CHARLOTTE, N.C. — No matter love exists between the Boston Celtics and Grant Williams disappeared, at the least quickly, late within the fourth quarter Friday night time. After Williams drew an ejection for a tough foul on Jayson Tatum with 2:02 left within the Celtics’ 124-109 win towards the Charlotte Hornets, Jaylen Brown approached his former teammate to let him know he took offense to the extreme contact.
Williams later referred to as the extent of his foul unintentional, however Brown noticed the play otherwise. He mentioned he advised Williams, “That was some bulls—.”
Grant Williams exhausting foul on Tatum 👀 pic.twitter.com/VUzN4W5oMw
— Celtics on NBC Sports activities Boston (@NBCSCeltics) November 2, 2024
“It was for certain intentional,” Brown mentioned. “What are we speaking about right here? Did y’all see the identical play that I’m seeing? He hit him prefer it was a soccer play, like Ray Lewis coming throughout the center or one thing. It’s what it’s. Grant is aware of higher than that.”
Williams mentioned he was making an attempt to make a play on the ball in transition. He mentioned he believed the foul regarded worse as a result of he hit Tatum whereas he was within the act of passing and that the foul wouldn’t have been so exhausting “if (Tatum) had ready and truly turned his head to the left” whereas Williams was chasing him.
“It was only a exhausting foul,” Williams mentioned. “And we play them once more tomorrow. It’s nothing loopy or past the means. Everyone knows JT’s my man, so nothing intentional.”
The Celtics gamers weren’t shopping for Williams’ declare that the foul wasn’t intentional. How a lot did his flagrant hassle his former staff? Tatum, who usually fulfills his media obligations each time requested to speak, declined to reply questions from the small group of reporters in Charlotte. Brown, who performed alongside Williams for 4 seasons, went as far as to query his former teammate’s friendship with Tatum. Williams referred to as Tatum certainly one of his closest pals within the NBA.
“Actions communicate loud,” Brown mentioned. “So it’s what it’s. We acquired the win, we’ll transfer on, however there’s no place within the recreation for that. I believed JT and him was pals. I assume not.”
Grant Williams referred to as Jayson Tatum certainly one of his closest pals in basketball. (Jacob Kupferman / Getty Photos)
Did Brown say that in jest? Perhaps. However he was labored up sufficient after the flagrant-2 foul that assistant coach Tony Dobbins felt the necessity to stroll far out onto the courtroom to face in entrance of Brown and ensure he wouldn’t escalate the state of affairs. The Celtics gamers took the incident severely. Neemias Queta, close to Williams on the time of the play, mentioned the foul was “not cool in any respect.” Derrick White agreed along with his teammates that Williams “clearly wasn’t going for the ball.”
“He’s simply too rattling huge to be doing stuff like that,” White mentioned. “And he know that. However JB’s acquired our again at all times. And we at all times know that. And we’ve acquired JT’s again at all times.”
In an interview with NBC Sports activities Boston’s Kayla Burton, Williams advised he initially deliberate to host a number of the Celtics gamers at his place in Charlotte after Friday’s recreation however assumed they’d not take him up on the invitation after tempers flared on the courtroom. With one other contest between the groups in Charlotte on Saturday, the schedule would have introduced the uncommon alternative for the gamers to hang around with each other after the sport … in the event that they needed to.
The Celtics had been lots pleasant with Williams earlier than the sport, as they normally are. He was hesitant to completely stroll into their shootaround Friday morning however interrupted White’s latest routine — a recreation of baseball catch — to share a pleasant second along with his former teammate close to the Spectrum Middle courtroom. Williams and Brown hugged one another and performed a fast recreation of rock-paper-scissors once they noticed one another earlier than the sport.
Grant Williams greets Jaylen Brown and instantly beats him in a recreation of rock paper scissors lol pic.twitter.com/m8eRdLg90Z
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) November 1, 2024
A lot of Friday appeared like a reunion, and never only for Williams and his former staff. Hornets head coach Charles Lee served as Joe Mazzulla’s assistant final season. A number of Celtics gamers expressed how thrilled they had been to see Lee land a chance to run his personal staff. Sam Hauser referred to as Lee “one of many nicest guys on this planet, fairly actually.”
Throughout one season with the Celtics, Lee left an imprint on the staff. Mazzulla mentioned the coach was instrumental in Jrue Vacation’s adjustment to Boston; having a well-known face round helped Vacation adapt to his new environment after a shocking commerce from the Milwaukee Bucks shortly earlier than final season began. Earlier than becoming a member of the Celtics workers, Lee labored intently with Vacation as a Bucks assistant.
Vacation mentioned he at all times advocated for Lee, 39, when different groups inquired about doubtlessly hiring him as a head coach. Apparently, contemplating Lee coaches basketball, Vacation’s strongest help for him didn’t contain the game itself. Vacation highlighted every thing else in regards to the coach.
“Truthfully, that he’s an amazing particular person,” Vacation mentioned. “He’s a household man. You’ve seen him in a number of organizations, and he’s cherished in a number of organizations. He’s cherished by gamers throughout the league. I really feel like he’s a household man, and my household’s actually near his, so possibly I’m biased. However I feel that setting, bringing that to a corporation, means quite a bit.”
Earlier than tipoff, it was all love between the Celtics and Hornets. Tatum hardly ever pauses his exercise at morning shootaround, however he had a superb cause for doing so Friday. Kemba Walker, Tatum’s teammate in Boston for 2 seasons, had popped onto the courtroom to say hey to some previous pals. Close to the half-court emblem, Tatum stopped his drills briefly to embrace his buddy.
It’s not regular for an opposing coach to seem at a staff’s shootaround, however Walker isn’t a standard opposing coach. Plus, the circumstances lined up for him to take action. The Hornets, whose teaching workers he joined in July after asserting his retirement as a participant, had simply completed their shootaround at one other courtroom inside Spectrum Middle. Although his time in Boston didn’t final lengthy, Walker stays beloved within the group. Celtics gamers and staffers lit up once they noticed him. He hopped from one particular person to the subsequent, handing out hugs and his trademark smile to anybody he might discover across the courtroom. Earlier than leaving, he introduced his bold plans for the night time.
“We’re going to bust your ass,” Walker mentioned.
That was simply pleasant banter. To the Celtics, Williams’ actions crossed the road. From taking part in with him and towards him, they know his physicality can generally border on extreme. Earlier than competing towards him for the primary time in January final season, when Williams nonetheless performed for the Dallas Mavericks, Brown mentioned he cherished Williams however anticipated him to play “an annoying recreation.” After Boston beat Dallas, Brown mentioned he thought Williams was “a bit further” on a few performs through the recreation. Brown mentioned he anticipated a few of that from Williams, including that “Grant was going to attempt to be Grant.”
“However it’s all love,” Brown mentioned on the time. “I do know he’s making an attempt to assist his staff win, so he’s been doing that quite a bit for them this season. That’s form of how he made a reputation for himself. And I want him the very best. As their season continues to go ahead, I’m certain they’re going to wish a bit bit extra of that. So I feel Grant was simply making an attempt to get his staff going. That’s all it’s.”
The Celtics didn’t have the identical tone Friday. They had been indignant about the best way Williams veered straight into Tatum. No less than so quickly after the play, they weren’t able to let it go.
They did like how they rallied round one another after the exhausting contact, although. Mazzulla mentioned what he preferred most was that Tatum jumped proper up after the foul and walked straight to the free-throw line to deal with his enterprise.
“It didn’t actually faze him,” Mazzulla mentioned.
The Celtics coach additionally appreciated the best way Brown defended Tatum and the best way the staff stored its poise after the play.
“So long as we now have one another’s again,” Mazzulla mentioned, “that’s all that issues.”
Brown, who agreed along with his coach that the Celtics dealt with the second effectively, mentioned such a play “brings a facet of our staff out that we want.” He mentioned groups want “a bit edge,” “a bit chippiness” and “a bit battle.” He mentioned he welcomes such checks.
“One, it’s us towards the world,” Brown mentioned. “In order a frontrunner, as anyone on my facet, I trip for all my guys within the locker room. Groups wish to ship messages. They attempt to set the tone and do all totally different sort of stuff to both get us out of character or mess with our thoughts or make us really feel like we mushy or regardless of the case is. We not going for none of that. That’s it: We simply not going for it. In order that’s all I might say.”
Even when the exhausting foul comes from an previous good friend.
(High photograph of Grant Williams fouling Jayson Tatum late within the fourth quarter: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Photos)
