Following Thursday’s matchup between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics, Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff spoke highly of the Celtics calling them one of the most unselfish teams he’s seen.
The Celtics are coming off a championship-winning season and have been able to keep the winning momentum early in the season sitting second in the Eastern Conference. Lots of the team’s success stems from their depth, as players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis are interchangeable in terms of offensive production.
With a team featuring as much talent as Boston, it could be easy for egos to get in the way. However, that doesn’t seem to be impacting the Celtics, as the chemistry on the floor from this team seems to be at an all-time high.
In fact, following Thursday’s matchup, Bickerstaff went into detail about why the Celtics are so hard to beat right now.
”Outside looking in, they just seem like they care about winning more than anything else. Ninety-nine percent of the time it seems like they make the right simple pass to whoever it is that’s open, and I know it sounds crazy, but there aren’t that many teams at that level that will just throw the ball to the open man, and that shows the ultimate amount of a trusting team.”
Highlights from this recent matchup are circulating around the internet today showing the Celtics’ offense making a number of good passes in one set before taking a great finishing shot. Many fans note how exciting it is to watch a team compete at this level.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla responded to the praise by crediting the attitudes his players have in the locker room to the team’s success on the floor.
“I think it’s important to know that we do have egos. We just put them in the right place. It’s not that we shouldn’t have them. We should have them as long as they’re put in the right place.”
Asked Joe Mazzulla about JB Bickerstaff’s comments calling the Celtics unselfish:
“I think it's important to know that we do have egos. We just put them in the right place. It's not that we shouldn't have them. We should have them as long as they're put in the right place.” https://t.co/sFIZDCDBKp pic.twitter.com/9xqT4yycIA
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) December 13, 2024
Mazulla mentioned the culture in Boston right now has nothing to do with winning the title last season, but everything to do with the mentality his players naturally picked up along the way. If the Celtics can keep this level of play up for the remainder of the season, we could be witnessing another team go back-to-back.
The Celtics will hit the floor again on Saturday, December 21 against the Chicago Bulls.
