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Happy to help his team win, Evan Fournier reveals his tough debut didn’t irk him

Justin Quinn
·3 min read

It was the sort of historic debut you want to forget about, not celebrate, but by the time veteran shooting guard Evan Fournier had scored a career-high 7 shots from beyond the arc to score 23 points off the bench for the Boston Celtics on Friday, the recently-acquired wing had already shaken the bad game off.

Fournier shot a franchise-worst 0-for-10 in his debut with the team in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans earlier this week, but paid it little mind at the time. While clearly something anyone would want to avoid, he instead remained focused on the present.

And with a little support from his new teammates, it quickly turned his game around to boost his new club in a big way against the Houston Rockets on April 2.

Speaking to the press after the game, Fournier related how his teammates rallied behind the shooting guard while looking to get him involved in the offense on the court.

"As a new guy when you see your teammates really -- first of all -- looking for you on the court, and second, being happy for, for you, it means a lot," he suggested, "because you know when you come in and you don't know anybody really appreciate you guys being that excited for you."

"It means a lot and I really appreciate them," he added. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1378415299783917569?s=20

The former Orlando wing also explained the tough first outing with Boston -- while regrettable -- never weighed on him too much. "I always try to find a moment," explained Fournier. "Never too high, never too low. It's been a matter of four years now and I've played nine years in this league now."

"I know who I am and I know what I'm capable of doing. That first game ... was not the way I wanted to start with the Celtics, but it's not going to define who I am with the same. I say meantime I'm going to try to impact winning as much as I can, and I'm really happy about the win tonight, period."

"Moving forward, I'm going to try to go as hard as I can and and help the guys," he explained. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1378380137205481473?s=20

Fournier could well be the missing offensive punch Boston has lacked for some time, able to add scoring off the perimeter or cutting to the basket whether it's off the bench or in a starting role. And his veteran mentality and ability to facilitate on the wing will add dimensions the team has sorely missed since Gordon Hayward decamped to join the Charlotte Hornets over the offseason. This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=48597,48579,48591,48552] [listicle id=48568]

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