The Celtics were expecting to use Evan Fournier in a sixth-man role for the playoffs, but an injury to Jaylen Brown changed those plans, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. With Brown unavailable after having surgery for a torn wrist ligament, Fournier will be part of the starting lineup in the first-round series against the Nets.
Acquired from the Magic at the trade deadline, Fournier has been productive since returning from the league’s health and safety protocols. In 16 games with the Celtics, he is averaging 13.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per night and shooting a sizzling 46.3% from three-point range. Fournier’s time in Orlando gave him some experience in approaching the playoffs as a low-seeded team.
“There’s no secret,” he said. “Being the lowest seed playing against the No. 1 or second seed, you just have to compete against them. When you play the best teams in the NBA, you have to compete. You have to show them that everything they’re going to get is hard.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Center Robert Williams is available to play tonight, tweets Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Williams had to leave Tuesday’s play-in game against the Wizards because of turf toe and sat out Friday’s practice.
- Due to Williams’ unpredictable status, the Celtics will have to rely more heavily on veteran big man Tristan Thompson, notes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald. Boston signed Thompson as a free agent during the offseason to add a veteran with plenty of playoff experience to its front court. “I think that his role probably looms large regardless,” coach Brad Stevens said.
- The matchup with the Nets will give Boston fans plenty of opportunity to vent their anger at Kyrie Irving, the former Celtic who told season ticket holders in 2018 that he was planning to re-sign with the team, Murphy adds in a separate story. President of basketball operations Danny Ainge believes Irving was sincere at the time and speculated that changing circumstances prompted him to reconsider his pledge. “No grudges, no second-guessing,” Ainge said. “I just wish him well. He was a player that came through this organization. I appreciate how talented he was, how much he wanted to win, and I’m grateful for the experience to get to know him.”
- The Celtics plan to increase their crowd size for Game 3 of the playoff series and hope to be “near full” capacity for Game 4, tweets Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
Without Jalen I can’t see them winning. All year I’ve been waiting for Celtics to show up. Celtics as a team play D. It’s why I would have given them a shot. Now someone or a few someone’s need to step up. Fournier, Nesmith, Williams, Smart, Kemba all have to be solid. Then it could be a series. D D D D play Harden full court. And push up on KD.
First Q so far. They are playing D.
Nothing wrong with Boston’s defense, but what happened to their offense?
It completely disappeared in the second half, or maybe Brooklyn’s defense isn’t as bad as everyone thought it was? Boston will be lucky to lose in 5.
I agree lol
Even with Brown their offense was 2005 iso ball slop. Without him it’s hand it to Tatum and pray he makes contested fade-away jumpers.
Tatum’s probably a top 5 iso scorer. But his playmaking is almost non-existent. That’s the chasm that separates the Tatums and Bookers from the Lukas and Hardens, IMO
Agreed. This is a 5 game series max.
Gotta say I’ve been thrashing Bklyn D all yr. They stepped up today. Kemba had a bad gm. Celtics are not winning unless their stars step up. They have to be consistent. Nets looked good. They did what they had to do. Good win for them. I’ll say this. You gotta play Harden full court. Make the clock your sixth man. A team must commit to that. And you can beat the Nets. Nice win, only one so far. Sixers and Bucks can play enough D to beat them. I just wish Jalen was playing
Al, have you been watching????
Alize, Bruce B, Claxton, Jeff Green. This team got the 2 seed despite injuries via rough and tumble guys as much as pretty offense. Even Blake has played some ok D. And Harris holds his own too.
That’s why I say if the Big 3 stay healthy Brooklyn is far and away the best team in the field.
The Celtics need to pass on resigning Evan Fournier he’s prof that someone needs to score on a bad team
If Celtics only plan to pay $30 million luxury tax next season, they can’t afford to pay Fournier
It’s hard to dump Walker salary
If Ainge is not asking about Sexton b/c the Cavs suck, then he sucks and so the Celts will too.
Probably another year coming up of entertaining losing basketball on the Northcoast, and Celtics coming up short.
Also sorry not quite: Denver, coddling Porter during Jokic’s prime. Portland, not dealing McCollum for balance during Lilliard’s prime. Pels, same for Ingram and ZW. Warriors, Wiseman and Curry. I look at many playoff teams and see something similar.
I blame the big3disease, which leads to the big4disease… A title only takes two stars but it all has to fit.
Sexton & Garland do not. Actually though, Kemba is not good enough for either… so nevermind.
I’m glad you wrapped that up with never mind. Because I was wondering who Boston would have to offer for Sexton, lol.
Kemba is a negative value at this point. I would be shocked if they flip him and don’t have to include a future first. And all their youth save for Williams is uninspiring but solid to just garbage.
The question for Danny is do you give up the future assets to get off Walker now or do you ride it out and hope he doesn’t get worse.
Agreed – Boston is probably going to be stuck with Kemba til he’s expiring. In the meantime, I don’t think this Celtics team could compete even if they were healthy.. If you’re Boston, do you let Danny rebuild around Tatum, or just keep running this back?
Can/should the Celtics trade to pair Tatum with Beal? I think yes.
With or without Jalen they aren’t topping the nets. We have seen this before. IT, Kyrie and now Kemba. Shoot first point guards will not lead the celtics to a finals. Now Westbrook at least gets a triple double and 10+ assists. If Kemba doesn’t score 20+ he’s a non factor on the court. Ainge also didn’t trade for Turner but rather signed the ghost that was Tristan Thompson….
I am the big Celtic fan. The Nets had an off night and they still won. Kemba foul trouble hurt. Smart and Robert Williams played awesome but this series is over in 5. The Celtics don’t seem to mess and I too think we need a pass first PG.
Celtics need to replace Stevens and Ainge. Without Ainge and his penchant for drafting guards, maybe they could actually get a big man. Stevens has had ample time and has accomplished nothing.
3 out of 4 ECFs. Ya they suck.
What playoffs….. Boston is done…..
Ainge deserves the criticism. Steven’s does not. Team lost more talent than it added and the bevy of draft picks used hasn’t produced an impactful player to replace what we lost. You lose Kyrie, Hayward, Rozier…it’s on the GM.