BOSTON — If Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla got his way, his team wouldn’t play any preseason games. The C’s are midway through their four-game preseason slate; they finish their preseason schedule with a 7:30 p.m. Wednesday game against the Raptors.
There are plenty of practices throughout training camp, but the actual game schedule is mostly left up to teams. The Celtics have only four preseason games while other teams like the Lakers have six. Mazzulla prefers none as he explained why he’d rather just practice with his team.
“I’d rather have no preseason games and practice every day,” Mazzulla said. “I hate preseason games. You should just have practice for a month straight. ... At the end of the day, it’s a preseason game. To me, you come in here and practice, and you’re just in your work.
“So the idea is to try to make the preseason game as close to practice as you can because you’re always going through things. Who’s on a minute’s restriction. Who may be sitting out trying to save yourself for the regular season. All those things which are important. But we should just have like 30 practices before the game.”
Now, there are some benefits to preseason games. The Celtics have tinkered with their lineups against live action, though many of their regulars either rest or are on a minutes restriction. End-of-bench guys, those fighting for a spot in the league, also get to go out and show whatever they can in their limited minutes.
But oftentimes, teams rest their main guys in preseason games. The Celtics, thus far, haven’t played against many opposing starters in their three preseason games. Jaylen Brown pointed out there are some benefits to that since, for example, the bench players often try harder and pressure on defense.
Regardless, the games will start counting soon. The Celtics open the regular season next week when they host the 76ers at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 22 at TD Garden. Then there won’t be any qualms as the Celtics embark on their 82-game schedule.
“I enjoy just working with a group of guys and going after a common goal together and having an understanding of that,” Mazzulla said. “You have that same level of enjoyment, figure out how to make the team better. They’re not going to be the same people now as they were a year ago. But we’re going to be a different team a month from now, and we’re going to learn from ourselves every game.”
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