Stevens all pumped to do job
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Brad Stevens morphed into a strange hybrid last night on the eve of the Celtics’ opener against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics coach channeled both the “do your job” spirit of Bill Belichick and the jacked-and-pumped psyche of Pete Carroll.
Asked about his words for Gordon Hayward on the night of the Celtics forward’s first official NBA game on the parquet, he said, “Do your job on the first possession, let everything else take care of itself.”
When a reporter jokingly questioned Stevens’ sentimentality after his Hayward comment, he added, “Because that’s the only way to go about it. I know it’s an emotional night. It’s an emotional night for everybody. They get to play an NBA game again. Gordon’s not the only one coming back who didn’t play in the playoffs. Kyrie (Irving) didn’t play in the playoffs and Daniel Theis didn’t play in the playoffs. They’ve got guys that didn’t play.
“Everyone will be jacked up and amped up about the game. So do your job well, right? That’s one of the tasks that great teams are able to do, so we’ll try to focus on that. There will be energy and probably some missed opportunities because of that. Whichever team settles into that sooner rather than later will be in good shape.”
Stevens’ plan seemed to work as the Celtics went on to secure a 105-87 seasonopening victory over the Sixers at the Garden.
But before the outcome was determined, someone questioned whether the even-keeled Stevens was sufficiently amped. He smiled and said: “Don’t think I’m amped up? No, we’re all excited to start a new year,” he said. “My job is to coach the team so I’m preparing them the best I can. Sometimes it’s a dud, sometimes it’s helpful. But at the end of the day, the longer you’re in it the more you do your job as best as you can.
“We know it’s Game 1, know what the environment will be like. We also know we have a long season ahead of us.”
He’s now all Boston
Celts guard Brad Wanamaker’s first official NBA game couldn’t have been timed more oddly with a game against the Philadelphia native’s favorite team.
“It’s big for me since I grew up as a Sixers fan. Have a lot of family and friends there. Special moment for me and my family. Overall it’s a dream not just for me but my family,” said Wanamaker, who played in Turkey last year and watched the Celtics-Sixers conference semifinal series from further afar than most.
“I watched it last year, not knowing I would be in this situation now,” he said. “Seeing how they fought and got after it. Obviously being from Philadelphia I was happy to see the Sixers with so much success. I didn’t have a team I was rooting for at the time. Obviously, Marcus Morris and Jerome (Allen), I was rooting for those guys as well.
“It was great for our city, but I’m a Celtic. It’s great for both teams, the future is bright for both. I’m sure this rivalry will go on for a couple more years.”
Wanamaker was 14 when these teams met in the playoffs. “Around the time Antoine Walker and Paul Pierce were together,” he said. “Boston-Philly series was pretty good, with (Allen) Iverson.”
Payback time
Like Wanamaker, Morris is in a unique position, as a Philadelphia-born athlete playing for what is becoming, yet again, a bitter NBA rival.
Morris can also understand some of the bitterness Philadelphia will carry into the season opener in the Garden, the site of their Game 5 elimination in last season’s Eastern Conference semifinals.
“I could see that, because if I knew I was on their side, almost getting swept, I would put some stuff away,” said the Celtics forward. “I expect it to be a lot of fire, lot of energy. I feel it’s going to be that type of atmosphere, like playoffs.”
Like most, Morris is curious to see how the sixers’ Markelle Fultz, a surprise starter last night, responds after a rookie season that was truncated by injury and shooting issues.
“Physicality is going to definitely be different for him,” he said. “I’m happy for Fultz being able to play. Hopefully he does well, not against us.”
Scary souvenirs
Morris and his namesake, Marcus Smart, put “Nightmare on Causeway” Tshirts in the locker of every teammate, with each player depicted in Halloween garb. There will be more.