Jaylen Brown didn’t cover his emotions about how a lot he’ll miss Marcus Smart after the Celtics traded their beloved level guard final month.
“My brother and my teammate and one of my best friends is not on the team anymore,” Brown stated Wednesday at his press convention to announce his contract extension. “Everybody knows it. I learned so much from Marcus. Marcus has been somebody that’s, like, we butted heads at times, we fought, we did it all, we put each other in headlocks. The journey won’t feel the same without him, to be honest.”
But as a lot because the Celtics will miss Smart, Brown doesn’t need his departure to be an excuse subsequent season.
Among essentially the most notable issues Brown stated on Wednesday was his need for the Celtics to enhance defensively after they misplaced their id on that finish of the ground final season. Without Smart – the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year – and Grant Williams, who was one of many Celtics’ most versatile defenders, Boston has gotten weaker defensively this offseason, at the least on paper.
But Brown – together with his phrases – did his finest to set the defensive tone for the Celtics in July when requested a query about if the Celtics can compete for a championship subsequent season.
“Of course. I’m excited to get started with the journey as well,” Brown stated. “I think what Kristaps can bring to us defensively and the additions some of our other guys can bring to us defensively, I want to make sure that’s where we hang our hats this year and that starts with me, that starts with Jayson (Tatum), that starts with guys, Rob (Williams). With Marcus gone, we don’t want our defensive identity to go out the door as well, so we have to really emphasize that at the start of training camp.”
While the Celtics completed final common season second within the NBA in defensive score, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged there was inconsistent play they usually’ll must reinvent themselves a bit with a modified roster that features the 7-foot-3 Porzingis. He indicated that there will likely be extra double-big lineups.
“You have to commit to it daily, you have to talk about it,” Mazzulla stated. “But at the same time we’ve had multiple systems. This team and organization has always been built on defense and so a few years ago when we played double big there was a bunch of maintaining and a physical way to play. When Ime (Udoka) came and last year we were able to do some switching and so I think we have an opportunity to kind of blend both of them to where we do maintain our system and do some of the things we did well for the majority of the season and then just kind of reinvent and find small ways that adhere to our roster.”
‘Healing’ for Brogdon
Mazzulla stated that Malcolm Brogdon – who suffered a forearm pressure within the Eastern Conference Finals – is recovering nicely and must be prepared for coaching camp, however there’s apparently been some emotional therapeutic for the Sixth Man of the Year after he was a part of the preliminary commerce for Porzingis earlier than the Celtics pivoted to and dealt Smart.
“The organization has had a few conversations,” Mazzulla stated. “I think any time you are in a situation like that and you are in a relationship, you just have to take some small steps into it. There is a healing process, there is a listening process and to see where we are at and where we have to get to. We’ve had some conversations as an organization but at the same time, we understand that the situation that it was and as the healing process goes on, we will move forward as well as you can.” …
In case there was any doubt, Mazzulla confirmed that Derrick White will step in because the Celtics’ place to begin guard.
“We have the ability to play in different ways,” Mazzulla stated. “We have the flexibility to play small and play large so with a few of the modifications that we’ve made so it opens up a number of alternatives for Derrick, Payton and Malcolm. I feel that’s actually essential that these three have a chance to develop them and assist them on each ends of the ground. Those three guys on the guard spot is part of our id and part of what we have to get to on offense and protection.
Source: www.bostonherald.com