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Jayson Tatum plays hurt, struggles in Celtics Game 7 loss to Heat

Per Boston.com:

On Monday night, a rowdy and fervent TD Garden crowd was quickly quieted.

Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ star player, collapsed to the parquet floor in agony just 34 seconds into a critical Game 7 versus the Heat.

Tatum rose to his feet and rolled his ankle on the landing while attempting to euro-step past Miami point guard Gabe Vincent.

Even though the All-NBA forward continued to play, the damage had already been done.

“I saw the video, I saw it after the game that I came down on my ankle. It’s tough, because it kind of impacted me the rest of the night,” Tatum said following Boston’s season-ending 103-84 loss to the Heat. “It swelled up and it was just frustrating that I was kind of like a shell of myself. It was tough to move. It was just frustrating, especially that [expletive] happened on the first play.”

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Jaylen Brown struggles in Celtics Game 7 loss to Heat

Per Boston.com:

“Just a terrible game when my team needed me most,” Brown said. “JT hurt his ankle first play of the game and you could see it swelling up on him. He couldn’t move out there. It was tough on him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short.”

Brown shot 8–23 overall, including 1–9 from three, for the game. Three more turnovers than assists were his. While he was in attack mode, the Celtics’ offense sputtered and was unable to produce enough open shots to catch Miami.

The 84 points Boston scored were its fewest in a postseason game.

“Offensively, it just seemed like we couldn’t hit a shot,” Brown said. “It put more pressure on our defense. We had a bunch of good looks and nothing went in. We all have to sit back and reflect on that.”

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New Sixers head coach will reportedly be Nick Nurse

Via ESPN.com:

According to sources who spoke to ESPN on Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers have hired Nick Nurse as their next coach and have given him the goal of leading the team to its first championship in 40 years.

Throughout Sunday and Monday, the Sixers and Phoenix Suns were negotiating with Nurse and his agent, Andy Miller of Klutch Sports, leaving Nurse to choose between two competitive teams, according to sources.

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Latest on Raptors coaching search

Via the Toronto Star:

A new head coach for the Raptors may be on board sooner rather than later.

Multiple NBA sources say the franchise is moving to a second round of interviews for the job that became vacant when Nick Nurse was let go last month after five seasons.

One source said Raptors vice chairman and president Masai Ujiri has narrowed the list of candidates to three and final interviews are being scheduled, although that number was not independently confirmed.

Derrick White hits Game 6-winning tip-in at the buzzer

Via the Boston Herald:

What a difference a year makes for Derrick White.

The Celtics guard was admittedly tentative when he arrived in Boston at last season’s trade deadline. He didn’t want to step on any toes. But he got over those initial jitters. He was confident and comfortable this season, and it showed in his performance as he became a full-time starter, one of the Celtics’ most important players and an All-Defensive team selection.

What better way to show that growth than on Saturday night, when his miracle tip-in at the buzzer saved the Celtics’ season in epic fashion?

“If you don’t know who D-White is, you know who he is now,” Marcus Smart said. “I mean, that dude has been phenomenal for us this whole, whole year. You know, just playing the way that we knew he could play when we picked him up.

“It’s been refreshing for us, and it’s been a joy to watch and a joy to be on the court with him.”

White’s humility has always stood out. The sixth-year guard has never been an attention-seeker. He doesn’t say much. He lets his play do the talking.

Betting odds for Heat at Celtics Game 7

Via Boston.com:

As they have found a way to tie up the Eastern Conference finals after trailing 3-0 in the series, the Celtics are viewed as a heavy favorite to win Game 7.

The Celtics are listed as 7.5-point favorites for Monday’s Game 7 on most sportsbooks as of Sunday afternoon. In addition, Boston has -320 odds to win straight up, while Miami has +265 odds to win Game 7.

The large spread favoring the Celtics isn’t too much of a surprise, considering they were viewed as such heavy favorites to win the series prior to Game 1. The Celtics had -525 odds to win the series, while the Heat had +400 odds to win the series ahead of Game 1.

Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon misses Game 6 vs. Heat

Via Boston.com:

Malcolm Brogdon won’t participate in the Eastern Conference finals Game 6 due to an injury.

About an hour before the start of the game on Saturday, the Celtics made the point guard officially ineligible.

Joe Mazzulla, the coach of the Boston Celtics, told the media that Brogdon will test the elbow on his shooting arm during warm-ups before Game 6 to determine if he could play.

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Celtics meet up at Topgolf

Via Boston.com:

Feeling confused and frustrated after a blowout loss to Miami in Game 3, the Celtics met at Topgolf according to ESPN’s Ros Gold-Onwude.

Marcus Smart said the event helped lift the team’s spirits, he told Gold-Onwude.

“He credited a team event at Topgolf Miami, where he said it was just the guys,” Gold-Onwude tweeted. “‘Whole team coming together to release the negative energy and get the chemistry back.’ Marcus told me the message shared between the players at Topgolf was clear, “trust each other, believe in each other, if we’re gonna do something special and try this comeback- we’re gonna have to believe in each other.”

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New Milwaukee Bucks head coach will reportedly be Adrian Griffin

Via the Toronto Star:

Adrian Griffin is finally getting a shot to run his own show.

NBA sources confirm that Griffin, the former Raptors assistant, is poised to become the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks.

The 48-year-old Griffin had been with the Raptors since 2018 and served as the stand-in head coach whenever Nick Nurse had to miss a game.

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Nuggets await winner of Celtics-Heat series

Via the Miami Herald:

While the Miami Heat prepared for Saturday night’s Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics at Kaseya Center, the Denver Nuggets were already preparing for both the Heat and Celtics ahead of the NBA Finals.

The Nuggets earned that luxury after completing the 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals on Monday night. Next up for the Nuggets is Game 1 of the NBA Finals on June 1.

“Each round we have one coach dedicated to the opponent,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Friday. “So right now, obviously, we have two coaches, one working on Boston, one working on Miami. We have been talking about both teams every day.”

The Heat’s historic playoff run as a No. 8 seed has left Malone impressed. The Heat already became the sixth No. 8 seed in league history to eliminate a No. 1 seed in the first round and the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to advance to the conference finals after qualifying for the playoffs through the play-in tournament this year.

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