Latest news with #NBAEasternConference
Time of India
a day ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Jayson Tatum drops massive ‘recovery' tease for fans with latest Instagram story
Jayson Tatum's injury left the Boston Celtics with a significant bother ahead of the upcoming season. However, his latest Instagram story will come as a massive surprise and more as a fresh air of respite for the franchise and the fans. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now It was a double-blow for the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals as not only did they succumb to the New York Knicks, but they lost one of their key players to injury. Jayson Tatum, the small forward for the Celtics, was running riot against the Knicks before the injury left him and his team rattled. They would eventually go on to lose the game and later be overpowered by the Knicks, emphatically. Jayson Tatum teases recovery with latest Instagram story A couple of months ago, on that hallowed night of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Jayson Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon. The Celtics were drubbed emphatically by the Knicks, thereby dealing a telling blow to their overall campaign. However, since then, Tatum has been working on his recovery extensively, with his latest Instagram story suggesting the same. In an Instagram story posted on Sunday, Tatum uploaded a picture of his legs without a walking boot in the frame. This was nothing more than an indication of the fact that he has been recovering significantly ever since the injury happened, with no need for the walking boot for now. In what was an update prior to this, Tatum posted a snap of himself working out in a walking boot last month. With the boot not in the frame, the fans would be happy to know that Tatum is on the right track to recovery. As the medical reports go and the medical experts suggest, it will at least be 10 months before he can make a comeback to the NBA. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Looking back to what happened in Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals While Tatum continued his full-blown assault on a night that saw him racking up 42 points on 16-for-28 shooting from the field while also chronicling 7-for-16 from 3-pointers. Apart from his shooting accuracy, he also dropped eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks. With 3:09 left in Game 4, Tatum attempted a throw to a sprinting Jaylen Brown. Much to the shock of Tatum, he was fouled by Knicks' guard Mikal Bridges, and while he tried to recover possession, he crumbled to the court. Following this, he didn't get back up and was stretchered out of the court, leaving the Celtics with a massive void in their echelons. Following that defeat, the Celtics were severely derailed, as they lost the game 121-113 and suffered another loss in the following game, ultimately cutting their NBA campaign short. Adding to the ending woes, the Celtics traded away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, thereby complicating matters for what might be a shaky upcoming season. Also read:
Newsweek
4 days ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Best NBA Win Total Over/Under Bets For 2025-26, Part II: Eastern Conference
Paolo Banchero and the Magic could be contenders in the East in 2025-26 after addressing last year's shooting struggles by landing Desmond Bane. Paolo Banchero and the Magic could be contenders in the East in 2025-26 after addressing last year's shooting struggles by landing Desmond Bane. Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After diving into the best 2025-26 win total bets in the Western Conference last week, today we're tackling what could be a wide-open Eastern Conference. In the wake of late-season Achilles injuries to Bucks guard Damian Lillard, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, oddsmakers expect big seasons from last year's 1-seed, Cleveland, and reigning Eastern Conference runner-up New York. The pecking order after those two teams is expected to feature Orlando -- which we'll have plenty to say about below -- and play-in fixture Atlanta. '25-26 NBA Eastern Conference Win Total Odds DraftKings FanDuel Cavaliers 55.5 (o-115; u-105) 56.5 (o-102; u-130) Knicks 51.5 (o-120; u+100) 52.5 (o-122; u-108) Magic 51.5 (o-110; u-110) 50.5 (o-120; u-110) Hawks 46.5 (o-120; u+100) 47.5 (o-102; u-130) Bucks 44.5 (o+100; u-120) 44.5 (o-102; u-130) Pistons 45.5 (o-105; u-115) 45.5 (o-114; u-114) Celtics 44.5 (o+100; u-125) 43.5 (o-125; u-106) 76ers 43.5 (o-100; u-110) 41.5 (o-130; u-102) Pacers 38.5 (o-110; u-110) 38.5 (o-118; u-112) Heat 37.5 (o-105; u-115) 38.5 (o-104; u-128) Raptors 35.5 (o-110; u-110) 37.5 (o-112; u-118) Bulls 32.5 (o-110; u-110) 32.5 (o-108; u-122) Hornets 24.5 (o-115; u-105) 25.5 (o-106; u-125) Nets 21.5 (o+100; u-120) 20.5 (+102; u-136) Wizards 20.5 (o-115; u-105) 20.5 (o-130; u-102) Best 2025-26 Eastern Conference Win Total Bets Below are our three favorite 2025-26 NBA Eastern Conference over/under win total bets. Orlando Magic Over 51.5 Wins (-120 at FanDuel) Just about every pundit loves the Magic's chances of taking a step forward after their blockbuster trade for former Grizzlies sharpshooter Desmond Bane, who has made 41 percent of his career 3-point attempts on heavy volume (career 3PA per game: 6.3). Bane -- who is also a solid ball handler and plus defender -- is much more than just an excellent shooter, though. His seemingly perfect fit with the Magic -- who suffered from poor spacing due to their league-worst 31.8 percent 3-point shooting in 2024-25 -- is the biggest reason Orlando has been widely praised for giving up four unprotected first-round draft picks, a first-round pick swap, Cole Anthony and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for a player who has never been an All-Star. If the much-needed addition of Bane goes anywhere near as well as expected and Paolo Banchero (46 starts in 2024-25), Franz Wagner (60 starts in '24-25) and/or PG Jalen Suggs (35 starts) can stay healthy*, the Magic could push Cleveleand and New York for the top seed in the East. For now, there are too many "ifs" to take Orlando to win the East, but a 52-win season in a manageable conference should be well within reach. Charlotte Hornets Over 24.5 (-115 at DraftKings) The Hornets have won just 27 games or fewer in four of the last six seasons, and there are major questions at center, where the current options are second-round rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, fourth-year journeyman Moussa Diabate and 35-year-old Mason Plumlee. With that in mind, Charlotte is understandably expected to once again be one of the worst teams in the East -- and we haven't even gotten into whether the Hornets can count on LaMelo Ball to stay healthy. I'm nevertheless convinced there's major upside for this team. Last year, Charlotte was not only missing its top two players -- Ball and Brandon Miller -- for most of the year due to injury, but it also got just 13 games out of Tre Mann and 16 from Grant Williams. While the 23-year-old Ball has only enjoyed one healthy season in the league, Miller played 74 games as a rookie and was good for 34 minutes a night before a wrist injury derailed Year 2 after 27 games. But the biggest reason I'm bullish on the Hornets is the underrated offseason they've enjoyed under EVP of Basketball Operations Jeff Peterson. Charlotte got a ton of love for taking two quality shooters in Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley in the first round of the draft, and Kalkbrenner was a solid second-round pickup. The Hornets also have a handful of solid scoring threats on the perimeter after acquiring Collin Sexton from the Jazz, renewing Mann's contract and adding two proven vets in Plumlee and Spencer Dinwiddie. There's enough here -- especially if Diabate and Kalkbrenner prove at least serviceable at the 5 -- for the Hornets to grind their way to at least 25 wins even if Ball once again misses long stretches. And if (yes, it's a big if) the 2021-22 All-Star manages to stay healthy, the Hornets' first 40-win season since '21-22 is a realistic possibility. Detroit Pistons Over 45.5 Wins (-105 at DraftKings) After taking a massive leap from 14-68 in 2023-24 to 44-38 in 2024-25, could All-Star Cade Cunningham and the Pistons take another step forward in 2025-26? Personally, I'm bullish on one of the best young guards in the league leading a team that pushed the Knicks in the first round of the playoffs to another big season. The case for the Pistons in '25-26 starts with the dangerous combo of 23-year-old Cunningham and center Jalen Duren (21) continuing to improve in Year 5 for the former and Year 4 for the latter. The Pistons could also get a boost from the return of Jaden Ivey, who missed over 50 games in 2024-25, but was shooting over 40 percent from 3 through 30 games last year. Between Cunningham, Duren, lockdown defender Ausar Thompson, Ivey and 2024 No. 5 overall pick Ron Holland, the Pistons should have more than enough to offset the offseason losses of Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schroder. That's especially true if free agent acquisition Duncan Robinson, a career 39.7 3-point shooter, can replace Beasley's lights-out shooting. Newsweek may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up through the links in this article. See the sportsbook operator's terms and conditions for important details. Sports betting operators have no influence over newsroom coverage.
Indianapolis Star
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Kevin Pritchard thought Pacers were still negotiating with Myles Turner. Then a tweet told him otherwise
INDIANAPOLIS – Kevin Pritchard said he learned of Myles Turner's decision to leave the Indiana Pacers and sign with the Milwaukee Bucks for $107 million over four years the same way the fans of both teams did. "I saw Shams (Charania of ESPN) tweet it," Pritchard, the Pacers president of basketball operations, said Monday after the Summer League team's final practice before it heads to Las Vegas, "and that's how I knew Myles was taking the offer." That was how a 10-year partnership that survived two previous contract extensions, years of trade rumors and even the out-in-the-open pursuit of a replacement at center for Turner ultimately met its end. Less than a month after Turner held the Bob Cousy Trophy aloft at center court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and conducted the fanbase in a call-and-response cheer to celebrate the Pacers' second NBA Eastern Conference championship in their history, Pritchard learned the Pacers' all-time leading shot-blocker and longest tenured player would be headed elsewhere through reporting on social media. He had to admit he didn't see it coming. "I think I was shocked," Pritchard said, "if I'm being perfectly honest." But in his first meeting with the media Monday since Charania broke the news of the signing on July 1 and on the day the Bucks formally announced the signing, Pritchard said repeatedly he didn't have any hard feelings toward Turner or his agent Austin Brown for signing with the Bucks, acknowledging it was their prerogative to do so and effectively acknowledging the Pacers hadn't matched the Bucks' offer. "We were negotiating in good faith," Pritchard said. "But what happens in this league is sometimes, you're negotiating, but because a guy is unrestricted, he has the right to say, 'That's the offer I want, I'm going to take it, and that's best for my family.'" Pritchard said he wouldn't get into specifics in terms of the contract offers the Pacers made. IndyStar's Gregg Doyel reported last week the Pacers' best offer was around four years, $95 million, though that obviously would have still left the Pacers $12 million short of the Bucks' offer. Pritchard attempted to counter reporting and criticism the Pacers ultimately held back in negotiations because of an unwillingness to pass the luxury tax threshold for the first time in 20 years. At the time Turner signed, the Pacers had around $167 million committed to salary for the 2025-26 season, which put them well over the salary cap of $154.647 million. The luxury tax threshold is just under $187.9 million so any offer above $20 million per year would have led to them paying tax. The tax rate goes up for every $5 million increment a team goes above the tax, so Pritchard said if the Pacers had signed Turner to what they had offered and rounded out their roster with other necessary additions, they would have had to go up several tax levels and possibly cross the first tax apron threshold of $195,945,000. He said he would have made sure the Pacers didn't cross the second apron threshold of $207.8 million which he called "totally punitive" but said they might have been willing to go right up to that figure. "I know this," Pritchard said, "Herb Simon and Steven Rales and the Simon family were fully prepared to go deep into the tax to keep him and we really wanted to do that. ... If we keep Myles at the number we were talking about or in that ballpark — because I felt like that was still a little bit ongoing — and with the moves that we were talking about doing, we weren't trickling into the tax. We were over a second threshold." That being said, Pritchard acknowledged for all the back and forth negotiating he had done with Turner's agents, the Pacers had not quite reached the number Turner ultimately signed for. He also acknowledged he hadn't expected the Bucks to do what they had to do to clear up enough space underneath the salary cap to be able to acquire Turner for that number without having to do a sign-and-trade. The Bucks' move was fairly shocking to the entire league. To clear space, they waived and stretched seven-time All-NBA guard Damian Lillard, who they acquired two seasons ago in a blockbuster trade with Portland. Lillard tore his Achilles tendon in the first quarter of Game 4 of the Bucks' first-round NBA playoff series against the Pacers and is expected to miss all of next season. Lillard had $113 million remaining on his contract, but the Bucks stretched his buyout so they will have to pay him approximately $22.6 million per year over the next five years. So paying Turner to play and Lillard to open up space for Turner will cost the Bucks around $50 million per year. "It was a little surprising how Milwaukee created that," Pritchard said. "We always say in our conference room, there's cap teams that have cap space and there's shadow teams that have cap space. You can go get it, but it becomes very challenging by buying out or making trades. Hat tip to Milwaukee to do that. ... I can't say we were fully expecting of that." Pritchard was asked explicitly if the Pacers had an opportunity to match or counter the Bucks' offer. His answer wasn't direct, but strongly suggested they did not. "I felt like we were working towards a deal," Pritchard said. "But when you're unrestricted, as soon as you hear a number that you feel like is good for you, then I think he felt like he had to take that. ... It's his opportunity, it's his right to say, 'Hey, that's it and I'm going in a different direction.' It was never acrimonious, it was always pleasant going back and forth. I think that there was a number he was trying to hit. I think we were in the ballpark. But that's my opinion. It must not have been for him." Though Turner is heading toward not only a Central Division foe but one the Pacers have developed a heated rivalry that has at times become physically chippy in the regular season and playoffs each of the past two years, Pritchard wished Turner well, saying he hopes they maintain a friendship beyond Turner's departure. He said he also hopes Turner is remembered for his contributions to what Pritchard called the two best years of his basketball life. "I think he's one of the best players who's ever played here," Pritchard said. "I put him right up there. ... I remember some big blocks that he's had, some big shots, and more than that, what he did to this community, what we was about in the community. There is no better person than Myles. We really wanted to keep him but it didn't work out." Pritchard said replacing Turner's production will be something the Pacers do by committee. They acquired center Jay Huff in a trade with Memphis on Saturday and then re-signed James Wiseman on Monday after he tore his Achilles tendon last year. Pritchard said the Pacers were close to signing another player who has been with the team and said it was a "good guess" when asked if that person was Isaiah Jackson. Jackson is a restricted free agent who also tore his Achilles tendon last year, but the Pacers made him a qualifying offer of $6.4 million and appear to be working toward a deal. The Pacers also picked up the club option of Tony Bradley, who they added toward the end of last season initially on a 10-day contract and kept through the playoffs. "We're going to have three or four really good centers that will come in and compete for a starting position," Pritchard said. "We've always done well when there's a lot of competition at a position. I have a feeling somebody will raise their level and give us a chance to have a good thing."
USA Today
04-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Knicks reach deal to hire coach Mike Brown as Thibodeau replacement
The New York Knicks have their new coach. Former Sacramento Kings coach Mike Brown reached a deal to the helm, a person with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on Friday, July 4. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter. Brown replaces Tom Thibodeau, whom the Knicks fired June 3. With the hiring of Brown, the Knicks are putting their faith in the former Kings, Lakers and Cavaliers coach to get them to their first NBA Finals since 2000. In firing Thibodeau the organization made it clear anything short of a championship is not good enough. Brown brings more than 23 years of NBA experience as a coach and assistant and a pedigree of working both in big markets and with star players. He had a brief stint in Los Angeles where he coached Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, but he has also worked with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Tony Parker and, more recently, De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. As an assistant, Brown has worked under some of the best coaches in NBA history, inlcuding Bernie Bickerstaff, Gregg Popovich, Rick Carlisle and Steve Kerr. He has been either a coach or assistant of four NBA championship teams (three with the Warriors and one with the Spurs) and eight conference championship teams. In fact, in first season as an assistant in San Antonio, in 2000-01, he coached a 35-year-old Kerr. With the Knicks, Brown should have no problem carrying over the defensive identity that Thibodeau had installed over his time with the team. His true measure of success, however, aside from championship contention, will be to evolve New York's offense to have more creativity with All-Stars Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as the centerpieces. In nine-and-a-half seasons as a head coach, Brown has posted a 454-304 (.599) record and an Eastern Conference Championship (2007; Cavaliers). The Kings fired Brown on December 27. After crashing out in the NBA Eastern Conference finals, their deepest run in a quarter century, the New York Knicks were searching for a candidate who could get them to the Finals and their first championship since 1973. Knicks president Leon Rose thanked Thibodeau in a statement but said, in part, "Our organization is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans. This pursuit led us to the difficult decision to inform Tom Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction." The move came a little less than one year since the Knicks had signed Thibodeau to a three-year contract extension that was supposed to keep him with the franchise through the 2027-28 season. In five seasons with the Knicks, Thibodeau, 67, posted a 226-174 record (.565) and led New York to the playoffs in four of those seasons. This year marked the first time in 25 seasons that the Knicks had reached the Eastern Conference finals, though the Knicks lost the first two games of the series at home, before bowing out in six games to the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks had made multiple win-now offseason moves ahead of the 2024-25 season in an attempt to compete with the defending champion Boston Celtics and other top teams in the East. New York traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for stretch center Karl-Anthony Towns and also unloaded a haul of picks for wing Mikal Bridges. The Knicks went on to win 51 games to finish third in the conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston.
NBC Sports
02-07-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Examining frontrunners in NBA Eastern Conference
Dan Patrick reacts to the Bucks waiving Damian Lillard and subsequently signing Myles Turner in free agency before examining who the biggest frontrunners are in the NBA Eastern Conference.
