Jeff Teague was attracted to the Celtics, in part, because of the opportunity to play with one of the NBAs great young twosomes.

But the veteran point guard doesnt have a lot of time to mesh with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown or, for that matter, Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis.

With the first exhibition game three days away in Philadelphia, all are scrambling for a groove. Tristan Thompson, according to Brad Stevens, may not even be available by the regular season opener on Dec. 23 due to lingering hamstring trouble.

And none of it is helped by this cram session of a training camp. The process admittedly hasnt been smooth for Teague.

Its a little difficult, because we cant spend as much time together because of certain rules, Teague said during a Saturday Zoom session. Its going fast, and we dont have as much time to jell as we would in a normal offseason. Usually guys come in, play pickup and things like that, and you get to know someone on and off the court. Right now its a crash course. The good thing about this team is they have a really good nucleus, and Im just trying to fit in and figure it all out.

Another orientation is set for January, when Kemba Walker is expected to return from a knee rehab project. Until then, much will fall on Walkers backup.

Weve got a lot of great guys, a lot of talented players, and its going to be a wholeteam effort not having a guy like that right now, a dynamic point guard like that, so I guess well figure it out, said Teague, who has found a particularly receptive audience in Tatum and Brown.

They do a great job of listening, he said. They take advice and its a back-and-forth thing. I know how talented they are and how much they mean to the team, so I just try to give my pointers where I can. If I see something, I try to let them know what I see, and vice versa if they see something, they let me know.

But youve got to find your role, and for them, theyre going to be here for years to come. I just got to find ways to help them be better, and obviously theyre going to help me be better. But thats one thing just trying to help them be the players that they can be and this team to be the team that they can be. And it should be a great year.

Teague also has a varied group of big men to learn and blend with.

Ive played with a lot of talented bigs. Youve just got to figure out the person, he said. Figuring out that you throw the ball up to Rob (Wiliams) because hes an athletic big, he goes and gets it. Theis, you can play different ways on him. And obviously with Tacko (Fall), you want to make sure you throw the ball up. But you learn each other. You figure it out where guys are comfortable catching the ball. Its going to be a work in progress. Were still a team thats trying to figure it out right now. Weve got some time to try to get it right before our first game, but were still working.

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Jeff Teague takes a crash course in chemistry - Boston Herald