For years, the NBA was trying to find host All-Star cities, with many group house owners uninterested due to the monetary dedication. However the record of cities has apparently grown, probably due to the sports activities’ elevated worldwide attraction and the variety of NBA-sponsored and impartial occasions that encompass the weekend.
Boston’s mayor, Michelle Wu, is seemingly supportive of a metropolis bid, giving the Celtics momentum. However the course of is simply starting and the NBA requires a considerable dedication from not solely the host group however the host metropolis.
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But, it’s not all on the Celtics whether or not this turns into a actuality.
All-Star cities should have a lot of facilities, reminiscent of ample lodge rooms, an accessible conference heart, and a virtually two-week open block of time when no different occasions are scheduled for the amenities. Which means not solely does the Celtics’ schedule should be adjusted, however that of the Bruins and the opposite occasions that happen yearly on the Backyard.
The Celtics would additionally have to safe a second enviornment — reminiscent of Agganis Enviornment — for different occasions, reminiscent of group practices, the Movie star Recreation, and a G-League sport.
The NBA wouldn’t compensate the arenas for securing these open time blocks, that means a substantial monetary dedication — or doable loss — from the house owners of venues.
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The NBA All-Star sport hasn’t come to Boston since Invoice Russell (left) performed at residence in 1964.Related Press
The Grousbeck possession group has begun the appliance course of. What could also be an impediment is the NBA’s need to safe one other warm-weather metropolis.
Since All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles in 2018, the sport has been performed in Charlotte, Chicago, Atlanta (moved there due to COVID-19), Cleveland, with subsequent 12 months being at Salt Lake Metropolis after which Indianapolis. The NBA would favor a metropolis with probably higher climate in February earlier than pivoting again to Boston.
Boston additionally has stiff competitors, with a number of different cities having proven curiosity. The NBA additionally likes to reward cities which have opened new arenas. The league would like to host an All-Star Recreation at San Francisco’s Chase Middle and the Clippers’ new enviornment, which is scheduled for completion in Inglewood, Calif., in 2024.
One other impediment for the Celtics is the state’s lack of a sports activities fee. In different cities’ All-Star bids, the state’s sports activities fee would take management of the bid and create income streams and technique of satisfying the NBA’s necessities. The Celtics, in contrast, are the central determine behind Boston’s All-Star efforts.
The excellent news for Boston is that it’s accustomed to internet hosting massive occasions and conventions, and there are many facilities and sights that make it a prime candidate, in addition to town’s basketball historical past.
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TD Backyard has not hosted a significant All-Star Recreation because the Bruins hosted the NHL basic in 1996, when it was the FleetCenter.
The Celtics are hoping {that a} three-year discover is loads of time to clear schedules that may enable All-Star Weekend to make a return after 60-plus years.
The choice received’t happen for months, nevertheless it seems the Celtics are on their technique to bringing the NBA’s premier midseason occasion again to Boston after a protracted absence.
AWARDS CONFUSION
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What’s the ‘finest’ technique to vote?
Does it make sense for an MVP candidate like Ja Morant to be voted Most Improved Participant?Andy Clayton-King/Related Press
This previous week, the NBA launched the names of the finalists for its postseason awards. Marcus Good of the Celtics acquired the primary, the Defensive Participant of the 12 months award. Good was the highest candidate many of the second half of the season and he edged Phoenix’s MikalBridges and Utah’s Rudy Gobert.
However, opposite to common perception, media members who choose the winners aren’t given voting tips. In different phrases, voters are allowed to find out their selection by their very own evaluation, which might result in confusion.
That is particularly the case for the Most Improved Participant award. Three All-Stars — Memphis’s Ja Morant, San Antonio’s Dejounte Murray, and Cleveland’s Darius Garland — have been named the finalists, that means they acquired the highest three voting totals.
However what precisely constitutes “Most Improved”?
Shaped in 1986, it primarily changed the Comeback Participant of the 12 months award, and the unique thought was for the award to be offered to a rising participant who made probably the most strides. However in recent times it has been offered to gamers who’ve taken the following step of their careers, but in addition made pure progressions.
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For instance, the Knicks’ Julius Randle acquired the award final season after his scoring common elevated to 24.1 from 19.5. New Orleans’s Brandon Ingram received the award in 2019-20 when his scoring common jumped to 23.8 from 18.3.
Is that notable enchancment or pure development? This voter chosen Golden State’s Jordan Poole as Most Improved. Poole, in his third season, noticed his position broaden tremendously instead of an injured Klay Thompson, averaging a career-best 18.5 factors on 36.4 % 3-point taking pictures. Poole was the twenty eighth general pick of Michigan in 2019 and is taken into account a rising star.
Portland’s Anfernee Simons acquired my second-place vote. He had languished earlier than this season, a slow-developing prospect who by no means performed faculty basketball, however he skilled a breakout season as a first-time starter, averaging 17.3 factors per sport after 7.8 the earlier 12 months.
That’s this reporter’s thought of “Most Improved.” It’s tough to view Morant, a former Rookie of the 12 months who’s approaching tremendous stardom, as Most Improved as a result of his enchancment window wasn’t that giant as a result of he was already gifted.
The NBA doesn’t really feel the necessity to make clear precisely what “Most Improved” means or who ought to be certified for the award, so the paradox will proceed.
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It’s much like Most Priceless Participant, however that confusion has existed for years. Is the MVP the very best participant within the league or the participant who’s most dear to his group?
Michael Jordan spent a minimum of 10 years because the league’s finest participant, however he solely received 5 occasions. Is Giannis Antetokounmpo the league’s finest participant? In all probability so. However he’s unlikely to win a 3rd MVP award as a result of reigning MVP Nikola Jokic of Denver and Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid have carried their groups to the playoffs this season.
The Suns’ Devin Booker could possibly be thought of the very best participant on the very best group, however he’s unlikely to garner many first-place votes.
The answer could possibly be voting tips, however the NBA doesn’t seem eager about any limitations. The voters will make their very own selections.
The NBA mentioned in an announcement: “We’ve lengthy believed that voters ought to decide the standards they use in casting their ballots.”
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ETC.
Clippers’ window appears to be closing
The Clippers have been unlikely to contend with out Kawhi Leonard, however how a lot time have they got left to take action?Jed Jacobsohn/Related Press
The Clippers knew they might be hard-pressed to make a severe run within the Western Convention with out Kawhi Leonard, who tore his ACL throughout final 12 months’s playoff run. Paul George additionally missed three months with an elbow damage and trade-deadline acquisition Norman Powell broke his foot and didn’t return till late within the season.
The season ended abruptly when the Clippers misplaced their win-or-go-home play-in sport to the Pelicans after George examined constructive for COVID-19 the day of the sport.
The Clippers are hoping for higher well being subsequent season, however is that each one that’s obligatory for Los Angeles to make a title run?
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The gathering of Leonard and George for a dynamic duo simply hasn’t labored. They blew a 3-1 result in the Nuggets within the bubble, ruining the anticipated Western Convention finals matchup with the rival Lakers.
Final 12 months, the Clippers have been capable of beat the Jazz within the convention semifinals with out Leonard, however they weren’t adequate to beat the Suns. Subsequent season might be 12 months 4 and it could possibly be do or die for the Leonard-George mixture.
“, I feel all of us really feel some ache,” Clippers normal supervisor and former Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank mentioned. “There’s some distress and slightly disappointment as a result of the group handled a lot adversity this season and battled so arduous, not simply via accidents however via all of the totally different challenges that we confronted.
“A lot only for the profit, our gamers, [coach] Ty [Lue], the teaching workers, [owner] Steve [Ballmer], our followers, simply actually wished to see the group within the playoffs. So it’s arduous.
“We watch all these playoff video games as a result of there’s plenty of studying to be accomplished, however you do watch it with a level of vacancy and envy. However I additionally assume gasoline for an awesome offseason to construct nice momentum into an awesome season subsequent 12 months.”
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Returning late within the season from an elbow challenge, Paul George could not fairly carry the Clippers into the playoffs.Andy Clayton-King/Related Press
Frank hopes that the expertise the supporting solid acquired with bigger roles will improve the roster when Leonard and George are wholesome. The Clippers have two impending free brokers — Robert Covington and Isaiah Hartenstein — however their core will return. Leonard and George aren’t free brokers till 2024-25.
Frank wouldn’t say if Leonard can be prepared by Opening Evening, nevertheless it’s been almost 11 months since his damage and he ought to return if on a traditional ACL restoration schedule. George performed at an All-Star stage when he returned from the elbow damage, and Lowell native Terance Mann and former BC standout Reggie Jackson performed main roles with out the famous person duo.
“Having them come again, you now get your two play-starters, common season, postseason, these guys are going to begin 60 % of our possessions,” Frank mentioned. “Reggie has some on-ball juice. He offers you that. After which Terance, as we noticed after the commerce . . . he had an enormous bump up. There’s a direct correlation. The ball was in his palms, so he has some on-ball juice that we will proceed to develop.
“Isaiah from his standpoint does some various things. Norm is one other on-ball engine.”
The roster is nice sufficient for a deep playoff run — if the Clippers can get some good luck.
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“You’re continuously evaluating simply the stability of play-starters, play-finishers, connectors, after which look, to win a championship, we do want our greatest gamers to be wholesome,” Frank mentioned. “That doesn’t imply we will’t win plenty of video games, however to win a championship, which is the purpose, we’re going to wish a component of excellent well being from our greatest gamers.”
The notion is the Leonard-George pairing has been a failure. When Leonard agreed to go away the Raptors for the Clippers in July 2019, after which requested that the group purchase George from Oklahoma Metropolis, it was alleged to shift the ability within the West. As a substitute, the Lakers and the Suns have manned the West. The Clippers haven’t been an element.
“What individuals on the surface say about you, good or unhealthy, like you’ll be able to’t management that, so underdog, favourite — everybody goes to have an opinion,” Frank mentioned. “Prefer to me, that doesn’t steer you. What would steer you is your inside motivation to get probably the most out of individually what you carry after which as a group the way it all suits collectively, nevertheless it’s what you do on the ground, within the movie room, within the weight room, within the medical area, diet. All these issues add up. All of them matter. Sleep, movie research. All of it issues.
“There’s the surface noise, so to talk, however the outdoors noise, whether or not it’s good or unhealthy, it strikes on.”
“To me, you’ll be able to’t dwell minute by minute by what different persons are saying. It’s a must to internally be capable to monitor and be sincere with one another. That’s a part of — like the very best groups, and this isn’t simply in sport, however they’re actually player-led. Such as you want an awesome coach, belief me. I’ve the very best stage of respect for the teaching occupation. However, like, what’s happening in that locker room and guys holding one another accountable, or ladies holding one another accountable, like within the WNBA, however you’ve acquired to have the ability to inform the reality, take the reality, and dwell the reality. These are essential to doing one thing particular.”
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Rivers is the winner to date
With the 76ers on the point of sweeping Toronto, Doc Rivers’s future is in a greater place.Tim Nwachukwu/Getty
The 76ers’ playoff success to date could have secured Doc Rivers’s job for subsequent season and past.
Rivers’s standing turned tenuous after the beautiful convention semifinals loss to the Hawks final season. However the reality Philadelphia has been capable of endure the lack of Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, and Andre Drummond ― whereas level guard Tyrese Maxey has flourished within the methodical dismantling of Toronto ― has helped Rivers.
The Lakers would love to speak to Rivers about their vacant teaching place, nevertheless it’s extremely unlikely he would return to Los Angeles, particularly if the 76ers make a run to the convention finals.
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Layups
A participant who is certain to money in throughout free company is Brooklyn guard and Boston native Bruce Brown, who has flourished in a swingman position. Brown scored 23 factors in Recreation 2 of the first-round collection in opposition to the Celtics and has turned himself right into a stable 3-point shooter, staunch defender, and slasher. Brown is within the closing 12 months of his contract at $4.3 million per season. The previous Wakefield Excessive Faculty standout is more likely to earn within the neighborhood of $10 million per season due to his talent set, together with his spectacular protection on an even bigger Jayson Tatum . . . The hamstring damage suffered by Devin Booker might have an effect on your complete panorama of the Western Convention playoffs. Relying on how a lot time Booker misses, the Suns might be hard-pressed to advance out of the West. The Suns have performed properly with out gamers reminiscent of Booker and Chris Paul, however asking the supporting solid to thrive in a postseason scenario is a extra arduous activity. The Warriors are actually fully wholesome and blew away the visiting Nuggets within the first two video games of their collection. As for the Nuggets, they’re more likely to wait till subsequent season to make an actual run within the West with Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray nonetheless recovering from main accidents. Organizations such because the Nuggets and Nets have to find out whether or not to carry again star gamers coming off main accidents throughout high-intensity postseason video games, that are nothing like even the very best stage of observe.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He will be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Observe him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.
When I travel and visit people in other cities and states, I’ve realized that many people still don’t grasp the diversity that exists within Boston. Sometimes, I hear questions like “There are Black people in Boston?”
I actually grew up outside of Boston itself, but I would come into the city on weekends and during the summer to see my dad, who was based in Dorchester. He is from Barbados originally — and Dorchester is home to all of these Caribbean communities, which was so exciting and a culture shock to be introduced to when I visited. I loved coming here. I moved to Boston full-time when I was 12 years old and eventually enrolled as an English major with a focus on journalism at UMass Boston.
One semester, I took a music history class on hip-hop with UMass Boston professors Jeffrey Melnick and Akrobatik, who is also a well-known rapper from Boston. They brought in lots of cool artists and speakers. They also told us about this archive that existed in the campus library: the Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive. So, I made an appointment, walked in, and there were all of these boxes and folders all around the main table. I just went to town in there for an hour and a half.
When you learn about the history of a city, you start to realize that a lot of stories eventually come full circle. They echo across generations. And as I dug through the Massachusetts Hip-Hop Archive, I was reminded that stories of Boston as this multicultural place are often untold. I couldn’t find a place online where you could even access that community history. As I kept finding all of these photos and videos — not just in the hip-hop archive but also in the Boston Public Library and Northeastern University Library, state archival databases, and television archives — I decided to create that resource online: the Boston Urban Archive.
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When I launched the Boston Urban Archive’s account on Instagram in 2023, I was strategic with my approach. I wanted it to be a space that was aesthetically pleasing — very neat and organized. And I wanted to captivate people.
One of my earliest posts — which ended up getting something like a million hits — was this old video from the 1980s that featured Mark Wahlberg [a Boston-born actor and rapper] as a child. That video was a way of bringing people in and gaining traction before sharing a wider range of photos, videos, and stories from the archives. I also try to choose stories that have some connection to what is going on in the present. Recently, I posted this mid-1970s clip from a supermarket in Dorchester in which a reporter talks about rising food costs and customers are complaining about $2 steaks.
On Oct. 25, I wanted to publish something about youth in Boston. I had a video clip from 1990 of a reporter speaking with little boys at the Franklin Field housing project on the north side of Franklin Park. The reporter asks them about crime and a curfew that the city had been considering putting into place back then. I really liked the boys’ energy. They said, “Yeah, this is our neighborhood and if there’s a curfew, we’re probably not gonna abide by it, but we’re gonna be playing basketball and minding our own business.” When I heard that, I chuckled a little bit, and I decided to use that bit as the intro to another clip that showed the boys playing basketball. Within hours of posting the video on the Instagram account, all of these comments came rolling in, many of them saying the same thing: “RIP EMOE.” There were dozens of them.
So I’m like, “Who’s EMOE?” None of the video descriptions from the archive had information identifying the boys, because they were minors. But then another person commented on the post claiming to be EMoe’s cousin. So I messaged them, and I soon learned that EMoe was the nickname of the boy in the video who made the comment about staying out past curfew playing basketball. His name was Eric Paulding. And in 1997, Paulding was shot while leaving his girlfriend’s house around Franklin Park. I learned that his killing was notable because it came after a two-and-a-half-year period of no juveniles being killed in Boston. He was killed in the same neighborhood where that clip with the reporter took place seven years earlier.
Not long after Paulding’s cousin and I exchanged DMs, his aunt messaged me and said, “Thank you so much for sharing this. It was great for his grandmother to see.” That really hit a soft spot for me. The video clip was over 30 years old. When I imagined Paulding’s grandmother hearing his voice, seeing him, all these years later — I can only imagine how it made her feel.
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In the beginning, I had some idea that sharing these archival videos and photos might inspire people from the community to contribute their own memories and information. But I didn’t realize how big this platform would become and that it could be a way of bringing a community together or how it would be this place where we all learn from each other. I’ve learned a lot from the comments. I posted a video of an early 1990s rap group called Joint Ventures, thinking, “Wow, this sounds like something that could’ve come out of New York.” And then the daughter of the group’s lead rapper, MC Fly Ty, commented and said, “That’s my dad! He ended up passing in ’94. Thanks for posting this.” I’ve even seen some folks reconnect with each other in the comments on certain posts! They’ll spot a familiar face, tag their friends, and say, “Oh my gosh, isn’t that Miss So-and-so from when we were kids?”
The Boston Urban Archive began as a hobby, but now it’s opened doors. People watch these videos, study these photos, and ask about the people in them: “Where are they now? What happened to them?”
As a journalist and a writer, I want to be able to answer those questions, to give voice to stories and experiences from the community that haven’t received the recognition that I think they should.
Ebony Gill is the creator of the Boston Urban Archive, which curates archived film, newspapers, documents, and photography from Boston, with a focus on underrepresented communities in the city. Miles Howard is a freelance writer in Boston and the founder of the Walking City Trail. He publishes the weekly hiking newsletter Mind the Moss.
The Boston Celtics underwent a preseason split with guard Lonnie Walker IV, but the reigning champs haven’t taken their eyes off the six-year veteran.
Walker agreed to a one-year, Exhibit 10 contract with the Celtics in August just before training camp commenced. It was a low-risk, high-reward move by team president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, who with limited financial wiggle room, sought out ways to improve the team’s roster ahead of its title defense.
That didn’t work out.
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Now, as Walker’s settled in with the Žalgiris Kaunas of the EuroLeague, the Celtics are among five “potential suitors,” according to NBA insider Marc Stein, to sign Walker and bring him back. The Philadephia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Miami Heat and Denver Nuggets are the others Walker is rumored to have garnered interest from.
It seemed like a perfect fit in Boston, especially once Walker took the floor for the Celtics in the preseason. The 26-year-old made four appearances, averaged 7.3 points on 42.9% shooting from the field and scored 20 points in 30 minutes during the team’s second-to-last preseason matchup against the Toronto Raptors. Stevens, seemingly, had the next depth fleece in the palm of his hands, however, once the luxury tax caught up to the Celtics it became time to cut ties with Walker — his league-minimum contract would’ve cost Boston over $10 million on top of its over $600 million offseason spree.
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“This is a championship organization coming off a championship year,” Walker said of the Celtics during team media day, per NBC Sports Boston. “It means a lot (to put on this jersey), and you kind of come into here with the championship mindset, not skipping no steps, being to the best of your capability, you owe it to your teammates each and every day to be 100 percent and be prepared, mentally and physically.”
The 49th annual First Night Boston gotunderway Tuesday morning withmore than 12 hours of free programming for Boston families and residents to enjoy and celebrate the New Year’s holiday.
First Night Boston, a tradition in the city since 1976, this year has added new indoor programming at venues in Boston and Cambridge. It also includes holiday classics like an evening parade, ice sculptures, more than a dozen live music performances in City Hall Plaza and across the city, and two fireworks displays.
Officials said Monday that T service will be free beginning at 8 p.m. and the Boston Police and Fire Departments will be staffed and out in full force to ensure residents’ safety throughout the celebrations.
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Historically, First Night has been anchored at Copley Square, but itmoved to City Hall Plaza last year because of renovations to the square. This year, events will again be based in City Hall Plaza, with programming at other venues around Boston as well.
Some highlights on the full schedule, which is available online at the First Night Boston 2025 website, include free rides on the Greenway Carousel in the Boston Common beginning at 11 a.m., a concert by the Fuller and Friends Organ Trio at the Boston Public Market at noon, performances and arts and crafts put on by the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association at City Hall, a performance by the Puppet Showplace Theater in Cambridge, and two ice skating spectaculars hosted by the Frog Pond in the Common.
The First Night Parade is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. at City Hall Plaza, and end at the Boston Common, where the first fireworks of the evening will set off at 7 p.m. More live music performances, a laser display, and countdown to midnight are scheduled at City Hall Plaza, before the final fireworks show at midnight at the Boston Harbor.
Dusty Rhodes, president of Conventures, the company that puts on the event, said First Night Boston is one of the largest New Year’s Eve celebrations in the country, and they expect a crowd of anywhere between 300,000 and 400,000 people to attend.
“It is free, open to the public, it is a much cherished tradition for many families,” Rhodes told the Globe Monday.
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Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold.
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