BOSTON – When New Orleans envisioned what type of team it wanted to be in 2016-17, Boston was one of the other NBA clubs often mentioned as a prototype. Under Brad Stevens, the Celtics have steadily progressed and are now third in the Eastern Conference, partly due to their single-minded mentality on the court, personified by gritty defenders such as Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder.
“They’re real scrappy, play very aggressive on the ball and in passing lanes,” described Pelicans guard E’Twaun Moore, a former Celtic himself, after Saturday morning shootaround in TD Garden.
“Hard-nosed, blue-collar, they’re going to try to be very, very aggressive,” said fellow guard Jrue Holiday.