Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger

Boston Celtics' Kelly Olynyk, right, checks out Jared Sullinger's haircut during NBA basketball practice in Waltham, Mass., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

BOSTON – During back-to-back 12-minute intrasquad scrimmages Friday night at the TD Garden, Kelly Olynyk and Jared Sullinger took turns dominating, James Young some of his potential, and a slew of new Boston Celtics, including rookie Marcus Smart, competed in front of a crowd for the first time with the team.

It was actually Smart's first trip to the Garden; because of roster crowding, he shared a locker with Young. During Smart's first interview in the Celtics locker room, he was interrupted by Gerald Wallace because he was sitting in the veteran's seat.

The practice was open to season-ticket holders and media, but if you missed the action, I have a load of notes below. All the statistics are based on my own unofficial count. And since it was tough to take notes, watch the game, and try keeping stats, they might be at least a little off.

— Utilizing his trimmer body to the tune of 12 points in the first scrimmage, Olynyk looked comfortable and confident from the tip, showcasing offensive skills very few 7-footers possess. The action actually opened with him operating as the ball-handler in a pick-and-roll. A few minutes later, he pump-faked, waited for Tyler Zeller to bite, and finished an and-1 jumper. Olynyk ran a neat give-and-go with Jared Sullinger, threw a left-handed around-the-back-pass to Marcus Thornton for a driving layup, tipped in someone else's miss, and hit a whirling baseline shot off one foot that made me say wow. The big man might never become a plus defender, but he looks to be in significantly better shape and his offensive tricks went nowhere over the summer.

— Sullinger started slowly but really – I mean, really – picked up his effort in the second scrimmage. Over 12 minutes of action, by my very unofficial count, he poured in 17 points, drilled four 3-pointers, hit two other long jumpers, and missed just one shot. He ended his scoring with a nifty left-handed finish, which only punctuated the fact that OMG SULLINGER JUST WENT BONKERS. He did so against other Celtics big men, which somewhat dulls the feat, but if he always shoots that well, nobody in Boston will complain. Maybe I'm overreacting because he drained so many shots, but he really appeared to be shooting with nice rhythm. More of that, please.

— Also shooting with nice rhythm: Phil Pressey, who sunk his first three triples before barely missing his fourth, and final, attempt. I’m not saying definitively he’s a better shooter than last year – we can’t possibly know that after 24 minutes of scrimmaging – but for someone who hit just 26.4 percent from behind the arc, draining a trio of open looks is a good sign. Pressey, the best healthy point guard on the court, also put on a dunking show during pregame layup lines, barely missing a between-the-legs slam that would have qualified him for honorary Nate Robinson status.

— Of the two draft picks, James Young – surprise, surprise – looked better. He came off the bench with 5:23 left in the first scrimmage, drilled his first shot (a three), and then hit another three while getting fouled on the very next possession. Later in the night, he poked away an errant pass from Marcus Smart, sprinted the floor in transition, caught a pass from Phil Pressey and drew a foul at the rim. My favorite play, though: Showing a lot of patience off the bounce, Young penetrated the defense just enough to find Avery Bradley for an open jumper. Young also contested a few Jeff Green jump shots nicely and rotated over to intercept one ugly post entry from Evan Turner, but not everything went perfectly for the rookie. He missed his next couple of threes, including one airball, and botched a thunderous dunk attempt in the second scrimmage. Mistakes will happen, though. For a rookie expected to need plenty of time to develop, he displayed a few traits – like shooting, lengh and athleticism – the Celtics could use right away.

— Smart didn’t look entirely comfortable, making a few turnovers – like an ambitious inbounds pass to nobody in particular – that just can’t happen. The point guard chucked up an airball, missed one not-exactly-wise transition pull-up, and, unless I’m mistaken (I could be), only went 1-for-4 from the arc, adding a breakaway layup as his only other field goal. He’s a rookie playing a difficult position, though; we probably should have expected an uneven effort this early in the schedule. He still projects as an elite defender, he made one pretty pocket pass to Sullinger, and his team won both games, which was nice. It will be interesting to see how Smart develops over the preseason. Especially with Rajon Rondo out, the rookie will need to contribute. One positive I noticed: Smart appeared eager to make the extra pass. Good news.

— The other newcomers offered a mixed bag. Tyler Zeller rebounded pretty well, scored in opportunistic fashion, and showed why he’ll help – in whatever playing time he receives – on the interior. Not known as the best shot-blocker, he did have one nice rejection of Gerald Wallace. ... Evan Turner looked to be in great shape, produced some really nice ball-handling maneuvers (always one of his strong suits), botched a few finishes (also one of his strong suits) and threw a few curious passes that resulted in turnovers. He made one really great defensive play to deny his man and steal a pass, but committed a turnover two seconds later when Pressey poked away his dribble. ... Marcus Thornton launched a bundle of poor shots, missed badly on a lot of them, and kept shooting like he always does because sooner or later streaky shooters catch fire. He serves a purpose on the Celtics – they don’t have much perimeter offense – but rooting for him should be a roller-coaster.

— The Celtics preached defensive aggression throughout the first week of practice, and for the first time we got to see what they meant. On more than a few occasions they actually blitzed ball screens, a huge difference from the normal pick-and-roll coverage last season. Gerald Wallace had probably the best trap, jumping the ball-handler to create havoc; the other team sped up and threw the ball away a few seconds later. Wallace, who made one particularly nice bounce pass to a cutting Avery Bradley, could benefit from the new defensive strategy as much as anyone, The veteran small forward looked pretty good; he bullied Turner in the low post for a bucket and appeared to show no signs of the torn meniscus that ended his 2013-14 season. Wallace, who, like Jeff Green, spent some time at the four-spot, also made a great play in the passing lanes to steal a lazy pass intended for Green and lay it in at the other end.

— Before leaving with a strained calf that didn’t look too serious, Green made some really nice plays, including one left-handed finish in traffic, but forced a few tough shots. That might not have been entirely his fault – so early in the season, and especially with Rondo out, the offense lacked ideal rhythm. Sometimes players appeared to take bad shots just because the offense stalled; trying something a little crazy seemed like a better option than waiting to see what might happen next. A few times though, though, the offense worked perfectly. Once, Green caught the ball at the top of the key and quickly swung it to the right wing, where Pressey was waiting wide open to drill a three. Awesome ball movement gets me every time.

— Two guys who we know what to expect from, Bradley and Brandon Bass, did some nice things, but nothing too surprising. The former chased opponents around the perimeter and both hit and missed some tough shots. The latter contributed under the radar as he tends to do. I saw nothing to change my stance that Bradley, Rondo and Smart could be one heck of a defensive backcourt.

— Darren Erman worked himself into a frenzy during defensive drills. Pointing directions players needed to go, pumping his fist when they succeeded, sliding in what looked like a defensive stance, screaming so loudly you could hear him across the gym, the assistant coach almost looked ready to scamper into the action and take a charge from Marcus Smart. I could have watched Erman teach defense for the entire night and still wanted more. He appeared to be as energetic as energetic comes.

— Rondo, no longer wearing a sling, wore what looked to be a brace on his injured left hand. He won’t be able to play for another few weeks, at least, but he couldn’t help himself during pregame drills. Using his healthy right hand, he fed teammates for jump shots before having a chat with Danny Ainge.

What did they talk about? I don't know. But maybe they were discussing how to get Rondo on the court ASAP because, as we saw so evidently Friday night, his team needs him very badly.