“We know we have guys that are capable. It’s just about getting it together,” said 15th year Celtics swingman Paul Pierce. “Our offense is definitely behind our defense just as far as our chemistry, and I think that’s gonna come. We have too many weapons and guys have to get comfortable with the system that we’ve integrated, but I think we’re gonna get better and better.”
Garnett echoed Pierce’s sentiments.
“We want consistency because we want to be a great team – not a good team – a great team. We’ve gotta keep working to be disciplined. I think the more you practice, the more you get familiar with each other. There’s no fast-forward button here.”
When you’re integrating as many new parts as Boston is doing, nothing comes overnight. Drafting rookie Jared Sullinger, trading for shooting guard Courtney Lee, adding veterans Leandro Barbosa, Jason Terry, Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox and Darko Milicic in the offseason, along with getting swingman Jeff Green back after a season of inactivity as a result of a heart condition has ensured that the Celtics must work hard in practice, in the film room and on game nights to create new chemistry, familiarity and trust at the offensive end.
“I definitely felt more comfortable on both ends of the floor,” said Jason Terry, who shot 7-for-15 and finished with 16 points and 3 assists. “For me it’s about making shots. I know that if this was golf, then I definitely left a couple birdies out there on the course. It’ll come. It’s a process. It’s about playing 48 minutes of Celtics basketball. We did it in spurts, we played in stretches, but that’s not going to be good enough for us. We’ll be back at practice tomorrow working hard and building toward our next game.”
The learning process will continue, the chemistry will come. As we know, champions are formed during the regular season and made during the playoffs. It’ll be stimulating to watch how these C’s adjust to their new personnel as the season goes on, but no matter what happens there is still no questioning that the heart and soul of this team has been formed as a result of past success, and that the new guys in town are going to feed off of the veteran leaders.
“I just think that being on a team like this, watching the guys and how they deal with adversity can only help you,” said Bass, who had 5 crucial points in the overtime session. “And that’s what it did for me tonight.”
Team vets and team rooks aside, the players the Celtics have on their roster just want to keep learning and keep improving, because when you’re on a team that has veterans who know what it takes to win, settling for anything less is simply unacceptable…
That much, the Celtics have down pat.
- James Harden has been the talk of the town (err, nation), but what about what the Thunder got on their end of the deal. Chris Sheridan highlighted the positive play of Kevin Martin off the bench for Oklahoma City, including his torrid 3-point shooting that has him ranked second in the NBA behind O.J. Mayo — who was highlighted here yesterday.
- Can you answer this quiz?
- The incredible Miami Heat ball-movement you’ve been watching is based on … hockey assists. Tim Reynolds of the AP has the story: “With emphasis on ball movement, the Heat are currently into what’s known as “hockey assists” – essentially, the pass that sets up the pass that sets up the score. In hockey, it’s typical for two players to be credited with having passes to set up a goal, and while it’s hardly an NBA statistic, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra is working it into his team’s repertoire as well. ‘If anything, it’s a compliment to the game of hockey,’ Heat center Joel Anthony said. ‘We’re recognizing the different types of ways they reward players for making the extra pass. Hockey acknowledges it a lot more. There’s no stat for it in basketball but we still acknowledge that. Spo recognizes that and wants to make sure we know it’s extremely important.’
- Thomas Robinson has been suspended two games for elbowing Jonas Jerebko of the Pistons last night during a dead ball scenario:
- A few noteworthy tweets from Marc Stein at ESPN:
Jeremy Bauman is a 2011 Indiana University alum who is an aspiring scout and shooting coach. After covering last June’s NBA finals for this site, he’ll be blogging for SheridanHoops.com weekday mornings (and clearly some afternoons) during the 2012-13 basketball season. Follow him on Twitter.