“There’s not a lot of padding on it, so it’s just a different feel shooting the ball,” Brown said. “(The pain) is fine. Especially with the adrenaline of the game, you kind of just get going.”
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Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown sat out Wednesday’s game, but the Celtics scored 112 points in a win over Philadelphia because of the performance of several complementary players, writes Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Jrue Holiday made his first start, and he and Derrick White kept the offense humming, but Weiss points to Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard as the stars of the night.
Hauser finished with 15 points and three assists and showed an improved ability to switch effectively on defense, Weiss states. He also observes that the third-year small forward appears crisper in releasing his jumper and is moving with more purpose on offense. Weiss believes free agent addition Svi Mykhailiuk is on his way to earning a rotation spot, so Hauser will have to keep producing in the preseason to have a chance at regular minutes.
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Summer League gave Nets rookie Noah Clowney a chance to adjust to the speed of the NBA game before his first training camp, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Clowney struggled with his shot in Las Vegas, connecting at just 22.6% from the field and 23.5% beyond the arc, but he considers the experience a valuable one.
“Obviously the game is faster,” Clowney said. “It’s really all a bunch of small details, really — like screening angles, getting into screens faster, then getting out faster and things like that. What shots are good shots, if you don’t (have) a shot, get right into the next action. … You learn from it, and I think the only way you can learn from it is by going through the experience of that Summer League. So I’m glad I played in it. It was fun. I didn’t play my best, obviously. (My shooting) percentages were horrible. But it was a learning experience. I feel like that’s what it was supposed to be. So I’m happy with it.”
One of the youngest players in this year’s draft, Clowney just turned 19 in July, so he may spend much of his first season in the G League. He has drawn comparisons to starting center Nic Claxton, and Nets officials are optimistic about his long-term potential.
“I love the intangibles. I love how hard he competes. I love the length that he has,” general manager Sean Marks said. “When you have a 7-foot-3-inch wingspan, I can’t teach that. Our coaches can teach a lot of things, but they can’t teach that. I love the fact that he doesn’t shy away from shooting from the outside. He’s very versatile, can play a couple of different positions out there.”
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In his latest podcast, Patrick Beverley said he consulted with former Sixers coach Doc Rivers before deciding to sign with Philadelphia (video link from Barstool Sports). Beverley describes Rivers as a “mentor” and said he often reaches out to him before making important decisions.
“This is a Hall of Fame coach who just got fired, and his exact words: ‘I love Philadelphia for you; they need you,'” Beverley said. “‘You will be great with Joel (Embiid). James (Harden), he respects you, you will be great with him. If I had you last season, we would have been a different team.'”
Beverley, who agreed to a one-year, minimum-salary deal, said he was planning to talk to the Celtics and Wizards, but changed his mind after getting Rivers’ endorsement of the Sixers.
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It wasn’t obvious to anyone who watched him post 29 points and 12 rebounds in the Celtics‘ series-opening win Saturday, but Jaylen Brown was having trouble gripping the ball because of a cut that reopened on his right hand, writes Coley Harvey of ESPN. Brown originally suffered the cut while watering his plants last week and had to get five stitches. He wasn’t able to practice until Thursday and is still experimenting with the best way to protect the hand while he’s playing.
“It’s a constant adjustment, making sure I have a good grip on the ball,” Brown said, although he told reporters that he doesn’t expect the injury to bother him throughout the entire series.
Brown started Saturday’s game with padding over the cut, but it seemed to distract him, according to Harvey. He went to the locker room after checking out in the first quarter and returned with a new bandage that appeared to be more comfortable.
“There’s not a lot of padding on it, so it’s just a different feel shooting the ball,” Brown said. “(The pain) is fine. Especially with the adrenaline of the game, you kind of just get going.”
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The Celtics‘ confidence in Sam Hauser was rewarded Sunday when he poured in 20 points while making his third career start, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Boston could have sought a replacement for Hauser or moved him out of town before the trade deadline, but the organization opted to stick with the second-year forward despite a prolonged shooting slump.
Injuries to other rotation members have given Hauser expanded playing time lately, and he’s capitalizing on the opportunity. Over the past three games, he is shooting 57% from three-point range and averaging 15.3 PPG.
“I know I’m starting because guys are out,” Hauser said. “I get that. But it definitely — it’s definitely really cool for me, personally. You dream of stuff like this when you grow up, being on an NBA team, starting on an NBA team, let alone and it’s kind of happening right now, which is kind of cool. So, personally, it’s pretty cool. Definitely, I’m seeing a little more minutes right now, which is great, too, for confidence-boosting. And some shots are going through and overall just feeling great.”
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Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey is coming to terms with his new reserve role, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Maxey was demoted to a bench role in favor of the more defensively oriented De’Anthony Melton.
“Sometimes you have to be the bigger person,” Maxey noted “I feel like it was kind of trending that way. But I’m a professional at the end of the day.”
The 22-year-old is still having a solid scoring season for Philadelphia, averaging 20.8 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.0 RPG, and 0.9 SPG.
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Responding early on Wednesday morning to a fan who asked him about the possibility of working with Amar’e Stoudemire on his post moves, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson replied, “The way we play is not set up for me to do any moves.”
As Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News writes, Robinson’s tweet could have been read as a simple statement of fact about the Knicks’ system, or it could have been interpreted as a “subliminal complaint” about his role, since the big man has occasionally griped about his lack of involvement on offense in the past.
Robinson answered that question during and after Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee. He scored 15 points and racked up 20 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass, then told reporters in his postgame media session that he has no complaints about his role, per Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
“If I was unhappy, I wouldn’t have (done) what I came out here and did today and last game,” Robinson said. “I would’ve just chilled out and just (said), ‘Oh well.'”
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Sixers All-NBA center Joel Embiid is playing through multiple injuries as he strives to keep his 6-7 club afloat without injured co-star James Harden, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Embiid is dealing with a tweaked ankle and an injured right shoulder, the latter of which is so restrictive that the big man says he occasionally struggles to lift his arm.
“And when I go block shots, I really feel it,” Embiid said. “I don’t know what’s going on. But it’s whatever.”
Despite the various ailments, Embiid is still having a big on-court impact. Through his nine healthy games this year, the seven-footer is averaging 29.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.7 APG and 1.2 BPG.
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The Sixers are striving to balance their need to win now with their focus on keeping All-NBA center Joel Embiid, currently dealing with an illness, healthy deeper into the season, writes Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.
Embiid most recently tried to play on Friday against the Knicks, but ultimately left the floor about 15 minutes ahead of tip-off. The club lost to New York and fell to 4-6 on the season.
“Watching him in shootaround, I thought he was really struggling,” head coach Doc Rivers said of Embiid. “Showed up, went out on the floor, got shots, and just felt bad… Obviously, we want to win the game, and putting him on the floor would obviously help us. But we got to also think of the long game as well, and so I thought it was the right decision not to play him.”
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Blake Griffin had to shake off some rust in his debut with the Celtics Friday night, but he showed several ways that he can help the team, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. After some early turnovers and missed shots, Griffin sparked a comeback that erased a 15-point deficit in a win over the Hornets. He finished with seven points and nine rebounds in 16 minutes and displayed an unselfishness that could make him an important part of Boston’s offense.
Griffin, 33, saw his role with the Nets diminish as last season wore on, and he spent nearly the entire offseason as a free agent before signing with the Celtics on Monday. He appeared to take a subtle swipe at his former team after the game while talking about coming to Boston, Robb adds.
“I think the intensity and maturity level of this group is off the charts,” Griffin said. “Every day when we get to work it’s intense. It’s not that we’re going forever but these guys are locked in and no one has to tell us to be locked in. It’s refreshing.”
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