The Boston Celtics have played a ridiculous early season schedule that hasn’t given them two days off in more than a month (they had three days off October 21-23). Going four-plus weeks playing a game every other day (with a couple of back-to-backs for additional stupidity) doesn’t give the team much chance to do much more than talk on a plane or have a couple of walk-throughs.
The fact that they went 17-2 in that stretch is beyond amazing. Getting a day off and a solid practice is perfect after going 2-2 in the last four games. Here are a couple of notes from the day:
Al Horford is on the Tatum Train:
“We have Tatum at 19, and wait ’til you see him in two years,” Horford said. “He’s way ahead of the game. We weren’t expecting this from him. It gets you excited when you think about it.”
We’ve been saying it since summer league… this kid is really damn good. As I’ve said, Tatum is well positioned for a lot of Rookie of the Year votes. He might come back down to earth a little as the season wears on, but he’s on his way to being something special
Brad Stevens is not satisfied with anything
Brad Stevens says, as a coach, it's impossible to be 100% satisfied with his team's performance. "I don't think you ever want to be (completely satisfied). The beautiful thing is that this is an imperfect game, but you try to strive to be as perfect as possible." pic.twitter.com/PTTYX7WSLW
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 29, 2017
Even when things are going great, there’s always something to nitpick as a coach. There’s plenty for the Celtics to work out, though. One of my biggest concerns right now is Marcus Morris as a starter, which has statistically been bad so far. But right now I’m not sure if his struggles are because he came in during his stretch where there’s been no practice or if there’s something bigger going on. Will Brad Stevens have to make a change to his starting lineup or will some extra reps and film help him get into a better groove.
That was one of the topics Jay King and guest Chris Forsberg discussed in the latest Locked On Celtics podcast. You can listen to that here:
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Kyrie having some fun with the guys
Here's Kyrie politely informing Jaylen and Smart they didn't stop him.
Just kidding. He tells them to GTFOH. https://t.co/Nv6Uc453K3
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 29, 2017
And of course… the Kyrie quote of the day
Kyrie Irving with a wisdom bomb: "Man, comparison's a thief of joy."
He was asked if he could have made all the same passes last year or before.
Went on to say, "It's kind of hard to compare it because I feel like my role was probably a little different last year in Cleveland"
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 29, 2017
Masked. Woke. Untucked.
Celtics take on Philly tomorrow… but you won’t see Joel Embiid
Simmons and Embiid will play tonight. Embiid will not play tomorrow in Boston.
— Jessica Camerato (@JessicaCamerato) November 29, 2017
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