WALTHAM -- The no-look pass. The inbounds lob. The quick bucket in transition.
It is said that timing is everything, and in basketball, it can be the difference between the game-winning basket and a missed shot.
With just days before the regular season begins, the Boston Celtics are working on their timing -- even if time isnt on their side in this abbreviated training camp.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Boston sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
Most of the plays, weve got great position players but the timing is so important, Ray Allen said prior to Wednesdays win against the Toronto Raptors. Its executing out of timeouts. Its out-of-bounds plays. Its everything that you have opportunities to put those things in (during a regular training camp). You have preseason games spread throughout a two-week period, and then you have scrimmaging amongst the teams, even times when we have two a days, we just dont have that (time). Nobody has it, so it just requires an intense amount of focus for everybody when theyre out there.
With limited days for practice in a condensed regular season schedule, Allen expects shootarounds to be longer to work on the timing of plays. Wednesday morning was an example of that.
Its always a process, he said. Even this mornings shootaround, were putting in new stuff, and its stuff when Doc (Rivers) calls a play and hell put something new in, I go right to my spot. I know exactly what were running.But the other guys dont know it.
You just fall into that rhythm from playing," he added. "I always say when you play games and then you dont play games, you almost lose a little bit of your timing. Around here I think its easier when you play games, youre working on it as you play games and youre getting that timing in real life, real game situations.
For Rajon Rondo, the teams playmaker, timing is critical to the execution of plays. Even though the Celtics have less time to work on it in training camp, he echoed Allens belief that it will get better as the season goes on.
Timing is very important, Rondo said after practice on Thursday. We prepare for the playoffs each year, execution down the stretch, and timings a big part of it. Guys are going to get into us, defend us, try to throw us off a rhythm, but we still have to find a way to get our timing down and execute.Its okay. Cant give it a number right now but the more games we play, the better our timing will be.