Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Jared Weiss of The Celtics Wire (@JaredWeissNBA) go in-depth on the Boston Celtics.
They discuss the development of young players Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown; Boston’s place in the NBA’s hierarchy; Gordon Hayward’s status this season; integrating Kyrie Irving and much more.
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Jaylen Brown may have strained some ligaments around his MCL during Boston's Christmas Day game.
Brown left the arena on a crutch following the injury.
Brown could be heard screaming "ahh" before hopping on one leg and hobbling off the court.
Brown had also been dealing with a sore Achilles.
The Boston Celtics are preparing a bid to host a future All-Star Game.
The Celtics haven't hosted an All-Star Game in 53 years.
“We’re looking at an application package,” Grousbeck told the Globe. “But we have to work it out with the Convention Center. We are going to ask for an application package and we’ll see what happens.”
The earliest available All-Star Game is 2022.
“We can’t get all of our fans into the game, all of our season ticket-holders,” Grousbeck said. “We have a season ticket-holder wait list and relatively few of our season ticket-holders would be able to come to a game that we host. But nonetheless, we’re going to get a package and see if we can work something out.”
Before the New Orleans Pelicans traded for DeMarcus Cousins last February, Anthony Davis approached Dell Demps about persistent trade rumors he was hearing about the Boston Celtics.
"He told me that [Boston] was calling, but nothing was going to happen," Davis said. "At the same time, though, you see how organizations treat players. Isaiah Thomas. DeMarcus [Cousins] told me that the [Kings] told him that he wasn't going to get traded, but they traded him. Isaiah took his team to the Eastern Conference finals, and they traded him.
"It makes you wonder: Does this organization really have my back? I've been loyal to this organization. I love it here. I love this team. I think we're moving in the right direction. DeMarcus, Rondo, some other players that are helping us, but people get judged on winning. And I want to win.
"It's not about the money. It's not about having fans. The most important thing to me: winning. That's what I want to do. And I want to do it here."
Isaiah Thomas is currently targeting the first week of January for his return from a hip injury.
Thomas was traded to the Cavaliers by the Celtics in August.
Both the Cavaliers and Thomas have been working to ensure that when he returns from injury, he is able to stay on the floor. Thomas wants to make sure he doesn't need a game or two of rest at times.
Thomas averaged 28.9 points, 5.9 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 76 games a season ago.
Gordon Hayward spoke to the media briefly before Friday's game between the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz.
“No, I don’t regret anything,” Hayward said. “I unfortunately got injured, but happy to be here in Boston and happy to be a part of this team.”
Hayward reflected back on his free agency, which involved the leaking of his decision on the morning of July 4th that he attempted to walk back before his announcement that afternoon at The Players Tribune.
“It was a whirlwind experience,” Hayward said. “I don’t know if I could do it any faster than what I did. I went across the country three times, paying for my own private flight to get there as fast as I could.”
Hayward had dinner on Thursday night in Boston with Joe Ingles and Utah assistant Johnnie Bryant.
Gordon Hayward is now out of his walking boot less than two months after his injury on opening night.
Wearing just a small brace on his left ankle, Hayward was able to walk without an aid at a community event at the Boys & Girls Club of Boston.
"The process is always fluid and can change at any time but, for me, today was the day where I walk around without the boot at all," Hayward told ESPN before giving a motivational speech to a group of teens and playing the video game Destiny 2 with them. "And so I'm going to try to move forward without the boot. Depending on how my foot reacts, how much activity I'm able to do on it without it being sore, I could move back into the boot or I could never look back and never see the boot again.
"I'm just taking it day by day; today has been awesome so far without the boot."
Hayward has graduated from shooting out of a chair to shooting flat-footed in his boot over the past few weeks.
"I think I'm a goal-oriented type of person. So I set my sights on a [short-term] goal and just focus on that until that goal is completed," Hayward said. "I have a great group of people around me; the Celtics' staff has been phenomenal, accommodating to everything that I need. My trainer [Jason Smeathers] is here, my wife [Robyn] at home, everybody is keeping me motivated and making sure that I'm sticking with protocol. It's definitely like a team thing for me. I have a lot of people that are helping me. That makes it easier."
The Celtics have maintained that they don't expect Hayward to return this season.
Gordon Hayward will soon no longer need his walking boot as he begins the early stages of his rehab from a fractured left ankle.
Hayward’s wife, Robyn, posted a video of a boot-less Hayward on Instagram on Wednesday, sparking chatter about Hayward’s progress.
There has not been an official timetable announced for when Hayward might be able to return to basketball activities.
“He’s progressing along. He can take the boot off for short periods of time,” Danny Ainge told the “Toucher and Rich" program. “But he's doing really well. His therapy is going great. He's right on schedule. He’s doing sometimes two workouts a day and trying to get stronger. The next phases are getting out of the boot completely, but I still think that he’s a couple weeks away from being permanently out of the boot.”
Ainge was asked whether Hayward has expressed a desire to return to the court this season.
“You know he hasn’t expressed that. Just knowing professional athletes, I know that down inside he wants to be back faster than anybody has ever been back from this kind of injury. He’s got a competitive streak to him. He’s asking lot of questions, he’s got good people around him. He’s diligent in his rehab.
“I know what’s going on in his mind but I don’t think he’ll say anything about how fast he wants to get back.”
The Boston Celtics’ Brad Stevens and the Houston Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in October and November.
Stevens guided the Celtics to an NBA-best 19-4 record during October and November, including a 9-2 mark at home and a 10-2 mark on the road. Boston followed an 0-2 start with 16 straight victories, tied for the fourth-longest winning streak in franchise history. During the streak, the Celtics rallied from a deficit of at least 13 points to win a game five times. Under Stevens, Boston led the NBA in defensive rating through November, allowing 98.4 points per 100 possessions. The Celtics went 15-0 when giving up fewer than 100 points.
D’Antoni led the Rockets to a Western Conference-best 17-4 record in October and November. Houston closed this stretch with six consecutive victories, its second six-game winning streak of the season. Overall, the Rockets outscored opponents by an NBA-high 10.8 points per game while compiling marks of 8-3 at home and 9-1 on the road. In November alone, Houston went 12-1 with a point differential of plus-16.8 points per game. D’Antoni, the 2016-17 NBA Coach of the Year, has overseen seven victories by 20 or more points this season.
Other nominees for the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month were Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue, Detroit’s Stan Van Gundy, Golden State’s Steve Kerr, Indiana’s Nate McMillan, Philadelphia’s Brett Brown, Portland’s Terry Stotts and San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich.
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