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Danny Ainge was no different than most Boston Celtics fans in the closing seconds of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. With just 0.5 seconds to go, his team was ready to take a 3-0 lead over the defending champion Toronto Raptors, the Boston president of basketball operations yelled into his TV, “Watch the shooters!”
Instead, he watched in horror as Kyle Lowry threw a 50-foot textbook pass over the 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall to OG Anunoby in the corner. Anunoby was open long enough for a quality look at the basket due to a lack of communication between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The impressive and dramatic 3-point winner from Anunoby instantly renewed the Raptors, who also won the next game.
“I’ve been involved in a lot of those games in my life,” Ainge told ESPN. “Midfield shots stack up to lose, hook shots fall on the buzzer to win. Those shots are one in a hundred. I’ve been on both sides of those plays, and they’re just part of the game. That’s why I don’t. You can take nothing for granted until it’s over
“I’m one of those people, when a guy is dribbling when time is up and he’s about to fire a three-quarter shot, and he yells, ‘Contest!’ If there’s a chance that a free throw will be missed late in the game, I yell at our guys, ‘Everybody box!’ “.
“[Anunoby’s shot] it was a great play, “Ainge continued.” People are going to question us. We should have had someone else [besides Fall] On the ball? Should we have been man to man? But sometimes you have to give the other team the credit. “
While Ainge was certainly shaken by the outcome of Game 3, he was far more dismayed by the results that followed. Boston lost Game 4 by shooting 20% from the 3-point line and, more damningly, was repeatedly hit with loose balls and rebounds.
“Game four was our worst game in a long time,” Ainge said. “We missed a lot of open shots. Acknowledge Toronto why our team was bad, but we still had time to respond. And we didn’t respond well.”
When the Celtics lose, it’s usually not because Ainge’s team didn’t play hard enough or with enough confidence. And yet there was a hesitation in the way Game 4 played out, with Boston’s best players lacking the aggressiveness they had displayed in previous playoff performances, as scared by the results of Game 3.
“One thing I’ve learned over the years is that sometimes your confidence affects how fast your mind is and how fast your body is,” Ainge said. “When guys play at the top of their confidence ladder, they are faster, faster and tougher. Their reactions are better.
“So maybe [the Game 3 loss] It was more of a jolt than you think. If the next game was the seventh, I think the reaction would have been different. Again, what Toronto does well is make adjustments, and you have to adapt. That is easier to do when you play with a lot of confidence. Sometimes the settings don’t work or your team decides to do something different. That’s why these series are so fun. “
Boston bounced back in Game 5 with its most dominant half of the playoffs, leading 62-35 by completely closing Toronto in transition (zero points at half), from 3-point line (4 of 18, 22.2%) and hitting them 26-14 in points in the paint.
That performance prompted Ainge to text, “That defense was fun to watch,” with a muscle flex and a shamrock emoji. When asked specifically what made her the happiest about the team’s defensive effort, she replied, “Everyone competes.”
In a different environment, Ainge would be installed in the bubble with his team, visiting the locker room after the game to offer his observations and encouragement. But when the Celtics flew to Orlando on the team plane, Ainge was not on board. He suffered a mild heart attack in 2009 that required surgery for a clogged artery, then had another mild attack in 2019 shortly after his 60th birthday. His doctors warned Ainge that he would be “at risk” if he contracted COVID. 19.
“My doctors said it would be better if it didn’t go,” Ainge said. “But as we go along, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since, I say to myself, ‘Man, I feel like the bubble is the healthiest place to be.’
Ainge agreed to watch Game 5 of the Celtics-Raptors series with this ESPN reporter. His recent heart problems aside, Ainge, an exceptional athlete who played both professional baseball and basketball, does not consider his health to be compromised at all.
“I don’t see myself that way,” Ainge said. “I am quite active. I am playing pickleball and walking 54 holes of golf with my bag. I have not been nervous or stressed about COVID-19. I wear a mask in public, but I have been on a plane a handful of times. Yes [the bubble] it was starting now i would probably go. “
Once Ainge determined that he would not go to Orlando, he asked Celtics chief of player development Alison Feaster to initially represent Celtics headquarters in the bubble (assistant general manager Mike Zarren arrived at Orlando last week). While praising the work that Feaster has done, Ainge admitted that he has experienced a good part of FOMO.
“I didn’t care that I wasn’t there,” Ainge said. “I wish I was there sometimes. When things have been the most difficult, those are the times when I want to be there the most, because I feel like I can help. The good thing is [head coach] Lace [Stevens] He’s been through it for seven years, so he’s got a really good handle on things. And although our boys are young, there is some maturity. They have already been through a lot in their young careers.
“I’ve been in constant contact with all of them. And as difficult as it was to be away for so long, I think it was a good experience.
Ainge feels the worst for Gordon Hayward, the team’s Swiss Army Knife who was in the midst of a low-key but critically important season for the Celtics when he sustained a Grade 3 ankle sprain on Aug. 18, the first game back from the pandemic. .
Hayward returned to the bubble Sunday after a couple of weeks at home in Boston, but has not been cleared to play and will likely not appear again unless the Celtics advance to the conference finals. Hayward originally planned to leave the bubble for the birth of their son sometime in September, but his wife Robyn posted a message on social media suggesting that now that he’s back in Orlando, he’s there to stay: “Next time we see you, you won’t be the only kid.”
“He’s been a killer for Gordon,” Ainge said. “He had worked so hard this summer to be okay, and he does so many things for us. And then he falls.
“And we miss him. We need one more guy who can create, who is always thinking ‘pass’, who can play without the ball for Jayson, Jaylen and Kemba. ” [Walker] you can do your thing. It was a great complement to them and scored with a very high efficiency rate without a lot of tapping. He is also 6 feet 8 inches tall and very strong. He’s that bigger guy for us when we’re little. “
Hayward’s time in Boston has been marred by major injuries, including a bizarre incident on his Celtics debut in 2017 that left him with a dislocated left ankle and a broken tibia that cost him an entire season.
Ainge revealed that when Hayward was training during the pandemic, he experienced persistent pain in that left foot. “It wasn’t a big deal,” Ainge said, “just a nagging little thing that he couldn’t quite get rid of. He played and entered the bubble feeling great, and then sprained his ankle on the other side.” foot … is very, very hard. “
Grade 3 sprains can often last for months, not weeks, because they often lead to ligament damage, swelling, and mobility problems. Additionally, Ainge said, Hayward’s ankle sprain also damaged a nerve, leaving her in excruciating pain until she finally calmed down. “Those first five or six days were quite difficult,” Ainge said.
Ainge remains optimistic that Hayward will have time to contribute. Walker, she said, has gotten over her knee and feels strong. Enjoy Jaylen Brown’s continued development, even as she navigates her role as an emerging and powerful voice for social justice. Feaster, Ainge said, has been an excellent sounding board for Brown.
“I think there is a fine balance for Jaylen to want to play well at a crucial moment in his career, but also to have this platform and do it well,” Ainge said. “I found that players, especially when the playoffs come around, find it difficult to stop thinking about performances and games, even though they have [free] hour. It takes quite a strong focus and strength to overcome the ups and downs of playoff basketball.
“Every player is different in the way they handle those things. Alison played 16 years of professional basketball and is someone who was always aware of social justice. So in a way, I feel like she’s more qualified when it comes to issues. Hottests like that in our organization. She’s been a huge influence on our platform, and she’s a great communicator who has great relationships with our players. “
If the Celtics are to advance, they will need big nights from Walker, Brown and Tatum, the latter having emerged as one of the best young talents in the game, but still struggling to consistently carry the load every night at times.
“I just know Jayson has it in him,” Ainge said. “He believes he is special and has every intention of being special every night.
“At the same time, you have to respect this league. You will see former MVPs fight in some games. The competition is fierce and you are playing against other special players every night, such as Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet. There is greatness in every squad. at this time of year. It’s what you do with that greatness to help your team. “
On Monday night, Boston’s greatness was evenly distributed across the board in the 111-89 dismantling of the Raptors. The Celtics’ big three of Tatum (18 points, 10 rebounds), Walker (21 points, 7 assists) and Brown (up to 27 points) edged Toronto’s trio of Siakam, Lowry and VanVleet, 66-38.
Ainge, celebrating outside the bubble, was asked what he liked best. Her answer was succinct: “Defense and distribution of the ball.” There was no need for her to fire Zoom to sympathize with players or coaches after her. When you beat a team as thoroughly as Boston did, no one has to worry about what will happen in the last 0.5 seconds.
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