Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“I don’t care,” Stevens said before practice Friday. “If David Lee has it, I want him to bring the ball up. I don’t care who brings the ball up the floor, we need to get into our sets and play. We have some versatility in that regard.”
[…] Said Lee, “When I get a defensive rebound, one of the things (Stevens) wants me to do is push the ball. With how our spacing is set up, it’s not necessary for me to go Charles Barkley coast-to-coast. Instead, with the amount of dribble handoffs and pick-and-roll stuff he wants to do, I’m going to be able to put my man who’s guarding me on their heels. And then if I pitch it to somebody for a pick-and-roll, now you’re asking a big guy to be backpedaling and now all of a sudden get out and hedge on a screen-and-roll.”
MassLive: David Lee given freedom to handle ball in transition
I’m not highlighting this to say “oh wow David Lee is going to lead fast breaks.” We know he’s not going to be doing that a lot. But this is more to highlight the Brad Stevens directive of running and pushing the tempo.
David Lee will get plenty of rebounds. Most of those rebounds will be in he middle of trees, and he’ll have to whip an outlet pass to get things moving. But occasionally, he’ll grab a long rebound and he’ll have clear space ahead of him and no guard up ahead. That’s when he’ll look to take a few dribbles and force the defense to react.
That’s what’s behind Stevens’ pace-and-space philosophy. Causing chaos for the opposing defense, and finding the weak spots in the resulting chaos to attack.
Remember, Stevens is one of the leaders in redefining basketball positions. When you think about it, what’s the difference between a point guard and a shooting guard anymore? What used to be a criticism, “he’s a combo guard, he doesn’t have a position,” is now a strength. Stevens breaks down his roster differently.
“For the most part, our guys have been great about this; [it] is about us and about our growth,” Stevens said. “I go with ballhandlers, wings, swings, and bigs, and that’s the way I look at the game. I’d like to have two ballhandlers on the court; it doesn’t always happen that way. Same with wings.’’
What Stevens doesn’t want, generally, is for a guy like Lee to grab a rebound and stand around waiting for guys to come back to him if he has the ability to take a few dribbles and let them shoot up the floor. If he gets a rebound or a loose ball and finds himself in space, he’s going to take it and push. The Celtics are going to be getting a lot of shots up this year, maybe more than last year. Standing around with the ball is not something the Celtics want.
Page 2: Isaiah Thomas is Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime
When asked Friday about that balance between swinging for the fences and trying to utilize the opposite field, Thomas ran with all the baseball analogies.
“Oh yeah, I’m Ken Griffey [Jr.] in his prime,” said Thomas, a Tacoma, Washington, native who grew up watching The Kid slug most of his career 630 home runs in 13 seasons with the Mariners. “It’s just that, for the most part, if you hit singles, you can still get on base. So that’s what [Stevens] said — don’t just try to go for the home run play. But like you said, I’ve always tried to hit the home run, because at the end it makes the story a lot better. But the game is slowing down for me, like I keep saying, and I think that’s just going to make me an overall better player at the end of the day.”
[…] Added Thomas: “If I want to be great like I want to be, you’ve got to learn those types of things. And when [Stevens] said that one day, it kind of hit me. He didn’t say it directly to me, but he said it to the team. Like, hitting singles is good, too. We don’t always have to hit the home run. I really focused in on that, and this whole training camp I’ve just been trying to make the simple play, the right play. But at times you’ve definitely got to try to go for the home run. You get out sometimes, and you make a highlight sometimes. So for the most part just trying to become a more complete basketball player.”
ESPN Boston: Thomas: “I’m Ken Griffey Jr. in his prime
The little things (no pun intended, Isaiah) are what make the greats, great. A lot of guys can go out there and score 30 points. JR Smith can go get you 30 on some nights. Nick Young’s gotten 40 points a few times in his career. But… so what?
You have to be able to do more. Only a select few guys get to be home run hitters, but they can do it every night. And even guys like Kevin Durant can do other things.
I like how Isaiah Thomas is thinking. I think Stevens is really helping him see the game differently, which is helping him grow. The trade to the Celtics could be the best thing that happened to Thomas because not only does this system suit him perfectly, the power structure supports him is fostering his growth. I’m excited for Thomas this season. I think he really could make a leap.
Related links: Globe: Celtics want Isaiah Thomas to adjust on the fly this season | Herald: Thomas a well-rounded swing man | MassLive: Thomas compares himself to Griffey, wants to hit basketball singles
And Finally…
… The team is off to Italy… so of course they blasted a bunch of pictures all over social media
//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js
We off!!!!!! #Squad pic.twitter.com/VTRaEeIJr7
— Jared Sullinger (@Jared_Sully0) October 3, 2015
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The rest of the links
Herald: Stevens ready to roll with different lineups | CSNNE: Celtics looking to build chemistry in Italy | Stevens sees progress is Sullinger’s conditioning | ESPN Boston: Perry Jones (knee) misses second practice
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
