Bench boost: Four players who are turbo-charging Celtics' second unit

Bench boost: Four players who are turbo-charging Celtics' second unit originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Considering all the consternation about the Boston Celtics’ depth following their summer roster overhaul, maybe the most surprising aspect of their climb to No. 2 in the Eastern Conference has been how much they’ve been able to lean on their depth pieces. 

The Celtics, winners of four straight and eight of their last nine overall, have routinely leaned on a 10-man rotation in recent weeks, and that’s with early season starter Josh Minott struggling to break free from the land of DNPs. 

The C’s are now 17-3 whenever their bench generates 35+ points this season (and 6-9 when they don’t). What’s more, Boston is 18-2 when the bench makes at least seven 3-pointers (and 5-10 when they don’t). 

Over the last eight games, Boston’s bench production is up to 41.9 points per game, with bench players shooting 48.9 percent from the field and 42.6 percent beyond the 3-point arc. Celtics reserves are averaging 7.9 3-point makes per game over that span.

Boston’s bench players are a combined +80 in that span. The next-closest bench unit is Detroit’s at +44.

Boston’s recent bench boost coincidences with the resurgence of Luka Garza, who overcame his own DNP stretch to reenergize the Celtics’ reserve groups. Offseason addition Anfernee Simons looks more comfortable in his bench role and shoulders the offensive burden, while Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh fly around injecting a little bit of chaos into every possession.

Given Boston’s bench success, here’s one notable way each of the four primary bench players have impacted winning:

Simons says… defense?

Simons’ offensive credentials are well-established. He erupted for 27 points in the second half against the Bulls to ensure the Celtics got to the finish line of a win on a night where Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were struggling with their offensive efficiency. 

But Joe Mazzulla keeps making it a point to highlight Simons’ defensive efforts.

The NBA’s defensive tracking data suggests that opponents are shooting a team-worst 36.7 percent against Simons over the last eight games. He’s holding opponents to a team-best 8.4 percent below expected field goal percentage in that span.

The Celtics have done a good job hiding Simons. The folks at the stat-tracking site BBall Index suggest he ranks 486th out of 506 players this season in matchup difficulty. But Simons also deserves credit for his defensive toughness. He’s fighting through screens, he’s staying attached to cutters, and he’s doing all he can to repair a reputation as an uninterested defender.

Simons limits his fouls — something he’s done throughout his NBA career — and when he stays close to his assignment, he’s making things difficult.

Opponents are shooting 1.7 percent less than expected on all of his contested shots, and 4.5 below expected at the rim. Both marks rank in the 83rd percentile or better for his position.

Hugo and the o-boards

The Celtics are gathering offensive rebounds on a staggering 46 percent of their missed shots while the 19-year-old Gonzalez is on the floor over their last eight games. For context, the Houston Rockets lead the NBA with an offensive rebound percentage of 40.8, while the Celtics slot sixth overall at 33.6 percent. 

Gonzalez and his relentless motor can often be seen streaking from the corner in hopes of extending possessions. Even when he doesn’t corral the miss, the chaos he creates throwing himself into the big-man mosh pit can often create second-chance opportunities for Boston.

Individually, Gonzalez corrals rebounds on 6.6 percent of his team’s missed shots while he’s on the court, which ranks in the 88th percentile among all wings, per Cleaning the Glass data. Gonzalez’s ability to help clean the glass has been vital for a Celtics team that lacks pure size, particularly off the bench.

One more notable number for Gonzalez: The Celtics have a defensive rating of 96.5 during his 165 minutes of floor time over the last eight games. That’s the best mark on the team by nearly 5 points. 

Garza’s bone-crunching screens

Garza’s been a force since rejoining the rotation, averaging 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds over 21.9 minutes per game over his last eight outings. What’s more, he’s shooting 54.5 percent on 3-pointers in that span.

But his biggest impact is generating quality looks for everyone else on the roster.

Garza leads the NBA with 41 screen assists since December 20. That’s five more than the next-closest player (Sacramento’s Maxime Raynaud, 36). Garza’s 96 screen points generated also tops the NBA in that span, with the next closest player being Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert at 81 screen assist points. 

For the season, Garza is averaging 6.6 screen assists per 36 minutes. That’s the second-best per-36 number in the league, trailing only Dallas’ Dwight Powell (8.2). Garza is content to set screens and either roll like a maniac to the basket, or pop free for an open 3-point look. 

The Celtics are outscoring opponents by a team-best 28.5 points per 100 possessions during Garza’s 175 minutes of floor time over the past eight games.

Baylor taking charge(s)

Like Simons, fans will tend to fixate on Baylor Scheierman’s offensive output (and he’s actually been highly efficient while shooting 42 percent on 3s this season). But he’s quietly emerging as a defensive pest with the way he’s goading opponents into offensive fouls.

Scheierman, despite limited playing time, is second on the team with 11 offensive fouls drawn. Only Derrick White (19) has drawn more this season, and the next-closest is Gonzalez at six.

Scheierman has a knack for taking a charge in a key spot or getting a whistle while getting jostled by a moving screen. He ranks in the 99th percentile for his position while generating 1.6 offensive fouls per 100 possessions.

The Spin | Revealed after 100 years: how a corrupt official robbed Percy Fender of the England captaincy

Documentary makers seeking funds to finish making film of an extraordinary man and his influence on the game

After a mere 100 years the Spin, always first with the news, is finally able to reveal the details of one of the more extraordinary secrets in the history of English cricket. The story comes from the private family archives of the former Surrey captain Percy Fender, which are being compiled into a fascinating new documentary film. It has always been a mystery that Fender, who was described by Wisden as “the shrewdest county captain of his generation” was never picked to lead England. After all these years, it now appears he was blackmailed out of the job by a corrupt cricket official.

In a private audio recording made shortly before his death in 1985, Fender explains that in May 1924 he was approached “by a gentleman who was very well known in the cricket world” who, during the course of a conversation over two half-bottles of champagne in Fender’s flat at the Adelphi, offered him the England captaincy for the 1924-25 Ashes tour. Fender was an amateur, and had a day job as wine merchant that meant he would need to arrange cover while he was away on the six-month tour. The “very well known” gentleman suggested he could do it for him.

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Kings reportedly ‘checked in' with Warriors on Jonathan Kuminga situation

Kings reportedly ‘checked in' with Warriors on Jonathan Kuminga situation originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The Kings’ interest in young Warriors wing Jonathan Kuminga hasn’t wavered.

And since Kuminga is back out of Steve Kerr’s rotation, those talks apparently have been rehashed.

Kuminga, who signed a two-year, $46.8 million contract in late September that ended a months-long standoff with the Warriors, is trade eligible beginning Jan. 15.

The Warriors reportedly are “exploring the deadline landscape,” ESPN’s Anthony Slater reported in a column published Wednesday, citing league sources, but are willing to keep Kuminga past the deadline if nothing appealing materializes.

Slater added, citing league sources, that Kings general manager Scott Perry checked in with Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy last week on the situation.

Kuminga, in a stunning turn of events, started the first 12 games for Kerr this season, averaging 14.9 points on 48.1-percent shooting, with 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 29.1 minutes over that span.

Since then, he has registered several DNPs, including sitting out of 12 of Golden State’s last 13 games.

Over the summer, the two teams engaged in several discussions for a trade involving Kuminga. Perry visited Kuminga during his workout in Miami over the summer when he was a restricted free agent. He, Kings assistant GM B.J. Armstrong and coach Doug Christie also had conversations with Kuminga over the offseason.

“There remains mutual interest,” Slater wrote.

However, Perry is hesitant to offer the same 2030 protected first-round pick that was on the table for Kuminga in the summer, Slater wrote. The Warriors don’t want to take on a multiyear contract they view as “negative value,” Slater reported, citing league sources, which has made veteran Kings guard Malik Monk a “nonstarter” in negotiations.

There are other pathways to getting a deal done, but it isn’t easy.

And both sides have made it clear they won’t make any rash or impulsive decisions to get it done.

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Olympic hockey venues might not be fully finished, but tournament will go on

Olympic hockey venues might not be fully finished, but tournament will go on originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said parts of the main hockey rink for the Milan Cortina Olympics might not be fully finished on time, but the playing surface, practice facilities and dressing rooms will be ready when the puck drops for the men’s event Feb. 11.

“We can be confident on that,” IIHF President Luc Tardif told reporters Monday at the world junior championship. “You’re not going to go to Milano for nothing.”

Tardif added that the main arena will not be “exactly” what he expected in terms of capacity, with the number of seats set at 11,800.

“That’s a little bit short,” he said, according to The Canadian Press. “But it will be a nice setup for the Olympic Games.”

Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and secondary Rho facility have drawn headlines for weeks with the NHL returning to the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening Feb. 5.

The NHL has expressed concern about the construction and also the quality of the ice surface. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month in Winnipeg that the league will not send its players if there are any safety concerns with the ice.

The league is sending its own experts to Italy to ensure the ice is safe. The facility features rinks smaller than NHL standards but still within IIHF standards.

Tardif noted the IIHF isn’t overseeing construction — that’s up to the International Olympic Committee and local organizing officials — and can do only so much in terms of the timeline.

Tardif said he will be traveling to Italy with officials from the league and the NHL Players’ Association later this week for a test event at the venue.

“I’m confident about the quality of the infrastructure,” he said. “We would have liked to sleep much better … I think we will have a good competition, but maybe you can ask me the question after (this week).”

The NHL was caught off guard when it became apparent the two rinks’ dimensions will be slightly wider and 3 feet shorter than what the league and International Ice Hockey Federation agreed upon. Daly said the league and NHLPA have reminded the IIHF that they expect the ice surface to be standard NHL size at the 2030 Olympics in France.

Olympic hockey venues might not be fully finished, but tournament will go on

Olympic hockey venues might not be fully finished, but tournament will go on originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said parts of the main hockey rink for the Milan Cortina Olympics might not be fully finished on time, but the playing surface, practice facilities and dressing rooms will be ready when the puck drops for the men’s event Feb. 11.

“We can be confident on that,” IIHF President Luc Tardif told reporters Monday at the world junior championship. “You’re not going to go to Milano for nothing.”

Tardif added that the main arena will not be “exactly” what he expected in terms of capacity, with the number of seats set at 11,800.

“That’s a little bit short,” he said, according to The Canadian Press. “But it will be a nice setup for the Olympic Games.”

Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and secondary Rho facility have drawn headlines for weeks with the NHL returning to the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening Feb. 5.

The NHL has expressed concern about the construction and also the quality of the ice surface. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month in Winnipeg that the league will not send its players if there are any safety concerns with the ice.

The league is sending its own experts to Italy to ensure the ice is safe. The facility features rinks smaller than NHL standards but still within IIHF standards.

Tardif noted the IIHF isn’t overseeing construction — that’s up to the International Olympic Committee and local organizing officials — and can do only so much in terms of the timeline.

Tardif said he will be traveling to Italy with officials from the league and the NHL Players’ Association later this week for a test event at the venue.

“I’m confident about the quality of the infrastructure,” he said. “We would have liked to sleep much better … I think we will have a good competition, but maybe you can ask me the question after (this week).”

The NHL was caught off guard when it became apparent the two rinks’ dimensions will be slightly wider and 3 feet shorter than what the league and International Ice Hockey Federation agreed upon. Daly said the league and NHLPA have reminded the IIHF that they expect the ice surface to be standard NHL size at the 2030 Olympics in France.

Middling Warriors in similar spot as last year ahead of NBA trade deadline

Middling Warriors in similar spot as last year ahead of NBA trade deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

It’s déjà vu all over again for the Warriors less than a month from the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline. 

A 103-102 loss to a James Harden-less Los Angeles Clippers team Monday night, one month to the date from the deadline, dropped them to 19-18 on the season, giving the Warriors the same record through 37 games in four of the last six seasons. 

The other three seasons are 2020-21 when they finished as the No. 9 seed and missed the playoffs after losing twice in the play-in tournament, 2022-23 when they were the No. 6 seed and beat the Sacramento Kings in seven games before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in six, and last season when they won their play-in game as the No. 7 seed and lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games without Steph Curry after beating the Houston Rockets in seven. 

The two seasons they weren’t 19-18 were the 2021-22 championship team, in which the Warriors were 29-8 through 37 games, and 2023-24 when they went 17-20. That season ended with a play-in tournament blowout loss to the Kings in Sacramento that also was Klay Thompson’s final game with the Warriors. 

Hope didn’t start for the Warriors last season until the trade deadline after acquiring Jimmy Butler. But the Warriors were stuck in the blocks at the beginning of the race and sprinted to the end to try and catch up. Their superstar who will be 38 years old at the start of this season’s playoffs couldn’t make it through the finish line. 

Curry’s strained hamstring put a stop to the Warriors’ puncher’s chance of making a run at another ring. He’s averaging 28.7 points per game in Year 17, the fourth highest of his career, and ranks ninth in the league. Of the eight players ahead of him, Nikola Jokić, 31 on Feb. 19, is the only one who’s in his 30s. 

The first and most obvious avenue for improvement this season starts the day Jonathan Kuminga becomes trade eligible on Jan. 15. The summer saga of Kuminga’s restricted free agency has turned into him holding a $22.5 million contract on the bench as he watches games in warmup gear. Kuminga played 21 and a half minutes against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 6 and then was a healthy DNP (Did Not Play) in the Warriors’ next three games, going 1-2. 

Coach Steve Kerr raved about a string of practices Kuminga put together and said he would be rewarded in the Warriors’ Dec. 18 game against the Phoenix Suns. The Warriors lost by one point and Kuminga played nine and a half minutes where he scored two points on 1-of-5 shooting and had four rebounds. 

Kuminga was ruled inactive with an illness two nights later against the Suns and was back to being a healthy DNP in five straight games. Kerr said Kuminga was going to be in the rotation against the Oklahoma City Thunder but he was a late addition to the injury report with lower back soreness and missed a game the Warriors also were down Curry, Butler and Draymond Green. Kuminga has been a healthy DNP in the two games since. 

The Warriors are 9-9 in games Kuminga has played this season, and 10-9 without him.

League sources told NBC Sports Bay Area the Kings, Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards all have different levels of interest in Kuminga. The Dallas Mavericks, who initiated contact with the Warriors about their thoughts on trading for Anthony Davis, as The Athletic’s Sam Amick first reported, also like Kuminga, sources confirmed. But the Mavericks do not have interest in Green, whose $25.8 million contract would be needed in a deal to get Davis, who’s making $54.1 million. 

And the Warriors also haven’t shown any interest in trading Butler, another big contract that would land Davis, one year later.

The Mavs badly want to get off Davis’ contract ahead of him being eligible for a $275 million max deal next summer, and draft picks are more enticing. Teams like the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets are eyeing the future and will want draft compensation more than anything for their best players who could be available. One league source speculated Trey Murphy’s price tag would cost giving the Pelicans three first-round picks, and two to the Nets for Michael Porter Jr., if either player is available. 

Letting go of draft picks while also knowing what the post-Curry era could look like is the Warriors’ best bet of adding a big enough piece to really compete. How far will they go? 

The Warriors own their future first-round pick in every year aside from 2030, which they can trade the rights to that year only if it lands in the top 20. They have three unprotected firsts, the ability to swap in three other years and the protected pick in 2030 over the next seven drafts. 

The Butler move made Curry believe again. Can he believe the Warriors in their current construction right now are championship material? 

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy joined NBC Sports Bay Area’s Bonta Hill, Chris Mullin and Festus Ezeli on “Warriors Pregame Live” before Golden State’s eventual 120-97 win against the Orlando Magic two weeks ago and poured water on the idea of making a move as big as last year’s Butler acquisition. Kerr recently also spoke publicly on the precautionary tales of teams that went all-in for a star and now don’t have any future first-round picks.

“We’ll look to do stuff that makes our team better,” Dunleavy said. “But I wouldn’t bank on that type of move. To get a guy like Jimmy Butler, to have the improvement that we did … that’d be pretty unrealistic.”

The Warriors went 23-8 with Butler down the stretch last season. Their record was one game below .500 at the trade deadline, and the season ended in the second round of the playoffs after Curry’s injury. 

Even if the Warriors don’t make a move to the magnitude of Butler, this year’s situation is similar in the way of addition by subtraction, and the sentiment is shared despite them liking the players who make up the bottom half of the roster. The Warriors lost four players and brought in one with Butler. Aside from his talent, the move allowed the Warriors to solidify roles and rotations much better. 

If the Warriors can move multiple players for one who would be in their top four every night, “that would make things a lot easier [for them], it’s kind of what happened last year,” one league source said.

Kerr still is using 12 guys, and Kuminga isn’t one of them, with 14 players healthy. Open roster spots would open a lane to a standard contract for Pat Spencer, and the Warriors might have big help, literally, in waiting from their Santa Cruz G League affiliate. 

Charles Bassey, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center/power forward was a former top high school recruit and second-round pick in the 2021 draft who has 115 games of NBA experience, including two this season. Santa Cruz traded for Bassey, 25, on Dec. 27 and in 26.4 minutes per game he has averaged 17.6 points, 11 rebounds and 3.4 blocked shots through his first five games with a 60.3 field goal percentage and 45.5 3-point percentage. 

His last three games have been some crazy box scores, and Bassey’s energy and effort jumps out. First, he went for 17 points, 17 rebounds and six blocked shots on New Year’s Eve and then dropped 34 points on 13 of 21 from the field and 3 of 6 on threes, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots. Bassey in Santa Cruz’s most recent game went for 14 points, 15 rebounds and another three blocked shots. The Sea Dubs won all three games. 

“He’s an NBA player,” one source said. 

“He still is,” another source said. “All that stuff is real.”

Like Kevin Knox last year, though, Bassey isn’t eligible for a two-way contract. Teams started being able to sign players to 10-day contracts on Jan. 5. As Bassey has impressed the Warriors, the big man is sure to be on other teams’ radars outside of them as well with rosters soon to be in flux.

More traction to Kuminga’s market is going to come the closer we get to Jan. 15, starting a three-week window to the trade deadline. Both sides agree it’s best to move forward and on from each other. The Warriors’ picture of what team they’ll be to make another run should become clearer in the next four weeks, and likely sooner, just like a year ago.

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Olympic hockey venues might not be fully finished, but tournament will go on

Olympic hockey venues might not be fully finished, but tournament will go on originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

The head of the International Ice Hockey Federation said parts of the main hockey rink for the Milan Cortina Olympics might not be fully finished on time, but the playing surface, practice facilities and dressing rooms will be ready when the puck drops for the men’s event Feb. 11.

“We can be confident on that,” IIHF President Luc Tardif told reporters Monday at the world junior championship. “You’re not going to go to Milano for nothing.”

Tardif added that the main arena will not be “exactly” what he expected in terms of capacity, with the number of seats set at 11,800.

“That’s a little bit short,” he said, according to The Canadian Press. “But it will be a nice setup for the Olympic Games.”

Construction delays and other concerns about the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena and secondary Rho facility have drawn headlines for weeks with the NHL returning to the Winter Games for the first time since 2014 and the women’s tournament opening Feb. 5.

The NHL has expressed concern about the construction and also the quality of the ice surface. NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said last month in Winnipeg that the league will not send its players if there are any safety concerns with the ice.

The league is sending its own experts to Italy to ensure the ice is safe. The facility features rinks smaller than NHL standards but still within IIHF standards.

Tardif noted the IIHF isn’t overseeing construction — that’s up to the International Olympic Committee and local organizing officials — and can do only so much in terms of the timeline.

Tardif said he will be traveling to Italy with officials from the league and the NHL Players’ Association later this week for a test event at the venue.

“I’m confident about the quality of the infrastructure,” he said. “We would have liked to sleep much better … I think we will have a good competition, but maybe you can ask me the question after (this week).”

The NHL was caught off guard when it became apparent the two rinks’ dimensions will be slightly wider and 3 feet shorter than what the league and International Ice Hockey Federation agreed upon. Daly said the league and NHLPA have reminded the IIHF that they expect the ice surface to be standard NHL size at the 2030 Olympics in France.

Penguins Notebook: Malkin Returns To Practice, Forward Exits Early After Collision

After a long month, it appears the Pittsburgh Penguins are close to welcoming one of their best players back to the lineup. 

For the first time since going on injured reserve Dec. 9, center Evgeni Malkin skated in a full capacity with the team on Tuesday. Malkin, 39, has missed the last 15 games with an upper-body injury, which he clarified was a shoulder injury following practice.

His last game came Dec. 4 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, when he recorded two goals and three points. Malkin has eight goals and 29 points in 26 games on the season. 

"It's, like, crazy, because I'm not feeling any pain after game, but next morning, I wake up, and, like, my upper body, it's like I can't move my shoulder," Malkin said. "It's crazy."

Adding Malkin back to the lineup should bolster an already-buzzing group that has won five consecutive games since the holiday break. Prior to some bad injury luck for the Penguins, Malkin was skating on a line with Justin Brazeau and Anthony Mantha, and they saw a lot of success as a line. 

Tommy Novak has been centering that second line, where Malkin figures to slot back in. His return might make for some tough lineup decisions, but it's a good problem for the Penguins to have. 

"I think it was a good step in the right direction having him out there," head coach Dan Muse said. "Full-blown practice, looked good, got another practice day tomorrow... So, we'll continue to have conversations, but it was a good day for him."

Malkin said he hopes to play this week, but Muse didn't offer a specific timeline for his return to the lineup. The Penguins next play the New Jersey Devils on Thursday.

Takeaways: Penguins Roar Back From Three-Goal Deficit, Beat Blue Jackets In OTTakeaways: Penguins Roar Back From Three-Goal Deficit, Beat Blue Jackets In OTThe Pittsburgh Penguins extended their winning streak to five games in dramatic fashion against the Columbus Blue Jackets, which is just another indication that this team may be better than anyone thought.

- Unfortunately, another player may have sustained an injury during practice. 

After a collision with a teammate, forward Rutger McGroarty left the ice and was attended to by the trainers, and he did not return to practice. Muse could not offer an update on McGroarty after practice. 

McGroarty has two goals and three points in 16 games this season. 

'You Can Never Be Satisfied In This League': McGroarty Taking Strides At NHL Level With Penguins'You Can Never Be Satisfied In This League': McGroarty Taking Strides At NHL Level With PenguinsPittsburgh Penguins' forward Rutger McGroarty is learning every day at the NHL level - and he only figures to get even better with more experience at the highest level of hockey.

- Tuesday's practice was optional, as Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Yegor Chinakhov, Erik Karlsson, and Kris Letang were absent. 

- A decision looms on rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke, who is headed back to Pittsburgh after helping Canada earn a bronze medal at the World Junior Championship. 

Brunicke, 19, cannot play in the AHL this season and has played in nine games at the NHL level, which means his entry-level contract has not been activated. However, another deadline looms, as Jan. 31 would mark 40 games that Brunicke will have been on the active NHL roster. 

Should Brunicke remain on the roster beyond that game, the Penguins lose a year of restricted free agency, and, therefore, team control. The Penguins are expected to come to a decision in the coming days on whether or not he will spend the rest of the season in the WHL.

NHL Rumors: Penguins Big Winger Makes New Trade BoardNHL Rumors: Penguins Big Winger Makes New Trade BoardThis Penguins forward has been featured on a new trade board.

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