Celtics G League team embarks on new era 

PORTLAND, Maine — After 18 months away, crustacean nation finally got a chance to come out of its shell. 

While the catchy jingle, When I say ‘red’ you say ‘claws’ is a relic of the past, the Celtics G League team is back after a year off. With a new roster, new identity, and a green lobster, enter the Maine Celtics.

After spending their first 11 seasons as the Red Claws, the Maine Celtics G League team debuted its new coach, players, and threads in front of 1,806 fans Friday night at the James A. Bank Sr. Portland Exposition Building in a 114-103 loss to the Delaware Blue Coats. 

“It’s kind of similar but also different,” said guard Jaysean Paige, a former Red Claw who scored 21 points off the bench for the Celtics (2-1). “It was a good atmosphere, but we could’ve played a little better.” 

Lorraine Day, 66, of Portland, has had season tickets to the franchise since the beginning. After 18 months without basketball at the Expo due to the coronavirus pandemic, she was glad to be back. 

“I retired a year ago and there was nothing to do but sit in my room where I live,” said Day, who customarily knits winter hats for players. “I was a little iffy at first, but it’s great to be back. Everyone’s here. I’m happy.” 

In the 2019-20 season, the Red Claws, then featuring 7-foot-5 fan-favorite Tacko Fall, went 28-14 before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The G League conducted a truncated season in a bubble environment in Orlando last year, but the Red Claws and 10 other G League teams did not participate. 

The Maine Celtics announced their renaming in May, swapping their red for green. Jarell Christian was announced as the new Maine Celtics coach in September, replacing Darren Erman, who had left for an assistant coaching role with the New York Knicks after the 2019-20 season.

Christian previously worked as the head coach of the Capital City Go-Go, a G League affiliate of the Washington Wizards, later serving two years as an assistant coach with the Wizards.

Although he said he would’ve liked to have made a better first impression as the new head coach, Christian appreciated what the Celtics fans brought. 

“The energy was really good,” Christian said. “The fans were cheering for us a majority of the time, but when we had a lapse in defensive effort they made sure we heard it, which was good for us. The crowd was great tonight.” 

Celtics guard Theo Pinson said he felt the crowd behind the team.

“They were very into the game,” Pinson said. “You could hear them complaining about calls like we were, so you could tell it was a fan base that knows the game of basketball. They saw what we saw.” 

The Maine Celtics feature two-way players Sam Hauser and Broderic Thomas. Celtics player Bruno Fernando joined the team on assignment from the NBA roster and a half-dozen other Maine Celtics players have NBA experience; Pinson, Deng Adel, Ryan Arcidiacono, Chris Clemons, Luke Kornet, and Juwan Morgan. Gordon College alum and Acushnet native Eric Demers is also on the roster. 

Per the City of Portland’s requirements, fans wore masks and showed proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test.

Red Claws references were few and far between, but long-time broadcaster Chris Sedenka admitted he let it slip a few times. 

“I said Red Claws four times in the 1st half,” he tweeted.

Patrick McCue, 15, of Scarborough and friend William Shevenell, 16, of Saco, sat in the last row of a center court section pregame. McCue wore a green Celtics Jayson Tatum jersey, Shevenell a black Portland Trail Blazers Damian Lillard jersey. McCue has regularly attended G League games for more than half of his life and digs the Celtics moniker.

“It’s going to be more recognizable, and I think it’s going to help the organization,” McCue said. “More Celtics fans are going to come here and see what’s happening.” 

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