Practice timing suits Irving fine
It’s not often that a player openly thanks the NBA, but there was Kyrie Irving last night, expressing gratitude that the Celtics only have two full days of double sessions before their first exhibition game on Friday at North Carolina’s Dean Smith Center against the Charlotte Hornets.
“Thank you, league, again, for the schedule. Thank you. Can’t wait to play,” the Duke alumnus said, with a caveat at the Auerbach Center. “I think we’re playing at UNC Chapel Hill, right? No disrespect to UNC, but I can’t wait to get back to North Carolina and go eight miles down the road.”
That would be to Durham, and Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But there is indeed a downside here. In order to make up for shortened time, coach Brad Stevens unloaded his playbook on the first day.
“Brad did put in a (expletive) ton today, but that’s who he is,” said Irving. “He’s a basketball genius for me. When he’s out there teaching us, you just appreciate it. It’s just familiarity there. We don’t really have to spend so much time teaching just the basics, just, we kind of know what our spots are. It’s just figuring out the continuity of our team on the offensive end.
“Defensively, we’re going to be who we are. That’s our identity. We have a lot of players that make a lot of plays on the defensive end. Offensively, we’re going to surprise a lot of teams, too, just based on our spacing and our lineups. I’m excited to see what that looks like.”
Bench with attitude
Marcus Morris, who will be a significant part of it, dubbed the Celtics reserves BWA — or Bench With Attitude.
“Very rare,” Irving said of the depth that comes with his return and that of Gordon Hayward to the starting lineup.
“I’d rather be too deep of a team than not have enough (talent),” said Irving. “I’ve been on a few teams where we didn’t have enough talent and that was scary. I’m happy to be a part of this and learn from this experience. Guys are just so talented. We’re going to have to figure out just being ourselves and playing the game the right way.”
The myriad combinations are already clicking in Stevens’ head.
“I love that group,” said Stevens. “Who knows how long those things will stay that way. You have a bunch of guys who have already proven they belong. It’s a responsibility of all the players to play as hard as they can. There’s no reason for us to have to get into a rhythm in a game, because we have a bunch of guys who will be itching to get in. That mindset off the bench will be really important. I’ve not been asked who we’re starting, but I’ve read that we’ve figure that out.”
Take it easy, kid
Rookie Robert Williams, after missing all but a fraction of the first game of summer league with a knee issue, has been given full clearance in training camp. But Stevens erred on the conservative side, and held the young center out of last night’s scrimmaging.
“Robert (practiced) but he didn’t scrimmage,” said Stevens. “Just taking it easy on his first day of NBA practice. He did a ton this morning. We did 25 minutes of up and down running this morning, so there was a lot of extra work. He’ll be ready to play this weekend. We’re just taking it easy on the two-a-days.”
Smart appreciates
Marcus Smart was deeply moved when coaches and teammates showed up in Dallas last week for the funeral of his mother, Camellia. But he’s clearly also relieved to be back with his team.
“Marcus told me earlier today that just coming back and running up and down the court, exerting energy, he’s been in the hospital quite a bit, by her bedside, and then the week of the funeral is an emotional, tough thing to go through,” said Stevens. “We all know what his mom meant to him, and just by being out here is important. We know there will be ups and downs and we want to be there for him.”