Quick Practices Part of Process

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Notebook: Quick practices part of process
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
By:  Mark Murphy, Celtics Notebook


NEWPORT, R.I. — Brad Stevens said he doesn’t believe in long practices, and the rookie Celtics coach was a man of his word during his first two NBA practices yesterday.

The team went through two hours of walkthrough offense in the morning at Salve Regina University, and hastened the pace and contact a bit with two hours in the afternoon.

“I’ve never held a three-hour practice,” said the former Butler University coach, who will win over just about any NBA player with talk like that.

That doesn’t mean Stevens is taking his time. Plays and offensive theory were very much on the agenda.

“There’s just not enough time not to put stuff in right away,” he said at the end of the afternoon session. “You’re not going to put in everything you do. There’s a whole group of actions that you won’t touch until after timeouts. You’re also trying to figure out how guys respond to you drawing something up off the board. How will they respond on the fly? Are they going to play for one another? Will they figure out each other’s strengths? There’s a lot that goes into a team that’s been together for six years, let alone a team that’s been together for a week.”

Stevens, known for his belief in the power of “the process,” was admittedly happy with that area yesterday.

“I thought it went well. We spent a lot of time on non-competitive (things), working on detail in drill work,” he said. “We introduced drills that are familiar to some, but maybe there’s a nuance here or there that’s new. Overall we covered a lot of stuff, got a lot of stuff in.

“We do a 50-minute, un-taped, offensive skill work session in the morning,” Stevens added. “Then we really work our defense and get into more competitive drills in the morning when we’re taped. It’s a little more up and down. It’s the way I’ve always done it. It’s a good way, because you can break the day into shorter segments and hopefully retain more.”

The aforementioned drills included a few wrinkles from Stevens’ time at Butler. Jared Sullinger had a moment of dejà vu when the big forward realized he was participating in a drill used by coach Thad Matta at Ohio State.

Matta, of course, was Stevens’ one-time boss at Butler.

Sully good to go

Sullinger clarified what he meant by saying he’s “not even close” on media day.

“I meant I wasn’t close to who I want to be,” he said. “Not as far as playing. I’m going to play. I’m healthy, 100 percent healthy.”

But he also added “10 to 15 pounds” during his recovery from back surgery, and it still shows.

“It’s really tough, all of that sitting around. I just try to get back into the flow of things every day,” he said. “I put on weight. I’m trying to lose that now. Everything will work out, though.”

Stevens likes the progress Sullinger has made.

“Jared’s come a long way from when I first saw him in early August, when he was cleared to do contact,” he said. “In a one-on-one setting he’s really come a long way. From what I’ve heard, he had to sit out for quite a while to recover from surgery. I’m pleasantly surprised at his motor today.” . . .

Stevens probably has a better understanding of why Kris Humphries was a double-double machine as a Net.

“Kris’ physical conditioning is at a high level,” the coach said. “There’s a lot of guys in tip-top shape and Kris is one of them. He gets to places quicker than others because Kris takes care of himself. He was pretty good today.”

Avery healthy start

Offseason surgery became synonymous with summer for Avery Bradley in his first three seasons. Yesterday actually marked the start of the guard’s first healthy training camp.

“Last night I was a little nervous,” he said. “I woke up at 6 this morning, I was so excited. I was anxious to get the jitters out in the first practice, and make improvements in the second practice.”




bob



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It's rather refreshing to hear about a few plays being installed on day one of physical practice. I had become used to hearing about the need to keep it simple—to the point whether I sometimes wondered what percentage of the possible plays had been installed by season's end. Brad's obviously a very cerebral coach, which suggests to me that he'll be more comfortable with cerebral type players. That's as good a reason as any for Brad and Rondo to bond quickly (which it appears they already have). It also suggests that Brad will favor combinations with collectively high basketball IQs, and that's my favorite type of combination (regardless of who's part of it).

Sam