Category: Interviews

Commissioner Adam Silver speaks on how the NBA hopes to prevent future Ime Udoka scandals

Speaking at the 2022 NBA Mexico City Game, the commissioner opened up about how the league is responding to misconduct moving forward.

While fans of the Boston Celtics have for the most part moved on from the Ime Udoka scandal that nearly upended the start of a much-anticipated season, the team itself has yet to resolve the suspended Celtics head coach’s situation. During this process, the NBA has largely remained in the background, monitoring the situation with minimal public discussion.

But on Saturday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver fielded questions about team player and staff misconduct from the Celtics Wire, including that of Udoka with Boston, Detroit Pistons Assistant GM Rob Murphy, and former San Antonio Spurs guard Josh Primo.

Regarding the Primo incident in which the player allegedly exposed himself repeatedly to a team psychologist in therapy, Silver hinted the league had worked more closely with the team than with Boston or Detroit.

Despite losing 4 of Boston’s last 5, Celtics’ interim head coach Joe Mazzulla unwilling to adjust

“I like the shots that we got,” the Celtics coach explained. “You don’t adjust your approach.”

Losers of four of their last five games (and nearly the fifth), the Boston Celtics are reeling after their second loss in three days to the Orlando Magic. Fans are irked with an unexplained absence of star forward Jayson Tatum that interim Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla will only describe as “a personal thing via CLNS Media,” but a contending team should be able to play well enough to defeat a team with among the worst records in the league.

Disorganized and unengaged play from the top to the bottom of the roster is the primary culprit with perhaps a dash of an unfavorable matchup given Orlando’s size.

But postgame, Mazzulla related that he believed a game that saw Boston launch well over half their shots from 3-point range on a night the team was connecting on just 23.9% of them was “a great game for the majority” of the contest.

“I like the shots that we got,” he explained. “You don’t adjust your approach.” On paper, the math that Mazzulla so loves for how it unlocked a historically good offense makes sense.

But on nights when the team can’t buy a jumper, finding ways to work in easy buckets and trips to the line will be critical if this team wants to be more of a lion and less than an (on) paper tiger.

It may be a shared responsibility among the players to play the right way, but having a Plan A and evidently nothing else is already proving to be a minor disaster.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Takeaways: Jalen Green’s 3-point struggles continue as Blazers blast Rockets

#Rockets guard Jalen Green is shooting just 23.2% on 3-pointers over his last 15 games, and his slump proved costly in Portland’s win at Houston on Saturday night.

Led by Anfernee Simons (game-high 32 points, 52.4% FG) and perennial All-Star guard Damian Lillard (25 points, 10 assists), the visiting Portland Trail Blazers easily had enough to hold off the Houston Rockets on Saturday at Toyota Center, 107-95 (box score).

The Rockets connected on just 3-of-29 shots from 3-point range (10.3%) as a team, with starting guards Jalen Green (15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) and Kevin Porter Jr. (13 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) each going 0-of-6 on 3-pointers versus the Blazers (17-13).

Green is now shooting just 23.2% on 3-pointers over his last 15 games. By contrast, over his first 14 games of the 2022-23 NBA season, Green had shot 37.5% on 3-pointers for the Rockets.

Houston’s lone bright spots came off the bench in young forwards KJ Martin (13 points, 5 rebounds) and Tari Eason (13 points, 6 rebounds), who combined to make 12-of-23 shots (52.2%).

Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interview reaction following Saturday’s game. Houston (9-20) plays the fifth game of its longest homestand of the season (seven games in total) on Monday night versus San Antonio, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Central.

Celtics alum Max Strus on Joe Mazzulla’s coaching, their bond, Marcus Smart’s DPOY award and more

The Celtics Wire caught up with the DePaul alum in Mexico City ahead of his Heat’s tilt with the Spurs for the Mexico City Games.

It’s been a hot minute since Miami Heat wing Max Strus has been a member of the Boston Celtics, but the DePaul alum still remembers his time with the team well despite its comparative brevity. The Celtics Wire caught up with Strus in Mexico City this week as the Heat shooting guard met with the press ahead of Miami’s tilt with the San Antonio Spurs at Mexico City Arena for the first Mexico City Game since before the start of the pandemic.

Strus had spent some time walking around the lush Polanco neighborhood — one of the wealthier areas of the city — as he settled into the local surroundings. “It’s very beautiful,” he related.

“It’s nice to be out in the streets, to explore and sight-see a little bit”

Jason Kidd on growing up around Bill Russell in Oakland, California

An underrated hotbed for NBA basketball that gave us the 11-time champ, Jason Kidd had a front row seat.

The City of Oakland, California has long been a hotbed of basketball talent, the hometown of NBA and ABA greats like Bill Russell, Paul Silas, Antonio Davis, Jim Hadnot, and later, Cliff Robinson, Drew Gooden, Damian Lillard, and Jason Kidd. And it was a tight-knit community that Kidd opened up about in an interview with Andscape’s Marc J. Spears from 2017.

“It’s underrated,” said the Dallas Mavericks head coach to Spears of his childhood home, now back in the spotlight with rising twin Overtime Elite prospects Amen and Ausar Thompson. “We don’t get the attention that New York or L.A. gets,” he added.

“But there are a lot of talented guys who have made it to the highest level of basketball, a lot of guys who didn’t make it who didn’t get the light they have deserved at a high level.”

Boston Celtics legend Kevin Garnett explains why he went prep to pro

While plenty of players have made the leap directly from high school to the NBA in the seven-decade history of the league, when Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett decided to do so, it was seen as a potentially risky proposition.

While plenty of players have made the leap directly from high school to the NBA in the seven-decade history of the league, when Boston Celtics Hall of Fame big man Kevin Garnett decided to do so, it was seen as a potentially risky proposition given how few recent high-level success stories there had been at the time.

Amid a horde of think pieces predicting his demise as a star prospect, The Big Ticket bucked the trend and went directly from Chicago’s Farragut Academy to the NBA draft. While looking back events seem almost preordained, the expectations of his pending failure that proliferated in that moment were not lost on a young Garnett.

On a recent episode of the Players Tribune “Knuckleheads” podcast, Garnett broke down why he made the decision to go directly to the NBA despite all the hand-wringing over his choice.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what he had to say about a pivotal moment in his career.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Robert Williams III focused on ‘just getting a sense of confidence’ during first game back

Robert Williams III spoke about finding calm and confidence amid an exciting return to the court in his first game back from injury.

Robert Williams III is finally back in action for the Boston Celtics, and although his return coincided with a Celtics loss to the Orlando Magic, it was a big milestone on the season for Timelord and his team.

His first action of the year since undergoing a knee procedure in September, Williams contributed a few big dunks and some characteristically stellar defense Friday night. The Celtics big man finished the game with 7 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes of burn. He did run into foul trouble early but had a pretty promising return to the court all things considered.

After the game, Williams told reporters his focus was simply on feeling comfortable, especially after scoring his first basket.

“There was a lot of nerves before the beginning of the game,” Williams said. “It was just about getting a sense of confidence.”

Grant Williams breaks down the ‘electric’ Boston Celtics

How would Grant Williams sum up this Boston Celtics team in one word? “Electric.”

How would Grant Williams describe the ’22-23 Boston Celtics in one word? One a recent appearance on the Outta Pocket podcast the former Vol gave his answer. — “Electric.”

“It’s a current that can’t be stopped, you find a way to redirect it,” Williams said. “With electricity, it won’t ever stop. It’s just going to keep flowing and flowing and flowing. At any given time you can be shocked by what we do” Williams added. Williams was effusive in his praise for his teammates while stringing together his electricity metaphor. “Trust me, this team is so fun to watch,” Williams said.

“How we play, how we move the ball, how competitive each and every one of us are. How much fun we’re having.”

Williams offered other tidbits in the interview as well. He lauded the work of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. He lamented the challenging task of guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo. He talked about his growth as a shooter.

You can catch the entire interview with Grant Williams and the Outta Pocket show below.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Boston’s Blake Griffin has no interest in an NBA job after he retires

For Griffin, family and career pursuits away from the league are what he is about.

For many NBA players, when their playing career comes to an end, a new one begins as an NBA coach or sometimes a transition to the media that used to cover them. But for veteran Boston Celtics big man Blake Griffin, when the end comes to his career in the league, the onetime Oklahoma star wants no part of such paths.

Speaking to the host of the eponymous “In Depth with Graham Bensinger” show, the six-time All-Star made it known he has no plans to linger around the league once his playing days have ended. For Griffin, family and career pursuits away from the league are his focus.

Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what the Celtics center had to say about what he plans to do in his NBA retirement.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Rockets fight back with late defensive push as Tyler Herro, Heat hold on

Tyler Herro’s career-high 41 points allowed Miami to hold on and snap Houston’s home winning streak. But by pitching a shutout over the final five minutes, the #Rockets flashed their potential.

Entering Thursday, the young Houston Rockets had won five straight home games at Toyota Center. This week, to kick off a seven-game homestand, the longest of the season, they won largely with defense. They held both Milwaukee and Phoenix to fewer than 100 points. That equaled their total number of such games during this season’s first 25 games.

That didn’t happen in Thursday’s 111-108 loss (box score) to Miami, which ended the home-court winning streak. But while inconsistent, the Rockets showed flashes of that elite defensive form, particularly by shutting down Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the Heat over the final five minutes and very nearly rallying to a win.

The problems, of course, came in the first 43 minutes, when Herro scored a career-high 41 points on 13-of-20 shooting (65.0%) and an astounding 10-of-15 from 3-point range (66.7%). Jimmy Butler added 20 points (53.8% FG), 10 rebounds and 7 assists for the Heat (15-15). But with a 9-0 run to finish, Houston showed enough to validate some of its recent improvements, especially on defense.

Kevin Porter Jr. had a strong game for the Rockets with 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting (58.8%) to go with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals, but he missed his last-ditch attempt at a tying 3-pointer.

Backcourt mate Jalen Green scored a team-high 22 points but continued to struggle from 3-point range, making 1-of-6 (16.7%) from deep. Rookie forward Jabari Smith Jr. had another double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, though he joined Green with 3-point struggles, shooting just 1-of-7 (14.3%) from behind the arc.

Scroll on for highlights, analysis and postgame interview reaction following Thursday’s game. Houston (9-19) plays the fourth game of its longest homestand of the season (seven games in total) on Saturday night versus Portland, with tipoff set for 7 p.m. Central.