Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
The situation, which came after both players were pulled from the game in the third quarter, was intense enough that Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga stepped in between and told Green to step away. Green then stood for a prolonged period at the end of the Celtics bench watching the game.
Both players, along with fellow starter Jared Sullinger, stayed on the bench the rest of the way because of their ineffective play.
But arguments are part of the game, according to Green.
“It was miscommunication, that’s all,” Green said after yesterday’s practice. “We both want to win, and we get frustrated with the process. It wasn’t anything big. We’re trying to figure out a way to win, and like on any team you’re going to bump heads. We had a miscommunication and you guys saw it, that’s it. It happens on every team. It probably happens more than you know.”
Asked about standing at the end of the bench with his hands on his hips in apparent anger, Green said, “I was just standing there. I didn’t want to sit down because it was cold, and I would have got tight. It wasn’t me trying to distance myself from anybody. Don’t read too much into that.”
Bass was equally dismissive of the moment.
“It wasn’t a big deal, a small thing,” he said. “It happens. It’s happened plenty of times to everybody, all the time. But it wasn’t a big thing. That was easy to correct.”
Celtics coach Brad Stevens now expects both players to move on. He has no reason to doubt that they will.
“I didn’t lose any sleep over it,” he said. “Anybody who has been on a team knows that those things happen. I would be concerned if it didn’t involve two good people. Jeff Green is a great person, and Brandon Bass is a great person. Both of them have acknowledged it was a little thing, and they’ve both moved on.
I’m surprised this incident involved two mild mannered guys like Brandon Bass and Jeff Green. I’m kinda happy to see some anger from these guys.
I’m not a fan of Brad Stevens’ decision to bench both guys for the entire 4th quarter. I’m all for benching starters when they under perform, but once the second unit starts to falter, you need to make a move.
The Celtics led 83-72 with 6 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter of the Hawks game. Atlanta ripped off a 14-2 run over the next 3 minutes. Yet, Bass and Green just sat on the bench. Stevens has said that he prefers to ride players who are playing well, but there comes a time to cash in your chips.
Related: CSNNE – Bench tiff no big deal | Globe – Celtics downplay spat
On Page 2, should we be concerned about Sullinger’s wrist injury?
Slaine posted this photo on New Year’s Eve. Sullinger is sporting a hefty brace on his left wrist for the bone bruise and sprained ligaments. He aggravated the injury during the Hawks game.
Let’s just say I don’t like the looks of that brace.
The rest of the links:
ESPN Boston – 5 bold predictions for 2014 | C’s assign Brooks to Maine | Stevens hopes for less crazy 2014 | CSNNE – Celtics/Bulls preview |
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