Sports

'Different' Celtics have more work to do, but so far, they've passed every test

Published

8 months ago

May 29, 2024

'Different' Celtics have more work to do, but so far, they've passed every test

INDIANAPOLIS — This time, a trip to the Eastern Conference finals by the Boston Celtics ended without any clamoring from the public and the press box that the coach must go and, oh, by the way, let’s aim a wrecking ball at the roster.

This time, it ended with the Celtics emerging with a 105-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers Monday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to complete a sweep of the Indiana Pacers. Some rapid-fire play-by-play is required here, beginning with how the Celtics, trailing for most of the night, went on a late 10-2 run. Jayson Tatum made it 100-100 with a driving dunk, and then, ahem, series MVP Jaylen Brown tied it again, this time 102-102, with an 8-foot jump shot. Brown next delivered defense, blocking Andrew Nembhard’s would-be 3-pointer with 1:05 remaining.

And then? And then it ended, for all practical purposes, with Derrick White nailing a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining, this after the Celtics had rallied from an 8-point deficit with 5:56 remaining and a 5-point deficit with 4:14 to go.

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Yes, White’s game-winner happened to fall on the first anniversary of his improbable game-winning buzzer-beater against Miami in Game 6 of last year’s Eastern Conference finals, but that’s just fodder for Trivia Night at the local sports bar, folks. In the real world, especially the real NBA, it means nothing. For these 2024 playoff Celtics are not those 2023 playoff Celtics, who rallied for three straight victories after losing the first three games and then got blown out in Game 7 at TD Garden. Nope, these Celtics are not those Celtics at all, a point that was made by Brown after the game when he said, “We have a different team every year, different coaches. We’ve had like three coaches in the last five years. And still, people want to make it seem like it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same. Time has gone by. Experience has been gained. And we are ready to put our best foot forward.”

Brown is correct, of course. Just as he was correct, and really, really funny, when asked if he was surprised to be named series MVP. “I wasn’t expecting it at all,” he said. “I never win (expletive), so …”

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The yuck-yuck is that Brown didn’t walk away with any of the individual regular-season awards that a lot of NBA fans, including an NBA fan named Jaylen Brown, thought he should have won. It’s nice to roll it out there that Brown proved his skeptics wrong with his stellar effort against the Pacers — the 3-pointer from the corner to win Game 1 in overtime, the 40-point effort in Game 2, the solid two-way play in Game 4 — but it’s more than that. Yes, the Celtics “have a different team every year,” but this is where it’s the same, it’s the same, it’s the same: These are the Tatum/Brown Celtics, or, for those who believe placement on the marquee is important, the Brown/Tatum Celtics. It’s their time, their very own era, and they haven’t delivered a championship yet. Now they’re in the NBA Finals for the second time in three years, but with a better supporting cast — especially if Kristaps Porziņģis returns.

And so if expectations mean anything — and they do, they do — the Celtics have won nothing yet. There’s simply no scenario by which a Celtic fail in the NBA Finals against Dallas or Minnesota will be spun into silver linings, life lessons or glasses half-filled. But that’s for later on. For now, for today, the Celtics’ magnificent eyes-on-the-prize work ethic is to be saluted.

Couple what happened in Game 4 with what happened in Game 3, when Boston rallied to victory after trailing by 18 points, and what we have here is a team that every coach at every level can use for show-and-tell when explaining that talented teams don’t win on talent alone. They also win because they’re capable of old-fashioned gut checks.

“We feel comfortable in any type of game,” White said. “We feel like we have the answers for anything teams throw at us, no matter what the scenario is.”

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Much will be written that the Pacers conveniently rolled over for the Celtics in this series. They probably should have won Game 1, and they could have won Games 3 and 4. They also have a lot of unhappy fans who believe Brown should have received a flagrant with 7:23 remaining when he inadvertently struck T.J. McConnell in the face — hard — as the Pacer was grabbing a rebound. It was ruled a common foul. “We feel that it was unfortunate, but it did not rise to the level of a flagrant foul,” crew chief Zach Zarba said, per a pool report.

There’s room for a grown-up discussion as to how that play should have been adjudicated. Kevin McHale clotheslining Kurt Rambis it was not, but it was a hit with hair on it, even if delivered by accident.

To argue that the Pacers should have won this or that game is to take criticism of the Celtics to an absurd level. It’s like saying the Seattle Seahawks should have won Super Bowl XLIX but lost to the Patriots because Russell Wilson decided to throw the ball. It’s like saying the Red Sox should have won Game 6 of the 1986 World Series but lost because Bill Buckner had the ball go between his legs.

Stop that. Really, stop it. The Celtics are now 12-2 in the playoffs. But they’re not mauling everybody. They just happen to be the team with the best record and the best gut checks.

(Photo of Derrick White’s winning shot over Aaron Nesmith: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

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Sports

Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson charged in DUI case

Published

24 minutes ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Rams wide receiver Demarcus Robinson charged in DUI case

Rams receiver Demarcus Robinson, who was arrested in November, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of driving under the influence of alcohol, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Robinson is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 24 at the Van Nuys Courthouse.

TMZ.com first reported the charge.

Robinson was arrested on Nov. 25 on suspicion of driving under the influence after California Highway Patrol officers observed him allegedly speeding at more than 100 mph on the 101 Freeway in Woodland Hills. He was cited at the scene and released.

Coach Sean McVay did not suspend Robinson, who has 31 receptions for a career-best 505 yards and a career-best seven touchdowns. Robinson is scheduled to start on Monday when the Rams play the Minnesota Vikings in an NFC wild-card game at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

A few days after his arrest, Robinson said he made “a bad decision” to drive while impaired.

“It’s a bad look,” he said. “I don’t want to bring that type of light or any type of negative energy toward the team.”

The NFL conducts independent investigations of off-field incidents involving players but does not typically make a decision about suspensions until the legal process concludes.

Robinson, a ninth-year pro, played this season on a one-year $4-million contract that included $1 million in incentives, according to Overthecap.com.

Sports

Ana Bărbosu, Romanian gymnast involved in Olympic bronze medal controversy, commits to Stanford

Published

7 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Ana Bărbosu, Romanian gymnast involved in Olympic bronze medal controversy, commits to Stanford

Romanian gymnast Ana Bărbosu, who won a bronze on floor exercise at the 2024 Olympic Games after a controversial ruling that stripped the medal from American Jordan Chiles, will join Stanford’s gymnastics team in the fall. She announced her commitment via Instagram on Wednesday.

“Can’t wait to join this amazing family! Go Card,” she wrote.

Bărbosu, 18, was awarded the bronze medal six days after the floor exercise final after her team appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). During the Aug. 5 event, Chiles made the podium after her coach, Cecile Landi, successfully inquired to have Chiles’ score raised by 0.1, bumping her from fifth to third place. The court ruled that the judges presiding over the final should not have accepted the inquiry because Landi’s request came four seconds after the one-minute deadline to submit it. The International Olympic Committee reallocated Chiles’ bronze medal to Bărbosu, who received it at a ceremony in Bucharest, Romania’s capital.

Bărbosu’s elation and devastation was in the spotlight on the day of the floor exercise final. When Chiles, the last competitor in the event, initially scored a 13.666, Bărbosu — who scored 13.700 — began celebrating what she thought was a third-place finish. After Landi’s inquiry led to Chiles’ score change, Bărbosu’s dropped her Romanian flag out of shock and left the floor in tears.

Though Bărbosu is currently the official owner of the bronze, the medal is still tied up in appeals. Chiles’ attorneys filed a formal appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s Supreme Court, to overturn the CAS ruling on Sept. 16 and added a second appeal brief on Sept. 24. USA Gymnastics also filed a separate appeal in conjunction with Chiles’ application. Chiles’ attorneys are arguing that CAS did not consider video evidence that “showed her inquiry was submitted on time.”

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While Bărbosu’s participation in the Paris Games has largely been clouded by the floor final controversy, she helped Romania to a seventh-place finish in the team final and earned a spot in the individual all-around final. In the 2026 NCAA gymnastics season, she’ll join a Stanford squad that went on a Cinderella run from a No. 52 ranking in Week 1 to the 2024 NCAA championship semifinal. It’s likely Bărbosu and Chiles will face off at the collegiate level next season, as Chiles will be completing her senior season with UCLA gymnastics and Bărbosu will make her NCAA debut. Former Pac-12 foes Stanford and UCLA are in different conferences now (the ACC and Big Ten, respectively), but the schools have a dual meet slated for March 9, indicating they will likely continue scheduling meets together in the future.

Another gymnast who competed for Romania at the 2024 Olympics will also enter the NCAA ranks soon, as Lilia Cosman committed to Michigan State.

Required reading

(Photo: Lionel Bonaventure / AFP via Getty Images)

Sports

Notre Dame football team members dealing with flu ahead of semifinal vs Penn State: report

Published

8 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Some members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have to do their best Michael Jordan impression on Thursday.

The flu is reportedly going around the team, just hours before their College Football Playoff semifinal against Penn State.

On3 Sports reported that “those who have it have it bad, but it sounds like that’s mostly backups and special teams players.”

A detail view of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo is seen at the 50-yard line on the field in action during a football game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sept. 23, 2023 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Other reports since indicate that the illness has subsided in recent days, but players are not out of the woods yet.

The Fighting Irish are riding high headed into Thursday’s Orange Bowl after taking down the second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in the quarterfinal last week.

Notre Dame earned the seventh seed in the bracket, which got them to host a home game against No. 10 Indiana. That was a rather easy victory, but Thursday may just be their toughest test yet.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish cheerleaders run down field bearing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish logo in action during a game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinals on Oct. 12, 2024 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. (Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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Penn State held Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty to just 104 rushing yards last week, his lowest of the season. That is not necessarily great news for the Irish, considering Riley Leonard had just 90 yards passing against the Bulldogs.

The Nittany Lions are the sixth seed in the bracket.

The Fighting Irish’s season seemed to be dead in the water after losing at home to Northern Illinois in the second week of the season, but they have since rattled off a dozen consecutive wins to find themselves just one victory away from their second national title game in the last 15 years.

However, if they can get by what seemed to be a program-altering loss at the time, a bug seems to be just a minor speed bump.

This is the third time the Fighting Irish are in the playoffs, having lost in the semifinals in both 2018 and 2020.

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