cleveland for the season opener, but we’ll still be looking for signs right away as to how the skills of Irving, Horford and Gordon Hayward are meshing. In a star driven league, they comprise the Celts’ main constellation.

If these guys can get their stuff together quickly, it will certainly speed up the process of forming a rotation and getting those who will be playing off them into the proper roles.


4. Jaylen 2.0: Whether he starts or not, a lot will be expected from Jaylen Brown, who’s still a month shy of his 21st birthday.

There is every expectation that he will be a lot better than he was as a very impressive rookie, but the feeling here is that coach Brad Stevens will be most happy if Brown simply is more comfortable and instinctive in his surroundings and so leaves behind most of those first-year mistakes.


5. Dancing (Bear) with the stars: Guerschon Yabusele looked great in summer league last year. The video from China was encouraging. He jumped in and did very well with the Red Claws at the end of the season.

But how will he be when he’s playing with and against the best players on the planet?


6. Is Jason Tatum ready for advanced placement? Everything about this player says he’s a kid in chronological terms only. But Tatum will have to experience the full NBA life — travel, more condensed schedule than college, interminable regular season — to see how much he can contribute to a very good team with his clearly ready game.


7. Size applies: With all due nod to the fact Zaza Pachulia was the starting center for the Golden State Warriors last season, the Celtics are still taking applications for playing time from anyone who can get rebounds and make an opponent at least a bit concerned about an evening drive through the painted part of the floor.

Horford is still your rock, but considering how much he’s counted on in other areas, it’s important to have someone beside him to handle some of the dirty work.

Late in the week it was looking as if Marcus Morris might be tied up with his trial in Phoenix, and fellow former Piston Aron Baynes will get an opportunity. But this is where Stevens may choose to get really creative with his lineups. Also, we can’t wait to see how Semi Ojeleye fits into all this.


INSIDE TAKE: HAYWARD WILL ‘FIT IN PERFECTLY’ WITH C’S

How well will Gordon Hayward (right) do with the Celtics? Let’s check in with hoop lifer Gordie Chiesa, who spent the last five years working for the Magic after 16 years as a Jazz assistant, and has lived in Utah the past 28 years. He was also once the coach at Providence College. (“Go Friars,” he interjected.)

“Let me tell you, he’s going to fit in perfectly there,” Chiesa said of Hayward. “The Celtics fans are going to enjoy watching him play.

“The thing I like about him is that he’s continued to get better. He’s always working to improve his game. The last two years, his biggest development has been his ball skills, his ability to advance the ball and to really make plays. And at 6-foot-8, he can pass over the top of the defense, which is absolutely a big skill in the NBA.

“So he’s an interesting player. He’s improved every single season, which tells you about his work ethic and also how he views himself.”

Chiesa also believes Hayward will benefit from the situations in which coach Brad Stevens utilizes him, even if it’s just getting the C’s to use the break more often.

“The ability to come down the floor against smaller people in transition and be able to have enough to navigate with ball skills around and over the top of them really helps his game,” Chiesa said. “But the biggest part of his game has really been his confidence. With NBA players, each passing year when you get better ball skills, your whole game opens up to you because you’re confident. You know, whether there’s a bigger guy guarding you or a smaller guy guarding you, you feel that you can get to a certain spot on the floor and raise up and get a good shot, a good look at the basket.

“He’s an intelligent player. He can adapt to anything.”


MEMPHIS HAS TO ‘GRIND’ ON WITHOUT TONY

Tony Allen will be badly missed in Memphis now that he’s left for the Pelicans. The former Celtic helped define the Grizzlies more than six years ago when he said in a postgame interview, “All heart. Grit. Grind.”

There were grit-grind T-shirts and billboards and a cult following. Allen was known as The Grindfather, and he even had some fun with it. There was a series of in-game video board hits for “Grindfatherly advice.”

One featured a smiling Allen telling fans, “Never make snow angels . . . in a dog park.”



bob
MY NOTE: Out of Bulpett's 7 things to look for 3 of them have to do with young untested (or barely tested) players. If we are counting on a bunch of kids coming through for this could be a tough season, especially the first half. I do not expect much from Tatum or Yabby in the first half, maybe not much from Yabby all year.


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