Jaylen Brown makes candid admission about Celtics training camp

The All-Star guard is coming off a spectacular championship run

and is excited to start his seventh training camp with the Celtics.

Given the early start to camp and the large number of players returning from

Boston’s roster (13), some may have anticipated that the Celtics would ease into training camp.

But after the team’s third practice day on Friday, Brown said that Joe Mazzulla

has immediately stepped on the gas.

“Training camp has not been easy,” acknowledged Brown. “We’ve been pushing ourselves,

setting the tone on the defensive end, and conditioning ourselves a lot during training camp.

” It’s been fantastic. It’s just what we required. By no means did we ease into training camp.

That’s right—Joe Mazzulla is a lunatic.

Similar thoughts were expressed by Jrue Holiday on Thursday,

who noted that Mazzulla’s strategies are putting the Celtics

through a tough early season.

Holiday remarked, “I think it’s very, very mental.” Naturally,

most of the game can be won there. focus, working through fatigue, playing without passing,

and playing without scoring. The most important thing, in my opinion,

is how to win the mental game when you’re exhausted both emotionally and physically.

He’s just flinging everything at us once more.

With the exception of starting center Kristaps Porzingis,

Boston is fully healthy for the start of training camp, and players like Brown are welcoming

the tough challenge that awaits the club fresh off a championship victory.

Brown remarked, “I think it will be good for us. Training camp was not,

it was probably one of the toughest training camp the first two days that I probably

had in terms of intensity conditioning-level, physicality, and defensive warrior type mentality.”

“Right now, all we’re focusing on is trying to play fantastic Celtic basketball and breaking

bad habits from simply taking the summer off.”

The early work will be put to the test quickly. The Celtics have just one more practice

at the Auerbach Center before departing for a week-long trip to Abu Dhabi

which includes a pair of preseason matchups against the Nuggets on Friday and Sunday.

Despite the long trek, Brown is eager to play in a spot where he spent plenty of time

in over the past summer.

For Brown, it would mean a little bit more. “A lot of my friends and relatives will be at the game

because I spent a big part of my summer in the Middle East. I’m excited to play on that side

of the globe and take part in the globalization of the game. It will be thrilling to witness

the competition amongst the past champions as well.I want to play,

but I’m not sure what the rotations or the schedule will be like or if the men will play or not.

It would be nice to play in front of those guys because it feels like an extended home to me now.

The Celtics face off against the Nuggets at noon ET on Oct. 4.