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Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Frustrated After Physical Game 3 Against Magic

April 26th, 2025 at 9:51am CST by Earnest Marshall

At least one Celtics player has suffered a minor injury in each of the team’s three playoff games against the Magic so far. As Souichi Terada of MassLive writes, Jayson Tatum sustained a bone bruise in his right wrist in Game 1 that forced him to miss Game 2. In that second game, Kristaps Porzingis received stitches after a cut on his head. And after Friday’s game, Jaylen Brown told reporters that he dislocated his left index finger in Game 3.

Brown said his injury came after a flagrant foul from Cole Anthony, leaving the All-Star frustrated after the Celtics’ first loss of the series.

“There might be a fight break out or something because it’s starting to feel like it’s not even basketball and the refs are not controlling their environment,” Brown said. “So it is what it is. If you want to fight it out, we can do that. We can fight to see who goes to the second round.”

As Terada observes, the Celtics had expected a physical series against Orlando, but it was taken up another level in Game 3 on the Magic’s home court. Turnovers and poor execution led to the Celtics’ loss, though they still maintain a 2-1 series lead.

“I don’t have a problem with the game being physical, but it seems like when I use my physicality, I get called in the opposite direction,” Brown said. “That’s what my frustration was. It was just a tough whistle tonight. Maybe next game will be better, but it started in the third quarter with those two offensive fouls. I feel like the physicality, you are allowing guys to hand check and let it go on both sides then. Other than that, it was just a tough whistle for me tonight and we just got to be ready for Game 4.”

The two teams will square off again on Sunday evening. Tatum was able to return on Friday after missing Game 2, but guard Jrue Holiday was forced to sit out Game 3 due to a hamstring strain.

Heat’s Herro Fires Back At Cavs’ Garland After Jab About Defense

April 25th, 2025 at 7:36pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers made it fairly clear based on their offensive strategy in the first two games of their series vs. the Heat that they were targeting a perceived weak link on Miami’s defense. Asked about the Cavs’ game plan after Wednesday’s Game 2 victory, point guard Darius Garland confirmed as much, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com (subscription required).

“Pick on Tyler Herro,” Garland said. “Don’t play in tight spaces and pick on their weak defenders. Go at them.”

According to NBA.com’s data, the Cavaliers have attempted 33 shots through two games with Herro as the primary defender, making 21 of them (63.6%). No other Heat player has a higher number of field goals against (in terms of both makes and attempts) in the series.

Herro and the Heat didn’t have a media session on Thursday, but when the team spoke to reporters on Friday, the All-Star guard knew he’d be asked about Garland’s comments and didn’t hold back his feelings about them.

“To go to the media to talk about the game plan and this and that says a lot about him. I’m not worried about Darius Garland,” Herro said, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst. “Somebody that doesn’t play defense shouldn’t be talking, either. He don’t play any defense and we’ll see that tomorrow. He don’t play no D.”

To Herro’s point, Heat players have made 12-of-18 shots (66.7%) in the first two games of the series with Garland as their primary defender, per NBA.com.

As Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes, Herro downplayed the idea that Garland’s comments would further motivate him, telling reporters that he has “enough fuel in me” and doesn’t need any more from “that guy over there.” However, teammate Bam Adebayo, who came to his teammate’s defense, suggested Garland’s remarks would make for good bulletin-board material for the rest of the Heat.

“(He) cannot hide,” Adebayo said. “He said what he said. We all take that personal.”

Both Garland and Herro told Joe Vardon of The Athletic that they have a good relationship, but as Vardon writes, that doesn’t mean the trash talk between them isn’t real.

“I mean, I’m not f—ing around. I don’t think there’s anything to f— around about,” Herro told The Athletic on Friday. “But we had said some words to each other on the court and then looked like he was in his feelings to go to the media to say that after the game. I mean, that kind of says everything right there.”

As we relayed earlier on Friday, Garland is listed as questionable to play in Game 3 due to a left big toe sprain.

Celtics’ Brown, Tatum Available For Game 3; Holiday Out

April 25th, 2025 at 5:20pm CST by Rory Maher

5:20 pm: After being upgraded from doubtful to questionable about an hour ago, Tatum will make his return on Friday for Game 3, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Brown will also be available, but Holiday has been ruled out.

2:24 pm: The Celtics could be shorthanded for Friday’s Game 3 in Orlando. In their initial injury report on Thursday, the team listed Jrue Holiday as questionable with a right hamstring strain and Jayson Tatum as doubtful with a right distal radius bone bruise, tweets Jared Weiss of The Athletic.

On Friday, reigning Finals MVP Jaylen Brown was also added to the injury report, having been listed as questionable due to a right knee posterior impingement (Twitter link via Weiss). Brown has been managing the knee injury for several weeks.

Tatum was sidelined for Boston’s Game 2 victory after injuring his right wrist in Game 1. It seems likely that he will miss Friday’s contest as well.

It remains to be seen if Holiday and Brown will be forced to miss tonight’s game, but it’s certainly not ideal for the Celtics that both players are battling injuries.

Brown is coming off an excellent Game 2 performance, finishing with 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Boston currently holds a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.

A fourth Celtics starter, Kristaps Porzingis, sustained a cut which required five stitches Wednesday after being inadvertently elbowed by Goga Bitadze, per Baxton Holmes of ESPN. However, Porzingis was able to return to the game and downplayed the gash after the victory.

“Honestly, how can I not come [back] out?” Porzingis said. “Like, ‘Oh, I have five stitches, I can’t play anymore.’ My legs work, everything works, so of course I’m going to be out there. And you know me. I like these moments. Coming back out again, getting a little love from the crowd. It just happens within the game and this is not going to stop me. So I’m going to keep going.”

Warriors’ Jimmy Butler Questionable For Game 3 After Game 2 Exit

April 25th, 2025 at 2:31pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

April 25: The Warriors confirmed (via Twitter) that Butler has a pelvis and deep gluteal muscle contusion. He’s questionable for Game 3 on Saturday, per the team.

April 24: Butler avoided a serious injury and has been diagnosed with a deep glute muscle contusion, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link). According to Charania, this is a best-case scenario for Butler, as his MRI revealed no structural damage.

Still, Butler’s status for Game 3 against the Rockets on Saturday is in “serious jeopardy.” The Warriors defeated the Rockets on the road in Game 1 behind strong contributions from Curry and Butler, but lost in Game 2 after Butler exited.

April 23: Warriors forward Jimmy Butler has been ruled out for the rest of Golden State’s ongoing Game 2 against the Rockets after a hard fall in the first quarter, Golden State’s PR team announced (via Twitter). He has been diagnosed with a pelvis contusion.

The 6’7″ swingman landed hard on his tailbone after Houston forward Amen Thompson was knocked off balance while battling for a defensive rebound and undercut him beneath the basket (Twitter video link via Dr. David J. Chao).

Butler finishes the game with three points on 1-of-2 shooting from the floor and 1-of-2 shooting from the free throw line, plus two rebounds, in just eight minutes.

Since Golden State acquired the six-time All-Star from Miami in a multi-team blockbuster trade in February, the team has rallied to emerge as a legitimate title contender. Butler has shored up the Warriors’ defense — and given them another major creator — alongside incumbent stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. An extended Butler absence could kill the Warriors’ title aspirations.

Another Golden State starter also departed in the first half — guard Brandin Podziemski is questionable to return after exiting the game with a stomach bug, per the Warriors (Twitter link).

Reserve forward Jonathan Kuminga, who had been removed from head coach Steve Kerr‘s rotation since the Warriors’ final regular season game, is now getting his first playoff run of the postseason. Guard Pat Spencer is also seeing some action in the rotation as a result of Podziemski’s absence.

Houston currently leads Golden State by double digits, 47-31, late into the second quarter. The Warriors beat the Rockets at home in Game 1 on Sunday.

A source informs Anthony Slater of The Athletic (via Twitter) that Butler will undergo imaging on Thursday. Slater observes that both Curry and Kuminga were recently diagnosed with pelvic contusions after their own hard falls, and each missed minimal time. Both had to manage the pain upon their returns but were able to play again fairly quickly.

Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley Named 2024/25 Defensive Player Of The Year

April 24th, 2025 at 5:39pm CST by Earnest Marshall

Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley won the 2024/25 Defensive Player of the Year award, the NBA announced on Thursday.

Mobley is the first player in Cavaliers history to win the award. He averaged 18.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 0.9 steals this season.

“It definitely was a goal of mine coming into this year,” Mobley said, per Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor. “I put all the work in, so it’s a big day.”

As Fedor notes, Mobley ranked fifth in blocks and contested shots while placing second in field-goal percentage allowed. He was the only player in the league who appeared in at least 50 games while averaging more than 1.5 blocks and fewer than 2.0 fouls per game. The Cavs dropped 10 spots in defensive rating with Mobley off the floor.

The 6’11” big man beat out Hawks guard Dyson Daniels and Warriors forward Draymond Green for the award. Mobley received 35 first-place votes and 285 points in total, while Daniels was the runner-up with 25 first-place votes and 197 points.

Green (15 first-place votes; 154 points), Thunder wing Luguentz Dort (11 first-place votes; 109 points), and Rockets guard Amen Thompson (nine first-place votes; 93 points) rounded out the top five, with eight other players receiving votes, including two more – Clippers center Ivica Zubac and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo – who received first-place nods.

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama had been considered the heavy favorite for Defensive Player of the Year honors through the All-Star break, but was diagnosed with a blood clot that prevented him from reaching the 65-game minimum.

You can view the full DPOY voting results here.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (Twitter link), Mobley winning the award comes with significant financial implications. Mobley signed a five-year, maximum-salary rookie scale extension this past offseason that included Rose Rule language, meaning his new deal would start at up to 30% of the cap (instead of 25%) if he were to win Defensive Player of the Year or make an All-NBA team.

Because he’s the Defensive Player of the Year, Mobley’s total salary over the next five years is expected to increase by about $44.8MM, from $224.2MM to roughly $269.1MM, as our maximum-salary projections show. That now leaves the Cavaliers with $219MM in projected salary in 2025/26, putting them over the second apron, Marks observes.

Bucks Agree To Extend GM Jon Horst’s Contract

April 24th, 2025 at 10:42am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Bucks have agreed to a multiyear contract extension with general manager Jon Horst, ESPN’s Shams Charania reports.

This will end any speculation that the Bucks’ ownership group was contemplating a change at the top of its front office chain. Horst has been the Bucks’ GM since 2017. During that span, the team has made the playoffs in all eight seasons and has a .647 winning percentage, second-best in the league.

The Bucks won the 2021 championship but haven’t gone deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs since that run. They lost in the conference semifinals in 2022 and were knocked out in the first round in each of the past two seasons. They currently trail Indiana 2-0 in their opening-round series.

There had been speculation that Suns owner Mat Ishbia might pursue Horst if he were made available. Milwaukee denied Detroit permission to interview Horst for their top executive job last summer before the Pistons chose Trajan Langdon.

There has also been speculation that Giannis Antetokounmpo might want out of Milwaukee if the Bucks flame out in the postseason again. Horst made the blockbuster deal for Damian Lillard in 2023 after Antetokounmpo publicly wondered whether they had a championship-level roster.

This winter, the 42-year-old Horst commented on his feelings about keeping Milwaukee among the top contenders for the title.

“It’s still the awesome responsibility to try to take this franchise and maximize the window that we have now as best we can,” Horst said. “What we think gives us the best chance to win, and figure out how to continue winning going forward. There’s a very narrow set of opportunities that we felt that we could do that, and this was one of them.”

Silver: Broadcasting Issues Must Be Resolved Before Expansion

April 24th, 2025 at 9:34am CST by Dana Gauruder

NBA commissioner Adam Silver believes that resolving local broadcasting issues is a higher priority than expansion, Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal reports.

Silver wants to see a full transition from ailing Regional Sports Networks and cable TV to streaming services, he told ESPN analyst Bob Myers during the Sports Business Journal’s CAA World Congress of Sports.

“I … hate to make it so negative, but [local game broadcasts] are caught in legacy media, which is rapidly declining,” Silver said. “And our young fans, in particular, we used to talk about cord-cutters; they’re really cord-nevers. It’s not part of their lives to buy cable … And so the local situation by definition will then get even worse.”

Silver believes that some teams are actually losing significant revenue by being “trapped” on cable.

“I actually think we’re undervaluing live sports right now and the specialness around it,” he said, noting that RSN rights fees have taken a “25% hit collectively; for some teams it’s around a 50% reduction.”

Silver added that “two-thirds of the NBA teams are operating with RSNs that just came out of bankruptcy [Main Street Sports Group] or some that were completely defunct [AT&T SportsNet].”

The answer, which could come over the next two offseasons, is to create a national streaming RSN platform while simultaneously reaching agreements with streaming services such as Amazon, YouTube, Apple, ESPN+ and Roku.

Expansion in the short run is “not a foregone conclusion,” Silver said, until those broadcasting and rights fees issues are sorted out.

As for expansion, it’s not a slam dunk that Seattle and Las Vegas will be the next two cities awarded franchises. Vancouver, which lost the Grizzlies to Memphis in 2000, is interested in re-obtaining a franchise, Silver said.

Silver also addressed the NBA’s desire to have a European league. He envisions having 12 permanent franchises and four other clubs that would have to “play in on a yearly basis,” such as established EuroLeague teams. Cities like Paris, London, Berlin, Barcelona, and Madrid are candidates for permanent franchises.

“Just to be clear, this would be a standalone league,” Silver said. “It wouldn’t be a division of the NBA. Maybe one day some of these teams could be a division of the NBA. I mean I am always reading about new supersonic air jets, jets that are coming online. I mean, I think that could dramatically change things of faster flight.”

Knicks’ Jalen Brunson Named Clutch Player Of The Year

April 23rd, 2025 at 5:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star Knicks guard Jalen Brunson has been named the NBA’s 2024/25 Clutch Player of the Year, the league has announced (Twitter link).

According to the NBA (via Twitter), the 6’2″ Villanova alum averaged 5.6 points — the most in the league in clutch situations — on 51.5% shooting across 28 clutch games for New York this season. The Knicks went 17-11 in those contests.

As Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets, Brunson’s 52 made clutch field goals led the NBA, his 156 total clutch points ranked second, and his 28 total clutch assists were third league-wide.

Clutch games are defined as contests in which the score is within five points during either the fourth quarter’s last five minutes or an overtime period.

The honor was voted upon by a global panel of 100 journalists and media experts, the NBA adds (Twitter link). After Brunson, the top five vote-getters were, in order, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, Hawks guard Trae Young, and Warriors guard Stephen Curry.

Brunson enjoyed a stellar year overall, beyond just the ends of games. In 65 healthy regular season outings, the 28-year-old logged averages of 26.0 points, 7.3 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per night, with a shooting line of .488/.383/821. Along with center Karl-Anthony Towns, Brunson served as the offensive fulcrum of a 51-31 Knicks squad that finished the year as the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed.

Prior to winning the 2024/25 award, Brunson had finished among the top five in voting for Clutch Player of the Year honors in each of the prior two seasons, as well.

In total, 12 players received at least one vote for Clutch Player of the Year, with five players earning a first-place vote. The full results can be viewed here.

Jayson Tatum Out For Game 2 Due To Wrist Injury

April 23rd, 2025 at 5:25pm CST by Luke Adams

5:25 PM: Tatum has officially been ruled out for Game 2, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN (Twitter).

3:14 PM: Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been listed as doubtful to play in Game 2 of the team’s first-round series vs. Orlando on Wednesday, as Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets. Tatum’s injury designation is a right distal radius bone bruise.

The Celtics star injured his right wrist in the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Sunday when he drove to the basket and was met by Magic defenders Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wendell Carter Jr. The Orlando duo collided with the Celtics star and sent him to the floor and into the basket stanchion (Twitter video link via ESPN).

Tatum grabbed his right wrist and remained on the floor for some time. He was eventually able to get up and remain in the game, but he seemed to be favoring that wrist for the rest of the night. Following Boston’s victory, the six-time All-Star underwent an X-ray, which he said came back clean.

While Tatum initially expressed optimism about his availability going forward, Shams Charania of ESPN reported today during a SportsCenter appearance (Twitter video link) that the 27-year-old underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with a bone bruise. Charania referred to it as a “pain tolerance” injury that could linger, adding that Tatum’s availability for Game 2 is “up in the air.”

Head coach Joe Mazzulla told reporters earlier on Tuesday that Tatum is considered day-to-day, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com.

If Tatum is unable to play on Wednesday, the Celtics figure to lean more heavily on starters Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis for offense, with Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser among the reserves who could see more significant roles.

Kings’ Perry Plans To Make Decision On Coach Within Next Week

April 23rd, 2025 at 1:49pm CST by Luke Adams

New Kings general manager Scott Perry told reporters during his introductory press conference on Wednesday that he intends to make a decision on the team’s head coaching situation within the next week, per Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link).

Perry will have to determine whether he wants to retain interim head coach Doug Christie for the 2025/26 season or launch a search for a new coach.

Perry praised Christie on Wednesday, noting that he has known the former NBA guard since he was a player in Toronto and has spoken to him since being hired by the Kings on Monday. However, Sacramento’s new head of basketball operations also said he has been receiving calls from potential coaching candidates who are interested in the job and that he still needs to consider his options.

Christie, who had been an assistant under head coach Mike Brown, was promoted in December when the Kings parted ways with Brown following a 13-18 start to the season. Sacramento’s performance was up and down the rest of the way and the team was unable to secure a playoff spot through the play-in tournament, but Christie did post a winning record of 27-24.

Anderson has reported that Christie has a good chance to hang onto the job, but has stressed that nothing’s official yet.

Here are a few other notes from Perry’s first media session upon returning to the Kings:

Perry, who briefly served as Sacramento’s VP of basketball operations in 2017, said he and Kings owner Vivek Ranadive have kept in touch since then, so when Ranadive decided to revamp the team’s front office, he and Perry had an easy conversation that developed quickly, according to James Ham of The Kings Beat (Twitter link).
Addressing the point guard position and adding length and athleticism to the roster will be some of the top offseason priorities for the front office, Perry told reporters (Twitter link via Ham).
According to Perry, Ranadive has “pledged his support and his resources” and empowered the new GM to make the personnel decisions necessary to build a sustainable winner in Sacramento (Twitter links via Ham).
Asked about comments he made during a 2023 podcast appearance questioning whether Zach LaVine is a winning basketball player, Perry responded that he’s “not worrying about it haunting me,” adding that has already spoken to LaVine and that his job will be to build around the guard’s strengths (Twitter link via Ham).
Sean Cunningham of FOX 40 in Sacramento has uploaded the full half-hour video of Perry’s Wednesday media session to Twitter. It can be viewed in full right here.