Celtics Notes: Tatum, White, Gonzalez, Brown, Harper
The Celtics were down two starters on Thursday at Oklahoma City, with Jayson Tatum (right Achilles injury management) and Derrick White (right knee contusion) both ruled out (Twitter links via the team).
Thursday will mark Tatum’s first absence since he made his season debut on March 6. He has averaged 19.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal in his first three contests (27.0 minutes per game). Head coach Joe Mazzulla said Tatum’s day off was part of his recovery plan, per Brian Robb of MassLive.
“Just trust in our sport science team and trainers,” Mazzulla said. “The goal was always for him to come back and also to maintain his health as he continues to stay healthy and continue to get better. Just the trust and communication from our team.”
Boston’s next game will be on Saturday vs. Washington.
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- In a story for The Athletic, John Hollinger examines Tatum’s first two games of the season. Hollinger didn’t notice anything awry with Tatum physically, and says with the team already playing at a very high level before he returned, the Celtics don’t need a peak version of the perennial All-NBA forward to make a deep playoff run.
- Hollinger has also been keeping tabs on Hugo Gonzalez, writing that the 20-year-old wing has played high-level defense as a rookie and is a strong rebounder for his size. According to Hollinger, Gonzalez plays with lots of energy and finishes well near the basket, especially in transition, but his jump shot and handle are shaky. The Celtics have had multiple developmental success stories the past two years, Hollinger adds, so Boston was an ideal landing spot for the Spanish small forward.
- On the Cousins podcast with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady (YouTube link), Jaylen Brown said he contemplated asking for a trade in 2019 after Boston was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, but McGrady convinced him not to. “Coming and sitting down with Mac, we spent a couple days just working out and talking, having some food, and he’s telling me like, I’m thinking like one thing and he’s thinking like, ‘nah, you need to stay, it’s going to be you.’ He’s telling me all the stuff that all just manifested itself. So, I can’t even like, it’s crazy looking back on it now,” Brown said.
- In a mailbag, Robb of MassLive states that Ron Harper Jr. is “highly likely” to have his two-way contract converted to a standard deal. Robb expects Harper’s promotion to happen on the final day of the regular season (April 12) since he still has two-way eligibility left. Harper scored a career-high 22 points (on 8-of-11 shooting) in 33 minutes during Tuesday’s loss at San Antonio and has been solid defensively for the Celtics, Robb notes.
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Thompson, White, Vucevic
After making an emotional season debut Friday night in Boston where fans celebrated his return 10 months after Achilles surgery, Jayson Tatum was relieved to get back to a normal environment Sunday at Cleveland, writes Jay King of The Athletic. Tatum remained on a minutes restriction, but he scored 20 points as the Celtics posted an emphatic win in a battle of Eastern Conference contenders.
“The other day was such a big deal, and obviously, in a home game in the city of Boston, I had a lot of family in town,” Tatum said. “Today just kind of felt like getting back in the flow of things. And that felt good for me.”
Tatum scored 12 points in the first seven minutes to help Boston build an early lead. Although he missed seven of his nine three-point attempts, he sank a clutch one with about two minutes left to play to stave off a Cleveland comeback. King notes that the Celtics were already playing well without Tatum – holding the league’s best defensive rating and second-best net rating – and have won the two games since his return by an average of 15.5 points.
“I don’t think his game has gone anywhere,” Payton Pritchard said. “I’ve seen him working on it. I think it’s more now, after not playing in a while, you’ve just got to get your flow back. Like, one-on-one reads, stuff like that.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- After Friday’s win over the Mavericks, Klay Thompson offered some advice to Tatum, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe states in a subscriber-only piece. Thompson has plenty of experience in overcoming major injuries after suffering an ACL tear during the 2019 Finals and a ruptured Achilles tendon the following year. “One of his messages was like, ‘Man, just give yourself some grace,’” Tatum said Sunday. “He said that he wished he would have given himself more grace. Obviously, being elite athletes and competitors that we are, we want it so bad. But I’m still on the road to recovery and this is just a phase of it.”
- Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson views Derrick White as a major reason that the Celtics were able to remain competitive during Tatum’s absence, per Brian Robb of MassLive. “Derrick White, he’s a top-five player in this league,” Atkinson said. “I know no one says that in the standard media, but analytically, you look at all the advanced stuff, he’s (a) top-five player in the league, superstar. Jaylen [Brown] is obviously having a great year. [Neemias] Queta is analytically one of the top 30, probably. They have a lot of talent even without Jayson. So I think if you just kind of look, ‘Oh my gosh, Jayson Tatum’s out, they’re going to be terrible,’ I never bought into that.”
- Speaking to reporters on Sunday, coach Joe Mazzulla shared his advice for Nikola Vucevic, who will be sidelined for about a month with a fractured finger, relays Souichi Terada of MassLive. “Just stay in shape,” Mazzulla said. “Do everything he can with whatever the limitations are. He does a great job in the film room studying. Just continuing to do what he’s been doing. He’s a professional.”
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Brown, Walsh, Harper
Celtics fans welcomed back Jayson Tatum with a thunderous ovation Friday night, but it took a while for him to look like the player they remembered, writes Jamal Collier of ESPN. Tatum missed his first six shots from the field before scoring his first points of the season on a putback dunk shortly before halftime. That helped him settle down as he connected on six of his next 10 attempts and finished the night with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in 27 minutes.
“I really was just kind of grateful,” Tatum said. “I had a real sense of gratitude of just being back on the floor, playing basketball. It just kind of brought me back to everything I’ve been through in the last 10 months. And the fact that I was able to even be out there today was a really big win for me.”
Tatum admits he still has “a long way to go” to get back to his elite status, but he was happy with his performance in the first game since tearing his right Achilles roughly 10 months ago. He told reporters that there’s no set plan to manage his playing time and didn’t give any indication of his status for Sunday afternoon’s game in Cleveland.
He also congratulated his teammates and Celtics management for remaining competitive in what many expected to be a gap year. Several key members of last season’s roster departed in cost-cutting moves, but Boston holds the league’s fourth-best record at 42-21.
“The start of last playoffs, we felt like we had a three-, four-, five-year run with that team,” Tatum said. “It all changed in the moment with that team. … I didn’t know what was next. … Can’t commend the group enough and the coaching staff of how they attacked the season, how they competed and just played together every single night. I don’t know if there’s been a team that’s more fun to watch this season play.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- On the day before his return, Tatum spoke at a team meeting to express his gratitude to players, coaches and staff members for their help with his recovery, according to Jay King of The Athletic. King notes that Tatum has been a constant presence at practices and games while going through the rehab process. “It was nice for him to get up there and talk,” Derrick White said. “And for him to kind of get his voice back into the team. Because he’s been around, but he hasn’t had that type of voice.”
- During Tatum’s absence, Jaylen Brown took over as the Celtics’ number one scoring option and posted career-best numbers that put him in the MVP conversation. He talked Friday about the adjustments that will have to be made now that Tatum is back on the court, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required). “It’s going to be a great challenge for me,” Brown said. “It’s going to be a great challenge for all of us. It’s going to test all of our patience. It’s going to test our humility. All of the above. We’ve just got to be prepared for there to be some ups and downs. I’m prepared for that. How you handle adversity will be kind of a measure.”
- If coach Joe Mazzulla sticks with a nine- or 10-man rotation, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper Jr. are the players most likely to have their minutes impacted by Tatum’s return, Brian Robb of Mass Live states in a mailbag column.
Mavs Notes: Flagg, Tatum, Losing Streak, Kidd, Stars Dispute
Maine native Cooper Flagg‘s return to the Northeast was overshadowed by the season debut of the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum on Friday. Flagg didn’t mind. He considers Tatum his idol and was thrilled to play against him.
“It’s incredible,” Flagg told Christian Clark of The Athletic. “There are so many levels to it. (Tatum) is someone I idolized growing up. Watched him go through levels and ranks. Watched him at Duke. Kind of followed in his footsteps. … It’s really special just for me to have this experience tonight.”
Flagg fought left foot soreness to score 16 points. Afterward, Tatum gave him some advice.
“He just told me to keep going,” Flagg said. “He’s been a mentor for me through my journey from Duke to now. Someone I’ve been able to talk to and get advice from. I told him the same. I told him it’s incredible what he’s able to do and how quickly he was able to come back.”
Here’s more on the Mavericks:
- The Mavs continue to sink down the standings in the hopes of landing another high lottery pick. They’ve lost six straight and 16 of their last 18 in the aftermath of their 20-point loss in Boston. “I just think we weren’t organized,” Flagg said. “Part of it is us still learning each other. And part of it was I wasn’t good enough.”
- Coach Jason Kidd anticipated he would get criticized for turning Flagg into the team’s de facto point guard, he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “If you’re challenging or trying to change or help someone become successful, there are going to be critics. You need critics because critics are not always right. That’s just the nature of the beast,” Kidd said. “But it’s basketball. There’s no more positions. What’s your skill set? Can you handle it? If you can handle it, you can play. KD [Kevin Durant] got the ball early in his career. Was [then-Seattle SuperSonics head coach] P. J. Carlesimo criticized for it? Yeah? Maybe. You have to go back and look, but it worked out.”
- There’s animosity between the Mavericks franchise and the NHL’s Dallas Stars and it spilled into the courtroom on Friday. According to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News, the Mavs are seeking injunctive relief and finality on a breach of contract dispute with the Stars. The Mavs originally filed the lawsuit in October and the Stars counter-sued the next day. The Mavericks allege the Stars breached a clause in both teams’ 1998 franchise agreement with the city of Dallas, prior to American Airlines Center’s 2001 opening. The clause requires the teams’ corporate headquarters to be within Dallas city limits. The Stars have had their headquarters and training facility in Frisco since 2003.
Celtics Notes: Tatum, Scheierman, Brown, Walsh
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is making his season debut on Friday vs. Dallas after tearing his Achilles tendon in the playoffs last May. Head coach Joe Mazzulla discussed Tatum prior to the game.
“We always knew he was going to come back this year,” Mazzulla said (Twitter link via Jared Weiss of The Athletic). “I knew that when he had surgery within 16 hours of (the injury).”
Mazzulla was asked if the perennial All-NBA member would be on a minutes restriction in his first game in nearly 10 months.
“I have no idea,” Mazzulla replied, per Brian Robb of MassLive (Twitter link).
However, ESPN’s Jorge Sedando later reported (via Twitter) that Tatum would not be on a minutes restriction, and Michael Malone confirmed that news on the broadcast, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.
Tatum will be in the starting lineup, with Baylor Scheierman moving to the bench, according to Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter links).
Here’s more from Boston:
- Five ESPN insiders answer five questions about Tatum’s return. As ESPN’s Zach Kram writes, Tatum has led the team in field goal attempts per game each of the past six seasons, so it might take some time for the Celtics to adjust to having him back once he finds his rhythm. That’s particularly true for Jaylen Brown, who has the second-highest usage rate in the league this season, Kram notes. Still, the attention Tatum receives should only benefit the Celtics, who have the second-best offensive rating in the league, says Kram.
- Brown’s strong play — and the team’s success with him as the No. 1 option — has led to some renewed speculation that he should continue in that role for the rest of the season. Former Celtic Grant Williams tells King of The Athletic he’s tired of hearing the debate about how Brown and Tatum fit together, especially after they won the title in 2024. “It’s the same dumb s–t they’ve been talking about since I was here,” Williams told The Athletic. “So I think neither one of (Tatum or Brown) should pay any attention to it because they’re both phenomenal human beings, but also phenomenal players. And no matter what the media says, they’ve shown that they can play with one another and they add to one another’s games. And no matter who gets the attention, no matter who gets the praise, the ultimate goal is winning. Both of those two deserve to be in the Celtics rafters one day. And by doing it together, they’ll be able to do it at a high level.”
- Third-year forward Jordan Walsh will be out Friday due to an illness, the Celtics announced (via Twitter). Boston holds a $2.4MM team option on Walsh, a 2023 second-round pick, for next season.
Jayson Tatum Will Make Season Debut On Friday
March 6: Tatum has been upgraded to available for Friday’s game vs. Dallas and will be active for the first time since last year’s playoffs, the team confirmed (Twitter link).
March 5: Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will return from his Achilles tear this season and could make his 2025/26 debut on Friday vs. the Mavericks in Boston, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Tatum has officially been listed by the team as questionable to suit up for Friday’s matchup with Dallas (Twitter link). According to Charania (Twitter link), the six-time All-Star is “ready to go” and the expectation is that he’ll be able to play tomorrow, but he and the team will finalize that decision within the next day or so.
Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in Game 4 of the Celtics’ second-round playoff series against the Knicks last May and underwent surgery to repair the injury the following day. He was one of three Eastern Conference stars to tear his Achilles during the 2025 postseason, along with Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton.
Lillard, who is nearly eight years older than Tatum, and Haliburton, whose injury occurred about six weeks after Tatum’s, were both ruled out for the 2025/26 season relatively early. However, the Celtics never made a similar announcement about their star forward, and he made it clear early in his recovery process that he hoped to beat the typical timeline and make it back before the end of ’25/26.
Tatum repeatedly stressed that he wouldn’t return unless he felt like he was 100% healthy and was both physically and mentally ready, but his return began to look increasingly likely as he started taking part in 5-on-5 scrimmages with the Celtics and their G League affiliate this winter.
If Tatum is activated on Friday, he’ll be back on the court less than 10 months – 298 days, to be exact – since he sustained his Achilles injury. He’ll certainly be on a strict minutes restriction and likely won’t play in back-to-backs as he ramps up his workload and prepares for the postseason.
Making his return in a home game has long been a priority for Tatum, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe observes (subscription required).
“I know one thing,” Tatum said last September. “My first game back will be at home. It will be in TD Garden. It probably will be emotional, but it’s something I’m looking forward to, just running through that tunnel and being on the court again with all of our fans and sharing that moment with them.”
Following Tatum’s injury and a series of cost-cutting offseason moves that saw the Celtics part with key players like Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet, there was a sense that 2025/26 could be a “gap year” in Boston, with the team taking a step back from title contention before reloading for ’26/27.
But the Celtics have thrived even without their perennial leading scorer, posting a 41-21 record through three-quarters of the season. They hold the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and have the league’s second-best offensive rating, along with the seventh-best defensive rating.
Tatum made four consecutive All-NBA first teams from 2022-25 and averaged 27.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game during that stretch. This season, it’s been fellow wing Jaylen Brown who has been the team’s go-to option on offense, with career-high averages of 28.9 points and 5.0 assists per game.
Reintegrating Tatum into the lineup following Brown’s emergence will be one of the challenges the Celtics face during the final few weeks of the regular season. Tatum admitted in January that the risk of upsetting Boston’s chemistry was a factor he considered as he weighed whether to return this season, but he later expressed confidence that he and the team will make it work.
“I know what I bring to the table and bring to the team, but I’m also aware that these guys have been playing extremely well,” he said, per Himmelsbach. “And not to say that I would come and mess it up or anything like that. It was just kind of being vulnerable, I guess, for a moment, and talking from that perspective.”
Celtics Notes: Queta, Scheierman, Tatum, Vucevic
Celtics starting center Neemias Queta recently detailed his journey as the NBA’s first (and only) player from Portugal in an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape. Queta’s parents moved to Portugal from their native Guinea-Bissau due to the civil war that took place in the West African country in the late 1990s, Spears writes.
Queta has never been to Guinea-Bissau or to Africa, but he hopes to visit his parents’ home country with his mother “in the next couple of years.”
“They were in kind of like a refugee type of situation. It was more trying to get to that safe place and Port Portugal welcomed them,” Queta said.
The 26-year-old big man, who was born in Lisbon and grew up 20 miles outside of Portugal’s capital, didn’t start playing basketball until he was 10 years old, per Spears, and only had one full scholarship offer (from Utah State) in the United States in 2018. After he spent three years with the Aggies, Sacramento selected Queta 39th overall in the 2021 draft.
Queta spent two years with the Kings on two-way contracts, but was waived in the 2023 offseason. The Celtics signed him to a two-way deal a few days later, and after being converted at the end of the 2023/24 season, he signed a multiyear standard contract in the summer of 2024. Boston holds a $2.7MM team option on Queta for 2026/27.
“It’s a lot of love. Being the face of the NBA for Portugal is pretty good for me,” Queta said. “It’s a blessing that I don’t take lightly. I just want to be out here and just do the best I can so I can put the best version of our culture on the map.”
Here’s more on the Celtics, who are currently 39-20, the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference:
- Second-year guard Baylor Scheierman is questionable for Sunday’s game vs. Philadelphia due to a left thumb fracture, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. Scheierman, who is left-handed, appeared to suffer the injury when he collided with Egor Demin in the second quarter of Friday’s win over Brooklyn, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston (Twitter video link). The 25-year-old wing was able to stay in the game another 13 minutes after having his thumb taped, Forsberg adds. Scheierman has been productive in 13 games (27.1 MPG) as a starter this season, Forsberg notes (via Twitter), averaging 8.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.1 SPG while shooting 36.8% on threes and playing solid defense. Scheierman, the 30th overall pick in the 2024 draft, has started Boston’s last eight games.
- There had been speculation that Jayson Tatum might return to action on March 1, but that won’t be the case, as the star forward has been ruled out against the 76ers as he continues to work his way back from a torn Achilles tendon, per Souichi Terada of MassLive.com.
- The Celtics are focused on self-improvement and integrating trade deadline acquisition Nikola Vucevic as they look to make another deep playoff run, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe (subscriber link). The 35-year-old center had his best game with Boston during Friday’s lopsided victory, recording 28 points (on 9-of-13 shooting), 11 rebounds and four assists in just 25 minutes. “I’m still getting used to the new offense and all my teammates and learning their tendencies,” Vucevic said. “At times I think I do overthink a little bit, which makes me kind of hesitant and takes away my aggressiveness. I feel like [Friday] I was able to put a little more together and play off my teammates. I just have to find the right balance of being aggressive, use my instincts but make it fit with what we want to run.”
Injury Notes: Tatum, Antetokounmpo, Garland, Thompson
Jayson Tatum, who is making his way back from an Achilles tear he suffered last spring, has been a full participant in five-on-five scrimmages for the Celtics, Shams Charania said on ESPN’s NBA Today (YouTube video link).
According to Charania, the keys for Tatum physically are building his conditioning and strengthening his calves through a high volume of scrimmages and practices. However, the biggest factor will be making sure he feels ready to go mentally and isn’t thinking about the injury while he’s playing.
The Celtics will not push Tatum, but they’ll get him on the floor once he feels fully like himself again, which is why there is still no set timeline for his return, Charania adds.
“A dozen people here — doctors, Celtics officials, Jayson Tatum himself — they’re going to gather in a room when he’s ready and get him to a point where he wants to be, which is, in March, and as we get closer and closer to the playoffs, make a decision about whether he’s able to make it back on the floor,” Charania said.
We have more injury news from around the NBA:
- Bucks coach Doc Rivers believes that star Giannis Antetokounmpo is nearing a return from the calf strain that has sidelined him since late January, The Athletic’s Eric Nehm reports (via Twitter). “I know he’s close,” Rivers said. “I don’t think he’s close like tomorrow, but he’s getting closer and he looked great… I can tell you what my eyes see and he looks good.” Rivers previously told Nehm that Antetokounmpo had participated in 3-on-3 and 4-on-4 work without experiencing setbacks, and that he didn’t necessarily need to progress to 5-on-5 to be cleared for return (Twitter link).
- Darius Garland has yet to suit up for the Clippers since arriving in Los Angeles as the cornerstone of the James Harden trade, and that won’t change in Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves. However, there are encouraging signs, as Law Murray of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Garland is participating in 5-on-5 workouts. With the two-time All-Star injured, the Clippers have been relying on Kris Dunn and, occasionally, rookie Kobe Sanders to man the starting guard spots.
- Amen Thompson is sitting out the Rockets‘ game against the Kings with a quad injury, but Matt Young of the Houston Chronicle writes that coach Ime Udoka doesn’t believe it will be a long-term issue (Twitter link). Udoka said that Thompson has been playing through the injury and that he hopes that this absence will only last one game.
And-Ones: Durant, Olympics, U.S. Roster, Parker, Brooks
Four-time gold medalist Kevin Durant tells Vincent Goodwill of ESPN he wants to represent Team USA again at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The 37-year-old Rockets forward, who is the U.S men’s team’s all-time leading scorer in Olympic competition, did add a caveat, however.
“Hell yeah, I want to play,” Durant said. “I would love to, but I’ve got to stay on top of my game. I’m not expecting, I want to produce on the floor and make (managing director) Grant (Hill) and whoever is making the decisions, want to put me on the team. I don’t want — not just for seniority. I want to still prove I can help the team win.
“Today, yeah I feel like I’ll put my name in that hat.”
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Speaking of the 2028 Olympics and USA Basketball, Zach Kram of ESPN takes an early look at potential candidates for the Americans’ roster. Kram predicts that Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, Jalen Duren, Amen Thompson, Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, Chet Holmgren, Jalen Williams, Tyrese Haliburton, Bam Adebayo and Jayson Tatum will be the 12 players selected (they’re listed by age). Durant could take the final wing spot on the roster, according to Kram, but only if he’s still “engaged and deserving” two-plus years from now.
- Partizan Belgrade is expected to loan former No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker to Spanish club Joventut Badalona for the rest of the season, according to a report from Mozzart Sport (hat tip to Sportando). Parker been away from the Serbian club for several weeks, last playing on January 9. The veteran power forward is still under contract with Partizan through 2026/27, though his future with the team is uncertain.
- Shooting guard Armoni Brooks, who played parts of three NBA seasons from 2020-24, has been named MVP of the Italian Cup after helping lead Olimpia Milano to a title in the domestic tournament, per Fabio Cavagnera of RealOlimpiaMilano.com (hat tip to Sportando). The 27-year-old said he “100%” wants to re-sign with the Italian squad.
Celtics Notes: Brown, Pritchard, Gonzalez, Tatum
After the Celtics pummeled the Lakers on Sunday, LeBron James told reporters that Jaylen Brown is being overlooked in the MVP race, writes Dave McMenamin of ESPN. Brown had 32 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the 22-point victory as Boston continued its surprising season by improving to 37-19, the fourth-best record in the league.
“This whole MVP thing, I don’t understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well,” James said. “Like, nobody gave them a shot to start the season. And he’s averaging what, 30? Just under 30? It’s a popularity contest sometimes, I tell you.”
Brown is posting career highs of 29.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists in 51 games and has looked extremely comfortable as the team’s primary scoring option while Jayson Tatum recovers from a torn Achilles. Brown thanked James for his assessment and offered his own case for the award.
“I feel like I’m the best two-way player in the world,” he said. “I play both ends on the court. Night to night, I’m available, which is hard to do. I’m a leader. I help lead my team, empower my team to come out and play confidently, stuff that doesn’t always show up on the analytics. And I’m a winner. I come out and try to win every single night. So I’m grateful. It’s an honor to play the Celtics-Lakers rivalry. It’s an honor for LeBron, who’s arguably the best player to ever play the game, giving me some high praise.”
There’s more on the Celtics:
- Moving into a reserve role after the trade deadline hasn’t affected Payton Pritchard‘s productivity, notes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (subscription required). Pritchard scored 30 points in 38 minutes on Sunday and said he was inspired by the Boston-L.A. rivalry. “Felt like I’m back in my college days [at Oregon] where I’m playing Washington or Arizona or something,” he said. “Rivalry will bring that out of you.”
- Luka Doncic and Hugo Gonzalez have a connection through their Real Madrid background, and the Lakers star believes the Celtics rookie has a bright NBA future, per Souichi Terada of MassLive. “We all know he’s a very high-effort player,” Doncic said. “He’s all around the court. It’s only his first year. He’ll have time to learn. But I think he’s going to be a very important piece for every team he plays for.”
- Lakers guard Marcus Smart has stayed in touch with Tatum throughout his recovery process and dropped the latest clue on whether his longtime teammate might return this season, Terada relays in a separate story. “He’s doing real well as you guys know,” Smart said. “That’s all you can ask for. That’s something you never want to see from anybody, but especially for a guy you’ve been to battle with and you got a good relationship with. So it was tough to see that but I’m glad he’s in good spirits and his process is going very well.”