Here are a few low-hanging fruit news items that didn’t necessarily deserve their own separate posts that I’m covering in a series called Read & React.
No change in Robert Williams III timeline – NBC Sports
If you missed it, there was a vaguely worded Shams update on Robert Williams timeline that indicated that Rob’s return could be later than January. Brad Stevens went on the radio to shoot down that notion saying that there has been no change to his timeline. Forsberg sifts through the nuance here.
An eight-to-12-week timeline post-surgery would peg Williams’ return between Nov. 17 and Dec. 15, which seems early based on Charania’s reporting. But it’s possible there’s some nuance here: The team said it expected Williams to return to basketball activities in eight-to-12 weeks, which doesn’t necessarily mean game action.
So basically there’s a good chance that he won’t be 100% ready for starter minutes right from the get-go. They may have to ramp him up, give him nights off, and generally take every precaution to make sure he’s well taken care of before the playoffs.
Wyc rejects Ainge’s attempt to hire Joe Mazzulla – NESN
“I prevented Danny from stealing him this summer, because I told Danny I’d fly to Utah and personally strangle him if he did. You can quote that,” Grousbeck said on “The Greg Hill Show,” as transcribed by WEEI. “You can take one person, an assistant, and make them a head coach, which they did with Will Hardy. Then they also wanted Mazzulla, and I was like, ‘That’s it, you’re crossing the line, and we’re not having it.’ And that was just when Joe was senior assistant with us, and now all of a sudden he’s interim head coach.”
We know that Mazzulla interviewed for the head coach position in Utah, but I wasn’t aware before this that they wanted to steal him away as an assistant under Hardy. Seems like Wyc made the right call here in keeping him around.
Derrick White worked extensively with shooting coach – Globe
The Celtics are aware that White will get plenty of open looks at the start of this year, and they’ve been preparing. White and assistant coach Ben Sullivan have conducted lengthy shooting workouts after almost every practice since the start of training camp.
Sullivan broke into the NBA as a video intern with the Spurs in 2012 and worked with renowned shooting guru Chip Engelland there. He went on to be an assistant with the Hawks and Bucks and developed his own reputation as a shot doctor. He dismissed that classification in a recent interview but is eager to help White unlock another facet of the Celtics offense.
Sign me up for all of this. White is such a positive influence on both sides of the ball, that it helps everyone to keep him on the floor. The only weak spot in his game seems to be consistency in his outside shot. If the Celtics can get him confident in his shot, put him in good position to make his best shots, and deliver him the ball in a timely way, you could see his shooting percentages rise. All of which would bode well for the Celtics offense in general.
