The Boston Celtics are facing an offseason full of unknowns
The Boston Celtics are facing an offseason full of unknowns
After being eliminated in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, the Boston Celtics are expected to undergo some changes this summer. Brad Stevens must find a way to re-tool the roster while also ducking under the second luxury tax apron. Furthermore, Boston's plans will be made all the more difficult due to Jayson Tatum's injury-induced absence. The St. Louis native isn't expected back in the rotation until 2026-27, as he continues to recover from an Achilles tendon injury.
As such, Celtics fans need to strap in. The upcoming summer is going to be full of twists and turns. Worst of all, some of the trades that Stevens may make could see fan favorites heading to the exit door. Still, since moving into the front office, Stevens has rarely put a foot wrong, so he will likely have the full support of the fan base.
CLNS Media's Bobby Manning recently discussed the upcoming summer and how it's filled with the unknown for Boston and its fan base. Manning's comments came during a guest appearance on the "Five Reason Sports" YouTube channel, hosted by Bobby Krivitsky.
You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.
Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on:
YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS
Substack: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indianapolis Star
42 minutes ago
- Indianapolis Star
Doyel: Pacers never give up, have a star who doesn't miss in clutch time. It's who they are
OKLAHOMA CITY – Obi Toppin has the ball 60 feet from the basket, six seconds left in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, and Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle doesn't want a timeout. The Pacers have never led the Oklahoma City Thunder, not for one second of this friggin' game in that friggin' madhouse they call Paycom Center, and this is their chance. And Carlisle doesn't want a timeout. He's been here before, see, and not just in these 2025 NBA Playoffs — though Lord knows, as do Cleveland and Milwaukee and New York — he's been here before in these NBA playoffs. Carlisle was first here, so to speak, 14 years ago in Dallas. The Mavericks had a brilliant basketball savant named Jason Kidd running the offense, and Carlisle was saying earlier Thursday, maybe 90 minutes before tipoff, that the Mavericks took off only after he got out of the way and let Kidd work his magic. That was the 2010-11 season, when the Mavs won the 2011 NBA title. This was Thursday night, Game 1 of the NBA Finals, as the Pacers are hunting the 2025 NBA title: Toppin has the ball just short of midcourt, and Carlisle isn't calling timeout because he trusts his players to make the right choice — get the ball into the hands of Tyrese Haliburton — and then he trusts Haliburton to do whatever his brilliant basketball mind tells him. Toppin makes the right play. He hands it to Haliburton, moving across the center stripe. And now Haliburton's mind is moving as fast as his feet, and his feet can move. Aaron Nesmith is coming to set a screen, but that beautiful mind of Haliburton is doing the math and gauging the game clock and the distance between himself and his preferred shooting spot. Nesmith is heading his way, but the numbers in Haliburton's head aren't adding up, so he doesn't wait. He dribbles past Nesmith, taking Cason Wallace along for the ride. Poor Cason Wallace, you know? He's just an accessory at this point, a trinket Haliburton is taking with him as he hurries to a spot 21 feet from the basket. Just inside the 3-point arc now. Wallace is close, but not close enough. The clock is ticking down, close to zero — but not, for the Oklahoma City Thunder, close enough, Haliburton is rising. He's shooting. The ball passes through the basket with 0.3 seconds left. The Pacers take their first lead of the game, 111-110. That's the final — Pacers 111, Thunder 110 — because the Thunder cannot get off a shot. Haliburton has just won his third game of this postseason, and remember: He sent a fourth game, against the Knicks, to overtime at the buzzer. Afterward, in the locker room, Haliburton is icing both knees. He's soaking both feet in an ice bath. Someone is trying to hype him up, tell him how amazing this game was, how amazing Haliburton was. And Tyrese Haliburton is giving a wan smile, because he's tired, and this is what he's saying. 'It's just one game.' The Pacers beat the best team in basketball, one of the most dominant teams — statistically — in NBA history. And the Pacers didn't even play that well. Well, not until the final 13½ minutes. The Pacers scored 45 points in those final 13½ minutes, a frenzied pace against any team, but unthinkable against a team as dominant as the Thunder have been this season. They went 68-14 in the regular season, winning the Western Conference, by 16 games — and they were even more dominant, if you can believe it, against the Eastern Conference. The Thunder went 29-1 against teams from the East this season, the best record of any team, ever, against the opposing conference. And the Thunder did it with defense, and with a nasty homecourt advantage. And the Pacers did that in the final 13½ minutes? To the Thunder? In that arena? 'This arena is madness,' Carlisle was saying afterward. 'The decibels were insane.' So was this Pacers' comeback. Again. Look, we've seen this happen so often now in these playoffs it's almost surprising when the Pacers don't rally. They stormed back from 20-point deficits twice in nine days against Milwaukee and Cleveland and were down 14 late in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. What do those games have in common? Haliburton heroics at the end. He beat the Bucks with a driving layup at the buzzer over Giannis Antetokounmpo. He beat the Cavaliers with a step-back 3-pointer against Ty Jerome. He sent the Knicks game into overtime with that loooooong 2-pointer that everyone thought was the game-winning 3 at the buzzer. But before we continue celebrating another of Haliburton's heroics, how about we mention how this game was even remotely winnable? There was plenty of Haliburton earlier in the fourth quarter, sure. But until the very end, it was even more Andrew Nembhard and Obi Toppin and Myles Turner. That was the trio at the heart of a 15-4 run by the Pacers that turned a 94-79 game — borderline blowout — into a 98-94 heart-thumper. And they did it in five possessions, scoring points in chunks of three: A three-point play by Nembhard, attacking Thunder defensive ace Alex Caruso and cradling the ball like a fullback before finishing at the rim. Two 3-pointers by Toppin, one off a drive-and-kick from Nembhard. Two 3-pointers from Turner. Turner adds a 15-footer. Nembhard buries a 3-pointer, and two free throws, and he's the one defending Thunder MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 38 points but needed 40. On the Thunder's final shot, leading by one, SGA is attacking Nembhard and Nembhard is staying in front of him, making him take a difficult 15-footer, and doing it without fouling. SGA misses. Nesmith grabs the rebound. Passes to Toppin. Carlisle doesn't call timeout. Before the final second, before the fourth quarter, before the final 13½ minutes, the Pacers were almost historically bad in one category. 'We had to play a lot better,' Carlisle said of his message to his team at halftime, after it committed 19 turnovers in the first half. ' I mean, 19 turnovers in a half, if it's not a record for the Finals, it's got to be up there close to it.' The Thunder does this to teams. They have the best set of perimeter defenders in the league, led by All-Defensive ace Luguentz Dort, built like an NFL linebacker at 6-4, 220 pounds and every bit as fast and explosive. He was shadowing Haliburton, or letting Gilgeous-Alexander do it, or letting Caruso, or Cason Wallace, or Jalen Williams. All of them can handle the task, against any perimeter player in the league, which is why Haliburton scored just 14 points on just 13 field-goal attempts — but not because he was timid. He just couldn't get open, not against an OKC team that switches everything, handing Haliburton from one defensive menace to another. And closer to the rim, 7-1 Chet Holmgren and 7-0 Isaiah Hartenstein can move their feet like much smaller defenders. And all of them, all five players on the floor for the Thunder — whichever five it is — claw at the ball whenever it's within reach. At one point in the third quarter the Thunder led 67-55 and two Pacers, Turner and Nesmith, had more turnovers (five each) than Oklahoma City had as a team (four). 'You know,' Haliburton was saying afterward, 'it felt like it could get ugly — who knows where this game is heading? I thought we did a great job of just walking them down. When (the deficit) gets to 15, you can panic or you can talk about how do we get it to 10 and how do we get it to five and from there.' The Pacers did it with defense and 3-pointers. The Thunder have a brutal defense to try to score against anywhere near the basket, so the Pacers rallied by getting hot from 3-point range. They were 18-for-39 for the game, and getting better as the game went along: 10-for-20 in the second half, then 6-for-10 in the fourth quarter. At the other end, the Pacers' defense — no slouch of its own — was wearing on SGA and Jalen Williams. Yes, Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points, but he needed 30 shots (14-for-30). And Williams, who averaged 21.6 ppg this season, scored 17 on 6-for-19 shooting. Nembhard did the bulk of the work on SGA, and Nesmith did the bulk of the work on Williams, but they cross-matched at times, and Bennedict Mathurin was particularly effective when he defended SGA and Williams off the bench. But Nembhard was the Pacers' defensive star of this game, no matter how many points SGA scored, and when a reporter asked Haliburton about Nembhard afterward, Haliburton was thrilled. 'Appreciate you for asking that question,' he said. 'He's our guy. (Nembhard's) been our guy all year. If there wasn't the 65-game rule, he's an All-Defensive guy, plain and simple. 'Shai is the hardest guy to cover 1-on-1 in the NBA. There's no one look we can give that's going to work every time. But we trust Drew in those situations. … He's done a lot of the dirty work for years now, and that's his calling card in this league and he's an elite defender.' Nembhard at one end. Haliburton at the other. The Pacers rallying and storming back, again and again, and this is just who they are. 'The common denominator is them,' Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. 'They've had so many games like that that have seemed improbable.' Last word goes to the guy who keeps hitting the last shot. 'This group never gives up,' Haliburton said. 'We never believe that the game is over until it hits zero, and that's just the God's honest truth.' Find IndyStar columnist Gregg Doyel on Threads, or on BlueSky and Twitter at @GreggDoyelStar, or at Subscribe to the free weekly Doyel on Demand newsletter.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Warriors work out champion who shot 41.3 percent from 3-point land
The post Warriors work out champion who shot 41.3 percent from 3-point land appeared first on ClutchPoints. With the NBA Draft a little less than a month away, NBA teams have been conducting workouts for prospective draft prospects. With the draft combine having been completed last month, individual and group workouts will be the norm until the draft arrives. The Golden State Warriors recently conducted a workout ahead of the NBA Draft with former Houston guard LJ Cryer, as per Chris Baldwin of PaperCity Magazine. Advertisement LJ Cryer has done pre-draft workouts with six NBA teams so far, including the Warriors, and he's hoping to shed some of the misconceptions about him. 'You kind of hear some teams might think you're too small,' Cryer said. 'I'm not a traditional point guard. But some teams like the way I shoot the ball and how competitive I am. I'm just taking it all in and just trying to get my foot in the door.' Cryer spent the last two seasons of his college basketball career at Houston after playing the first three seasons at Baylor. He was a strong three-point shooter in college, something that might interest the Warriors. During his final season at Houston, he shot 42.4 percent from three-point range. He shot 42 percent or better in three of his five college seasons with a career average of 41.3 percent. The Warriors currently have only one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft at No. 41 in the second round. Most current mock drafts have Cryer going undrafted. It's possible that the Warriors could select him at No. 41 if he impressed enough during their workouts. Or if he does go undrafted, he could catch on with an NBA team as an undrafted free agent and possibly on a two-way contract. Advertisement Last season, the Warriors also did not have a first-round pick. They used their second-round pick at No. 52 on Quinten Post. Post became a regular in the rotation and had his two-way contract converted to a standard deal before the NBA Playoffs. Related: Why Warriors' Brandin Podziemski doesn't want a Giannis Antetokoumpo trade Related: Warriors' Brandin Podziemski on getting 'Stephen Curry Green Light'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Thunder's Mark Daigneault has '99 mph fastball' comparison to Pacers offense before NBA Finals
The post Thunder's Mark Daigneault has '99 mph fastball' comparison to Pacers offense before NBA Finals appeared first on ClutchPoints. As the Oklahoma City Thunder look to win the NBA Finals against the Indiana Pacers, the team will still have its hands full as their Eastern Conference opponent has had an impressive playoff run. While Thunder's Mark Daigneault has shown respect to fellow head coach Rick Carlisle, he would also shout out the entire team for what they have done, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Advertisement Indiana has shown throughout the past few seasons the fast pace they play, which overwhelmed teams in the playoff run like the Milwaukee Bucks, the East's No. 1 seed in the Cleveland Cavaliers, and recently with the New York Knicks. Daigneault would speak about how they're like a '99 mph fastball' about baseball, according to ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel. 'They're a tall task,' Daigneault said. 'The fundamentals are not complicated, we aren't inventing anything this week. They pump a 99 mph fastball at you, and you can prepare all you want for that, but when you're in the batter's box, it's different when it's time to hit. It's going to be a very tall challenge.' The main star behind their offense is no doubt star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who Daigneault spoke highly about on Monday. 'He's pretty unique. There's guys similar to him, but he's pretty unique,' Daigneault said via the team's YouTube page. 'The transition catalyst that he is is definitely unique. He does a great job of activating his teammates in transition with pace and advanced passing. He's a dynamic pick-and-roll player that can make every pick-and-roll pass. He generates great pace in the pick-and-roll game, which puts teams behind the ball against him. And he can score.' Thunder's Mark Daigneault speaks highly about Tyrese Haliburton © Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Subsequently, the Thunder head coach spoke more about Haliburton's impact and how he attributes a lot of facets in the Pacers' offense, which has been this playoff run. While Haliburton's passing has been talked about heavily, it's his 'threat as a scorer' that Daigneault spoke about. Advertisement 'Because he activates his team so much, I think the passing gets a lot of shine, but it's created by his threat as a scorer, and his gravity as a scorer,' Daigneault said. 'If you didn't have to honor him as a scorer, he wouldn't be as effective as a passer, or he wouldn't have the same opportunities to create. There's a reason they are where they are. There's a reason he's where he is. We have great respect for them, certainly for them, and they're a tall task to try to handle on both ends of the floor.' Consequently, Game 1 of the NBA Finals between Oklahoma City and Indiana will take place on Thursday night. Related: Pacers' Myles Turner gives Pascal Siakam his flowers before NBA Finals Related: Why Pacers' Aaron Nesmith is ready for SGA after Jalen Brunson battle
