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Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Tatum, Brown, Tournament

November 25th, 2023 at 5:13pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kristaps Porzingis indicated on his Instagram account that he got encouraging results from an MRI today on his left calf, tweets Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. Porzingis suffered a calf strain that forced him out of Friday’s game in Orlando, but he posted, “Good news this morning. Be back very soon.”

Injuries have been a frequent concern for Porzingis over the past six years, but he has been healthy so far in his first season with the Celtics. He has appeared in 15 of the team’s first 16 games, with his lone absence caused by a bruised knee. Porzingis walked “gingerly” to the team bus after Friday’s contest, but he didn’t seem worried that it might be a long-term injury, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

“I felt a bit of something in my calf and just kept playing,” Porzingis said. “I felt like, OK, it’s some kind of strain or tightness, something happened there and you saw me limping a little bit. The medical staff pulled me out after that.”

Porzingis has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game against Atlanta.

There’s more on the Celtics:

Jayson Tatum is upset with the NBA’s new emphasis on preventing players from hanging on the rim, Washburn adds. Tatum received a technical foul Friday for holding the rim too long after a dunk, but Washburn points out that it won’t count toward a possible suspension because it doesn’t deal with sportsmanship. “That’s a rule that they implemented that quite frankly I don’t think makes any sense,” Tatum said. “Because anybody who has ever played or dunked the ball, your momentum, you just try to make sure that you are stable when you land. You don’t want anyone underneath you. Maybe they just want me to let go and just land on my back.”
Jaylen Brown is responding to coach Joe Mazzulla‘s desire for his players to be more versatile and find ways to contribute when they aren’t scoring, Washburn states in a separate story. Brown’s shot attempts have declined with the addition of Porzingis, but he has averaged nearly four assists per game in November and handed out eight in Wednesday’s win over Milwaukee. “It’s a new year, a new season, and I feel like I’m playing some of my best basketball in how I’m seeing the floor and I get into a flow and rhythm of things and I feel like I’ll be able to continue to do that,” Brown said. “I think when I get more guys playing off me, trusting that I’m going to make the right read, we should go to that a lot more.”
Friday’s loss means Boston no longer controls its destiny in Group C of the in-season tournament, notes Souchi Terada of MassLive. The Celtics need to hope for a three-way tie with Orlando and Brooklyn, giving them an opportunity to advance on point differential.

Celtics Notes: Brown, Tatum, Porzingis

November 23rd, 2023 at 8:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Celtics All-Star swingman Jaylen Brown seemed to be having some hiccups as he learns to play alongside a third high-level scorer in new big man Kristaps Porzingis, writes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Himmelsbach noted that, despite a pulverizing defense and incredibly talented roster, Boston’s offense hasn’t been as connected as it perhaps should be. Entering Wednesday’s game, a career-low 50 percent of Brown’s field goals had been assisted, and his 54.4 true shooting percentage was his lowest since his rookie year, as Himmelsbach details.

Brown may be on the upswing, however, as he submitted his best game of the year on Wednesday night, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. In a 119-116 victory over the Bucks, Brown poured in 26 points while shooting 10-of-16 from the floor and dishing out eight dimes, against one turnover. The passing was especially encouraging.

“Definitely just another part of my game that I’ve been growing,” Brown said of the eight assists. “This is a new year, it’s a new season, and I feel like I’m playing some of my best basketball just how I’m seeing the floor. And as I get into the flow and the rhythm of things, I feel like I’ll be able to continue to do that. I think when I get going, more guys playing off me, trusting that I’m going to make the right read, I think we should go to that a lot more.”

There’s more out of Boston:

Celtics All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum organized a preseason team meeting, Bontemps writes in a separate piece. With six starter-caliber players, Tatum wanted to suss out how the club could handle that. “Whether it’s fair or not, me and [Brown] are probably going to always start, and always finish the game,” Tatum told the gathered players. “But we have to be held to a different standard and be able to be coached differently. Whether it’s [Porzingis] and Al [Horford], one of you guys may not finish a game, and you have to be OK with that.”
Porzingis is already enjoying his time alongside Brown, writes Taylor Snow of Celtics.com. “I absolutely love playing with JB,” Porzingis raved. “I think we’re starting to connect more and more, and it’s becoming just natural for us. I’m learning his game, I’m learning the situations he likes to be in and, as you can see, we’re having some success with it. It’s really fun. It’s really fun to play with him and I look forward to more of those plays.”
In case you missed it, Jrue Holiday spoke prior to Wednesday’s game vs. Milwaukee about his feelings playing against his former team.

Atlantic Notes: Reed, Oubre, Mazzulla, Celtics’ Starters

November 21st, 2023 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Sixers retained Paul Reed in free agency on a three-year, $23.5MM deal this summer. Coach Nick Nurse would like to get more bang for those bucks and expand the big man’s playing time, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“I think that Paul (has) played so well that it’s hard to not let him stay out there. In fact, I’ve been trying to keep him out there a little bit longer, figure out a way to keep him out there,” the Sixers coach said of Reed, who is averaging 4.1 points and career highs of 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 13 minutes per night as Joel Embiid’s backup.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Kelly Oubre took another step in his recovery from being struck by a vehicle while walking in a hit-and-run accident. The Sixers forward returned to the practice court on Monday, Pompey writes. Oubre suffered broken ribs in the incident. He’ll be reevaluated in approximately one week. “I think getting him moving was the first step,” Nurse said. “Getting him into some contact and things is the next step. I think after [Tuesday] we’ll have a little better read on the timeline.”
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla asserted himself and sent a message by pulling his stars in the third quarter against Memphis on Sunday and it worked, John Tomase of NBC Sports Boston notes. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday sat for a seven-plus minute stretch while reserves closed out the quarter. They returned for the fourth quarter as the team pulled out a 102-100 win. Still, Mazzulla wasn’t impressed. “I don’t think we deserved to win that game,” he said,
For the most part, however, the Celtics‘ starters have blended well while racing to an 11-3 record, Michael Pina of The Ringer writes. Prior to their loss to Charlotte on Monday, the starting five — that also includes Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White — had a league-leading plus-104 overall rating while generating 124.1 points per 100 possessions on a 66.6 true shooting percentage. “[They’re] one of the best starting fives in the league, if not the best starting five in the league,” Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said.

Jabari Smith Talks Offseason, Rockets’ Start, Defense

November 19th, 2023 at 1:58pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rising young Rockets power forward Jabari Smith Jr. had an active summer. His offseason included workouts alongside three current NBA greats, he said during an extensive conversation with Mark Medina of Sportskeeda.

Smith got in some summer run next to Suns forward Kevin Durant, Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard. Smith met up with Durant in Los Angeles.

“Before a pickup, (Durant) was working out and I just jumped in with him and his trainer,” Smith said. “It was pretty good. He pays a lot of attention to detail. It was good for me to see with just how hard you got to work, how consistent you got to be and how important it is to focus on the little things.”

He worked out with Tatum and Leonard separately from Durant.

“We played some one-on-one,” Smith said of Tatum and Leonard. “It was good to compete against them and learn from them. Like it was with KD, it was about observing their attention to detail. Everything that they do is the same.”

Through 10 games this season with Houston, the 6’10” big man is averaging 12.0 PPG on .467/.354/.556 shooting, along with 7.0 RPG and 1.2 APG.

Medina and Smith touched on a wide variety of topics, and their full conversation is well worth reading in full. Here are some highlights:

On what compelled him to explore yoga as part of his offseason prep:

“Recommendations from older players and people that also play in the league. It also came from players that are out of the league now that say they wish they would’ve done it earlier. I wanted to take the initiative to do it now. It’s made a big difference with my flexibility, my mobility and my overall recovery.”

On how head coach Ime Udoka and his staff has already impacted Smith and the Rockets, who are off to a fast 6-4 start:

“Just helping me learn the game and learn it fast. I take all that I can that I can learn from them. They’ve been around the game for a long time. It’s about the consistency and having a routine. They always preach routine. They tell me to trust in my work and trust in who I am and not to lose any confidence.”

On how he approaches defense against smaller star players:

“Just stop them, make it hard with them and be physical with them. Just try to go out with our principles and tendencies and make it tough on them. It’s going to be hard to shut them down with how good they are. So you just try to slow them down and make it hard for them.”

Stephen Curry, Jayson Tatum Named Players Of The Week

November 6th, 2023 at 2:41pm CST by Rory Maher

Warriors guard Stephen Curry (Western Conference) and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (East) have been named the NBA’s players of the week, the league announced (via Twitter).

A two-time MVP and four-time champion, Curry averaged 30.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 4.8 APG and 1.3 SPG on a sparkling .574/.523/.870 shooting line in four games last week (31.1 MPG), though he did struggle with turnovers (4.8 per night). He helped lead the Warriors to a 3-1 record (they are 5-2 overall).

Tatum, meanwhile, averaged 31.7 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 2.7 APG on a remarkable .589/.542/.941 shooting line in three games (31.7 MPG). The Celtics went 3-0 last week and are the league’s only unbeaten team at 5-0.

According to the NBA, Anthony Davis, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Jerami Grant, Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama were the other nominees in the West, while Scottie Barnes, Joel Embiid, Kelly Oubre, Tyrese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell, Dejounte Murray and Cam Thomas were nominated in the East (Twitter links).

Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Randle, Maxey, Oubre

November 5th, 2023 at 3:42pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum was initially frustrated at being selected by the Celtics in the 2017 draft, he admitted in a recent interview on NBC Sports Boston (Twitter video link).

“First of all, I didn’t even want to come because I didn’t think I was going to play,” Tatum said (hat tip to Jared Weiss of The Athletic for the transcription). “They had Gordon (Hayward), Jaylen Brown, Isaiah Thomas, and (Marcus) Smart, and I didn’t think I was good enough to be on that team. So, it didn’t even cross my mind how to close a game or how to finish. I was just more concerned about getting in the game and starting.”

It’s safe to say that he’s enjoying his time in Boston now. Still just 25, Tatum is already a five-time All-Star and three-time All-NBA selection, and has helped lead the Celtics to the playoffs across all of his six pro seasons, including the 2022 NBA Finals. At 5-0, the new-look Celtics are already the only remaining undefeated team in the league and Tatum just became the youngest player in franchise history to reach 10,000 career points.

Tatum is currently in the midst of a five-year, maximum-salary contract extension that will see him remain under team control through 2024/25. He’s eligible to sign a new super-max extension next summer.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division:

It sounds like Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau is out of excuses for All-Star power forward Julius Randle‘s current slump, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bondy noted that Thibodeau’s latest postgame remarks, following a Friday loss to the Bucks, were a bit harsher than usual. “You can’t predetermine,” Thibodeau said. “You can’t say, ‘Well, I haven’t had a shot, so now I’m gonna take a shot.’ The game tells you what to do… If you’re open, you shoot. If there’s three guys around, you hit the open man. It’s really simple. It’s not hard.” Through six games, the 6’8″ big man is averaging just 13.7 PPG on .271/.225/.618 shooting for the 2-4 Knicks.
Although Tyrese Maxey is off to a stellar start, Sixers head coach Nick Nurse and reigning MVP Joel Embiid are hoping the rising guard will show more aggression in his offense, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. “He’s got to not get into those modes where he’s not being more aggressive,” Nurse said. “I’m not criticizing him. I’m just trying to keep imploring that needs to be more aggressive.” Embiid seems to feel similarly: “The key for him is just to be aggressive… and then let the game come to him. I think as the game went along, he let the game come to him, and made the right plays. He passed up a couple of shots that I think he should have taken.”
New Sixers wing Kelly Oubre is also off to a red-hot start for Philadelphia, Pompey adds in a separate piece. Pompey refers to the Sixers’ signing of Oubre to a veteran’s minimum deal as perhaps the club’s best free agent deal in years. “I know that I’m very hungry to prove myself in this league,” Oubre said. “Obviously, you know this summer was very stressful to me for me. So I had a lot of pent up energy for this season already built up.” Across five contests, he’s averaging 21 PPG on .536/.448/.857 shooting, along with 4.0 RPG.

Eastern Notes: Okoro, Horford, Matthews, P. Williams, Raptors

October 25th, 2023 at 2:09pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers and Isaac Okoro‘s representatives had “productive” talks ahead of Monday’s rookie scale extension deadline, but the two sides decided it was best to wait until next summer to address the forward’s contract situation, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

Sources tell Fedor that the conversations about a new deal for Okoro were in the neighborhood of the deal signed by Mavericks wing Josh Green (three years, $41MM). However, the Cavaliers want to wait and see how the former lottery pick fits with this year’s roster following the offseason additions of Max Strus and Georges Niang, since he no longer projects to be a starter.

Speaking to Fedor on Wednesday, Okoro said he felt like he “should have gotten an extension” but that playing out his contract year won’t affect the way he approaches the season.

“Of course, I wanted an extension, but it happened the way it happened,” he said. “I love Cleveland. I love being here. I love being around the players, coaches, front office staff, trainers. Built great relationships. I don’t take it as a big deal.”

Here are a few more items from around the Eastern Conference:

Celtics big man Al Horford told reporters on Wednesday that he won’t be in the starting lineup when the team’s season tips off in New York tonight, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter link). That suggests Derrick White and Jrue Holiday will both start alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis. For what it’s worth, head coach Joe Mazzulla said over the weekend that the Celtics will use multiple starting lineups this season, while Tatum said today that the team essentially has “six starters” (Twitter links via Jared Weiss of The Athletic and Bontemps).
Hawks swingman Wesley Matthews underwent an MRI on Tuesday that revealed a mild right calf strain, the team announced today (Twitter link). According to the Hawks, Matthews will be reevaluated in two weeks, so he’ll miss at least Atlanta’s first seven games of the regular season.
While Bulls forward Patrick Williams admitted on Monday that he would “obviously” like to have “a big contract,” he vowed that his lack of rookie scale extension won’t be a distraction at all this season, per K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. “Anything personal in my life that I’ve been going through, any time I step between those four lines, it’s gone,” Williams said.
Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca takes an in-depth look at the Raptors‘ roster, exploring the team’s cap and tax situation as well as potential next steps for Jeff Dowtin, who didn’t make the regular season cut.

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Salary Issues, Starting Lineup

October 19th, 2023 at 12:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Celtics are facing a massive payroll in upcoming seasons, but they’re willing to spend big to compete for a title, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. After coming close several times over the last seven years, including last season’s Game 7 loss to Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals, Boston is committed to hanging another banner in the rafters.

The front office began overhauling the roster in late June when it acquired Kristaps Porzingis from Washington in a three-team deal. Porzingis provides coach Joe Mazzulla with the low-post threat he has been lacking, as Bontemps notes that Porzingis posted up 263 times last season, which was more per game than the entire Celtics team.

“Especially when (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) are playing, I felt like all the doors are open for me,” Porzingis said. “They take so much attention on themselves. For me, it was just like, honestly, it’s very, very fun to play, play like this and, and also emphasize the ball movement and, and getting everyone involved. I think once we click on all those things, it’s gonna be so hard to stop us.”

The Celtics gave Porzingis a two-year extension worth $60MM and signed Brown to a record-setting super-max deal that could pay him $300MM+ over five years. With Tatum eligible for an extension next summer and Jrue Holiday headed for free agency, Boston is committed to spending whatever it takes despite the second apron penalties contained in the new CBA.

“You’ve got to pay a good price for things, right?” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said. ” That’s the way it goes. We’re trying to win a championship.”

There’s more from Boston:

Mazzulla has been experimenting with Porzingis during the preseason to see all the ways he can impact the offense, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Mazzulla is also trusting his players to figure out how they can benefit from the attention Porzingis draws from defenses. “I don’t know if you saw, one of the timeouts, all five guys on the floor were communicating with each other. That stuff is more important,” the head coach said after Tuesday’s game. “The more they can understand who’s guarding them and how to get each other the ball and where they need to get it, that really will help us.”
With the season opener less than a week away, the Celtics don’t have a set lineup, observes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Holiday came off the bench in the team’s first preseason game, and Al Horford filled that role on Tuesday. Mazzulla stated that he will often let matchups determine his starting five.
John Hollinger of the Athletic puts the Celtics at the top in his ranking of the best teams in the East with a projected record of 57-25. He notes that the team already had a solid foundation in place before adding Porzingis and Holiday, and now it has the versatility to adapt to almost any style of play. Boston also has two future first-round picks to trade, along with its 2031 first-rounder next summer, so there’s flexibility to keep improving.

Celtics Notes: Porzingis, Holiday Trade, Scrubb

October 9th, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Kristaps Porzingis was the Celtics‘ best player during the first half of his preseason debut with the team, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Boston traded for Porzingis this summer to add size to its frontcourt, and Himmelsbach observes that his 7’3″ presence clearly bothered the Sixers in the paint in Sunday’s game.

Porzingis made his first four shots from the field and finished with 17 points. Although he doesn’t present the lob threat that Robert Williams used to, Himmelsbach notes that the Celtics had success on a couple of attempts. Porzingis and Jayson Tatum also displayed some chemistry in their two-man game.

“It’s super easy, honestly,” Porzingis said. “Those guys are so talented. Jayson draws so much attention that it opens things up for me and that’s a perfect scenario for me. So I’m looking forward to more of those two-man, three-man actions where it’s really hard to guard, because we don’t even know what we’re going to do. We’re freestyling it and playing off of each other. So it has to be pretty impossible for the other team to understand what’s going to happen.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

Jrue Holiday came off the bench Sunday, but that’s because he wasn’t able to join the team for practice until Wednesday, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Holiday admits being “shocked” that the Bucks sent him to Portland in the Damian Lillard deal, but he’s ready to concentrate on basketball after being dealt twice within a week. “I think I’m over it at this point,” Holiday said. “Trying to focus on the season. Trying to get acclimated and honestly go out there and have fun. All the trade stuff I think has passed. Just trying to figure out names and plays and schemes and all of that stuff. It’s been fun though.”
The Clippers were Boston’s main competition for Holiday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski stated during the network’s pre-game show before Sunday’s contest (Twitter link). “They were very close on Jrue Holiday,” Wojnarowski said. “They had a package that Portland really had to labor over before they went to the Celtics’ package.”
Celtics officials are disappointed to see Jay Scrubb‘s progress interrupted by a torn ACL he suffered in Saturday’s practice, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. They signed the 23-year-old guard to a two-way contract this summer. “It’s painful to see him have to go through that because of this mindset that he’s brought from training camp and really in Summer League,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “As I told him, these are the type of things that guys have to just work through.”

Celtics Notes: Payroll, Gabriel, Pierce, Tatum

October 6th, 2023 at 2:41pm CST by Luke Adams

The Celtics, on track to be a taxpaying team in 2023/24 for a second consecutive year, extended Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis to lucrative new contracts this offseason and may do the same with Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday within the next year. Those financial commitments mean the franchise is projected to remain over the second tax apron in the coming years, but co-owner Wyc Grousbeck downplayed any concern about the payroll, according to Souchi Terada of MassLive.com.

“We haven’t blinked at all,” Grousbeck said. “I was part of the committee that put the aprons in place with the players committee and we’re aware of all that. We’re going to be over the second (apron), I believe, and paying those penalties and that’s the way life is. But it’s designed also we can have more competition in the league, and we’re fine with competition, as long as we win.”

While paying increased tax penalties is one thing, the new Collective Bargaining Agreement will also place additional free agency and trade-related limitations on teams above the second tax apron. The rules that apply to teams over the second apron will become more restrictive in future seasons, limiting the Celtics’ ability to continue upgrading their roster as long as they maintain their high payroll.

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

Wenyen Gabriel‘s new one-year contract with the Celtics is a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 contract, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Boston only has 10 players only fully guaranteed contracts, with three on non-guaranteed standard deals, so Gabriel (along with Lamar Stevens, who also signed an Exhibit 9 deal) still has a path to a regular season roster spot.
Former Celtics star Paul Pierce, who attended the team’s practice on Thursday, plans to be a “more visible presence” around the organization this year, according to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. When Pierce was a Celtic, he explained on Thursday, former Boston stars like Bill Russell and John Havlicek often visited and spent time around the club. He wants to continue that tradition. “It just (brought) a certain energy to the building whenever I saw those guys in practice or at the game,” Pierce said. “So I think it kind of continues the brotherhood. It’s all part of our culture and that is something that the Celtics have always been about.”
Speaking to Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report, Tatum expressed excitement about the Celtics’ addition of Holiday, discussed the departures of some longtime teammates, and said he’s not thinking about the possibility of signing a record-setting contract extension next summer.