Bird watching at the Garden
Kyrie shoots back at fans
“There’s no hostility bro, it’s basketball,” Kyrie Irving said after dropping 39 points on the Celtics Sunday, including a third quarter 3-pointer that he packaged with a flash of his middle finger at a Garden
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fan.
Considering the multitude that booed the prodigal Celtic during the C’s 115114 win over the Nets, it was probably a one size fits all gesture. And after talking earlier in the week about wanting to keep things civil, Irving had a different kind of thought.
“Nah.”
“Where I’m from, I’m used to all these antics and people being close nearby, it’s nothing new when I come into this building what it’s gonna be like, but it’s the same energy they had for me, and Imma have the same energy for them,” said the Nets star. “And it’s not every fan. I don’t want to attack every Boston fan, but when people start yelling (bleep), and (bleep) and (bleep) you and all this other stuff, there’s only but so much you can take as a competitor, and we’re the ones expected to be docile and be humble and take a humble approach.
“Nah, (bleep) that. It’s the playoffs. This is what it is. I know what to expect in here, and it’s the same energy I’m giving back to them. It is what it is. I’m not really focused on it. It’s fun, you know what I’m saying, but where I’m from, I’ve dealt with so much, coming in here, you relish it as a competitor. And imma keep repeating myself when I say it again, but this isn’t my first time in TD Garden so what you guys saw and what you guys think is entertainment, or the fans think is entertainment, all is fair in competition. So if somebody’s gonna call me out of my name, imma look at them straight in the eye and see if they’re really ‘bout it. Most of the time they’re not.”
Digging in on Durant
On a night of big defensive plays, Jayson Tatum had the biggest when he pressured a Kevin Durant airball just before winning the game with a buzzer-beating layup down the other end. Though Durant hit a pair of big shots in the fourth, he got off to a rough start, turning the ball over three times in the first quarter on his way to a 23-point, 9-for-24, six-turnover performance.
“Follow the game plan. Don’t leave somebody on an island,” Tatum said of the Durant scheme. “Obviously you’ve gotta take pride on guarding him one-on-one, but listen to the guys behind you, everybody’s helping, and it’s not just one guy contesting, it’s probably going to be two guys. And just try not to give him any easy looks. That’s all you can really ask for.”
Limber Horford
Al Horford, who’s been getting treatment for a bad back, was at his energizing best with 20 points and 15 rebounds in 42 minutes, the second most on the team.
“I feel fine. Obviously start the recovery stuff and get ready for Wednesday,” Horford said in a particularly stoic postgame form that belied his emotional performance. “It’s the playoffs, we are playing at TD Garden. It doesn’t get any better than being in this position. Our crowd was great tonight, they were unbelievable. I’m just enjoying the moment.” Timelord’s timeline
Rob Williams, gently skipping while he was dribbling a basketball on his way to the weight room at the Auerbach Center following Saturday’s practice, continues to progress at a pace that could result in a return before the end of this first round series.
But the Celtics, per usual, are playing it safe.
“Just progressing nicely. Doing a little bit more every day. On-court work now,” said Ime Udoka. “But as I’ve said all along we’re preparing to play this series without him, understanding that if we’re surprised by something, great, but we feel like we have enough with what we have now. Obviously he’s a huge piece to that but not thinking he’s coming back any time sooner than the time frame they gave us.
“He’ll work his way up as far as that when the time comes, but right now it’s really his flexibility, strengthening it, getting on the court doing some things, and then he’ll ramp that up little by little with the intensity. The big piece is the swelling and healing process. Everybody reacts to that differently and that can set some people back. So as long as he’s not getting swelling or some negative things we’ll just continue (the process).”
Inside intel
Udoka has an interesting tool in this series, his time on the Brooklyn staff last season considered.
“From a personnel standpoint obviously. I was with them for a year and I know about certain guys, different team in certain ways, (James) Harden obviously being a big piece that’s gone,” he said. “That’s different. So there’s some different conditions, but it all goes back to Durant and Irving. Some things I saw last year and throughout this year I know about those guys, so we’ll see what we can do with it. They’re highlevel scorers who kind of get what they get.”