Jayson Tatum missed Monday's game for the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons due to a right ankle injury.
Tatum has now missed three games this season.
Jayson Tatum missed Monday's game for the Boston Celtics against the Detroit Pistons due to a right ankle injury.
Tatum has now missed three games this season.
The Boston Celtics became the first team in the NBA to clinch a playoff spot following their 127-112 win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
The Celtics, who are tied for the fourth-best net rating in NBA history at 11.3, are now 16 games ahead of the sixth seed.
The Celtics are on pace for the franchise's first 60-win season since 2008-09 and have won 15 out of their last 17 games.
The Celtics finished the night with a 9.5 game lead in the Eastern Conference.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell and Boston Celtics big man Kristaps Porzingis are now ineligible for NBA awards this season. Mitchell missed his 18th game for Cleveland on Monday night vs the Phoenix Suns. Porzingis missed his 18th game for Boston on Monday night at the Portland Trail Blazers.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, players can miss no more than 17 games (with some exceptions) and remain eligible to win MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player, as well as being named to the All-NBA or All-Defensive teams.
Joel Embiid is the highest profile player who is also ineligible, but the list continues to grow. Jimmy Butler, Kyrie Irving, Kristaps Porzingis, Julius Randle and Bradley Beal are some notable players who are also ineligible. Karl-Anthony Towns and Trae Young will likely join this list soon, as well.
Host Danny Leroux and Keith Smith of Spotrac discuss the NBA season so far.
They discuss the Celtics’ high-profile week, how the second apron will shape the next few seasons, teambuilding and much more.
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Thursday night's matchup between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets averaged 1.25 million viewers on TNT.
The number is down 1% from last year's Kings-Knicks game in the equivalent window.
TNT's coverage was blacked out in Boston and exclusive in Denver.
The Heat-Mavericks game earlier in the night averaged 1.15 million viewers, down 16% from last year's Warriors-Grizzlies matchup.
The Denver Nuggets defeated the Boston Celtics on Thursday by a final score of 115-109 in a possible Finals preview. While the Celtics are clear favorites in the Eastern Conference, the Nuggets are also favorites in a more crowded Western Conference.
The Nuggets also defeated the Celtics by a final score of 102-100 in their previous meeting this season on January 19th.
The below list shows the two regular season meetings of the two teams who eventually meet in The Finals. During the timeframe of the past 12 seasons dating back to 2012, the championship team went 2-0 five times, went 1-1 five times, and went 0-2 two times.
2012, Heat 1-1
• Mar. 25, 2012: Thunder 103, Heat 87 (Oklahoma City)
• Apr 4, 2012: Heat 98, Thunder 93 (Miami
2013, Heat 2-0
• Nov. 29, 2012: Heat 105, Spurs 100 (Miami)
• Mar. 31, 2013: Heat 88, Spurs 86 (San Antonio)
2014, Spurs 1-1
• Jan. 26, 2014: Heat 113, Spurs 101 (Miami)
• Mar. 6, 2014: Spurs 111, Heat 87 (San Antonio)
2015, Warriors 1-1
• Jan. 9, 2015: Warriors 112, Cavaliers 94 (Golden State)
• Feb. 26, 2015: Cavaliers 110, Warriors 99 (Cleveland)
2016, Cavaliers 0-2
• Dec. 25, 2015: Warriors 89, Cavaliers 83 (Golden State)
• Jan. 18, 2016: Warriors 132, Cavaliers 98 (Cleveland)
2017, Warriors 1-1
• Dec. 25, 2016: Cavaliers 109, Warriors 108 (Cleveland)
• Jan. 16, 2017: Warriors 126, Cavaliers 91 (Golden State)
2018, Warriors 2-0
• Dec. 25, 2017: Warriors 99, Cavaliers 92 (Golden State)
• Jan. 15, 2018: Warriors 118, Cavaliers 108 (Cleveland)
2019, Raptors 2-0
• Nov. 29, 2018: Raptors 131, Warriors 128 (Toronto)
• Dec. 12, 2018: Raptors 113, Warriors 93 (Golden State)
2020, Lakers 2-0
• Nov. 8, 2019: Lakers 95, Heat 80 (Los Angeles)
• Dec. 13, 2019: Lakers 113, Heat 110 (Miami)
2021, Bucks 0-2
• Feb. 10, 2021: Suns 125, Bucks 124 (Phoenix)
• Apr. 19, 2021: Suns 128, Bucks 127 (Milwaukee)
2022, Warriors 1-1
• Dec. 17, 2021: Warriors 111, Celtics 107 (Boston)
• Mar. 16, 2022: Celtics 110, Warriors 88 (Golden State)
2023, Nuggets 2-0
• Dec. 30, 2022: Nuggets 124, Heat 119 (Denver)
• Feb. 13, 2023: Nuggets 112, 108 (Miami)
The Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics will play two preseason games in Abu Dhabi, the NBA announced on Wednesday.
The games will take place on October 4 and October 6.
"There is incredible momentum around basketball in the UAE and across the Middle East, and we believe these games as well as our year-round grassroots development and fan engagement efforts will be a catalyst for the continued growth of the game in the region," said NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum in a statement.
Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum were named Players of the Month for their respective conferences for the month of February.
Doncic averaged 33.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 10.3 assists. Doncic's Dallas Mavericks went 8-3 in February.
Tatum averaged 27.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 6.7 assists. Tatum's Boston Celtics went 9-1 in February.
LeBron James and Jaylen Brown have been named the NBA's Players of the Week.
James averaged 30.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 8.7 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers went 2-1.
Brown averaged 28.3 points and 5.3 rebounds as the Boston Celtics went 3-0.
Team USA has ramped up the selection process for this summer's Olympics in Paris. There are 11 players that the United States are counting on playing or are in strong consideration for a roster spot. The initial 11 are:
None of these players are considered absolute locks as of yet. But all 11 are under strong consideration and have mentioned interest in representing Team USA this summer, provided they are healthy enough to play.
Of that group, Booker, Curry, Durant, Embiid, Holiday, James and Tatum are considered to be the United States core group. Edwards and Haliburton are being considered after strong play at last summer's FIBA World Cup. Adebayo and Davis are garnering interest for additional frontcourt depth around Embiid.