Tatum looks forward to Walker reunion
Parker cut, Hauser likely makes roster on two-way deal
Wednesday’s season opener in New York will have an odd sense of familiarity coming from the other bench, now that Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier are Knicks.
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
Jayson Tatum is looking forward to the reunion.
“I’m super excited to play New York in our first game, playing against Kemba and Evan too, but Kemba is one of the best guys in the NBA, one of my favorite teammates that I’ve had the pleasure of playing with,” he said. “Still super close, still talk to him. I’m happy for him being back home, playing in front of his family, where he grew up. Obviously wish he could have stayed but everything happens for a reason and I’m happy for him. I’m excited to see him and play against him on Wednesday.”
Parker waived
Though Jabari Parker has often said how happy he was to be on the team since last spring, the Celtics decided to move on from the veteran forward Sunday, waiving him a day after also parting ways with Theo Pinson and Garrison Matthews. Parker’s contract was not guaranteed. He played well in spurts during his time as a Celtic, and as a late rotation plug-in when needed. Parker had his best exhibition game last Wednesday in Orlando with 10 points, including 2-for-3 3-point shooting.
The move drops the number of players to 15, including two-way player Sam Hauser, with center Bruno Fernando apparently surviving the cut. The Celtics can now add another regular roster player, as well as another twoway contract.
Waiting for Horford and Brown
Ime Udoka said there is nothing new regarding the status of Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, both in health and safety protocols after testing positive for COVID-19. Udoka has hoped that Brown — the first of the two to test positive — will be available for the season opener Wednesday night in New York, though he won’t know more until after Brown’s most recent test results.
“He’s doing well,” the Celtics coach said of Brown. “But we’ll learn more when we get the tests and hopefully he’s good to go. But we don’t have anything new as of now.”
Tatum, who knows all too well the struggle of catching COVID and returning to action, said he has reached out to both teammates.
“I reached out to both of those guys and just let them know if they need anything, whatever it is, I know how tough that can be. It’s just a tough situation,” he said. “I think something like that, I feel you would want to keep it private. But in our business, everybody wants to know what’s going on in your personal life, in your health life, and it’s all over the internet. That’s one thing that I’ve never understood because being at a regular job, our health business and information wouldn’t be all over the internet. But it’s just the situation that we’re in. I hope those guys continue to feel well and get them back out here safely as soon as possible.”
Just say no to complaining
As evidenced by his decision to bench Grant Williams Friday night after the latter lost his defensive assignment while arguing a call, Udoka has something close to a zero tolerance policy where complaining to referees is concerned.
“I think it is league-wide. It’s not an issue with our team only. For me, it’s a pet peeve of mine,” he said. “I want guys to play through stuff. Not to beat a dead horse about it, but guys do it and you get hurt by it. So I want guys to move on to the next play. To me it shows mental toughness in playing through and not expecting anything from the refs. You also get the respect by not complaining every call. I always said I was going to be a coach that doesn’t complain to the refs and I want the team to mirror that as well.”
Tatum, particularly well known for his ongoing conversations with referees, admits that everyone has to tone it down.
“Yeah, it’s just something we got to be conscious of, not let it get us distracted, or take our energy and focus away from the game,” he said. “We’ve got to focus on what we can control.”
Pritchard, Williams practice
Robert Williams ran through a full practice Sunday after missing Friday’s exhibition finale due to knee tendinitis — purely a precautionary measure, according to Udoka — and is expected to play in Wednesday’s opener in New York.
The same is true of Payton Prichard, who is still waiting for delivery of the mask he will wear to protect the nose he broke Friday. He only took part in the non-contact portion of Sunday’s practice, wearing a headband and a bandage over his nose. It’s not a problem, he says. “When it originally happened I didn’t know — I just thought it was a regular hit,” he said. “Obviously felt I got hit hard, but once the blood started running I knew I had to come out. I tried to come back in the game because I didn’t know my nose was broken, but it ended up being broken. Got it fixed, I’ll get my mask and I’ll be playing on Wednesday.”