Celtics duo will wait for next shot

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2015/12/celtics_duo_will_wait_for_next_shot




Celtics duo will wait for next shot



By:  Mark Murphy


Friday, December 18, 2015




As a testament to Tyler Zeller’s ability to maintain some level of peace, he was able to joke Wednesday night.

“OK guys, I haven’t done this in a while,” he said upon meeting the media after the 
Celtics’ 119-116 loss to the Pistons in Auburn Hills, Mich.

As players like Phil Pressey and even Kris Humphries have discovered before him over the last two-plus seasons, and fellow Celtic Jonas Jerebko is beginning to discover now, someone has to withstand long periods of inactivity on a roster where there isn’t a well-defined top eight- or nine-man rotation.

Zeller and Jerebko both got a call from Brad Stevens on Wednesday and responded well — the former with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting and a hand in defending and fouling Andre Drummond, and the latter with three fourth quarter 3-pointers that very nearly turned the game.

Asked about Zeller, Stevens was stoic.

“Very good — a very good player. He’s in a logjam at (his) position,” the Celtics coach said of his power forward and center rotation.

A question was asked about Jerebko, and Stevens filled in the blank with the forward’s name.

“A good player too, and there’s a logjam where he plays,” said Stevens.

There’s a tough objective here — readiness. Both players seemed to be making up for lost time.

Jerebko, who had sunk to the end of the bench during his last season with the Pistons, started burying corner 3s as if he were attempting to make up for lost time, which he was.

Zeller missed his first jumper, followed up by hitting a pair of jump hooks, and found his overall flow return.

“It’s tough. I try to stay in the gym as much as possible,” said Zeller. “When you’re not playing you’re trying to get the reps, so hopefully when you get out there you feel comfortable. Obviously I have to keep trying to play hard and keep working.

“I try to stay ready every game,” he said. “I’m waiting on either of us going on a run. When they go on a run, I have a better chance of getting in. Really you have to stay ready any time.”

Pressey impressed his former teammates with his ability to stay ready despite long periods of bench time. Zeller has taken to working hard against C’s assistant coach Walter McCarty during pregame warmups.

“I work with Walt a lot, and we try to keep it a little lighthearted at times, even though you’re struggling,” he said. “At the same time, you have to be ready to play. You’re probably going to make mistakes. Everybody does. You just have to minimize those as much as possible.”

Jerebko had scored a total of seven points in his five games prior to Wednesday.

Someone mentioned that he was in a slump, and Jerebko disagreed. In his mind, the issue was more one of opportunity. His 16 minutes Wednesday night marked a big change from the 30 total over his previous five games.

“It’s always nice to see the ball go through the rim,” said Jerebko. “I don’t know about a slump. I haven’t felt like I’ve been in a slump. Practice has been going good, the ball has been falling. It was just good to see the ball go through.

“I’m just ready when my name is called. I got some open looks and knocked them down. I took my shot.”

And both players very nearly changed the result on a disappointing night.

“Amazing effort,” Jae Crowder said of both players. “The first unit was lagging and those guys came in. You expect guys to stay ready and get their numbers called.”

Celtics notes

Danny Ainge said yesterday that guard Marcus Smart is back on the court and could be returning soon.

“Marcus had a really good day (Wednesday),” the Celtics president of basketball operations said during his weekly appearance on 98.5’s Toucher and Rich Show. “He got out on the court for the first time and he’s running around and felt good.

“Barring any setbacks, I think it’s probably looking closer to the end of this month or the beginning of the new year. He looks good, and we’re excited to get him back soon. But I’m not sure exactly when that is. That’s sort of a day-to-day thing, but I’m looking at it more at the end of this month.”

Smart has been out since Nov. 20, when he injured his knee against the Brooklyn Nets. He’s missed 14 games, and the Celts are a 7-7 in that stretch.



bob



.

Good games by both Jerebko and Zeller to the level that they should get another chance to re-establish themselves fairly soon.

These two guys are pretty much like most of the rest of the roster in that they have not yet been able to develop much consistency this year. If either guy does well in his next chance and can then repeat for a third game we will probably see another guy drifting down the bench.

I think that the time leading up to the trade deadline in February should help break the many logjams the Cs have for playing time.