Boston, MA
How the Boston Celtics Went from NBA Championship Favorites to Brink of Elimination
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
It was sitting right there for the Boston Celtics.
After the Milwaukee Bucks were upended in the first round by the eighth-seeded Miami Heat, Boston instantly became a clear betting favorite to win the championship.
Now five games into the Eastern Conference semifinals, and following a 115-103 beatdown at the hands of the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday (it wasn’t as close as the score suggests), Boston is one loss from elimination.
With the Celtics down 3-2 to reigning MVP Joel Embiid, FiveThirtyEight’s projection system now gives them just a 27 percent chance to return to the conference finals.
So, how did they get here?
Right now, it’s hard to look anywhere but the defensive side of the floor.
Last season, Boston allowed a whopping 5.1 fewer points per 100 possessions than the league average. This season, that mark was 3.3 points better than the average. However, among this year’s playoff participants, only the Atlanta Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers have given up more points per 100 possessions, per Cleaning the Glass.
And it’s often been the typically stout defensive backcourt that includes Marcus Smart, Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon that’s been burned.
Trae Young got to at least 30 points in each of the last four games of that first-round series. Dejounte Murray had at least 23 in each of the first four.
With Embiid missing Game 1 of this second-round tilt against Philadelphia, Boston had an opportunity to open with a statement. Instead, it surrendered 45 to James Harden. Then, The Beard got 42 in Game 4. And though he only took eight shots on Tuesday, he picked the perimeter defense apart to the tune of 10 dimes. His backcourt mate, Tyrese Maxey, also dropped 30 points.
Kevin O’Connor @KevinOConnorNBA
James Harden and Tyrese Maxey ran a combined 53 pick-and-rolls and scored an incredible 1.15 points per play tonight in Game 5, per <a href=”https://twitter.com/SecondSpectrum?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@SecondSpectrum</a>.<br><br>Harden orchestrated the entire game. Maxey provided a major spark. A dominant effort by the Sixers against the Celtics. <a href=”https://t.co/b3Impa1LM8″>pic.twitter.com/b3Impa1LM8</a>
At the outset of a given pick-and-roll, isolation or whatever set puts someone like Smart or White against a creator up top, the containment hasn’t been as good as it was last season or even during the regular 2022-23 season. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum haven’t been quite as menacing on the wings either.
But the bigger problem underlying all of that may be coach Joe Mazzulla’s unwillingness or inability (due to injuries) to deploy the two-big lineups that were so dominant in 2022-23.
Playing Al Horford and Robert Williams III together certainly limits Boston’s spacing. And you don’t think of twin towers as the best option against a heavy pick-and-roll attack like the one Philly used on Tuesday. But those two are mobile enough to survive on the perimeter. And more importantly, they make the back line more stout for the struggling guards and wings.
Tatum is a good defender, but he’s not the weakside menace that Williams can be.
Of course, that’s not the only reason Boston is faltering. The numbers are good on offense, but it’s not infallible either.
Brown is barely averaging more assists (3.5) than turnovers (3.1). After going 11-of-27 from the field in Tuesday’s loss, Tatum has been at or below 45 percent in seven of his 11 games. Horford is shooting below 40 percent from the field for the entire postseason.
But the biggest problem may be an overreliance on the three.
Boston’s 42.6 three-point attempts per game in the regular season trailed only the Golden State Warriors. And over the course of an 82-game campaign, that kind of volume is almost certainly a good thing. Bad nights here or there will be forgotten or replaced in our collective psyche by a season-long 37.7 three-point percentage that ranked sixth.
The postseason is a completely different ball game. It’s a pressure cooker. If you live and die by the three, the deaths feel a lot heavier. That weight can lead to pressure. That pressure can lead to thinking when you shoot. More misses. It’s a vicious circle.
Boston was 12-of-38 (31.6 percent) in the Game 5 loss. It’s now 1-4 in playoff games in which it fails to hit at least 39 percent of its triples. That’s a pretty high benchmark. But if the Celtics continue to defend this poorly, it appears that’s where they have to get.
Or, they have to find a way to take what defenses are giving them.
The desire to get threes up has become so ingrained in Boston that its players will often pass up good-to-great looks inside the three-point line for bad-to-OK ones outside it.
Suddenly, it feels like the Celtics need a borderline miraculous two-game stretch to get out of a series it was supposed to win handily.
But they still can’t be counted out.
They surged into that favorite position after the Bucks’ elimination for a reason. In theory, they check so many boxes. Williams, Horford and Grant Williams allow them to play big or small. They can get creation from several players on the roster, including Tatum, Brown, Brogdon, White and Smart.
And when engaged, the guards and wings are as versatile as any perimeter corps in the league.
That, of course, is the key.
Perhaps as much as any team left standing, the Celtics float in and out of focus for seemingly no reason. In what was the most important game of the season to this point, they looked completely disconnected on defense.
That can’t happen, especially against a team with two MVPs and plenty of shooting around them.
If Boston is going to make it to the next round, it can’t play with any complacency. It has to defend like the season is on the line (because now, of course, it is). It has to be willing to play big (literally and otherwise). And it has to be smart on offense.
That all sounds pretty obvious, but it’s the obvious stuff that the Celtics aren’t doing.
Boston, MA
Boston doctor Derrick Todd accused of sexually assaulting 200 patients charged with rape
A prominent Boston-area doctor accused in several lawsuits of sexually assaulting more than 200 former patients was indicted by a grand jury on rape charges.
Dr. Derrick Todd allegedly assaulted two women during examinations in December 2022 and June 2023 at the Charles River Medical Associates in Framingham, Mass., the Middlesex County District Attorney announced Thursday.
Todd, a rheumatologist, appeared in Middlesex Superior Court Friday after he handed himself over to police the previous night.
The two women had either a pelvic exam or pap smear with the doctor when the alleged assault occurred, NBC Boston reported.
The patients alleged the exams went beyond “normal.”
One of the women endured enough pain for her to scream at Todd to stop but the doctor didn’t listen and continued the exam.
The second patient alleged she didn’t give Todd consent to perform the specific examination but the doctor went ahead despite the rejection, the outlet reported.
Todd pleaded not guilty to the two rape charges.
He was held on a $10,000 bail.
A judge ordered Todd to surrender his passport, not have any contact with his alleged victims, and give up all medical licenses.
Claims of abuse from Todd date back to 2010 but only surfaced in 2023 after Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital received anonymous complaints.
Todd is the former chief of clinical rheumatology at the Boston hospital but resigned after 14 years in 2023 when two other physicians questioned the appropriateness of pelvis exams for his rheumatology patients, the Boston Globe reported.
Over 200 of Todd’s former patients accused him of performing unnecessary pelvic floor therapy, breast examinations, testicular examinations, and rectal examinations.
The accusers include over 200 women and several men between teenagers and 60-year-olds.
Attorneys for 180 of the former patients say the two rape charges are just the start of the doctor’s legal battle.
“It’s just the beginning of the criminal case against Dr. Todd, but it does help validate the civil claims that Lubin & Meyer is pursuing on behalf of so many of his former patients,” Attorney William Thompson said. “Fundamentally, it’s about a doctor abusing his position. And taking advantage of patients who put their trust in him for his own personal sexual gratification.”
Todd voluntarily ceased his medical practice in Massachusetts in September 2023.
The announcement was made in a letter to the Board of Registration in Medicine.
The class-action lawsuit against Todd also listed the hospital as a defendant for allegedly knowing about the abuse and failing to stop it.
Todd was fired from the hospital in July 2024.
With Post wires
Boston, MA
O’shae Brissett, part of Boston Celtics championship, reportedly signs with Long Island Nets
O’shae Brissett, who won a championship with the Boston Celtics in June but hasn’t played professionally since, has reportedly signed an NBA G-League level contract with the Brooklyn Nets G League team, the Long Island Nets.
Bobby Manning was first with the news Friday morning…
Sources tell me Oshae Brissett signed a G-League contract with the Long Island Nets
— Bobby Manning (@RealBobManning) January 17, 2025
The 6’7” 26-year-old Brissett, a defensive specialist, will join Long Island having last played for the Boston Celtics as a part of the NBA Championship squad last year.
In his defining moment of the title run, Brissett was inserted as a small ball center by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla in Game 2 of the Celtics-Pacers conference title series. It was his first playoff minutes, but he played a critical role defensively, picking up three steals and finishing a +15 in his 12 minutes on the court.
“Just his presence, his energy, his athleticism,” Mazzulla said after that game. “Just gave us, I think he had a dunk, got a steal, got us out in transition with a couple [of] rebounds. So just, he plays with such a high level of intensity and energy. It’s big for us.”
In his 55 games with the Celtics in the 2023-24 season, Brissett started just one and played roughly 11.5 minutes per game. He averaged 3.7 points per game, 2.9 rebounds, and 0.8 assists. He shot 44.4% from the field, 27.3% from beyond the arc. He adds yet another NBA veteran presence to the young Long Island Nets team with .
Brissett played three years with the Indiana Pacers, his best year coming in 2021-22 when he played 67 games, 25 starts, averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds.
However, he hasn’t played since the NBA Finals. Brissett, who turned 26 years old in June, declined a $2.5 million dollar player option with Boston at the end of June. He hoped that he could get more by testing the free-agent market. Similarly, the Toronto native dropped out of the Canadian national team, coached by Jordi Fernandez, to focus his free agency. However, offers or at least offers he liked never materialized and he remained a free agent until Friday.
Brissett’s rebounding and size will give Long Island some added depth, and in Long Island’s case, a potential starter. Brissett always intended to pursue a return to the NBA, and his signing with the Long Island Nets is a first step to getting back to that dream.
Brissett also re-unites with Kendall Brown who had been his Indiana Pacers teammate two years ago.
Boston, MA
Magic Look to Bounce Back With More Energy at Celtics
BOSTON – Over two weeks ago, after the Orlando Magic’s latest rally fell short in a loss to the Detroit Pistons, fourth-year guard Jalen Suggs called out a worrying trend among his team in hopes of nipping it in the bud.
“We’re putting ourselves in these holes and spotting teams leads, then having to fight, scratch, claw just to get back in the game and give ourselves a chance,” Suggs said on New Year’s Day.
The Magic had developed a resilience that meant they were never out of games, no matter the score. Complimentary, energy-filled basketball helped Orlando do the fighting, scratching and clawing to get back into those games.
Did it always result in a victory? Not quite. But the relentless attitude and constant effort – especially for a team so handicapped by its shrinking list of healthy players – was commendable, and has been embedded in the Magic’s DNA.
In the rare occasions when it doesn’t show face, though, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley says it’s “glaring.” That was the case when the Milwaukee Bucks delivered a 29-point shellacking to Orlando, marking the most lopsided loss for the Magic this year.
“There was an energy and effort issue,” said Mosley postgame.
Wendell Carter Jr. would later say his team was “out-physicaled” and made life too easy for their opponent.
Then, in the locker room, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope told reporters Orlando got its “a– whooped,” and Paolo Banchero told reporters, “[A]s a group top to bottom, we’ve got to be more ready to play. We’re down a lot of bodies, but we can’t make excuses and we’ve just got to come out and play for each other.”
To Banchero’s point, the Magic’s 124 missed games from players due to injury or illness haven’t been a catch-all, safety-net excuse when the team is struggling. Instead, their aforementioned resilience built an identity that helped them generate results throughout the entire first half of the season, regardless of available contributors.
It justifies Mosley’s claims that the lackluster performance vs. the Bucks “wasn’t Orlando Magic basketball. Not even close.” Because although that was the case in Game 42, through the first 41 games, it wasn’t.
“It’s something that you can learn from, and you have to be able to bounce back, which this group has always done,” Mosley said.
With a national audience watching along, Orlando (0-4 in national TV games this season) pays its only visit to TD Garden Friday evening, squaring off with the defending champion Boston Celtics for the second of three matchups this season. The Magic host the 18-time champs once more in April to close the Kia Center’s regular season slate.
Boston has dropped three of their last five outings, including an uncharacteristic loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Scotiabank Arena. The Celtics were without Jayson Tatum due to a last-minute spat with an illness in the Magic’s Dec. 23 home win, but Orlando was shorthanded as well. Of their top four scorers, only Suggs was available.
“We beat them last time at home, so I’m sure they haven’t forgot that,” Paolo Banchero said in Orlando’s locker room Wednesday. “They have a hell of a home atmosphere [and] home crowd, so they’ll be ready to play in front of their fans.”
Heading into Friday’s tilt, where both teams are eager to wipe the slate clean from their mid-week malaise, Boston reports a clean bill of health. Now, only Banchero is available of the Magic’s top scorers, and other key reserves are unavailable as well.
MORE: Magic-Celtics Injury Report
Those who are available, however, say they shouldn’t have any issue getting back to their standard.
“Playing against teams like this is what hoopers get up for,” Anthony Black said. “Definitely getting up for this game. It’s always fun playing against some good hoopers, so I think we’re up and I think we’ll be ready to bring energy come game time.”
“You don’t like losing games, especially when you get your butt kicked,” Mosley said, “but you also have to know you have to bounce back, can’t hang your head, be ready to go and move on the next game.”
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