Celtics Media Week

Instead of a Media Day it's Media Week. Starting today through 12/5 will be media interviews and individual workouts, with camp officially opening on Sunday. Why a league that was able to run a bubble for 2 months without a single COVID case can't figure out how to interview 17 athletes, a head coach and a GM in 2 days via Zoom without a COVID case I have no idea, but this is where we are.

So updates will be coming here over this week. Post'em if you got'em.


Bob


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https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/pressrelease/celtics-training-camp-medical-update


Celtics Training Camp Medical Update


By Boston Celtics |  @Celtics
Celtics.com
December 1, 2020


BOSTON, MA – Following consultation with multiple specialists in early October, Celtics guard Kemba Walker received a stem cell injection in his left knee, and was put on a 12-week strengthening program to prepare for the upcoming season. He is expected to return to on-court activities in early December, and a further update regarding his game availability will be provided during the first week of January.

As previously announced, Celtics guard Romeo Langford underwent successful surgery on September 22nd to repair a torn scapholunate ligament in his right wrist. Langford’s return to play was projected to be four-to-five months following the procedure, and his rehab has been proceeding as planned.

Celtics forward Tristan Thompson suffered a minor hamstring strain during an offseason workout prior to arriving in Boston, and his availability during the first week of camp will be limited.

Further updates will be provided as appropriate.


Bob
MY NOTE:  "First week of January" is 5 weeks away, 1 1/2 - 2 weeks into a shortened regular season.  Not good.  This puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Smart and ballhandler newbies Teague, Pritchard and Waters.  Waters, at least, has a year of experience in Brad's system.  Teague is a veteran but has a learning curve, hopefully he can flatten it out quickly.

Losing 5 games early in this season would be like losing 6-7 in a regular season, and not have as much time to catch up.

.

Could be a blessing in disguise

Jay King @ByJayKing
now
Danny Ainge said the next year will tell a lot about how Kemba Walker’s knee will be moving forward. Ainge said maybe the Celtics didn’t do him justice by bringing him back so quickly in the bubble. Ainge doesn’t want to make that mistake again “if it was a mistake.”


Chris Grenham
Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
2 minutes ago
Danny Ainge says he's not looking to make any moves ahead of the season. "I feel like there's nobody that we want to cut or get off the team, and that's the only way we could get new players on our roster."


Bob
MY NOTE:  If there was a mistake it was not getting him these stem cell injections right after the main part of the season ended due to COVID.  He'd have been rehabbed by the time the bubble began and ready to go now.

As far as Danny saying he doesn't want to cut anybody that's written in sand, on the beach, below the high tide mark.


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cowens/oldschool wrote:Could be a blessing in disguise

Cow,

Not just "in disguise" but "incognito".  I see little to no benefit in throwing a new veteran and a couple of rooks into the fire in an abbreviated season, but it's what needs to be done.  Forget about PP and TW, I think, they're not getting any minutes unless it's in Maine or a blow out.  It's going to be the Smart and Teague show until Kemba returns.  That's pretty thin.  Last year we had Kemba, Smart, Gordon and Wanny for ballhandlers and had Tatum bringing the ball up a lot (mainly because he doesn't like to give it up once he gets it).  This year we don't have Gordon or Wanny or, for the first 5 weeks, Kemba.  We might see Tatum do more drive-and-kicks in the half court.  He was doing that more in the bubble.  While that's not a very sophisticated offense it could be effective because he is absolutely, positively going to draw the defense to him so an effective kick out could work.  The addition of Nesmith gives us a solid catch-and-shooter at the arc to take some of Wanny and/or Gordon minutes and that's what you need on a drive-and-kick, a good catch-and-shooter.


Bob


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Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
2 minutes ago
Important update: Danny Ainge called Romeo Langford “Romie” today, officially kicking off Romie SZN.


Bob


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Okay,  I had to look it up.

SZN - Season

TBH, it pisses me off, these shortcuts PPL use.  Especially ATM, I'm trying to get some work done. (LOL)

ROTFLMAO.

gyso wrote:Okay,  I had to look it up.

SZN - Season

TBH, it pisses me off, these shortcuts PPL use.  Especially ATM, I'm trying to get some work done. (LOL)

ROTFLMAO.

K

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 16 minutes ago
Brad Stevens on the departures of Irving, Hayward and Horford: "Everybody left for different reasons."


John Karalis @RedsArmy_John
about 12 minutes ago
Danny Ainge & Brad Stevens were both asked about Jayson Tatum's new contract, both made sure to immediately include Jaylen Brown into the conversation and talk about both of them at the same time.


Jay King @ByJayKing
about 11 minutes ago
Brad Stevens said Tristan Thompson is “such a threat at the rim” either in the initial action or on the glass. Stevens hopes all the attention the wings draw will open opportunities for Thompson. Also brought up Thompson’s defensive versatility.


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
1 minute ago
Brad Stevens on Jeff Teague: "I think he could be really important, not just early in the season but all the way through (it)."


Bob


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https://www.healthline.com/health/stem-cell-therapy-for-knees

Stem cell therapy could also potentially treat osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. In OA, the cartilage covering the ends of the bones starts to deteriorate and wear away. As the bones lose this protective covering, they start to rub against one another. This leads to pain, swelling, and stiffness — and, ultimately, loss of function and mobility.

Millions of people in the United States live with OA of the knee. Many manage their symptoms through exercise, weight loss, medical treatments, and lifestyle modification.


READ THE FULL Article on the link

Media WEEK?



(Set my alarm for Opening Game please)

Rotation minutes should open up a the point for PP and CE. We will need at least one of them to come in and run the offense. My money is on Pritchard.

Marcus Smart has been a jack of all trades but he cannot play two positions at the same time. With GH gone and KW not ready, we may see MS move to the 2 and Teague step in as a starter at PG. Semi is also a possible starter along with Smart.

I think both Aaron Nesmith and fellow rookie Payton Pritchard may see some early playing time at the start of the season.

Jay King @ByJayKing
about 34 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum said he thinks every part of his game can get better. He wants to keep getting stronger and extending his range. He wants to be efficient from even deeper behind the line. And become more of a defensive presence.


Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 38 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum said his contract extension was “a dream come true.” Called it a big deal. “I get to be here five more years. So I was excited obviously. Wanted to stay here, wanted to make it happen.”


Jay King @ByJayKing
about 31 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum said Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague should bring “a level of maturity.” Said he’s excited to have both those guys on his team.

reply retweet like
Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 33 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum said he learned the benefits of working harder off the ball last year. And made strides reading a defense. Said nobody should be able to double team him because the Celtics have so much talent around him.

reply retweet like
Jared Weiss
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 33 minutes ago
A point of emphasis for Jayson Tatum is to extend his 3-point range off the catch and dribble. He used to be glued to the line, but made progress last year to start shoting from 27-30 feet. Next step is to reliably space to 30 feet above the break and force teams to blitz more.

reply retweet like
Brian Robb
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 34 minutes ago
Jayson Tatum on his priorities this offseason with his game: "Finishing more through contact and becoming even more of a defensive presence. That's a big goal for me."


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 10 minutes ago
Daniel Theis says he has no restrictions now after a knee scope this offseason and he’s ready for training camp.


Bob


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BobC,

I don't know what happened.  I went to reply to your message and I got an error message.  I came back here and it was gone.

WTF?

[edit: my WTF was not aimed at you, it was just a continuation of the joke.]

gyso wrote:BobC,

I don't know what happened.  I went to reply to your message and I got an error message.  I came back here and it was gone.

WTF?

[edit: my WTF was not aimed at you, it was just a continuation of the joke.]

I was continuing the joke also and wrote ATTT........then 20 minutes later I looked at it again and couldn’t remember what ATTT stood for so I deleted it! Senior moment I guess.

bobc33 wrote:

gyso wrote:BobC,

I don't know what happened.  I went to reply to your message and I got an error message.  I came back here and it was gone.

WTF?

[edit: my WTF was not aimed at you, it was just a continuation of the joke.]

I was continuing the joke also and wrote ATTT........then 20 minutes later I looked at it again and couldn’t remember what ATTT stood for so I deleted it!  Senior moment I guess.

Okay. I was going to reply to say, "Thanks, another one I had to look up!".

You must have deleted it while I was replying to it. It was a weird error message.

They say the memory is the first thing to go. Ain't that the truth!

Had an issue posting

It will be a next man up early season.

I am actually looking forward to it. They should not rush Kemba back and I do not care about our record. I think we have enough veterans on this team to keep us competitive.

Our second year guys are not as green as they were last year and our 2 rookies were high quality picks.

We should be better in the middle.

The Jay's have stepped up every time they needed to.

Celts play Crooklyn on XMAS.

Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 15 minutes ago
Kemba Walker on early returns form getting stem cell shot in his knee: “It’s definitely calmed my knee down a lot. Feeling really good right now. Just taking my time, trying to continue to feel good, get stronger.”


Jay King @ByJayKing
about 13 minutes ago
Kemba Walker just glowingly spoke about Brad Wanamaker. Said he loved playing with Wanamaker. But he’s also excited about new teammate Jeff Teague. Said he hopes to learn from Teague.


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 13 minutes ago
Kemba Walker says the Celtics lost a brother of his in Brad Wanamaker. “That’s my guy. But to bring in Jeff (Teague) after losing Brad is huge.”


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 12 minutes ago
Kemba laughs when it’s pointed out that the Hornets are paying basically $40m a year to get Hayward when they wouldn’t pay him. “Nahhh, I’m in the place where I’m supposed to be…Gordon, I’m happy for him…I made my choice to come to Boston because this is where I’m happy.”


Jay King @ByJayKing
about 9 minutes ago
Kemba Walker said he thinks the Celtics got better. He thinks Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague “will help us big time.”


Chris Grenham
Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 10 minutes ago
Kemba Walker on Tremont Waters and Payton Pritchard: "I'm going to try my best to just take those guys under my wing." Added he already worked with Tremont last season, calling him his "little brother."



Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 5 minutes ago
Kemba Walker says there's no rush to get back on the floor until he feels ready. Said the priority is to get healthy and back to playing like himself. "This sucks, but I also love the game of basketball and I want to play at a high level. ... I want to be at my best."


Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 31 minutes ago
Kemba: "I made my choice to come here to Boston because it's where I wanted to be because it makes me happy."


Bob


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Very positive comments from Kemba Walker.

The Celtics should manage this situation by thinking well ahead.

Kemba is no good to us if his knee is no good to him.

I say give him time + to get right. The Celtics have 2 very capable PG's in MS and JT and just maybe Edwards, Waters or Pritchard will get some valuable development on the court.

MY NOTE:  Thompson is saying all the right things.  Cowens won't stop grinning from ear-to-ear by the time he's done reading this post.  


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
59 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson said Kemba Walker had reached out to him in free agency. Said he has known him since high school.


Tom Westerholm
Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
59 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson notes that a coach once told him that teams who you have success against will have interest in bringing you on board. Sure enough, he “always heard the rumblings” the Boston wanted him.


Jared Weiss
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
59 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson says he wants to bring that Finals experience and bring it to the Celtics to help put them over the top, after they have made 3 ECFs in 4 years. Of course, Thompson deserves plenty of the blame for Boston not winning the first two ECFs.


Chris Grenham
Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
1 hour ago
Tristan Thompson says he had always heard rumblings about the Celtics interest in him. The day free agency started, Danny Ainge called Thompson and expressed interest. Kemba also reached out to him.


Brian Robb
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
1 hour ago
Tristan Thompson said he has had a good relationship with Jaylen Brown for awhile.


Marc D'Amico @celtics
58 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson says he would be honored to help get us over the championship hump: "I think this was the best decision for me and my career, to join a team that’s trying to do something special."


Tom Westerholm
Tom Westerholm @Tom_NBA
58 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson remembers the year the Celtics took Cleveland to Game 7 in 2018. “That’s a promising ball club."


Brian Robb
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
59 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson: "What really attracted me to the Celtics was how young and talented these guys are."


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 52 minutes ago
Brad Stevens told Tristan Thompson his role will be the motor of the team to energize everybody, in addition to passing down his sage wisdom at the sage age of 29.


Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 53 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson: “I’m going to play harder than the big I’m going against. ... And that’s contagious.”



Brian Robb
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 53 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson on how he thinks he will help #Celtics: "My energy is going to jumpstart the team."


Chris Grenham
Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 54 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson says he can bring some "extra juice" to the Celtics after his long offseason.


Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 54 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson said at 29 “I’m still a young pup in this game.” “My body feels great. I have a lot of room to grow.”


Jared Weiss
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 55 minutes ago
Thompson is talking a lot about how he learned how to lead from LeBron, from his daily work ethic to the way he held his team accountable, even bringing up the infamous Game 5 “Dont get on the plane if you don’t think we’re gonna win” text.


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 51 minutes ago
Thompson on Jayson Tatum’s pursuit of greatness: “Since his rookie year in those playoffs, everyone saw the oozing potential and this kid has what it takes to have MVP potential.” Brings up the games in Utah and LA right before the pandemic that showed where he was heading.


Jay King @ByJayKing
about 50 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson said he wants to be like Marcus Smart but at the big man position.


Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 30 minutes ago
Tristan Thompson with a shoutout to @Kendrick Perkins when talking about his physicality in his opening presser with the Celtics: "Like big Perk would say, 'Lay that wood.'"


Mark Murphy @Murf56
about 11 minutes ago
Thompson has some "Bron" lessons to pass on here: "You want to pass down the wisdom. If I can pass wisdom down to JT or Jaylen, he’s going to pass it down to the next young guys coming up. That’s how you keep the cycle going."


Bob


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Bob


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Gary Washburn @GwashburnGlobe
4 minutes ago
Brad Stevens said the #Celtics have members of the organization in the COVID protocol but he is not allowed to say who specifically.



Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
2 minutes ago
Brad Stevens confirms the most important decision of his life: Hiring Evan Turner. “He really loves to help people. He has a real service-orientedness to him. All of our players will love having him around, our youngest players will really appreciate his advice and experience.”


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
1 minute ago
Stevens: “We are all doing our part to represent Boston well. Some guys will get much of the attention. But at the end of the day, that’s what I really like about (Tatum and Brown). There’s no concern about whose team it is. We all represent one team and that’s the Celtics.”


Marc D'Amico
Marc D'Amico @celtics
1 minute ago
"I think it’s one of his great strengths," Brad Stevens says of Tristan Thompson's toughness. "He plays physical, he plays with a high motor, and he’s got great experience."



Marc D'Amico @celtics
about 8 minutes ago
"I think that these guys are bright, they’re working hard and they can impact us appropriately and in a positive way," Stevens says of our rookies. "That said, I think time will tell, because it is a different level when you’re out there with these guys on a day-to-day basis."



Bob


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Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 20 minutes ago
Great news: Jaylen Brown says his grandpa has been cancer free for two months.


Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 22 minutes ago
Jaylen Brown opened his press conference by saying he’s been working with students from his old high school, which is named after a confederate. They want to change the high school’s name.


John Karalis @RedsArmy_John
about 18 minutes ago
Jaylen Brown calls the hiring of Evan Turner "a great move by the front off"... highlights how Turner can relate to players and understand how they're thinking


John Karalis @RedsArmy_John
about 13 minutes ago
Jaylen Brown calls the Tatum extension "obvious" and "well-deserved"... "I'm looking forward to the future... I was definitely proud"


Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 14 minutes ago
Jeff Teague used to go watch Jaylen Brown’s games sometimes when Brown was in high school, apparently. Teague was with the Hawks at the time, near where Brown grew up.


Marc D'Amico @celtics
about 9 minutes ago
Jaylen Brown: "I’m looking forward to the future. We’re here and we've been close, but we’re trying to get over the hump. We’ve gotta win games, and we've gotta win games when it matters most."


John Karalis
@RedsArmy_John
·
4m
I asked Jaylen Brown how he was going to move his fight for social justice forward this season. Here's his full answer:




Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
1 minute ago
Jeff Teague: "I'm a fun guy."


Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
now
Jeff Teague says he and Tristan Thompson can really benefit the Celtics off the bench or whatever role they may fill.



Marc D'Amico @celtics
1 minute ago
“Coming here was all about winning," says Jeff Teague. "They’ve established themselves as a great team with core guys who are all All-Star players trying to win a championship, and I wanted to be a part of that.”


Marc D'Amico
Marc D'Amico @celtics
about 5 minutes ago
Jeff Teague: "These guys on the court, they’re talented. They know what it takes. They’ve been to the ECF. And I’m just here to try to help push that forward."



Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 9 minutes ago
Jeff Teague said the last couple of years in Minnesota were rough “just not having a chance to win.” Excited to come to a place where it’s all about winning. “I wanted to be a part of that.” He said this is the first time since Atlanta he sees championship potential in his team.



Brian Robb
Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 9 minutes ago
Jeff Teague: "Coming here was all about winning."



Payton Pritchard
Payton Pritchard @paytonpritch3
about 10 minutes ago
Shoutout to @mattressfirm for helping me get settled out here, check them out if you need a new mattress!



Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 10 minutes ago
Jeff Teague said Evan Turner is like a Celtics folk hero, everyone loves him in Boston. Teague has known Turner since he was 13. Called Turner his guy:“To see him being a coach is pretty weird right now.”


Bob


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Today is, I believe, the last day of Media Week. Camp officially opens tomorrow.


Bob


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