Larkin makes impact
Capitalizes on opportunities
Shane Larkin saw one of his former teams Tuesday night, and the second of his three NBA exes wasn’t in a good way.
The Knicks are an early favorite to hit cold bottom in the NBA this season, and based on how they failed to guard the Celtics, they’ll at least get there defensively. Larkin is getting his minutes in a far better place, with unexpected opportunities cropping up as the Celts deal with injuries. Marcus Smart’s two-game absence, in particular, created space for Larkin.
His appearance against the Knicks was his third of the season and second straight. After helping the Celtics bury the 76ers in Philadelphia last Friday with two fourth-quarter 3-pointers, he came back with his third trey in two games Tuesday while scoring six points with four assists and two steals.
As Larkin often says, he’s a different player now from the dispirited point guard who left for Baskonia of the Spanish League after one season (2015-16) with the Brooklyn Nets.
“I haven’t been on great NBA teams this far along in my career,” Larkin said. “Our team didn’t have a good year in Brooklyn. I didn’t have a good year with the Knicks. Dallas, we snuck into the playoffs my rookie year (2013-14). I haven’t been on a historically great franchise that has that much excitement around the team with conference finals, championships, quality, so being able to be in that situation and grow with that, and get winning under my belt, was going to help my career anyway. I’m glad it happened here.”
The situation here has changed radically since Larkin signed July 31. Isaiah Thomas still was in town, and the newly signed Gordon Hayward had two healthy legs. Marcus Smart was setting weight-loss records, and Terry Rozier was destroying people during his summer workouts. Opportunities didn’t seem open for a point guard joining the league for a second time.
But Brad Stevens somehow knew.
“When we signed Shane this summer, we thought Shane was going to be a really important part of our team,” the Celtics coach said. “When you have a guy who can play with other point guards, it gives you some versatility there. You need a guy who can change the tempo of a game — if things aren’t going your way, if you need someone to pick up fullcourt, all that other stuff. He’s able to do that, and it’s something he can really build off Friday.”
Larkin also showed adaptability, especially in his work with Al Horford down the stretch in the Philadelphia win. As Horford laughingly said later, they had never worked together on pick-and-rolls. And yet both players instinctively knew how to get good shots out of that combination.
“I don’t care who you are as a basketball player. Michael Jordan got six rings, but he didn’t play 1-on-5. You have to play together,” Larkin said. “Me and Al hadn’t worked that much together before, but I know his game very well. I’m a basketball fan, so I knew what type of basketball player he was.
“I know he likes to shoot the top-of-the-key 3-pointer. I was just coming off, and if I had my shot, I shot my shot, and after I made a few shots, they came to me, and then I made a pass to Al. It’s simple basketball, and he’s a smart player . ... I believe in myself, and I’m a great shooter.”
Spain helped Larkin remember he’s that good. He was the Spanish League’s Player of the Month last February, and Baskonia thought enough of him to match an offer sheet Larkin signed with FC Barcelona Lassa shortly before the Celtics came calling.
“I (had) played better in Brooklyn (after Dallas and New York),” Larkin said. “I had good stats across the board, but we lost a lot of games, so my stats didn’t mean anything, and then I was in a situation where I could go to another team, but the teams I was in contact with weren’t going to be good that year.
“I didn’t want to be labeled as a loser, a guy who can’t help win. I didn’t want to be in that situation, so I went to a historically good team in Europe, knew I was going to play a lot of minutes, and got my mentality back, which was attack, be aggressive, play the game no matter who you’re on the court with . . . . Confidence is huge in this league, and you can’t be out there not with the mindset of I’m going to have an impact . . . . Now I’m playing the game, trying to make an impact regardless. If I went 0-for10 but we’re winning and I had an impact defensively, then I’m fine.”
As it has turned out in the short term, Larkin’s impact has been more far-reaching than that.
“I didn’t know how many minutes or games I’d be in there, but I knew at some point that I was going to have my opportunity,” Larkin said.