Celtics players have been impressed by the way former All-Star Blake Griffin has made the transition to role player. Griffin’s work ethic hasn’t waned, even though he’s no longer the high-flying, high-scoring big man who starred for the Clippers and Pistons, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe writes.
“You just don’t see that with guys that were at his level,” forward Jayson Tatum said. “It’s been really unique to see. I appreciate that a lot. The guys do as well. He never makes it about himself, and it’s contagious. His energy, his enthusiasm, his personality. We’re all very fortunate to have him as a teammate, because everybody respects him and respects what he’s accomplished, and his voice carries.”
Griffin is on a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract and will be a free agent again this summer.
We have more on the Celtics:
- Tatum may be a candidate for the Most Valuable Player award and All-NBA First Team accolades but he’s only got one goal in mind, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. “The only thing that matters to me is winning a championship,” Tatum said. “Not MVP, not first-team All-NBA, none of that. I want to get back to the Finals and get over the hump.”
- Marcus Smart has been fined $25K for initiating an on-court altercation and pulling Hawks guard Trae Young to the floor, the NBA PR department tweets. Both players were assessed a technical foul and Smart was ejected during the altercation, which occurred with 1:25 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Celtics’ 134-125 win over the Hawks on Saturday.
- The team has no plans to immediately replace Damon Stoudamire on Joe Muzzalla‘s staff, Himmelsbach tweets. Stoudamire left his assistant coaching job to become Georgia Tech’s head coach.
Blake always been a role player. The only difference now is he can’t jump over cars anymore
6x All star, 5x All NBA. ROY
Why so salty?
Haters gonna hate.
Giannis > Tatum
Not exactly a hot take.
So brave of them
Went way out on a limb there.
smh. If Tatum were a Laker, he’d be called the next LeBron.
Tatum is a great player, but Giannis has been doing it longer and better.
Celtics are a mess right now. They cannot beat the Bucks, Warriors or Nuggets with current approach, and probably not the Sixers. Smart and Grant Williams just want to whine and play like bullies. Brown just wants to score and seldom passes the ball (record of 11-7 when he scores 30 or more). They don’t use the bench except in emergency. The first unit has no idea of what it means to play as a team. Rob Williams is always going to be an injury risk. This is not the team that played in November thru January when they were using 10 players regularly.
Don’t forget our star Jayson Tatum! We’re going to live or die with him. We’ve seen him get hot & carry the team but not recently. He needs to play more in control. Dribble better. Stop the sloppy, stupid turnovers.
As to our coach, I can’t figure him out. I think he’s wasted our much improved depth this year, especially Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet. But I hear he’s learning so I like that. Hope he figures out the best player combinations for the playoffs. Go Celtics!
Had great hope for my celtics but when Tatum praised Ime I knew things would go south. The Bucks are a juggernaut now. Tatum can’t score on the Rockets in crunch time no way he can do it against the Bucks. Hopefully the Knicks can bang them up!
There are ebbs and flows over every season. Milwaukee, Philly and Boston could all come out of the East.
Very true, though you’d like to see Cs right the ship after some bad losses. I know Stodmire was a presence, so maybe we chalk that up to an off night, but the milk smells like it is starting to go bad. Still — not time to panic just yet.
Hope Joe can get them to snap out of it and start focusing in the next couple of weeks. Not really any excuses left.
Tatum is my big disappointment. He’s won nothing yet, yet has gotten way too much publicity. Distracted, mentally & physically. As a result he can’t shoot. He can’t make a three. Short arms all his floaters. And if a defender strips him with his loose dribbling he loses his confidence to drive. And then his three ball goes bad too. He’s got to get his act together soon or we’re through. Go Celtics!
He gets publicity because he’s been playing at a high level almost this whole season. Not to mention he’s a bonafide superstar in a major basketball market. Who would you prefer they cover instead? More stories about Pritchard hustling at Oregon?
I find it hard to believe that Tatum is still distracted by media coverage after years of going through it. I do agree he needs to step up, but not sure that the media has anything to do with it.
Ok, you tell me what Tatum’s problem is then? What’s at the root of his erratic & bad shooting from three? His sloppy turnovers? Go Celtics!
I think some of it is probably maturity — he’s still relatively young and it’s hard to stay at peak hunger for all 82 games. Add to that the fact that he really hasn’t had time off like some of the other MVP candidates out there. So for him to slump a little bit after a successful start of the season, it’s almost like the inverse of last year. I’d be surprised if he isn’t back in it very soon. There still isn’t a ton of pressure with where they sit in the standings but it will creep up.
My problem is I’ve never seen this team, these Celtics, play mistake free basketball. So until I see games with just 5 or 6 turnovers, no more than 2 or 3 among Tatum & Brown & Smart, I’m a doubter. We’ve got about 15 games left to get there, to focus, to play better together. Go Celtics!
And, of course, I’l like to see Tatum making his threes again.
Yes, the best player on the team is the problem.
Of course.