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

Contemporary off Banner 18, the Boston Celtics are maintaining Banner 18.5 sq. of their sights. After years of failure, they lastly acquired over the hump, however only a few weeks later, they discover themselves locked again in like they by no means left. Boston needs the Summer time League crown.

“It’s the Celtics. After all,” Summer time League head coach DJ MacLeay mentioned when requested if he feels stress 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 time 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 constantly moved up the bench. And now, he’s hoping to instill the identical philosophies that simply helped Boston win a championship into his Summer time League squad.

“I feel the principle purpose for Summer time League is constructing a mindset,” mentioned MacLeay. “A mindset of what we’ve got with an expectation and a mindset of what we’ve got with [our] regular crew.

“After which I feel usually 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 fashion, he’s nonetheless toying round with it. However he’s undoubtedly going to let his voice be heard.

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

By means of MacLeay’s first few practices with the Summer time 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 school 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 time 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 towards Jordan Walsh in school and performed JD Davison in school,” 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 nicely, which is lots of enjoyable to play with.”

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

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

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

“I identical to [that they are] very personable,” Sceierman mentioned of the coaches. “They relate to you nicely, they usually carry lots of vitality, and that simply makes follow much more enjoyable, much more aggressive, when the coaches are bringing that as nicely.”

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 degree they’re taking part in at. Whether or not it’s competing for an NBA Championship, a G League Championship, or a Summer time League Championship, they need the glory.

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

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

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 probabilities of making the crew out of Summer time League are slim.

However they aren’t zero.

“I’ll all the time say, we’re all the time maintaining our eyes open and all the pieces,” mentioned assistant normal supervisor Austin Ainge. “However we really feel fairly good about issues, and we’ve got the core all in place. However yeah, we’re all the time trying.

“That’s a message for these Summer time League guys, is that they’re not simply competing with the fellows on the courtroom, they’re competing with guys on all of the Summer time League groups, and different guys which might be sitting at residence, and different guys which might be taking part in within the Olympics. It’s an enormous world with lots of 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 time 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 shifting on the appropriate path within the basketball world.

“Before everything, 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 scenario the place we’ve got a possibility to develop in direction of the subsequent 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 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, but it surely’s the mindset of progress. How are you going to get higher each day? How are you going to begin that journey in direction of the subsequent title? How are you going to begin that journey in direction of the subsequent season? I feel are issues that we’re working in direction of and attempting to do right here.”