In a detailed feature about LeBron James’ last few years in Cleveland, Joe Vardon of The Athletic reports that the current Lakers star not only didn’t want the Cavs to deal Kyrie Irving to the Celtics in the summer of 2017 but was told by Cavs general manager Koby Altman that no such deal would occur. Vardon describes the call James had with Altman on Aug. 22, 2017, when the then-Cavs superstar was told by his GM that the Irving…
Waking up Sunday morning, Brian and Sam Bell turned on the TV and there they were on ESPN’s SportsCenter. It offered the latest punctuation for what was a night neither will soon forget. Anyone monitoring all things Celtics or the NBA on social media Saturday night might recognize Sam. He was the 9-year-old Utah star Donovan Mitchell brought over to rebound for him prior to the Jazz’s game against the Celtics at TD Garden. It was a video clip that…
Brad Stevens has never been a short-term kind of guy, most of the decisions he makes this early in the regular season have the big picture in mind. Through 16 games, the Celtics’ head coach has been patient with his group’s progress. On the road he gave them the green light to make a 20-point comeback against the Suns when most coaches would have pulled their starters that deep into the fourth quarter, and last Friday in Utah he made…
Brad Stevens has been universally praised for his work as head coach of the Celtics over the past few years. But this go-round is a bit different. On the latest Banner 18 Podcast hosts Patrick Gilroy and Josue Pavon look at the challenges facing Stevens, who entered Saturday night having guided his team to a 9-6 record. Gilroy suggests that we might be underestimating the task Stevens is facing early on in this 2018-19 season. “Brad Stevens job is one…
LeBron James took in the Celtics-Raptors game Friday night and had kind words for his former All-Star point guard. Following a game where Kyrie Irving’s 43 points led the Celtics to a 123-116 overtime win at TD Garden, James took to Twitter to congratulate Irving for his incredible performance in what could be a potential Eastern Conference Finals preview. James pointed to Irving’s clutch play, something LeBron grew accustomed to back in Cleveland. It’s not shocking to see James show…
The Celtics are finally starting to look like a team that is destined to top the Eastern Conference. Led by Kyrie Irving, who is quickly becoming the best fourth-quarter player in the league, the Celtics are finding their identity and it’s coming at a perfect time. With a relatively light schedule ahead of them, the Celtics didn’t miss the opportunity to make a statement against the conference-leading Raptors Friday night at TD Garden. Toronto couldn’t find an answer for Boston’s…
By Evan Marinofsky Danny Ainge is the best executive in today’s NBA. At this point, there’s almost no disputing it. It feels as though every trade he’s made in recent memory has gone right. Trading peanuts for Isaiah Thomas hit the nail on the head. Trading nonsense to land franchise cornerstone Kevin Garnett was a home run. Trading washed up Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce to the Brooklyn Nets to rob them of any future was genius. Ainge is as…
Two struggling members of Brad Stevens’ starting five found reasons for optimism on Wednesday night. Gordon Hayward started miserably for more than two quarters before delivering some of his best basketball of the season with the second unit. Meanwhile, guard Jaylen Brown looked confident and assertive after admitting to pressing during a bad start. And them together, and the Celtics waltzed to a 111-82 victory. The struggles continued for Hayward and lasted well into the second half. But then they…
Some stories are too stupid to ignore, dear readers. This is one of them. Glen “Big Baby” Davis, one half of Shrek and Donkey during the 2010 NBA Finals, is convinced that Kevin Durant intends to sign with the Celtics this summer. Our source for this knowledge? The comments section of a tweet. Thanks to WBZ’s Adam Kaufman for pointing this out and NBC Sports Boston’s Darren Hartwell for transcribing it so I didn’t have to, but it turns out…
On impact, the injury looked every bit as bad as one Celtics fans won’t soon forget. But the good news for Nets guard Caris LeVert is that he won’t require surgery and might actually return this season. Either way, Gordon Hayward will be there for him if he needs it. A year after Hayward’s Celtics debut ended just five minutes into the season with a gruesome broken ankle, LeVert appeared to suffer the same injury on Monday against Minnesota, leaving…