The Summer season League Celtics wish to win and are embracing the stress to take action

Contemporary off Banner 18, the Boston Celtics are retaining Banner 18.5 sq. of their sights. After years of failure, they lastly bought over the hump, however just some weeks later, they discover themselves locked again in like they by no means left. Boston desires the Summer season League crown.

“It’s the Celtics. In fact,” Summer season League head coach DJ MacLeay mentioned when requested if he feels stress to win. “The expectation is to win right here, and we get pleasure from that and welcome that.”

The Celtics put collectively a stacked Summer season League roster that features 5 gamers from final season’s roster, two drafted rookies, and 6 different intriguing kids.

Among the many latter bunch are Eddie Home’s son, Jaelen, Jayson Tatum’s highschool teammate, Tyler Cook dinner, and Xavier Tillman’s former teammate Killian Tillie.

MacLeay has been with the Celtics since 2021 and remained with the staff after Joe Mazzulla took over. Since then, he’s persistently moved up the bench. And now, he’s hoping to instill the identical philosophies that simply helped Boston win a championship into his Summer season League squad.

“I feel the primary objective for Summer season League is constructing a mindset,” mentioned MacLeay. “A mindset of what now we have with an expectation and a mindset of what now we have with [our] regular staff.

“After which I feel normally from [an] Xs and Os perspective, we’re making an attempt to instill offensively and defensively rules, themes, ideas, issues that our regular staff does with these guys right here, and we’re making an attempt to construct that into what they do and the way they play.”

As for his personal head teaching fashion, he’s nonetheless toying round with it. However he’s undoubtedly going to let his voice be heard.

“I’d say I’m undoubtedly figuring it out,” MacLeay mentioned. “Yeah, I’m studying. I’m rising. I don’t know but. I can let you know for a proven fact that I’m loud. So, you’ll hear me. I simply don’t know the way I’ll do this.”

Via MacLeay’s first few practices with the Summer season League Celtics, competitiveness has been the theme. Whether or not it’s the returning guys, Boston’s rookies, or the gamers trying to break into the league, everyone seems to be leaving their coronary heart on the ground.

Baylor Scheierman, who the Celtics drafted with choose No. 30, performed his ultimate two years of school ball at Creighton after three years with South Dakota State. Throughout his collegiate profession, he confronted off in opposition to a few of the guys on Boston’s Summer season League squad.

He is aware of how laborious they play, and he’s seen it from them and everybody else within the first few Auerbach Heart periods.

“I performed in opposition to Jordan Walsh in faculty and performed JD Davison in faculty,” Scheierman mentioned. “Clearly, each terrific athletes and really expert. They prefer to compete.

“I feel that’s the most important factor that I’ve seen simply from all my teammates is simply on the competitiveness and the willingness to be, humility, after which simply, we share the ball effectively, which is quite a lot of enjoyable to play with.”

Scheierman put himself and Home on the prime of the competitiveness pedestal.

“Shoot, I’ll say myself,” Scheierman mentioned. “Jaelen Home is fairly aggressive as effectively. However like we mentioned earlier, we bought quite a lot of guys that prefer to compete, and that makes apply quite a lot of enjoyable.”

And the gamers have gotten the identical vitality from MacLeay and his teaching workers.

“I similar to [that they are] very personable,” Sceierman mentioned of the coaches. “They relate to you effectively, they usually convey quite a lot of vitality, and that simply makes apply much more enjoyable, much more aggressive, when the coaches are bringing that as effectively.”

Even after monopolizing Boston’s confetti provide whereas celebrating their largest accomplishment in 16 years, the Celtics have been able to snap proper again to enterprise.

The group places an emphasis on profitable, it doesn’t matter what stage they’re taking part in at. Whether or not it’s competing for an NBA Championship, a G League Championship, or a Summer season League Championship, they need the glory.

“Simply winners,” Watson mentioned of his first impression of the Celtics. “Legacy. Simply the mentality in direction of every part. The primary time we met [I was] in right here, they mentioned, ‘It’s totally different right here.’ So, that’s sort of the vibe you get right here. I feel they’ve bought the proper strategy on issues.”

JD Davison and Drew Peterson shall be again on two-way contracts subsequent 12 months, and Watson might be the early favourite to land the third after the Celtics drafted him with the No. 54 choose.

That, mixed with the chance that they go away the fifteenth roster spot open to protect flexibility and lighten their luxurious tax invoice, means the possibilities of making the staff out of Summer season League are slim.

However they aren’t zero.

“I’ll all the time say, we’re all the time retaining our eyes open and every part,” mentioned assistant basic supervisor Austin Ainge. “However we really feel fairly good about issues, and now we have the core all in place. However yeah, we’re all the time wanting.

“That’s a message for these Summer season League guys, is that they’re not simply competing with the blokes on the court docket, they’re competing with guys on all of the Summer season League groups, and different guys which are sitting at residence, and different guys which are taking part in within the Olympics. It’s an enormous world with quite a lot of expertise, and our job is to be all the time evaluating.”

Above all, the Celtics simply wish to assist their group enhance. MacLeay desires to win Summer season League gold, and the staff does, too, however they perceive what this set of video games can do for the gamers.

MacLeay is prepared and keen to assist them get shifting on the proper path within the basketball world.

“At the beginning, there’s a mindset of enchancment, proper?” MacLeay mentioned. “Like three weeks in the past, yesterday, we have been within the Backyard profitable a championship, proper? And now we’re right here in a state of affairs the place now we have a chance to develop in direction of the following one. And I feel, pondering again on the previous of Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard, these guys began their progress factors right here.

“And I feel that every 12 months you get a chance to do that, it’s a time to get higher, and for them, they every have particular person issues that they’re engaged on from a basketball perspective, nevertheless it’s the mindset of progress. How will you get higher each day? How will you begin that journey in direction of the following title? How will you begin that journey in direction of the following season? I feel are issues that we’re working in direction of and making an attempt to do right here.”