BOSTON – Watching from afar, Malcolm Brogdon could tell exactly what the Boston Celtics were missing last season as they came up just short of their championship goal.
What they were missing was a player like himself.
An extra facilitator and some added scoring power off the bench would have come in handy during June’s Finals matchup with the Golden State Warriors, and those are exactly the areas in which Brogdon hopes to provide aid.
Brogdon can already envision the positive impact he can make once he gets past the adjustment process with his new team – a process that appears to be going well through the first two days of training camp according to his coaches and teammates.
“I have a good feel, I’ve watched this team, I’ve played against these guys so much, I know what they're missing, and I know what I can provide,” the seventh-year veteran said following Wednesday’s practice. “So for me, it’s being aggressive and continuing to play my game.”
Brogdon’s game includes elite driving ability, precise passing, scoring from any spot on the court, and a versatile defensive skill set. He also has a steady competitive spirit and an unwavering desire to win.
In other words, “He fits right in with the team,” says interim head coach Joe Mazzulla. “He wants to do whatever it takes to win, has a good attitude, and brings great energy.”
Part of Brogdon’s energy is being unselfish. He’s capable of being a top-scoring option, as he showed in his role with the Indiana Pacers over the last three seasons, during which time he averaged 18.9 points per game. However, he also recognizes that he’s entering a situation that already has two high-volume scorers in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
But Brogdon is more than willing to sacrifice his own scoring production in order to help maximize the potential of Boston’s young stars.
“He knows how to complement himself around other great players,” Mazzulla noted, “and he's done that throughout his career. He's talked about that openly – why he came here and what he wants to do to help us get to where we want to go. I think it's a balance with everybody. You want people to be aggressive, but at the same time, you want them to complement each other. I think he does that very well."
Brown believes that Brogdon will “for sure make us better” both on and off the court. “One of the phrases we were building off last year was 'Everything adds to winning.' So adding more experience in the locker room, having more veteran leadership in the locker room, I think that'll help us.”
Brogdon is also willing to sacrifice his role as a starter, as he has no intention of altering the team’s chemistry.
He’s said from Day 1 that he’ll gladly come off the bench, seeing as Marcus Smart has already established himself as the team’s starting point guard. Though, he and Smart will still likely share the court quite a bit together, complementing each other’s competitiveness.
“It doesn't matter if I'm the sixth man or whatever role I'm playing, I'm going to accept it and I'm going to go out there and embrace it,” Brogdon said. “I want to add on to what this team has. This team has a great unit and great chemistry. They were on the verge of winning a championship as we saw, and they needed a little bit more. So I'm going to come and add on to what's already going on."
To be the missing piece of their championship puzzle.