Global Games

Marc D'Amico

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MEXICO CITY – Wednesday was travel day for the Boston Celtics.  This one, however, was a bit unique.

The Celtics traveled to Mexico City for the first time in franchise history for their showdown with Rajon Rondo and the Sacramento Kings Thursday night.  The game will be played at 9 p.m. local time in Mexico City Arena, which opened on Feb. 25, 2012.

Following their arrival at Mexico City International Airport, the team quickly passed through customs and boarded two chartered buses.  A police escort then assisted the team through a 45-minute ride over to the arena for practice.

Upon arrival at the arena, it didn’t take long to understand the enormity of this game from a global perspective.  A group of media members that must have approached 50 surrounded Brad Stevens once he stepped onto the court.  Similar attention was then paid to Avery Bradley, Tyler Zeller and Jonas Jerebko.

All four of the Celtics relayed how excited they are to take part in another NBA Global Games event.

“We’re thrilled to be here.  We’re thrilled to participate in this game here,” Steens said.  “As much as we’re focused on this task and focused on the game itself, I think we recognize how blessed we are to get a chance to play all around the world, and certainly here in Mexico City tomorrow night.”

Bradley later added, “I think it’s a great opportunity, not only for our team, but for the NBA.  I’m just happy that we’re the team that gets the chance to play here.  It’s going to be exciting to see how many fans will be out here.”

Bradley and the Celtics will most likely play in front of the largest crowd they’ve ever seen during an NBA game.  The contest is apparently nearing a sellout, and the arena lists its seating capacity at 22,300.  To put that into perspective, TD Garden hosts a maximum of 18.624 fans for Celtics games and no NBA arena surpasses a maximum capacity of 21,165, according to Wikipedia.org.

A Mexican reporter notified Bradley that he and his teammates should expect most of the sizable crowd to be wearing green as opposed to purple.  Bradley smiled and responded, “I hope so.  It’s just exciting for us.  I think it’s cool that we have fans all over the world.  Usually everywhere we go we see green.”

Excitement is certainly in the air, but Boston will be faced with multiple challenges heading into this game.

First and foremost, traffic is known to be a nightmare in Mexico City, which is the country’s most populated city.  It will take the team nearly an hour of travel, or potentially more, for every leg it takes on its chartered buses.  That fact will essentially shorten Wednesday and Thursday for the Celtics.  They’ll be forced to leave for the arena much earlier than normal on Thursday in order to make it to the game at the necessary time.

Traffic issues will also throw another major kink into Boston’s game day routine.  The C’s typically head to their game venue at 10:30 a.m. each game day for their morning shootaround.  Doing so in Mexico City would likely lead to a three-hour round trip – two hours each way plus an hour for media availability and the practice itself.  As such, Stevens has decided to not hold a shootaround and instead opted for a team meeting and video session at the hotel.

Game day will also differ greatly from the norm due to this game’s scheduled tip-off time.  The C’s and Kings will not take the court for the opening jump until 9 p.m. local time.  The latest start time any team will experience during the regular season is 8:30 p.m. local time, and the majority of Boston’s games this season will tip off at 7:30 p.m. local time.

The late tip-off will result in a brutal travel night for the Celtics on Thursday, when they will leave Mexico City after the game and head to San Antonio.  They are likely to take off after 1 a.m. and may not arrive at their hotel in San Antonio until after 4 a.m.

No one would argue that these are ideal circumstances for the Celtics to play regular season games.  However, they come with the territory of being the most historic franchise in the game.

The NBA wants to showcase the Boston Celtics and its 17 championships to the rest of the world, and the C’s are happy to oblige.

Sure, there are obstacles standing between the Celtics and a win over the Kings Thursday night, but they’re excited to take on the challenge in Mexico City nonetheless.

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Excited C's Speak After Arrival in Mexico City

MADRID – Boston’s “pace and space” offensive philosophy has typically been associated with the threeball.  It may be time to reassess that connection.

Through two exhibition games, the Celtics are averaging a mind-blowing 63.0 points in the paint per game.  Compare that to an average of just 41.8 points in the paint per game last season, which ranked 16th in the league, and it becomes clear that Boston is putting a heavy emphasis on getting to the basket.

“We need to attack the paint,” Brad Stevens said after the game.  “We need to continue to take high-quality shots.”

While the guards have been the ones attacking the basket off of the dribble, Stevens says that the forward positions have also been an integral factor of this interior explosion.

“We have a lot of depth at the forward spots.  We have a lot of skill at the forward spots,” he said.  “That opens up driving lanes for our guards.”

One of those key forwards is David Lee, who has been nothing short of impressive during his first two games with the C’s.  He tallied a double-double consisting of 13 points and 11 rebounds Thursday night, just 38 hours after logging 13 points and seven boards against EA7 Emporio Armani Milano.

“David Lee has brought a lot to our team,” Avery Bradley said of his newest partner in the starting lineup.  “Not only leadership, but just making good plays, making the right play, the easy play. That helps everyone out there just feel comfortable and play without thinking.”

In addition to strong individual play from forwards and guards, ball movement has been a critical aspect of Boston’s interior scoring.  The Celtics racked up 26 assists tonight and 31 assists Tuesday night.  Teamwork, great passes and great cuts have been staples of their offense.

“The last two games I felt like we could move it, move it, rebound a little bit. Move it, move it, dump off and score and roll down the paint and at least draw attention,” said Stevens.  “I felt like that was something we were going to be able to do. That's a good thing.”

What is the result of all of these factors?  Offensive efficiency.

Boston is running circles around opposing defenses and consistently getting quality looks in the paint.  If this trend continues, we won’t see the C’s rank in the top half of the NBA in 3-point attempts per game this season, as they did in 2014-15.  Instead, we’ll be talking about one of the top teams in the league when it comes to interior scoring.

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Emphasis on Interior Scoring is Paying off for C's

MADRID - No team wants to be missing players, but if it's going to happen, it might as well occur during the preseason.

The Celtics will be without three players during tonight's matchup with Real Madrid, and that number could easily climb to four or more. Evan Turner (right knee strain), Amir Johnson (illness) and Perry Jones (death in family) will all miss tonight's game. Additionally, David Lee missed this morning's shootaround due to illness and several other players are under the weather.

"We've had some upper respiratory issues for a couple of days now, and we have a couple of other guys who are a little feverish," Brad Stevens said at Thursday morning's shootaround. "It's going around and I don't know who's going to be available and who's not."

Boston's sudden epidemic of injuries, illnesses and other issues will quickly teach the team to adapt a "next man up" attitude. Everyone must be ready to play on a night like this, and that's a teaching point for the team's young players.

"This will be a great environment, it will be a great crowd, it will be great to play against these guys that are older," said Stevens.  "They're so accomplished.  I was thinking about it: if a couple of our young guys get to play against this, it will be nothing but good for their development

Fortunately for the C's, their youngsters, who will likely see an increase in playing time tonight, have been hard at work since training camp began.

"They're always ready," said Jared Sullinger said of his youngest teammates. He later added, "Those guys are just ready to play, and as time goes on we're going to need them."

That readiness, according to Sullinger, is the definition of being a professional.

"[That's what] the NBA is all about," Sullinger said. "Sometimes you think you're going to play and you might play. Sometimes you think you're going to play and you're not going to play. You've just got to be mentally ready for whenever coach calls your number."

Preseason basketball, meanwhile, is all about preparing for the regular season. Tonight's matchup with Real Madrid is the perfect opportunity for Boston to do so.

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Celts Dealing with Myriad of Personnel Issues in Madrid

MILAN – Try to critique the Boston Celtics after their 124-91 domination of EA7 Emporio Armani Milano Tuesday night.

This was a preseason game against a non-NBA team, so take this with a grain of salt, but the Celtics were fantastic in every area of the game.  They made plays on offense, they made plays on defense, and they made plays everywhere in between.

“When we play unselfish basketball like that it’s easy basketball,” said newcomer David Lee, who scored 13 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.  “I think that that’s going to be a staple and kind of a benchmark for us all season long, is if we can play unselfish and get each other involved, and the game’s gonna be easy for everybody.  We did that tonight.”

The Celtics did that so well Tuesday night that they made many in the building – including their opponent – forget that this was their very first game together.

“I’m really surprised,” Milano head coach Jasmin Repeša said of how well Boston played, “and it’s really impressive that they can play this type of basketball just after a few days together.”

As Repeša indicated, it truly looked like the Celtics had been playing together for years.  Most impressive was the offense, which flowed with grace.  The ball consistently skipped from teammate to teammate until someone got an open look, oftentimes in the paint.  Boston tallied 31 assists compared to just 14 turnovers and notched 70 points in the paint.

“I was impressed with the way they moved the ball,” said Milano forward Robbie Hummel, who spent the last two seasons with the Timberwolves.  “I think at halftime some of us were saying that it kind of reminded us of the Spurs a little bit.”

Coming from an opponent, that’s music to Boston’s ears.  Much like the Spurs’ offense, the Celtics’ system is designed to strike from any position, at any time, from any area of the court.

“The system is wide open and it goes great with the personnel that we have,” Lee commented.  “So it’s just a matter of making basketball plays and continuing to be aggressive.”

Boston also played well at the defensive end, limiting Milano to 44.6 percent shooting from the field and 34.6 percent shooting from long distance.  The host team needed 83 shots to score its 91 points.

The Celtics did make a few mistakes during this game, as Brad Stevens was quick to point out, but that was to be expected.  After all, this was their first opportunity to play in a game together.

If they looked this good during their preseason opener, just imagine the heights they could reach as this season wears on.

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C's Were a Well-Oiled Machine in Preseason Opener

MILAN – Game day has finally arrived for the Boston Celtics, and with that, so has the team’s first shootaround of the season.

This shootaround, however, was not a typical pre-game experience.

Standard shootaround protocol calls for the C’s to simply walk through their game plan for about 30-45 minutes each game day.   Today, Brad Stevens deviated from that routine.

“We’ll go typical shootaround,” Stevens told reporters, “but then we’ll add 20 minutes and do some up-and-down stuff.”

That additional 20 minutes took the session past the one-hour mark.  To put that into perspective, a standard, full-fledged practice for Boston typically lasts 90 minutes.

Stevens believes the additional work is necessary for his team at this point of the preseason.

“It’s time to practice,” he said.  “At the end of the day, these are practice games.  I think practice and getting better is the most important thing.”

Players are usually not fans of shootarounds, let alone shootarounds that resemble a full practice, but the Celtics know that there is a method to their coach’s madness.

“I think he’s just trying to get us more familiar with each other and get a routine going and just get our minds right, especially being out here [in another] country,” said Isaiah Thomas, who learned of the alteration this morning.

Another motive for the lengthened shootaround is to improve the team’s conditioning.  Many of Boston’s players will only see limited action in tonight’s preseason opener.

“It’s good to get out here now, especially with a lot of us who might not be playing a lot,” Marcus Smart said before the session began, “getting out here and getting that work in now and getting our legs under us.”

NBA players are typically creatures of habit, especially on game days.  But Smart does not believe the altered schedule will affect the Celtics in a negative manner.  In fact, he believes it will be a good thing for the team.

“It’s going to kind of keep you engaged and ready to go, rather than coming in for 30 minutes and kind of just walk-through and everybody is just nonchalant with it,” he said.  “(It will help) get your mind set right now.”

That’s the plan.  Today’s shootaround was all about getting the players ready – both mentally and physically – for their first preseason game and beyond.

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Celtics Lengthen Shootaround in Milan

MILAN – There has been plenty of noise surrounding the Celtics over the past two days.  It was finally time to shut it all off on Sunday.

Boston made its way onto the Olimpia Milano practice court this afternoon for its first official NBA Global Games practice.  The past 48 hours had been all about travel and team bonding, but now it was time to get back to the true business at hand: basketball.

“These sessions are really important to get something accomplished in practice and make sure that we continue to progress,” said Brad Stevens, who acknowledged that this trip is very different than those which he took to Europe with his Butler teams.  “It’s still very much a part of our training camp, and so you’ve got all of the great things about being a tourist – seeing new things and being able to experience new things – and at the same time we’re 24 or 25 days away from our season opener.  So we’ve got to have productive days in the gym.”

From the sound of it, his players are in agreement.  The Celtics were excited to get back onto the court and did not appear to be worried about turning off the noise that surrounds their Global Games trip.

“It felt good having those days off,” said Marcus Smart, “but every guy here loves playing the game of basketball.  We look at it more like: this is our job, this is our practice, this is what we love to do.  So anytime we can get out here and throw a ball around and put it through the hoop is a good feeling.”

Jonas Jerebko added, “When you’re in the NBA you’re kind of used to all of the noise, so it shouldn’t be a problem.  Obviously it’s a little different coming to Europe and all of that and the time change, but we’re all professionals so we should be used to it.”

Regarding the time change, David Lee, who participated in the Global Games two seasons ago when he and the Warriors traveled to China, believes that he and his teammates will adjust well… at least for now.

“I think the most difficult thing – and obviously China was much more of a time change – once you got back to the States was kind of getting re-acclimated and getting your sleep back right,” he stated.

Once the Celtics began practice, Stevens left the doors open to the media for the first 15 minutes, which included stretching, calisthenics and pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop drills.  Lee indicated that the team expected much more to be accomplished on the court once the doors closed.

“Right now we’re in the process of putting in a lot of our new stuff and plays and also just getting used to mixing lineups up and playing alongside one another and getting used to each others’ strengths and weaknesses,” he said.

The Celtics were scheduled to practice for approximately 90 minutes Sunday afternoon, including the 15-minute gap that was open to the media.  Then they were set to return to the noise and touristy side of this Global Games trip.

Stevens had planned a “fun team activity” for this evening.  He declined to elaborate on what exactly that activity would be, but said that he would speak more openly about it at Monday’s practice.

Regardless of the details, this evening’s off-the-court activity is sure to be a great bonding experience for the team, one they surely would not have experienced back in Boston.

The most important part of Sunday, however, was that the Celtics were finally able to get back onto a basketball court and turn off all of the noise – even if it was for only 90 minutes.

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Back to Basketball: Celtics Turn off Noise in Milan

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MILAN, Italy – Two countries, 3,800 miles on a flight, multiple bus rides, a practice, and a community event.

What a crazy 24-plus hours for the Boston Celtics.

It all started just ahead of noon Friday afternoon in Waltham, Mass., when the team gathered for practice at its facility.  The following 24 hours are laid out below in our time stamped diary.

Boston’s players arrive at the practice facility with all of their luggage for their trek to Milan and Madrid.

The C’s make their way onto the practice court to meet with the media.  Media lasted approximately 30 minutes.

Brad Stevens pushes his players through a practice session that lasts about an hour and a half.  The practice was the final session on US soil for the C’s until at least Oct. 11.

Players and coaches depart Waltham for Boston Logan International Airport, where they will board a non-stop flight to Milan, Italy.

9:12 p.m. – Boston Logan International Airport

Players and coaches arrive at Boston Logan, joining a myriad of other staff members going on the trip, including the Celtics.com crew, game operations and NBA personnel.

10:18 p.m. – Boston Logan International Airport

The team charter takes off for Milan, with an approximate flight time of seven hours, 15 minutes.

Boston’s flight begins to experience substantial turbulence.  Most of the travelers who had attempted to catch some shut-eye were kept awake until at least 1:30 as the flight crew navigated the plane through some rough weather.

11:23 a.m. local (5:23 a.m. EST) – Milan-Malpensa Airport

The C’s touch down in Milan, where a trio of chartered buses await the large group to shuttle them over to their hotel.

The team arrives at its hotel and is greeted by NBA personnel.  Each member of the party grabs his or her room key and then is ushered into a private ballroom.

An NBA security team debriefs the Celtics party on everything it needs to know about Milan and its security details.  The NBA has sent a security team to Milan to escort the team anywhere it goes for precautionary measures.

A group headlined by Kelly Olynyk, Evan Turner, Terry Rozier, Jordan Mickey, Perry Jones and four members of the coaching staff board a chartered bus to head to a Jr. Special Olympics camp.

4:58 p.m. local – Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The team bus arrives at the Olimpia Milano practice facility.  A throng of cameras awaits the players and coaches as they disembark the bus, and a loud road of cheers greets the group once they enter the gym.

5:05 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

Kelly Olynyk grabs the microphone and, through an interpreter, speaks to the 40 athletes about how excited he, his teammates and coaches are to be in town and to teach them a thing or two about the game of basketball.

5:12 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The 40 athletes, along with the Celtics players and coaches, split into four groups.  Olynyk’s group goes through layup drills, Rozier and Jones’ group goes through dribbling drills, Turner’s group goes through shooting drills, and Mickey’s group goes through passing drills.  The stations rotate every 15 minutes so that each Special Olympics athlete is able to interact with each player and coach.

6:07 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The Jr. Special Olympics clinic comes to a close and the entire group takes a photo together before the Celtics group exits the arena to board its bus.

6:10 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

Evan Turner interacts with members of the Olimpia Milano Jr. team who had been standing along the baseline toward the end of the clinic.  Turner and one of the young players exchange their team jackets, leaving the Milano player in disbelief.  After Turner exited the building, the young player, estimated to be about 17-20 years old, acted as if he just received a gift from his hero.

6:12 p.m. local - Olimpia Milano Practice Facility

The Celtics team bus begins its trek back to the team hotel.

Boston’s players, coaches and staff members arrive back at their hotel, where they will have the remainder of the night to themselves.  However, all of the Celtics players were scheduled to head out to a private dinner later in the night.

The C's will convene Sunday morning for their first practice overseas.  They are scheduled to depart the hotel around 10:30 a.m. for practice.