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Celtics Notes: Fournier, R. Williams, Thompson, Irving

May 22nd, 2021 at 7:30pm CST by Arthur Hill

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.

Robert Williams Misses Friday's Practice

May 21st, 2021 at 6:31pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics big man Robert Williams sat out Friday’s practice due to a turf toe injury, Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets. However, he’s expected to play in Game 1 against Brooklyn, sources told Shams Charania of Stadium (video link). Williams saw 14 minutes of action in the play-in victory over Washington.

Latest On NBA’s Lottery Standings, Draft Order

May 21st, 2021 at 8:02am CST by Luke Adams

On Monday, we took an in-depth look at what we knew about the NBA’s 2021 draft lottery standings and projected draft order so far based on the regular season standings, and what was still to be determined based on play-in results, random tiebreakers, and the lottery results.

With the play-in tournament nearly over, we can fill in a few more gaps. Let’s dive in…

Lottery standings

Having been eliminated from playoff contention, the Pacers will be at No. 13 in the lottery standings, giving them a 1% chance at the first overall pick and a 4.8% shot at a top-five selection, per Tankathon.

A tiebreaker will be necessary to determine whether the Spurs or Hornets get the edge in the lottery standings, but they’ll occupy the Nos. 11 and 12 spots in the lottery standings. The winner of the tiebreaker – to be conducted next Tuesday – will have a slightly higher chance of earning the first overall pick (1.8% to 1.7%) and a top-four pick (8.5% to 8.0%).

The No. 14 spot in the lottery will be held by the loser of Friday’s Warriors/Grizzlies play-in game.

Draft order

Having clinched playoff spots, the Wizards and Celtics will draft 15th and 16th, respectively, in the first round.

The winner of tonight’s Warriors/Grizzlies play-in game will draft 17th, while the Lakers will be part of a Tuesday tiebreaker to determine their exact position — they could draft as high as 21st and as low as 23rd.

If the Lakers had missed the postseason, teams like the Heat, Knicks, and Hawks each would have been pushed down one spot in the draft. Since L.A. made it, those teams will stay put, starting with Miami at No. 18.

Notable traded second-round picks

On Monday, we focused on what would happen with 2021’s traded first-round picks. So many of this year’s second-round picks have been traded that we’re not going to run through all of them in this space (you can check our tracker for the full details), but here are a few notable second-round swaps worth flagging:

The Pacers traded their second-round pick to the Nets with 45-60 protection. Because Indiana’s second-rounder is going to land at No. 44, that pick will be sent to Brooklyn rather than being protected.

The Bulls, who will be involved in a first-round tiebreaker with the Pelicans (and Kings) to determine their spots in the lottery standings, also have the ability to swap second-round picks with New Orleans. In the event of a random tiebreaker, the second-round order is always the inverse of the first-round order — for instance, if Team A wins a first-round tiebreaker over Team B, then Team B would get the higher pick in the second round. But in this case, the Bulls could win the first-round tiebreaker, then use their second-round swap to make sure they pick ahead of the Pelicans in both rounds.

Because the Warriors‘ first-round pick will fall in the top 20, Golden State will keep it and will instead have to send the Timberwolves’ second-round pick to the Thunder to complete last year’s Kelly Oubre trade. That pick will be No. 36.

The Suns had agreed to send their second-round pick to the Grizzlies if it landed between 31-35 and to the Nets if it landed between 36-60. It’ll go to Brooklyn, since it’s the No. 59 overall selection. Memphis is simply out of luck, as Phoenix’s obligation to the Grizzlies is now extinguished.

The Bucks will get the first pick of the second round (No. 31), since the Rockets have the ability to swap their second-rounder for Milwaukee’s first-rounder (No. 24).

Other early second-round picks that will change hands include the Pistons‘ No. 32 pick (to the Knicks), the Cavaliers‘ pick at either No. 34 or 35 (to the Pelicans), and the Raptors‘ No. 37 pick (to the Pistons).

Robert Williams Day-To-Day With Toe Injury

May 20th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics big man Robert Williams is considered day-to-day due to his nagging toe injury, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Williams didn’t practice today and head coach Brad Stevens doesn’t expect him to return to practice on Friday either.

Woj: Stevens' Job Never In Jeopardy

May 19th, 2021 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams

Even before the Celtics won their play-in game on Tuesday, the idea that Brad Stevens‘ job might be in any jeopardy was “just not accurate,” despite the team’s up-and-down season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (video link).

Poll: Eastern Conference Play-In Games

May 17th, 2021 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s 2021 play-in tournament will tip off on Tuesday night, when the No. 9 Pacers face the No. 10 Hornets in Indiana, followed by the No. 7 Celtics hosting the No. 8 Wizards in Boston.

By the end of the night, one team – either Boston or Washington – will have secured the No. 7 seed, earning a first-round date with the Nets. And one team – either Indiana or Charlotte – will be eliminated from postseason contention altogether.

The Pacers/Hornets matchup would be a little more intriguing if both teams were at full strength. Unfortunately, the Pacers will be without one of their top scorers (T.J. Warren) and are expected to be missing their defensive anchor (Myles Turner) as well. The Hornets, meanwhile, have gotten a little healthier as of late, but still don’t have their $120MM man (Gordon Hayward) available.

That doesn’t mean Indiana and Charlotte can’t play an entertaining game though. LaMelo Ball will be looking to put the finishing touches on a Rookie of the Year caliber season, while Nate Bjorkgren may be coaching for his job. Neither team will want its season to come to an end on Tuesday.

As for the headlining contest of the night, the fact that the Wizards are even involved in this game is pretty incredible. Washington started off the season with a 6-17 record and was 17-32 in early April. Since then, the team has reeled off 17 wins in 23 games, securing the No. 8 spot for the play-in tournament and looking a whole lot more dangerous as of late than the reeling Celtics.

The Celtics made the Eastern Conference Finals last season and entered the year with the aspirations of making another deep playoff run. It has been an up-and-down season in Boston though, and it has been trending down as of late. The C’s finished the season by losing nine of their last 13 games, and their only four wins in that stretch came against sub-.500 teams. With Jaylen Brown out for the season, the club will be shorthanded as it looks to secure a playoff spot.

Still, while the Wizards aren’t missing any top players, Bradley Beal continues to deal with a hamstring injury and isn’t at 100% entering the play-in tournament, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN writes. If the Eastern Conference’s leading scorer doesn’t look like his usual self, it may be an uphill battle for the Wizards to pick up a win in Boston.

We want to know what you think. Which teams will win the two Eastern Conference play-in games on Tuesday? Make your picks in the polls below, then head to the comment section to weigh in on which club will win Thursday’s play-in game to claim the No. 8 seed.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on Pacers/Hornets.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote on Celtics/Wizards.

Kevin Garnett Wishes He Joined Celtics Sooner

May 14th, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by JD Shaw

Celtics legend Kevin Garnett wishes that he joined the team sooner, he said during his Hall of Fame induction speech on Friday. “My only regret in any of this was that I should have came to Boston a little earlier. Other than that, it was magical,” Garnett said, as relayed by Taylor Snow of Celtics.com (video link). Garnett ultimately joined the team via trade in July of 2007.

Celtics Notes: Ainge, Fournier, Brown, Tatum

May 14th, 2021 at 9:58am CST by Arthur Hill

A disappointing season usually leads to changes, and Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge confirmed that’s what the organization has in mind, relays Tom Westerholm of Boston.com. In an appearance Thursday on the Toucher and Rich radio show, Ainge talked about shaking up the team this summer.

“I think that we will definitely be looking to make some changes in the offseason,” Ainge said. “Obviously can’t go into any of those kind of details. But yeah, there will be changes. How significant? I don’t know yet. We’ll see.”

The Celtics are 35-35 and locked into the seventh spot in the East, but coach Brad Stevens’ job remains safe, as Ainge called him a “fantastic” coach who is “getting better, not worse.” Ainge also indicated that the changes he has in mind won’t involve the team’s best players.

There’s more from Boston:

The Celtics’ most important decision this offseason will involve free agent guard Evan Fournier, Westerholm adds in the same story. Fournier was acquired from the Magic at the trade deadline and has been productive after overcoming a case of COVID-19. Boston gave up multiple second-round picks, center Daniel Theis and a valuable trade exception to acquire Fournier, so management is expected to make a strong effort to keep him. The Celtics own his Bird rights and can go over the salary cap to re-sign him, but that could create a huge tax bill for next season. Westerholm suggests Marcus Smart or Kemba Walker might be moved if Fournier stays in Boston.
Jaylen Brown talked to teammate Jayson Tatum before deciding to undergo season-ending wrist surgery, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Tatum’s advice was for Brown to make the best decision for his long-term health.
In his re-draft grades for 2020, Chad Ford of The NBA’s Big Board gives the Celtics credit for landing Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard in the first round, but says they could have benefited from taking Saddiq Bey, who was still on the board at No. 14.

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Undergoes Wrist Surgery

May 13th, 2021 at 1:57pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown has undergone successful scapholunate reconstruction surgery, the team announced in a press release. Brown went under the knife on Wednesday, according to the Celtics.

Brown, who had already been ruled out for the rest of the 2020/21 season, is expected to resume basketball activities in about three months, the club added in its statement. The C’s intend to provide further updates on Brown’s recovery as appropriate, but it sounds like he should be ready to go for training camp in the fall.

Prior to tearing the scapholunate ligament in his wrist, Brown had his best season as a pro, averaging 24.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in 58 contests (34.5 MPG). The 24-year-old put up career-best shooting marks of .484/.397/.764 and played strong perimeter defense, earning his first All-Star nod.

While Brown’s injury is a devastated blow to the Celtics’ chance of making a run in the playoffs, the good news for the team is that Brown is locked up for three additional seasons beyond 2020/21 on relatively team-friendly terms (less than the max). He won’t be eligible for free agency until 2024.

Injury Updates: Lakers, Nets, Hornets, Pelicans, Mavs, C’s

May 12th, 2021 at 3:10pm CST by Luke Adams

The NBA’s injury report is of particular interest this week in the regular season’s final days, as we wait to see which players may or may not be available for teams fighting for playoff positioning.

A pair of big-market superstars, LeBron James and James Harden, are said to be targeting Wednesday returns for the Lakers and Nets, respectively. James has been listed as questionable by the Lakers, while Harden is probable for Brooklyn.

Each of those teams also has another star player whose status for Wednesday’s games is up in the air. Lakers big man Anthony Davis is questionable due to left adductor tightness, while Kyrie Irving is questionable due to the facial contusion he suffered on Tuesday.

The Nets hold the No. 2 seed in the East and the Lakers are hosting a Houston team that is 5-43 since February 4, so neither club should feel a ton of urgency to push its stars back into action if they’re not quite ready.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Hornets forward Miles Bridges, out since May 2 due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, has a chance to return this weekend, head coach James Borrego said today. However, Borrego’s responses to questions about Gordon Hayward‘s foot injury made it sound as if Hayward may not be ready for the play-in tournament, says Rod Boone of SI.com (Twitter links). Hayward hasn’t played since April 2.
The Pelicans need a win tonight in Dallas to remain in the hunt for a play-in spot, but they’ll be missing a number of key players, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN tweets. Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Steven Adams all remain out, and Lonzo Ball (right thumb) will join them on the sidelines.
Mavericks guard J.J. Redick, who left Tuesday’s game with right heel soreness, will also miss Wednesday’s game vs. New Orleans, writes Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News.
The Celtics, who appear likely to finish the regular season at No. 7 in the East, will be without Kemba Walker (left knee) and Marcus Smart (right calf) on Wednesday in Cleveland, notes Tom Withers of The Associated Press. Jaylen Brown has already been ruled out for the season, and Robert Williams remains on the shelf as well.