Rivers has Celtics working on small ball early in camp

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WALTHAMThere was plenty of jokes and small talk surrounding the Celtics' impending trip to Europe on Monday, but the team does actually have a practice before they go.

Losing a day of camp due to travel means that there's certainly no time to take the days available for granted. So how did the C's tackle Monday's session before liftoff?

In a small way. Small ball, to be exact.

Based on how the team's roster is constructed, the C's have the ability to put out combinations of players that slide into multiple roles. They're deep at the guard position, and that's not even counting an injured Avery Bradley. Rajon Rondo, Courtney Lee and Jason Terry will all see time at the shooting guard position, with Lee being able to play at small forward as well.

Green is a small forward but will see time at the power forward position, and don't be surprised if Paul Pierce makes appearances there too in certain small ball lineups.

So, yeah, a lineup or Rondo, Terry, Lee, PierceGreen, and Bass is very possiblebut only if it works in practice.

"We put small lineups in yesterday but we didn't work on it, so today we're going to almost exclusively have small lineups on the floor, and we're going to change them all around, so that'll be fun," Doc Rivers said. "This is the first year that we've actually really worked on it, and we're going to work on it so we can do it every day."

The Celtics have used small ball lineups in the past, dating back to the days of James Posey, so the notion that this is uncharted territory is a bit off. Still, Rivers making a point to focus on it proves that it should be a bigger part of the offense this season.

"I don't know if we'll use more small ball but we'll use it effectively," Rivers said. "So we'll be able to go back and forth. We'll be able to go big too, with Jeff and Paul at the two and three. So we have a lot of lineups on paper that look good, and we'll see how they look when the season starts."

With all the possible lineups, Rivers is sounding more and more like Bill Belichick and his love for versatility.

Speaking on the backup point guard position, Rivers commended Terry's ball-handling skills, calling him a "natural at the point". That said, he also noted that if Rondo isn't in the game, the team is looking to "create offense so it's not a point guard-dominant offense." That most likely means getting out on the break, using athleticism over set plays

Multiple lineups. Multiple looks. Multiple sets. Pick and roll. Motion. Half-court. Up-tempo. You name it, it looks like Rivers is considering it.

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