The Celtics retooled this summer by adding a handful of active, versatile defensive players. How will it help them this coming season?
There's an annual ritual that occurs every summer in the NBA, like clockwork - the moment the final buzzer sounds on the Finals and a winner has been crowned, all 29 other teams in the NBA begin positioning themselves to emulate the new champion. Or, at the very least, they pay a little lip service to the idea of doing so.
It's been going on for a while now. When the Celtics won the title in 2008, every team in the league was racing to tell their fanbases about their vision for the future - one built, no doubt, around veteran leadership, teamwork and defense.