The Boston Celtics aren’t playing, so it’s totally cool if they work on a beer belly while the NBA is on hold, right?
Not so fast, says former Celtics strength trainer Brian Doo.
Curious to know what a professional with years in the league would say about what — if anything — Boston’s players should be doing in terms of strength and conditioning in this unexpected, coronavirus-caused hiatus, the Athletic’s Jay King and Jared Weiss got in touch with Doo on the matter.
For the unfamiliar, Doo was the Celtics strength coach for the Celtics for 14 years, and knows a thing or two about how athletes need to prepare for professional basketball regardless of whether there’s actual games being played or not.
“I’ve talked to a bunch of NBA guys. They’re like, ‘Oh, we’re done, the season’s over, we’re just going to chill out,'” said Doo.
‘Can’t let themselves get out of shape’: How will Celtics stay basketball-ready during NBA hiatus ?https://t.co/awteDACa1P
by @ByJayKing & @JaredWeissNBA
— The Athletic Boston (@TheAthleticBOS) March 16, 2020
“No,” he added with disdain. “That’s stupid.”
It’s stupid to Doo because there’s still plenty of training to be done, even while self-quarantining. The former Celtics trainer thinks there’s something to be said for having a period of rest before the playoffs to get healthy that otherwise would have never existed.
But not if Boston doesn’t use it well.
“You can work on mobility … [or] yoga. You can do stuff to work on ankle range, to work on … hip issues. You don’t have to rest. You can work on that stuff,” offered Doo.
And conditioning in particular is important, especially given that no one knows exactly when the team could be called to perform at high levels on the court again.
“I would say, seriously, you have to maintain your high-intensity cardiovascular, the high-end sprints and stuff like that,” explained the strength coach.
“So not necessarily running, but just exercises to get your heart rate up. I do think they should maintain that a couple times a week, and then obviously when it gets close to those 30 days, when you have a better idea if and when the season’s going to start, then as long as you have a 10-day window, you can really ramp it up for the last 10 days.”
When players play without being conditioned, they can’t keep up with those who are, leading to mistakes — and worse, sometimes injuries as well.
Instead of viewing the break in play as a moment to take one’s foot off the gas pedal, Doo is preaching a very different point of view.
“The biggest mistake these guys could make is, ‘Oh, I have 28 days left,’. Well, you know what? You should get a game plan for the week and how you can approach it.”
Checking on the Quarantine Celtics: Day 5 with no basketball https://t.co/lBSgNcRaEc
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) March 16, 2020
The reasoning for Doo’s philosophy is simple: to him, it’s easier to maintain conditioning than build up to it. And if Boston is already on top of that issue when it comes time to play again, they’ll have an advantage over many players and teams who relaxed.
While there’s still plenty of uncertainty over even very quotidian issues ranging from the simple — like where one can find toilet paper — to critical issues about exactly how aggressive society needs to be with minimizing risks to spread the virus, players can control their own conditioning.
With plenty of time off to work out in home gyms and train for whenever things start to get back towards something resembling normal, Doo’s counsel may indeed be a key advantage in the now-delayed postseason for the Celtics.
That is, if it doesn’t get canceled in the interim.
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