Perhaps no NBA team lost more talent this past offseason than the Boston Celtics, who parted ways with Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Luke Kornet and Al Horford. They also lost Jayson Tatum to injury.
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And yet, they are still one of the best teams in the league this year, with a 41-21 record and the second-best net rating in the NBA.
While many fans and media members were surprised by the Celtics’ success, numerous players, coaches and opponents have said they are not surprised, citing the team’s culture and championship standard.
Charlotte Hornets head coach Charles Lee explained why he believes Boston has been so successful ahead of Wednesday’s game at TD Garden.
“No. 1 is knowing the history of the Celtics: this place is about winning and winning championships. From a player’s point of view and from a coach’s point of view, there were still a lot of people who were part of that championship team, and so they knew what it takes, on a day-to-day basis, to win a game, and that competitive spirit or fire, it doesn’t go away just because someone gets hurt, like it’s always there,” Lee told CLNS reporter Noa Dalzell.Advertisement
“When you win a championship, you get even more hungry, more thirsty to do it again… Payton and Sam (Hauser) and JB and all those guys, and Joe and DJ MacLeay and Tony Dobbins, Sam (Cassell), they’ve all been there. And that’s why they want it again, and whoever came in the building, there’s a standard, and the standard is to win and play hard, and that’s what they do,” Lee added.
Joe Mazzulla, Brad Stevens and Celtics players have discussed the “standard” mentioned by Lee. Mazzulla is one of the most competitive people in the league and wants to win every night, so it’s no surprise his players have done the same.
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