THE FIT WAS so good early on that Tatum started comparing Porzingis’ role with the Celtics to that of Pau Gasol, who in 2008 was traded to the Lakers to team up with Kobe Bryant. It was a duo that led LA to titles in 2009 and 2010. “Kobe really needed Pau for those last two championships that they won together,” Tatum says. “Whatever path that I’m on and we’re on, KP really feels like the missing piece.” – via ESPN
“I think definitely there was less structure last year,” Horford told The Athletic. “And I just think, given the situation we were in starting the season, Joe as a new head coach, not enough time to put in everything we needed to, things like that, some of those things take time. You could argue that you could implement it last year but the reality is that it just didn’t work out like that. This year I think we’re all understanding and really trying to buy into what Joe’s telling us.” – via The Athletic