- A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston writes that the Celtics may end up using their Disabled Player Exception — which they acquired after Gordon Hayward‘s season-ending ankle injury — closer to the trade deadline — if they use it at all.
- Rookie Josh Jackson insists that his opting out of a predraft workout with the Celtics was because of a miscommunication between him and his agent and not because he didn’t want to play for a team stacked with veterans at his position, Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald writes. “I’m not threatened by anybody, ever. I welcome competition,” the Suns forward said.
The Celtics acquired one of the league’s top clutch performers in Kyrie Irving last summer but they also got their hands on another reliable late-game closer. Chris Forsberg of ESPN writes that, just one and a half months into his NBA career, Jayson Tatum is in good company among the NBA’s leaders in fourth-quarter production.
- Veteran NBA journeyman (and current Suns forward) Jared Dudley, a Boston College alum, spoke highly of the Celtics‘ culture this weekend. “In this league, it’s tough to have an owner that gives the GM time,” he told Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. “Once you have that — and you have that here — the next thing is the coach. And even when Brad Stevens came in the league — even when the Celtics weren’t good — his reputation was as a players’ coach, a friendly offense where everyone would be able to have the ball. That’s what you want, even if you’re a role player. I’m a role player, and I want to touch the ball to feel like I’m involved.“
- Celtics point guard Terry Rozier joined NBC Sports Boston to discuss his career. The third-year guard promised he would eventually be a starter in the NBA but that will be complicated in Boston with Kyrie Irving occupying that slot.
- The Celtics have assigned a pair of rookies, Guerschon Yabusele and Abdel Nader, to the G League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Both players figure to suit up for the Maine Red Claws in the club’s Friday night game.
- The Celtics have recalled forward Guerschon Yabusele from their G League affiliate, the team’s official site relays. Yabusele put up 27 points in his most recent game for the Maine Red Claws.
Rookie Jayson Tatum is looking even more effective in a free-flowing NBA offense than he did at Duke. Mike Schmidt of ESPN broke down the first-year forward’s impressive showing with the Celtics thus far, curious as to whether or not what he’s shown is sustainable.
While Tatum has always been known to pull off acrobatic plays on offense, his ability to make quicker decisions and shoot reliably from beyond the arc has helped him thrive in the Celtics offense. Further, his improved defense has only added to his NBA stock.
- While the Cavaliers may be the team to beat in the conference for now, the Celtics and Sixers are the future of the East, A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston writes. Both teams have impressive lineups as it but boast future assets that can help down the road as well.
- The Celtics have assigned rookie forward Guerschon Yabusele to the Maine Red Claws, the club announced today in a press release. It’s the first G League assignment of Yabusele’s young career.
Although Marc Gasol expressed displeasure with his fourth-quarter benching on Sunday, there was no “him-or-me” mandate from Gasol to Grizzlies management that led to David Fizdale‘s ouster on Monday, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
The Grizzlies’ decision to fire Fizdale did create the impression that the team was choosing Gasol over its head coach, but it may not be that simple, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Prior to Fizdale’s dismissal, speculation about a possible Gasol trade was beginning to gain steam. If the club had retained Fizdale and Gasol’s frustration led to a trade demand, it would have become more difficult for Memphis to move him. By avoiding that scenario, the Grizzlies can ensure that the veteran’s center trade value remains high, if they decide to consider that possibility.
“I don’t think [the Grizzlies] are done making changes,” one league executive told Deveney on Monday. “They could still move Gasol, they could still go into a rebuilding situation, but it would be harder if Gasol was saying he wants out. They have had plenty of offers for Gasol, and they have a couple of months to sort out whether they pull the trigger. But don’t be surprised if they do, even after this.”
Here’s more on the Grizzlies:
- The Celtics and Raptors are among the clubs that could be suitors for Gasol if the Grizzlies entertain offers, according to both Deveney and Forbes’ Mitch Lawrence. Lawrence identifies the Cavaliers and Trail Blazers as other teams that would have interest in the three-time All-Star. It would be tricky for some of those teams to put together viable packages for Gasol and his $22.6MM+ salary.
- Fizdale had the support of many of the Grizzlies’ younger players, so his firing may widen a divide between the youngsters and the veterans on Memphis’ roster, says Deveney. The Sporting News scribe also observes that Fizdale is exactly the kind of positive coach and teacher a team would want during a rebuild, meaning the Grizzlies may miss him if they go in that direction.
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer lays out the case for why a full-fledged rebuild might make the most sense for the Grizzlies at this point.
- While much has been made of Gasol’s role in Fizdale’s firing, former NBA swingman and current ESPN analyst Stephen Jackson set his sights on Chandler Parsons. As AJ Neuharth-Keusch of USA Today details, Jackson suggested that the lack of production the Grizzlies have received from a max-salary player like Parsons put Fizdale at a major disadvantage.
Despite being in the midst of a 15-game win streak, the Celtics aren’t satisfied, reports Marc D’Amico of Celtics.com and Chris Forsberg of ESPN. While arguably sporting the league’s best defense, head coach Brad Stevens doesn’t believe his team’s offense is where it needs to be. “We got a lot to improve on [offensively],” Stevens said.
The Celtics shot only 32.9% from the field in their win against the Warriors, and while they have leaned on a league-leading defense giving up a mere 95.4 points per 100 possessions, the C’s are currently 27th in the NBA in FG%. “We haven’t played well enough to consider this win streak to be valid, in my opinion,” Stevens said. “We’ve figured out ways to win games (but) we’ve got to be better, and we know that.”
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- According to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston, one way the Celtics can create more offense is to play Marcus Morris more with the second unit. Morris scored 14 points in Saturday’s win against Atlanta.
- The Nets are trying to remain positive and maintain a “next man up” mentality after losing D’Angelo Russell to a right knee injury for the foreseeable future, writes Anthony Puccio for NetsDaily.com. The Nets also lost Jeremy Lin to a right knee injury after he suffered a ruptured patella tendon in the season opener, but head coach Kenny Atkinson is confident in the players being called on to step up. “We have a good group of wings, and guards,” said Atkinson. “I think we’ve developed sufficiently enough to withstand injuries.”
- After going undrafted following a successful four-year college career at Wichita State, second-year guard Fred VanVleet is finding his niche with the Raptors as a fighter on the defensive end of the floor, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “He’s a grinder, he’s a survivor, he’s a worker, he’s had to fight for everything he’s ever gotten in his life,” says head coach Dwane Casey. “He gets into the guys, he’s a little pitbull from that standpoint. He brings everything to the table that you need.”
- Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek believes that Tim Hardaway Jr. is suffering from something similar to plantar fasciitis in his left foot, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. Hardaway Jr., who removed himself from last week’s loss to Toronto and sat out of yesterday’s practice, plans to play through the pain in spite of the risk. “It could help if he rests,” Hornacek said. “But Tim wants to play. He’s a tough kid. He’s a competitor. He feels that he’s got enough for us that he can go.”