Boston Celtics Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Atlantic Notes: Embiid, Harden, J. Brown, T. Young, Knicks

April 26th, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

After winning the first three games of their series vs. the Raptors, the Sixers have now dropped two consecutive close-out opportunities and will head back to Toronto clinging to a 3-2 lead. Star center Joel Embiid, who tore a ligament in his right thumb in Game 3, said after Monday’s loss that he wants to make an effort going forward not to favor that injury quite so much.

“I’m in a situation where I try to protect it,” Embiid said (Twitter link via Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer). “Before I even attack or if I get the ball, it’s almost like I’m not playing freely where I’m like, ‘Well, if I do this, I might get hit or I might get hurt.'”

Embiid also told reporters on Monday night that his All-Star teammate James Harden, who attempted just 11 shots from the field and had 15 points in Game 5, needs to be more aggressive on the offensive end, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays.

“I’ve been saying all season since he got here, he needs to be aggressive and he needs to be himself,” Embiid said. “That’s not really my job. That’s probably on Coach (Doc Rivers) to talk to him and tell him to take more shots, especially if they’re going to guard me the way they’ve been guarding. But that’s really not my job.”

No team in NBA history has blown a 3-0 series lead. If they can get a home victory on Thursday, the Raptors would be just the fourth team (of 145) to force a Game 7 after falling behind 3-0, which would put a ton of pressure on the 76ers to close out the series on Saturday at home.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Celtics wing Jaylen Brown earned another one of his contract bonuses on Monday due to the team’s first-round series victory. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (via Twitter), advancing to the second round assured Brown of an extra $482,143 this season.
The Raptors‘ decision to give up a first-round pick for Thaddeus Young at February’s trade deadline may look short-sighted if he leaves in free agency this summer, but he has provided intangible value to the team through his veteran leadership and understanding of the game, says Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Additionally, since the Raptors acquired a second-rounder from San Antonio in the Young deal, they only ended up moving down 13 spots in the draft, from No. 20 to No. 33.
In his latest mailbag, Fred Katz of The Athletic addresses a series of offseason questions facing the Knicks, weighing in on Mitchell Robinson‘s upcoming free agency, whether Tyus Jones or Malcolm Brogdon make sense as offseason targets, and more.

Examining Celtics' Hopes To Bring All-Star Game Back To Boston

April 24th, 2022 at 8:06pm CST by JD Shaw

Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe takes a look at the Celtics’ hopes to bring the All-Star Game back to Boston. The Celtics are preparing a bid, Washburn notes, as Boston hasn’t hosted an All-Star Game since 1964. The team would likely look to host in 2025 or 2026.

Injury Notes: Doncic, Williams, Lowry, Capela

April 23rd, 2022 at 10:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

Playing Saturday for the first time in nearly two weeks, Mavericks guard Luka Doncic showed no ill effects from his strained left calf, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Doncic logged 34 minutes, resting halfway through the first and third quarters. He posted 30 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and hit a late three-pointer to give Dallas a four-point lead before the Jazz rallied to win.

“I’m just excited to be back,” Doncic said. “I had fun out there, just having fun playing basketball. What could be better than in the playoffs? The playoffs are the most exciting, so I’m just glad to be back.”

Doncic admitted feeling winded during stretches of the game — MacMahon notes that Utah targeted him defensively, especially in the first half. However, Doncic said the calf didn’t slow him down.

“At the beginning, I was just thinking about it a little bit,” he said. “I think in the middle of the game I kind of forgot about it.”

There are more injury-related items to pass along:

There was also good news for the Celtics tonight as center Robert Williams returned for the first time since a meniscus tear on March 27. Williams played 16 minutes and said his knee didn’t hurt after the game (video link from Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe).
There’s “cautious optimism” from people close to Heat guard Kyle Lowry that the left hamstring injury he suffered Friday isn’t serious, according to Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Lowry didn’t practice with the team today, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN, and was walking “gingerly.” A source close to Lowry tells McMenamin that the injury is day to day, but Lowry said he is monitoring it “hourly.” Miami’s injury report lists him as questionable for Game 4, which will take place Sunday night. Gabe Vincent or Tyler Herro would likely start at point guard if Lowry isn’t available, Chang states.
The Hawks have upgraded center Clint Capela to questionable for Sunday’s game, per Sarah K. Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who adds that his status may be a game-time decision. Capela hasn’t played since suffering a hyperextended right knee in an April 15 play-in game.

Nets Notes: Simmons, Nash, Durant, Griffin

April 23rd, 2022 at 8:08pm CST by Arthur Hill

Ben Simmons is targeting Monday’s Game 4 to make his debut with the Nets, but coach Steve Nash isn’t committing to anything, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Simmons went through a full workout today, which Nash said went well, but he cautioned that it’s difficult to start playing at this point of the season.

“I think it’s possible, but I’m not sure,” Nash told reporters before tonight’s game. “Like I said before, it’s not a normal return to play, having been off for nine months and being injured as long as he has been at the back of this, going on two months now – I think if I’m not mistaken – or more, so it’s not just, he got through three workouts and he’s ready to play. There’s a lot of bigger picture, bigger context — how he’s feeling, how able he would be to adapt to the environment. It’s a little different than playing a game that’s in the middle of the regular season so I think there’s a few factors at play to evaluate when he’s ready to play.”

Simmons was just cleared for contact five days ago as he continues to make progress from the back ailment that has kept him out of action since Brooklyn acquired him in February. He hasn’t played since Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals more than 10 months ago.

There’s more on the Nets:

The Celtics‘ defensive approach has forced Kevin Durant into two of the worst playoff games of his career, observes Sam Amick of The Athletic. Amick talked to a pair of scouts who point out that Boston is being physical with Durant before he gets the ball and has guarded him with six different players so far. Durant is coming off a 4-for-17 performance in Game 2 and committed six turnovers in each of the first two games of the series.
The Nets are in danger of letting another of Durant’s prime years slip away, warns Ian O’Connor of The New York Post. O’Connor notes that it’s not a sure thing that Durant and Kyrie Irving will both be healthy at playoff time ever again, so the Nets should have a sense of urgency to get back in the series.
After missing the first two games of the series with a sprained left ankle, Blake Griffin was upgraded to available for Game 3, Lewis tweets. The veteran big man hasn’t played since April 2.

Robert Williams Cleared For Game 3

April 23rd, 2022 at 5:21pm CST by Arthur Hill

Injured Celtics center Robert Williams will return to action in Saturday’s Game 3 against the Nets, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Coach Ime Udoka said Williams will come off the bench and is expected to play in short spurts totaling 20 to 24 minutes.

Williams has been sidelined since having a surgical procedure in late March for a torn meniscus in his left knee. Boston was able to win the first two game of the series without Williams’ presence in the middle.

There have been reports over the past week or so that Williams was making progress and was targeting Game 3 or 4 for a possible return. His original recovery timeline was four to six weeks after suffering the injury on March 27 and undergoing surgery a few days later, so he’s coming back ahead of schedule.

The fourth-year center played an important role in the Celtics’ late-season rise up the standings to the No. 2 seed. He became a full-time starter this year and posted career-best numbers across the board with averages of 10.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in 61 games.

Celtics Aren't Taking Risks With Williams' Return; Examining Defense Against Durant

April 23rd, 2022 at 2:34pm CST by JD Shaw

The Celtics aren’t taking any additional risks by playing Robert Williams III in Game 3, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. Williams has been recovering from torn meniscus surgery and last played on March 27. “If you’re going to be working him hard and putting him through contact in practice to get him ready, there’s no real additional risk to having him do it in a game for a few minutes here and there,” an NBA medical source told Bulpett. “You’re not putting a lot on his shoulders, and you could be helping his progress.”
Sam Amick of The Athletic examines how the Celtics have defended Nets superstar Kevin Durant, who has shot just 13-of-41 through two games (32%). Boston has one of the best defensive groups in the league, making it harder for Durant to get to his spots, abuse matchups and score.

Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Simmons, Smart, Maxey

April 23rd, 2022 at 11:33am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Raptors, down 3-0 in their first-round playoff series against the Sixers, need more production from star forward Pascal Siakam, but criticism of the 2020 All-Star should be nuanced, writes Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca.

Siakam underwhelmed during the team’s 104-101 Game 3 overtime loss on Wednesday, scoring just 12 points on 6-of-16 shooting, a far cry from the 22.0 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 6.5 APG he put up in the team’s two games in Philadelphia. Siakam also missed all five of his field goal attempts during the game’s second half and overtime.

Lewenberg writes that Sixers starting power forward Tobias Harris handles chief defensive duties on Siakam outside the paint, while All-Star center Joel Embiid guards him inside. Siakam has struggled to adjust to the defensive attention, but Lewenberg cautions that the 28-year-old still has room to grow, even after his six NBA seasons.

“I think for me, I just gotta stay aggressive, get to my spots and live with the results,” Siakam said. “I think that the experience from just being in the playoffs, we all learn from it. Even players that have been in the league a long time, that [have] been in many playoff games, I’m sure that there’s some series where they learn something about themselves or about their game or how they can evolve.”

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

In what has been a topsy-turvy kind of season for the Nets, it is perhaps fitting that the newest star player, Ben Simmons, is set to play for the first time in the fourth game of a playoff series, per Brian Lewis of the New York Post. Lewis observes that, should the Nets lose to the Celtics again tonight, Simmons will be rejoining the club as it faces a 3-0 deficit. Mental health issues and a desire to be traded resulted in Simmons opting to sit out while with the Sixers, prior to being traded in exchange for James Harden at the deadline. A back injury has hampered him since joining Brooklyn.
Celtics guard Marcus Smart, the newly-minted 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, hasn’t just been excellent on defense in helping Boston achieve a 2-0 series edge against the Nets, writes Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald. He is also averaging 16.0 PPG and 5.5 APG across the team’s first two playoff contests. After spending years as a combo guard, his emergence as a passer may be surprising some, but not Smart. “To hear people say I’m not a point guard or, oh my gosh, I can’t believe he’s a point guard — I was a top-six pick, as a point guard,” Smart said. “I was chosen as a point guard — for some reason. It is funny but I just continue to keep getting better, working on my game, and not really worried about everybody else.” Team president Brad Stevens praised Smart’s ability to handle plays mapped out by head coach Ime Udoka. “He’s got a lot of the qualities that really good point guards have,” Stevens said. “I think what we wanted to do this year, and Ime and his staff has done a really good job of coaching to, is we wanted to be big and versatile.”
Second-year Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey has taken significant strides this season, and that has continued apace during the team’s first-round matchup against the Raptors. Tim Bontemps of ESPN details Maxey’s rise, noting that he put in the hours during the offseason to grow his game as a long-range shooter. “In my exit interview [last season], my goal was to get one percent better every single day,” Maxey says. “I stuck with it the entire summer.” After shooting 54.7% from the restricted area during his rookie season, Maxey converted 60.5% of his looks around the rim this year. He also saw his three-point shooting improve from making 30.1% of his 1.7 looks a night last year to 42.7% on 4 attempts this year. “I would get up, and I’d be in the gym,” Maxey said of his prep as a three-point shooter during the offseason. “First one in the gym at 6 a.m. and I’d try to make at least 700, 800 shots. And then I’d go lift and I’d come back again at 10 [a.m.] and I’m doing the same thing.”

Kings To Interview Mike D’Antoni, Mark Jackson, Others

April 22nd, 2022 at 2:57pm CST by Luke Adams

The Kings will interview former NBA head coaches Mike D’Antoni and Mark Jackson for their open head coaching position, sources tell Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Sacramento has also received permission to interview former coaches Mike Brown and Steve Clifford, as well as Celtics assistant Will Hardy and Bucks assistants Darvin Ham and Charles Lee, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link).

Of the former head coaches, D’Antoni currently serves as an advisor to Pelicans head coach Willie Green, Jackson is an ABC/ESPN broadcaster, Brown is an assistant with the Warriors, and Clifford is a consultant for the Nets.

The Kings have done their homework on a wide range of candidates and narrowed their list down to a smaller group, according to Charania and Amick, though the above list of candidates isn’t necessarily complete, tweets Sean Cunningham of ABC10 in Sacramento.

The Kings will begin conducting virtual interviews with candidates next week, according to James Ham of ESPN 1320, who tweets that in-person meetings will take place after that first round of Zoom interviews.

Sacramento is in the market for a new head coach after firing Luke Walton near the start of the 2021/22 season and then opting not to retain his interim replacement, Alvin Gentry, last week.

When word first broke that the Kings weren’t bringing back Gentry, Wojnarowski said they would consider candidates who have previously turned lottery teams into playoff clubs. D’Antoni (Phoenix), Jackson (Golden State), Brown (Cleveland), and Clifford (Charlotte and Orlando) all technically fit that bill.

Ham, Lee, and Hardy don’t have head coaching experience, but have all interviewed for head coaching positions in recent years. Ham and Lee reportedly received consideration from multiple teams in 2021, while Hardy was in the mix for multiple jobs in 2020.

Celtics’ Robert Williams Targeting Game 3 Return

April 22nd, 2022 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

1:58pm: Barring a setback, Williams intends to return in Game 3 on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wonjarowski, who tweets that the big man will be on a minutes restriction. If everything goes according to plan, Williams would take on something closer to his normal role in Game 4 on Monday, Wojnarowski says.

12:17pm: Celtics center Robert Williams is close to returning to action, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Williams could potentially play vs. the Nets in Game 3 on Saturday or Game 4 on Monday.

A final determination will be based on how Williams is feeling from day to day as he goes through the final stages of his recovery process, Charania adds. A league source who spoke to Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) stressed that it remains possible the 24-year-old will need a little more time and won’t return for the upcoming games in Brooklyn.

When Williams underwent a partial meniscectomy to address the torn meniscus in his left knee on March 30, the Celtics announced a recovery timeline of four-to-six weeks, and have repeatedly stated since then that the big man remains on track. It has only been 23 days since that timeline was confirmed, so if Williams is able to make it back for one of the next two games, he’ll be returning ahead of schedule.

Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said on Thursday that Williams was progressing well and would travel with the Celtics after participating in some 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 scrimmages and doing contact work this week (Twitter links via Jay King of The Athletic).

The Celtics have a 2-0 lead over the Nets as the series moves to Brooklyn, so there’s no urgency to rush Williams back if he’s not quite ready yet. Still, it sounds like there’s a decent chance both teams could get reinforcements by Game 4, with Ben Simmons also targeting a return on Monday.

Ben Simmons Plans To Make Nets Debut In Game 4

April 21st, 2022 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

APRIL 21: Simmons plans to make his Nets debut in Game 4 on Monday as long as he has no setbacks between now and then, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

APRIL 20: Game 4 of the Nets‘ series vs. Boston on Monday appears to be a “realistic target” for Ben Simmons to make his Brooklyn debut, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

As Wojnarowski explains, the possibility of Simmons returning for Game 3 on Saturday hasn’t been ruled out, but there may not be enough time for the three-time All-Star to clear all the hurdles he needs to by then. Based on his progress in practices this week and the expectation that he’ll continue to further accelerate his ramp-up process in the coming days, Game 4 is a more viable target date, Woj says.

Acquired in February’s James Harden blockbuster, Simmons has yet to suit up for the Nets, largely due to a herniated disk in his back. But he has been making steady forward progress in his recovery from that injury since receiving an epidural last month, and participated in a 4-on-4 scrimmage this week for the first time since becoming a Net.

Head coach Steve Nash has consistently stressed that there’s no timeline for Simmons’ return and repeatedly told reporters that the 25-year-old still has to go through several stages of the ramp-up process before being cleared. However, while he reiterated on Wednesday that the team doesn’t have a set timeline for Simmons, Nash shifted his tone a little and hinted that a return could be close.

“There’s no other way than him to say, ‘I’m ready,'” Nash said when asked about a timetable, per Nick Friedell of ESPN. “Especially after an absence this long. So whenever he is ready, it’s going to have to be on him to say, ‘I feel comfortable. I feel ready to go. I want to play and I want to contribute.’

“We can’t push him places when you have been out this long. It’s got to be something where he is definitely comfortable and ready to play.”

Before arriving in Brooklyn, Simmons sat out the entire season as a Sixer due to mental health issues and a desire to be traded. He hasn’t played since last June when Philadelphia was eliminated by Atlanta in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. If he returns during the Nets/Celtics series, Simmons will almost certainly play a more limited role than he did with the 76ers.