C’s wouldn’t change a thing
BY STEVE BULPETT In a story on Gordon Hayward last Tuesday, we went through all the changes the Celtics have made since he agreed to sign here as a free agent. We wondered at the end whether, given knowledge of the circumstances as they played out before and after his big injury last year, he would have still come to Boston. In the end, Hayward acknowledged that it was the chance to win that brought him here, and that opportunity is still very much in play. But what about the view from the Celtics’ standpoint? Knowing how good Jayson Tatum has become at a pace quicker than expected, would the C’s still drop a maximum contract on Hayward? And we’re not talking about talent here; this is solely a question of salary cap management. Danny Ainge shrugged off the query. “I don’t think you can do any good by going into the past and looking at things like that,” the Celts’ president of basketball operations said. “But, listen, I see a lot of good things in Gordon. I think Gordon’s going to have a great year. I think it’s going to be a lot closer to what he envisioned it being in Boston than what it was earlier in the season.” The original story detailed how Hayward was expecting to play with Isaiah Thomas when he signed as a free agent. Then Thomas was traded for Kyrie Irving, whom he loves playing with. And Tatum’s rise as a rookie altered the landscape, too. “And just like things have changed from a year ago, things will change a year from now,” said Ainge. “That’s just the nature of our business. If you don’t like it, just wait a minute. “But you can’t have too many 6-foot-7 playmaking players that can shoot, dribble, pass, defend multiple positions, etc. You can’t have too many of them.”
Timing is key
I was chatting with Donovan Mitchell recently about NBA success being tied to timing and the right opportunity, and there may be no better current example than E’Twaun Moore, a 2011 second-round draft pick by the Celtics, No. 55 overall — and he still wears that number. Moore was traded away after a year and spent time in Orlando and Chicago before getting to New Orleans, where he has become a starter. (And will be back at the Garden with the Pelicans tomorrow night.) Said Mitchell, who benefited from Hayward’s free agent departure from Utah, “It was mind blowing to me last year how many guys I grew up with, you know, No. 1 in the country and all this, yada-yada, top 10, and now they’re struggling to find a spot. It’s all about time and place.” Said Moore’s coach with the Pels, Alvin Gentry, “It’s fit, man. You know, you’ve got to find your niche on a team that really needs you and understands you. “I go back and I use Avery Johnson as the perfect example. He was cut five times in the NBA, and then the guy gets with San Antonio and he’s a starter and he wins a championship. “It’s all about fit and it’s all about getting in a position where you can best utilize what your skills are, and I think, for us, E’Twaun’s been really good at just figuring out what he can do to help us win. He’s a low maintenance guy. He’s not a guy you’ve got to call a ton of plays for. He just seems to find a way. But I always say the ball finds energy, and he’s an energy guy. That’s why I think he’s fit in well here.” Added Gentry: “He’s almost like a utility infielder in the major leagues. You know, he may not do anything great, but he can do a ton of things good enough that he can play anywhere. You can be a third baseman or you can be a first baseman or you can be an outfielder. That’s the way I look at it.”
Celtics timeline
Tomorrow vs. New Orleans, 7:30 p.m. — The Celtics seemed to snap out of their funk with the 124-107 win in New Orleans on Nov. 26, and no doubt the Pelicans weren’t happy with the way they played that night. J’rue Holiday had five turnovers in the game’s first eight minutes, and though the hosts came back and made it tight in the fourth quarter, the Celts seemed to be in control. Wednesday at Washington, 7 p.m. — The Wizards have been through a mess of drama this season, but they remain a team that can do significant damage when they have their game together. Bradley Beal and John Wall are still one of the most talented backcourts in the league, and the sight of the Celts in their gym will have them and their teammates excited as they get home from four straight road games. Friday vs. Atlanta, 7 p.m. — The Celtics threw 45 points at the Hawks in the first quarter on the day after Thanksgiving in Atlanta. That was enough to withstand any comeback by the hosts, who got a horrible night out of prized rookie guard Trae Young. The No. 5 overall draft pick hit just two of his seven shots (0-for-5 on 3-pointers), scored five points and was a whopping minus-35 in just 19½ minutes. That’s hard to do. Saturday at Detroit, 7 p.m. — The Pistons lost five straight games after opening the season with four wins in a row. Two of those five defeats were in a home-andhome series three days apart with the Celtics, who beat them by 20 in Detroit and by just three at the Garden. Jaylen Brown had 19 and 14 points, respectively, in the two games, while Marcus Morris had 18 and 15 against his old team. But the Motor City crew has had another recent resurgence, beating the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors in a five-win burst.