BOSTON — The “We want Tacko” chant started with 8:15 left in the first half, while Brad Stevens was still working through combinations with his core players, and grew in intensity until the Boston Celtics coach finally relented and sent in his folk hero with 9:15 left in the game.

The 7-foot-6 Fall would figure heavily in the Celtics’ come-from-behind 107-106 win against Charlotte in their exhibition opener at TD Garden on Sunday night, finishing with two dunks and two blocks, including a ferocious crowd-pleaser on Bismack Biyombo.

But afterward, Stevens wanted to make sure that Fall, who is competing with others for the final roster spot, was OK with attention that is as out-sized as himself.

Boston Celtics teammates greet Tacko Fall, 99, after his second-half performance during a preseason against the Charlotte Hornets at TD Garden on Sunday evening. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

“I just talked to Tacko about it. Tacko is such a gracious guy, and it puts him in such a tough spot, right?” Stevens said. “He knows he doesn’t want to put extra heat on me. Everybody wants Tacko. My kids are the same way, and everybody else. I think that’s cool, and that’s great, but I just hope people continue to appreciate him for what he is as a person and how hard he’s working to try to make it to the NBA. Because he’s a really good kid and he’s really, really working hard, and I think he’s going to be in the NBA for a long time.”

But Stevens didn’t have to worry about the pressure on his rookie, who as an Exhibit 10 player will be free to sign with any team if he doesn’t make the 15-man roster. He would receive a bonus if he agrees to join Boston’s G-League team, the Maine Red Claws, should the Celtics waive him.

“Pressure? I feel like I’m in a dream,” Fall said. “I’m in the Garden, playing with the Celtics and with all these great players. There’s no pressure, it’s just a matter of going out there and having fun. For a preseason game, I feel like the whole arena was packed. I can only imagine what it’s going to be like when the season kicks off.

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“He did, he did (talk to me),” he said of Stevens. “He was a little worried about me, just making sure I don’t get distracted. I said, ‘Coach, I was more worried about you.’ I said don’t worry about me, I’ll be OK. So we were just joking about it. I told Coach, I was like, ‘I saw it coming.’ But I was trying to just stay locked in on the game. It was my first NBA game ever, didn’t know really when I was going to come in. If not, I was just trying to stay ready and just get ready to do my work whenever Coach called me in.

“Maybe if it was the first time, but now I’ve kind of got used to it, and I see it as a blessing, and just try to go out there and do my job and not let those people down whenever I’m on the court.”

And he’s likely to remain an enormous curiosity item, somewhat obscuring the fact Fall continues to win over teammates with his work in training camp.

“It’s been a great experience,” he said. “Since summer league, I’ve really felt the love that’s coming from the fans, especially here in Boston. For me it’s just, I’ve got to bring it every day. It’s a blessing. Thankful for it, and I’ve just got to keep my head down and keep going.”

The larger question, of course, remains open. Will he, as Marcus Smart predicts, be a good NBA player? Fall admittedly has a lot to learn before he ever gets to that point.

“It’s been a great learning experience,” Fall said. “I’m enjoying just competing every day, going up against all these guys, a lot of them have a lot of experience, especially (Enes) Kanter. As a big man, he’s been great to me, I’ve been trying to follow his footsteps. Just learn as much as possible from all of them.

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“In college, I used to just go stand in the paint most of the time. Here, I noticed I’m moving a lot more than I have in the past, that’s something that I’ve worked on this summer, especially in the pick-and-rolls both on offense and defense. That’s probably one of my biggest improvements.”
Fall’s ability to move surprised the Celtics coaching staff during summer league. He’s now working to build on those early steps.

“Especially in the first two days (of camp), there was a bit of a learning curve that I had to go through,” he said. “I feel like the last couple of days, I came in and am a lot more locked in. I learned from those past few days and made a lot of improvements. That’s what I need to keep doing, every day get better at something.”

Like his coaches, teammates have been surprised by some of Fall’s early work.

“He gets up and down the floor well,” Semi Ojeleye said. “He moves laterally a lot better than people think. A lot of people just think of blocked shots. I think that his conditioning is getting better too. All the things that people questioned, he’s proven that he can be an advantage in this league.”

But after a week of scrimmaging, Fall has kept his expectations simple.

“Just beating people up and down the floor,” Fall said of what has worked. “That’s something that I really pride myself in because that’s one of the biggest things people are questioning me about: ‘Can he move? Can he run?’ Every time I step on the court now, I try to show that I can do those things and just improve myself. I believe, regardless of the level, if I have the confidence I need, I can do things that are valuable.”

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