The Celtics have been slumping but Kevin Durant believes they’ll be dangerous when the playoffs arrive, as the Warriors star told a group of reporters, including ESPN’s Nick Friedell. Durant, whose team faces Boston on Tuesday, believes the Celtics are “still getting used to each other” but they’ll be a tough out in the postseason. “They’re right up there at the top,” Durant said. “They’ve been losing a couple games, but they’ve got the top talent, some of the top talent on that team, so they’ll be fine once the playoffs start.”
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Gordon Hayward‘s agent promises that his client will return to All-Star form next season. Mark Bartelstein made the comments in a WEEI interview that were relayed by NBC Sports Boston’s Nick Goss. “My guess is he doesn’t get his game all the way back where we’re accustomed to seeing it until next year,” Bartelstein said of the Celtics forward. “He’s going to need a summer to get back in the gym and get back in the laboratory and the weight room and build on everything he did last year. But there’s not a doubt in my mind. He’ll be an All-Star in this league many, many times over.”
- Sixers coach Brett Brown is a big Tobias Harris fan and hopes the team re-signs him, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Brown praises Harris not only for his play on the court but his off-court persona. “I hope he’s a Philadelphia 76er for a long time,” Brown said. Harris, who will enter unrestricted free agency this summer, has enjoyed the ride with his new team since being dealt by the Clippers. “I like it here,” he said. “It’s been a good start that we’ve been able to have, a good group of guys, and the team has a lot of potential.”
- The Raptors’ load management strategy with star Kawhi Leonard shows disrespect to the team’s fans, Damien Cox of the Toronto Star argues. Leonard has sat out 18 games this season, including an overtime loss in Detroit on Sunday in which many Raptors fans crossed the border to see the game. While the ultimate goal is to have a healthy Leonard for the playoffs, he’s making a huge salary and fans buy full-price tickets to watch him play. To simply shrug off his participation in regular-season basketball is a snub to fans, Cox contends.
If the Celtics get Anthony Davis, they’ll need Hayward to step up. I don’t think Kyrie and AD can do it alone.
hayward needs to quit making promotions, video games, documentaries, commercials and focus on basketball.
If Hayward can’t make a big shot in the fourth quarter doesn’t mean he’s doing video games or making too many commercials. Just means he’s not a closer.
So stop making extra income?!
Kyrie is close to Durant and Anthony Davis. That’s a good situation to be in.
Damien Cox is not a serious sports reporter. He is the one who repeatedly said that you “gotta ask the question” that of Jose Bautista was taking steroids.
I’m a Warriors fan and they sit there stars often. If you are looking at going deep into the playoffs as a real fan you don’t care about resting during the regular season. Seems like a negative article just for the sake of having one.
Hayward is a one time All Star, let that sink in. Hayward in reality spent three years as one of many many borderline All Stars, suffered a carrier changing injury. He isn’t going to be an All Star going forward, he was a one time All Star at 27 before the career changing injury. Boston will be very lucky if they get 15 and 4 out of him while paying him 31 million a year until the summer of 2021. Boston fans live above the clouds, y’all are the fourth or fifth best team in the East and it isn’t getting better.
To be fair he played the majority of his career in the west which makes it harder to make an all star team.
Every year I see guys from the West in the All-Star Game…. usually around 12 guys
Agree with the point that not playing Kawhi is disrespectful for the fans, I mean the guy is rested 18 out of 64 games, is he some kind of Grandad, can’t he play more than 2 out of 3 games? I know at the end of the day all that many fans care is the playoffs, but the RS is what makes the season, the playoffs are just the post-season to reward the best teams, I really wouldn’t be happy if I was a Toronto fan with Kawhi or the team, but that just me, oddly enough I love to see the best players play, SMH!
12-13 First Round Exit, 13-14 First Round Exit, 15-16 Lost in the ECF, 16-17 2nd Round Exit, 17-18 2nd Round Exit. If resting Kawhi 18 games in the regular season leads to a Finals appearance then fans have no argument. Lakers did this consistently with Shaq when they won. As KD pointed out – these games don’t matter it’s all about the postseason.
If the league wasn’t so unbalanced they’d have to worry about winning them even to go to the postseason.
14-5 without him.
Which, is kind of my point. The regular season games aren’t particularly competitive. Why wouldn’t good teams rest players?
It’s his first season back after a devastating injury. Raptors are very smart to go easy on him. A human body cannot just go from zero to a full season that instantly.
I might read more of the Toronto Star if they introduced a load management strategy for pantloads like Damien Cox.
Kawhi Salary: 23M
Lowry: 31M
Lowry’s salary is HUGE, Kawhi’s making less than 35 other players in the league.
To be fair he will get a huge payday in a few months.
From the Clips I think. Either them or he stays in Toronto. Can Toronto give him a super max if he makes all-NBA this year?
Interesting Brett Brown said those things after Tobias got there but not after Butler. I’m sticking with Tobias resigns in Philly and Butler signs in Brooklyn.
Butler is overrated and overhyped. Unable to play his part in a fully loaded team, prefers to be “The man”, which is why he’ll jet at the end of the season. Harris is the one to keep, specially seeing how his figures have hardly changed upon being traded. Is a great player to play alongside BS and JE