BOSTON \u2013 Last week, as the regular season began to wind down, I followed the Celtics around for a couple of days. The assignment was not too dissimilar from my usual shenanigans; as a beat reporter, you \u2014 in effect \u2014 follow the team around to shootarounds, practices, games, and other events (and if you\u2019re wondering, yes, it feels invasive at times).<\/p>\n
The difference was that this time, the team had two consecutive days off from game action and travel, something that very rarely happens during the regular season (only four times so far, to be exact).<\/p>\n
Usually, when the team has two consecutive days off, one of those days is a travel day (if the Celtics play at home on a Monday, and on the road on a Thursday, they technically have two days off, but Wednesday would be a travel day).<\/p>\n
But, in late March, a two-day span between a Sunday night game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Wednesday night game against the Oklahoma City Thunder was one of those rare times.<\/p>\n
How do players maximize that time? <\/p>\n
I dove deep into that question.<\/p>\n
Much of it revolves around giving back to the community, said Celtics longtime team president Rich Gotham. Players participate in off-court events in and around the city Boston, events that are oftentimes centered around empowering youth, among other causes.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, what we try to do is really understand, like, what makes each player tick \u2014 what they\u2019re into, the kind of stuff they want to do, what are their interests,\u201d Gotham told CelticsBlog. \u201cIt\u2019s different for every player, depending on where they are in their career arc. But, particularly with the young players, we try to sort of cement that this is what it means to be a Celtic. You\u2019re part of an organization. There\u2019s what goes on on the floor, but then there\u2019s everything that supports what goes on. And you have to actually be a participant in that. You have to contribute to that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monday, March 23rd: Youth workshops, sporting events, and dinners<\/p>\n
Sam Hauser<\/a> attended a financial literacy event for middle schoolers at the Dearborn STEM Academy, a public middle and high school in the heart of Roxbury that is foccused on science, technology and math.<\/p>\n Players attend these kinds of community events all the time. In March alone, Derrick White, Hugo Gonzalez, Amari Williams, Luka Garza, Jordan Walsh, Baylor Scheierman, and Neemias Queta each headlined one of a myriad of Celtics off-court events.<\/p>\n The events are often hosted in collaboration with the team\u2019s corporate partners; Hauser\u2019s workshop was hosted in partnership with TD.<\/p>\n 3:30pm: Sam Hauser headlines a financial literacy workshop for Roxbury youth <\/p>\n Hauser was the guest of honor and the star of the show at Dearborn. For more than hour, he hung out with kids as they reviewed information answered questions about financial literacy, learning about concepts like interest rates, emergency funds, and credit scores.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t learn this stuff in high school, so honestly, I was learning some stuff on the fly here today, which is pretty cool,\u201d Hauser said. (I can confirm I also struggled with some of the questions the students were asked).<\/p>\n The highlight of the event came at its conclusion, when the Celtics forward participated in a heated knockout game against the middle schoolers.<\/p>\n Hauser taught a bunch of the kids the rules of knockout \u2014 then subsequently eliminated nearly all of the competitors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s tough love,\u201d Hauser said afterwards with a smile, conducting his post-competition interview alongside one of the knockout participants. \u201cAs much as you love these kids, you gotta lose sometimes in life.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Vladimir Hyppolite, an 8th grader at the Dearborn Academy, came out victorious, winning a pair of tickets to Friday\u2019s Celtics game against the Hawks.<\/p>\n He walked both the basketball contest and the financial literacy trivia walked away with a basketball signed by Hauser and his autographed jersey.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely weird,\u201d Hauser said of seeing his jersey be the event\u2019s prized reward. \u201cStill, I don\u2019t see many of my jerseys out there, so seeing them here today and a few in the crowd every now and then. It\u2019s pretty cool \u2013 something that you kind of dream of when you\u2019re a little kid, like, \u2018I hope someone wears my jersey when I grow up.\u2019 But actively seeing it is pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n Hauser has a one-year-old boy, Teddy, and spends lots of downtime with his family when the Celtics have a day off.<\/p>\n But this type of a give-back to the community was a priority, too.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to fit it in,\u201d Hauser said. \u201cIn this case, we have an extra day before the next game, and this stuff\u2019s important, so you make time for it. And, today was a special one for sure \u2013 to come in here and learn about this stuff, and be present, and fit into the schedule perfectly. It couldn\u2019t have been more of a perfect storm.\u201d<\/p>\n 7pm: Luka Garza, Neemias Queta each attend corporate partner dinners <\/p>\n In addition to offcourt community events, the Celtics have partnership dinners sprinkled throughout the season. Luka Garza attended a dinner with Sentient Jet, one of the Celtics\u2019 corporate partners, and Neemias Queta attended a dinner with PIMCO, another corporate partner.<\/p>\n 8pm: Derrick White and Joe Mazzulla sit ringside for a WWE event with their families<\/p>\n A couple of hours later, Derrick White and Joe Mazzulla attended WWE\u2019s Monday Night Raw at TD Garden with their respective families.<\/p>\n A clip of Mazzulla jokingly putting White in a chokehold went viral, and the Celtics coach later reflected on the off-night excursion.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up as a kid watching it,\u201d Mazzulla said. \u201cI was able to have a family night, take the kids there, hang out with D-White. It was a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n White said these types of off-court excursions with Mazzulla have become increasingly during his tenure as head coach.<\/p>\n \u201cJust bonding \u2013 I think that goes deeper than basketball,\u201d White said. \u201cSo it\u2019s always cool to do things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Mazzulla was asked it felt unusual for a boss to go out with an employee on an off-night.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t consider myself a boss, and I don\u2019t consider Derrick an employee, with all due respect,\u201d he clarified. \u201cIt\u2019s not how we operate. I think it\u2019s more about relationships and the people that you have.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s far from unusual for Derrick White to be found at a Boston sporting event. Last month, he attended a Boston Fleet gam, rooting for one of eight Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League teams. He\u2019s also frequent attendee at Red Sox games.<\/p>\n And, White\u2019s had an especially-busy month of off-court endeavors; also last month, he was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.<\/p>\n Tuesday, March 24th: Practice, content day, and community events<\/p>\n While the Celtics were off from basketball activities on Monday, the team was back in action at the Auerbach Center on Tuesday. But, that\u2019s not all they did.<\/p>\n 10:00am-10:30am: Team Photo<\/p>\n Before practice, the Celtics took a full team photo, updated for the postseason action that will soon commence.<\/p>\n 10:30am-12:30pm: Celtics Practice<\/p>\n Then, the team held their first official practice in more than two weeks, which came on the heels of a loss to the Timberwolves. Jayson Tatum later described the practice as a \u201creally good\u201d one, and the team went on to rattle off three straight wins against East playoff teams.<\/p>\n After practice, most players work on individual skill development with their assigned coaches on player development and review film from the previous game (some players get this work in before practice).<\/p>\n Derrick White, for example, fired up shots up alongside longtime assistant coach Matt Reynolds<\/a>. After the two completed White\u2019s shooting workout, they typically compete in a trick shot competition \u2014 just for fun \u2014 along with other members of the staff.<\/p>\n On the opposing basket, Payton Pritchard, Ron Harper Jr, Jordan Walsh, and Charles Bassey competed in 2-on-2 drills organized by player development coaches Craig Luschenant, Nana Foulland, and Da\u2019Sean Butler.<\/p>\n Luka Garza worked out on post moves and touch shots with Celtics assistant DJ MacLeay, his assigned player development coach.<\/p>\n