BOSTON (AP) — At Jrue Holiday’s introduction news conference, Boston president Brad Stevens, along with Celtics co-owners Wyc Grousbecek and Steve Pagliuca, couldn’t contain their delight. Part of the reason, according to Stevens, was that they had just watched Holiday’s first practice with the squad.
Pagliuca cited a play in which C’s standout Jaylen Brown drove to the basket with a “full head of steam” but was stopped by Holiday.Brown explained that the play at Holiday was planned because he wanted to see how his new partner would respond to his surroundings.
I wanted to go after him a little bit,” Brown said. “Fresh, new to the city. Welcome him to the team. So it’s the best way to do it. He met the challenge. He don’t look like a guy that’s going to back down from any challenges. So he did in that case, so we’ve just been going at it during training camp.”
The Celtics know Holiday well from their battles with the Bucks. When the East rivals went the full seven games in the 2022 East semifinals, it was partly because of Holiday’s heroics late in Game 5 in Boston. The C’s rallied from the 3-2 series deficit, but Holiday showed his value on both sides of the ball.
Holiday’s first practice with the Celtics was on Wednesday as the trade with the Blazers officially went through. Before that, all he was able to do was just watch. On the particular play with Brown on Day 1, Holiday said he stumbled despite knowing he’s one of the strongest guards in the league.
“We’ve had some battles,” Holiday admitted of Brown. “I have the impression he is aware of my competitive nature.” He knows I’m not going to back down from anyone. I can dish it back to someone who can deal it out. So I believe he knows, just from experience, that the energy and competitiveness that I’m going to bring on a night in and night out basis is something you can always bank on.”
At this point in training camp, the Celtics are still getting to know their new colleagues and whatever chemistry the new-look club may provide. The main additions to the C’s are Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, as the front office decided to spice things up.
The Celtics play the 76ers in their first preseason game at TD Garden on Sunday at 6 p.m. Coach Joe Mazzulla advised his team not to draw too many conclusions from their first live action of the season. However, realistically, expectations for a squad expecting to win it all this time are enormous.
“It’ll take some time,” Brown admitted.”We still have some chemistry and team building to do so that we can get comfortable with each other out on the floor.”However, we have done a wonderful job of setting the tone.”
Leave a Reply