Marcus Smart lost his cool Tuesday night at TD Garden and now he’ll pay the price. Smart and the Boston Celtics suffered arguably their most frustrating loss of the season to the Brooklyn Nets, who erased a 21-point deficit on the strength of 51 (!) fourth-quarter points to secure an overtime victory over their Atlantic…
Boston Celtics third-year forward Jayson Tatum has had a list of stats to depict just how impressive he has been recently. But Tatum earned another one showcasing how special he’s been since he entered the league as the No. 3 overall pick in 2017. In fact, Tatum is quite literally on a list of his…
Here’s the criteria: Tatum is the first player in NBA history to hold career averages of more than 17.0 points per game in the regular season and 17.0 points per game in the postseason (minimum of 20 games) under the age of 21, per Boston Sports Info. Tatum averages an exact 17.0 points per game in his career, benefiting from his 23.5 average this year. He averages 17.4 pointer per game in his 28-game playoff career. Read more at:
The Boston Celtics just can’t seem to get a clean bill of health. Kemba Walker, who has missed the last five games with a sore knee, practiced Monday and could play in a limited capacity Tuesday against the Brooklyn Nets, according to the Celtics. Obviously, that’s very good news for a Celtics team that went…
However, the positive update came alongside news of Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum both missing practice due to undisclosed illnesses. Their respective statuses for Tuesday night are uncertain.
In recent weeks, Jayson Tatum has been on a tear. He has been one of the most impressive players in the NBA recently and I will be the first to admit that I did not see this coming. Before the start of the NBA season, BS Scouting listed our top 22 players under the age […]
The Tacko Fall takeover has become one of the most entertaining storylines of the 2019-20 NBA season. The Boston Celtics center has been living it up the past month. He attended NBA All-Star Weekend and even was featured in the dunk contest alongside runner-up Aaron Gordon, who jumped over the 7-foot-5 Fall. On Friday night,…
Most Boston Celtics fans probably have shared a similar experience while watching Marcus Smart play over the last six seasons. He pulls up for a 3-pointer, you cringe at the shot selection based on his track record from beyond the arc, and as the ball hits its highest trajectory and falls towards the hoop, he…
He pulls up for a 3-pointer, you cringe at the shot selection based on his track record from beyond the arc, and as the ball hits its highest trajectory and falls towards the hoop, he sinks it and surprises you. Maybe the first four years of his career will forever prevent people from considering him a shooter, but believe it or not, he leads the NBA in one specific type of triple. Twitter user @statcenter looked into the best 3-point shooters off the dribble (per 100+ attempts) and found that Smart’s 42.2 percent was tied with J.J. Redick to lead the NBA. That’s pretty good company. MassLive’s Tom Westerholm asked Celtics coach Brad Stevens about what the tipping point was for Smart. “I think the biggest thing — and we’ve talked about this ad nauseum — when he’s got a good look, take the good ones, and he’s done a pretty good job of that,” Stevens said. “Obviously had some big scoring games, but he’s not forcing that. And I think that’s important, because when you force the tough ones off the dribble, that’s when your percentage will go way down.” Off the dribble or the pass, Smart’s gotten much better from deep. The improvement can be traced back to when Smart signed a four-year contract extension with Boston before the 2018-19 season. He shot a career high 36 percent from three last season, and currently sits at 35.9 percent. He’s made 109 of 306 attempts from beyond the arc so far this year compared to last season’s breakout year of 126 triples on 346 tries. He’s improved every year since the 2015-16 season, where he finished with a career-low 3-point average of 25.3 percent, per the NBA’s stat site. When it comes to catch-and-shoot 3-pointers, Smart is hitting 32 percent of his 194 attempts. Though he says throwing up a trey off a pass is easier for him, Smart explained to Westerholm why he likes shooting off the bounce. “I’m able to get my rhythm even more,” Smart said. “Catch and shoot, you’ve got to generate your own rhythm, whereas with the ball, you kind of got a pace. You can kind of feel it. But catch and shoot is easier for me. For some guys, it’s harder because you have to generate that, but for me that’s catch and shoot and let it fly. But I love shooting off the dribble, just because I’m able to get a rhythm that way as well.” Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
It’s been quite the stretch for Jayson Tatum since making his first All-Star team. In his last five games, the Boston Celtics wing is averaging 35.4 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. After Wednesday night’s win over the Utah Jazz, he’s reached or surpassed 30 points six times this month, including his last three-straight games.…
Celtics fans have been raving about Jayson Tatum’s potential since his impressive rookie season. His performance in the 2018 playoffs proved that he was ready for the big stage at age 19, and it was understood that the dysfunction of last year’s Celtics was the only thing holding him back from taking a giant leap […]
Kemba Walker injury: Danny Ainge gives update on Celtics star’s knee Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker has missed four consecutive games with a left knee injury, including Wednesday night’s 114-103 win over the Utaz Jazz on the road. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge gave an update on Walker’s knee during his weekly […]
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge gave an update on Walker’s knee during his weekly Thursday morning appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich” show, and he doesn’t seem too worried about the situation.
“We’re just taking it day by day, and we’re being very cautious with Kemba,” Ainge said. “We feel like we need Kemba to be his best self, and right now, we don’t think that he can sustain what he wants to do. But we are confident that his knee is going to be fine and that he’ll be ready to go at some point in the near future.”
Has Jayson Tatum surpassed the next big thing? ESPN NBA analyst Jay Williams argued Wednesday on “Get Up” the Boston Celtics star is better than New Orleans Pelicans phenom Zion Williamson. Williams ranking his top NBA players aged 21 or younger when he pegged Tatum above Williamson, behind only Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic. Williamson…
The Celtics-Lakers rivalry isn’t considered one of the best in all of sports just because. In addition to being one of the fiercest, most entertaining rivalries around, the Celtics-Lakers rivalry also is unbelievably competitive, particularly over the past 55 years. Since the 1965-66 season, which culminated in Boston beating Los Angeles in the NBA Finals, the…
The view from left field 