Evan Fournier Misses Everything In Celtics Debut
By Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Evan Fournier did not make the best first impression on the Boston Celtics. Danny Ainge's big deadline day acquisition had a Celtics debut to forget on Monday night, missing every shot he took in Boston's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
If Zion Williamson's monster night and Marcus Smart's brain cramp weren't enough for Boston to overcome, the Celtics got an 0-for from their newest player, with Fournier going 0-for-10 from the floor. He missed each and every shot that he took in his 33 minutes of play, including a handful of wide open looks, and the Celtics were outscored by 12 points while he was on the floor.
It was a bad debut, to put it lightly. Fournier became just the fourth player in the shot clock era to go 0-for-10 in his debut with a new team, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Fournier was brought in to knock down shots, and he just didn't do that on Monday night.
Fournier had some interesting circumstances to deal with upon joining the team, with a false positive COVID test delaying his debut until Monday. Brad Stevens is confident that his newest guard will be knocking down shots for the team in no time.
"I just walked by his locker and said that this will be a small blip on your time here," said Stevens. "He flew to OKC, got off the plane, was told he was positive, then had to take a bunch of negative tests in a row. I know that he's not going to make that excuse, but I have no doubt that Evan Fournier is going to score a lot of buckets for the Celtics. Very much a blip, not worried about it."
Neither are Fournier's new teammates.
"It's difficult coming to a new team, trying to play well, trying to remember the plays and new system," Kemba Walker said after Boston's 115-109 loss. "At the end of the day, c'mon now, we all know how good Evan is. He is going to be great for us.
"He had great looks, shots that we all know that he can make," Walker added.. "He's just getting adapted and adjusting. He can definitely knock those shots down."
Rest assured, Evan Fournier will hit a shot in a Celtics uniform. After such a bad debut, there is no place to go but up.
