GRIEVING BROWN MISSES GAME:
Misses Pacers tilt for funeral
INDIANAPOLIS — The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown last night. The backcourt starter chose to remain in Georgia following the funeral of his best friend yesterday.
Brown flew to Atlanta in the morning to attend services for Trevin Steede, and while he said Friday it was possible he’d catch a flight here and play against the Pacers, his emotional state after the win over Orlando seemed to make it unlikely that he’d be able to make such a brief trip home.
According to coach Brad Stevens, Brown was flying back to Boston either late last night or this morning. He will be available for tomorrow night’s home game versus Detroit.
Stevens had made it clear that it was Brown’s choice whether to play last night. He left a door open similarly when the Celts were in Atlanta last Saturday. Brown had flown there early to be with family and friends.
“There are bigger things than basketball,” Stevens said before last night’s 10898 win over Indiana. “For everybody that’s been to a funeral, we’ve all been there, and then afterward I think it’s appropriate to take whatever time you need — whether it’s to grieve, to celebrate the life of the person that passed, to spend time with family and friends. But you need that time.
“We did not expect him to be here. We wanted him to take that time.”
Marcus Smart replaced Brown in the starting five, joining regulars Kyrie Irving, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum.
With Marcus Morris (knee) held out of the second game of a back-to-back and remained in Boston,
Daniel Theis — who did not play against Orlando Friday — got his second start. Theis was also started in the win in Milwaukee on Oct. 26, and had five rebounds in 19 minutes. Last night, Theis had five points and five boards in 21 minutes.
Fully engaged
Stevens was asked after the victory if he’s wondered how good the Celts would be if they had Gordon Hayward. He rejected the premise of the question.
“First of all, we do have Hayward,” he said. “He’s around us almost every day. He’s active . ... He’s engaged with the guys, so we look at it as everybody’s got a role to play and a job to do.
“He’s physically unable to play, but in every other way, he’s a part of our team. And everybody else has to step up in his absence.”
Release valve
Stevens doesn’t necessarily believe there was any pressure release after the Celts’ 16-game winning streak ended last Wednesday in Miami.
“I never sensed any of that,” he said. “Maybe they could answer that. Maybe they’d say that. But literally we just focused on the next game . . . . I didn’t feel like there was a ton of pressure.
“We need to just focus on getting better. We tried to do that throughout the first 20 games, regardless of result.”
Tough Hoosier times
The Pacers were expecting a good crowd and got 16,303, what with it being a Saturday and the opposition being provided by the Celtics (lingering Larry Bird lovers and local guy Stevens coaching). But these are not great times for attendance at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, which happens to be one of the two or three best arenas in the NBA (tighter configuration than most).
The Pacers began the night second-worst in league attendance, averaging just 15,237 a game. That betters only Atlanta’s 14,350.
Despite great history in both the ABA and NBA, the pro game can be a tough sell in a state where college and high school games draw so much attention.
“It definitely is that way,” said Orlando coach Frank Vogel, who spent 51⁄2 years as the Pacers’ head man after 31⁄2 as an assistant — and loves both the area and the franchise. “Basketball’s more important to people in Indiana than it is anywhere else.
“When it comes to pro basketball, I think they have a good organization. They’ve always had good coaches in there and good staffs, and they’ve done a good job putting together talent in a small market.”
But it can be hard to draw here if the team isn’t winning.
“Again, it’s a small market,” said Vogel, “so if you’re not winning, you’re not going to have sellout crowds. That’s just the nature of the beast, and it’s part of pro sports in a lot of places. But they do have great fans there.”