Early in the morning session, before the players even stretched their muscles, coach Brad Stevens brought 10 of them onto the court and guided them during what he called a five-on-five walkthrough.
It was not a full scrimmage and it was not meant to be competitive. It was meant to be a simple primer.
Stevens instructed his players to give about 30 percent of their maximum effort during this exercise. But 30 percent effort is generally not part of this highly competitive group’s fabric, and these players have been waiting five months to uncoil.
“If that was 30 percent, we’re going to be able to fly around,” Stevens said later.