Bumpy start for Celts’ new acquisition Greg Monroe

http://www.providencejournal.com/sports/20180213/bumpy-start-for-celts-new-acquisition-greg-monroe



Bumpy start for Celts’ new acquisition Greg Monroe




By SCOTT SOUZA / The MetroWest Daily News



Posted Feb 13, 2018 at 6:31 PM




WALTHAM – Greg Monroe was dropped right into the inferno in his first week with the Celtics.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the veteran center did not escape the experience without getting burned a few times.

Playing three games in four nights – without benefit of a full practice – after officially signing in time to debut in last Thursday night’s game in Washington, Monroe had a bumpy takeoff in green. He was out there in overtime against the Wizards when he scored five points with six rebounds, and was a plus-9, in the win. But he did not get back into the game in the second half against the Indiana Pacers after playing 11 scoreless minutes in the first half of Friday night’s failed comeback, and was targeted defensively on Sunday as LeBron James went at him time after time on switches in 12 middling minutes of a blowout loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On Tuesday, the seven-year veteran got a chance to run with his new teammates, and take some chances knowing that the top spot in the Eastern Conference was not hanging in the balance, for the first time on the practice parquet.

“It’s hard to try to learn on the fly in the game,” said Monroe, who signed a one-year contract with Boston after reaching a buyout agreement with the Phoenix Suns two weeks ago. “We’re trying to win games. You can’t really do trial and error right now. It’s good to be in practice where there are no consequences. I can learn some things.”

Monroe, who has averaged 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds for his career, said picking up the defense has been easier than picking up the offense because the rotations are similar even if the language isn’t all the same. But integrating a traditional low-post player like Monroe on offense could be an added challenge for a team that generally looks to play with high pace and space the floor.

“He has a very good feel for the post,” frontcourt mate Al Horford said following Tuesday’s 75-minute session. “I’m just going to try to help him defensively. But looking around, he’s picked up our offense pretty quickly. He’s a very smart player. He’s already on top of a lot of things, which has been very impressive to me.”

Celtics All-Star Kyrie Irving hasn’t spent much time on the court with Monroe during his first 43 minutes in a Boston uniform, but did appear to make a concerted effort to hit him on a roll to the basket during Sunday’s loss in the same way he’s done with Aron Baynes at times when the starting center has scuffled this season.

“I’ll get a greater feel for where he wants the basketball,” Irving said moving forward, “where on the block he likes to post up. I’ve played against Greg the past seven years. It’s different that now he’s on my team. We have to get him as prepared as possible for what we like to run and get used to him as much as possible. The biggest key for us is making someone feel comfortable, especially coming from a different team.”


While Monroe lacks the perimeter element to his game the Celtics have often looked for in big guys with Stevens at the helm, the coach said there are potential sets he sees with Monroe that he can implement now that there is some additional practice time.

“We have not done that outside of after-timeout plays yet,” Stevens said of Monroe-specific actions. “There are a couple of things we already have in that we think fit his skill set well. But that’s something that after the break we will certainly look to do more.

“I thought he was good in practice (Tuesday). He will probably benefit most from days like today and days like the Wednesday after we get back (from All-Star break).”

Monroe said while he intends to get away for a few days during the brief hiatus after playing for three teams in the first five months of the season, he does intend for it to be a bit of a working vacation.

“I will still be watching a lot of film,” Monroe said. “That will probably be the thing that I do most when I am on break. But I think after (Tuesday), another game (Wednesday night vs. the Los Angeles Clippers), a couple of practices after the break, then I’ll be fine.”




bob





.