Aron Baynes not the only Australian really helping the Celtics

[jdz101]

Now we all heard pre-season about the Celtics moving on from their long-time trainers and strength and conditioning team and delving a bit deeper into sports science to help tailor training programs for the players.

As an aussie myself, it was interesting to read that the Celtics were getting help from an Australian guy this season and moving forward.

The Celtics followed suit and hired an Australian sports scientist by the name of Johann Bilsborough to head their training operations.

In making this staffing decision, the Celtics began dabbling in what Mark Murphy aptly called biological analytics, an expression which automatically alludes to the idea that training programs might be improved by gathering biological and physiological data, analyzing it, and then drawing relevant conclusions pertaining to the individual.

Bilsborough, by monitoring players for stress stimuli, has been able to discern appropriate amounts of playing time on a case by case basis, so as to ensure a perfect balance between players being practiced and being fatigued. Brad Stevens mentioned in an interview with Jay King that this work essentially allows the team to scientifically allocate minutes, an invaluable perk with a roster as deep as the Celtics.

With Lacerte and Doo out of the picture, it seems likely that the Celtics will go all in on Bilsborough and his work with biological analytics. Accordingly, any future training program that the Celtics sign off on will likely be largely predicated on some sort of individual, stimulus-response testing.

These tests are typically, and will probably, be broad in nature. One test might measure the force created when a player propels off the ground and the subsequent strain placed on their joints and muscles, while another test might monitor sleeping habits to try and mitigate back problems while also enhancing convalescence.

By committing to biological analytics, or sports science more broadly, the Celtics may be able to foster players that are both resilient to injury and high-performance, thus giving the team a competitive advantage over all the teams that still prescribe to the ‘just rub some dirt on it’ philosophy.

I'm definitely not doubting that a lot of the players' own effort has gone into training in the offseason, but you can't help but think this new approach might be helping the guys stay at peak performance for longer.

Marcus Smart and Al Horford look in their best shape as Celtics. Jaylen Brown has gotten even bigger and better as an athlete. Terry Rozier also looks fantastic. We seem to be running on top of the floor to finish games while other teams are on their haunches.

Is it too long of a bow to draw to credit this change in philosophy with helping the current team? As young as they are.