Category: Sports News

Telling Brunson stat hints at blueprint for Celtics beating Knicks originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jalen Brunson is the head of the snake for the New York Knicks.

A two-time All-Star and the reigning NBA Clutch Player of the Year, Brunson led the Knicks in scoring (26.0 points per game) and assists (7.3 per game) this season while taking more than 20 percent of their shots. He poured in 31.5 points per game in New York’s first-round playoff series against the Detroit Pistons, including the dagger 3-pointer in Game 6 on Thursday that punched the Knicks’ ticket to the second round.

So naturally, the Celtics’ No. 1 priority in their Round 2 playoff matchup with the Knicks should be keeping Brunson in check.

Or so you’d think. But there’s some compelling evidence to the contrary.

Consider this: Brunson played 65 games this season and was held to 20 points or fewer in 17 of them. The Knicks went 14-3 in those games. When Brunson scored 21 or more, New York was a pedestrian 26-22. So, the fewer points Brunson scored, the better the Knicks’ were chances of winning.

Some context is required: A few of those 14 wins were blowouts in which Brunson rested down the stretch. But he played 30-plus minutes in 13 of his 17 games with 20 points or fewer, suggesting that this was a real pattern for the Knicks and their star player.

The Celtics should hardly be surprised, of course; Brunson scored at least 22 points in all four regular-season matchups vs. Boston and lost all four times. His “best” game against the C’s (36 points) came in New York’s most lopsided loss, a 131-104 Celtics rout on Feb. 8.

What Joe Mazzulla and Co. may have known — and what they’ll try to replicate in this series — is that an essential key to beating the Knicks is shutting down their role players.

Of the five Knicks outside Brunson who averaged 25 minutes or more per game this season, nearly all have the expected correlation of more points leading to more wins. For example, New York was 21-8 when OG Anunoby scored 21 points or more, and just 16-17 when he was held to 15 points or fewer.

The Knicks won 85 percent of their games (22-4) when Mikal Bridges contributed 21 or more points, and 73 percent of their games (8-3) when Miles McBride crossed the 15-point threshold.

While the correlation was less strong with Karl-Anthony Towns — 34-17 record when Towns scored 21 or more; 12-9 when he scored 20 or fewer — the Celtics got a first-hand look at how the Knicks big man can impact a game.

Two of Towns’ worst scoring performances of the season came in New York’s two biggest losses to Boston (nine points in the 27-point loss and 12 points in a 132-109 defeat on Opening Night), while Towns’ best effort against the C’s (34 points) came in the one game the Knicks kept close, an overtime loss on April 8.

The Celtics obviously can’t let Brunson run wild in this series; just ask the Pistons. But the bigger concern for Boston when the second-round matchup begins Monday at TD Garden should be preventing scoring outbursts from Brunson’s supporting cast.

With Game 6 against the Pistons tied and just under five seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Knicks star Jalen Brunson drilled a three-pointer that lifted New York to victory.

Here's how the New York City back pages reacted...

Here's our @nydnsports back page. @nyknicks@nba@apse_sportmedia#jalenbrunsonhttps://t.co/5a7W6PgQi9pic.twitter.com/HbWoHVWV3v

— Back Page Guy NYDN (@BackPageGuyNYDN) May 2, 2025

The back page: LEGEND

Captain Clutch adds to his lore as Knicks survive Pistons war

Read more: https://t.co/bpqiXRRNVppic.twitter.com/nbcpfdyTUj

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) May 2, 2025

I’m gonna go get the papers, get the papers: back page edition. pic.twitter.com/CsHfPh6CwT

— Robert Shields (@rshields37) May 2, 2025

Gregg Popovich done coaching Spurs, will transition to team's front office originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

It’s the end of a legendary era in San Antonio.

Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich will no longer be the head coach of the Spurs and is transitioning into the role as president of basketball operations, he and the team announced on Friday. The Spurs officially named assistant coach Mitch Johnson as their new head coach soon after.

Popovich, 76, has been with the Spurs since 1994 and served as head coach since the 1996-97 season. He is the NBA’s all-time winningest coach with 1,422 regular season victories to go along with five NBA championships, three NBA Coach of the Year awards and a gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement released by the team. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, and the team announced in February that he would not be returning to the sidelines the rest of the season. Johnson filled in as interim coach, guiding the Spurs to a 34-48 record and missing the playoffs.

Popovich spent nearly 35 years in all with the Spurs. He was an assistant coach from 1988-92 and returned to the team as its executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager in May 1994. He fired head coach Bob Hill in December 1996 and named himself head coach, holding the role until Friday’s announcement.

During the 2023 offseason, Popovich signed a five-year extension with the team to remain head coach and team president. That announcement came weeks after the team selected French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the NBA draft.

“Coach Pop’s extraordinary impact on our family, San Antonio, the Spurs and the game of basketball is profound,” Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt said. “His accolades and awards don’t do justice to the impact he has had on so many people. He is truly one-of-one as a person, leader and coach. Our entire family, alongside fans from across the globe, are grateful for his remarkable 29-year run as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.”

Johnson has been a Spurs assistant coach for the last six seasons after joining Popovich’s staff in 2019. He served as the Spurs’ acting head coach for the final 77 games of the 2024-25 season and was officially named Popovich’s successor.

“I am truly grateful and honored to receive this incredible opportunity,” said Johnson. “I am thankful for Coach Pop, RC (Buford), Brian (Wright) and Peter trusting me to carry on our culture and I promise to give this responsibility everything I have to make Spurs fans proud.”

The Spurs have young core featuring the NBA’s last two Rookie of the Year winners in Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. The team added point guard De’Aaron Fox in a February trade and enters the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery with the eighth-best odds (6.0%) at landing the No. 1 pick and a chance to select Duke star Cooper Flagg.

Gregg Popovich done coaching Spurs, will transition to team's front office originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

It’s the end of a legendary era in San Antonio.

Basketball Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich will no longer be the head coach of the Spurs and is transitioning into the role as president of basketball operations, he and the team announced on Friday. The Spurs officially named assistant coach Mitch Johnson as their new head coach soon after.

Popovich, 76, has been with the Spurs since 1994 and served as head coach since the 1996-97 season. He is the NBA’s all-time winningest coach with 1,422 regular season victories to go along with five NBA championships, three NBA Coach of the Year awards and a gold medal from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement released by the team. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

Popovich suffered a mild stroke in November, and the team announced in February that he would not be returning to the sidelines the rest of the season. Johnson filled in as interim coach, guiding the Spurs to a 34-48 record and missing the playoffs.

Popovich spent nearly 35 years in all with the Spurs. He was an assistant coach from 1988-92 and returned to the team as its executive vice president for basketball operations and general manager in May 1994. He fired head coach Bob Hill in December 1996 and named himself head coach, holding the role until Friday’s announcement.

During the 2023 offseason, Popovich signed a five-year extension with the team to remain head coach and team president. That announcement came weeks after the team selected French phenom Victor Wembanyama with the first pick in the NBA draft.

“Coach Pop’s extraordinary impact on our family, San Antonio, the Spurs and the game of basketball is profound,” Spurs managing partner Peter J. Holt said. “His accolades and awards don’t do justice to the impact he has had on so many people. He is truly one-of-one as a person, leader and coach. Our entire family, alongside fans from across the globe, are grateful for his remarkable 29-year run as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.”

Johnson has been a Spurs assistant coach for the last six seasons after joining Popovich’s staff in 2019. He served as the Spurs’ acting head coach for the final 77 games of the 2024-25 season and was officially named Popovich’s successor.

“I am truly grateful and honored to receive this incredible opportunity,” said Johnson. “I am thankful for Coach Pop, RC (Buford), Brian (Wright) and Peter trusting me to carry on our culture and I promise to give this responsibility everything I have to make Spurs fans proud.”

The Spurs have young core featuring the NBA’s last two Rookie of the Year winners in Wembanyama and Stephon Castle. The team added point guard De’Aaron Fox in a February trade and enters the 2025 NBA Draft Lottery with the eighth-best odds (6.0%) at landing the No. 1 pick and a chance to select Duke star Cooper Flagg.

Warriors' Game 6 approach vs. Rockets simple: Feed Steph and Jimmy originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The subjects were Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III, and the question was directed to Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

How do you feel about possessions when Steph and Jimmy are both on the floor and neither one of them touches the ball?

Kerr did not skip a beat, his reply coming a fraction of a second after I closed my mouth.

“I’m not a big fan of that,” Kerr said Thursday afternoon.

As the Warriors prepare for Game 6 of their playoff series against the Houston Rockets on Friday night, this was Kerr’s message for everyone on the roster not named Curry or Butler: Feed them.

Give Curry another opportunity to prove his right thumb doesn’t fear the worst intentions of Dillon Brooks and Amen Thompson. Give Butler chances to outsmart Houston defenders or send them to the bench with foul trouble.

In each of the first five games, three of which the Warriors won, there have been several possessions during which the ball never reaches the team’s primary offensive engines. With the Rockets effectively taming Draymond Green’s playmaking, the task falls to others, with Brandin Podziemski first in line.

Though Kerr trusts Podziemski, the coach does not want the team’s fate dictated by a postseason rookie. Not when he’s sharing the court with two of the most dynamic playoff performers in the NBA.

The second-year guard lacks Green’s devotion to giving Curry and Butler opportunities to make a play for themselves or a teammate. Podziemski continues to fight a tendency to overdribble, which eats into the shot clock and relegates Curry and Butler to spectators.

Podziemski has gotten better at recognizing this oversight but still lapses into possessions in which the ball stays with him and ends with him taking the shot.

Kerr is “not a big fan” of zero-pass possessions – unless it’s Curry dipping into his wizardry warehouse. That’s allowed because, well, there is a history of success. Butler’s pass-first mentality guides his decisions, so his forays into paint often represent his last, and maybe best, option to score. He has a gift for navigating his way to the foul line.

Everyone not named Curry or Butler is there to benefit from their presence. Golden State’s offense is designed with those two as the primary impact players. The offense in these playoffs will go as far as they take it.

“I prefer when each one touches the ball, or at least one of them,” Kerr said. “There were several possessions like that. And it’s something that we’ve talked about all season. We have to play off Steph because of the attention he draws. And then once we got Jimmy, that became a part of the mantra as well. Get the ball to Jimmy.

“So, we’ll do a better job of that (Friday) night.”

Though Golden State’s defense is its surest path to winning Game 6 and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals, the offense must find ways to produce against a very good defense making smart use of zones. That, Kerr said, was part of the conversation during the team’s Friday afternoon walk-through.

It’s reasonable to expect more sets designed to give Draymond more opportunities with the ball. To exploit his chemistry with Curry. Or to get the ball to Butler and give him room to maneuver.

“We can definitely get Draymond into spots to help his playmaking,” Kerr said. “And it’s something that we’ve talked a lot about. We’ve walked through a couple things today to get him in spots where he can create a little bit like he normally does. We’ve got to do a better job of it.”

More Draymond with the ball – and less Podz – is a reasonable approach, particularly since Podziemski’s scoring has been more rewarding than his decision-making in this series.

Both teams have made game-by-game adjustments, but it’s imperative that the Warriors find some semblance of offensive flow. The Rockets, long and athletic, have made it difficult. The Warriors are averaging 24 assists per game, well below their regular-season average of 29.1.

The priorities are clear for the Warriors, who are desperate to avoid the danger that would come with making another trip to Houston for Game 7. Limit their live-ball turnovers, keep the Rockets’ offense in the halfcourt as much as possible and make an early statement against an opponent that thrives when generating momentum.

And, yes, remember the importance of riding the offensive production – scoring and playmaking – of Curry and Butler.

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Celtics' looming roster changes shouldn't distract from Banner 19 quest originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Can we all just enjoy the ride?

The Boston Celtics are fast approaching a roster reckoning that we all knew was coming. But for the next seven weeks, our entire focus should be on the quest for a second title, and not the second apron.

Change was inevitable. The Celtics’ roster is prohibitively expensive and the punitive measures placed on big spenders under a new collective bargaining agreement will soon force Boston to trim costs in order to remain competitive long term.

But there is no sense worrying about those changes now. We couldn’t help feeling like Ferris Bueller after consternation about Boston’s future cropped up on Thursday with the Celtics still in the afterglow of a Round 1 victory over the Magic.

The NBA moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Things almost will certainly look different in July — although we’d quietly remind you that if Boston keeps winning titles, we suspect every effort will be made to keep as much of this core in place (even if Bill Chisholm and his new ownership group will be forced to spend big money in the short term to do so). Getting below the second apron will be a priority sooner than later, and key pieces of this roster invariably will be moved to keep the Celtics in position to compete long term.

But the roster looks the same right now. A Boston team that steamrolled the competition en route to Banner 18 last spring remains well positioned to make a run at being the first Celtics team in more than a half century to win consecutive titles. 

The focus right now should be on a Round 2 matchup with the Knicks. And not the nickels and dimes of the 2025-26 roster.

From the moment the Celtics traded for Jrue Holiday, we knew there would be a narrow window with this core. Brad Stevens handed out $1 billion in extensions in little more than a year’s span to secure all of Boston’s assets, but everyone knew the team eventually would have to make tough decisions on which pieces would comprise its long-term core. 

Jayson Tatum’s maximum-salary contract extensions kicks in next summer and the Celtics have $228 million worth of salaries on the books before addressing the futures of free-agents-to-be Al Horford and Luke Kornet. Boston is already $20 million above next year’s projected second apron.

Derrick White would be Boston’s cheapest member of the projected starting five next season, earning $28.1 million. Tatum and Jaylen Brown will combine to earn $107.2 million in a league with a projected salary cap at $154.6 million next season. It’s fair to question if Boston can carry championship luxuries like Holiday long-term when he’ll earn $32.4 million in the second season of a four-year, $134.4 million extension. 

Sam Hauser’s four-year, $45 million extension kicks in next season, too. Can the Celtics afford that splurge, or would it make more sense to throw the keys of that role to a rookie-contract player like Baylor Scheierman? Payton Pritchard’s $7.2 million salary for next season is one of the best values in the NBA; could he elevate to a starter role if the team elects to move on from a member of its starting five?

The Celtics have multiple pathways to get below the tax. They must examine all options and identify the deals that can help both shed salary and bring back players who will take some of the sting away from losing core pieces. 

But there will be ample time to examine the team’s options in late June/early July. Invariably, it’s going to sting to see the Celtics move pieces from this title core. That doesn’t mean Boston won’t still be in the title mix; it’s just going to look a little different.

But we’ll say it again: It’s not different now. This Celtics team, with only minor tweaks from a season ago, has a chance to be the first NBA squad in nearly a decade to repeat as champs.

Joe Mazzulla routinely implores his players to stay in the moment. We ought to do the same. Savor this playoff journey rather than fret what comes after it.