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Report card, part 1 of 2: grading the Celtics’ starters

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Report card, part 1 of 2: grading the Celtics’ starters


It feels just like the season simply began, but one way or the other, it’s already 1/5 of the best way via.

The Celtics are undeniably the most popular, and finest, group in basketball. They’ve received 9 straight, to maneuver to 13-3 total, and are exhibiting no indicators of slowing down anytime quickly.

At any time when a key participant is out, one other key participant steps up and fills the void. The celebs have performed like stars, their fellow starters have been glorious sidekicks and the bench is kind of presumably the highest reserve unit within the NBA.

Having stated that, there’s all the time room for enchancment. Right here’s a have a look at what every starter has accomplished effectively to this point and what they will enhance upon shifting ahead.

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Jayson Tatum: A

Giving Tatum something aside from an A would merely be unfair. He’s been one of the best participant on one of the best group within the NBA and is a authentic contender for MVP.

He’s began all 16 video games and is averaging 30.3 factors, 7.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.9 steals. He’s arguably essentially the most full and well-rounded participant within the league and has taken his recreation to the following stage this season.

Tatum zeroed in on what he wanted to handle this the offseason. His ending skill, determination making and recreation administration have all improved considerably. Even when he’s off (by his requirements), he manages to have an effect on the sport in different methods. He’s a famous person in each sense of the phrase. A tip of the cap to you, sir.

Jaylen Brown: A-

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Brown is posting career-best marks in factors (25.3), rebounds (6.9) and assists (3.5), whereas taking pictures a career-high 49 % from the ground. He’s excelling defensively, is an especially powerful cowl and sometimes appears to ship a well timed bucket when the Celtics want it.

He would get an A, however the unlucky actuality is that his turnover woes haven’t slowed down. The truth is, they’ve gotten worse. He’s averaging 3.3 per recreation, which is the worst mark of his profession and the 14th-highest whole within the NBA (in equity, he’s sandwiched between LeBron James and Kevin Durant). He coughed it up seven instances towards the Pelicans on Friday – his second seven-turnover recreation within the final six outings. That ain’t gonna minimize it.

It’s vital to notice that he has the ball a ton, so it’s pure he’d flip it over greater than a task participant. On the similar time, he must proceed to work on valuing each possession and never falling for the lure defenses set when he beats his man off the dribble. Don’t take the bait. Look forward to the play to develop and make the straightforward, appropriate learn. He’s totally succesful.

Marcus Sensible: B+

Sensible has firmly established himself as among the best passers within the NBA, interval. His playmaking skill has improved considerably over the previous few years, and anybody questioning whether or not he’s a authentic start line guard on a contender clearly doesn’t watch the Celtics a lot.

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On the flip aspect, he’s taking pictures simply 29.2 % from 3-point vary, which is his worst mark since 2016-17. His protection additionally hasn’t been fairly on the stage it wast final 12 months. Granted, that’s a tough bar to match, and it’ll probably enhance because the season unfolds, however he’s not fairly wreaking havoc on that finish like he did throughout his Defensive Participant of the Yr season.

He nonetheless has a shot on the award, however he’s not the favourite proper now. The Celtics are 14th in defensive ranking (although they’re bettering), and Sensible is as succesful as anybody as serving to that quantity proceed to development in the proper path.

Al Horford: A-

It’s fairly unbelievable what Horford is doing, and other people actually most likely aren’t speaking about it sufficient. It’s straightforward to take it with no consideration, nevertheless it’s fairly commendable that he’s placing up 11.5 and 6.9 an evening on one of the best group within the NBA at age 36.

Horford is taking pictures 56.3 % from the ground and 47.5 % from 3-point vary. Although these numbers will probably go down a bit, the overall development may be very sustainable. Groups have to fret a lot about Tatum and Brown that Horford is usually the beneficiary. He makes defenses pay over the over once more together with his trademark excessive launch and follows it up with a quarter-smirk.

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His 2.2 3-pointers per recreation is a career-high as effectively, and he’s taking part in extraordinarily constant basketball. The one motive he does not get an A is as a result of he’s regarded a step gradual on protection at instances. Only a step, nevertheless it’s noticeable in sure moments. It’s not his fault, it’s simply actuality. He’s had a tremendous season to this point.

Derrick White: B+

White is making an attempt to tip the scales right here together with his latest scorching taking pictures, but total, he’s been stable however not nice. Malcolm Brogdon’s absence has really helped him get again right into a rhythm, as he’s scored in double figures in every of the final 5 video games.

Earlier than that, he didn’t rating in double digits in eight straight video games and regarded timid at instances. White’s worth extends far past his scoring, and his playmaking has been constant all through, however the Celtics are a much more harmful group when he’s often placing the ball within the basket.

He’s taking pictures 45.2 % from 3 on the season, which is kind of commendable, nevertheless it seems like he has some moments the place he’s aggressive and others the place he blends in and passes up high-percentage pictures. The Celtics want him to persistently be aggressive like he has the previous few video games.

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Grant Williams: A

Williams, who has began seven video games, has established himself as among the best function gamers within the NBA. His up-fake, side-step 3 is deadly – assume Kareem’s hook or Duncan’s financial institution shot (it is a joke; don’t fear). Defenders should respect the shot and shut out, and he both side-steps or drives by them once they accomplish that.

He’s placing up 10.1 factors, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per night time – all profession highs by a landslide – and is taking pictures a career-best 57.8 % from the ground and 48.2 % from 3. Let that sink in for a second. This is identical Williams who missed his first 25 3-point makes an attempt. Twenty-five!

He’s come a good distance and deserves loads of credit score for diversifying his recreation. He’s a weapon as a shooter, a driver, and finisher, a passer, a rebounder, a defender and a hustle man. Now he simply has to cease complaining to the refs a lot, however he doesn’t get any demerits for that.



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Boston, MA

Boston Celtics Reportedly Interested in Trade for Pelicans Guard

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Boston Celtics Reportedly Interested in Trade for Pelicans Guard


The New Orleans Pelicans are 12-34 on the season after back-to-back blowout losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets. New Orleans is most likely out of playoff contention, and the focus should be on future building. The upcoming trade deadline could be a time to secure that.

Many contending teams in the league use the trade deadline to acquire pieces for a potential championship run. ClutchPoints writer Brett Siegel recently explored the NBA landscape ahead of the trade deadline in a couple of weeks, and Pelicans’ guard Javonte Green is a name who could be on the move to a contender.

“While they can’t move out of the second apron, the Celtics are another team exploring avenues to potentially save some money by trading Jaden Springer’s $4 million contract,” Siegel writes.

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He continues, “Pelicans swingman Javonte Green is a player the Celtics hold interest in, sources said, but New Orleans doesn’t want to take back more money. The Bucks, Nuggets, and New York Knicks have also been mentioned as teams holding a level of interest in Green.”

Pelicans guard Javonte Green dribbles the ball up the court during a regular season game.

Jan 17, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Javonte Green (4) brings the ball up court against Utah Jazz forward Kyle Filipowski (22) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

New Orleans is slightly above the luxury tax and will most definitely move to dip under it. The team received a slight relief after guard Dejounte Murray missed Saturday’s game against the Hornets. Murray had incentives written in his contract for playing in 65 games this season, which now can’t happen because of his missed time.

The Pelicans signed Javonte Green this offseason after losing key bench players like Naji Marshall and Dyson Daniels over the summer. Green is averaging 21 minutes per game, 6.1 points, and 3.4 rebounds per contest. Green has been one of the healthiest players on the Pelicans this year, playing in 41 of the team’s 46 games.

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After watching TGL’s five other teams compete, Boston Common Golf is finally on the tee come Monday night – The Boston Globe

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After watching TGL’s five other teams compete, Boston Common Golf is finally on the tee come Monday night – The Boston Globe


They’ll square off against a threesome from Jupiter Links featuring legend Tiger Woods.

Tiger Woods’s Jupiter Links team opposes Boston Common Golf Monday night at 6:30 on ESPN.Marta Lavandier/Associated Press

“The players are sort of chomping at the bit,” said Mark Lev, president and CEO of Boston Common Golf. “I’m not sure you would ever see Rory playing Tiger in a competitive outdoor environment moving forward — you’d need both guys to be in the same group in the final round, and hopefully that happens — but what’s great about TGL is you know who’s going to be playing who.”

There are a lot of unknowns, too.

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One is, how will Lev and Boston Common Golf create buzz, never mind loyalty, for a team that features one New Englander in Bradley, an Irishman in McIlroy, an Aussie in Scott, and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who will make his debut in the team’s third match, in mid-February.

Having David Ortiz on site rooting for Boston Common Golf Monday night won’t hurt, but it will take more than Big Papi.

“I like to consider it a marketing opportunity as opposed to a marketing challenge,” said Lev, who also heads up Fenway Sports Management, the marketing and sponsorship arm of Fenway Sports Group, which owns the team as well as the Red Sox and Liverpool FC.

“Owning the teams that FSG owns who play their games or matches in their own town, obviously, when you’re looking to build fandom, there’s nothing more effective than that,” said Lev. “What we’ve tried to do so far is create that connection, we’ve had a docuseries created around the making of our team that aired on NESN and the Golf Channel. And certainly Keegan and his connection to this region is a huge asset for us. And we’re looking to build that connection, we’re going to be announcing at the match a commitment our team and players are making to donate 5,000 rounds of golf to an organization called Youth on Course that will provide tee times for kids in and around Greater Boston.”

These are still early days for Boston, Jupiter, and the other teams, from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, and New York.

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“It will be a slow build,” said Lev. “But I think as our players play and show what they’re all about, they’ll endear themselves to fans in New England just like players on the sports teams in Boston do right now.”

Beyond trying to forge a bond with fans from each team’s region, the league as a whole has its hopes pinned on how the game attracts and keeps viewership.

The first match garnered an average of 919,000 viewers, and in Week 2, when Woods debuted, the number crept to 1.05 million.

Last week, the match between New York and Atlanta featured Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Patrick Cantlay, but no mega-stars.

The result was an average viewership of 682,000.

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That’s quite a drop-off, but one that Lev said the league is not making too much of given the small sample size of matches. He focused on the 868,000 average, which he said “exceeded expectations.”

For the 18-to-49-year-old demographic advertisers prize, Lev said TGL’s 43 percent of its viewership in that age group tops most of the major sports leagues and the median age of 51 is lower than the NFL, MLB, NHL, and the Premier League.

With time slots being bumped around each week, Lev said viewership has been much higher than previous programming on ESPN.

“I think everybody’s really pleased with that. It’s a great foundation to build from,” he said.

It’s fair to say that the TGL considers the matchup between McIlroy and Woods, who are co-founders of the league, to be the biggest draw to date.

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With players mic’d up, non-stop music played, and 1,500 fans in attendance encouraged to express themselves, TGL is deliberately charting a different look and feel from your standard golf tournament.

“There are no ‘Quiet, Please’ signs that are being held, quite the contrary,” said Lev, who noted fans in the arena can sit back and watch the play unfold in front of them, as opposed to picking a group at a traditional tournament to walk alongside for 18 holes. “When they’re hitting chip shots from around the green, they’re no more than 5 feet away from the fans in the stands.”

The players have been adjusting to more than the noise.

Besides hitting into a screen, players have noted the differences reading putts under television lighting than sunlight, plus other subtleties.

“Tiger was talking about how the artificial grass around the green complex, the chipping area, there’s a real difference between when they’re chipping down the grain versus into the grain,” said Lev.

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TGL features six teams of four players competing other in a tech-infused arena the size of a football field.Rebecca Blackwell/Associated Press

The result is a work in progress, as TGL strives to retain a competitive element with the entertainment factor.

“There’s a little bit of building the plane as we’re flying it here,” said Lev.

Monday night, “Boston’s team” scans its boarding pass and takes off.


Michael Silverman can be reached at michael.silverman@globe.com.

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Boston College completes sweep of Boston University before sellout crowd

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Boston College completes sweep of Boston University before sellout crowd


CHESTNUT HILL — The Boston College men’s hockey team left no doubt on Saturday night.Commonwealth Avenue belongs to the Eagles. For now, anyway.After dispatching No. 8 Boston University, 6-2, in the first leg of the weekend series on Friday with its rival separated by only a handful of Green Line stops, top-ranked Boston College defended […]

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