Chris Forsberg, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Celtics sign up for grit, teamwork

In recent seasons, the Boston Celtics have followed a common NBA practice and installed a pull-down screen to hide their locker room whiteboard from prying eyes. But there's a new sign in the team's locker room this season that's been positioned with every intention of being seen.

On it are five declarations that second-year coach Brad Stevens hopes his team will remember as they head to the court. The sign reads:

WE WILL  

(1) Sprint to set OUR defense.

(2) Execute OUR defense with multiple efforts to completion.

(3) Be TOUGH with the ball.

(4) Play unselfishly with pace and space to get great shots.

(5) Dominate effort plays.

The sign hammers home some of the key points of emphasis since Stevens arrived in Boston last season.

Not surprisingly, it leads off with defense. Stevens has maintained a desire to code a defensive DNA that serves as the backbone of this team. This season, the team tinkered with its philosophies to match its personnel -- with the addition of rookie Marcus Smart boosting the perimeter defense, and the team's lack of a pure size and rim protection forcing it to adjust how bigs defend from the back line. It resulted in the team owning the best defensive rating in the league in the preseason. But before any of that goes into motion, Stevens wants his team to get back and get set, forcing the opposition to beat Boston in a 5-on-5 half-court game and eliminating the higher-value transition opportunities that teams often feast on. In fact, one of the common buzzwords this preseason with Stevens has been "defensive stance" and the notion of how important body positioning is from the start of the play to the finish.

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