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The Celtics begin their two-game mini road trip with a matchup against the Miami Heat this afternoon. The final of three regular season games, the C’s hold a 2-0 series lead over Miami. Boston took care of business 119-111 at home back on October 27th. In the second game of the series, Joe Mazzulla and company obliterated Miami 143-110 on January 25th. In that matchup, Boston had seven players finish with double figures in points.
Less than a week until the All-Star break, the Celtics remain the number one seed in the East, with a 15-9 record on the road. Four and half games ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston is on a three-game win streak. Over the past week, the C’s have victories over the Memphis Grizzlies and the Atlanta Hawks. On Friday night, they defeated the Washington Wizards 133-129, thanks to a third quarter spark. They are 8-2 in their last 10 games, and 4-1 in their last five games on the road.
Up a game-high 15 points against Washington, the Celtics had one of their most dominant performances inside, outscoring the Wizards 62-42 in the paint. Boston mainly struggled, aside from of Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, who combined for 69 points. Although it was a tough shooting night for number 0, Tatum and Porzingis both finished with double-double performances. If you ask me, it was a little too close for comfort, especially given the Wizards have just nine wins on the season.
Sunday’s matchup will mark the first road game for Boston since January 25th, ironically which was against the Heat.
A classic rematch between two Eastern Conference rivals, Boston has an 82-53 record versus Miami all-time. In those 135 regular season games, the Celtics average nearly 100 points, 21.6 assists, 4.5 blocks, 7.9 steals, and 41.3 rebounds per game. Since the 2010 season, Boston has faced Miami six times in the playoffs.
The Celtics remain a top seed in offensive and defensive rating. Leading the NBA in net rating (9.6), Boston remains one of the most prolific three-point shooting teams. First in three-point attempts (42.8), the C’s put up 120.6 points per game. First in rebounding, they will look for a full sweep this afternoon against Miami and aim for five consecutive victories.
After this trip to Miami, the Celtics will play their next six of ten games on the road against the Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, and Phoenix Suns.
Post-trade deadline, the Celtics were fairly active, while the Heat remained quiet. Weeks before, Miami acquired Terry Rozier from the Charlotte Hornets for Kyle Lowry. On Friday, Miami signed guard Alondes Williams on a two-way contract.
Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens proved his brilliancy yet again. Boston acquired Xavier Tillman from the Grizzlies, and Jaden Springer from the 76ers. With the acquisitions, the C’s parted ways with Lamar Stevens and Dalano Banton.
28-24 on the year, Miami hasn’t been as efficient, sitting as the number 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. 15-12 at home, the Heat are 4-6 in their last ten games, and finish up a four-game home stand today. The Heat and Celtics are historically known for their rivalry, however, these teams couldn’t be further apart on paper.
Still in playoff contention, the Heat remain half a game back behind the Orlando Magic for the 7th seed. A -0.2 point differential on the season, they remain 3.5 games ahead of the Bulls.
Similar to last season, the Heat rank 23rd in offensive rating, putting up a league low 110.5 points per game. Just above Portland, Charlotte, and Memphis in scoring production, Miami remains one of the least efficient shooting teams from the floor (46 %), and have trouble rebounding the ball, especially on the offensive boards.
There are multiple injury reports for today’s afternoon game. For the Celtics, Springer remains out with an ankle injury. In addition, newly acquired Tillman won’t suit up due to a knee injury. For the Miami Heat, Jimmy “Buckets” Butler is listed as a game time decision for personal reasons.
PG, #4 : Jrue Holiday
SG, #9: Derrick White
SF, #7: Jaylen Brown
PF, #0: Jayson Tatum
C: #8: Kristaps Porzingis
Xavier Tillman: questionable
Jaden Springer: questionable
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Heat Starters
PG, #2: Terry Rozier
SG, #14: Tyler Herro
SF, #22: Jimmy Butler
PF, #16: Caleb Martin
C, #13: Bam Adebayo
Jimmy Butler: game-time-decision (personal)
Erik Spoelstra
Rebounding: Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics pride themselves on defensive, and have consistently built that culture throughout the season. First in rebounding in the NBA, Boston had control of the boards through their first two matchups. In those two victories, not only did the Celtics out-rebound Miami 102-76, they had a point differential of +41. Through only 12 losses, 7 of the came when Boston got out rebounded by their opponent. As we all know, grabbing the boards is. They must secure the boards on offense.
Take advantage of a healthy C’s lineup: I’ve said this before: it’s always a blessing when the Celtics have a healthy starting five, plus Al Horford. Boston is coming off one day of rest, and will get a clean bill of health for today’s matchup. It’s not everyday where this group gets to play together, and each time they do, they continue to grow and build chemistry.
Boston is on the road: Only 15-9 away from TD Garden this season, the Celtics have won four straight on the road, including finishing 4-1 on a rigorous west coast trip at the end of December. Although they don’t have the best record away from Beantown, the Celtics dominated Miami by a margin of 33 points at the Kaseya Center last matchup.
Don’t get overly confident: The Celtics are currently up 2-0 against the Heat this season, however, that doesn’t mean much. Having led the series 3-1 last year against Miami, Boston went on to face a heartbreaking Game 7 loss against them in the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s vital the Cs don’t let their foot off the gas, and play them as if was a playoff series, After all, the probability of Boston seeing Miami in the playoffs is fairly high.
Limit turnovers and fast break points: On Friday evening, the Celtics played an unrecognizable second quarter, in which they allowed the Wizards to score 18 fast break points. Although they declared victory, Washington scored a season-high 36 fast break points against Boston. With a total of 26 turnovers in the first two games against Miami, it will be imperative to take care of the ball, and get defensive stops.
Attacking in the paint: It’s no secret that the Celtics love to shoot threes, and have several players that can hit from deep. With that said, they’ve been figuring out various ways to score, especially after their paint domination Friday night. In two games against Miami, Boston has done a great job of creating mismatches, and finding ways to score in the post. In two matchups this season, Boston outscored Miami 96-78 in the paint.
Defense: Much like last matchup, today is a classic example of a top defensive team vs. a team that struggles to score. This is the case especially if Jimmy Butler can’t suit up this afternoon. Although they’ve won two straight against the Wizards and Kings, the Heat are only putting up just over 111 points over the last 5 games. Combine that the Celtics defense, Boston can put them back in the chamber by making offensive plays difficult for them. Over the last five games, Boston is limiting opponents to 115 points per game.
Bam Adebayo vs. Kristaps Porzingis
Today will be the battle between two defensive centers, Bam Adebayo and Kristaps Porzings. In two games this year, Adebayo is averaging 23 points, 1.5 blocks, and 6.0 rebounds against Boston. Against Miami, Porzingis is putting up 18 points, 1.5 steals, and 6.5 against Miami. Given Adebayo is a paint guy, KP is averaging 50 percent from deep against Miami.
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https://www.playback.tv/celticsblog
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🥵Very hot, with highs around 97 degrees. Sunset is at 8:19 p.m.
GBH’s Dan Murphy captured Abby Evangelista and her corgi, Rocko, at Sail250 this weekend. “Rocko gets dressed up for lots of occasions … sometimes just to go to the store, and he does so great with meeting people,” Evangelista said. Keep reading for more photos from the tall ships.
A year ago today firefighters were extinguishing flames at the Gabriel House, an assisted living facility in Fall River. Ten people died in the fire, a tragedy for their loved ones and a scary moment for about 18,000 people who live in assisted living facilities across the state.
Now state officials have created new regulations for fire safety in assisted living facilities, going into effect later this month. Fire departments will inspect these facilities once a year, and facilities will need to submit emergency plans and train their workers on what to do in case of a fire.
GBH’s Craig LeMoult found that neither the new regulations nor state or federal fire codes address checking sprinkler systems. Some of the sprinklers at the Gabriel House weren’t working the night of the fire, including the ones in the room where it started.
“Had the sprinklers functioned properly, we’re not having this conversation right now. It is maybe a single fatality fire, but certainly not more than that,” Fall River fire chief Jeffrey Bacon told LeMoult. “The good news is that some of the sprinklers did function. And had they not, we would be here talking about 20, 30, 40 victims.” You can read the full story here.
1. Colleagues and friends are remembering Louisa Gag, a Boston transportation planner killed last week when a truck driver hit her as she rode her bike near the Roxbury Crossing MBTA stop. Gag grew up in Roslindale and worked for the city on expanding the BlueBikes bike-share program. Before that, she worked for the LivableStreets Alliance, co-authoring a plan to help cities stop traffic deaths. You can see her talk about her work in this 2019 video.
“In moments like these, there is a tendency to reduce the person to the way they died and to their activism,” said Stacy Thompson, a former executive director of LivableStreets. “While we may know Louisa as a deep champion of the city and a close advocate, she’s also a Boston Latin [School] kid. She’s also, like, the most infectious, hilarious person you’ve ever met. She’s also a daughter. It’s so important to us right now for her life to not be reduced to how she stopped living.”
2. More than 4,000 nurses are back at work at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They went on a one-day strike last week, and hospital administrators kept them from returning to their jobs for another five days. The Massachusetts Nurses Association and Brigham management have been negotiating a contract for seven months, going back and forth over wages, health insurance premiums and staffing levels.
“It’s exciting, but also frightening,” said Christine Forgeron, a cardiac nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “I don’t know what to expect when we go back to our patients. What happens next, because we still don’t have a contract,is the most unsettling part.”
3. Michael Walsh, a Republican candidate for state attorney general, will be on the primary ballot in September despite what Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Karp called “substantial evidence in the record of voter fraud.” The case began when Adam Roof, executive director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, submitted a complaint accusing a signature gatherer Walsh’s campaign hired of either falsifying or not meeting state requirements for 1,021 of the 10,677 signatures they submitted. Candidates for statewide office need 10,000 signatures to get onto the ballot.
Karp said that there was indeed evidence that the signatures came not from voters themselves but from a list of registered voters the state’s Republican party gave the signature gatherer. But the case fell on a technicality: state law required Roof, the Democratic party official, to submit his complaint by certified mail, and he did not do so. The state’s highest court still has to decide what will happen to Anne Manning Martin, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor who used the same signature gatherer.
4. Residents of towns around the Quabbin Reservoir flooded into the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority meeting last week to ask for a better deal. The Quabbin supplies clean drinking water for dozens of cities and towns in the eastern part of the state. Right now, the state requires towns like Shrewsbury, Belchertown, Orange and Pelham to keep their development in check to keep the Quabbin clean. Though those towns get some money in return, local officials said it’s not enough to cover their costs.
“We are protecting this watershed by foregoing any type of economic development, which is a cornerstone of providing the basics of education [and] public safety,” said state Rep. Aaron Saunders, of Belchertown. “It’s time for a change, and not an incremental one.”
Dan Murphy / GBH News
Tomorrow is the last full day of Sail Boston, the city’s tall ships celebration. The ships will leave our harbor Thursday morning. GBH photographer Dan Murphy was there over the weekend to capture the Parade of Sail.
Dan Murphy / GBH News
The Esmeralda, a ship from Chile, sailed by Castle Island.
Dan Murphy / GBH News
Carolyn Gustine carried her son, Patrick, on her shoulders.
You can see the full photo essay here.
Dig deeper:
–Spectators line Cape Cod Canal to see tall ships make their way to Sail250 in Boston
–The World Cup transformed Greater Boston. Will it last?
–Department of Agricultural Resources celebrates Ice Cream Trail program
Local News
A Boston man is facing charges after he allegedly lunged at a Burger King employee, punched a customer, and then resisted arrest at a nearby MBTA station in East Boston, authorities announced Monday afternoon.
Patrick Donovan, 59, was charged July 1 with one count of assault and battery causing injury on an over 60 or disabled person, assault and battery, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, assault, and vandalism, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office said in a press release.
The charges stem from an incident shortly before 10 p.m. on June 30, when Boston police responded to a disturbance call from Burger King at 1 Maverick Square, Hayden’s office said.
A Burger King employee told officers that, after ordering his food and receiving it, Donovan yelled that he no longer wanted it and smacked a napkin holder off the counter. He then allegedly lunged at an employee and grabbed her by the arm, prosecutors said.
Donovan subsequently shoved a customer from behind and allegedly punched him in the face three times while calling him racial slurs, the DA’s office said.
Emergency medical services evaluated the customer for “visible lacerations to the forehead,” but the victim declined additional treatment, authorities said.
Donovan fled the restaurant following the assaults, and officers tracked him to the nearby MBTA Maverick Station, prosecutors said.
“While officers tried to detain Donovan inside the station, he swung at them with a closed fist but did not make contact,” Hayden’s office said, noting that Donovan made racial slurs towards the officers. “Donovan was placed into custody after a brief struggle.”
During his arraignment in the East Boston division of the Boston Municipal Court, Donovan pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance. Court records show he was also ordered to stay away from Maverick Square and Burger King.
He is scheduled to return to court Aug. 7 for a pre-trial hearing, prosecutors said.
Officers obtained security footage of both assaults. Authorities said the incident remains under investigation and could result in further charges.
“Our workers deserve to be safe in their workplaces and our consumers deserve to be safe in their shopping or dining places, without exception,” Hayden said in a statement. “Beyond that, none of our citizens or first responders should be subjected to racial slurs. These appalling words have no place in Suffolk County or anywhere else in our society.”
Attorney information for Donovan was not immediately available Monday afternoon.
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A rideshare driver suspected of assaulting a passenger at Boston Logan International Airport on Friday is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.
Leonard Bacon, 23, was found in Lowell, where he lives, and taken into custody on Sunday, Massachusetts State Police said. He’s charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Bacon, who’s due to face the charge in East Boston District Court, had an attorney who could speak for him.
Police didn’t share more details on what Bacon is accused of doing. They’ve previously said that the rideshare passenger entered Terminal C just before 5:30 a.m. and reported that they had been physically assaulted by their driver prior to being dropped off.
After the passenger got out of the vehicle, the rideshare driver left the scene, according to police, who alerted area law enforcement agencies to look out for the suspect. The victim was taken to a Boston-area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police added.
Police are looking for a rideshare driver who was reported to have assaulted a passenger right before drop-off at Boston’s Logan airport.
In a statement, Uber said they’ve checked in with the rider and removed the driver’s access to their rideshare platform.
“We are horrified by this reported violence,” a representative for the company said in a statement, adding, “Our specialized team has been in touch with law enforcement, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support their investigation.”
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