If Wednesday's practice was any indication, the Boston Celtics are very motivated to have a special 2023-24 NBA season.
Wednesday's session was the first with new point guard Jrue Holiday, who the Celtics acquired on Sunday in a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers. Holiday was formally introduced to the media at a press conference after practice, joined by Celtics governors Wyc Grousbeck and Steve Pagliuca, as well as president of basketball operations Brad Stevens.
🔊 Celtics Talk: Holiday Edition: Celtics gush excitement as Jrue is introduced | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
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Practices early in training camp are typically full of energy because there's always plenty of excitement surrounding a new season, but by all accounts, this was different, so much so that even Paul Pierce was amazed by what he was witnessing.
"There was just an electricity in the gym today when you have such great players playing at a high level," Pagliuca said. "Paul Pierce turned to us and said he's never seen an NBA practice in his whole career that they went that hard, and that fast for that long. He was really smiling as well."
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Grousbeck was quite impressed with what he saw, too.
"We watched practice today, Jrue was out there, and in the 21 years of being here for me and Steve, we agreed this was one of the most energized, focused, driven and insanely connected groups," Grousbeck explained. "Jrue and the rest of the guys will probably comment on that as the season goes on, but this was a great start to see the team and how excited everybody is."
Stevens noted that, while there were the types of mistakes you expect to see so early in camp, there was an immense amount of competitive fire among the group.
"We just came out of practice, and we got a chance to see this group go at it. If you were sitting anywhere around the court you were in danger of getting hit by balls that were being thrown all over, like a typical second day of practice," Stevens said. "If you watched it closely, you could tell we made a thousand mistakes, but you also could see that thing that's there. There's a togetherness, there's an excitement, there's a joy, a competitiveness."
There was one particular moment from practice that got Stevens hyped up. He couldn't stop smiling when describing it.
"I'm one of the few people who gets an amazing joy out of the shell drill," Stevens said. "And I told Jrue, when he went and got into (assistant coach) Phil Pressey and almost made him quit coaching when he was guarding him, that made me so happy. I guess that's why I'm smiling. It was just the result of the practice."
The Celtics have a long, long way to go before accomplishing their ultimate goal. It's a tough journey, and every team in the league will be fired up to play them. But there's no denying the incredible amount of top-tier talent on this roster. If the Celtics are able to stay healthy, you have to like their chances of finally capturing Banner 18.
You can watch Holiday's full press conference in the YouTube video below.