Celtic Tidbits

BTW, the player who scored the most points last season was Jayson Tatum, with 2225 points.

He is also the first Celtic to average 30+ ppg, he averaged 30.1ppg, which is pretty impressive given Larry Legend played here for a few years too.

Doesn't make our team's EC Finals loss feel any better, but kudos anyway.


Bob


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https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/robert-williams-workout-video-raises-key-question-for-celtics-big-man/543358/?partner=yahoo&cid=yahoo


This article has videos and graphs I cannot copy-and-paste, and they're really valuable to the story.  Click on the link on top and read it in its original state.  The article is about how The Time Lord is spending his time this summer.  I'll give you a hint:  he's not lying on a beach.

Good read.


Bob


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https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/inside-robert-williams-summer-workouts-celtics-big-man-more-selfish/543520/



Inside the summer workouts aimed at making Robert Williams more dynamic


Skills trainer Aaron Miller is helping Robert Williams add a new dimension to his offensive repertoire.


By Chris Forsberg, Celtics Insider • Published 2 hours ago • Updated 5 mins ago
 

Chris Forsberg chats with Robert Williams’ new offseason trainer, Aaron Miller about his experience working with the Celtics big this summer and what he and Rob are hoping to improve about his game entering this season.

Before Houston-based skills trainer Aaron Miller started working with Boston Celtics center Robert Williams III this summer, he wanted the scouting report on areas where Williams III could improve.

Miller dove into the tape. He crunched the advanced metrics on Williams’ III offensive profile. He reached out to coaches and Boston’s front office staff seeking input. But it was Boston’s rim-running, shot-swatting big man who gave it to Miller straight: Williams III needs to be more selfish.

Williams III told Miller how even Boston's biggest superstars tend to give him grief for not looking for his own offense more. It laid the foundation for summer workouts aimed at not only expanding Williams III’s offensive toolbox but sending him into training camp next season with a supersized confidence about how he can impact the game on that end of the floor.


"[Jayson Tatum is] mad at Rob when he isn't taking shots," said Miller. "And he is mad at Rob -- not mad, but holding him accountable -- when he isn't taking shots and when he isn't being a threat or looking at the goal.

" ... When Rob gets rebounds and throws it out to [Tatum or Jaylen Brown] to shoot it, I could tell you 12 other superstars in the NBA that would be so happy because they're trying to get their shot attempts up. But Jayson Tatum, and I don't know him personally, but just in the sense of him saying, 'Rob, we need you to shoot that, we need you,' -- man, I thought that was amazing for Rob's confidence moving forward.

"It's basically giving him the nod like, 'Hey, it’s OK that you're taking those shots. It's OK that you're taking those midrange (shots) because we need you to take them.’ Because, like I said, it'll open up other opportunities for [Tatum and Brown]."

In a sea of trainers quick to post every eye-catching clip of their clients from summer workouts to social media, Miller is conflicted about the process. He’s eager to showcase the hard work but frets when fans fixate on a single highlight.


Miller purposely buried a clip of Williams III making a 3-pointer at the end of a highlight reel he posted this week. He was overwhelmed by the response, not only from swooning Celtics fans but also many of the Twitter's keyboard trainers who were quick to nitpick Williams III’s shot mechanics.

Miller wants the singular focus of these month-long sessions with Williams III to be on making him a more complete player for when the Celtics huddle again in September. Everything they work on is geared towards actual ways that Williams III can impact winning.

"Just taking some of those sets that maybe Tatum likes to run, or taking some of those actions that Jaylen Brown likes to run, and just putting Rob in those different actions and situations and sets," said Miller. "That’s why I have two or three people on my staff that are in each of the actions with me. It's not just me and Rob, we're not just out there checking boxes. We're actually trying to get some real work in.

“With as much attention as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum get in handoffs and pick-and-roll actions, I do think there is opportunity for Rob to expand out 2-to-3 feet with the short rolls. Or maybe when they're getting double-teamed to put it on the ground, find an open teammate in the corner. I told Rob, this is a goal of mine and it will be of yours, that I want you to go into training camp at the end of September, I want you to go in there and I want you to be in tiptop shape and I want you to go in there with the utmost confidence."

For Williams III, this is a rare offseason where he’s been 1) healthy and 2) training outside of Boston. The Louisiana native recently purchased a home in Houston and his agent, Kevin Bradbury, linked him up with Miller, who has worked with other NBA talent including fellow LIFT Sports Management clients like Pat Beverley and Jarred Vanderbilt.

Miller has worked closely with Celtics director of rehabilitation Steve Mount, who recently dropped in on the workouts, to ensure Williams III stays healthy with a priority being put on making sure Williams III is able to stay on the court next season.

Williams III has made the entire process easier by immediately buying into Miller’s approach.

"I don't know how well people know him but [Williams III] is one of the most humble guys; he bought into what I’m saying, the goal, the vision I had for him," said Miller. "He comes with his palms up, open arms in a sense, where he wants to learn, he wants to get better, he wants to put in the work.

"... He didn't play as many games as he wanted to last season. Rob is excited; this is his first healthy offseason. So he's ready. He's ready to jump into it and get to work."

Miller has put a priority on putting Williams III in spots where he can more aggressively take advantage of his offensive talents, particularly as a cutter.


Bob
MY NOTE:  We gave our front court a real face lift, literally and figuratively, when we got Z.  With all due respect to Grant's versatility, especially on defense, replacing him in our front court with The Unicorn is an irrefutable upgrade.  If The Time Lord can upgrade what was clearly the weakest part of his game, his outside shooting, wow.  It's kinda weird.  We've gone from having the best and deepest back court in the league to having the best and deepest front court in the league in a matter of one month (the trade was on 6/23).  This offseason might be the busiest we've had since the summer of 2007.  July 2013 had the big trade of Pierce and KG to Brooklyn, that was BIG, but that was just one trade with one team and it was the signal of a complete tear down and rebuild (except for Rondo, who left early the next season to Dallas).  This offseason's player movements isn't a rebuild, it's a rebalance.  Any one of Z, Al or Rob could start on most teams in the NBA.  Our only real "back up center" is Luke, and he's 4th on the depth chart. Like I said, Wow!


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As Rasheed Wallace once said "Ball Don't Lie" and, apparently, neither did Joe Kleine.





Bob


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Seen today in Southbucks (we have two Starbucks.   We distinguish them by calling one Northbucks and the other one Southbucks).





Bob


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https://us.yahoo.com/sports/ainge-explains-why-didnt-jimmy-145814765.html


Ainge explains why he didn't make Jimmy Butler trade as Celtics exec


Nick Goss

Tue, August 15, 2023 at 8:44 AM PDT·3 min read



It seems like forever ago, but there was a time when Jimmy Butler could have been a Boston Celtics player.

Butler was the subject of trade rumors in the months leading into the 2016 NBA Draft. The Bulls ended up keeping him, but the Celtics were among the teams rumored to have interest in acquiring him at the time.

Former Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge recently appeared on the "Knuckleheads" podcast with ex-NBA players Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles. Ainge explained to them why he ultimately decided against trading for Butler despite the fact that he really liked the player.

"Some of the best trades I ever made were the ones that I wasn’t able to make,” Ainge said. "I was trying to get Jimmy Butler from Chicago when I was in Boston, but they wanted a lot. And so we didn’t do it. Because it would've -- it ended up would’ve been Jaylen [Brown] and Jayson [Tatum], both those draft picks that we got Jaylen and Jayson with. So that was one that, like, I loved Jimmy and was trying to get him. I could’ve drafted Jimmy late, I liked him even then. Now he's been proving how good of a player he was. Yeah, that was probably one."

Ainge made the correct decision here.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are two of the best young players in the league. Tatum just became the first Celtics player ever to average 30-plus points in a single season, and he was named first team All-NBA for the second consecutive year. Brown was just named to the second team All-NBA after averaging a career-high 26.6 points per game last season. The Celtics have a top three or top five duo in the league and both players aren't even 27 years old yet.

Butler has become a very good player, especially in the playoffs. The Bulls eventually traded him to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the 2017 NBA Draft. After a short tenure with the T-Wolves, he was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers before finally landing with the Miami Heat prior to the 2019-20 campaign. He has led the Heat to two NBA Finals appearances, and he beat the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals in both of those seasons (2019-20 and 2022-23).

But given the choice, two young All-NBA players is a better situation than having only Butler.

Keeping high draft picks and not trading them for established veterans doesn't always work out as well as it did for the Celtics in this instance. You still have to draft the right guys and develop them. The Celtics deserve a lot of credit for identifying the right players with those picks in Brown and Tatum and putting them in positions to blossom into stars.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Jimmy's "a killa", no doubt about it, but is he worth two multiple All-Stars and All-NBA players?

Uh, no.  Good call, Danny.

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https://us.yahoo.com/sports/celtics-payton-pritchard-putting-pro-090029490.html


Celtics’ Payton Pritchard putting in work in pro runs in the 2023 NBA offseason


Justin Quinn

Sat, August 19, 2023 at 2:00 AM PDT·1 min read



Always looking to get on the court, Boston Celtics reserve point guard Payton Pritchard has been spending time during the NBA’s 2023 offseason by participating in pro runs. The West Linn native turned up in a clip put together by NBA trainer Jordan Lawley that features Pritchard’s handling of the ball, crisp crossovers, his improved defensive game, and his ability to play off of his teammates.

The extra on-court work should pay off for the Oregon alum as he will almost certainly see a major uptick in minutes with the Celtics this season to come given the exit of veteran point guard Marcus Smart in the deal that brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.


Bob
MY NOTE:  This is Payton's year.  I believe this is the one that makes him a permanent rotation player in the NBA or a marginal NBA player who perhaps even ends up in Europe or China.  If Brogdon had been the one who was traded Brad would almost certainly have brought in a veteran floor general to run the 2nd unit but because it was Smart that left and Brogdon can still run the floor game that allows Payton to be what he really is, a shooter in a point guard's body. He's a great shooter, so that's not a bad thing, but we learned with Avery Bradley you cannot turn a non-point guard into a point guard just because they're "right-sized" for it.


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https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/celtics-joe-mazzulla-tapping-into-jiu-jitsu-improve-head-coach/548656/



Joe Mazzulla is tapping into a unique resource to improve as coach


The Celtics head coach has leaned into Brazilian jiu-jitsu over the past year.


By Darren Hartwell • Published August 18, 2023 • Updated on August 18, 2023 at 3:20 pm



If we learned anything about Joe Mazzulla during his first season as Boston Celtics head coach, it's that he's a fierce competitor. And that competitive streak led him to explore all avenues of self-improvement -- including martial arts.

Since taking over as the Celtics' interim (and eventually full-time) head coach last September, Mazzulla has been training in jiu-jitsu, a Brazilian martial art somewhat akin to wrestling that emphasizes grappling and ground fighting. The 35-year-old works with trainer Alex Costa at the Gracie Barra Boston martial arts school and says the instruction he's received from Costa has a direct application to his day job as an NBA coach.

"It’s one of the hardest things I’ve done," Mazzulla told ESPN's Michael Eaves in a video interview published Friday. "What the art really gives is the study of transitions, and that really helps me because in a game and in a season, there’s transitions and decision making.

"You’re actually learning how not to fight. You’re learning how to handle situations. You’re learning how to problem solve."


Mazzulla did plenty of problem-solving last season; while he led the Celtics to a 57-25 regular season record and the Eastern Conference's No. 2 seed, he drew some criticism for Boston's inconsistent play in the postseason, which ended in a Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat in the East Finals.

The Celtics have committed to Mazzulla as their head coach going forward, however, and Mazzulla is committed to practicing jiu-jitsu, a discipline he first picked up in 2017 while coaching at Fairmont State but paused in 2019 when he first joined Boston's staff as an assistant coach.

"When you become a coach, you spend so much time leading others and helping others that you almost neglect yourself," Mazzulla told Eaves. "The question I had was, 'Who’s coaching you?'"

Mazzulla appears to have a valuable mentor in Costa, who is a Celtics fan and came to TD Garden last season to watch his mentee in action.

"I would take it a step further and say I'm a better person," Mazzulla said when asked if jiu-jitsu has made him a better coach. "To me, in order to become a better coach or player, you have to become a better person.

"The best quote Alex had was, 'The mats reveal who you really are.' And I think that will help me become a better coach along the way."


Bob
MY NOTE:  Will the mats teach Joe when to call timeouts?  Let's start small, with him learning you can't bank unused timeouts for the next game.  And as far as that whole "to become a better coach or player, you have to become a better person" stuff goes there's a lot of wiggle room between not being a jerk and being hard.  Doc was a nice guy, a good person, but he was definitely "in charge".  Not KG, not Pierce, not Ray.  Doc.  One thing Doc had going for him that Joe might not have is KG.  KG was 100% invested, and nobody messed with KG.  If you did he'd make you cry (see Davis, Glen).  Joe needs one of the Js to be Joe's headhunter.  Unfortunately that's not their personalities.  It's Marcus Smart's personality, it's Grant Williams' non-stop talking personality, but not Jayson or Jaylen's and I see that as a non-talent, non-physical, non-skill soft spot for us this year.  It might be worth bringing Blake back just for that. When there's a players only meeting who's going to crack the whip on this team?

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Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Brad Stevens’ son, Brady, announced on Instagram today that he will attend Notre Dame to play for his father’s former assistant and close friend Micah Shrewsberry. instagram.com/p/CwIx4yvpCpO/… pic.twitter.com/Ep8JGBbvxF


Bob


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https://celticswire.usatoday.com/lists/nba-boston-celtics-pritchard-scoring-bananza/


Payton Pritchard drops 61 points alongside Isaiah Thomas at Ball Don't Stop Pro-Am


Cameron Tabatabaie

August 21, 2023 9:14 am ET



Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard can score in a hurry. He’s established himself as a punchy offensive weapon for the Celtics off the bench, and the former Oregon Duck can certainly light it up when given the chance. Over the weekend he reminded the basketball world of that scoring prowess, exploding for 61 points at the Ball Don’t Stop pro-am tournament in Vancouver, Canada.

Dubbed Canada’s “biggest pro-am,” Ball Don’t Stop has been inviting amateur and professional hoopers to its summer showcase games since 2016. Pritchard’s 61 points represents a record for the event, besting the likes of Jamal Crawford, Scottie Barnes, former Celtic Nate Robinson, and other familiar pros who have participated in years past. In fact, fellow Boston alum Isaiah Thomas played alongside Pritchard this weekend during his big outing.


Pritchard, who is entering his fourth season as pro this fall, was rewarded with a professional wrestling inspired belt after the game. Impressively, however, this isn’t even close to Pritchard’s biggest pro am scoring outburst.


Back in 2021, Pritchard left Las Vegas Summer League early, instead showing up in his native Oregon where he went for 92 points at the Portland Pro-Am. Always a big supporter of the Pacific Northwest, Pritchard posted on Instagram to celebrate after the game.

Pritchard averaged a career-low 13.4 minutes per game last season, and agitated for more playing time. That said, in the final game of the 2022-23 season, Pritchard had a triple-double, logging 30 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Pritchard could be looking at an elevated role with the Celtics this coming season now that Marcus Smart is a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.


Bob
MY NOTE:  I doubt the talent level at this Pro-Am is anywhere near the NBA level.  IT, who can't even get a spot in the NBA, played in it.  I doubt the word defense was ever even mentioned in a huddle.  I would be more impressed if this article said Payton had 15 assists and only 3 turnovers, since that's the part of his game that needs to develop next.  The game needs to slow down for Payton so he can see the floor and run a pro offense better, not just score better. The good news is that hoop junkie Payton Pritchard isn't lying on a beach somewhere just because he can, he's working.


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Agree with Bob H he needs to improve his playmaking abilities, but the ability to score in bunches is an NBA skill that is useful. I really enjoy watching him play. I hope he takes another step forward this year.

Bobby Manning @RealBobManning
about 1 hour ago
NEW @CLNSMedia - Derrick White’s trainer on why gaining muscle became his summer goal, Sam Cassell’s visit to CO, leadership after Smart: “I really wanted him to be stronger…to take on some of the contact that I saw him receive in the playoffs” STORY: clnsmedia.com/derrick-white-…


Bob
MY NOTE:  Derrick is listed at 190#, which isn't much for a 6'4" NBA player, so some extra muscle might be very helpful.  He played 2319 minutes last season, so quite a bit (he was an Iron Man, playing all 82 games, starting 70, and averaged 28.3mpg), but if he's the full-time starter now the game will probably get a bit more physical (although he did start in 70 last year and that's a full season for most players).  I am pretty confident in Derrick coming in an doing a good job.  He is good at just about everything, elite at shot blocking for a player his size and shot 38% from 3 last season.  His assist-to-turnover ratio was an excellent 3.25:1 (3.9apt and 1.2TOpg).  With one less point guard/floor general on the team he'll need to up his assist number and, hopefully, maintain that excellent ratio.  He played a lot of minutes with Marcus, and Marcus had the ball in his hands a lot in the half court.  Now that Marcus is gone it'll be in Derrick's hands a lot more (and he needs to demand the ball from the Js.  Demand!!).


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HOF Ref Dick Bavetta on a game he reffed alone (only 2 officials back then, and his partner broke his leg during the game).  It was the game Bird and Dr. J got into it.





Bob


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