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Celtics Hope to Bond and Grow while in Europe

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WALTHAM, Mass. - Team bonding opportunities are critical for NBA teams - especially for a young and inexperienced squad like the Boston Celtics.

The C’s hope to take a major step toward their development on Friday, when they take off to Europe for a weeklong, distraction-free training camp experience in Italy and Spain. Keep in mind, this is no preseason vacation for the Celtics; it's a business trip. The C's will be hard at work facing off against two of the top European clubs in Milan and Madrid while preparing for the upcoming season.

“I think that we should use this trip as a [tool] for us to get better and improve as a team,” Avery Bradley said before practice Thursday afternoon. “Every opportunity we get to practice our play, I feel like we should use it as [preparation] for the season. That’s really important for us and we can’t take any days off.”

The C’s will face off against three-time Euroleague Champion and 26-time Italian League Champion, Olimpia Milano, Oct. 6 at the Mediolanum Forum.

They will then travel to the Spanish capital where they are set to match up against nine-time Euroleague Champion and 32-time Spanish League Champion Real Madrid on Oct. 8 at the Barclaycard Center.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens says that beginning the preseason against some of the top European talent will be an outstanding early test for the team.

“I think that we’ll have our hands full during both of those games which is a really good thing,” Stevens told Celtics.com on Tuesday. “I think the fact that they’re ahead of us from a practice standpoint and from playing together is a really good thing for us to have to go in there and play against.”

Isaiah Thomas, who visited Spain over the summer, believes this type of experience will toughen up the team and benefit them as they grind through the upcoming season.

“We’re going over there all alone; we’re all we got,” Thomas said on Media Day last Friday. “I think that’s going to help us in the tough times during the season just knowing that… you can look over your shoulder and count on the next guy.”

This will be Boston’s fourth NBA Global Games experience, with past trips to Madrid in 1988, Rome and London in 2007, and Istanbul and Milan in 2012.

C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is one of few people who have been on every Celtics international journey, and he believes these global trips are beneficial not just for the Celtics and the European clubs, but also for the growth of the game in general.

“I think it’s a great thing that the league does,” said Ainge, who played during the C’s first international game in Madrid in 1988. “They’re trying to make everyone aware of the NBA worldwide and I think it’s a great marketing tool from them.”

It’s also a great tool for a studious coach like Stevens, who is constantly looking to update his coaching repertoire and add more plays to his arsenal.

He explained that when he coached at the 2011 World University Games in 2011 in China, the most prized souvenir he returned home with was a 22-minute tape of plays from other countries.

“From a coaching standpoint, I love playing against those teams because I end up stealing more from them than they would possibly from us,” said Stevens.

One Celtics player who is familiar with the Spanish and Italian playing styles is Jonas Jerebko.

The Swedish-born forward played two seasons for Angelico Biella of the Italian League from 2007 to 2009, so he knows all about the Milan powerhouse. Jerebko also has ties to Real Madrid, which offered him a long-term contract when he was 15 years old, though he turned down the opportunity.

“Milan is the best team in Italy and Real is one of the best teams in Spain,” said Jerebko. “They’ve also both been together a little longer than us and they’ve been playing some games, so they’re probably in pretty good shape. It’s going to be some tough games.”

Those games will provide a great test, especially for Boston’s rookies, such as R.J. Hunter.

“The game in Milan will be my first NBA game,” said the wide-eyed 21-year-old. “Even though we’re playing teams overseas, that’s the first time we’ll have reps and things like that, so that will be super vital.”

And it will be a perfect chance for him and some of the new additions to get to know each other and create a lasting bond. That’s the main goal for Bradley, the longest-tenured member of the C’s.

“Just bringing us together as a team is the most important thing for me,” he said. “I want us to become like a family.”

Bradley and his teammates will depart for Milan late Friday night. They will return on Oct. 9 to resume their preseason slate, and if all goes to plan, they will come back to Boston as a group of brothers.