Escalated Brown, Tatum to fill small forward void
The Celtics, now without Gordon Hayward, just got infinitely younger with Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum in line to assume even larger roles due to the sudden void at small forward.
“Jayson is a special talent, and we’re going to need to see it from him this season, especially with Gordon going down,” Brown said of his rookie teammate. “He’ll have to step up, but Jayson will be all right.
“I just think it’s on the team. We have to come together and play. We have a great coach in Brad Stevens, so at that point it’s (a matter of ) play for each other, play the game the right way, and we’ll be fine.”
Brown was sporting a bandage on his left wrist after his 18-point effort in a 108-100 loss to the Bucks.
“Might have sprained it a bit,” Brown said. “I’ll be all right.”
C’s may get exception
Should the Celtics decide that Hayward is unlikely to return this season, they can apply for a provision called the Disabled Player Exception, an amount the equivalent of the $8.4 million nontaxpayer mid-level exception.
Their application would be subject to approval by a league-appointed doctor, who could reject the bid if the independent checkup determines there’s a chance that Hayward will return.
Should Hayward be able to come back from his broken ankle despite the Celtics using the exception on a player — say one bought out after the Feb. 8 trade deadline — they would be allowed to retain the player. The C’s would have until March 10 to use the exception.
Stevens: No-fault fall
Jae Crowder’s role in the Hayward play — the ex-Celtic bodied Hayward from behind as the Celtics forward fell — has been the subject of some social media trolling. LeBron James, going for the ball on the alley-oop play, also made contact with Hayward’s arm. But Stevens wants no part of that narrative.
“You know, I haven’t rewatched it. I don’t really have any interest in rewatching it just because of the fall. I didn’t think that at all when I was watching it live,” Stevens said. “I mean, I thought that LeBron actually read the play, jumped up, deflected the pass and it was just an unfortunate, awkward landing. There was no ill will, no fault.”
Wide support system
League outreach to Hayward has been incredible.
“It’s helped his spirits quite a bit,” Stevens said. “I’m sure all of you have shared text messages with your friends. People were texting all of us and certainly he’s heard from a ton of people both directly and indirectly. And he’s appreciative of that. I thought both teams yesterday were obviously affected by that. I thought the Cavs organization was top notch in taking care of him of while we were there. We all appreciated that. And obviously their players and our players were concerned about him. He’ll continue to need that support as he goes through this.”