Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla wants to use intense practices to avoid a championship hangover, and Jaylen Brown is all for it.
Heading into training camp fresh off a title has its perks, but not for the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown told reporters that the first two days of training camp, which began on Wednesday, have been demanding. Despite capturing their 18th ring in franchise history just a few months ago, the championship honeymoon is clearly over for the C's, per Noa Dalzell of SB Nation.
“Training camp has been hard,” Brown revealed on Friday. “Training camp has meant a lot of conditioning, a lot of defensive stuff. Setting the tone on the defensive end, pushing ourselves.”
This doesn't bother Brown at all. In fact, he loves the energy his team is bringing before the 2024-25 season.
“It's been great. That's exactly what we needed,” he stated. “We did not ease into training camp by no means.”
The man behind the taxing practices is Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla, who's renowned for his intensity and work ethic.
“Joe Mazzulla is a psycho—in a good way,” Brown said with a smile. “Probably some of the tougher two days of training camp that I've had in terms of just intensity, conditioning level, and physicality. I think it'll be good for us.”
Jaylen Brown says training camp has been very hard: “Joe Mazzulla is a psycho. In a good way.”
Brown's characterization of Mazzulla isn't unique. The young coach was developing new plays for Celtics star Jayson Tatum shortly after the five-time All-Star inked the richest contract extension in NBA history. This took place in early July, when the Celtics were only a few weeks removed from prevailing in the 2024 NBA Finals and celebrating with a parade through the streets of Boston, via The Boston Globe.
“Joe was already trying to draw up s*** for next season,” Tatum said. “I was like, ‘Joe, f*** that. We just won the championship.'”
How Jaylen Brown, Joe Mazzulla, and the rest of the Celtics are avoiding a championship hangover
After chasing banner no. 18 for 16 years, the Celtics finally achieved their goal in June. Reaching the apex of basketball following such a long journey, which included disappointing defeats in the 2010 and 2022 NBA Finals, could create a desire for rest and relaxation.
However, Mazzulla is fighting the temptation of complacency and helping his players focus on a new goal: securing back-to-back titles. Celtics Media Day was proof that Mazzulla, as of now, is successfully waging war against a potential championship hangover.
“We want to win a championship every single year. That's the goal, that's the standard, that's the expectation,” Mazzulla declared on Tuesday morning. “What happened in the past really doesn't change the fact that when we step foot in the building on this day, it's to win a championship. That's always going to be the goal … That's the environment we create. That's the plan.”
"We want to win a championship every single year. That's the goal, that's the standard, that's the expectation." Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla on the team's mindset heading into this upcoming season 🗣️ (via @danield1214)
Brown isn't letting his first ring curb his motivation either. He looked as strong as ever at Media Day and said he felt like he was in the best shape of his life. The reigning Finals MVP also clarified that what the Celtics achieved last season is officially in the past and not something they should be hung up on.
“I'm ready to go. I'm excited about being back,” he told the press. “The past is the past. But I'm ready to get after it, lead our guys.”
It'll be hard for Boston to improve upon what it did during the 2023-24 campaign. The Green Team went a combined 80-21 over the course of the regular season and postseason, never allowing any playoff series to go longer than five games.
That kind of dominance is difficult to match, yet Tatum and company believe they can enjoy similar success by realizing they're not perfect and are more than capable of bettering themselves at practice and beyond.
“At 26, as accomplished as I am, I just always feel like I can still get better,” Tatum shared. “I should continue to keep getting better.”
"At 26, as accomplished as I am, I just always feel like I can still get better. You haven't seen the best version of Jayson Tatum." — Jayson Tatum at Celtics Media Day 👀🔥 (via @NBA)
Boston can officially display its ambition on Tuesday, October 22, when it hosts the talented New York Knicks at TD Garden for the first matchup of the 2024-25 regular season.
