Celtics notebook: Grant Williams wouldn’t mind a 3-pointer for his birthday

NEW YORK — Grant Williams turned 21 as Friday became Saturday at midnight. He and teammates went to Kemba Walker’s home for dinner and what Walker called “some good bonding,”  so naturally the rookie had his first drink.

“I actually did, which was really nice,” he said. “My teammates did a good job of taking care of me, and it was very fun.”

Asked if it was his first ever actual drink, Williams replied, “Uhhhh … I plead the fifth.”

For the record, he got Hennessy for his premier legal sip. As for presents, no doubt Williams would like to unwrap his first NBA 3-pointer and a win as the Celtics complete their two-game trip here on Sunday afternoon against the Knicks.

The rook made 5 of 12 from beyond the arc in the preseason, 5 of 9 in his last three games. Since the real ones began, he’s attempted 21 treys and missed them all. He didn’t take any in Friday afternoon’s loss to the Nets in Brooklyn and has actually gone scoreless (0-9 from the floor overall) in his last four games while his playing time has slipped into the single digits over the last three.

After Saturday’s practice at Basketball City on Pier 36 here, Williams underwent an additional session that also included pick-and-roll coverages.

He’s still working on his shot, but he knows the solution to making 3s.

“Still shooting it,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing. You can’t worry about your misses, because then you won’t be able to make the next one. So I’m just as fine shooting it, and I’ll take another one and it will go in. That’s my thoughts on it and the team’s thoughts on it, as well, unless they would tell me not to shoot.”

But that won’t happen.

“Never,” Williams said. “Because they know how capable I am of a shooter. They’ve seen me do it before. They’re like, ‘Oh you shot 40 percent before in the preseason and Summer League; why aren’t you making shots?’ I don’t know. I’ll make one soon. They’ll level out.”

It helps him to know how Marcus Smart has risen to become a 3-point threat.

“For sure,” Williams said. “He’s been one of those guys that’s had my back the whole time, because he said he kind of sees me as his mini-me when it comes to him his rookie year and the previous five years, in terms of being that glue guy/offensive guy that necessarily wasn’t the scorer that he is now. But he’s capable of doing it, so I’m just going to keep improving day by day. You can’t rush it. It’s a process. It’s going to be a long season, 82 games, not including the playoffs. So it’s all about competing and getting these wins.”

Williams’ coach certainly isn’t worried about him.

“There’s always a right basketball play to be made, and so we all believe that when he’s open and somebody finds him, to step up and shoot the ball,” said Brad Stevens. “It’s just part of it. He’s not used to that. He will get used to that over time, and he’ll be fine.

“He’s a good shooter. He works hard at it. He’s just in one of those funks where sometimes you just have to see one go through the net. But it is different when you’ve never really done that before, but it’s really important to be able to do that, especially if you’re going to be able to play the 4, let alone the 5.”

Hayward practices with the team

Gordon Hayward did more post-practice shooting Saturday on the three-week anniversary of fracturing a bone in his left hand trying to get through a LaMarcus Aldridge pick in San Antonio.

Even better, Hayward was able to take part in some of the team workout.

“I think it’s encouraging obviously,” said Stevens. “It is what it is. We knew it was going to be a while before he was back, but it’s good to see him moving around. It’s good to just have him. They just did a bunch of up and downs, basically five-on-0 stuff, and he can do some of that, so that’s good.

“He’s able to run up and down the court. He’s able to do non-contact drills. And he’ll have another meeting on Monday over FaceTime with his doctor to look at the healing process, discuss what’s next, and then we’ll know more from there.”

The coach said Hayward will be traveling with the Celts as he awaits clearance to play.

“When we were out West, he had a couple of appointments he had to go to and everything else, so it didn’t make sense to bounce all over the place,” Stevens said.

Back in the Big Apple

It’s a homecoming for Walker, a proud product of the Bronx. But Enes Kanter actually spent a season and a half playing for the Knicks before moving on to Portland.

“Well, last time I was in Garden, I won a title with WWE,” he said of his offseason appearance in a wrestling show at Madison Square Garden. “It was just a little weird. But I’m just going to go out there and… I played in that arena for almost two years, and they treated me amazing, so I’m really excited to go back. It’s going to be a fun game.”

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2L95sPC