April 17th 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum
Ahead of today’s first playoff game against the Nets, starting Celtics point guard Marcus Smart expressed his plan to defend Nets starting point guard (and Smart’s former Boston teammate for two years) Kyrie Irving, per Steve Popper of Newday.
“It’s just making every shot and every possession that he has the ball as hard as possible for him,” Smart said. “He’s one of the greatest to do it for a reason. We understand that we’re not going to shut his water off all the way completely. We understand we’re not going to stop him. He’s going to score. He’s going to make tough shots. But we’re going to make those shots as tough as possible.”
There’s more from Boston:
- As the Celtics front office saw improvement in its roster around the February trade deadline, the team decided to look towards building for the present, rather than the future, writes Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. Himmelsbach takes a detailed look at the team’s decision-making at the deadline. Team owner Wyc Grousbeck held a meeting with team management and head coach Ime Udoka. “Wyc came to us and said, ‘I think this team could be really good,'” per team vice president of basketball operations Mike Zarren. “He said, ‘Let’s go for it. We’re not sellers. We’re buyers.'” The team finished the season as the second seed in the East with a 51-31 record, in part thanks to the bolstered bench depth it added via trade in reserves Derrick White and Daniel Theis.
- Celtics head coach Ime Udoka has his players buying in thanks to an excellent conclusion to the 2021/22 NBA season, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “One thing I’ve always admired about him, especially as a first-year head coach, was how hungry he was,” said Celtics All-Star forward Jayson Tatum of his first-year head coach in March. “You could tell how hard he was going to work. We always stuck with him, and he stuck with us and changed our history around.”
- Returning Celtics big man Al Horford is enjoying his second stint with Boston, and the growth he has witnessed in the teammates with whom he has reunited, per Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. “They inspire me,” Horford said. “Everything has worked now because, not only did those guys grow, but [Robert Williams] came into his own, and there were other things that helped the group to get in the position we’re in today.”
"trade" - Google News
April 18, 2022 at 05:03AM
https://ift.tt/0oQgyCt
Celtics Notes: Smart, Trade Deadline, Udoka, Horford - hoopsrumors.com
"trade" - Google News
https://ift.tt/IGU308P
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar