Jimmy Butler has made Steph Curry’s life much easier on the court, but the NBA star believes he and his Warriors teammate still can do a better job.
Butler spoke to reporters in the Warriors’ locker room after Golden State’s 114-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday at Chase Center, and in response to Steve Kerr saying postgame that Curry is “exhausted,” agreed with his coach’s sentiment and challenged himself and his teammates to do a better job at “protecting” the 37-year-old Curry.
“It’s OK to be tired,” Butler said. “And that’s on myself and that’s on us as a unit to pick up the slack for him. As everyone wants to think he is superhuman, he is not. He is our leader and we must protect him at all times, I will tell you that. That’s on myself, for sure, but everybody else to make sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing and give my man a break.”
Jimmy Butler when asked about Steph Curry’s fatigue
“That’s on myself and that’s on us as a unit to pick up the slack for him…He’s our leader and we must protect him.” pic.twitter.com/L9GWnkuRqT
What can Butler and his Warriors teammates do to help Curry? Well, they can start by not turning the ball over 20 times, like they did in Monday’s loss to Denver.
“Make sure we don’t turn the ball over, one,” Butler stated. “Make sure we get a good shot on goal and execute. I think whenever you execute and get the ball where it needs to go, that’s [mine and Draymond Green’s] job more than anybody’s, his job is a lot easier.”
The Warriors are an eye-popping 14-2 in games Butler has played in since the blockbuster trade on Feb. 5, but despite Golden State and Curry’s overwhelming success since, the Warriors still can do a better job of keeping Curry fresh and energized throughout the stretch run of the 2024-25 NBA regular season and potentially into the playoffs.
While the Villanova quartet of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and Donte DiVincenzo never got their chance at an NBA reunion with the New York Knicks on the court, the former Wildcats have reunited again. All four players participated in a hil
It’s Tuesday, March 18, and the Brooklyn Nets (23-45) and Boston Celtics (49-19) are all set to square off from TD Garden in Boston.
The Nets are currently 12-23 on the road with a point differential of -6, while the Celtics have a 7-3 record in their last ten games at home. Boston is 3-0 against Brooklyn this season with wins of 4, 24, and 2 points.
The Celtics are 7-1 in the last eight games and won the past two, while the Nets are coming off a win that makes them 1-3 over the previous four games.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Nets vs. Celtics live today
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Time: 7:30PM EST
Site: TD Garden
City: Boston, MA
Network/Streaming: NBA TV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.
Game odds for Nets vs. Celtics
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Odds: Nets (+559), Celtics (-826)
Spread: Celtics -13.5
Over/Under: 215.5 points
That gives the Nets an implied team point total of 101.98, and the Celtics 115.02.
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!
Expert picks & predictions for Tuesday’s Nets vs. Celtics game
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Celtics to cover against the Nets:
"As someone who needed Boston -10.5 on Saturday to cash a six-leg parlay, I am running it back on the Celtics here. The line has grown out in their favor after Brooklyn covered the previous meeting and lost 115-113. The Nets played the following night then had Monday off, while Boston's been off the entire time. This is a Celtics or pass spot."
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Nets & Celtics game:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the Boston Celtics on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Brooklyn Nets at +13.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 218.
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Nets vs. Celtics on Tuesday
The Celtics have won 4 of their last 5 games at home against divisional opponents
5 of the Nets' last 6 road matchups against the Celtics have stayed under the Total
The Nets have covered in 5 of their last 7 matchups against divisional opponents
The Celtics have won 7 straight matchups against Eastern Conference Atlantic Division teams
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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Sacramento is signing 25-year-old Stockton Kings forward Terry Taylor to a 10-day contract, his agent confirmed to ESPN’s Shams Charania on Tuesday morning. The team later made the signing official.
In 28 games (18 starts) with Stockton, Taylor is averaging 17.6 points on 46.2-percent shooting from the field and 39.9 percent from 3-point range on 5.3 attempts per game, with 8.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 blocks in 34.3 minutes.
The Sacramento Kings are signing forward Terry Taylor to a 10-day contract out of their NBA G League affiliate Stockton, his agent Darrell Comer tells ESPN. Taylor has averaged 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists for Stockton.
Just last week, he had a season-high 33 points with 11 rebounds in Stockton’s 126-113 loss to the San Diego Clippers, and he has had a recent hot stretch in the month of March.
Terry Taylor erupted for a season-high 3⃣3⃣ points, posting a double-double with 1⃣1⃣ rebounds! The @StocktonKings player sunk 12 shots with 56% FGM. 👏 pic.twitter.com/l48W2DypkE
After going undrafted in 2021, Taylor signed with the Indiana Pacers but was waived on Oct. 15. He later signed with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants as an affiliate player, where he averaged 19.5 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 blocks in 11 games.
On Dec. 15, 2021, Taylor signed a two-way contract with Indiana, splitting his time between the Pacers and the Mad Ants, and on April 7, the Pacers converted his two-way contract into a standard one.
In 2023, Taylor was waived by the Pacers and signed a two-way contract with the Chicago Bulls that was later converted to a standard contract. However, he was waived by Chicago on April 4, 2024.
Sacramento signed Taylor last September but waived him shortly after. He then joined its G League affiliate in Stockton. He now will get a chance to help a playoff-hungry team stay afloat in the Western Conference for a difficult stretch of basketball.
It’s Tuesday, March 18, and the Atlanta Hawks (32-36) and Charlotte Hornets (17-50) are all set to square off from Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
The Hawks are currently 15-18 on the road with a point differential of -3, while the Hornets have a 2-8 record in their last ten games at home. Atlanta is 3-0 this season against Charlotte with wins of 3, 5, and 13 points.
Charlotte is 3-11 since the All-Star break, but 3-2 in the last five games. Atlanta has lost the past two games after four straight wins and is 6-7 since the break.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.
Game details & how to watch Hawks vs. Hornets live today
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Time: 3:00PM EST
Site: Spectrum Center
City: Charlotte, NC
Network/Streaming:
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.
Game odds for Hawks vs. Hornets
The latest odds as of Tuesday:
Odds: Hawks (-253), Hornets (+206)
Spread: Hawks -6.5
Over/Under: 236 points
That gives the Hawks an implied team point total of 120.33, and the Hornets 116.94.
Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!
Expert picks & predictions for Tuesday’s Hawks vs. Hornets game
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) leans the Hornets to cover against the Hawks:
"This is the fourth and final meeting between the two teams and with the Hawks winning all three meetings, this is the only time I'd be willing to back the Hornets. Charlotte has won three of the past five games, so they are more competitive recently than the last two meetings at least. These teams just met on Wednesday and Atlanta won by 13 and covered with the Under hitting. I lean Charlotte ATS and the Over this time around."
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Hawks & Hornets game:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Atlanta Hawks on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Charlotte Hornets at +6.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 236.
Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!
Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Hawks vs. Hornets on Tuesday
The Hornets have lost 7 of their last 10 games
The Under is 4-1 in the Hornets' last 5 matchups against divisional opponents
The Hornets have failed to cover in 4 of their last 5 matchups against Eastern Conference Southeast Division teams
Betting the Hawks on the Money Line in all games this season would have shown a 113% return on investment
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
While there are plenty of WNBA-bound players who will undoubtedly star in the NCAA tournament, we shouldn't overlook the younger players who will be powering their teams through March Madness.
The Warriors made the wrong kind of NBA history in an aggravating 114-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets Monday night at Chase Center.
Golden State became the first team in league history to shoot under 25 percent from the 3-point line, under 60 percent from the free-throw line and commit 20 or more turnovers.
The Warriors tonight are the first team in NBA or WNBA history with…
– under 25% from three (on 30+ 3pa) – under 60% from the line (on 25+ fta) – 20+ turnovers
With three-time MVP Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray sitting in street clothes on the Nuggets bench, the Warriors blew a golden opportunity to steal a win from one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Botched passes, poor shot selection and an inability to stop Russell Westbrook and Aaron Gordon from slicing up the defense led to a deflating loss. The turnovers gave Denver 24 free points, and with an exhausted Steph Curry unable to will himself to another strong game, Golden State squandered a chance to close the gap in the standings.
Instead of being within 2.5 games of the Nuggets for third place in the West, the Warriors now are 4.5 games back.
Golden State’s turnovers have been devastating this season. They are 0-5 when they commit at least 20 turnovers and 2-7 when they give away 24 or more points off turnovers.
Self-inflicted mistakes like those need to be rectified quickly if Golden State wants to secure a top-six seed in the conference and avoid the chaotic NBA Play-In Tournament.
With the regular season soon ending, the Warriors can ill-afford to make more dubious NBA history. Otherwise, another early playoff exit appears to be the most likely outcome.
The Boston Celtics have rarely been at full strength this season.
Boston’s preferred starting five of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Kristaps Porzingis, and Jrue Holiday have played a little more than 300 minutes together over 20 games. Boston’s top six — adding in Al Horford — has been available just 16 times. The Celtics have had their top 10 — adding in Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Luke Kornet, and Neemias Queta — available just 12 times over 68 games.
And it doesn’t appear those numbers will grow by very much before the playoffs arrive.
Brown is set to miss Tuesday’s visit from the Brooklyn Nets due to a knee impingement. Boston hasn’t had its preferred starting five available since February 23, a rare day when the team had its entire top nine available and leaned on that playoff core in a triumph over the New York Knicks.
Thirteen games remain after Tuesday’s tilt with Brooklyn. But that includes two back-to-backs. Boston will almost certainly rest players on both ends of those sets, eliminating four more possibilities to see the full playoff rotation. What’s more, one of those back-to-back features Orlando and New York, two teams that are two of the more likely playoff opponents, so there might be a value in playing it close to the vest then, anyhow.
Boston closes out the regular season with a home-and-home against Charlotte on April 11 and 13. Last year, in a similar setup, Boston rested much of its veterans over its final two home games, even with nearly a full week off before the playoffs due to the play-in tournament.
If Boston elects to do the same this season, that would essentially leave seven games where the Celtics could potentially trot out their top nine bodies to the finish line of the regular season:
March 21 at Utah
March 26 at Phoenix
March 29 at San Antonio
March 31 at Memphis
April 2 vs. Miami
April 4 vs. Phoenix
April 6 vs. Washington
There is only one surefire playoff team in that mix: Memphis (fifth in the West). And the Grizzlies will have to balance playing the front end of their own back-to-back with a visit from Golden State looming the following night.
All of which is our longwinded way of noting that Boston isn’t going to get many more playoff-like reps for its core group. But does it matter?
It feels mildly important for the starting five to get some additional run. Boston’s preferred five has logged just 307 minutes together and has a minus-1.6 net rating in that span. The numbers have improved from a rocky start after Porzingis first returned from offseason ankle surgery, but are not nearly as glitzy as the plus-17.3 net rating that Boston posted in 265 minutes with Horford as the starting center while Porzingis was rehabbing. What’s more, a lineup with Kornet starting in place of both Horford and Porzingis has a plus-11.5 net rating in 68 minutes.
A year ago, Boston’s preferred starting five had a plus-11 net rating in 623 minutes together over 37 games. Still, Porzingis appeared in only seven postseason games, so that group logged only 82 total playoff minutes. The Horford lineup ended up playing 305 minutes over 19 games.
Internally, there is great confidence the Celtics can find their full-health mojo on short notice, even if there’s not a lot of reps to the finish line of the season. The continuity from last season should aid this team, while one of Boston’s greatest strengths has been its ability to thrive regardless of availability.
Matchups could dictate how Boston ultimately deploys personnel in the postseason. There are teams that will force the team to lean heavier into the double-big lineups that have produced some of Boston’ best basketball this season.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Will the Celtics get Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown extra rest before the playoffs?
Still, it’s undeniable that getting the starting five at least a couple more opportunities to find last year’s swagger could be valuable. Boston is virtually locked into the No. 2 seed — a 99.9 percent chance per NBA Reference daily simulations (and that 0.1 percent chance is catching the Cavaliers for the No. 1 seed, not slipping to No. 3).
There are a few side quests that Boston could entertain at the finish line of the season. Jaylen Brown needs nine more games to be eligible for All-NBA, and a loud finish could aid his chances to muscle back into one of those 15 spots. Payton Pritchard is steamrolling towards the Sixth Man of the Year honor and will get plenty of run to make sure Malik Beasley and Co. don’t catch him at the finish line.
Can Torrey Craig use late-season reps to earn Joe Mazzulla’s confidence? It’s easy to suggest Boston will lean solely on its top nine in the postseason but, last year, Xavier Tillman made a couple of important cameos during Boston’s NBA Finals run and there will be opportunities for deeper-depth guys to put their fingerprints on the Celtics’ quest to repeat.
Holiday is averaging 12.4 points while shooting 50 percent from the floor and 35.7 percent beyond the 3-point arc since returning from his mallet finger injury in the pinky on his right shooting hand. More regular-season reps with that ailment should help, even if initial returns have been encouraging.
Recent draftees like Baylor Scheierman and Jordan Walsh, along with all of Boston’s younger players, need to embrace whatever minutes are available at the finish line of the season with hopes of making an impression.
There’s not a lot to accomplish over the next month, and the schedule might conspire against the few things that Boston yearns to do. An occasional glimpse at the playoff rotation would be helpful but, ultimately, that might just have to wait until mid-April and beyond.
Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports