NBA Playoffs Celtics Cavs Game 2: Celtics attempt to charge the gates once more

By May 3, 2010, 6:19 PM EDT
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Celtics fans: “Okay, guys, just do what you did in the first half of Game 1, but for the WHOLE GAME THIS TIME. Got it?Ready…break!”

Cavs fans: “Let’s not toy with them this time, okay guys?”

The Cavs came out in the first half of Game 1 and looked shellshocked. They had no answers for Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen was hitting shots, Kevin Garnett had his mid-range going and the inside-game on Antawn Jamison. LeBron James couldn’t shoot jumpshots because of his elbow.

24 minutes later, the Celtics sat in a pile of ruin, screaming for a medic and trying to understand how things went from being so good to so bad. Now they have to try and adjust to the adjustments while reverting back to what they did well in the first half.

This should be easy. Oh, yeah, and there’s that LeBron guy who’s probably feeling better. Better than 35-7-7.

Let’s boil it down to bullets for the keys to the game, shall we?

  • “No Mo Bettah”: Terrible puns aside, Mo Williams was arguably as big a reason the Cavs won Game 1 as LeBron. When Rondo ran into foul trouble, Williams had his way, working in transition, burying pull-up threes and deep 2s, forcing the defense to start expanding outward. The Celtics need to put some ball pressure on Williams immediately, just enough to harrass him into slowing down to set the offense. The Celtics want a halfcourt game so they can keep Williams in front of them.
  • What Baby Needs, Baby Gets: Glen Davis is going to have to have a better game. The Celtics not only need his putbacks, flops for charges, and usual energy, but they need his occasional mid-range jumpshot. Davis is a huge swing for the Celtics off the bench, and their only real frontcourt threat off the bench. He has to produce and stay out of foul trouble.
  • Let Garnett Shoulder It: Garnett needs to get more shot attempts. If he’s going to contribute as consistently as he did in Game 1, bodying out Jamison and blowing past Varejao. If he’s as healthy as the C’s say, he’s got to be given the opportunity to contribute.

And for the Cavs? Similarly simple stuff.

  • Rondo Roundabout: There has to be a way to stop Rajon Rondo. It’s just that no one’s really figured it out this year. The best guess is to throw severe man-help and recover at him to force him into a jumper and see if it’s falling. Failing that, it’s going to take hard fouls and a concession of a perimeter shot, which is a road you don’t want to go down.
  • Keep Feeding The Hippo: Shaq got great position in Game 1, the buckets rimmed out. The Cavs would do well to let him shoulder some of the load while LeBron is off the floor, instead of trying to overwhelm with both of them on the floor.
  • Run Some For Tawn: Jamison is relied upon as an ISO or spot-up shooter, but the Cavs need to get him some separation with some on or of-ball movement through picks. He doesn’t have size to get over Garnett and they need his offense which will open the floor.

NBA says Horford foul on Butler correct call, as was added time

By May 29, 2023, 1:30 AM EDT
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While Game 6 will be remembered as the Derrick White game, a series of controversial moments on the previous play set the stage for the winning shot.

There was the Heat’s Jimmy Butler driving left, getting bumped by Al Horford and fumbling the ball, recovering it and starting to dribble again (which appeared close to earning a double-dribble call). Then Butler drew a shooting foul on Horford initially called inside the arc with :02.1 seconds left, but after Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla challenged and it was ruled a 3-point attempt (it clearly was) at the :03 second mark. The referees added 0.9 seconds to the clock, ultimately enabling White to get the game-winning putback with O.1 left.

The referees got all that right, the NBA said in its Last Two Minute Report from Game 6. The report found just two incorrect calls in the final five minutes:

• Caleb Martin should have been called for a lane violation on Jaylen Brown‘s missed free throw with 1:01 left in the game.
• Gabe Vincent should have been called for a foul on Jayson Tatum‘s stumbling layup attempt with :31 remaining.

None of that changes the results, the Celtics escape Miami with a 104-103 win to force a Game 7 on Monday night. Even though that is a Game 7, it will be hard for that game to surpass the drama of Game 6.

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Nick Nurse reportedly enticed by idea of working with Morey again with 76ers

By May 28, 2023, 8:20 PM EDT
Coach Nick Nurse in Canada vs Czech Republic - FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying
Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
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When news came out about the Milwaukee Bucks hiring Adrian Griffin to be their new coach, one part of that was a report that Nick Nurse pulled himself out of consideration for the job. That felt a little chicken and egg — did he pull out because he realized he would not get the job?

Either way, he is interested in the Philadelphia 76ers and particularly working again with Daryl Morey, reports Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inqurier. Morey was the GM of the Rockets when Nurse was the coach of their G-League team, the Rio Grand Valley Vipers.

Sources have said that reuniting with Morey is very much enticing to Nurse…

A source has confirmed that Nurse pulled out of being considered for the Milwaukee Bucks head-coaching job, leading to the team hiring his former Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin on Saturday. Nurse interviewed with the Sixers on Monday before meeting with the Suns on Thursday. The 55-year-old coach is pondering the best destination for him, according to sources. However, a source would not say if the Sixers offered him the gig.

Nurse makes intuitive sense for the 76ers or Suns, an out-of-the-box coach who won a championship four years ago to teams with title aspirations next season and beyond. His connection to Morey has had some around the league thinking that would be his ultimate destination from Day 1.

However, the stars of those teams will have a say, as Giannis Antetokounmpo did in the Bucks hiring Griffin (a former player, something Antetokounmpo reportedly prioritized). How does Joel Embiid feel about Nurse? What about Kevin Durant and Devin Booker? Marc Stein reported that Booker endorsed Suns assistant Kevin Young for that job.

Both teams are reportedly getting close to deciding on their next head coach, but for contending teams that need to get this hire right they do not want to be rushed.

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Report: Mavericks have no interest in Irving sign-and-trade with Lakers that brings back Russell

By May 28, 2023, 12:59 PM EDT
Celebrities At The Los Angeles Lakers Game
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Kyrie Irving may say he doesn’t want to be in the middle of NBA free agency speculation, but when he sits courtside in Los Angeles at a couple of Lakers’ playoff games he has to know that will spark talk.

LeBron James has sent his not-so-subtle message he wants more help, and the rumors he’s open to a reunion with Irving are nothing new. All of that has driven a lot of speculation in recent weeks of a Lakers’ sign-and-trade to reunite the core of the Cavaliers’ 2016 title team. While Irving is a free agent, the Lakers have made clear they intend to re-sign Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura as restricted free agents, making signing Irving directly off the table (unless he wants to take a massive pay cut and play for the midlevel exception, which his actions indicate he does not). If Irving comes to the Lakers, it’s on a sign-and-trade.

Then who goes back to Dallas in this trade? The speculation centered on free agent D'Angelo Russell signing and trading to play next to Luka Dončić. However, the Mavericks have no interest in that, reports Marc Stein in his latest newsletter.

A popular topic all week, in the wake of Denver sweeping the Lakers out of the Western Conference finals, was the notion that L.A. could emerge as a potential sign-and-trade destination for Dallas’ free agent-to-be Kyrie Irving.

While we await a clear indication about the Lakers’ intentions there, with no verifiable signal to date that pursuing Irving is among their offseason priorities, league sources say that the Mavericks would have no interest in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers that features D’Angelo Russell as the primary Dallas-bound player. All indications are that the Mavericks remain intent on re-signing Irving

While the questions of fit between Dončić and Irving remain, when the Mavericks traded for Irving they committed to this path, both financially and on the court. If Irving walks in free agency Dallas has no way to replace him, and they are better off with him than without him. Irving is a much better player than Russell and with Dončić on the roster the Mavericks are a win-now team. Their preference is clear.

As for Irving, he wants to get paid (remember he opted in with the Nets rather than leave to play for less, then pushed for a trade when Brooklyn would not give him the extension he wanted). There is logic for both Dallas and Irving to work out a new contract and, if this marriage doesn’t work out, trade him down the line. The only questions are money, years, and does Irving really want to be in Dallas (he has said he does).

League sources have told NBC Sports that the Lakers’ front office’s primary focus is not on Irving. While the Lakers could clear as much as almost $30 million in cap space, free agency is not the path the Lakers appear to be walking. Re-signing Reaves and Hachimura and putting them next to LeBron and Anthony Davis — both of the Lakers stars make more than $40 million next season — plus rounding out the roster has the Lakers quickly pushing above the cap and into the tax, and the second tax apron is within sight. The Lakers are more likely to make moves like picking up the $16.5 million team option on Malik Beasley and trading him and or other players for the shot creation and shooting they want. A Russell sign-and-trade is certainly in play, or they could bring him back, just not on anything near the max Russell likely wants (more likely a deal starting around $20 million a year). Russell was good for the Lakers in the regular season and had a 31-point playoff game to close out the Grizzlies, plus a 21-point game against the Warriors, he just was in a bad matchup against Denver.

Irving to the Lakers is a long shot. But if LeBron wants it, and Irving wants it, nothing is off the table.

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Reactions from NBA players to White’s game-winning putback for Celtics

By May 28, 2023, 11:15 AM EDT
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It was an all-time classic game, one that could be part of a legendary chapter in Celtics’ lore. Boston was on the verge of being sent home for the summer by the Miami Heat when Derrick White‘s putback as time expired won the Celtics Game 6 and forced a Game 7 Monday night.

NBA players were as stunned and excited as fans everywhere. Check out the reactions from players around the league — and a few others — to the Celtics’ dramatic win.