- Jae Crowder remains on the shelf for the Celtics, and according to head coach Brad Stevens, the veteran forward is unlikely to return to the court for Boston until at least next Wednesday (link via A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com).
- The Celtics, who have been playing without top free agent acquistion Al Horford for the last four games, could make a lineup change, Mike Pedraglia of Greenstreet.weei.com relays. Horford isn’t expected to return for the team’s game against the Knicks Friday. Coach Brad Stevens said could break up the current lineup of Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jaylen Brown, Amir Johnson and Tyler Zeller. “We’ll give thought to lineup change,” Stevens told reporters. “We’ll make the right thing for our team. But the bottom line is the guys that are playing are going to play because of our numbers in some part.”
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Knicks have recalled guard Ron Baker and center Marshall Plumlee from Westchester, the club announced today (via Twitter). The duo participated in a D-League exhibition game on Wednesday against Brooklyn’s affiliate, with Baker scoring 26 points en route to a Knicks win.
- The Celtics have assigned rookie guard Demetrius Jackson to the Maine Red Claws, the club announced today (via Twitter). Like most assignments so far this season, Jackson’s will likely be a brief one, designed to get him some extra practice time.
- The Pelicans have assigned forward Cheick Diallo to the Austin Spurs via the flex assignment rule, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back.
- The Nets assigned forward Chris McCullough to the Long Island Nets, the club announced via press release. McCullough has appeared in three games for Brooklyn this season, averaging 0.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 5.7 minutes per game.
- Celtics center Kelly Olynyk is seeing his first action of the season in tonight’s game with the Wizards, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNMidAtlantic. This is the first time on the court since last year’s playoffs for Olynyk, who underwent surgery on his right shoulder in May. “He’s a good player,” coach Brad Stevens said. “He’s helped us win in the past. He brings a skillset on offense and an understanding on defense that will benefit us.” Boston has been shorthanded in the front court with Al Horford recovering from a concussion and Jae Crowder out for at least another week with a sprained ankle.
- Celtics general manager Danny Ainge admits that his team might have been a little overconfident heading into the regular season, acknowledging that the club needs to address or work around its issues with rim protection and interior defense, as Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald details. “We knew before the season that we don’t have the great rim protectors and we’re not a great defensive rebounding team,” Ainge said. “We have to win in other ways. We’re still trying to improve our team, and we know that we have some holes, but that’s not the reason why we’re not putting forth the effort that we need to, and I think that Sunday night, to me, rather than overreacting, is a good awakening for our players.” Boston suffered a 123-107 loss to Denver on Sunday.
- Celtics center Al Horford, who has missed three games after suffering a concussion in practice last week, has not shown much improvement and his return date still remains in question, Mike Petraglia of WEEI 93.7 FM writes. “He has not advanced in the protocol, based on what I’ve been told,” coach Brad Stevens said. “I have not gotten anything deeper than that but he did not do anything with our team today.”
- Now that Sixers power forward Nerlens Noel is assured of being a restricted free agent next summer, he could be a tempting target for the Celtics, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Washburn says the Boston front office has been fans of Noel for some time and likes the idea of pairing him with Al Horford.
- The Celtics decided against giving an extension to Kelly Olynyk because they want to see if he can stay healthy for a whole season and if he responds to having a defined role, Washburn notes in the same piece.
- The Celtics let R.J. Hunter go before the start of the season in part because of a crowded roster, but some of his former teammates in Boston believe he will develop as a sharpshooter if given the opportunity, Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald writes. Hunter signed with the Bulls in late October after the Celtics waived him. The 23-year-old appeared in 36 games for the Celtics last year and made several trips to the D-League.
Here are Friday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the league:
10:30pm:
- The Celtics announced via press release that Kelly Olynyk and Demetrius Jackson were assigned to the Maine Red Claws for practice purposes earlier today and later recalled to Boston by the team. Jackson has yet to see any regular season action in his rookie campaign, while Olynyk is still making his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.
11:32am:
- That was fast. After announcing this morning that they had assigned former first-round pick Bruno Caboclo to the D-League, the Raptors confirmed a few hours later that Caboclo has been recalled (Twitter links). The 21-year-old was briefly sent to the Raptors 905 to participate in today’s practice.
- A day after assigning him to the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz have recalled rookie forward Joel Bolomboy for their game tonight against the Spurs, the team announced in a press release.
- Some rival executives are “increasingly convinced” that the Nets are willing to trade Brook Lopez before this season’s trade deadline, writes Stein. At this point, Brooklyn is believed to be fielding calls, rather than making them — the club is doing its due diligence rather than shopping its standout center. Stein adds that rumblings about potential Boston interest in Lopez have been shot down by Celtics sources, though the ESPN scribe still believe the C’s are worth keeping an eye on.
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- Jae Crowder is now expected to be out for two weeks due to a sprained left ankle, per Celtics head coach Brad Stevens (link via Jay King of MassLive.com). Crowder’s absence likely won’t lead to a roster move for Boston, but it figures to result in increased roles for offseason additions like Jaylen Brown and Gerald Green for a couple weeks.
- In a piece for ESPN.com, Chris Forsberg details the unlikely path Isaiah Thomas took to become a potential franchise player for the Celtics, including a look back at the 2015 trade deadline, when a trade from Phoenix caught the young guard by surprise. “My agent was like, ‘There might be something, but it’s like a 10% chance,'” Thomas said, referring to a conversation he had shortly before that 2015 deadline. “And he didn’t even bring up Boston.”