The Summer League Celtics want to win and are embracing the pressure to do so

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

“It’s the Celtics. After all,” Summer season League head coach DJ MacLeay stated when requested if he feels strain to win. “The expectation is to win right here, and we take pleasure in 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 crew 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 purpose for Summer season League is constructing a mindset,” stated MacLeay. “A mindset of what we now have with an expectation and a mindset of what we now have with [our] regular crew.

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

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

“I’d say I’m positively figuring it out,” MacLeay stated. “Yeah, I’m studying. I’m rising. I don’t know but. I can inform you for a incontrovertible fact that I’m loud. So, you’ll hear me. I simply don’t understand how I’ll try 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 seeking to break into the league, everyone seems to be leaving their coronary heart on the ground.

Baylor Scheierman, who the Celtics drafted with decide No. 30, performed his remaining two years of faculty ball at Creighton after three years with South Dakota State. Throughout his collegiate profession, he confronted off towards a number 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 Middle classes.

“I performed towards Jordan Walsh in school and performed JD Davison in school,” Scheierman stated. “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 nicely, which is numerous enjoyable to play with.”

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

“Shoot, I’ll say myself,” Scheierman stated. “Jaelen Home is fairly aggressive as nicely. However like we stated earlier, we acquired numerous guys that prefer to compete, and that makes apply numerous enjoyable.”

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

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

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

The group places an emphasis on successful, it doesn’t matter what stage they’re enjoying 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 stated of his first impression of the Celtics. “Legacy. Simply the mentality in the direction of all the things. The primary time we met [I was] in right here, they stated, ‘It’s completely different right here.’ So, that’s sort of the vibe you get right here. I feel they’ve acquired the precise strategy on issues.”

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

That, mixed with the probability that they go away the fifteenth roster spot open to protect flexibility and lighten their luxurious tax invoice, means the probabilities of making the crew 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 all the things,” stated assistant common supervisor Austin Ainge. “However we really feel fairly good about issues, and we now have the core all in place. However yeah, we’re all the time trying.

“That’s a message for these Summer season League guys, is that they’re not simply competing with the fellows on the court docket, they’re competing with guys on all of the Summer season League groups, and different guys which can be sitting at dwelling, and different guys which can be enjoying within the Olympics. It’s a giant world with numerous expertise, and our job is to be all the time evaluating.”

Above all, the Celtics simply need to assist their group enhance. MacLeay needs to win Summer season League gold, and the crew 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 transferring on the precise path within the basketball world.

“In the beginning, there’s a mindset of enchancment, proper?” MacLeay stated. “Like three weeks in the past, yesterday, we had been within the Backyard successful a championship, proper? And now we’re right here in a scenario the place we now have a possibility to develop in the direction of the following one. And I feel, pondering again on the previous of Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard, these guys began their development factors right here.

“And I feel that every 12 months you get a possibility 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 development. How are you going to get higher every day? How are you going to begin that journey in the direction of the following title? How are you going to begin that journey in the direction of the following season? I feel are issues that we’re working in the direction of and attempting to do right here.”