There’s something unequivocally different about this year’s Boston Celtics. That truth is impossible to avoid.
From the moment the Celtics traded for Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, their fate was set in stone. The CBA waits for no one. They were rentals.
So, when Boston traded them both in the 2025 offseason, it wasn’t a surprise.
What wasn’t foreseen was Jayson Tatum rupturing his Achilles in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Nor was it the expectation that Boston would lose both Al Horford and Luke Kornet in free agency.
The chance at a straightforward restructuring quickly turned into talks of a tank, albeit those theories hovered almost exclusively outside the walls of the Celtics organization.
Fast forward to the present day, and Boston is one of the top storylines of the 2025-26 NBA season. A Jaylen Brown MVP campaign. A trade for Nikola Vucevic. Swirling rumors of a potential Tatum return on the horizon.
But what really happened? All the outside world sees is the basketball played on the court. All it hears are the post-game press conferences. A picture painted solely by the actions and words the team wants to be seen and heard.
How did this version of the Celtics—one with a new leading man, new supporting acts, and a wholly new bench core—maintain its place as one of the NBA’s powerhouses?
The story is simpler than it seems. And it’s best exemplified by a late-December meeting with the Toronto Raptors.
Or, more specifically, what happened beforehand.
© Nick Turchiaro
A one-of-a-kind film session
As holiday bells and winter air engulfed Boston, the Celtics had a plane to catch. Fresh off a 129-116 win over the Miami Heat at TD Garden, they were staring down a grueling back-to-back against the Raptors.
Brown, who scored 30 points in 34:43 against the Heat on Friday, was out for Saturday’s north-of-the-border affair. That left Joe Mazzulla with two questions that needed answers.
Who should start in place of Brown? Who should guard Toronto’s stars?
Mazzulla could have decided for himself. He could have written on a whiteboard in the locker room and doled out defensive matchups before the game. Nobody would have blinked an eye.
But he didn’t do any of that. He opened a discussion.
“We had a game where we were talking about, like, ‘Hey, give me your guys’ potential matchups,’” Xavier Tillman told BostonSportsJournal.com. “’What would you guys have?’ So, that day was cool. We were all talking about, ‘Oh, I’d put D-White on him, I’d put Neem on him,’ and we were going through what we did. Somebody was down that game. We did starting lineups and stuff like that as a unit, and that was pretty cool.”
That was Boston’s film session before the Raptors game. Mazzulla wanted the players involved. He wanted their input.
Everything was on the table. Lineups, coverages, matchups.
It was unlike anything Luka Garza has ever been a part of.
“I’ve never been in a film session like that. It was awesome,” he told BSJ. “It was kind of just like a team project, if you will, where we all kind of were able to put our imprints on what the starting lineup looked like, what our coverages were going to be, based on the scout, and stuff.”
Everyone’s voices were heard.
“It was unique. Just like, ‘Who’s gonna start tonight?’ It’s just kind of the dynamics of us kind of talking about ourselves, and who would be better in this situation,” Garza said. “But it was just kind of— I’d never been in a situation like that. So it was just kind of unique and funny in that way, but also cool, and I think just high-level in terms of everybody putting in their thoughts and opinions on the game. We all know the game really well, and so it was cool.”
Unfortunately for Derrick White, his input was outvoted.
“We were like, yo, like, what do you guys think of this? What do you guys think of that? And it was so cool,” Tillman said. “D-White was like, ‘I’m gonna put him on him, and I’m gonna guard..’. He [suggested that he guarded] one of their non-ball handlers, and everyone was like, ‘Nah, D-White. You on the ball.’ We were like, ‘Nah, we’re gonna put you on the ball. We put you…’ I think JB might have been out. So, that was the game Payton had a big game.
“Because we were like, nah, D-White, we had you guarding Ingram. And he was like ,’Damn.’”
In the end, Boston decided to roll out a starting lineup of White, Payton Pritchard, Jordan Walsh, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta. This is how they matched up to open the game:
-
Derrick White vs. Brandon Ingram
-
Payton Pritchard vs. Immanuel Quickley
-
Jordan Walsh vs. Scottie Barnes
-
Sam Hauser vs. Ochai Agbaji
-
Neemias Queta vs. Sandro Mamukelashvili
White did, in fact, begin that December 20 game on Brandon Ingram. The Raptors’ All-Star made two tough shots over White’s outstretched arm before a jumping contest was finally enough to get a stop.
“Scottie and Ingram were the two that we were trying to like—and Mamu, because he was hitting threes—we were trying to figure out who was guarding who,” Tillman said. “Yeah, so that was good. It was fun. That was a fun day.”
Those initial matchups lasted until the first timeout of the game, when Darko Rajakovic subbed in rookie Collin Murray-Boyles for Barnes at the 7:07 mark in the first quarter.
Then White’s suggestion finally came into play.
Ingram’s tough jumpers weren’t the only noteworthy buckets to take place in the first few minutes. Sandro Mamukelashvili, as Boston’s film session noted, was indeed red-hot from three heading into that game.
Up to that point in the season, the Toronto center was shooting 29-of-79 (36.7%) from deep range. But more notably, he was 8-of-16 (50.0%) from the corners.
So, when Boston’s rotate-and-help defense pulled Queta off of Mamukelashvili and into the paint just 39 seconds into the game, he made them pay. He hit another (above-the-break) triple at the 8:26 mark.
Murray-Boyles, checking in for Barnes, gave the Celtics an opportunity to adjust. White went from guarding Ingram to matching up with Ochai Agbaji—a non-ball-handler—and Walsh shifted over to battle Ingram.
From then on, the Celtics enjoyed a 25-9 run to close the first quarter.
Ingram only scored two more points in the period, and Toronto didn’t put the ball in the basket for the final 4:39.
It all stemmed from Boston’s one-of-a-kind film session.
“We had played Toronto a couple times, so all of us were kind of familiar with what we were trying to do,” Garza said. “And I think the consensus was, I think everyone kind of agreed on what we wanted to do that game. We obviously were able to go into that game and win. So, it was just kind of a fun exercise, and I think it was cool to see how much Joe kind of trusts the opinions of his players.”
By the end of the night, the Celtics’ matchups changed even more. They flowed with the state of the game.
Rookie Hugo Gonzalez enjoyed a monster night on the boards and on the defensive end. So, he guarded Ingram in the clutch, highlighted by two huge steals and a ferocious dunk in transition that forced a Raptors timeout.
That’s the way Boston has operated all season. Film sets the standard. The foundation for the way they play on a game-to-game basis.
And the Celtics’ film sessions have been different this year. Their preparation for Toronto was an extreme version of what has become a critical reality.
Coaches aren’t screaming. They aren’t berating the team with tactics, orders, and rules. Instead, it’s a classroom.
“That one [the Toronto film session] was a little bit rare, but we definitely still do a lot of talking through it and communication,” said Pritchard. “So, it’s not just like, oh, we’re doing this, this, and this wrong. It’s more like, let’s talk through it. What are you seeing? Why are you seeing it? So, teaching.”
Yelling has been traded for discussions. Demands moved aside for conversation. In turn, dread has blossomed into enthusiasm.
“Just like, it takes away from the film session being, where you’re sitting there, like f***, we’re gonna get yelled at. Usually, that’s what film is. Until 1771336543 it’s like, okay, I’m looking forward to this. Let me see what is really going on. Let me learn and get better from it.”
Veterans like Pritchard, Brown, and White are constantly letting their voices be heard. For them, it’s an outlet to share opinions. And for younger guys like Baylor Scheierman, it’s a chance to learn.
“Honestly, for me, being kind of a younger guy in terms of just years in the league, when those conversations come, that’s more for the older guys to say their opinions on that,” Scheierman said. “I kind of just sit there and just listen, honestly. But it’s cool.
“It’s more just teaching us the game and just trying to continue to grow and learn about the game and certain matchups with certain people, and certain coverages with certain people, and stuff like that. So, it’s really just about growing the understanding of the game.”
Everything has come together beautifully for this year’s Celtics.
Brown and Pritchard are having career seasons. White should be a lock for the All-Defensive First Team. Queta has emerged as a legitimate starting center in the NBA. Garza has been an incredible backup. Gonzalez, Walsh, and Scheierman can all play starter minutes on any given night.
But hidden beneath the surface, the film room has been the fuel to Boston’s fire. A constant building block carrying winning on its shoulders.
What Brown and Mazzulla dubbed Celtics University is truthfully an undying commitment to understanding the game, and every single opponent, at the highest level.
That devotion is what has made this Celtics season so special.
© Paul Rutherford
Change waits for no one
When change hits, it hits hard.
For the Celtics, that meant a complete shift in game plan. Their anticipated roster changes were matched with the unexpected. What could have been a seamless transition became the ultimate puzzle for Mazzulla, Brad Stevens, and the entire organization.
So, Mazzulla began putting pieces together.
Boston’s offense was direct. Put the ball in the hands of a superstar, let them work, and operate out of the two-on-one they were able to create.
Their defense was just as unadorned. Accept one-on-one challenges. Don’t foul. If Porzingis (or White) got the chance to help over at the rim, they took it. Other than that, they played it safe and relied on their talent to win out.
Both of those strategies were flipped on their heads.
This year’s Celtics play fast. They run in transition if they can, and Brown and Pritchard hunt any shot they feel is a good one.
“We’ve had a more analytical approach to our style of play. I think this year, it was just like, get it how you live,” Brown said. “Maybe the way I play basketball doesn’t jump off the charts analytically, to some degree, in some capacity. So, I can see why people may think that maybe me being put in this role, it wouldn’t be successful. But there’s more than meets the eye. So, I’ve just been playing my game.
“I play off rhythm, I play off feel, I play off what I see. And sometimes that doesn’t show up in the analytics. So, I think we’ve changed our approach significantly. I was discouraged, a lot of times, to take mid-range shots at different points in my career. They literally told me not to. So, now it’s like, Jaylen, you can take whatever shot you want. I was like, sure. I’ve been shooting as many mid-ranges as I can get up.
Simple pick-and-rolls have been shipped out in exchange for a wider variety of actions. More Spain. More flare screens. More Horns. More Chest action. Boston’s bigs are screening more than ever. The hunt for two-on-ones still exists, it just looks different.
Defensively, Boston is now gunning for more turnovers than ever, and their foul rate has felt the effect. But it has also meant more opportunities in transition. And the days of living with one-on-one matchups are gone. Anytime an opponent drives into the paint, the Celtics send help, rotate, and live with late closeouts on shooters they believe are the lesser threats.
But how does one prepare for that? How does a team so set in stone for two straight seasons turn on a dime in an instant?
© Rhona Wise
DJ MacLeay (left) and Luka Garza (right)
‘Those film sessions that we’ve had… It’s like a classroom’
Walsh leaned back at his locker in Atlanta. The question: Have you guys done more film this year? The look on his face said it all.
“Yeah, definitely a lot more film,” he said. “A lot more walkthroughs, a lot more film. Very, very long film sessions.”
If it wasn’t obvious enough by the words Walsh said, it was made clear by the emotion in his voice: This year’s Celtics have spent a lot more time studying.
Every chance they get, they’re watching film. Videos of themselves, videos of opponents, videos of individual tendencies. Anything and everything that can be covered gets covered.
“I think we changed it, and I like it,” Pritchard said.
“I would say we just watch it more consistently,” Scheierman said.
Last season, the Celtics had the sixth-oldest roster in the NBA. An average age of 27.4. They were coming off a championship run, with guys like Horford and Holiday playing heavy minutes. Guys who had been around the block. Guys who knew what winning looked like.
Just one season later, the Celtics’ average age is 26.8, but that isn’t a fair assessment of the story.
During the 2024-25 campaign, Boston’s rotation (their top nine guys in total minutes) had an average age of 29.8 and an average of 7.7 years of NBA experience.
“I think because we’ve had veteran players [in past years], and because we’ve had so much experience, that we kind of just have figured it out on the court,” Brown said. “Not to say we’ve taken things for granted, but we could have been sharper on the details in the last couple of years.
This year, their top nine guys have an average age of 26.1 and an average of 4.8 years of NBA experience—and those numbers don’t include players like Scheierman, Josh Minott, and Amari Williams.
Film wasn’t an option for the Celtics. It was a necessity. They needed to give their young, inexperienced group the best-possible chance to win.
“I’ve loved it,” said Brown.
Without that mental advantage, Boston would be nowhere close to the team it is today. Celtics University has been at the forefront of their success.
“This year, our margin for error has been slim,” said Brown. “If we don’t come to play, if a team wins the margins, you see, we’ll lose games that you know we’re supposed to win. So, those film sessions that we’ve had, I call them Celtics University. It’s like a classroom.
“Everybody’s got their notepads, asking questions, we’re breaking down the film and the details of everything. Because the details are most important. The difference between good and great players is the emphasis on the details. There’s no detail too small. So, the film room has helped me elevate my game, and it’s helped elevate our team as well.”
“I feel like our film sessions are a little different. It’s more of teaching. Like a classroom,” Pritchard said. “Yeah, definitely more film this year. It’s like a classroom setting. So, usually, film sessions, the coaches, especially in college, you’re getting yelled at. ‘Do this, do that.’ But this is more of like, ‘Walk us through it. What are you thinking? What are the right reads here?’
“Coming up with different solutions, rather than just one way of doing it. Because a player can be seeing many different things, and there are many different reads on any play.”
And it’s not just Mazzulla doling out lessons. Everyone on the roster is more than welcome—urged, even—to bring up whatever they’d like.
“Literally everything,” Brown said. “From just communication, from screen-and-screen exchange, just even making an on-target pass versus a pass somebody has to catch at their knees. Literally everything that you can think of, we bring up in film sesh and communicate, so that we can come out and be as sharp as we can be. And I think that’s helped our players tremendously, because we had a lot of guys [who]— That was their first time playing real NBA minutes and stuff like that, but you can’t tell, because of the film room. I think that is important.”
Internally, the difference has been stark. Every returning player noticed it.
From Walsh, leaning back at his locker, recalling every exhaustive film session, to Tillman, who was an integral locker-room leader for this Celtics group before getting traded to the Charlotte Hornets at the deadline.
“I think, because of the roster changes and how young the team is now, compared to back in the day, we do a lot more film, and a lot more walkthroughs, and a lot more attention to detail,” Tillman said. “We’re not gonna out-talent teams yet. We’re gonna have to do it the hard way and be disciplined and know their tendencies, and stuff like that.”
But the Celtics’ film obsession wasn’t just an organizational shift. They’ve taken things to another level. One that even outside faces took as a surprise.
Every team in the NBA studies. They know about Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s goal to get to the free-throw line. James Harden’s step-back three. Jalen Brunson’s desire to drive left, combined with his knack for attacking angles.
Those tendencies are on every scouting report around the league, to the point where writing them down is a virtual formality.
Boston dives deeper. Deeper into the details than most players can imagine.
“For me, what stands out is the attention to detail within the film,” said Garza. “The different types of film, whether it’s from scouting or improvement clips from the last game, and stuff like that.
“I think there’s just more of an attention to detail than I’ve seen before in film sessions. So, I’ve definitely really enjoyed it, as a player who likes to see that kind of stuff and learn from it. So, it’s been great.”
Garza spent his rookie season with the Detroit Pistons before joining the Minnesota Timberwolves for three years. He inked a two-year deal with the Celtics this past summer, and the film room has been a miniature culture shock.
The Toronto session was an extreme example, but Boston’s entire film process has been a wholly new experience.
And he isn’t the only one to feel that way.
“I think the difference is that, here, I think we spend a lot more time on like personnel,” said Anfernee Simons, who was traded to the Chicago Bulls at the deadline.
Even Nikola Vucevic, who the Celtics got back in the Simons deal, noticed the depth just a few games into his tenure with the organization.
“Joe is very detailed. He likes a lot of details,” Vucevic said. “A lot of it is based on reads. Some of the communication things are a little different than I’ve been used to with other teams, and it’s more stuff, communication-wise, that they do. So to me, the biggest thing is just kind of learning to adjust throughout the game.
“Think they do more adjustments on both ends of the floor as he sees something that the defense maybe is doing, or that, when the other team’s on offense, they’re going to try to run, and he kind of, on the go, just switches up matchups and switches up defenses.”
Celtic veterans have felt the difference. New faces in town have seen it, too.
Knowing the game at the highest level is more than just a goal in Boston—it’s a prerequisite to getting on the floor.
But it doesn’t start and end with all 14 guys in a room together listening to Mazzulla. Those meetings are merely scratching the surface of the Celtics’ film addiction.
© David Butler II
Steve Tchiengang (left) and Jayson Tatum (right)
‘Joe wants to know what we think, what we see out there’
For Steve Tchiengang, it’s clockwork.
The 37-year-old player development coach has been with the Celtics since 2020, moving from a video coordinator role to his current position in 2021. He’s spent a lot of time up in Maine throughout the years, but he’s been in Boston for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
Boston had a 7 p.m. local tip-off in Dallas. It was their first leg of a back-to-back, two-night Texas road trip.
Tchiengang walked into the cramped visiting team locker room at 5:48 p.m., just over an hour before game time, and made a beeline for the back of the room. He plugged an HDMI cable into his MacBook and connected it to the TV.
On display? The Dallas Mavericks’ 111-107 loss to the Houston Rockets from three nights prior. It was the Mavs’ most recent game.
The footage was edited. Every timeout was cropped out. Every commercial, quarter break, and pause in action cut. But every second of basketball was still there.
There for the Celtics to study.
“Usually, you see the personnel one time, maybe twice,” Simons said, recalling his past film experiences. “But for the most part, if we have a full day of shoot around and pre-game, we’re seeing the personnel more than three times. It’s always rotating on the screen when you walk in, so it’s constantly on your mind.
“And so that’s one thing I’d say is different is that once you get to the game, it makes it so there’s no excuse that you don’t know the scouting report, because it’s always around you. Even in the building, when you walk in, there’s clips going of all the players, or all the actions they run. And so, I think I’d say that’s the difference.”
The next night in Houston, another 7 p.m. local tip, the locker-room film was on by 5:45. At home against the Miami Heat on February 6, a 7:30 p.m. tip, Tchiengang put the film on at 6:21.
On February 8, a 12:30 p.m. tip against the New York Knicks, the film was on at 11:19. On February 11, a 7:30 tip against the Chicago Bulls, Tchiengang came in at 6:18.
An hour and 10 minutes before every single game. Without fail.
“Got most of the TVs around here, they show from the previous game, or the game we’re about to have,” Simons said. “They’re showing clips of the last game of the team we’re about to play. We walk into the locker room before the game, the personnel is going. It’s rotated through the screens.
“And obviously, we got pre-game, and then when we go out before shooting, we just got to sit down and watch all the personnel again. So, it’s just constantly getting in mind right for what’s about to happen.”
But Tchiengang’s routine isn’t the only film deployment utilized by the Celtics’ coaching staff.
Before every game, Nana Foulland, another player development coach, watches film with player after player. Williams, Ron Harper Jr., and Max Shulga warm up first, so they’re often the first to go over film.
In that same crowded locker room in Dallas, assistant coach Tony Dobbins sat and watched film with Queta for 10-plus minutes.
Assistant coach Ross McMains would sit by the wall of the Auerbach Center and break down videos with Simons almost every single practice.
God Shammgod Jr. pulls up film on his laptop. Da’Sean Butler does the same. Craig Luschenat, Tyler Lashbrook, Matt Reynolds, DJ MacLeay, Alex Merg, Sam Cassell, Amile Jefferson. Every single coach on the roster does their part.
Garza’s guy is MacLeay.
“There’s obviously there’s an element of film with Joe and the whole team, and then there’s kind of my individual film with Coach DJ, which I think has been [good],” Garza said. “Just individualized film sessions, that’s been really helpful for me. Just kind of learning what’s kind of wanted to me, especially early in the year, and how I can improve on little, small details. But as a team, yeah, there is a lot of open dialogue, as you mentioned, players allowed to contribute.
“Joe wants to know what we think, what we see out there, what we feel, and I think that’s, that’s cool, and I think it helps really solve problems fast. That if someone saw something on the coverage or was confused, that they have the floor to kind of talk about it.”
Vucevic’s is Jefferson.
“Mainly with Amile Jefferson,” Vucevic said when asked who he prepares with. “We were actually teammates in Orlando for about a year and a half, so I’ve known him for a long time. And yeah, great guy. So, that helped me a little bit, because it was a familiar face. Somebody I’ve known. I thought that helped a lot. Making me a little more comfortable. But they’ve all been really helpful, honestly.”
Boston’s coaching staff is a well-oiled machine. Its factory settings adjusted to prioritize an around-the-clock pursuit of improvement through learning.
And those aforementioned details delve deeper than anyone realizes.
© Troy Taormina
The Celtics’ scouting knows no bounds
Kevin Durant may be the greatest scorer to ever step on an NBA court.
An effectively unguardable jump shot. The height of a center with the handle of a guard. Efficiency that’s nearly unmatched when it comes to guys with his shot profile.
So, when Mazzulla decided to task Harper Jr., a two-way player, with guarding him in Houston, he had a clear scouting report.
“Just stay physical. Stay physical, stay connected,” Harper said after the game. “I know these guys got my back on the back end, so if I get beat, they’re gonna have my help, but just trying to stay physical, and stay connected, and just try to frustrate him.”
With Brown and Hauser out, and without Simons or Vucevic (as that trade was still processing), the short-handed Celtics absolutely obliterated the Rockets.
Durant took just 11 shots, shooting 4-of-11, including 0-of-4 from deep range. Against Harper (4:41 of matchup time), he shot 1-of-5 (and 0-of-1 on threes).
Alongside Scheierman, who spent 2:47 on Durant, Harper managed to slow down one of the best players on the planet. The scout was simple. Sometimes, simple works.
“You’re never going to stop him, but you just have to try to make it difficult,” said Mazzulla. “And so, I thought both those guys, Ron and Baylor’s attention to detail on the scout and what we were trying to do from a tendency standpoint, I thought they executed that. And you’re just gonna have to live with some of what he’s able to do because of how good he is. But I thought those two guys’ attention to detail was really good.”
But again, every team in the NBA has scouting reports for the league’s finest.
The Celtics aren’t every team in the NBA.
Boston’s dedication to film and scouting stretches beyond the realm of normality. It plunges deep into the well of available basketball knowledge, plucking even the tiniest detail if it provides an on-court advantage.
“It’s definitely very detailed, in a way where it’s like, you got to know exactly what they’re doing, or else you could be lost,” said Walsh.
And again, for someone like Garza, who had experienced what film was like with two other NBA franchises, it was eye-opening.
“I think it’s also deeper within how many details we have within our coverages,” he said. “How we switch things up against different offenses and different guys, and every game is kind of a different, unique game plan in terms of, based on what their personnel is. I think [with] some teams, it’s different. It’s like, this is what we do, we’re going to do it [in] most of these games. We might switch it up if there’s a big name, or Shai or Luka [Doncic]. We might have to blitz him, or whatever.
“I feel like, for us, there’s a lot more adjustments we make game to game, and that’s kind of what stands out in film, because usually that’s what film’s about.”
So, step it down a notch. Durant gets special treatment from everyone. What about Michael Porter Jr.?
He was an All-Star candidate this season, having by far the best year of his career. Boston prepared for him.
“The film this morning was a lot about Brooklyn, and how we’re going to guard them, and stuff like that,” Garza said. “So, you see the adjustments we’re going to make based on who’s out there, MPJ, what we’re going to do against him, stuff like that. And so, I think that attention to detail helps a player like me, because I need those small little advantages on the defensive end, just to be able to give myself a better chance.”
They traveled to the Barclays Center for a game against the Brooklyn Nets on January 23. It ended up going to double-overtime, but a Gonzalez game-trying triple and a late-game block from Williams sealed the deal.
Porter had 30 points. But he shot just 4-of-12 from three. And one of those triples almost cost Gonzalez his chance to be on the floor that night.
The Spaniard checked in at the 6:47 mark. Less than three minutes into his first stint, he got caught going under a Day’Ron Sharpe screen. Porter caught the ball coming off the Sharpe screen and drained a three from above the break.
Mazzulla immediately called a timeout. He ripped into Gonzalez.
Harper checked into the game, and Gonzalez hit the pine.
He messed up the coverage.
The first time Porter received a screen that night, Hauser chased him over it. He forced him into taking a tough pull-up in the mid-range. On his second attempt at getting to his spot, he succeeded. Because Gonzalez went under the screen.
But again, that’s not where Boston’s preparation ends. Not even close.
When the Sacramento Kings came to town on January 30, the Celtics ran them out of the building. Yet Mazzulla still noted a film failure post-game.
“We gave up some tendency stuff, where it was, obviously, at halftime, we were winning, but [Zach] LaVine got three shots to his left hand, and we fouled him on a jump shot twice, and he was a little comfortable there,” he said.
LaVine’s left hand. Fouling on jump shots. Those were the takeaways.
The Kings star got to his left for his first bucket of the game. And he shot seven free throws in the first half. Gonzalez fouled him on a three-point attempt, Hauser fouled him on a running jump shot (as he was going to his left), and Queta fouled him on a drive.
All of those tendencies were scouted, but the Celtics didn’t meet Mazzulla’s expectations. The lofty film expectations this group has set for itself.
Boston was up 72-46 at the half. That didn’t matter.
Win or lose, up or down, the expectations are the same.
“Whether we’ve won or lost, there’s been games this year where teams have exposed what we need to work on and where we need to grow,” Mazzulla said. “So, how do we take advantage of that? And I think that starts with the guys’ ability to come into a film session, regardless of the result, and say, okay, hey, whether we won this by 20 or lost by one, this team exposed something that we can work on, and we just have to get better at it.”
So, when the Knicks walked into TD Garden and tore the Celtics to shreds on Super Bowl Sunday, it was simply another chance to study the tapes. And immediately after the game, Mazzulla noticed another misstep.
“They’re one of the better corner three-point [shooting teams],” he said. “I think we gave up one on a BOB [baseline-out-of-bounds play] to [Josh] Hart. We didn’t give up too many of those.”
Boston plays Hart a very specific way. They put Queta on him and have the big man sink down into the paint on drives. That leaves Hart open for top-of-the-key threes. Those are the ones they want to live with.
Hart corner threes are a different story.
Heading into that game, Hart was shooting 40-of-108 (37.0%) on above-the-break threes. But from the corners, he was shooting 23-of-47 (48.9%). Another tendency, another misfire.
Bobby Portis got the same attention.
Portis had destroyed the Celtics in their previous meeting. He scored 27 points on 11-of-13 shooting off the bench, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 116-101 win. So, the next time he stepped in front of the Celtics, they were even more prepared.
The Bucks went up 9-0 on the Celtics at TD Garden on February 1. Boston couldn’t make a shot. They were ice-cold. But the backbreaker for Mazzulla was a Portis hook shot.
More specifically, a right-handed hook shot over his left shoulder.
“Really, the only play was, Portis got to his left shoulder and tried a right-hand hook,” Mazzulla said. “Other than that, it was kind of just a couple shots there.”
That’s how detailed the Celtics are. That’s how meticulously they study. When Portis made the shot, Hauser was actively trying to force him to his right shoulder. Queta tried running down from the top of the key to help. He was a second too late.
Not a Durant mid-range. Not a Porter pull-up three. Not LaVine’s left hand or Hart’s affinity to corner threes. The Celtics knew that Portis liked to get to his left shoulder for right-handed hook shots. And they tried to take it away.
They’re deploying playoff-level scouts for every single game of the regular season.
The next shot Portis took was the same. But Brown was there to help contest it.
Portis shot 4-of-13 that night, and Boston won by 28.
There is no tendency that the Celtics won’t study. No film they won’t watch. No adjustment they won’t make in the hopes of gaining even the most microscopic tactical advantage.
Even when the guy they readied for doesn’t end up playing.
Looking back at that game in Dallas, when Tchiengang put the Mavericks’ film on the TV, and Dobbins went over tape with Queta at the big man’s locker, the Celtics were ready for anything.
Brandon Williams included.
Before this season, Williams hadn’t appeared in more than 33 games in a single season. His first NBA minutes came in 2021-22 with the Portland Trail Blazers. After that, he was out of the league for a year, and he’s been in Dallas ever since.
His 46 appearances are a career high, and his 22.0 minutes per game fluctuate heavily on a night-to-night basis.
Yet, the Celtics game-planned for him. Not his 12.7 points per game. Not his 3.7 assists or 2.9 rebounds. But for his end-of-quarter scoring.
“They didn’t have Brandon Williams, who’s one of the best end-of-quarter scorers, out there,” Mazzulla said. “And so, you end up in these clutch games, and everyone will focus on the last two minutes of that, but they don’t focus on the runs that Brandon Williams will go on at the end of the quarter or the start of the quarter.”
Williams is certainly not a guy most fans think of when they think of scouting reports. Especially not in the regular season. But Boston had him circled.
And based on the way their game against the Mavs went, Williams could have made a difference. At least, in Mazzulla’s eyes.
“Last night, we got the last shot in, I think, two or three out of the four quarters, and the end of the third ended 0-0, but we got three great shots,” he recalled. “[Daniel] Gafford missed two free throws, and we won the two-for-one, and we got nothing to show for it. But Dallas has played in 34 clutch games, which is a lot.”
Williams never touched the floor. He didn’t even dress for the game. But Boton was ready. They knew what they had to watch out for.
They stopped Dallas’ attempt to run plays for Klay Thompson at the beginning of quarters. They did their best to halt Cooper Flagg in transition. And they were armed to slow down Williams at the end of quarters.
Because that’s what the scout told them to do. And they have one for almost every player in the NBA.
“That’s just his tendency. We have it for most of them,” Mazzulla said. “But heading into the game, he didn’t end up playing, but that was one of the biggest keys was, he’s going to have the ball in the last minute of every quarter, and you got to do a great job of guarding him. And that stuff’s just as important as it is, the first five minutes of the game, as the last possession of the game, if it’s a close one.
“And over the course of time, the process of that gives you a best chance to not be in those situations, and when you are, you have to execute.”
The players have to retain the information, but it’s the coaches’ job to keep them informed. At every halftime. At every quarter break. At every timeout.
“It’s not really on them. It’s more on me and the staff to remind them of that,” Mazzulla said. “They have to execute. It’s more on us. You come out of that three-minute timeout, and you have an understanding of like, hey, the last 2:59, the last 2:47, this is what we’re looking for, this is what we have to be ready to do. So, it’s more to some just on everybody communicating.”
That’s why Tchiengang’s job is so important. As is Dobbin’s preparation with Queta. And MacLeay’s with Garza. And Jefferson’s with Vucevic.
It’s a team effort in every sense of the job.
© Rick Osentoski
Playing smarter isn’t a goal – it’s a way of life
This is how the Celtics have gotten to where they are. How advantages have been created within the fine margins of every game. Every single time that Boston steps onto the floor, they’re banking on the fact that they are the smarter team.
Because that’s what they’ve prepared tirelessly to be.
The luxury of endless talent was crushed by the CBA. The 2024 NBA Championship team that got a chance to run it back no longer resides at TD Garden. It’s been broken down into pieces and reshaped in a new mold.
And that transformation started in the backrooms. On the bench three hours before each game. In the locker room an hour (and 10 minutes) before tip-off. On laptops, and big screens, and any TV the Celtics can get their hands on.
“The last two years, we had 15, 16, 17-year vets on our team that are going to be in the Hall of Fame, a couple of those guys,” Hauser said. “So I think Joe has really tried to harp on the aspect of learning the game and trying to be the smartest team that we can be, to try to outthink our opponents, and try to give us an advantage in that aspect. When you don’t have, I guess, quote, unquote, as much talent as we’ve had, you have to try to make up for it in other ways.”
No rabbit hole is too deep for the Celtics. They’re willing to study as long and hard as it takes to give themselves the upper hand.
Whatever it takes. Even if that means hopping off the plane after a road trip and heading straight to the Auerbach Center to greet their new teammate.
“When they came back from the trip in Dallas and Houston, they all came straight to the facility to do a walkthrough with me, to watch film with me,” said Vucevic. “As a player, that means a lot. It shows they really care. They really want to get you involved. Because it’s not easy after a couple days trip. Everybody wants to go home, be with their families, but they came to make sure I can get up to speed as quickly as possible.”
The Celtics have always believed in themselves. When they traded two former All-Stars. When they were faced with the reality of a Tatum-less season. When they started the year 0-3. They always believed. But it wasn’t blind faith.
Trust in the work they do on a daily basis. Trust in the off-court preparation for each and every game. Trust in the film they watch. Trust in the coaching staff’s game plan, and trust that their voices will be heard at all times.
A deep-rooted trust in the details.
“I just think that the details of the game is where the game’s won and lost most of the time, especially in the NBA,” said Scheierman. “So, being locked in on those minor details of a game really makes an impact on the final score.”
At this point, they don’t think they’ll be the smarter team. They know it. They believe it with every fiber of their being. And based on the unffathomably in-depth approach they’ve taken on a game-to-game basis, they have no reason not to.
“Be the smarter playing team. We’ve been saying it from the beginning,” said Brown. “Sometimes it doesn’t look like it, but we look [at] how to approach each and every game from a strategy, tactic standpoint. And I feel like, from the start of the season to where we’re at now, our basketball IQ has increased, our poise has increased, our understanding of the game has increased, and that’s really what it’s about.
“Continue to grow and get better. And I feel like I’m watching these guys become better basketball players in the matter of three months.”
That’s always been the goal.
“On Day 1, you set a standard. It’s like okay, this is the identity, this is what we want to become,” Mazzulla said. “And I think the regular season is like, how long does it take for us to get there when we’re there? How long does it take us to stay there? And when we don’t stay there, how quickly can we get it back?
“And so I think, if you take a look up to this point, I think we have a clear understanding of who we are as a team from a tactical standpoint, from an identity standpoint, from a mindset standpoint. I think we’ve played, more times than not, to the best version of ourselves. And I think the challenge is, can we maintain that? But then, can we also take it to another level?”
Every time a Celtic sits down in front of a screen, it’s a chance to get better. They’ve made a commitment to that plan because they understand the position they’re in.
The room for error they once had has evaporated. In its place, a group of unproven, young, hungry guys, all falling in line behind championship veterans.
Film is a tool. A chance to gain an edge over the opponent. But this year’s Celtics have made it more than that.
It’s their foundation. The building block on which all of their success is stacked upon. An eternal hunger to attain every conceivable advantage, even in the smallest of margins of the game.
And without it—that organization-wide commitment to the pursuit of greatness—the Celtics wouldn’t be what they have become today.
