\u201cEverything in this world today is recency bias,\u201d he said. \u201cEvery time is this is the best ever. We don\u2019t remember the way we felt last year or two years ago or three years ago. That\u2019s just a classic recency bias of whatever you\u2019re going through right now is the biggest, the best, the most important, the hardest, the easiest. None of that really matters. It depends on where you\u2019re at in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Derrick White on camp: \u201cIt\u2019s been hard. It\u2019s been fun. A lot of competition, not a lot of breaks, so it\u2019s been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just a name<\/p>\n
The Celtics\u2019 3-point heavy arsenal has been labeled \u201cMazzulla Ball\u201d over the past few years. \u201cMazzulla Ball\u201d may have to evolve into something more 2-point reliant because of the team losing solid 3-point shooters in Jrue Holiday<\/a>, Kristaps Porzingis<\/a>, and Al Horford<\/a> as well as Jayson Tatum expected to miss a majority of the season<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mazzulla said he doesn\u2019t think about the term \u201cMazzulla Ball\u201d or consider it associated with 3-point shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t really put too much thought into that,\u201d he said. \u201cWe find the two-on-one and the most important thing is executing at both ends of the floor. I don\u2019t pay too much attention to that. I hope it turns into Celtics basketball. I\u2019m not the one who\u2019s playing. I\u2019m not shooting. I\u2019m not doing anything. It\u2019s the players that are executing. It\u2019s really just Celtics basketball.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery year we look at the guys we have on our team and we pinpoint what gives us the best chance to win, the best chance to execute on the offensive end. I\u2019d like to look at as Celtics basketball. I have absolutely nothing to do with most of that. We\u2019ll do whatever we have to win to win that particular night.\u201d<\/p>\n The Celtics will definitely have to adjust their offense but Mazzulla won\u2019t say whether they will take fewer 3-pointers. It\u2019s just a matter of creating more mismatches, wherever they are on the floor. The retooled Celtics offense will again rely on being tactical and capitalizing on spacing and ball movement.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything comes down to two-on-ones\u201a\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cHow we\u2019re creating the two-on-ones, how we\u2019re being defended, and what the execution looks like versus that defense. Shot profile will obviously change a little bit because of the roster but it will also change because of the coverage, because of the team you\u2019re playing against.\u201d<\/p>\n Signs of progress<\/p>\n White is a man of few words when describing his game but he will be relied upon to make more plays as the expected No. 2 option behind Jaylen Brown. White has been the Celtics most versatile player in his 3\u00bd seasons in Boston<\/a>, giving the team a lift with his scoring, rebounding, passing, and defense. While White\u2019s shot attempts and minutes should increase, he seeks to just become a better overall player in his ninth NBA season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt all comes down to consistency,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the best players in this league do. If I can do it every single night then I\u2019m doing sometime right. What I focused on this summer is how I can do it more consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n Hear the interviews from Boston Celtics 2025 Media Day at Auerbach Center.<\/p>\n Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe<\/a>.<\/p>\n