Celtics starters Marcus Smart and Robert Williams are listed as questionable for Game 6 on Friday, the team tweets. It’s the same injury designation they had for Game 5.
Smart wound up playing 24 minutes on Wednesday despite his right ankle sprain and Williams made it through 27 minutes on his sore left knee.
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- DeSagana Diop is the new head coach of the G League’s Westchester Knicks, Marc Stein tweets. Diop was represented by Knicks president Leon Rose when Rose was a player agent. Diop has assistant coaching experience with the Jazz and, most recently, the Rockets.
- It has been reported that the Nets will likely defer the first-rounder owed by the Sixers from this year to next summer. However, that doesn’t mean the Nets will hold onto it and draft a rookie next summer, according to Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney. They might instead use it to facilitate an in-season trade next season to address injuries or roster shortcomings.
- The deadline deal that sent Derrick White from San Antonio to Boston has proven to be crucial to the Celtics in their postseason run, Brian Windhorst of ESPN notes. They have registered blowout wins in two of the three games Smart has missed during the playoffs and having White at their disposal was a key to those successes. The Spurs acquired Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford, the Celtics’ 2022 first-round pick, and the conditional right to swap first-round picks with Boston in 2028 in exchange for White.
Celtics lost game 1 without smart.
Also, for what it’s worth Boston is 1-0 with White not playing.
Conference Final Windows (past 2nd round)
East is getting weaker and weaker
Celtics 10 years
Bucks 4 years
Heat 3 years
Nets 2 years
76ers 1 year
West
Warriors 15 years
Grizzlies 12 years
Mavs 10 years
So the players on the end of that Warriors window are in kindergarten now? That is one excellent predictive algorithm you have.
Thank your Derrick White!
Anyone miss Romeo Langford?
Every move President Brad Stevens has made has proved out. Coach Ime, Al, White, Theis, etc. Coach not up for Coach of the Year? Nuts!
By far Stevens should be Executive of the Year.