BOSTON – Around this time every year the charitable arm of the Boston Celtics, better known as the Shamrock Foundation, holds its annual Gala.
It is a time to reflect upon the time players invest in the community whether it’s helping launch a backpack drive or rewarding young people for being high achievers academically.
But it also signals that the regular season is right around the corner, something that will become a focal point for the Celtics after tonight’s preseason finale against the New York Knicks.
Boston (5-1) comes into tonight’s game having won five straight in the preseason, with contributions coming from just about every Celtic who has had a chance to play significant minutes.
We have seen Al Horford seamlessly fit in with Brad Stevens’ system which has had a positive effect – so far at least – on those around him.
Rookie Jaylen Brown has impressed the coaching staff and his teammates not only with his athleticism, but also his intellect.
That’s why head coach Brad Stevens had to ditch the script he had for Brown which would have had him primarily play small forward, to now work with the 19-year-old on playing both small and power forward which he has enjoyed success at both positions during the preseason.
Boston Celtics
The only real issue affecting this team at this point is who will make up the final roster spots.
Boston has until Monday at 5 p.m. EST to trim its roster, which stands at 20 players, down to the league-maximum which is 15.
So far the battle for the 15th and final spot appears to be down to third-year wing James Young and second-year shooting guard R.J. Hunter.
Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, has reiterated that figuring out who will stick and who won’t will not be an easy choice for him and his staff.
“It’s been tough the last few months trying to figure out how it’s all going to work out,” Ainge said. “We have a deadline coming up, and not looking forward to that.”
While the Celtics will have some practices following tonight’s game prior to the Monday deadline, tonight will be the last shot these players will have to impress the Celtics brass in a real game.
But Ainge is hesitant to put too much stock into the preseason finale.
“Like I said, there’s been a lot of thought the last few months,” Ainge said. “I’m not sure one game will make a difference.”
So I asked Ainge about what will be the answer to why they elected to keep one player versus another.
“There’s a lot of whys; there’s a lot,” Ainge said.
Stevens echoed similar sentiments.
“Everything has to be factored,” Stevens said. “But part of that, you factor improvement. You factor more of the past in comparing to what you see now. You see a level of improvement; a commitment to getting better and growing. That’s the most important thing for our whole team, one through fifteen. That’s why this has become a hard decision. Everybody has gotten better. These guys have put in a lot of work to get better; that’s tough.”