It’s probably not realistic to expect Paul George to replace Jaylen Brown’s production at age 36, but his fit alongside Jayson Tatum will be important in determining the Celtics’ success, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscription required). George indicated that their relationship is off to a strong start.

“JT’s done a great job of allowing me to be me and just coming into this as myself and just fit right in with the group,” he said. “So I’ve been more than comfortable since Day One coming in. There’s going to be some growing things and still figuring things out and learning stuff, but they’ve done a great job of kind of just I think helping me get acclimated right away. It was great that we got together this summer to where again I feel comfortable coming in and you know being me and applying what I do.”

Washburn notes that Tatum has been compared to George since entering the league because of their similar size and skill sets. He adds that Tatum welcomed George after the trade with Philadelphia was announced in July and looks forward to playing alongside someone who served as an inspiration when he was crafting his game.

“I’m around that generation of kids that kind of grew up watching him play, especially you know when I was in middle school and high school,” Tatum said. “He definitely was one of the guys that you know when I was coming up. I used to watch a lot of film on just that archetype of two-way player, 6-9, scoring all three levels. He was definitely, somebody when I was high school, college, even early in my career that I would always try to steal things from and watch what he was doing, just because the way that I played.”

There’s more from Boston:

• Dillon Mitchell had the opportunity to pursue a fifth year of college basketball, but he decided to stick with the NBA after the Celtics drafted him in June with the 40th pick, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “I’m here. I worked hard to get here,” said Mitchell, who’s on a two-way contract. “Just the development side of it, I thought. Just the few months I’ve had here was enough for me. I mean, I want to be here, and I worked hard to get here, so it was an easy decision for me.”
• Payton Pritchard faces an interesting decision now that he’s eligible for an extension worth up to $67MM over three years, Brian Robb of MassLive states in a mailbag column. Robb views it as another team-friendly deal if Pritchard opts for the extension now instead of waiting to potentially earn more next year. However, he also points out that Pritchard would be 30 when he reaches free agency, so it may be wise to lock in the money while he can.
• Coach Joe Mazzulla opted to have training camp at The Citadel because of its unique setting, Washburn adds in a separate story. The South Carolina campus is one of six senior military colleges in the country. “I really enjoy military leadership,” Mazzulla said. “I learn from it a lot. I think it’s important, so any chance that we’ll get to do it, we’ll try.”