Category: Boston Celtics Blog

Celtics blog – Boston Celtics blog. A great Celtics news blog

Kemba Walker making progress in knee rehab

Celtics point guard Kemba Walker hasn’t played yet this season due to a knee issue, but it sounds like he’s making progress on a return. Via Boston.com:

“Honestly, I’m feeling pretty good right now,” Walker told reporters via Zoom on Thursday. “I know I did say I was feeling really good the last time before the bubble, which I was, but the timing in between just wasn’t really beneficial to me. But now, I am feeling really good, and the way I’m feeling right now is different from the way I felt before I went into the bubble. I’ve just been able to take my time, really just attack my rehab from Day 1.”

Walker originally eyed Friday’s game against the Orlando Magic as a potential return to action, but after a week without practice, the team ruled him out on Thursday. Still, Walker seems to be getting better, and he worked out with the team on Thursday according to Brad Stevens.

“He’s been able to continue to do his rehab in 1-on-1 settings,” Stevens said. “And his strengthening, his strengthening has gone fantastic. He’s put in a ton of work. He went full go today for an hour with us. We did not go live, but we did a lot of up and down, just trying to get our legs back in some ways with guys that haven’t done anything for a week, and he looked good. What that means, as far as next steps and playing and when he’ll play and all that stuff, that’s a decision for Kemba and our training staff.”

Magic vs. Celtics game scheduled for January 13, 2021 has been postponed

The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tomorrow between the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics at TD Garden has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.

Because of testing and contact tracing within the Celtics, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tomorrow’s game against Orlando.

NBA postpones two games for coronavirus reasons: Pelicans vs. Mavs, Celtics vs. Bulls

The NBA games scheduled for tonight between the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Arena and tomorrow between the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls at United Center have been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.

The NBA and NBPA will be meeting today about modifying the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.

The January 10, 2021 Heat vs. Celtics NBA game in Boston postponed for coronavirus safety reasons

The National Basketball Association game scheduled for tonight between the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics at TD Garden has been postponed in accordance with the league’s Health and Safety Protocols.

Because of ongoing contact tracing with the Heat, the team does not have the league-required eight available players to proceed with tonight’s game against the Celtics.

Jayson Tatum scores 40 in Celtics win over Raptors

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has much potential as any young star in the league. Here’s Boston.com on what he did to the Raptors yesterday:

The Boston Celtics put together an emphatic win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday, rolling over their Atlantic Division rivals in a 126-114 victory that was only close thanks to a garbage-time meltdown by the Celtics’ bench…

Jaylen Brown has been the Celtics’ star in the early going, but Tatum reminded everyone watching what he can do when he gets on track. Tatum has been dealing with an unprecedented amount of defensive attention — teams saw what he did last year and began blitzing and doubling him out of the pick-and-roll. That worked particularly well with multiple bigs in the game.

On Monday, however, the Celtics quickly went away from their starting double-big lineup which helped dig a 22-10 hole and never looked particularly effective as Toronto bombed away from 3-point range. As soon as Boston did, Tatum took over. He compiled 26 points in the first half, including 21 in the second quarter, en route to a 40-point night — just one point shy of his career-high.

No return date yet for Celtics guard Kemba Walker

The Celtics lost Gordon Hayward in free agency this offseason, and haven’t had starting point guard Kemba Walker in action yet. Via Boston.com:

Kemba Walker still doesn’t have a timeline to return to Celtics’ lineup as he recovers from a stem-cell injection in his left knee.

Walker received the experimental treatment in early October. Prior to the season, he told reporters the injection “definitely calmed my knee down a lot.” …

“No update that I’ve received, other than that he’s progressing,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said.

The Celtics enjoyed a win tonight, beating the Pacers 116-111. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown started in the backcourt, and Jayson Tatum, Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis in the frontcourt.

Celtics sign Jayson Tatum to contract extension

The Boston Celtics on Wednesday, November 25 signed All-Star forward Jayson Tatum to a contract extension.

According to the Boston Globe, “Tatum and the Celtics have agreed to a five-year, $195 million designated rookie max extension. The contract will begin during the 2021-22 season and it includes a player option in the fifth and final year.”

“Jayson has emerged as one of the best two-way players in the NBA through his first three seasons, and will continue to get better and better as a player and a leader,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “He possesses unique scoring and playmaking abilities, and has displayed exceptional poise and maturity in how he approaches the game. He’s someone who, at 22 years of age, will be a central figure to this organization’s championship aspirations for many years to come.”

“I am incredibly grateful to the Celtics organization, and the city of Boston for this opportunity,” said Tatum. “I love this city, this organization, and the best fans in the NBA. I plan on being here for a very long time.”

More from the Globe: “Tatum’s extension includes about $163 million in guaranteed salary as well as escalator clauses that will vault the figure to about $195 million if Tatum meets incentives. Rookie extensions can be for up to 25 percent of the salary cap, but Tatum will be eligible for 30 percent if he receives All-NBA honors or is named defensive player of the year this season.”

A first-time NBA All-Star in 2019-20, Tatum, 22, produced a team-high 23.4 points on 45.0% shooting (40.3% 3-PT) in just his third NBA season. The St. Louis, MO native added 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals in 66 games (all starts) to become the first Celtics player to register 23.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in a single season since Paul Pierce in 2003.

Tatum’s All-Star season resulted in his selection to the 2019-20 All-NBA Third Team, making him the second Celtics player in franchise history to receive All-NBA honors prior to his 23rd birthday.

Originally drafted by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Tatum has averaged 17.3 points (45.7% FG, 40.1% 3-PT, 82.9% FT), 6.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocked shots, and 31.8 minutes played in 225 career games (all starts) over three NBA seasons. The 22-year-old has improved his marks in scoring, rebounds, assists, and steals in each season since joining the professional ranks, and is the only player in NBA history to accumulate 3,900 points, 1,300 rebounds, and 400 3-point field goals through his first three seasons.

Celtics sign first round draft picks Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard

The Boston Celtics have signed 2020 first round draft picks Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard.

Selected 14th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft, Nesmith, a 6-6, 213-pound forward, produced career averages of 14.7 points (44.2% FG, 41.0% 3-PT, 82.5% FT), 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 31.0 minutes played in 46 collegiate games over two seasons at Vanderbilt University. The 21-year old thrived in limited action as a sophomore in 2019-20, averaging 23.0 points on 51.2% shooting – including a school-record 52.2% shooting mark from beyond the arc – to go along with 4.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.9 blocked shots, and 35.7 minutes in 14 games.

Nesmith knocked down at least seven three-point field goals in four of his 14 contests this past season, including a career-best eight threes against Southern Methodist University on Jan. 4. His 60 three-point field goals made (of 115) led the Commodores and ranked 10th in the Southeastern Conference.

Pritchard, a 6-2, 190-pound guard, was drafted 26th overall by Boston out of the University of Oregon, where he averaged 20.5 points (46.8% FG, 41.5% 3-PT, 82.1% FT), 4.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 36.6 minutes played across 31 games (all starts) as a senior in 2019-20. Named the Pacific 12 Conference Player of the Year and Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year award recipient this past season, Pritchard produced career highs in points, rebounds, and assists en route to being the University’s first consensus All-American since 1940.

A native Oregonian, Pritchard, 22, averaged 13.5 points on 43.7% shooting (37.9% 3-PT, 80.0% FT), 3.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.5 steals, and 33.7 minutes in 144 collegiate games (140 starts) across four seasons with the Ducks. He finished his collegiate career as the only player in Pac 12 conference history to tally at least 1,900 points, 500 rebounds, and 600 assists.

Nesmith will wear number 26 with the Celtics, and Pritchard will wear number 11.

Hornets and Gordon Hayward reportedly agree to contract

The Celtics are losing one of their key contributors to the Hornets in free agency. Here’s Boston.com:

The Celtics lost Gordon Hayward to the Hornets on Saturday, as the small forward reportedly agreed to a four-year, $120 million deal with Charlotte.

Even though Hayward spent much of his three seasons in Boston missing time due to injuries, his departure is still a hit to the team. After struggling to regain his All-Star form in the 2018-19 season, Hayward bounced back this past year. He averaged 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game, showing some signs of the player he was prior to the gruesome ankle injury he suffered in his first game as Celtic…

While Hayward’s $34.2 million max salary is off the books, the Celtics don’t gain another max slot with him leaving. Moreover, the Celtics are currently over the $109.1 salary cap for next season. The Celtics’ salary for next season currently sits at $109.28 million, which includes the cap holds of first-round draft picks Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard as well as restricted free agents Tacko Fall and Tremont Waters.

Boston Celtics City Edition uniforms for the 2020-21 NBA season

The Boston Celtics today unveiled their 2020-21 City Edition uniform, paying homage to the franchise’s illustrious history and championship-driven ethos.

CELTICS CITY EDITION UNIFORMS AS DESCRIBED BY THE TEAM

Designed to replicate the signature look of the franchise’s 17 NBA Championship banners, Boston’s City Edition uniform features a solid white base with green coloring projected on the wordmark, number, and taping. The wordmark, new to the Celtics uniform collection, features the font that appears on the banners that hang from the rafters in TD Garden, and includes the organization’s full ‘Boston Celtics’ name on the jersey for the first time ever. The green border on the jersey and shorts brings together the full uniform to project a re-imagined representation of a ‘banner’. To round out the look, an NBA logo also inspired by the team’s championship banners, is featured on the belt buckle of the shorts.

Recently announced as the team’s jersey patch partner, Vistaprint’s patch on the left shoulder features its wordmark in a unique nameplate, a nod to the iconic Celtics warmups from the 1980’s.

“A banner is created to celebrate and recognize a past accomplishment, and our 17 NBA Championship banners hanging in the rafters of TD Garden highlight what has been an incredible run of excellence throughout the franchise’s nearly 75-year history,” said Celtics Chief Marketing Officer Shawn Sullivan. “But while this uniform pays tribute to the past, it also symbolizes our always present championship-driven mindset, and we want our fans to share that mentality as we pursue Banner 18.”