New 5 get Tommy points
Tommy Heinsohn was sitting on the Celtics bench an hour before tipoff. A couple of people walked by and said he may have to play.
CELTICS BEAT Steve Bulpett
Six of the Celts’ 15 fulltime players were out, and one of their two two-way players was unavailable, as well. It was an all-hands-ondeck situation against the Wizards last night, and if Guerschon Yabusele could go from the G-League to starter in the wink of an injury report, there had to be room for a six-time champion with an 18.6 per game scoring average, right?
At one point, however, it seemed the joking was a bit much, so I decided to stick up for the 83-year-old Hall of Famer. It was noted that, hey, this man has six fouls, and he’s not afraid to use them.
“In the first quarter,” said Tommy.
But Heinsohn had clearly erred in not bringing his sneakers to the Garden. (The pay is a little better now than back in his day. The most he ever made as a player was $28,500. The minimum this season for a player with no previous experience is $815,615.)
Soon enough, Tommy was back in his television role, critiquing foul calls instead of committing them. And, rather amazingly for a guy who’s been in the NBA in one form or another since 1956, he got to see something he’d never before witnessed. Celtics starters Yabusele, Marcus Morris, Jayson Tatum, Terry Rozier and Aron Baynes had yet to be on the floor together.
There was only one thing crazier than the lineup shuffling coach Brad Stevens was forced do versus Washington.
That it almost worked. The Celtics fell in double-overtime, 125-124, giving up a Jodie Meeks trey at the end of regulation and watching a free throw by Tatum, questionable earlier in the day as he dealt with lower back pain, bounce off the iron with 3.1 seconds left to set up the second OT.
The evening ended when the rookie’s 3-pointer couldn’t find the strings.
Despite understandably lowered expectations, the ambulatory Celtics were professional enough to be disappointed as they walked off the parquet.
It had been quite a night. Quite a strange night.
Necessity was the mother of most of it.
Al Horford is still suffering from the bug that’s been going around. Kyrie Irving’s left knee needs more rest, though he will be on today’s flight and could be available tomorrow in Orlando or Sunday in New Orleans. Jaylen Brown is in the NBA’s concussion protocol and will not be on the trip. Marcus Smart still needs more tests and opinions on his right thumb, and the possibilities range from a fairly quick return to surgery and being lost for the season. Daniel Theis will have surgery on his left knee today. Gordon Hayward is still rehabbing his left ankle and is either out for the year (Stevens’ proclamation) or still holding out some hope for a comeback this season (Hayward’s take).
If CPAs are keeping score at home, that’s $86,641,046 on the shelf.
So Yabusele left the Maine Red Claws on the road in Delaware and joined a quintet that makes $19,209,400, or more than $10 million less than Hayward. He told his parents they’d have to stay up late to watch him on television last night. With France six hours ahead of the East Coast, the Celts and Wizards tipped off at 2 a.m.
The Dancing Bear insisted beforehand that he wasn’t at all nervous, but he seemed a tad reluctant to shoot. Yabusele passed on a few opportunities, not attempting a field goal until the second half while on the way to a quiet four points.
But he and his new floormates were just fine anyway. Those guys that had never played with each other before? They needed less than six minutes to produce a 15-point lead. The Unfamiliar Five combined for 26 points as the Celts led, 3723, after one quarter.
But it’s not like there weren’t any issues.
On the Celtics’ first possession of the night, Morris threw an incomplete pass to Baynes, and it really shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. The two had been on the floor together in just 31 of the Celtics’ 67 games, and then for an average of just 6.94 minutes.
Morris had a good idea trying to feed Baynes in the post. He just didn’t know which fork to use.
Eventually he figured it out. With 2:38 left in the first half and the Celts ahead by 16, Morris got the ball inside to Baynes, who was immediately fouled and hit one of the two free throws.
Their magic was, alas, minimized in the second period. After people like Semi Ojeleye, Abdel Nader, Greg Monroe and the irrepressible Shane Larkin had pushed the advantage to 20, the Irregulars returned and presided over a 10-0 Wizard run to end the half.
Washington came all the way back to take its first lead of the evening with 3:35 left in the third quarter. But Rozier and Morris warmed and set this night on the course for a tight finish.
Tight times three, with crunch times in the fourth quarter and two overtimes.
And to think, Tommy would have had time to go home and get his Chuck Taylors.