Coming off a dominating 127-99 win over the Charlotte Hornets in the preseason finale Thursday night, the Celtics were back on the practice floor at the Auerbach Center on Friday afternoon.
Here is everything you need to know from Friday’s practice session.
Wenyen Gabriel waived
As the Celtics look to trim their roster to 15 players, Joe Mazzulla discussed the “Difficult” roster decisions the team is tasked with making.
“It’s always difficult when you spend two to three weeks with anybody, and you get to know them and watch them work hard, and they do everything they can, and then they’re not with you anymore,” the head coach said.
The Celtics made one of their first moves Friday afternoon, waiving 6-foot-9 center Wenyen Gabriel.
The ex-Laker was signed a non-guaranteed, exhibit 9 deal as a depth option but didn’t see much time in camp as Neemias Queta made the most of his opportunities.
The Celtics now have 14 roster spots filled, with Luke Kornet, Svi Mykhailiuk, Dalano Banton, and Lamar Stevens on partially guaranteed or non-guaranteed deals.
Rajon Rondo is the latest Celtic alumnus present at the Auerbach Center
Former Celtics guard and 2008 NBA champion Rajon Rondo was the latest Celtic alumnus present for a practice at the Auerbach Center Friday afternoon. Through three weeks of camp, Paul Pierce, Eddie House, Leon Powe, Satch Sanders, Sam Vincent, and now Rondo have all been present at the Auerbach Center as Mazzulla looks to reinstall Celtics culture.
Mazzulla sent an email to Celtic alumni prior to camp inviting and encouraging them to be present around the team at games and practices.
“To get that email was very welcoming and humbling at the same time,” Rondo said after practice Friday.
Rondo, who spent the 2017-2018 season alongside Jrue Holiday in New Orleans, says he is most excited about the Holiday trade.
When asked about his thoughts on this year’s team, the 16-year vet said, “They are pretty impressive, obviously like everyone thinks on paper, but I love the Jrue Holliday pickup. He’s one of my favorite teammates I've ever played with.”
Brad Stevens and Celtics ownership have gushed about Holiday’s character. Holiday has won the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award three times, the first three-time winner of the award, which honors on-and off-court leadership.
“He does a lot of intangibles, a very unselfish guy, and fun to be around. He’s a winner, he’s a competitor,” Rondo said.
Rondo also weighed in on the hiring of his former teammate Sam Cassell, whom he won a championship with Boston in 2008.
When asked what Cassell brings to the team, Rondo said “A lot. He helped me the year we won the championship in 2008. He was a very vocal veteran for me on the team, a guy I still always call to this day for advice. The guys having him around is going to be big.”
The two-time NBA champ knows what it takes to win the Finals and believes in Boston’s chances.
“There are a lot of guys on this team that are great at what they do,” Rondo said. “They have a great shot at winning it all.”
The 37-year-old says he hopes to learn from Mazzulla this week as he plans to get into coaching someday.
Al Horford addresses coming off the bench
Coming off the bench is an unfamiliar feeling for Horford. The 16-year vet has come off the bench just 12 times in his career and never has a member of the Celtics. Coming off the bench is a spot Horford could find himself in frequently this season. Assuming the Celtics go with the match-up-based lineup, Horford will likely split time with White in the starting lineup.
The 37-year-old came off the bench in Tuesday night’s win over the Knicks and put together an impressive performance. Horford was all over the court and finished the night with eight points, three rebounds (two offensive), three assists, and a game-high plus-minus of +17 in 23 minutes of work.
Horford addressed coming off the bench Friday afternoon and seemed to embrace coming off the bench when necessary.
“It was definitely fun,” Horford said. “It’s something that with our group, we are going to have many lineups and different things out there. It’s just continuing to find ways to impact the game. We’re all looking at the same thing, trying to accomplish the same thing. For me, it’s seeing how I can impact winning. That’s my focus.”
Horford added that coming off the bench doesn’t necessarily change his preparation or routine. Horford brought the energy and left his stamp on the game Tuesday night.
“We have a lot of depth, we have a lot of talented players,” said Horford. “One of our strengths is our versatility…. For me, I’m in a good position where I’m at. Just staying locked in and ready to go.”
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