For the first time in months, the Celtics are back on the floor, and Thursday night brings a preseason opener that looks and feels a lot lighter than what Boston left behind. The opponent is Cleveland, the setting is Rocket Arena, and the game starts at 7:00 p.m.
This one also comes with a different voice on the sideline. Joe Mazzulla won’t coach the game, with Tony Dobbins and DJ MacLeay splitting duties as head coaches for a half each.
“Tonight, D-Mac and Tony will be coaching the game. I want to give them the opportunity to be able to just build themselves as coaches,” Mazzulla said at shootaround on Thursday morning.
“Both those guys had [head] coaching interviews this past summer, and I want them to be able to build on that. And also, I think it's good to watch the game from a different perspective.
So, those guys will be out there, they'll be running the show, and [I'm] excited for them and want them to continue to grow.”
Mazzulla didn’t offer any clarity on availability for the Celtics, with the injury report still to come as tipoff gets closer.
The preseason opener arrives after a summer of change in Boston. Jaylen Brown is out, while Paul George, Mitchell Robinson, and Mike Conley are in. Jayson Tatum, meanwhile, will be starting the season healthy.
Cleveland has had a quieter offseason by comparison. The Cavaliers reached the Eastern Conference Finals last year, then were swept by the New York Knicks, who went on to win an NBA Championship. This summer, the Cavs traded for Peyton Watson and sent out Max Strus, added Mario Hezonja, and re-signed James Harden to a new deal.
Mazzulla described the preseason as a continuation of camp, not some separate phase with a different checklist.
“It's the extension [of camp],” Mazzulla said of the preseason. “I mean, it's always good, I would say, from a player's perspective.
They're probably happy to go out and play against somebody else other than themselves. But at the same time, I value the practices -- they're just as important as the games are.
So, you want to see the same carryover as what we had in our practices as we do in the games.”
For the players, though, the first preseason game brings a different kind of energy. Conley said the chance to face another team instead of the same group in scrimmages is the part everyone has been waiting for.
“It's what you look forward to, honestly. You get tired of playing each other,” Conley said.
“We've had to play against Celtics basketball for the last month, where we know everything we're gonna do, but you finally get to see different looks, different personnel, another level of competition there. It's the fun part.
You get to see what's working, see what we've been working on, and how we're gonna apply it to a real game situation.”
The Celtics’ work this summer has centered on a more free-flowing offense, and that should show up in pockets Thursday night. There will still be stretches built around one-on-one matchups, but the emphasis has been on movement and getting more players involved.
Defensively, Boston may lean in a different direction with this roster. Last season’s approach against Cleveland included trying to take Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell out of actions on one end, then forcing them to defend on the other. Garland is no longer there, but James Harden is hardly a huge defensive upgrade.
With George and Robinson added to the mix, and Tatum back, the Celtics have more size and more quality defenders across the board. That could open the door for a more direct style, though their collection of defensive playmakers could also make turnover hunting a bigger priority.
Either way, this is the first look at what Boston wants to be this season. The games may not count yet, but the first test is here.
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