Post by FLCeltsFan on Sept 29, 2016 18:50:58 GMT -5
Here's today's post on Celtics Green Blog. If you go to the blog you can see a video that Lucky posted of one of his Gold Medal dunks and also a video of Rondo and Wade hating on each other.
celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2016/09/random-thoughts-as-trainng-camp-begins.html
celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2016/09/random-thoughts-as-trainng-camp-begins.html
I'm so excited that we have actual Celtics basketball to discuss!! We had Media Day on Monday and now the first two days of practice are in the books. From all reports, the players came into camp just as excited as I am. Brad Stevens had the plan to have them go at 40% the first day to ease their way into it and reports are that they were going at it closer to 100%. Either they are very excited or they just aren't great at math! From the Globe:
The energy was so strong, in fact, that the Celtics couldn’t follow Brad Stevens’ instruction to take it easy as they began walking through the playbook.
According to the Boston Globe, Stevens told the team to give about “30 percent effort” during the exercise, but his team went hard anyway.
“If that was 30 percent, we’re going to be able to fly around,” said Stevens after practice. “I think it was just a misjudging of what 30 percent is, but they were flying early on in practice.”
Every coach wants their players to follow instructions, but in this case Stevens can’t be upset at having a team with hard work in its DNA.
I'm not sure if you saw it this summer, but the Celtics have a champion on the team already. Lucky, the Celtics' mascot was chosen for the first Team USA of freestyle dunking that competed in Budapest for the first world title. They practiced just a few times to develop a routine once they came together in Budapest and Team USA won the silver medal. The Celtics own Lucky won the gold medal in the individual competition. A big congratulations to Lucky!
Just a few tidbits gleaned from Media Day. Jonas Jerebko was happy to be back with the Celtics. Last season he shot 40% from beyond the arc and in the offseason he put in work with between 500 and 1000 makes per day. He hopes to shoot even better this season. He worked with Celtics assistant coach Jamie Young on getting a quicker release also.
Isaiah Thomas worked on changing some habits this summer with a goal of being even better this season and playing until he's 40. He changed his diet and added vegetables and also met with a sleep doctor to help him make the most of his sleeping hours. He told the story about he and Gerald Green putting up shots in the practice facility when Danny recruited them to be in the BYU rap video that made such a hit this summer.
It was great to see Al Horford in his Celtics uniform. Now I can't wait to see him play. He said that he likes the work ethic of all the other Celtics. He felt that coming to Boston gives him the best chance of winning a championship. He worked out with Amir for a week in Atlanta this summer and feels that their games will mesh very well. He's also excited to play the pick and roll with Isaiah.
Kelly Olynyk stayed in the Boston area for most of the summer and did a lot of work with kids in the community. Marc D'Amico said that Kelly is the most active Celtic in the community that he has seen in the 8 years he's been covering the Celtics. Most of Kelly's summer was spent rehabbing his shoulder. He's feeling great but the shoulder needs just a little more time to get stronger. He's participating in non contact drills so far in camp. He had 2.5 drives per game last season, which was tied for 3rd among bigs last season and he wants to be more aggressive this season without forcing things. He'd also love to have a 50-90-40 shooting season.
Avery Bradley said that they young guys are calling him Grandpa in camp. He said that he is trying to be a mentor to him just as Pierce and KG were to him. He's 100% going into camp and feels good. He worked hard over the summer and wants to prove that he can do more this season. He said that he will never take a possession off and feels he should be in the Defensive Player of the Year talks this season. He wants to be the best defensive player in the league. He's improved every season he's been in the league and expects to be much improved again this season.
RJ Hunter and James Young know that there is much competition for them to just make the team this season. Both bulked up a bit over the summer. Young went from 215 lbs last season to 236 lbs going into camp while RJ Hunter went from 135 last season to 160 going into camp.
Jae Crowder is healthy and raring to go this season. He met with Al Horford in Atlanta this summer to begin building chemistry with him. RJ Hunter joined them in working out. He wants to be more consistent this season and to be a complete player able to play multiple positions. He watches lots of film to prepare and has the goal for the Celtics to have the top defense in the league this season. Reports are that Jae has improved his shooting considerably over the offseason and he is working hard on his ball handling and is much more comfortable shooting off the dribble.
Gerald Green is very happy to be back in Boston. He will be wearing [HASH]30 this year. He is much more mature and seasoned than he was in his first season with the Celtics when he was a kid straight out of high school. He and Isaiah Thomas really gelled in Phoenix and he is very anxious to play with him again. Isaiah called him a profession bucket getter. He has lots of confidence in himself but knows he needs to put the work in. He said that his slam dunk contest days are over and that he'd rather put in the work to make the team better and make his overall game better than to work on fancy dunks.
Jordan Mickey comes into camp with a ton of potential and a lot of questions. He dominated in the D-League but can he translate that to the NBA? He said that playing in Maine last season was great for him and helped him to get better. One thing he worked on was his outside shot and now he is comfortable taking the 3. He worked on it even more over the summer.
Terry Rozier has a chip on his shoulder and worked hard over the summer to improve. He showed the results of that work in Summer League where he was the best player on the Celtics. He wants to be the go to guy this season and to fill in the void left by Evan Turner's departure. Danny Ainge said that he sees a swagger in him this season.
Celtics now have 4th best title odds in the NBA at 18/1 via Bovada. Only the Warriors (4/5), Cavs (3/1) and Spurs (9/1) ahead of them. Expectations are high for this team. We can only hope that the Celtics have a little luck and avoid injuries as that can derail a season no matter how high the expectations are. All but Kelly are healthy coming into camp and Kelly is close. Now they just have to stay healthy.
In the best of the ironic category, Dwyane Wade just called Rajon Rondo the best point guard he's ever played with and Rondo can't say enough about how good Wade is. Rondo at one point called Wade the dirtiest player in the league. These two had absolutely no love lost between them and now they are best buds. Like I said, the best of the ironic.
After practicing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Celtics will have an open practice and their annual green and white scrimmage on Friday, September 30 at the Garden at 7:00 PM ET. This is open for season ticket holders. It will be televised on CSNNE for those who get that channel. I'm hoping it won't be blacked out since there is no League Pass right now. I really can't wait to see these guys on the court.
The energy was so strong, in fact, that the Celtics couldn’t follow Brad Stevens’ instruction to take it easy as they began walking through the playbook.
According to the Boston Globe, Stevens told the team to give about “30 percent effort” during the exercise, but his team went hard anyway.
“If that was 30 percent, we’re going to be able to fly around,” said Stevens after practice. “I think it was just a misjudging of what 30 percent is, but they were flying early on in practice.”
Every coach wants their players to follow instructions, but in this case Stevens can’t be upset at having a team with hard work in its DNA.
I'm not sure if you saw it this summer, but the Celtics have a champion on the team already. Lucky, the Celtics' mascot was chosen for the first Team USA of freestyle dunking that competed in Budapest for the first world title. They practiced just a few times to develop a routine once they came together in Budapest and Team USA won the silver medal. The Celtics own Lucky won the gold medal in the individual competition. A big congratulations to Lucky!
Just a few tidbits gleaned from Media Day. Jonas Jerebko was happy to be back with the Celtics. Last season he shot 40% from beyond the arc and in the offseason he put in work with between 500 and 1000 makes per day. He hopes to shoot even better this season. He worked with Celtics assistant coach Jamie Young on getting a quicker release also.
Isaiah Thomas worked on changing some habits this summer with a goal of being even better this season and playing until he's 40. He changed his diet and added vegetables and also met with a sleep doctor to help him make the most of his sleeping hours. He told the story about he and Gerald Green putting up shots in the practice facility when Danny recruited them to be in the BYU rap video that made such a hit this summer.
It was great to see Al Horford in his Celtics uniform. Now I can't wait to see him play. He said that he likes the work ethic of all the other Celtics. He felt that coming to Boston gives him the best chance of winning a championship. He worked out with Amir for a week in Atlanta this summer and feels that their games will mesh very well. He's also excited to play the pick and roll with Isaiah.
Kelly Olynyk stayed in the Boston area for most of the summer and did a lot of work with kids in the community. Marc D'Amico said that Kelly is the most active Celtic in the community that he has seen in the 8 years he's been covering the Celtics. Most of Kelly's summer was spent rehabbing his shoulder. He's feeling great but the shoulder needs just a little more time to get stronger. He's participating in non contact drills so far in camp. He had 2.5 drives per game last season, which was tied for 3rd among bigs last season and he wants to be more aggressive this season without forcing things. He'd also love to have a 50-90-40 shooting season.
Avery Bradley said that they young guys are calling him Grandpa in camp. He said that he is trying to be a mentor to him just as Pierce and KG were to him. He's 100% going into camp and feels good. He worked hard over the summer and wants to prove that he can do more this season. He said that he will never take a possession off and feels he should be in the Defensive Player of the Year talks this season. He wants to be the best defensive player in the league. He's improved every season he's been in the league and expects to be much improved again this season.
RJ Hunter and James Young know that there is much competition for them to just make the team this season. Both bulked up a bit over the summer. Young went from 215 lbs last season to 236 lbs going into camp while RJ Hunter went from 135 last season to 160 going into camp.
Jae Crowder is healthy and raring to go this season. He met with Al Horford in Atlanta this summer to begin building chemistry with him. RJ Hunter joined them in working out. He wants to be more consistent this season and to be a complete player able to play multiple positions. He watches lots of film to prepare and has the goal for the Celtics to have the top defense in the league this season. Reports are that Jae has improved his shooting considerably over the offseason and he is working hard on his ball handling and is much more comfortable shooting off the dribble.
Gerald Green is very happy to be back in Boston. He will be wearing [HASH]30 this year. He is much more mature and seasoned than he was in his first season with the Celtics when he was a kid straight out of high school. He and Isaiah Thomas really gelled in Phoenix and he is very anxious to play with him again. Isaiah called him a profession bucket getter. He has lots of confidence in himself but knows he needs to put the work in. He said that his slam dunk contest days are over and that he'd rather put in the work to make the team better and make his overall game better than to work on fancy dunks.
Jordan Mickey comes into camp with a ton of potential and a lot of questions. He dominated in the D-League but can he translate that to the NBA? He said that playing in Maine last season was great for him and helped him to get better. One thing he worked on was his outside shot and now he is comfortable taking the 3. He worked on it even more over the summer.
Terry Rozier has a chip on his shoulder and worked hard over the summer to improve. He showed the results of that work in Summer League where he was the best player on the Celtics. He wants to be the go to guy this season and to fill in the void left by Evan Turner's departure. Danny Ainge said that he sees a swagger in him this season.
Celtics now have 4th best title odds in the NBA at 18/1 via Bovada. Only the Warriors (4/5), Cavs (3/1) and Spurs (9/1) ahead of them. Expectations are high for this team. We can only hope that the Celtics have a little luck and avoid injuries as that can derail a season no matter how high the expectations are. All but Kelly are healthy coming into camp and Kelly is close. Now they just have to stay healthy.
In the best of the ironic category, Dwyane Wade just called Rajon Rondo the best point guard he's ever played with and Rondo can't say enough about how good Wade is. Rondo at one point called Wade the dirtiest player in the league. These two had absolutely no love lost between them and now they are best buds. Like I said, the best of the ironic.
After practicing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the Celtics will have an open practice and their annual green and white scrimmage on Friday, September 30 at the Garden at 7:00 PM ET. This is open for season ticket holders. It will be televised on CSNNE for those who get that channel. I'm hoping it won't be blacked out since there is no League Pass right now. I really can't wait to see these guys on the court.
