Category: Boston Celtics Blog

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Celtics foward Gordon Hayward discusses his ankle injury

The Celtics will be without forward Gordon Hayward for around four weeks due to a bad ankle sprain. The key forward spoke on the injury today. Here’s the Boston Herald on it:

“It’s definitely gutting, it sucks. There’s nothing else to say about that,” said Hayward. “It’s definitely frustrating, it doesn’t feel great at the moment. Just try to get better as soon as I can.”

Hayward said he knew as soon as he sustained the injury that it was serious. His awareness towards severe injuries will forever be heightened in the aftermath of the gruesome broken left ankle he suffered in his first game as a Celtic on opening night in 2017.

“I heard it and felt it and knew it wasn’t just your casual rolled ankle,” he said. “It was swollen by the time I was leaving the court, so I knew it was definitely worse than normal. As far as timeline, it’s kind of up in the air. I think it’s kind of just how my body responds to the rehab and all that stuff.

“Maybe I could use some Disney magic to help me get better.”

The Celtics are looking good in the first round, currently up 2-0 in their series against a Sixers team that is without Ben Simmons and looking vulnerable.

Sixers look bad in Game 2 loss to Celtics

On Wednesday, the Celtics put up a convincing 128-101 Game 2 win against the Sixers to take a 2-0 first round playoff series lead.

NBC Sports Philly:

The Sixers were up against the odds heading into their first round matchup against the Celtics. No Ben Simmons, a team that failed to gel all year long, and tough recent postseason history against the Celtics? Not ideal.

But no one could’ve predicted the absolutely listless effort they put forth on Wednesday night in the second game of the series.

After taking a double-digit lead in the first quarter, the Sixers were outscored by 29 points in the second and third quarters combined, and looked more like a lottery team than a playoff participant. The Celtics got whatever they wanted, and the Sixers looked helpless.

In the win for the Celtics, Jayson Tatum hit 8-of-12 from three-point range in finishing with 33 points, five rebounds and five assists. Kemba Walker scored 22 points. Jaylen Brown added 20, plus five rebounds.

For the Sixers, Joel Embiid put up 34 points and 10 rebounds. Josh Richardson scored 18. Tobias Harris grabbed 11 rebounds, but shot just 4-of-15 for 13 points.

Al Horford, coming off the bench, was not a factor.

A huge difference was three-point shooting. The Celtics hit 19-of-32, while the Sixers only hit 5-of-21.

Philly is without Ben Simmons, while Boston is missing Gordon Hayward.

Celtics sign head coach Brad Stevens to contract extension

The Boston Celtics have signed head coach Brad Stevens to a contract extension.

Per the Boston Globe, “Stevens signed a six-year, $22 million deal with Boston in July 2013, and in 2016 signed a three-year extension that was set to expire following the 2020-21 season. Terms of the latest extension were not disclosed.”

Stevens, who was named the franchise’s 17th head coach on July 3, 2013, has produced a 318-245 win-loss record (.565) in six-plus seasons with the Celtics. His 318 wins are the fourth-most by any Celtics coach in franchise history (795-Auerbach, 427-Heinsohn, 416-Rivers).

“Brad is an accomplished coach and an outstanding person,” said Boston Celtics Lead Owner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck. “We are proud to have him lead our team forward in our quest for Banner 18.”

“We are thrilled that Brad Stevens will continue to be our coach,” said Boston Celtics Co-Owner Steve Pagliuca. “He has become one of the best coaches in the NBA, and is a real leader on and off the court. This is a great day for the Boston Celtics.”

“Brad is one of the most intelligent and hard-working coaches in the game today,” said Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “More importantly, his character and integrity have contributed to a culture that we all highly value here. Brad is a great teammate, and a leader people want to follow. We are honored to have him with us as we continue to pursue our next championship.”

With Stevens at the helm, the Celtics are poised for their sixth consecutive playoff appearance in 2019-20, marking the franchise’s longest such streak since doing so from 2007-08 to 2012-13. Stevens helped guide the Celtics to back-to-back trips to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016-17 and 2017-18, marking the first time since the 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons that the organization has reached the Conference Finals in consecutive seasons.

Stevens, 43, has been named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month three times in his seven seasons with the Celtics, making him one of two coaches to earn three such honors with the franchise. The Zionsville, Indiana native also served as the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Star team for the 2017 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans, Louisiana, to become the seventh coach in franchise history to hold such a role (Auerbach, Fitch, Ford, Heinsohn, Jones, Rivers).

Currently in his seventh campaign with the Celtics, Stevens has notched multiple milestones during the 2019-20 season. He became just the fifth coach in franchise history to reach the 300-win mark with a victory at Orlando on January 24, and surpassed K.C. Jones (308 wins) for the fourth-most wins on the franchise ledger with a victory at Minnesota on February 21.

In EuroLeague news, Jordan Mickey signs with Khimki Moscow Region

Here’s Euroleague.net reporting on Jordan Mickey:

Khimki Moscow Region and center Jordan Mickey are together again after the sides put pen to paper on a new one-year contract on Tuesday. Mickey (2.03 meters, 25 years old) arrives from Real Madrid, where he averaged 9.0 points on 67.7% two-point shooting, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 26 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games last season. He also helped Los Blancos win the Spanish Copa del Rey title.

Mickey played briefly in the NBA between 2015-18, suiting up for the Celtics and Heat, for a career average of 2.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game.

With knee health in mind, Celtics being cautious with Kemba Walker

NBA play has been on hold since March 11, but the Celtics are still playing it safe with Kemba Walker, whose knee had been giving him issues before the shutdown. Over four months have since passed, but the team is still being cautious. Here’s the Boston Herald reporting:

For now, it sounds a lot like the regular season, when rest and maintenance for the point guard’s balky left knee was a focus after the All-Star break.

As such, Walker is on what Brad Stevens calls a one-day on, one-day off schedule, with him missing Wednesday’s practice. Instead, Walker ran through an intense session on Tuesday when the rest of the team was off.

“He did a harder workout on the off-day, so they’ve got him on a one-day off, one-day on plan,” said the Celtics coach. “He did a lot of running yesterday, shooting. He’s shooting a little bit right now. He’s reacted great, his knee feels good, and that’s a good thing. He’s really prioritizing accumulating strength in that knee, so the day-on, day-off thing will be in effect for awhile.”

The Bucks were looking like the best team in the Eastern conference (and NBA) this season prior to play stoppage, but the Celtics are one of seelct few teams that should be able to put up a serious battle should they meet Milwaukee in the playoffs. It’s definitely a concern that Kemba’s knee might still be an issue.

Celtics face big test very early in NBA restart schedule

Here’s the Boston Herald reporting what Celtics coach Brad Stevens’ had to say on a big test the team will face right on Day 2 of the upcoming NBA restart:

Practice two days ago was long and hard, and Monday in Orlando the rust came out.

But in terms of scheduling, the bubble gods gave the Celtics something meaty to aim for — a July 31 game against Milwaukee to kick off the seeding schedule.

The best team in the east is a welcome opening opponent.

“Me personally, you’re always preparing to play the next game and to win the next game and that’s it. Then you fall where you fall and you play,” said coach Brad Stevens…

“I like playing Milwaukee first because they challenge you in so many different ways. When you think about their defense being as elite as it is and their offense being as fast and spread out as it is, we’re going to find out a lot about ourselves on July 31.”

Celtics seeding games schedule starts July 31 vs Bucks

The Boston Celtics will open its slate of eight “seeding games” against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, July 31, after the NBA and the NBPA announced today a finalized comprehensive plan for a restart to the 2019-20 NBA season inside a single-site campus at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.

As part of the agreement, remaining games for all 22 teams involved in the season’s resumption will be held at a trio of Walt Disney World Resort facilities – The Arena, the HP Field House and Visa Athletic Center at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex – with no fans in attendance.

The restart will begin with each participating team playing eight “seeding games”, as selected from its remaining regular-season matchups. All eight of Boston’s games, which range from July 31 through August 13, will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Boston. Six of those eight contests are currently scheduled to air on National Television (ABC, ESPN, TNT).

At 43-21, the Celtics boast the fifth-best record throughout the NBA in 2019-20.

UPDATED CELTICS “SEEDING GAMES” SCHEDULE FOR DISNEY:

July 31: Milwaukee (A)
August 2: Portland (H)
August 4: Miami (A)
August 5: Brooklyn (H)
August 7: Toronto (A)
August 9: Orlando (H)
August 11: Memphis (A)
August 13: Washington (H)

Red Claws guard Tremont Waters wins 2019-20 G League Rookie of Year award

Maine Red Claws guard Tremont Waters has been named the 2019-20 NBA G League Rookie of the Year, the G League announced today. The award, voted on by the league’s 28 head coaches and general managers, recognizes the first-year professional who most significantly contributed to his team’s success during the season.

Waters (5-10, 175, LSU), a two-way player with the Boston Celtics, averaged 18.0 points, 7.3 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.89 steals in 36 games for Maine. He ranked sixth in the NBA G League in assists per game and 14th in steals per game. Waters registered 10 games with at least 20 points and seven assists, including a season-high 33-point, seven-assist performance in a 155-131 road win over the Greensboro Swarm on Nov. 27.

Behind the 22-year-old Waters, the Red Claws finished in third place in the Eastern Conference with a 28-14 record. Waters was named the NBA G League Player of the Month for November and earned a spot on the 2019-20 Midseason All-NBA G League Team in the Eastern Conference.

Boston selected Waters in the second round (51st pick overall) of NBA Draft 2019 presented by State Farm after he averaged 15.3 points, 5.8 assists and 2.91 steals as a sophomore at LSU in the 2018-19 season. Signed to a two-way contract last July, Waters has appeared in 10 games with the Celtics this season.

Waters is the fourth Maine player to be selected as the NBA G League Rookie of the Year, joining Abdel Nader (2016-17), Tim Frazier (2014-15) and DeShawn Sims (2010-11).

Waters appeared in 36 of Maine’s 42 games this season. The NBA G League canceled the remainder of its 2019-20 season on June 4. The regular season was suspended on March 12 and had been scheduled to conclude on March 28.

Salt Lake City Stars forward Jarrell Brantley and South Bay Lakers forward Devontae Cacok finished second and third, respectively, in voting for the 2019-20 NBA G League Rookie of the Year Award.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens wants players staying one week away from game shape

Here’s Boston.com with an update from Boston Celticvs head coach Brad Stevens:

As the NBA’s hiatus continues due to coronavirus, Brad Stevens and the Celtics are just waiting for their numbers to be called.

The coach of the Celtics, appearing Monday on Kentucky coach John Calipari‘s “Coffee with Cal” show, said he’s encouraging his players to be “a week away from their best shape” in the event that NBA commissioner Adam Silver decides to lift the league’s suspension that came down on March 11.

“In an ideal world, I don’t think there’s any question, everybody associated with all these teams, especially with all of us that are in playoffs, we want to play,” Stevens said.

Like the rest of us, Danny Ainge is waiting to see what happens

Here’s the Boston Herald with an update on what Celtics front office guru Danny Ainge is thinking these days as we all wait to see what happens with the NBA season and playoffs in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic:

“This is a time for the really self-motivated that are going to be able to take advantage of this opportunity in their career to get stronger, to get in greater condition,” [Ainge] said. “We’re approaching this like we’re going to return to play and that we’re going to be playing playoff basketball. And we are staying in touch. We are having conference calls where we have guest speakers, motivational speakers, that address all of our guys on Zoom. We are doing workouts with the coaches and with the strength coaches via Zoom and so forth.

“So we’re trying to do all we can. Some players are better than others at doing things on their own and doing extra work, and some players are more compliant than others, some are harder to reach than others, but for the most part, I’ve been impressed with how our players have bought in and the work that’s going on behind the scenes.”

The NBA regular season was suspended six weeks ago today. And the 2020 playoffs were due to start this past Saturday. But for now, everything remains on hold.