The Celtics are doing their best to ignore the recent flurry of personnel moves and concentrate on winning, reports A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. “Whether you’re playing guys that are 20 years old or whether you’re playing 12-year veterans, the preparation, the emphasis and the day-to-day focus has to be the same,” said coach Brad Stevens. “You have to put your best foot forward.” A deal sending Jeff Green, the team’s leading scorer, to the Grizzlies is expected to be finalized Monday.
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Green should benefit from being around better players in Memphis, writes Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. “Jeff Green’s a very good player,” said an unidentified source. “He can do a lot of really good things. But it’s hard if he’s the best player on your team. If he’s the third- or fourth-best player on your team, that can work and he can help you.” Bulpett notes that Celtics president Danny Ainge calls Green Boston’s “best player,” although his scoring average has dipped nearly seven points per game in the team’s last eight outings.
- With the way Robert Covington is playing lately, the Sixers should make him part of their long-term plans, opines Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com. Kaskey-Blomain cites Covington’s versatility in addition to his shooting range as reason to keep the 24-year-old in Philadelphia. The Tennessee State product has played minutes at the shooting guard, small forward and power forward positions this season.
- Another year of tanking is taking its toll on the Sixers‘ Michael Carter-Williams, writes Tom Moore of Calkins Media. “Michael just wears his deflation on his sleeve,” said coach Brett Brown. “The body language and all those things.” Still on his rookie contract, Carter-Williams is under Philadelphia’s control through the 2017/18 season.
Chris Crouse contributed to this post.