Hoops Rumors

Ahead of a potential elimination game tonight in Philadelphia, the Celtics have opted to swap center Robert Williams into their starting lineup for guard Derrick White, per Shams Charania and Jared Weiss of The Athletic. The Sixers, led by newly-minted league MVP Joel Embiid and veteran point guard James Harden, currently lead Boston 3-2, and have an opportunity to advance to … [Read more...] about Celtics Shifting Robert Williams Into Starting Five

The Kings hosted a pre-draft workout on Wednesday featuring six prospects, including Kentucky big man Oscar Tshiebwe, a league source tells James Ham of TheKingsBeat.com (Twitter link). The other five players aren’t yet known. Tshiebwe was named AP Player of the Year in 2021/22 for the Wildcats and followed that up with a spot on the All-America Second Team in ’22/23 after … [Read more...] about Draft Notes: Tshiebwe, Kings, Powell, Domask, Kaluma

After meeting in the NBA Finals a year ago, the Celtics and Warriors will have to overcome early second-round deficits if they hope to compete again for a title this June. The Celtics lost the first game of their second round series to the Sixers on Monday, despite the fact that the game was played in Boston and Philadelphia was missing MVP center Joel Embiid. The Warriors lost … [Read more...] about Community Shootaround: NBA Playoff Check-In

Joel Embiid‘s absence wasn’t supposed to work in the Sixers’ advantage, but Al Horford believes that’s what happened in Game 1, writes Souichi Terada of MassLive. The Celtics knew for several days that Embiid was unlikely to play because of a sprained LCL in his right knee, and Horford believes his team wasn’t as focused as it needed to be. “We didn’t do as good a job … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: Horford, Brown, Tatum, Smart

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, who finished fourth in Most Valuable Player voting this season, was motivated on Friday night by watching Joel Embiid receive his MVP trophy before Game 3 of the Sixers/Celtics series in Philadelphia, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. It wasn’t exactly Hakeem Olajuwon dominating David Robinson and the Spurs following Robinson’s MVP ceremony in 1995, … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Tatum, Harden, Borrego, Nets

While his Celtics teammates were celebrating their Game 3 victory Friday night, Grant Williams was in a dentist’s chair, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. Williams had to get treated by the Sixers’ team dentist after Joel Embiid accidentally stepped on the back of his head while chasing a loose ball in the fourth quarter (video link). “A swollen nose,” Williams said. “That’s about … [Read more...] about Celtics Notes: G. Williams, R. Williams, Smart, Griffin, Brown

Celtics guard Marcus Smart has won the NBA’s Hustle Award for 2022/23, the league announced in a press release (story via Brian Martin of NBA.com). The 29-year-old also won the award last season, becoming the first back-to-back winner, and has now been the recipient three times in the past five seasons. This is the seventh season for the Hustle Award, which was created in … [Read more...] about And-Ones: Hustle Award, Free Agent Guards, Brooks, Hawkins

Knicks star point guard Jalen Brunson continues to deal with the sore right ankle that caused him to be listed as questionable ahead of New York’s second game against the Heat. Brunson ultimately played and performed well in the 111-105 Knicks win. He scored 30 points on 10-of-19 shooting from the floor and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe. His status for Game 3 in … [Read more...] about Atlantic Notes: Brunson, Butler, Celtics, Embiid