Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Quickley, Walter, Clarkson
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum played a season-high 35 minutes — including the entire fourth quarter — in Wednesday’s victory over Oklahoma City, writes Brian Robb of MassLive.com. Tatum, who finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists (five turnovers), three steals, was making his ninth appearance in 2025/26 after missing most of the season due to a torn Achilles tendon.
“It definitely feels different,” Tatum said. “Just from the standpoint, it’s been a while since I’ve been in certain moments. And sometimes the best moments when I don’t have a chance to think, when I’ve just got to react and I got to move, whether it’s coming off a ball screen or on a close out or you get a rebound and you’ve just got to take off with the ball. And it will be moments like that and afterwards I’d be like, ‘All right, that felt good. That felt normal.’
“So these are things you can’t simulate in workouts or scrimmages or things like that. Just got to be in the moment. So just from the standpoint, it just feels like it’s been a while and each game I kind of surprise myself with encouraging things, certain plays that I just tally up in my head.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- Starting point guard Immanuel Quickley will miss his third consecutive contest on Friday when the Raptors face New Orleans, tweets Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca. Quickley, 26, is dealing with plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Second-year guard Jamal Shead has started the past two games with Quickley out.
- In 17 games since the All-Star break, Ja’Kobe Walter is shooting 48.6% from long distance while playing strong defense, according to Eric Koreen of The Athletic, who says the second-year wing seems primed to deliver a breakout performance in the playoffs — assuming the Raptors can make it in. “He’s shooting at an insane rate. He’s not gonna shoot like that forever,” RJ Barrett said. “But defensively, the things he’s doing every single night with steals and deflections (are important). And then on offense, he’s making the shots, but he’s just making the right plays. He’s taking the right shots. He plays like a player way above his years already.”
- Veteran guard Jordan Clarkson was out of the Knicks‘ rotation for a prolonged stretch earlier this season, but he wasn’t discouraged by the lack of minutes and kept working until his next opportunity arose, per Steve Popper of Newsday (subscriber link). Clarkson has not only provided his typical scoring off the bench over the past couple weeks, he’s also been a play-maker and has improved defensively as well, Popper notes. “Yeah, for sure,” Clarkson said. “I mean, being able to get comfortable. I know everybody wanted it to click like immediately when I got here. But, you know, I’ve got to feel out a new coach, new system and everything, so, I’m getting a chance to watch the D-N-P’s and learn. It was pretty big for me and you know I continue to stay ready and just kept playing and figuring stuff out.”
And-Ones: Expansion, Sweet 16, Coaches, All-Surprise Team
Although all 30 NBA governors voted this week to formally explore the possibility of expanding to Seattle and Las Vegas, there are at least two or three owners who have concerns about the financial aspect and aren’t thrilled by the idea of adding two new expansion teams, writes Howard Beck of The Ringer. According to Beck, there are also several front office executives who view expansion as being solely financially motivated and are skeptical about whether it’s a good idea from a basketball perspective.
“Is (expansion) good? I would say no,” one executive from a playoff team told Beck. “I look at some of these rosters and can say some teams have at least one, if not two, players that shouldn’t be in the NBA. There should be a concern about dilution of talent. The two new teams are going to be really bad for a while. Add to it that good players are staying in college for the paydays they are getting (via NIL), and there is even less talent available.”
As Beck notes within his story, the NBA’s decision to approve an “exploration” of expansion is something of a hedge, giving the league an out if the process doesn’t go as planned. For instance, while team owners would surely feel comfortable moving forward with expansion if it can extract fees in the $8-10 billion range for two new franchises, many of those same owners would be less enthusiastic if the bids topped out at, say, $5 billion.
Beck also wonders if the NBA might be willing to turn away from either Seattle or Las Vegas if a prospective ownership group from another city came through with a massive bid, given that the process appears to be driven by money. However, one executive he spoke to predicted that Seattle and Vegas would be “better markets than some we already have.”
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- With the Sweet 16 games set to tip off in a matter of hours, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares his thoughts on how the NCAA tournament has impacted his perception of several of this year’s top draft prospects, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updates his 2026 mock draft, and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints each identify four players – one from each region – whom they’ll be watching on Thursday and Friday.
- Arguing that a single Coach of the Year award isn’t sufficient to recognize the exceptional performances in the NBA’s head coaching ranks, Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports introduces his “All-Coaching team,” headlined by J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mitch Johnson of the Spurs, and Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
- Elsewhere on the made-up-award front, Fred Katz of The Athletic unveils the 10 players who made his All-Surprise first and second teams this season. The first team consists of Pistons center Jalen Duren, Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, and Celtics center Neemias Queta.
Atlantic Notes: George, Embiid, McBride, Tatum, Knicks
Paul George returned for the Sixers on Wednesday after serving a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, and Philadelphia came away with the 157-137 victory over the Bulls. Prior to the game, Tony Jones of The Athletic broke down five crucial aspects that the team has been missing in George’s absence.
The number one attribute George brings to the table at this point is his perimeter defense, Jones writes, given his ability to guard larger forwards due to the weight he’s added over the years. Jones also highlights his perimeter shooting and how his presence allows other plays to slot into their natural roles more smoothly.
After the game, George spoke about the rest of the year, per Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports (Twitter link), saying that his goal is to play in all nine remaining regular season games, assuming his body allows him to do so. He added that he felt more explosive in his return than he did prior to the suspension.
We have more from around the Atlantic Division:
- Sixers center Joel Embiid was also back in action on Wednesday following a 13-game absence due to an oblique strain. He scored 35 points in the blowout victory over Chicago, adding seven assists and six rebounds. After the victory, he spoke to reporters about how his body felt. “My knees haven’t been an issue for a long time. That’s past me,” Embiid said, via PHLY Sports (Twitter video link). “The oblique was very tricky, and it still is tricky. Really nothing you can do about it, gotta let it ride and hope it doesn’t get worse.”
- Knicks head coach Mike Brown says key reserve Miles McBride has begun scrimmaging as he continues his rehab from sports hernia surgery, according to SNY’s Ian Begley (Twitter link). The defensive-minded guard is listed as out for Thursday’s game against the Hornets, but James L. Edwards III of The Athletic speculates (via Twitter) that Sunday’s game against the Thunder could be the day he returns to action. McBride, who had been having a career year, hasn’t played since January 27.
- Jayson Tatum‘s reintegration into the Celtics mid-season has gone as well as could be hoped, but there are still moments of frustration for the six-time All-Star, as he expressed earlier this week. ESPN’s Tim Bontemps talks to Celtics coaches and NBA insiders to get their takes on how much of his usual form Tatum will be able to regain for this year’s playoff run. “I think they’re the best team in the East,” one rival assistant coach said. “I don’t think him being back helps now, but I think it will help in the playoffs. He just doesn’t look like he has confidence in that leg yet. (But) if you let him shoot spot-up jumpers and rhythm looks, he’ll be good.”
Celtics Re-Sign Charles Bassey On 10-Day Contract
12:00 pm: Bassey’s new 10-day contract is now official, per NBA.com’s transaction log.
9:30 am: The Celtics intend to re-sign big man Charles Bassey to a second 10-day contract on Wednesday, reports Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).
Bassey’s first 10-day deal expired overnight, dropping Boston’s roster count to 13 players on standard contracts. The team has already reached the 28-day limit this season for operating below 14 players, so a roster move was necessary to get back to that NBA-mandated minimum before Thursday, as we outlined earlier today.
The 53rd overall pick in the 2021 draft, Bassey spent his first four NBA seasons with the 76ers and Spurs, appearing in 113 games and averaging 4.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per contest from 2021-25. However, despite a strong Summer League showing last July in Las Vegas, he was unable to secure a regular roster spot at the NBA level this season and has bounced around among several teams in between G League stints.
Bassey signed a 10-day hardship contract with the Grizzlies in October, inked a pair of 10-day deals with Philadelphia in January and February, and will now complete a second 10-day pact with the Celtics, providing the club with some frontcourt depth while center Nikola Vucevic recovers from a finger injury.
Bassey has appeared in just five total NBA games this season, including two during his first 10 days with the Celtics. The 25-year-old logged a total of four minutes of garbage time in games against Golden State last Wednesday and vs. Minnesota on Sunday. In 20 total regular season outings at the G League level with the Santa Cruz Warriors and Delaware Blue Coats, he has averaged 20.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 29.9 minutes per game, with a .606/.426/.654 shooting line.
Bassey’s new 10-day contract will run through April 3 and will carry a cap hit of $131,970, moving the Celtics to within $161,084 of the luxury tax line.
As of April 4, a rest-of-season minimum contract for a 14th man – whether that’s Bassey or someone else – will count for $118,773 against the cap, leaving Boston a little breathing room to sign a 15th man at the end of the season without becoming a taxpayer.
Roster Move Required For Celtics
The Celtics will need to make an addition to their 15-man roster on Wednesday following the expiration of Charles Bassey‘s 10-day contract overnight.
With Bassey no longer under contract, the Celtics are carrying just 13 players on standard deals. Teams aren’t permitted to have fewer than 14 players on standard contracts for more than 28 days during the season, and Boston has already reached that 28-day limit for 2025/26. The team had just 12 players on its 15-man roster from February 5-18 and again from March 1-14.
The Celtics have plotted out their post-trade-deadline roster moves carefully in order to ensure they keep their team salary below the luxury tax line. They currently have enough breathing room below that tax threshold to sign a 14th man to a rest-of-season, minimum-salary contract and then to add a 15th man (likely two-way player Ron Harper Jr.) on a minimum deal at the end of the regular season.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean the Celtics will complete a rest-of-season signing today. Doing another 10-day deal would give them the flexibility to reassess their roster needs on April 4 and make a decision on a rest-of-season commitment at that time.
Boston’s roster move today could be as simple as bringing back Bassey on a second 10-day contract, though the big man – signed to provide frontcourt depth with Nikola Vucevic sidelined – didn’t see much action during his first 10 days with the club. He logged a total of four minutes of garbage time in games against Golden State last Wednesday and vs. Minnesota on Sunday.
Atlantic Notes: Fultz, George, McCain, Minott, Tatum
The Raptors were down three starters on Monday vs. Utah, with Brandon Ingram (right heel inflammation), Immanuel Quickley (plantar fasciitis), and Jakob Poeltl (injury load management) all sidelined, notes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). However, rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles returned following an 11-game absence due to a thumb injury, and newly signed point guard Markelle Fultz made his Toronto debut.
The Raptors were outscored by 15 points during Fultz’s 16 minutes of action, and he had more turnovers (3) than points (2). However, there were also some “flashes of high-level play,” according to Grange. The former No. 1 overall pick contributed five assists and pair of steals off the bench in a victory over the Jazz. Notably, it was his second game of the day, as he had also suited up in the morning for the Raptors 905 in the G League before officially being promoted to the NBA.
“He’s (a) point guard. You can see that he’s comfortable getting the team into the offense and organizing, and he had five assists,” head coach Darko Rajakovic said. “It was awesome to see him out there, knowing that he played a game this morning.”
While it remains to be seen whether Fultz will stick with the Raptors beyond his initial 10-day contract, he has made a positive impression on the organization with his attitude since he originally joined Toronto’s G League affiliate.
“What I’ve been most impressed about was his level of professionalism and humility,” Raptors 905 coach Drew Jones said, per Grange. “You know, a former No. 1 pick, he could come in here and have a crazy chip on his shoulder, act like he owns the place. But he walked right in and said, ‘Coach, what do you need me to do? I said, ‘Lead, defend, and be the play-maker that we know you all are.’ And he’s been awesome, just awesome.”
We have more from around the Atlantic:
- Paul George served the 25th and final game of his suspension on Monday, meaning he’s eligible to return to the Sixers‘ lineup on Wednesday vs. Chicago. Head coach Nick Nurse said on Monday that George has “conditioned hard” during his absence, adding that he has no ramp-up concerns about the veteran forward, tweets Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports.
- Former Sixers guard Jared McCain scored 13 points off the bench on Monday to help the Thunder beat his old team. As Tony Jones of The Athletic writes, McCain admitted that it felt “a little weird” to be going up against the 76ers after having been traded out of Philadelphia just last month. “It was nice to come back, but it will definitely always feel weird coming back here,” he said. “It’s like a nostalgic feeling to come back and not live here. Hopefully, there is some closure that comes soon. But I still don’t think I have closure yet.”
- Acquired at February’s trade deadline in what was essentially just a salary-dump deal for Boston, Josh Minott may be carving out a role with the Nets going forward, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post (subscription required). As Lewis explains, Minott’s defensive tenacity and overall competitiveness is a welcome addition to a Brooklyn team that wants to be competitive next season, and his $2.6MM option for 2026/27 is extremely team-friendly.
- With Celtics star Jayson Tatum acknowledging that he’s frustrated by not yet being able to do everything he used to on the basketball court, Jay King of The Athletic checks in on Tatum’s early progress. The veteran forward’s defensive and rebounding numbers have been strong, King notes, but he’s taking more three-pointers and fewer free throws than he typically would.
Pacific Notes: James, Kennard, Suns, Clifford, Hayes
LeBron James added another record to his long list of accomplishments. The Lakers forward officially played on Saturday in the 1,612th regular-season game of his career, a new NBA mark. Longtime Celtics center Robert Parish held the previous record.
“It’s not like I’m like writing things down and looking at the record book and saying: ‘I’m going to get that, I’m going to get that, I’m going to get that.’ It just kind of happened,” James said, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. “It was not on the list of things that I wanted to accomplish.”
James added that he has long made it a priority to push through injuries and to be available to play as much as possible over the course of his storied career.
“I’ve always kind of just prided myself on trying to be as available as possible in my career to my teammates,” James said, per Law Murray of The Athletic. “Going out on the floor every night and keeping my body intact. And the only way I can do that, is how I treat my body. How I prepare my mind to be available for 23 years as much as I possibly can.”
Here’s more from the Pacific Division:
- The Lakers extended their winning streak to nine games on Saturday by defeating Orlando, 105-104. Luke Kennard knocked down a game-winning three-pointer in the final second. “I didn’t really know what was going on, I was just screaming,” Kennard said, per Khobi Price of the California Post. “I remember somebody, I don’t know who it was, somebody picked me up. But it was really cool. It’s a cool moment. Haven’t had many like that in the NBA, I don’t think. It means a lot how excited everybody was. I felt that. And again, just to win a game like that is pretty special and just shows what we have in the locker room.” Kennard, a free agent after the season, was acquired from Atlanta last month.
- The Suns fell to the Bucks, 108-105, on Saturday. Phoenix was without six players and coach Jordan Ott lamented how the injuries have affected the club, which had lost five straight until it defeated Toronto 120-98 on Sunday. “We just want everyone back. In a rhythm would be a blessing,” Ott said, per Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). “We just want everyone back. Said it constantly. Tried to stay away from it the last couple of weeks. That’s what we’d like to do.”
- Injuries continue to pile up for the banged-up Kings. They have won five of their last eight games, including a victory over the Nets this weekend, but two more players were injured. Rookie first-round draft pick Nique Clifford departed in the fourth quarter after twisting his ankle. Recent addition Killian Hayes, who has been starting at the point lately, suffered a toe injury, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee. “Man, it sucks, especially for the young guys because you want them to be out there playing,” Kings forward DeMar DeRozan said. “You want them to get as many reps and experience as possible, and to see them go down, it definitely sucks. Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious.”
Jayson Tatum Admits Frustrations Since Return From Achilles Injury
Jayson Tatum‘s return to the court roughly 10 months after an Achilles tear has been a remarkable story, but the Celtics star admitted that he’s been frustrated by the difficulty of trying to get back to the player he used to be, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required). Tatum held a brief session with reporters after Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, which saw him go scoreless in the first half before he finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“I mean, I ain’t know how this [expletive] was going to be,” he said. “I mean, it’s tough. In the moment, you try not to think about it, you just want to be Jayson Tatum and feel like yourself again. I’m not Superman, so it’s obviously going to take some time. I think the next day I can give myself a little more grace over certain things, but in the moment, I mean, it’s frustrating.”
Tatum shot 6-of-16 on Sunday and 2-of-7 from three-point range, and Himmelsbach points out that he has yet to make half his shots in any game since returning to action on March 6. He’s averaging 19.1 PPG in eight games, but connecting at just 38.8% from the field and 29.3% from beyond the arc.
Tatum told reporters that he hasn’t fully rediscovered his feel for the game yet and is trying to slow down and regain his rhythm. He dismissed the idea that he’s just suffering through a regular shooting slump.
“I wouldn’t say normal slump, because it’s the first time I went through something like this,” he said. “I mean, it’s just been a long time. It was a long time before I could shoot a basketball, before I could walk. So just trying to knock the rust off game by game. I find great spurts and moments from game to game and, you know, just trying to put more of them together.”
Even though Tatum isn’t back to his usual standards, his return has boosted the Celtics in their battle for playoff position. They’ve gone 6-2 in the games he’s played and hold a half-game lead over New York for the No. 2 seed in the East.
There was some concern about how Tatum’s comeback might affect Jaylen Brown, who emerged as the team’s top scoring option and put up career-best numbers in several categories during his absence, but Brown said he and Tatum discussed how they would fit together, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.
“Sometimes as guys, you gotta do what you gotta do as a job,” Brown said in a pregame interview on NBC. “Sometimes your communication falls off. So to be able to get back on the same page is important. But it’s going to take more communication as the year goes on. Things change. You got adversity. Ups and downs. We just communicated that it was going to be me and you. Our communication sets the tone for the rest of the team. We both gotta be better going forward if we want this thing to work.”
Celtics Notes: Garza, Tiebreaker, Walsh, Pritchard, Tatum, Brown
The Celtics got a huge lift from backup center Luka Garza on Friday as they pulled out a close game in Memphis, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. Garza has fallen out of the rotation a couple of times this season, but an injury to Nikola Vucevic has him playing regular minutes again. Against the Grizzlies, he delivered his best game since signing with Boston last summer, contributing 22 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes.
“When you get into kind of a rhythm like that and get to the glass and make little plays, it’s a lot of fun,” Garza said. “But every night, we have a lot of guys who do that. … Guys have always stepped up. In my position, just try to make the little plays and help us win. So it’s definitely fun when you’re the guy doing that.”
Vucevic is hoping to return from a fractured finger before the regular season ends, and it’s not clear how the frontcourt minutes will be divided up if that happens. Garza said even if his playing time is cut again, he’ll be ready for whatever opportunity he’s given.
“I love being a part of this team,” he added. “We play hard every single night no matter what, and I think when you do that, you put yourself in a good position. Especially in a situation like tonight where we obviously had the talent advantage. You play hard long enough, you finally get that rhythm.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Even with the win, Boston suffered a setback on Friday in its bid to hold off New York for the No. 2 seed in the East, according to Brian Robb of MassLive. The Knicks‘ one-point victory at Brooklyn ensured that they’ll have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Celtics based on their better record against Atlantic Division teams.
- Jordan Walsh was an effective defensive force earlier in the season, but Boston’s abundance of wings has pushed him out of the rotation, Robb states in a mailbag column. Ron Harper Jr. is likely to see an expanded role in anticipation of having his two-way deal converted to a standard contract, so Walsh may have to settle for limited minutes going forward. Robb also addresses the possibility of an extension for Payton Pritchard, who will become eligible for a new deal this summer.
- Jayson Tatum has been getting help from his teammates, particularly Jaylen Brown, as he tries to rediscover his game after a long absence, Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe notes in a subscriber-only piece. “Sometimes things are not going your way or you miss some shots early, you need an easy one,” Brown said. “I’ve been there. I know what that feels like. So sometimes, you overthink a little bit too. It’s his first couple of games back, so I think just trying to find him in a rhythm and help him as much as I can is something when I’m on the floor, I’m looking for.”
Atlantic Notes: Vucevic, Celtics, Minott, Barrett
Celtics center Nikola Vucevic has to wait patiently for his fractured right ring finger to heal, but he’s hopeful he can return to action before the playoffs begin.
“The good thing is I can still do some stuff on the court,” he said, per Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “That will help me for when I come back [to be in] shape, and hopefully I get a couple games before the playoffs, get back in rhythm with the guys that week between regular season and playoffs, everything going as smoothly as possible.”
Vucevic suffered the injury on March 6 and was formally ruled out for at least three-to-four weeks.
“So far I haven’t had much pain or anything; everything has been going well,” he said. “The swelling is coming down and been working the range of motion. So hopefully the X-ray is clean at three weeks and I can start doing some stuff and just getting back to being comfortable and building strength in the hand.”
Here’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- The Celtics are likely to stay under the first tax apron once again next season, Brian Robb of MassLive.com opines. Robb points out that they currently have approximately $185MM committed in salary for 2026/27, $9MM of which is non-guaranteed, while the first apron projects to be $210.3MM. Boston may also be able to operate below the $201.7MM tax line, resetting its repeater clock. It shouldn’t be difficult to shed salary, if necessary, to achieve that goal, Robb adds, noting that the emergence of young talent on team-friendly deals across the roster will be very helpful on that front.
- The Nets dropped a 93-92 heart-breaker to the Knicks, their 14th straight loss to their crosstown rival. Josh Minott was highly agitated by the loss after scoring a career-high 22 points, according to Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “I wanted that s–t so (bleeping) bad,” he said. “Ever since we’ve been here, it’s like every game is an away game. [Friday] was just the night to really just stick it to everybody, man. As an organization, as a team, to show people that we got s–t here, yo. Man, just a sea of blue, a sea of orange. Every game we play, it’s a sea of the other team.”
- The Raptors left their 121-115 loss to the Nuggets on Friday still feeling good about themselves. Heading into their game in Phoenix on Sunday, they hold the fifth spot in the East. “The more we get healthy, the more we play together, the better it’s going to be for us,” RJ Barrett said, per Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. “I think we’re showing that on a nightly basis. But there are times and moments that we can play better as a team.”