Celtics interim head coach Joe Mazzulla missed his second consecutive recreation on Thursday evening towards the Clippers because of corneal abrasions, however the staff is hoping he’ll be again quickly.
Mazzulla suffered the harm in each eyes Tuesday whereas enjoying in a pickup recreation, based on the staff. It seemed like he would try to educate by way of it for Tuesday’s recreation towards the Rockets as he carried out his pregame press convention, however 10 minutes earlier than tip, he was dominated out because of eye irritation.
Damon Stoudamire, who gained his first recreation as NBA head coach when he coached in Mazzulla’s absence for Tuesday’s victory over the Rockets, coached once more Thursday. He mentioned the Celtics count on Mazzulla again for the upcoming highway journey that begins Sunday in Denver.
“He’s getting better,” Stoudamire mentioned. “We’re just kind of taking it day-to-day, but we expect him back soon. Until then just one game, one practice at a time.”
Stoudamire mentioned his pregame routine and preparation weren’t any totally different however he’s been in communication with Mazzulla.
“He’s encouraging,” Stoudamire mentioned. “The biggest thing for him is we need him to get healthy so he can get back. We like to be whole around here. It hasn’t been that way often, but now we’ve got all our guys back, get him back and we’ll be whole. But Joe has definitely been sending texts, and we’ve talked. The biggest thing for me is just making sure he’s in good spirits, because I know he wants to be here.”
Stoudamire has been working as an NBA assistant since his enjoying profession led to 2009 – except for one cease as a school head coach at Pacific from 2016-21 – and the 49-year-old is well-respected by not solely the Celtics however across the league. Clippers coach Ty Lue, who performed towards Stoudamire throughout his enjoying days, was excited for his counterpart’s alternative.
“It’s tough to see Joe out … but Damon deserves a head-coaching job in this league,” Lue mentioned. “He’s been around for a while, so just see what he had a chance to do against Houston the other night and now coaching again tonight, it’s just good to see. So, hopefully he can continue to keep getting this experience and he gets an opportunity soon.”
Williams ‘getting better’
Mazzulla instructed earlier than Robert Williams’ debut two weeks in the past that the Celtics heart wasn’t on a minutes restriction as he returned from left knee surgical procedure, but it surely appears the staff is actually managing his workload in his first few weeks. He got here off the bench for the sixth consecutive recreation since his return on Thursday evening, and the Celtics don’t appear to be speeding him again into the beginning lineup, assuming that’s the plan.
“That’s just a day-to-day thing,” Stoudamire mentioned. “I go accordingly. We’ve been given medically the minutes that he should play and we just kind of play off of that. You can see Rob, to me, getting better each day, each game. Last game he was able to play consistent minutes for a long period of time. And that was big for him. I think more than anything as a team, we know we need him. But I think the biggest thing is he needs to be comfortable.”
Brogdon, Griffin out
The non-COVID sickness that’s sweeping by way of the Celtics locker room reached Malcolm Brogdon and Blake Griffin, who each missed Thursday’s recreation towards the Clippers. Brogdon went by way of pregame warmups however was dominated out about an hour earlier than tip.
Assist from Antarctica
While Smart has been busy doling out helpers on the basketball court docket, he acquired an help from Hollywood – or extra particularly, Antarctica – to make his Christmas one he’ll always remember.
Before the Celtics’ Christmas Day win over the Bucks, Smart acquired engaged to his girlfriend Maisa Hallum, and he acquired some assist from actor Will Smith. As proven in his Instagram put up asserting his engagement, Smart performed a video message from Smith earlier than he made his proposal.
“I just wanted to take a minute. I wanted to wish you a very, very Merry Christmas,” Smith, who was in Antarctica, mentioned within the video. “Now, I know that you may not have gotten the stuff that you wanted. I promise you, you’re not going to end this Christmas empty-handed, OK? That’s all my message is.”
Smart then dropped to a knee to pop the query.
“It was cool,” Smart mentioned Thursday. “Will didn’t have to do that. He took time out of his day, so I really appreciate it.”
On Smart’s Twitter account, the engagement was teased with a few complicated tweets. The first tweet mentioned, “I’ve had enough. Been holding it in too long and it’s about time this gets said,” and the second tweet mentioned, “It’s time for me to leave.” The third tweet mentioned, “Oh I forgot the rest… Time for me to leave the single life. She said YES!!! (Whew).”
Smart gave the credit score to his social media supervisor for arising with that concept.
“My people who run my social media did a good job, I guess trolling, I don’t know what he was doing,” Smart mentioned. “I actually didn’t know that he put that up there at the time. I was still celebrating. But it was funny, everybody was texting me laughing about it. It was cool.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com