The Boston Celtics advanced to 3-0 on Monday night with their 126-107 dismantling of the Washington Wizards. In each of their three wins, the Celtics have shown some very encouraging signs of growth.
The early signs of growth relate to a concept head coach Joe Mazzulla has hammered since the first day of camp – The idea of playing with the right mindset, a principle the Celtics have seemingly bought into through the first three games.
The Celtics had a tendency to play down to their competition a season ago. The root of that issue was a lack of focus and not having that right mindset that Mazzulla has preached so frequently this season.
“That is the challenge of the NBA. Trying to approach every game the same,” Jayson Tatum said Monday. “We just gotta talk about it to have the right mindset more often than not.”
It was evident from the opening tip on Monday night that the Celtics had that mindset Mazzulla looks for from his squad, as the C's came out aggressive early, outscoring the Wizards 42-19 with a massive first quarter. Washington was forced to play small in the absence of Daniel Gafford, and Boston did not mess around, taking advantage of the mismatches they were given. The Celtics shot 18-of-28 (64.3%) from the field in the opening frame, with nine of their 18 first quarter makes coming in the restricted area.
“Some could say we learned from our mistakes last season,” Tatum said postgame with a smile.
The fast start by the Celtics put them ahead by 23 points entering the second quarter. However, Boston did not get complacent with the big lead, opening the second quarter in a full-court press and forcing two straight turnovers.
The fast start was all Boston needed, as the Wizards trailed by double digits for all but the first four minutes of the game.
Though it was certainly a step in the right direction, Mazzulla noted it’s a small sample size, and the team hasn’t necessarily broken the bad habit yet.
“Just because it’s a sign of growth now doesn’t mean it may not happen at some point,” the second-year head coach said postgame. “We’re definitely aware of that, and it’s something we think we can control is the way we come out and start games… We’re really trying to make sure we come out with the right mindset every single game.”
While the execution hasn’t been perfect through the first three games, the Celtics have shown growth in two areas they struggled in last season – Closing out games and not playing down to the level of their competition. Both of those developments correlate back to the idea of playing with the right mindset.
“Mindset and mentality is something we’ve all been preaching,” Jaylen Brown said. “Joe [Mazzulla] has made sure he’s been emphasizing that. As the leader on the team, I’ve been making sure we emphasize that we gotta run through the finish line. It’s nights like tonight where it’s easy to take your foot off the gas, but if you want to do what you say you want to do, you gotta come and play the game the right way, have the right mentality, and right mindset, and take care of business.”
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