“So hopefully this year, again, we’ll have the luck of the leprechaun and we’ll get it done again. I definitely believe last year they were right there. They’re already a championship team. They just needed a little JET fuel”
Watching that video and it’s pretty clear that whenever Jason Terry retires, he’ll immediately get whatever TV gig he wants.
Molly McGrath caught Terry fresh off some kind of workout and talked him briefly about why he thinks the team is “right there” again.
“Your strong core group of veterans… Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, obviously, the best point guard in the leauge, one of the greatest coaches to ever coach the game in Doc Rivers, and then a young nucleus… the young nucleus who we have are incredible… and a healthy Avery Bradley. I think we’ll be right there in the end competing against Miami to win it all.”
It’s like Jason Terry and Courtney Lee are having a “say all the right things to make fans instantly love you” competition. Considering some of the other transactions we’ve had to watch this summer… it’s a lot of fun.
But those guys are in for a little bit of culture shock. John Havlicek (the Celtics All-Time leading scorer, for those of you who don’t know), says the Celtic way is a bit different than anything these new guys have ever experienced.
“They are sort of in awe of how they approach things,” said Havlicek, who was participating in the Jeffrey Osborne Celebrity Classic golf tournament at Carnegie Abbey Club in Portsmouth, R.I. “My first eight years, we never made a trade. We picked people up off of waivers and that kind of thing. We picked up Willy Naulls one year from the Knicks.”
Naulls, a four-time NBA all-star (1958, 160-1962) with New York, played his final three NBA seasons in Boston — helping the Celtics to an NBA title in each of those seasons.
“He came to training camp and was overwhelmed,” Havlicek recalled. “He said, ‘Man, when I was with the Knicks, we sort of came together and just tried to figure out who we all were. But you guys take it to another level.’ He had never worked so hard in his life.”
Don’t think that doesn’t still apply. Walking into that building, standing under those banners, watching those fans cheer for you like crazy…. it’s all a bit different than anywhere else… and it’s all a bit different when you’re wearing the home uniform. And the Mavs or Rockets don’t have Bill Russell, John Havlicek, Bob Cousy and countless other former greats just popping in.
I don’t think these guys will have any problem adjusting. But there’s no doubt, they’ll get hit with a “holy crap” moment very early on in the process.
Related link: ESPN Boston: Terry can’t wait to wear Green
One other note: If you read this before 9am, flip on CNBC and maybe catch Wyc Grousbeck.
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