Silas has Stevens’ empathy
If there are similarities with the Rockets’ situation and the Celtics’ when Brad Stevens took over as the Celtics coach in 2013, Rockets coach Steven Silas did not have to test his memory to find them. Reminders had come from Stevens in recent weeks.
When Stevens became head coach, the Celtics had moved on from signature stars Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry (and Ray Allen the previous season,) and a respected veteran coach, Doc Rivers. Silas took over the Rockets, succeeding Mike D’Antoni, amid the departures of James Harden, Russell Westbrook and P.J. Tucker (and Chris Paul the previous season.)
The Celtics at the time, as with the Rockets now, had a stockpile of firstround picks waiting for the rebuild.
“Actually, Brad reached out to me a couple weeks ago,” Silas said. “That first time we played them (March 14), after the game he was like, ‘That first year was tough to stay with it.’ Then he sent me a text a few weeks ago saying, “I went through the same thing, I know we don’t really know each other very well but if you want to reach out and talk about this process that you’re going through, just reach out and we can talk about it.’
“I haven’t done it yet. I definitely will at some point. But there’s a lot of similarities to when he first came here and what I’m going through. I’m looking forward to having those conversations with him.”
The Celtics went 25-57 in Stevens’ first season. They have been 316-214 in the seven seasons since, drafting All-Stars Jayson Tatum in 2017 and Jaylen Brown in 2016.
Silas had another reason to have been watching closely.
“With my dad being a former Celtic and all of that, the Boston Celtics organization holds a special place in my heart,” said Silas, who attended Brown University in Providence, R.I. “Connecting with him is definitely a priority of mine.”
There now another similarity. As with Stevens’ first team as an NBA head coach, Silas’ includes Avery Bradley and Kelly Olynyk.
Wall out again with fluid in knee
Rockets guard John Wall missed a secondconsecutive game on Friday with fluid in his left knee with no timetable to return, though he had been considered day-today.
Wall went through some of Thursday’s practice in Boston and had been listed as questionable, as he was before sitting out Wednesday’s game in Brooklyn. The Rockets play a back-to-back Sunday and Monday against the Pelicans and Mavericks.
Wall missed five games in March after he bruised the knee in the first practice after the All-Star break. He also missed five games in January with soreness in his left knee.
Wood shows growth after loss
Though the Rockets made a point to say center Christian Wood should not have blamed himself for Wednesday’s loss against the Nets, there was a sense that it was still important and potentially beneficial that he did.
“I feel like this loss is on me,” Wood said after Wednesday’s game when he scored just two fourthquarter points, finishing with 14. “I take that one and I’ll be better next game.”
Rockets coach Stephen Silas said Wood’s willingness to take responsibility for a loss was a sign of his growth.
“It’s a work in progress. For him to do that is a step in the right direction,” Silas said. “It wasn’t all him in our last game that lost the game or whatever. It was a group effort. But for him to, No. 1 understand the importance that he has to our group and what he means to us and how his play affects what else is going on is a step forward for him.
“I was with him back when he was in Charlotte (in 2016-17 when Silas was a Hornets assistant.) He didn’t have the same maturity and all of those things. Little steps like that, like him after the last game him saying he takes responsibility, helps you move forward, helps you grow and are things you can build on.”