Boston Celtics Blog – Page 49 – NBA Blog

Boston Celtics suspend Jared Sullinger one game for off-court incident

Here is a statement from the Boston Celtics:

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have suspended forward Jared Sullinger one game for his role in an incident that occurred on August 31, 2013. The suspension will be served during the team’s game at Toronto on October 30, 2013.

“Jared’s case was dismissed yesterday in Waltham District Court,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “While we are satisfied that this was the correct ruling, we are suspending Jared for one game because he failed to meet the high expectations we have for all Celtics employees.”

The team will have no further comment on this matter.

Charges against Jared Sullinger dropped

Good news for Boston Celtics big man Jared Sullinger, as charges against him have been dismissed. Here’s the Boston Globe:

Forward Jared Sullinger practiced with the Celtics here Monday hours after domestic violence charges against him were dismissed in Waltham District Court.

The charges, which included assault and battery, destruction of property, and witness intimidation, stemmed from an altercation Sullinger had with his girlfriend in August at his apartment in Waltham…

The charges were dismissed after Sullinger’s girlfriend, Deann Smith, told authorities that she would not testify against him.

Celtics: Phil Pressey makes his point in preseason

NBA preseason is a time for players who might be cut or perhaps make a squad but sit on the end of the bench to prove themselves worthy of respect and a bigger-than-expected role. One young Celtic appears to have done that. Here’s ESPN Boston:

One of the more promising developments of the preseason for the Boston Celtics was the play of undrafted rookie point guard Phil Pressey.

A strong showing as a summer league invite earned Pressey a three-year contract that included a fully guaranteed first season. But even being the only healthy pure ball-handler in camp this season didn’t guarantee the 22-year-old the chance to crack the rotation this year. His play this exhibition season might have.

“[Pressey has] shown a ton,” said Stevens. “I think at times that we’ve played our best basketball with him on the floor. At other times, he hasn’t been as good, and that’s to be predicted. He’s a young guy. But I’ve said this at the start, the guy works at his game. He wants to be good. It’s not an accident that he’s here. He is a good player. He’s a hard worker. He cares. He’s an easy guy to coach. All that stuff adds up at the end of the day. You can see it in the exhibition games.”

Boston Celtics trim roster for upcoming season

Here’s Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald:

The Celtics, as expected, cut their roster down to 14 yesterday with the release of forwards Damen Bell-Holter and DeShawn Sims, and guards Chris Babb and Kammron Taylor.

Though Babb was one of the team’s best 3-point shooters — a stat that Stevens cherishes — even a rookie minimum contract would have pushed the Celtics over the luxury tax threshold. They are now approximately $200,000 under the line with every intention of not adding payroll.

Don’t be surprised if Babb starts the season with the NBADL’s Maine Red Claws.

But the Celtics do have two important decisions to make by Thursday. They have until that date to reach agreement with Bradley on an extension. Though both sides have indeed been in negotiations, as of this weekend nothing is imminent.

They also have until Thursday to pick up the option on MarShon Brooks for next season, when the shooting guard would make approximately $2.2 million.

Boston Celtics waive Damen Bell-Holter, DeShawn Sims, Chris Babb and Kammron Taylor

The Boston Celtics announced today that they have waived forwards Damen Bell-Holter and DeShawn Sims and guards Chris Babb and Kammron Taylor. The Celtics roster stands at 14.

Bell-Holter, a 6’9” forward, appeared in three games for the Celtics during the preseason totaling one rebound in five minutes of action.

Sims, a 6’8” forward, averaged 2.3 points in 4.0 minutes per game while appearing in three games during the preseason.

Babb, a 6’5” guard, appeared in five games for the team during preseason while totaling 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.

Taylor, a 6’2” guard, appeared in three games for the Celtics during preseason and scored two points in seven total minutes of action.

Gerald Wallace calls out Celtics for being too laid-back

It’s just NBA preseason, but still, credit goes to players who want to set a winning tone early:

Gerald Wallace called out his new team for its sub-standard effort following Sunday night’s loss to the Timberwolves in Montreal, and the Celtics forward backed up those words following today’s practice.

Coach Brad Stevens supported those Sunday critiques from Wallace and Jeff Green, saying today that the result was one of the best practices of training camp.

But, according to Wallace, the coaches have asked him to rein in his words a bit.

“I’m getting fussed at by the coaches every time,” said Wallace. “They’re trying to tell me to relax and ease up. But the main thing is I want the guys to compete. If we lose all 82 games, but we lose them going down fighting and competing hard. I can live with that. I can’t live with losing and we didn’t compete, we didn’t give our best effort and we just gave the game away. I don’t want that for these guys and this team.”

Reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald

Can’t knock a player for trying to make sure his squad competes, even in preseason.

Gerald Wallace brings hustle to Celtics

The Boston Celtics are probably in for a rough year. But one thing they do know is that Gerald Wallace is going to outwork a lot of the opposition:

Asked Saturday about the reasons for Boston’s inability to put together 48 consistent minutes this preseason, Gerald Wallace suggested some of his young teammates might not be familiar with the necessary level of intensity needed on the floor, dubbing the team’s effort “lackadaisical” at times this preseason.

Lackadaisical is one adjective that will rarely be associated with Wallace. Slotted in a starting role on Sunday in Montreal, Wallace injected the first unit with a jolt of energy. He finished with a team-high 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 rebounds while working up a regular-season sweat over 26 minutes.

Wallace couldn’t save the Celtics from absorbing a 104-89 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Bell Centre, their sixth defeat in seven tries this preseason, but he gave another glimpse of the relentless energy and effort that he’ll bring to the team during the 2013-14 season.

Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Rebuilding or not, the Celtics are still worth watching.

Gerald Wallace not interested in your Celtics analysis

“If it ain’t on the Xbox, I ain’t reading it,” said Wallace. “I couldn’t tell you anything about no magazines, newspapers, none of that.”

But try as he might to avoid the noise, even Wallace couldn’t help but acknowledge that few pundits expect Boston to be very competitive this season with most win projections — both locally and nationally — topping out in the high 20s.

“Our main thing is we want to try to get better,” said the 31-year-old Wallace, the Boston player with the most service time in the league (12 seasons). “We know nobody is picking us to win the championship; nobody is picking us to make the playoffs. Our main thing is we just gotta continue to get better. I told the guys, we’re like a sleeper team. We’re that team that everybody’s looking at on their schedule like, ‘OK, we can get a win,’ [or,] ‘We can rest, this might be a night off for us.’ We can surprise some teams and do some things. … A lot of teams are not going to be expecting it.”

Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

Boston Celtics may not have official team captain this season

For the first time in 63 years, it is likely that the Boston Celtics will not have a formal captain this season. But just because first-year coach Brad Stevens prefers not to formally designate a leader doesn’t meant that this team won’t have one.

Stevens went out of his way Friday to again laud the guidance of Rajon Rondo, offering the latest vote of confidence for the rehabbing point guard.

“I don’t know what the leadership roles were like last year, because I wasn’t here,” said Stevens. “The guy that’s been the most vocal leader for us has been Rondo. I think he’s done a really good job of it.”

Rondo isn’t expected back on the floor until December — or whenever he feels his right knee is healthy enough to resume activity after undergoing surgery in February to repair a partial tear of the ACL — but he’s been an on-court presence for the Celtics every day since camp opened Oct. 1 in Newport, R.I.

Reported by Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston

MarShon Brooks was frustrated on the Nets

Nets fans can remember: MarShon Brooks was once part of the future.

He was an All-Rookie selection and one of a few reasons to feel good about a terrible team in New Jersey, a smooth scorer who was talking about winning Sixth Man of the Year. Then it all fell apart in Year 2, and the divorce was finalized on draft day when he was dealt to Boston.

According to multiple sources, Brooks had communicated to the Nets that he wanted to be dealt. Brooks didn’t go that far while opening up in an interview with the Daily News on Tuesday, but he outlined some of his frustrations under Avery Johnson and PJ Carlesimo.

“I wasn’t really sure with (Jason Kidd becoming coach). I didn’t know what to expect. Last year obviously we knew what was going on, it was so rocky, I didn’t know if I was playing. There just wasn’t any structure to any of my minutes,” Brooks said. “So it was kind of hard for me to perform under those circumstances and obviously I didn’t want to be in that situation next year.”

Reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News