Brad Stevens goes to bed dreaming of pace and space, which is only good if he has the shooters to take advantage of those opportunities. The Celtics coach finally summed up the dilemma in very simple terms at a recent staff meeting.
"We talked about what's important, and I drew a basket and a ball and a net," Stevens said before last night's scrimmage at the Garden for season ticket-holders. "If the ball doesn't go through the net, it stinks. "If the ball goes through the net, you feel good about life, and you act like you know what you're talking about."
Of prime concern, four days into training camp, is a burgeoning need for the ball to be sent through the basket by someone other than Isaiah Thomas. Indeed, those on the floor with the 5-foot-8 guard hopefully will make his life easier by hitting their shots.
That means that everyone from Marcus Smart to Jae Crowder has to return this season as better shooters. "We're going to play similar when he's in the game to when he's not, but not the same, and that's what we did last year," Stevens said of his team's personality shift with and without Thomas. "Our break-down offense leads to playing through bigs when we need to, but also being spread and spaced enough when we have a guy like Isaiah on the floor that we can take advantage of that.
"Simple is probably better with him on the floor. Spacing and getting the ball up the floor, and having shooters around him, is probably important." That's what Stevens is looking for now: shooters worthy of sharing the floor with the scoring leader. "We need makers around (Thomas). That's the bottom line," Stevens said. "Are you making your shots at a high enough rate? Maybe the best way to put it:
Are you a big enough threat to the other team?
"Maybe we don't need all five spots or all four spots when he's in the game, but three out of the four is probably pretty important."
Second time around
There's a big difference for Smart between his rookie training camp last year and this one. "It's kind of hard to be vocal when you don't know what you're talking about," Smart said. "Now that I have a feel for it, I can be a little more vocal." Hopefully, an improved jump shot won't be far behind the leadership.
"I see him frequently enough that I see the daily work he puts in," Stevens said. "He can get better, obviously. Defensively, he's way ahead of the curve for a 21-year-old. Defensively, on and off the ball, he's outstanding. He's continuing to get better offensively, and it's about picking the right spots. The No. 1 thing any guard has to do is if they can make plays for others, that's great, without making plays for the other team. That's a major emphasis.
"Marcus has done a very good job of handling the ball. It's making sure he continues to take care of it, making sure that he picks the right time to take those shots is a big step. He's looked good in that so far with three hard practices in."
Wing and a prayer
Perry Jones has the 16th guaranteed contract on a Celts team that can only carry 15. In his earliest work, Stevens appears to be using the big forward as a wing player. "Just trying to put more of a focus on learning," Jones said. "Then the game will slow down, but right now, it's on learning. Then everything else will fall in place. It's a lot of hard work and quick bursts. Everyone is competing and playing hard all the way through.
"Even through conditioning, we're competing and trying to be first in conditioning drills. The guys are hustling all over the floor, diving for loose balls, things you normally don't see until midseason. It's been great energy so far."
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