Boston’s Evan Fournier talks COVID, vaccines and bubble hangovers for Celtics, other teams

Justin Quinn
·2 min read
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Speaking with the media after a rare in-season practice with his new team, Boston Celtics veteran shooting guard Evan Fournier gave the press an update on a number of topics ranging from his personal struggles with COVID to the impact of making a deep run in last year’s playoffs.

Fournier, who just recently had his first good game after returning from a lengthy stay in the NBA’s health and safety protocols due to a tough bout with the viral malady, began by sharing some positive news that may help him clear up some of the lingering symptoms he has been suffering through.

“Actually, I had my first vaccine yesterday, Pfizer,” he revealed. “So, apparently there were a lot of people reporting that after getting the vaccine, they started to feel better — so we’ll see.”

He also touched on how several teams which made it deeper in the Disney bubble playoffs than his Orlando Magic did seemed to be dealing with a hangover of sorts this season after a historically short offseason followed by a condensed regular season. Asked if he'd spoken with anyone on the team about that phenomenon, the St. Maurice native shared he hadn't. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1389748972831576065?s=20

"I haven't actually -- good question," replied Fournier.

"But, we lost in the first round, and they went to the conference final, so I think it added one more month. And, when you look at teams that had a deep run, you know, thinking about [the Los Angeles] Lakers, Miami [Heat], Boston, and the fourth theme is I think [the] Denver [Nuggets], Denver is actually doing pretty well. But the other teams, you can tell they they started the year with fatigue. The bubble was hard -- it was really hard. So, for them to stay there for two, three months, it was definitely a challenge, I'm sure."

But I haven't asked them anything" he finished. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1389760199641243651?s=20

With some luck, Fournier's play will continue to improve with the addition of a vaccine to potentially assist in alleviating those concussion-like symptoms he reported dealing with in recent weeks. But fans should be patient with the Frenchman given the uneven recovery we have seen from his teammate Jayson Tatum and others around the league. It might take longer than Boston has to be ready for the postseason, and in such a chaotic year for a team which has been hit worse than any other by the virus behind the pandemic, a forgiving mindset may well be the Celtics best hope for the future. This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=49887,49877,49874,49869] [vertical-gallery id=49726]

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