Boston, MA – October 29: Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown shoots a jumper in the first quarter at TD Garden on October 29, 2025. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Boston Globe via Getty Images
The Boston Celtics are starting to find their sea legs. Beating a New Orleans Pelicans team missing Zion Williamson was one matter. Knocking off the Cleveland Cavaliers two tilts later will garner more attention.
However, just as the Celtics didn’t flinch in the face of early-season adversity in the form of a 0-3 start, stringing together a pair of victories won’t satiate the hunger of a roster defined by individuals who are eager to prove themselves with more responsibility.
Instead, the focus is on their process. It calls for flying around on defense, forcing turnovers, and overcoming concerns on the defensive glass with physicality and a collective effort. It also taps into a roster well-suited to push the pace offensively. They do so regardless of whether they’re attacking in transition or inbounding after a made basket by their opponent.
And when Boston gets a shot up, several players are consistently crashing the glass in pursuit of second-chance opportunities. The Celtics rank 10th in offensive rebounds per game, grabbing 12.8 per contest. In Wednesday’s 125-105 victory vs. the Cavaliers, they manufactured a 23-19 edge in second-chance scoring against a front court featuring Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.
That type of demanding approach is exhausting. It’s essential that Joe Mazzulla can go to hockey-style substitutions if he wants and is giving regular minutes to at least nine players per matchup. Still, it takes time to adapt.
“It’s definitely an adjustment for sure,” said Josh Minott after registering 11 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, three steals, and a block in another impressive outing in his second straight start. “Just the workload. Then you gotta slow down a little bit, because defensively, you’re trying to speed them up, rush them, make them uncomfortable, and offensively, you want to do the exact opposite.
“Make that switch, don’t be sporadic. Take a chill pill, understand that the offense has to flow. Defense, you don’t want no flow. So, trying to make that switch, especially keep my wind up.”
As the winners’ circle became increasingly elusive, the team didn’t lose sight of the progress happening as it acclimated to this full-throttle style of play.
After starting the season shooting 31.1 percent from beyond the arc, including going 15/45 (33.3 percent) in Sunday’s loss to the Detroit Pistons, Payton Pritchard stated, “If we shoot it how I know we can shoot it, then it’s probably two games now that we win. So, everybody will be acting a lot different if we were two and one right now.
“So, it will come. We’re great shooters, and we’ve shown that. So, [I’m] not really stressing over a three-game stretch of not shooting it how we’re capable of. So, it will come, and we’ll go on a run this season, and we’ll see how we end up at the end of the season.”
The Celtics are adapting
Donovan Mitchell entered Wednesday’s showdown at TD Garden averaging 30.8 points vs. the Celtics. That’s the most by anyone who has played at least 15 games against Boston, surpassing Michael Jordan’s 30.7, per StatMuse.
However, after generating 12 points in the opening frame, including a buzzer-beating three over the outstretched arms of Josh Minott and Hugo Gonzalez, Mitchell finished the night with 15 points. That means that, for now at least, he no longer lays claim to the highest scoring output against the Celtics.
Boston didn’t just contain Cleveland’s star guard, who has made a habit of turning into a human flamethrower against them. The hosts held their guests to 32.7 percent shooting from behind the arc. They also limited them to 11 offensive rebounds.
“Our first-shot defense has been really good, but we rebounded at a really good rate,” said Jaylen Brown after registering a game-high 30 points, plus five rebounds and four assists, in the first home victory of the young season. “Josh and Neemi [Queta], both on the glass, were exceptional, and that’s what we need going forward.”
Beyond the boards, Boston forced 14 turnovers and parlayed them into a 19-14 advantage in points off giveaways. While darting around the parquet to produce wins on the margins, the hosts had their best shooting night from behind the arc. They knocked down nearly 37 percent of the 57 threes they hoisted.
It’s a sign of a group getting its legs underneath them as they condition themselves to a grueling style.
“I think the guys have made a commitment to that,” Mazzulla said after Wednesday’s win. “So, when you have a group of guys and then the training camp that we had, there’s an identity that we have to play to. There’s a full understanding of what that identity is, and it’s a credit to the guys. It’s a commitment that it takes every single night on both ends, that this is the way we have to play. We have to leverage our strengths, and we’re starting to really see what those strengths are, and it’s a credit to them buying in and doing it. So, five games in, we’ve got 77 left, we’ve got to do it every night.”
Watching them grow is where the excitement exists for the Celtics this season. What will it look like as they continue to get their legs underneath them? As they continue to get comfortable with what Joe Mazzulla is asking from this team at both ends of the floor. As that system evolves and becomes more natural to them. And as they figure out what strengths they can leverage and what weaknesses they can convert into a more beneficial part of their play.
It won’t always be linear. There will be more losing streaks, rough patches, and battles on the health front. But this is a group that won’t just grow collectively. A veteran like Minott is getting his first taste of rotation minutes. He could become a regular in the starting lineup. Health permitting, Neemias Queta should spend the season as a first-unit fixture. And Hugo Gonzalez has the chance to build on an encouraging introduction to the NBA.
They’re examples from a Celtics roster filled with individuals who have the tools to capitalize on an opportunity they’ve been dreaming about, and that some never get.
