Horford a late scratch
CHICAGO – With Al Horford out because of recurring knee soreness, Aron Baynes out with a sprained left ankle, and rookie Robert Williams on a team-sanctioned absence to attend the birth of his daughter, Brad Stevens had an open mind.
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“I’m open to suggestions,” the Celtics coach said of his team’s late downsizing for last night’s game against the Bulls, with Daniel Theis his choice as an emergency starter for Horford in the middle. Horford, who already had missed two games this season and turned in his best performance with 19 points and 12 rebounds against the Knicks Thursday night after a significant rest period, felt his knee regress during yesterday’s shootaround. “Shootaround I was 50-50 but confident that I could get it going. It just wasn’t right. But everything is fine,” he said after returning to the locker room after a pregame workout. Horford rode an exercise bike in the locker room and then went out on the floor, to no avail. He stressed the knee is “structurally sound.”
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The Celtics’ offensive production has jumped, with point totals of at least 115 in the four games leading up to last night’s contest. Kyrie Irving has said the game is fun again, calling into question the approach of this team before the fourgame winning streak. Marcus Smart agrees. “Everybody is starting to play together,” the Celtics guard said. “There’s more ball movement. It’s a good sign. Everybody is smiling, guys are having fun on the court now, not really worried about stats or anything like that. We’re worried about winning.” Then again, perhaps this team had to go through some hard times. Most teams need those tribulations, according to Smart. “Every team has to go through some kind of tough time, and this one was just ours, what we just went through,” he said. The Celtics’ solution, at least in the short term, appears to be adequate ball movement. “Everyone’s trying to describe the ways,” Smart said. “If one does good, everybody does good, we all do good, so seeing each other go out there and try to figure it out, we’re all doing better.”
Baynes tries
Baynes had already been ruled out for last night’s game by the time of the morning shootaround. But the Celtics center, suffering from a left ankle sprain, was still the first player on the floor at the University of Illinois-Chicago’s practice court. He immediately started shooting. Asked if it was a hard sell to tell the backup center he was a scratch, Stevens started laughing. “Yeah. I said the other day that he’ll do anything to play, but he’s also smart,” the coach said. “These games come quick, and if it becomes a lingering thing, it’s not good.” … Stevens, who seems to know everyone in the coaching business, is very familiar with Pat Fitzgerald, the Northwestern football coach who is being talked up as a future NFL boss. Indeed, he is being labeled football’s version of Stevens. “I don’t pay attention to that. I know Pat, I think Pat’s great, he’s had a great run here and all they’ve done with Northwestern football and the new facility, and playing in the Big Ten championship this year,” Stevens said. “Should he ever choose to leave, he’ll do great wherever he goes, but my guess just from looking in is it would be hard to get him to leave.”