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This past weekend Celtics guard/forward Jaylen Brown was diagnosed with a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist.
Brown is expected to have the torn ligament surgically repaired later this week, and will be out for the remainder of the 2020-21 season.
This is a huge blow to a Celtics team that has struggled this season but enjoyed fine play from Brown, one of the team’s core young stars.
The NBA playoff race is coming down to the wire. As for the Heat, here’s the Sun Sentinel:
Despite not wanting to look too far ahead, the Heat (36-31) are well aware of the stakes in their upcoming matchups against the Celtics (35-32) on Sunday and Tuesday at TD Garden.
If the Heat win both games in Boston, they would win the season series against the Celtics, jump three games ahead of Boston in the standings and would give themselves the best chance at avoiding the play-in tournament for seeds seven through 10, with the tournament deciding which teams will occupy the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the playoffs in both conferences.
If the Heat split the matchups in Boston, they would lose the tiebreaker in the standings against the Celtics and put themselves in a tough spot heading into their final three games of the season: versus Philadelphia on Thursday, at Milwaukee on May 15 and at Detroit on May 16.
And via Boston.com:
The Celtics are currently 35-32, as of Saturday, and sit in seventh place in the Eastern Conference – one full game behind the sixth-place Miami Heat. They finish the regular season with two pivotal matchups with the Heat and games against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and New York Knicks before finding out their fate.
If they beat the Heat twice, they’re suddenly looking at the six-seed, and potentially even the five or four if they keep winning. If they lose twice, they’re almost certainly guaranteed to end up in the play-in, which will take place from May 18-21.
The Knicks are currently 4th in the East, Hawks 4th, Heat 6th, Celtics 7th.
The Boston Celtics have signed forward Jabari Parker.
And in a corresponding move, the team waived center Moe Wagner.
Selected with the second overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2014 NBA Draft, Parker, 26, has averaged 14.8 points (49.3% FG, 32.3% 3-PT, 74.0% FT), 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 28.8 minutes in 288 career games (190 starts) over seven NBA seasons with Milwaukee, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, and Sacramento. He has averaged at least 14.0 points in four of his seven NBA seasons, including each of the last two years (2018-19/2019-20).
On the court, the Celtics are on a four-game winning streak. Off the court, some phone calls are being made. Via Boston.com:
When former Celtics center Kendrick Perkins criticized Celtics star Jayson Tatum for his body language during a loss to the 76ers earlier in April, it may have been a turning point for the Celtics.
The Celtics won their fourth straight game since Perkins’s criticism on Tuesday, and the player-turned-analyst shared that Tatum reached out to him to discuss the criticism. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge appreciated that Tatum did that.
“I love the fact that Jayson Tatum picked up the phone and called Perk. That’s good that they have that connection,” Ainge said in an interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich” Thursday. “I know that Perk only cares for Jayson’s success. I think that there’s players available (to talk), and I also know that players in our league now, they’re listening to other players.”
The Orlando Magic have acquired guard Jeff Teague and two future second round draft picks in a trade with the Boston Celtics for guard Evan Fournier, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today.
The Magic say Teague will not be reporting to the team, which presumably means they plan to waive him.
As a result, Orlando has also acquired a $17 million trade exception.
“We want to thank Evan (Fournier) for all that he has done during the last seven years, both with the organization and in the community,” Weltman added. “Evan has been a true professional and we wish him and his family all the best moving forward.”
Fournier (6’7”, 205, 10/29/92) played and started in 26 games this season with Orlando, averaging 19.7 ppg., 3.7 apg., 2.9 rpg. and 1.04 stlpg. in 29.4 minpg., while shooting .388 (73-188) from three-point range. Originally selected in the first round (20th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft by Denver, he has played in 549 career NBA regular season games (407 starts) with Denver and Orlando, averaging 14.4 ppg., 2.7 rpg. and 2.7 apg. in 28.5 minpg., while shooting .376 (1,006-2,673) from three-point range and .806 (1,217-1,510) from the free throw line.
Fournier was acquired by Orlando on June 26, 2014 in a trade with Denver. He has played in 435 regular season games (399 starts) with the Magic, averaging 16.2 ppg., 3.0 apg. and 2.9 rpg. in 31.5 minpg., while shooting .376 (895-2,382) from three-point range and .812 (1,094-1,348) from the free throw line.
The Washington Wizards announced today that they have acquired center Daniel Gafford and forward/guard Chandler Hutchison from the Chicago Bulls in a three-way trade that sends forward Troy Brown Jr. to Chicago and center Moe Wagner to the Boston Celtics.
The complete trade details include Boston acquiring Luke Kornet from Chicago, with Daniel Theis and Javonte Green going from Boston to Chicago.
“This trade will help us both in the short term over the second half of the season and in the long term with two young, athletic players who we can continue to develop,” said Wizards General Manager Tommy Sheppard. “Daniel brings rim protection and the ability to finish around the basket while Chandler brings toughness on the defensive end, all attributes that complement our current roster.”
Gafford (6-11, 246) has averaged 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting .697 from the field in 74 career games (18 starts) in two seasons with the Bulls. He is currently averaging 4.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks while shooting .690 from the field in 31 games (11 starts) this season. Gafford scored a season-high 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field against the Wizards on December 31.
Originally selected 38th overall by the Bulls in the 2019 NBA Draft, Gafford averaged 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds during his two seasons at the University of Arkansas. He was named to the 2019 SEC All-Defensive Team and First Team All-SEC following his sophomore season at Arkansas.
Hutchison (6-7, 208) holds career averages of 5.8 points and 4.0 rebounds in 79 career games (24 starts) in three seasons with the Bulls. He has appeared in seven games this season. Hutchison averaged 7.8 points in 28 games for Chicago last season.
Originally selected in the first round (22nd overall) by the Bulls in the 2018 NBA Draft, Hutchison averaged 20.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.48 steals in 31 games as a senior at Boise State to earn Mountain West Player of the Year, All-Mountain West First Team and Mountain West All-Defensive Team honors. He was also named All-Mountain West First Team as a junior and finished his career ranked first in school history in double-doubles and 20/10 games.
“We thank Troy and Moe for their contributions on the court and their commitment to improving our community,” said Sheppard. “We appreciate their efforts and wish them the best as they continue their careers.”
Brown Jr. was originally selected by Washington with the 15th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. In three seasons with the Wizards, he averaged 7.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 142 games (32 starts). Wagner was acquired from the Lakers in a three-team trade involving the Pelicans on July 6, 2019. He appeared in 70 games (18 starts) with the Wizards over two seasons, posting averages of 8.2 points and 4.2 rebounds.
There was no harm in asking Celtics coach Brad Stevens a question that appears to have a simple answer. Via Boston.com:
On Tuesday, Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens was asked by Marc Bertrand on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand if he was leaving the Celtics for the recently vacated Indiana University Bloomington coaching job.
“I am not,” Stevens said…
Stevens said he knows Archie Miller, who was recently fired by the Hoosiers. Miller’s firing prompted a column by the Indy Star’s Greg Doyel imploring Indiana to hire Stevens.
That settles that. For now.
With the NBA trade deadline coming later this month, rumors will start to increase on players who could be on the move. Via Boston.com:
The Celtics are reportedly exploring the trade market, and you can add another name to their target list.
Boston is one of the several teams that are interested in Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr., Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor reported. The 76ers, Pelicans, Heat, Mavericks, and Timberwolves are the other teams that have shown interest in Nance.
Enjoy tonight’s All-Star game. We’ll get more into trade rumblings in the coming days.
It’s always cool when LeBron James tells the world that you’re a good basketball player. Via the Boston.com:
After Thursday’s victory over the Toronto Raptors, Celtics wing Jaylen Brown was informed that LeBron James selected him to his All-Star team, calling him “Jaylen Under-Appreciated Brown” on the TNT broadcast.
Brown raised his eyebrows at the recitation of James’s compliment and chuckled.
“That’s great,” Brown said. “To have one of — if not the — best player select you and point out some of the things you’ve been doing or some of the things he’s seen, is great. I appreciate him for that.”
Brown’s season deserves appreciation. The fifth-year wing — and first-time All-Star — is averaging 24.8 points per game on a tidy 49.8 percent shooting, including 38.9 percent from 3-point range. Brown started the season hot and has been one of the league’s best mid-range shooters while aggressively going to the basket. On Thursday, he worked his way to the free-throw line 16 times, making 11.
The Celtics haven’t stood out in the first half of this season. They are a modest 19-17 entering the All-Star break, which is the Eastern conference’s fourth best record. Not bad, but not as good as expected. A pair of key Celtics guards have played limited games so far: Kemba Walker 19, Marcus Smart 17. While Walker is active, Smart could return fairly soon after the break.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum will replace injured Nets forward Kevin Durant as a starter in the 2021 NBA All-Star Game.
Tatum had previously been named an All-Star reserve.
Also today, it was announced that Durant’s injury replacement on the All-Star team is Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis.
The Nets today announced that Durant will remain out through the All-Star break.