Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
“Always, always,” Williams said, smiling on Thursday. “Instead of calling me ‘Robert,’ they call me ‘Time Lord.’ But I don’t know where that (expletive) came from.”
Williams probably isn’t the only one, so here’s the origin story.
For many NBA fans, part of the fun is following along on Twitter, where the conversation twists and turns in amusing directions as the games unfold. Over the last year, a section of Celtics fans on Twitter formed a popular subgenre: Weird Celtics Twitter, which posts absurdist memes and jokes. Marcus Smart is “Smarf,” a warrior king. Semi Ojeleye’s muscular frame is “thick and jacked,” and lifting weights is going to the “Ojeleye Factory.”
At the center of Weird Celtics Twitter is Ryan Hebert, whose Twitter account @HebertofRiffs has gained a considerable amount of notoriety over the last few years. He was one of the people who came up with “Time Lord.”
[…]
“Basically, Timelord boiled down to the prediction of drafting him in 2017 and also defending him against uptight people who were earnestly acting like they’ve never been late to work in their lives,” Hebert said. “Weird Celtics Twitter is a bizarre place, but we genuinely love the characters and personalities and people on the team, and we are online so much that we have to do absurd things to show people how stupid it is to say a mega-athlete with a savant-like feel for timing, blocks and passing is a bust because they missed a flight. We all love Robert and are pulling for him as a pro and as a person and this is our bizarre way of going about it.”
This is great. Weird Celtics Twitter is so entertaining that every day it becomes more a part of the Boston basketball culture. We know that @Max_Lederman of NBC Sports Boston already features WCT memes in a regular segment on postgame shows. This year there has also been news coverage of combat muscles, the Ojeleye Factory and the mysterious and mystical Janos.
Now this tale – the Timelord being virtually willed onto the Celtics by the Riffsman – really tops everything. The next time the Celts are on TNT or ESPN, the national talking heads should skip hyping how Kobe tutored Jayson, and instead run a feature on Weird Celtics Twitter.
The MassLive story above tells the whole Timelord saga, but if you want the Riffsman’s complete explanation in his own words, follow the link in this tweet.
The Riffsman made a guest appearance on my site today to discuss how Robert Williams became the T I M E L O R D https://t.co/DQx8i9lchi
— Dr. Daniel fromSport, Esq. (@DanielfromSport) October 26, 2018
(If you’re not on Twitter, use this link: THE TIMELORD PROPHECY)
Before we leave the Timelord, note that circumstances might get interesting for him tonight in Detroit:
Aron Baynes (R hamstring strain) and Daniel Theis (L foot sprain) are questionable for tomorrow’s game in Detroit. The C’s need at least one of those guys against DET’s frontcourt. If both are out, Robert Williams is in the mix for the first significant playing time of his career
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) October 26, 2018
On Page 2: Irving and Hayward are works in progress
It’s only been five games for Kyrie Irving and four for Gordon Hayward, but we’re starting to get a sense of how they feel coming back from their major injuries. The eye test tells us that Kyrie is a bit further along than Gordon, and these two articles published yesterday support that.
Both Kyrie Irving and Paul George broke for the ball at almost the same instant. Jayson Tatum’s pull-up jumper with little more than a minute to play Thursday night had shot hard off the back iron and sailed over the four Oklahoma City Thunder players in the painted area. Now, as the ball bounced free at the elbow, Irving and George found themselves in a footrace for the rebound.
Accelerating from in front of the Boston bench, Irving was able to lunge in front of George with his left hand and somehow gain control of the ball, all while George’s swipe attempt left him punching at air and then clapping his hands in exasperation.
It was the sort of hustle play these Celtics so often made last season. The gritty plays that set this team apart in their playoff run. And it was exactly the sort of effort that this team has been lacking early this season.
[…]
Irving finished with 15 points, five rebounds and five assists in 33 minutes. More telling, four of those five rebounds came over the final four minutes. And each was spectacular in their own way. On one, Irving outleaped Thunder 7-footer Stevens Adams to tip out a rebound to Horford. Later, he went over the top of Adams again then wrestled the ball away from Jerami Grant.
The common thread: Effort. Irving outworked his opponents to get those rebounds. And in a joy-filled-and-relieved Celtics locker room, Irving seemed to recognize how everyone on the roster needs to step outside their comfort zone a bit for this team to thrive.
NBC Sports Boston: Kyrie Irving’s hustle play a sign of what Celtics had been lacking
Yes, Kyrie has been showing signs that he’ll be back to normal sooner than later. After a horrible opening night, where he shot just 2-14, he’s been at 15 points or more in four straight games. In the last two (vs. Orlando and OKC), he made a combined 16-32. Kyrie is also averaging 5.6 assists, a hair above his career average.
In some advanced numbers, though, Kyrie’s picture isn’t pretty.
Irving still has a long ways to go to change his reputation as an often-disinterested defender. Through five games, the Celtics own a team-worst defensive rating of 105.3 when Irving is on the court, a jarring number when you consider Boston’s team rating is 96.6 — a mark that leads the scoring-boom NBA by 4.4 points per 100 possessions. Boston’s defensive rating plummets to an impossibly low 69.9 during the 75 minutes that Irving has been off the court.
Meanwhile, the news on Hayward isn’t especially good.
On Thursday night, with 5 minutes and 11 seconds left in Boston’s matchup against the Thunder, the Celtics trailed, 89-85, and the stage was set for a dramatic finish. But Hayward would only be able to watch it.
He was summoned back to the bench, replaced by Marcus Morris, and he would stay there for the rest of Boston’s comeback victory.
Hayward, who missed all but five minutes of last season after suffering a catastrophic left ankle injury in the opening game, knew he would have his playing time restricted for a few weeks as he regained his rhythm. And when he returns to the locker room after games and the soreness in that surgically repaired ankle returns, he understands why the reins have not been removed yet.
But it is still not easy on him. He wants to play. He understands why there is pain in the ankle, but he is also sick of it. He would like to feel perfect again and remind everyone why he was an All-Star two seasons ago.
Globe: With ankle soreness lingering, Gordon Hayward is still trying to find his way
Hayward is struggling, that’s plain to see. About the only stat where he’s been effective is three-point shooting, where he’s 6-14 (40%). Everything else is a problem: he’s not moving fluidly, he’s suffering from recurring soreness that caused him to unexpectedly sit out a second-night of a back-to-back, and he remains under a minutes restriction. Gordon is also a liability at both ends of the court.
He is averaging 10 points and 5.8 rebounds while making 39.5 percent of his shots. During his 98 minutes, the Celtics have been outscored by an average of 9.7 points per 100 possessions, the worst net rating on the team. During his 142 minutes on the bench, the Celtics have outscored opponents by 12.0 points per 100 possessions.
Hayward knows all this, and it has been difficult to deal with.
But it is still not easy on him. He wants to play. He understands why there is pain in the ankle, but he is also sick of it. He would like to feel perfect again and remind everyone why he was an All-Star two seasons ago.
We all feel for the guy, but we’re realizing that getting the normal Hayward may take a while.
“I’m definitely trying to do that, finding joy in being able to play basketball again and being able to be out on the court again,” Hayward said. “That’s something I’m trying to do every day.”
And, finally… In case you missed it
Cool moment after the OKC game for one kid who already has his Halloween costume.
Uncle Drew kid got Kyrie’s shoes. pic.twitter.com/qnxz9je3YX
— Chris Forsberg (@ChrisForsberg_) October 26, 2018
The Rest of the Links:
Yahoo: Unbeaten Pistons to measure themselves against Celtics
Herald: Celtics take cue from Red Sox
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