Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: J. Brown, Edwards, Brooks, Iguodala

March 4th, 2022 at 7:18am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing on the Toucher & Rich radio show in Boston on Thursday, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens confirmed that Jaylen Brown‘s sprained ankle, which sidelined him for Thursday’s game vs. Memphis, doesn’t look like a significant injury.

“I think he’s doing better than I originally thought when I saw him go down,” Stevens said, per Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. “He’s going to be constantly reevaluated over the next couple days … but it doesn’t look like a long-term thing.”

The Celtics have two days off before facing Brooklyn on Sunday, and then another two days off before visiting Charlotte on Wednesday. It’s unclear at this point whether Brown will play in either of those games.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Timberwolves wing Anthony Edwards missed Tuesday’s game due to a left knee issue and has been ruled out for Friday’s contest too. Head coach Chris Finch stated earlier in the week that the club was considering giving Edwards multiple games off to try to get him right for the stretch run, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. “Everything is on the table right now to try to get him where he needs to be,” Finch said.
Dillon Brooks (ankle) doesn’t yet have a specific return date lined up, but Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said the forward took a “huge step” in his recovery process this week, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. “He’s been fully integrated,” Jenkins said. “We haven’t had a lot practices to get him out there. We’re not going live or contact. He’s doing contact in other settings, but he’s been fully involved in all of our team film sessions.”
Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala (back), who has played just once since January 20, is “making strides,” according to head coach Steve Kerr (Twitter link via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports Bay Area). The team still wants to have Iguodala participate in more scrimmages before he’s cleared to return, so he’s considered day-to-day for now.

And-Ones: Brown, Brogdon, Biyombo, Udoka, Snyder, Russia, Smith

March 3rd, 2022 at 11:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jaylen Brown, Malcolm Brogdon and Bismack Biyombo have been re-elected as VPs on the National Basketball Players Association’s Executive Committee, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets. They’ll serve new three-year terms, according to the players’ union.

We have more from around the basketball world:

The Celtics’ Ime Udoka and Jazz‘s Quin Snyder were named Coaches of the Month for February, NBA Communications tweets. Boston had a 9-2 record during the month, while Utah went 8-1.
In the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the NBA has suspended all activities in Russia, Mark J. Burns of the Sports Business Journal tweets. According to Burns’ source, that includes activities related to content distribution such as digital and broadcast. There is no timeline on when business activities will resume in Russia.
Forward Roscoe Smith, who has appeared in 149 G League games, has signed in Palestine with Orthodoxi Beit Jala, agent Derek James of Global Pipeline Agency told JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors (Twitter link).

Isaiah Cousins Joining Celtics' G League Affiliate

March 3rd, 2022 at 9:58am CST by Luke Adams

Former Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins has signed an NBA G League contract and is joining the Maine Celtics, according to our JD Shaw (Twitter link). Cousins was a second-round pick in the 2016 draft, but has yet to appear in a regular season NBA game, having spent most of his professional career in Europe.

Celtics Notes: Brown, Ryan, Open Roster Spots

March 2nd, 2022 at 8:43am CST by Luke Adams

With Tuesday’s win over Atlanta, the Celtics moved to within a single game of a top-four spot in the East, but it wasn’t all good news for Boston. As Tim Bontemps of ESPN details, Jaylen Brown left the game in the first half due to a right ankle sprain and didn’t return.

“[He] rolled it,” head coach Ime Udoka said after the game. “Got some swelling and soreness, obviously. He tried to give it a go in the back and wanted to come back out and play, [but] just decided big picture, where we’re at in the season and be smart. So we’ll know more over the next few days.”

Although Brown walked with a limp when he left the game, he was able to exit the court under his own power, which was a positive sign. Udoka is optimistic that the injury won’t be a significant one.

“You would hope not,” Udoka said, per Bontemps. “He walked off by himself and then tried to go in the back. So you would hope not. But we’ll evaluate him over the next few days and, hopefully, it doesn’t seem like it. But you never know; it can change overnight with swelling and pain.”

Let’s round a few more notes out of Boston…

Jared Weiss of The Athletic takes a closer look at what the Celtics are getting in swingman Matt Ryan, who signed a two-way contract with the team earlier this week. As Weiss outlines, Ryan is a very talented outside shooter, but is still working on improving his defense.
The Celtics likely won’t be active in the buyout market, Udoka said on Tuesday (Twitter link via Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe). That’s not a surprise, given the lack of appealing available options. As our tracker shows, Enes Freedom and DeAndre Jordan are the only notable healthy veterans who were waived since the trade deadline and have yet to line up new teams — Freedom is ineligible to re-sign with Boston after being traded by the C’s last month.
The 10-day contracts signed by Kelan Martin and Malik Fitts last week will expire this Friday night. At that point, the Celtics will dip back down to 12 players on standard contracts, so if they don’t re-sign both Martin and Fitts right away, they’d have up to two weeks to get back to the league-mandated minimum of 14 players.

Celtics Sign Matt Ryan To Two-Way Deal

February 28th, 2022 at 3:01pm CST by JD Shaw

FEBRUARY 28: The Celtics have officially signed Ryan to a two-way contract, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 27: The Celtics are planning to sign Grand Rapids Gold swingman Matt Ryan to a two-way deal, according to Marc Stein of Substack (Twitter link). Ryan will join guard Brodric Thomas as Boston’s two-way players.

Ryan has played 16 games in the G League this season, averaging 18.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. He has shot 43% from the floor and 39% from three-point range during those outings.

Ryan went undrafted in 2020 after spending collegiate seasons at Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Chattanooga. The 24-year-old is capable of playing the shooting guard and small forward positions.

Boston signed Kelan Martin and Malik Fitts to 10-day contracts last week. The team ranks sixth in the East at 36-26 and still has an open spot available on its 15-man roster.

Payton Pritchard Delivers After Being Kept At Trade Deadline

February 27th, 2022 at 10:02am CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics‘ decision to keep Payton Pritchard at the trade deadline is paying off, says Trevor Hass of Boston.com. The second-year guard played an important role in Saturday’s win at Detroit, delivering 19 points and six assists in 27 minutes, the most he has logged in two months. “My confidence never should waver,” Pritchard said. “For me, it’s just staying ready and trying to find little ways to help this team win. That’s my job, so I’m going to keep doing it.”

Atlantic Notes: Celtics, Defense, Raptors, Knicks Injuries

February 24th, 2022 at 4:03pm CST by Rory Maher

Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated explores how the Celtics have turned their season around and evolved into contenders. Mannix admits he thought the Celtics were toast in December, but since Jan. 1 they’ve gone 17-7, including winning nine of their last 10 games entering the All-Star break.

The Celtics have been dominant defensively, especially the starting unit. Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Robert Williams hold a 88.8 defensive rating, which is the top mark among all five-man groups that have played at least 150 minutes, Mannix writes.

“I’ve had a lot of good teams here defensively. But this group has a chance to be unique,” former coach and current president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said.

The Celtics have also drastically improved their ball movement and are averaging far more passes and assists per game since the start of 2022, Mannix notes.

Here are a few more notes from the Atlantic Division:

Head coach Ime Udoka says the Celtics are excited to add Malik Fitts and Kelan Martin (both on 10-day deals), but will continue to monitor the buyout market in order to see who might become available (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac).
There’s no telling where the Raptors might finish in the standings, and head coach Nick Nurse doesn’t mind that unpredictability, writes Doug Smith of The Toronto Star. “It wouldn’t surprise me if we finished in the top three and it wouldn’t surprise me if we finished seventh and I wouldn’t care about either of those spots, to be honest,” Nurse said Wednesday. He actually thinks there might be an advantage to finishing in seventh place and participating in the play-in tournament. “There’s a little, maybe, benefit of playing in that seventh spot,” Nurse said. “Get a couple games before you actually get into the (playoffs) and I think it might give you a game or two buffer of not giving one away right away.” The Raptors are currently 32-25, seventh in the East, only a half-game behind the sixth-place Celtics.
RJ Barrett (left ankle sprain) and Nerlens Noel (sore left foot) are both listed as questionable Friday for the Knicks, while Derrick Rose is doubtful as he continues to recover from right ankle surgery (Twitter link from Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel). Rose was a full participant in practice Wednesday and is inching closer to a return.

Smart's Ankle Improved Over Break

February 24th, 2022 at 1:50pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics guard Marcus Smart suffered an ankle injury February 15 at Philadelphia, but he says it’s gotten better over the All-Star break. “Feeling pretty good. Honestly, the night of the injury was pretty harsh for me. Couldn’t put any pressure on it, but over the break, was able to get some sun and did some cool things to work on it. Swelling’s gone down,” Smart said (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic).

Malik Fitts, Kelan Martin Sign 10-Day Deals With Celtics

February 23rd, 2022 at 11:41am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

FEBRUARY 23: The Celtics have officially signed Fitts and Martin to 10-day contracts, the team announced today in a press release.

FEBRUARY 22: Forwards Malik Fitts and Kelan Martin are set to sign 10-day deals with the Celtics, per Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).

Fitts, a 6’8″ second-year power forward out of Saint Mary’s, had a two-way deal with the Jazz earlier this season, but was waived by Utah in January after fracturing his right wrist. He signed an NBA G League contract prior to the news of his joining the Celtics.

Across seven contests with the Jazz this season, Fitts averaged 5.0 MPG. In seven games with the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBAGL this season, Fitts averaged 15.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.0 APG, 1.0 BPG and 1.0 SPG, on shooting splits of .396/.267/.846.

The 6’5″ Martin, 26, was most recently with the Pacers, but Indiana waived him in January before his contract for the rest of the 2021/22 season could become guaranteed, as Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files observes (via Twitter).

Through 27 games with Indiana this year, the third-year small forward out of Butler holds averages of 6.3 PPG and 2.0 RPG while making 41.7% of his takes from the floor and 69.2% of his looks from the charity stripe.

The duo will join a revamped Boston roster hoping to make a push up the Eastern Conference standings following an active trade deadline. As we noted earlier this week, the C’s had to make two roster additions this week in order to get back up to the NBA-mandated minimum of 14 players.

The Celtics, who won nine of their last ten games heading into the All-Star break, are currently the sixth seed in the East with a 34-26 record. The team is now just 4.5 games behind the top-seeded Heat and Bulls.

Celtics To Apply To Host All-Star Game?

February 22nd, 2022 at 9:03am CST by Luke Adams

Despite being one of the NBA’s marquee franchises, the Celtics haven’t hosted the All-Star Game since Bill Russell played for the team, back in 1964. According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, the team may be interested in changing that. Sources tell Washburn that the Celtics’ ownership group is taking steps to submit an application to host the event.

As Washburn writes, the Celtics don’t own the TD Garden outright, which is a logistical hurdle that must be overcome, and the locales for the next two All-Star Games – Utah in 2023 and Indiana in 2024 – have already been set. But the fact that Boston is taking steps toward applying is noteworthy, according to Washburn, who says the ownership group’s interest level in hosting the game has long been “tepid” until now.