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Celtics Notes: Walker, Hayward, Brown, Waters

November 29th, 2019 at 11:31am CST by Arthur Hill

Kemba Walker didn’t find it remarkable that he was able to be a difference maker in Wednesday’s win over the Nets five days after spraining his neck, relays Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Walker scored 39 points and explained afterward that he recovered quickly from an injury that many feared was serious.

“I’ve been over it,” he said. “I mean, I could have played last game, honestly. But if I’m on the court, I’m on the court. That’s really it. I wasn’t out there thinking about anything. I wanted to win.”

Walker refused to get into the controversy involving Kyrie Irving, who was the target of chants throughout the game even though he wasn’t with his team because of an injured shoulder. Walker appreciated “MVP” support from Celtics‘ fans, but refused to say anything bad about the man he replaced in the Boston backcourt.

“I don’t really pay attention to the Kyrie stuff,” he said. “That’s just the fans and how they feel. That’s not something I’m really paying close attention to. And of course the MVP chants are really great. It’s always a great feeling to have support from your fan base, and I most definitely appreciate this fan base.”

There’s more from Boston:

Nearly three weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand, Gordon Hayward feels ahead of schedule in his recovery, tweets A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. A timetable hasn’t been set for Hayward, who was projected to be sidelined for six weeks after having surgery November 11. He participated in shooting drills earlier this week, tweets Nicole Yang of The Boston Globe.
Jaylen Brown has raised his game in the wake of Hayward’s injury, Blakely writes in a full story. Brown, who received a four-year extension last month, has averaged 19.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per night since Hayward got hurt. “We have a next-man-up mentality around here,” Brown said. “When someone goes down, it’s an opportunity for someone else to step up. Some nights, it’s gonna be me. Other nights, it might be someone else. The thing is, you just have to make sure you stay ready and when your time comes, make the most of it. That’s basically what I’m trying to do when I’m out there; do whatever I can to help the team win.”
Tremont Waters admits being nervous during his NBA debut Monday, relays Tom Westerholm of MassLive. Despite shooting 2-of-7, Waters had a plus-20 rating for the game. “It’s a surreal feeling,” he said. “Kids dream of this moment, and to be able to be in this position, to go from the G League, obviously I’m working on my game, to come to the NBA level and to help the team actually get a win definitely feels good, but I’m not satisfied with it. Just got to keep working and everything else will definitely play itself out.”

Kyrie To Miss Celtics Rematch; Fall Sidelined With Bone Bruise

November 28th, 2019 at 7:11pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing Wednesday’s game in Boston, Nets point guard Kyrie Irving has also been ruled out of Friday’s rematch with the Celtics in Brooklyn, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post writes. Irving, who continues to deal with a right shoulder impingement, will miss his eighth consecutive game as a result of the injury.

The Nets and Celtics face one another four times this season, but the next two games won’t take place until after the All-Star break. Irving’s first opportunity to play his old team will be on March 3, when the Nets travel to Boston again for a prime-time showdown on TNT.

The Nets did get some good injury news on Thursday, as the team announced that center DeAndre Jordan has been listed as probable for Friday’s game vs. the Celtics after missing Brooklyn’s last two contests.

Celtics rookie big man Tacko Fall was diagnosed with a right knee bone bruise this week while playing for the Maine Red Claws, Boston’s G League affiliate (Twitter link). Fall is off to a good start in Maine, with 15.0 PPG, 10.8 RPG, and 2.7 BPG in six games (24.0 MPG), but he’ll miss at least the next week or two, according to the team.

Kyrie Irving Hears Boston Heckling From Miles Away

November 28th, 2019 at 1:37pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Kyrie Irving didn’t make the trip to Boston on Wednesday as his team took on the Celtics. Despite his absence, the TD Garden was filled with anti-Irving chants and the streets of Boston were filled with posters calling the point guard a coward. Irving heard the heckling from miles away.

“It happens all the time and Tonight just shows how Sports/Entertainment will always be ignorant and obtrusive,” Irving wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “It’s one big SHOW that means very little in the real world,” Irving posted on social media (via Brian Lewis of the New York Post).

The Celtics will take on the Nets again on Friday (in Brooklyn this time) and Irving, who is nursing a shoulder injury, has a chance to play in that matchup. While he won’t get a chance to see many of his former fans, he will get a chance to connect with old teammates and his former coach Brad Stevens, who defended the point guard before Wednesday’s contest.

“That’s one of the things that, unfortunately, when you’re really, really good at something, the level of scrutiny is even higher,” Stevens said. “He’s one of the best players in the NBA. The level of scrutiny is unfair, but it comes with the territory of all those guys. That’s why it’s so important that we constantly remind ourselves of how good they are.”

Walker Makes Everyone Happy

November 27th, 2019 at 7:14pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kemba Walker‘s upbeat personality has made the Celtics’ locker room a happier place, Tim Bontemps of ESPN notes. Walker returned to action on Wednesday after recovering from a neck sprain. “I’m really just being myself,” he says. “I’m really just genuinely happy for guys and my teammates. I love when guys have success. I’ve had a lot of success in my career, and I want guys to have great success.”

Central Notes: Mykhailiuk, Pistons, Irving, McConnell

November 27th, 2019 at 5:18pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons second-year small forward Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk is showing more effort on the defensive end and he’s getting more playing time as a result, Keith Langlois of the team’s website details. He scored a season-high 12 points in 22 minutes on Monday against Orlando and also cooled down Terrence Ross in the second half.

“We know who Svi is offensively, but his major challenge has been the defensive end,” Pistons head coach Dwane Casey said. “He still made a lot of mistakes (Monday), but he made up for it with hard play, compete, just being into Ross. … He was being physical, trying to get into Ross. Two weeks ago, he wouldn’t have been touching him. That’s a big first step for him.”

The Pistons hold a $1,663,861 team option on Mykhailiuk’s contract next season.

We have more from the Central Division:

The win over the Magic was the beginning of a crucial stretch that could determine the future of the Pistons franchise, James Edwards of The Athletic writes. They could become sellers at the trade deadline and hit the reset button if things don’t turn around soon, Edwards notes.
While Kyrie Irving‘s stint with the Celtics ended badly, Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson has only good things to say about his former teammate, according to Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “My brother. Great teammate,” Thompson said. “At the end of the day, if I’m going to go to war, need a dog (who) can go and hoop I’m definitely going to put him on my team. I mean, the chatter is for you guys to talk about. Teams lose a couple of games and they say the same things about us — what’s going on and blah blah blah. It’s just chatter. At the end of the day, when that untucked Kyrie jersey is out everyone is scared.”
Pacers guard T.J. McConnell has averaged 11 PPG and 6.7 APG over the last six games and has gained a spot in the rotation, Nathan Brown of the Indianapolis Star writes. McConnell could be playing for his contract next season, as the team holds a $3.5MM option. “We knew coming in he was going to push our guards and compete for minutes, and he knew what his role was going to be,” coach Nate McMillan said. “But he’s earned the right to be out there.”

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/26/19

November 26th, 2019 at 9:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Here are Tuesday’s assignments and recalls from around the G League:

The Celtics have assigned Tremont Waters to the Maine Red Claws, according to the team’s Twitter feed. Waters was selected in the second round of the 2019 draft.
Jonah Bolden and Zhaire Smith are back with the Delaware Blue Coats, per Derek Bodner of The Athletic (Twitter link). The Sixers recalled the pair for the team’s trip to Toronto earlier this week.
The Wolves have assigned Jaylen Nowell to the Iowa Wolves, according to the team’s Twitter feed. The shooting guard has appeared in two games for Minnesota this season, seeing a total of 15 minutes with the club.
Caleb Martin and Jalen McDaniels are heading back to the Hornets, the team announced on Twitter. The recall concludes Martin’s fourth stint with the Greensboro Swarm and McDaniels’ third.

Danny Ainge Discusses Lessons Learned From 2018/19 Celtics

November 26th, 2019 at 5:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The 2018/19 Celtics came into the season with high hopes of competing for the Eastern Conference crown. Instead, the team underachieved and president of basketball operations Danny Ainge wishes he would have made more changes and cleared certain logjams on the depth chart.

“I think that in hindsight, we should have cleaned out the roster a little bit to make it easier for [coach] Brad [Stevens], more joy for him to coach,” Ainge told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols.

Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward re-joining a young squad that had just reached the Eastern Conference Finals caused a disruption of sorts within the organization. Younger players felt like they had already accomplished more than they had and reinserting the veterans into the rotation—giving both top roles—caused a rift.

“It just didn’t mesh,” Ainge said. “You know, it just didn’t, and I knew, and we talked about it.”

Ainge said that he didn’t make any major trades because the team got off to a nice start, winning 37 games before the All-Star break. This year’s Celtics are again off a hot start with the team winning 12 of their first 16 games.

In reference to last year’s team. Ainge admitted that he would be “a little bit more careful … building another team that had such equal depth” while also making it clear that Irving should not be scapegoated as the problem in Boston last season.

“I think it’s silly that Kyrie is targeted as the guy just because he’s not with us this year,” said Ainge, who thinks he was also part of the problem. “I’ll blame all the players and I’ll blame myself, and we’ll go from there.”

Marcus Smart Opens Up About Kyrie Irving

November 26th, 2019 at 9:15am CST by Arthur Hill

Kyrie Irving didn’t officially leave the Celtics until July, but he started withdrawing from his teammates long before then, Marcus Smart tells Jay King of The Athletic. Smart offers a look inside what was frequently portrayed as a dysfunctional locker room last season as Boston failed to meet lofty expectations.

“It’s not that we didn’t know how to act (around him),” Smart said. “It’s that we didn’t know how he was going to act. We didn’t know what his moods were and we didn’t know what Kyrie was going through. And that made it tough on us because if somebody’s going through something in their life and you don’t really know what it is, it’s kind of hard to see what’s wrong with him, it’s kind of hard to (provide) some help. It’s not against Kyrie, it’s just a defense mechanism as a human being you have. And he wasn’t here long enough to really be able to open up the way he probably wanted to, and it probably got to him a little bit.”

Smart’s comments come before Irving and the Nets are scheduled to make their first trip of the season to Boston tomorrow night. Irving, who is sidelined with a shoulder impingement, won’t play and may not be in the building, but King notes that the memory of his two years with the Celtics will affect the franchise for years to come.

The toxic atmosphere played a role in Al Horford‘s decision to opt out of his contract and sign with the Sixers. The loss of Irving and Horford cost the Celtics any chance to make a play for Anthony Davis after years of building up assets. Davis can opt out of his current deal next summer and wouldn’t consider re-signing in Boston unless he was surrounded by star power.

The height of Irving’s popularity with Celtics fans came at an event for season ticket holders last October when he promised to re-sign with the team. But he slowly walked back those comments throughout the year as the Celtics underachieved and he was frequently seen as the cause.

Boston entered last season as heavy favorites to win the East based on the strong playoff performance of young players like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, who reached the conference finals the previous year while Irving and Gordon Hayward were sidelined with injuries. But there was an uneasy balance as those players weren’t always willing to take a back seat with the two stars returning.

Irving didn’t help matters with comments to the press about the difficulty of managing “the young guys.” He admitted during Brooklyn’s media day in September that he failed the Celtics as a leader and said the death of his grandfather last October affected him emotionally.

“A lot of basketball and the joy I had from it was sucked away from me,” Irving said. “There was a facial expression that I carried around with me throughout the year. Didn’t allow anyone to get close to me in that instance, and it really bothered me.”

A pivotal part of the year came after the Celtics took a 1-0 lead over the Bucks in the Eastern semifinals after sweeping the Pacers in the first round. A witness tells King that Irving “disconnected” from the team at a voluntary practice the next day, sitting by himself in the stands while his teammates worked on the court. He shot 30.1% for the rest of the series as Boston was eliminated in five games.

The Celtics moved on quickly from Irving once he made his free agent decision. They reached a deal with Kemba Walker and started to rebuild the team-first culture that coach Brad Stevens has always emphasized. The result, according to sources inside the organization, is a much more positive and relaxed atmosphere.

“We don’t have to worry about doing stuff on our own,” Smart said. “We don’t have to worry about being in our own minds and just think it. We can actually talk. Last year, everybody didn’t know what to say. They didn’t know if they could speak, if they could speak to anybody, or somebody, or a group, and they didn’t know how the reaction would go. It was just different. This year is different. Everybody’s not holding anything in. If we have anything to say, we’re saying it and we’re moving on from it.”

Kemba Walker Expected To Practice Tuesday

November 25th, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Kemba Walker is expected to return to practice on Tuesday after passing a battery of tests for his neck sprain, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston tweets.

The Celtics point guard was injured when he collided with teammate Semi Ojeleye in Denver on Friday. Walker, one of the top free agents on the market this past summer, was taken off the court in a stretcher and transported to a local hospital.

Team physician Tony Schena said Walker experienced numbness and tingling after his collision but never lost consciousness. After going to a Level 1 trauma center, Walker had a full neurological evaluation, including a full set of X-rays. That was followed by an MRI and a special set of X-rays to ensure all motion was intact and everything was normal, according Schena.

“Essentially, he has no significant structural damage to the bony architecture of his neck or the soft tissue around his neck,” Schena said.

The news is good not only for the Celtics but the league. Walker, one of the league’s most popular players, has been a major part of Boston’s hot start, averaging 22.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 4.8 APG. Walker signed a four-year, max deal with the Celtics early in free agency.

Kemba Walker Collides With Teammate, Has Neck Sprain

November 24th, 2019 at 12:12pm CST by Dana Gauruder

NOVEMBER 24: Tim Bontemps of ESPN reports that Walker’s injury, incurred in his collision with Ojeleye in a Nuggets game on Friday, has been ruled a neck sprain. Bontempts reports that Walker has been listed as doubtful for tomorrow’s tilt against the Kings.

Bontemps relayed that Boston head coach Brad Stevens mentioned that Walker might be able to play through the pain, but preached caution: “Head injuries and neck injuries are scary. That’s why he’s doubtful to be honest.”

NOVEMBER 22: Kemba Walker, one of the prizes of this summer’s free agent class, has concussion-like symptoms after colliding with teammate Semi Ojeleye, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Early indications are that Walker did not suffer a serious injury, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Walker has been transported to a Denver area hospital for further evaluation, the team’s PR department tweets.

Walker was injured in the first half of Friday’s game against the Nuggets while trying to make a steal. He had his head down trying to control the ball and banged into Ojeleye’s mid-section. He was taken off on a stretcher.

Walker has been a major part of Boston’s hot start, averaging 22.6 PPG, 4.9 RPG and 4.8 APG. Walker signed a four-year, max deal with the Celtics early in free agency.

If he needs to miss multiple games, Marcus Smart, Brad Wanamaker and rookie Carsen Edwards could all receive increased minutes.