Big Five? Talent-rich Celtics embracing lofty expectations

CANTON, Mass. — Last summer, new Boston Celtics arrivals Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward beamed just imagining what it would be like to share the court together.

Those dreams lasted all of five minutes before Hayward was lost for the season to a gruesome leg injury on the opening night of the season.

The Celtics somehow survived it and had set themselves up to make a run at the Eastern Conference title when Irving was lost for the final stretch of the regular season and the playoffs following a pair of knee surgeries.

But four months after a season with so much potential was tossed into the "what might have been" basket and following an offseason conference shake-up that saw LeBron James head west to Los Angeles, Boston again finds itself in the spotlight heading into training camp.

Irving and Hayward are back and healthy. And they are flanked by a loaded roster of veterans and talented young players who are hungry for another shot at the franchise's 18th championship.

Irving said last season taught him not to take anything for granted.

"I missed it so much and for it to be taken away the way it did, with the timing and everything, it just wasn't ideal," Irving said. "It was hurtful, honestly, because it was an uncontrollable thing. To go through it was a learning experience, but it only helped my evolution as a person."

Hayward, who is playing without restrictions following a more than 10-month rehab process, played 5-on-5 earlier this month for the first time since his injury.

He said going through the preseason will help him feel 100 percent healthy.

"When you don't play basketball for a year, those things happen. I have to find my rhythm, find my groove a little bit," Hayward said.

Though he feels like a newcomer to this team in some ways, he said he doesn't feel any pressure.

"I don't think I necessarily have anything to prove," he said. "But internally I want to be the best version of myself."

If there was one positive thing that resulted from the absence of Irving and Hayward late last season, it was the emergence of second-year Jaylen Brown and rookie Jayson Tatum.

Thrust into starting roles late in the season, both emerged as members of the NBA's next generation of All-Star-caliber players.

Brown proved the athleticism and defensive ability he showed in his first season were no fluke. And at age 19, Tatum played fearlessly in the postseason, averaging 18.5 points per game.

What was once thought to be Boston's new Big Three of Irving, Hayward and Al Horford has quickly been recast as a Big Five.

It's left coach Brad Stevens with the enviable but delicate challenge of getting the projecting starting five of Irving, Hayward, Horford, Brown and Tatum to jell while also integrating a talented bench that includes Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris, Aron Baynes and Daniel Theis.

Rozier made the most of starter minutes when Irving was sidelined, and Smart and Morris were defensive cogs on a team that pushed the Cavaliers to seven games in the conference finals.

"We have a long way to go. That being said, we clearly have a lot of good players," Stevens said.

Morris said the first task for this group will be leaving their egos in the locker room.

"A blind person can see that we have a lot of talent," Morris said. "So obviously we all know that there is some type of sacrifice that we have to take for the betterment of this team."

Figuring out how to use the talent they have will be the fun part, Tatum said.

"Everybody's gonna have a different role, just with the loaded roster that we have," he said. "Whatever it takes to win. That's what we care about. Winning takes care of everything."

source: philstar.com

Celtics’ Heyward: Rehab was ‘most difficult thing I’ve done’

BOSTON — The Celtics were in sunny Los Angeles, it was another sub-zero winter day back in Boston, and Gordon Hayward was stuck in rehab, shooting baskets from a chair and picking up marbles with his toes to work his surgically repaired ankle back into shape.

“The hardest part of the whole process has been the mental challenge,” Hayward said Thursday (Friday in Manila), reporting that he is 100 percent healthy and preparing to be on the court for the Oct. 16 opener against the Philadelphia 76ers. “I think you find the fight within yourself.”

The Celtics’ top free-agent acquisition of the 2017 summer, Hayward was injured in the first quarter of the first game of the season when he landed awkwardly on his left leg, breaking his tibia and dislocating his ankle. He may have been able to return before the end of the season, but then he needed more surgery in May.

Other players did their best to keep up his spirits: One time, Aron Baynes brought back some Krispy Kreme doughnuts from a road trip and drove them over to Hayward’s house.

“There’s so many days where I wake up and it’s like, ’Man, here we go again,’” he said. “It was the most difficult thing I’ve done.”

Speaking at the new practice facility named for Red Auerbach, Hayward said he celebrated each bit of progress — the walking boot coming off, or shooting baskets standing up, instead of sitting in a chair. Within the past two weeks, he has been able to play five-on-five basketball.

“With each step I get some joy,” said Hayward, who then slipped into his Celtics uniform and took part in a photoshoot.

Now, he said, he is ready to get back in the green for real.

“I expect to be out there,” he said. “I would say I’m basically 100 percent. There are certain things that I think are going to take time. Even if I was 100 percent healthy, I’m not 100 percent basketball-wise, just because I haven’t played in a year. I’m trying to figure those things out.”

Despite losing both Hayward and, later, point guard Kyrie Irving, the Celtics earned the No. 2 seed in the East last season and took Cleveland to seven games in the conference finals.

“Watching the guys last year just gave me a lot of confidence in our team and what I think we have the ability to do,” he said. “I’ve been playing with some of them these last two weeks, and we have a lot of talent on this team. ... It’s going to be a fun year.”

source: philstar.com

Durant scores 38 points, Warriors beat Jazz to take 3-0 lead

SALT LAKE CITY — Kevin Durant had 38 points and 13 rebounds and the Golden State Warriors beat the Utah Jazz 102-91 on Saturday night (Sunday in Manila) to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson were a combined 7 for 29 from the field and 3 for 15 from 3-point range, leaving Durant to lead the Warriors.

The Jazz led 75-74 early in the fourth quarter, but the Warriors went on a 10-4 run and never trailed again. Curry and Durant hit back to back 3ss to give Golden State a 92-84 lead with 3:04 left.

Curry finished with 23 points on 6-for-20 shooting.

Gordon Hayward led Utah with 29 points. Rudy Gobert added 21 points and 15 rebounds.

Game 4 is Monday night in Utah.

The Warriors got out to a quick start, again, and led by 10 after the first quarter.

Utah survived the first-half onslaught by Durant, who had 22 points and six rebounds at the break. There wasn't much the Jazz could do to contend a flurry of turnaround fadeaways, drives to the basket and a pair of 3s. Golden State, however, didn't get much help otherwise and Draymond Green dealt with foul trouble.

The Jazz took a 50-49 lead into halftime after closing the second quarter on a 12-5 run highlighted by Rodney Hood's 3-pointer triple that gave the Jazz their first lead of the series at 48-47.

Green picked up a technical arguing from the bench late in the second quarter after being whistled for his third foul of the half. As the crowd roared, he gave a 2-0 hand gesture to indicate the series record.

The Jazz led by nine in the third quarter, but Curry began to warm up and hit his first 3-pointer of the game on a pull-up in transition. Golden State closed the quarter on a 19-8 stretch to take a 72-70 lead.

TIP-INS

Warriors: Andre Iguodala played his 100th playoff game. ... Curry is alone at No. 8 on the career playoff 3-pointers list (270), surpassing Chauncey Billups. He has hit at least one 3 in all 65 playoff games he's played.

Jazz: Utah continued to have slow starts and shot just 28.6 percent and trailed by 10 at the end of the first quarter. ... The Jazz' first lead of the series came with 1:01 left in the second quarter, nearly 119 minutes. ... Golden State was held under 106 points for the first time this postseason.

HILL OUT

Jazz starting point guard George Hill missed his second consecutive game with a big toe injury. Utah hoped the extra rest would have him ready for Game 3, but he didn't progress enough. Shelvin Mack started in his place.

"It is really just a question of his effectiveness," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "There are situations in the game where he lands on it and pushes off and it just aggravates it. It aggravates it to a point where he's just not able to be effective."

KERR OUT

Warriors coach Steve Kerr did not travel with the team as he continues to deal with back issues. He was at Duke University on Friday seeing a specialist.

"He's had a ton of input," acting coach Mike Brown said. "His imprints are all over everything we do. He and I talk a couple times a day.

"There have been a couple of times he has come in to our coaches meetings for an hour or so. But for the most part, we're in constant communication on the phone."

source: philstar.com