I have written much about
how important chemistry is for a team. With 8 new players on the league, chemistry is a question on this team. How will the pieces fit together?
The young guys including Jared Sullinger, Fab Melo, Kris Joseph, Jamar Smith, and Deonte Christmas have been working out together all summer and have formed a bond between them. One of those players won't make the team and even though they have become close, the competition for the two open spots on the roster will be fierce.
Working out with the young guns has been an assortment of veterans from time to time, including Chris Wilcox, Jeff Green, Rajon Rondo, and Jason Terry, all of whom have taken it upon themselves to take the young guys under their wings and mentor them.
We've heard much already about Jason Terry's dedication to helping Deonte Christmas succeed with the Celtics. These workouts can only cement the chemistry on the team.
Recently I wrote about KG, Rondo, Jason Terry, Courtney Lee, Paul Pierce, and Fab Melo and possibly the other rookies, all working out for 4-5 hours a day together, building chemistry and getting to know each other both on and off the court.
Here is what Fab had to say about the experience:
“It was a wakeup call for us because we were playing against each other so the competition wasn’t very hard,” Melo said. “Then we went to LA and we saw we had to work. But that’s a good thing. It was more like a fun moment for us (meeting Garnett). We were playing pickup game. It was anything like coaching yet but I’m sure when he comes (to Boston), he’s gonna turn his lights on and start getting on us.”
For those who were concerned about Jared Sullinger's conditioning and what shape he'd be in coming into the season, we get some answers via Twitter. Sherrod Blakely reports that Sully has added some definition this summer. Scott Souza posted the following:
Fab Melo also reports that he's spent time getting into NBA shape.
The Celtics have a great team this year. The rookies are all ready to work hard and all of them are kids with great character, which goes a long way toward building chemistry. The competition is going to be intense in practices and the chemistry and bond between players is already in place. And there doesn't seem to be anyone with any beefs on the team. We might even see a revival of ubuntu with this group. It's going to be an exciting year!
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