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Boston, MA
Forsberg: Five Celtics storylines entering a star-studded homestand
The Boston Celtics are set to launch into a season-long seven-game homestead that is loaded with intriguing matchups, including book-end visits from the two conference leaders.
The next two weeks will feel like a playoff appetizer. It’s the Chili’s Triple Dipper of basketball, with a whole bunch of tasty tilts that will pit Boston against four of the NBA’s top seven teams.
March feels like a chance to make a statement before the invariable early-April downshift, when teams start to prioritize health and rest in advance of the postseason.
Here are five things we’ll have our eyes on while Boston gets the most sleep in its own beds of the 2024-25 season:
1. Will the best continue to bring out the best in the Celtics?
Boston has the third-best record in the NBA against teams over .500 at 20-11. Only Cleveland (22-6) and Oklahoma City (21-10) have been better. Distill it down to the teams with the top 10 point differentials in the league, and Boston has the third best winning percentage (.625, 10-6 overall), trailing only the Cavaliers (.722, 13-5) and Rockets (.636, 14-8).
Lack of focus contributed to Boston’s roller-coaster ways through December and January, but about the only thing that has tripped this team up lately is the schedule. Boston ripped off 10 wins in 11 games before getting stuck in the mud Wednesday night on the second night of a back-to-back against a red-hot Detroit team.
The only back-to-back in this home stretch features two of the weaker opponents (Portland and Philadelphia), which could leave Boston fresh for the glitzier visits from elite opponents.
Outside the Detroit stumble, the Celtics have basically stiff-armed the rest of their playoff challengers behind them in the East standings, especially the Knicks. Friday night’s visit from the Cavaliers is a chance to take the season series, as Boston already snuffed out a long Cleveland winning streak near the start of the season.
The Cavaliers, riding an eight-game winning streak, sit 6.5 games ahead of Boston in the East standings and deserve a ton of respect for their consistency. That steadiness has all but eliminated any hope of Boston pushing for the top spot in the conference, even if the No. 2 seed looks pretty comfy with the way Boston’s potential path is unfolding.
Still, Friday night is the final chance for either side to make a statement, because these two teams won’t see each other again until a potential clash in the Eastern Conference finals in late May.
A visit from Denver, which was missing MVP candidate Nikola Jokic in the teams’ first meeting, looms this Sunday, and the new-look Lakers with Luka Doncic visit on February 8. The homestead concludes with the second and final meeting with the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Celtics can atone for some of their head-slapping Garden stumbles during the 2024-25 season over the next two weeks.
2. Eyes on Boston’s starting five
Boston’s preferred starting five is one of only 14 five-man lineups in the NBA with at least 250 minutes played this season. But despite finding its footing a bit in January, that group has logged just 30 minutes over two games together since February 4 (the All-Star break obviously contributing to that small number).
Boston’s preferred five — featuring Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, and Kristaps Porzingis — is still at a net rating of minus-1.6 for the season. That ranks 11th among those 14 high-usage lineups.
Boston’s starting five was outscored by 15 points in 15 minutes and 17 seconds together during Boston’s win over the Cavaliers on February 4. That group had been outscored by 14 against Philadelphia before rallying out of a 26-point hole the game before.
The Celtics’ starters have made strides since a rough start together, but they still haven’t quite found their mojo from last season. If Brown is healthy again after getting dinged up in Toronto earlier this week, there is an opportunity here to see how much progress the starters have made.
Jaylen Brown shares his thoughts on what’s changed for the Celtics recently that’s seen the team win eight of nine after a tough stretch in December and January.
3. Home is where the heart is?
Among the top 10 teams in the NBA, the Celtics have the worst home record at 18-10. The Knicks are the only other team with double-digit losses at home this season at 21-10.
The Celtics simply have to be better at home. They can’t keep giving away games on the parquet. While it’s a luxury for this team to feel confident on the road based on its league-best 24-7 mark away from home, they saw how home losses complicated their path in 2023, culminating with a Game 7 loss to the Heat at TD Garden in the East Finals.
Two of the Celtics’ three postseason losses came at home last year, and it barely slowed them down. But particularly if they have to go on the road to start the East Finals, playing better at home becomes imperative.
4. Who’s in the rotation in the big games?
When the Knicks visited last Sunday, the Celtics leaned on a familiar nine-man rotation, with Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet the only bench players utilized. This feels like the way it’s going to be when the playoffs arrive.
Torrey Craig, added earlier this month, was a DNP on Wednesday night, even with the team shorthanded in Detroit. He’s played only 32 minutes in three appearances since joining the team.
Some of the remaining back-to-backs could open the door for more regular-season playing time, but it feels like an uphill climb for anyone on the roster to be more than a playoff curveball. That said, Joe Mazzulla found small pockets for guys like Xavier Tillman to play during last year’s playoff run, so the deeper bench players need to show they can impact winning in small bursts if called upon during this stretch.
5. Will rivals’ additions impact their matchups with Boston?
The Lakers added Luka. The Thunder got back Chet Holmgren. The Cavaliers traded for De’Andre Hunter. All three teams essentially got better since the last time the Celtics saw them. So, do any of those moves complicate Boston’s quest to repeat as champions?
Given the depth and talent out West, it’s probably not worth sweating any of that until June. Visits from the Nuggets, Lakers, and Thunder are just an up-close glimpse of what might be waiting at the finish line of the season.
The bigger question seems to be whether Hunter’s addition moves the needle at all. Not to get too presumptuous, but it sure feels like the Celtics and Cavaliers are a cut above the rest of the East and are on a collision course to represent the conference.
Hunter remains in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation, even if Pritchard’s chief competition feels like Malik Beasley of the surging Pistons. Hunter has left his mark on Cleveland’s recent winning streak, including scoring 19 points in a 40-point thumping of the Magic on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers are +46 during Hunter’s floor time in the six games since he joined them.
Can Hunter help the Cavaliers corral the Jays on defense?
Last season, Hunter guarded Tatum and Brown for a combined 33 minutes of matchup time while with the Hawks. The Jays generated 32 points in those minutes on 13 of 29 shooting, per NBA tracking.
Books
Mass General nurse-turned-author Karen Winn brings Beacon Hill to life in her latest book. Add this to your beach bag.
Massachusetts General Hospital nurse-turned-author Karen Winn often writes in the Boston Athenaeum, watching tours pass by.
One day, in 2023, she joined one. And the seed for her next novel was planted.
“We passed by an oil portrait of Thomas Handasyd Perkins, a major benefactor to the Athenaeum in the 1800s. The docent alluded to this dark history as to how he’d amassed a large portion of his fortune in the opium trade,” she tells me.
“The tour group moved on — but I was stuck there thinking. I went home and fell down this rabbit-hole of research and learned, to my surprise, just how many of the Boston Brahman families made their fortune in the opium trade. It was fascinating.”
I went down a similar rabbit-hole. The Boston Brahmin opium fortunes are well-documented, including a past Harvard Art Museum exhibit, articles, books and website info including, speaking of Perkins, the Perkins School for the Blind.
Winn, who lives on Beacon Hill and was in a secret society (I asked) added bits and pieces from her own life into the novel-creating mixing bowl: What if there was a secret society built on old opium money in Beacon Hill, and a Mass General nurse was somehow involved?
“The Society” was born.
If you’re looking for a Boston-set page-turner — an “alternate universe Beacon Hill,” as Winn puts it — to kick off your summer reading, add this suspense to your beach bag.
Nutshell: The Knox, standing proudly on Mount Vernon Street in Beacon Hill, houses meetings of a secret society. Some in Boston believe it’s an elite social club — others believe it hides something sinister.
When Boston antique dealer Vivian Lawrence sees her family fortune vanish, she turns to a family legend that ties her to the Knox, seeking a way into the exclusive secret society.
Taylor Adams, a 20-something Mass General ER nurse who recently moved to Boston, becomes almost obsessed with old-moneyed Vivian, “a creature of wealth,” after Vivian lands in the ER one night. When Vivian disappears from Mass General without a trace, Taylor’s search for answers pulls her into the Knox and its dark history…
What interested me — before I knew anything of Winn’s backstory— was that it felt like it was written by someone who just moved to Boston and was in awe of the city.
Living here, we might think of Rachel Dratch and Jimmy Fallon and Denise and Sully in those old “Boston Teen” SNL sketches, or Casey Affleck as the “King of Dunkin” as summing us up, at least in terms of how outsiders see us.
But Taylor, the Mass General nurse, almost fetishizes Boston, and old-moneyed New Englanders she imagines walking down every street.
Example: when old-Boston-money Vivian lands in the ER: Taylor “swallows, a flurry of excitement building in her chest… she envisioned that the city would be teeming with these ladies… That she would get to move among their world, learn from them, drink in their fanciness… letting that old New England generational wealth rub off on her until she glimmered with something of its gold dust…It is Boston, after all: the city of cobblestones and beauty, of Harvard and MIT, of sophistication and history.”
Winn, who grew up in New Jersey, moved to Boston 20 years ago after meeting her Boston-native husband Gil at UPenn. They now live in the Beacon Hill area with their two kids and 100-pound (yup) Bernedoodle.
After two decades here, she’s still “in awe.”
“I grew up in a 5,000-person town in New Jersey. When I came to Boston, I was struck by this beautiful city. Beacon Hill is one of the most historic and charming neighborhoods,” she tells me. “Living here, one might almost be inured to it, but I have this awe. I’m always struck by the cobblestone streets and the gaslit lamps.”
Winn even started a TikTok account for @theknoxsociety, documenting life on Beacon Hill.
This is Winn’s second novel, after 2022’s “Our Little World.” But “I’m not an overnight success by any shape or form,” she says with a laugh.
“I was a nurse and a nurse practitioner, but always loved writing and wrote on the side,” says Winn, who left Mass General in 2010. “It’s a typical writer’s story: I had hundreds of rejections for short stories.”
One of those rejections — from JFK Jr.’s “George Magazine” in 2000 — actually landed her in Newsweek recently.
I called Winn to talk opium, strange graveyard tour, a terrifying house fire, TikTok, and more.
Taylor arrives in Boston with a burning curiosity about the city. “What is Boston? Who are these people?” questions swimming in her head.
“Absolutely. When I came to Boston, I was so struck by this beautiful city. In my head, I could very clearly see the Knox building: The front is on Mount Vernon Street, and the back, I imagined to look like Branch Street. Branch isn’t the back of Mount Vernon, so I gave it a fictional name.”
I love that level of detail, though. No one outside Boston — or maybe even Beacon Hill— would ever know: oh, Branch Street isn’t in back of Mount Vernon. You have other specific references, like dining at 1928.
“I almost wish I’d been a little craftier [with adding more]. For instance, at one point I had Taylor get her knives sharpened at Blackstone’s. And it was just too much detail, so I pared it down. But sometimes I’m like, ‘Oh, I wish I kept that!’ [laughs]”
[laughs] That’s how it goes.
I don’t think I realized the effect each reference would have. There are book clubs now that tour Beacon Hill and go to spots mentioned. A few toured the Boston Atheneum, or dined at 1928. I didn’t realize how much people would connect to the sense of place. It feels like it’s been embraced by people in Boston, which is so fun.
Now 1928 has a cocktail named for your book. What are more specific inspirations that went into the novel?
“For the Knox, I took inspiration from The Somerset Club and The ‘Quin — the beautiful room with fireplaces and ornate details.
“And I was in a secret society in college: Tabard Society at UPenn.”
Wow, what was that like?
“I can’t tell you. [laughs]”
[laughs] Fair enough.
“But I loved that experience. When I was rushing [or trying to get in] you’d find out if you were invited by getting handwritten notes slipped under your door. I tapped into that with The Knox sending notes.”
You said your husband went with you on midnight strolls through Boston?
“Yes! I dragged him to some graveyard tours. We did one that —it was funny, because I’m not sure how I found it, but it definitely, like, wasn’t very legit.”
[laughs] OK.
“It was just us and this guy — we weren’t allowed inside any of the cemeteries. We’d watch the tours go on the inside, and the three of us would be standing on the outside. [laughs]”
[laughs] Amazing.
“My husband’s like, ‘Where did you find this guy?’ I don’t know.”
[laughs] This feels like a “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode.
“It was quite an experience [laughs] And then, of course, I had to go back. We had to go back and do an official tour.
“And I toured the Nichols House Museum in Beacon Hill, which was neat to see another historic building and learn about family that lived there. I toured the Forbes House Museum in Milton. Forbes family was one of the Brahman families, they made their fortune in the opium trade.
“Also we had lived, at one point in the South End, and actually had a house fire. We were home at the time. Luckily, we were fine. But our house was a total loss.”
Oh my god.
“We each grabbed a kid and ran out at the door. It was pretty traumatic. Five minutes later, we would not have been able to go out that door. So, I tapped into that when I wrote the fire scene.”
Wow. That’s terrifying.
“As a writer, you store all these things up, and then go into your basket of experiences, and you get to use them.”
You also created a TikTok for the Knox. What sparked that, and how long will you keep that going?
“I’m having fun with it. I had no expectations when I started. I wasn’t big on TikTok. But having the account for the Knox itself allowed more creative freedom because I wasn’t putting myself out there — I was putting the Knox out there. So I’ve enjoyed creating these videos. Especially since the next novel is brewing in my head.”
What are you working on now?
“My next book focuses on a minor character mentioned in “The Society” — the bookstore owner, Nicholas. I was telling you earlier about those rejections — I actually wrote a short story about him years ago that was never published. It’s been living on my computer and in my head for all these years. I’m ready to tell the story. It will be another very Boston book.”
Catch Karen Winn on July 29 at Quincy’s Next Chapter Books & More.
Lauren Daley is a freelance culture writer. She can be reached at [email protected]. She tweets @laurendaley1, and Instagrams at @laurendaley1. Read more stories on Facebook here.
Boston, MA
Carjacking suspect killed by Boston officer had lengthy record with more than 17 criminal cases, court filings show – The Boston Globe
O’Malley shot and killed a suspect in a carjacking in March. The swift decision to prosecute has prompted outrage by the police union and law enforcement officials.
O’Malley, 33, has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter for the death of Stephenson King, 39, who was shot March 11 while he allegedly tried to flee a traffic stop in a stolen car. Prosecutors determined that O’Malley had no justification for shooting at a moving vehicle.
“It is disappointing that the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is choosing to second-guess an officer whose only goal was to protect the public,” O’Malley’s lawyer, David Yannetti, said in an email to the Globe. “We will continue to vigorously defend this officer and this case.”
“The main issue in this case will be who the aggressor really was and whether Officer O’Malley acted in lawful defense,” Yannetti wrote in court filings.
On Wednesday, Yannetti filed several defense motions in the Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court, in an effort to illustrate “King’s mayhem and reign of terror,” spanning nearly two decades and resulting in more than 17 criminal cases across Massachusetts, court records show.
Over the years, King has been charged with strangulation, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carjacking, breaking and entering, gun charges, and resisting arrest, according to court filings.
At the time of his death, King was free on bail for at least three separate felony cases, and had active warrants for his arrest, court records said.
O’Malley is seeking King’s mental health, criminal, and court records from all of his past cases, recordings from police body-worn and dash cameras, the medical examiner’s file on King, along with statements taken from O’Malley and witnesses at the scene of the shooting.
O’Malley told investigators that when he shot King he feared for his own life and for the life of another office on the scene, believing his colleague was about to be run over.
Police had pursued King after he allegedly committed a carjacking outside a pizza restaurant in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. About 15 minutes later, officers stopped the stolen car less than a mile away, at Linwood Square in Roxbury.
The driver ignored “multiple verbal commands” as officers approached and tried to drive away, police said.
King opened the car window, but did not turn the vehicle off. O’Malley drew his Taser and shouted, “Bro, I’m going to [expletive] shoot you,” the police report said.
That’s when King backed into the cruiser behind him, then maneuvered the vehicle forward and back “in an attempt to escape the police,” according to the report.
As King started to drive forward again, O’Malley fired three shots through the driver’s window, striking King, the report said.
King’s family has contended that he was experiencing a mental health crisis in the hours leading up to the deadly encounter.
In court filings, O’Malley’s lawyer, Yannetti, said King gave “O’Malley no choice that night.”
“Any suggestion that this shooting was precipitated by simply a ‘mental health crisis’ completely misses the point,” Yannetti wrote. “When facing an extremely dangerous threat, there is no time for a police officer to hold a counseling session on the street or to sit down to discuss the feelings of a menace who is intent on using a motor vehicle as a deadly weapon.”
“If a man is going to assault and carjack an innocent woman then threaten the lives and safety of the public and a police officer, that man needs to be stopped — whether he is in his right mind or not,” according to O’Malley’s motion.
O”Malley’s next court date, a probable-cause hearing, is scheduled for May 21.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.
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