Tag: nytimes.com

BOSTON — The bonus buzzkill that accompanies any loss by the Boston Celtics, particularly in the playoffs, is the ear-splitting referendum over the value, the purpose, the existence of the 3-point shot. And here we go again. The Celtics connected on just 11 of 39 3-point attempts in their 113-97 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers…

BOSTON — Joel Embiid had an appendectomy less than three weeks ago. In the third quarter of his saving the season for the Philadelphia 76ers, he banged knees with Jaylen Brown, had to limp off the floor and went to the locker room, with no guarantees of a return. In the fourth quarter, and in…

PHOENIX — Forgive the Oklahoma City Thunder if their steps toward the bus departing from Mortgage Matchup Center sounded relieved. The first round of the playoffs tastes like an appetizer to an apex predator, but after three first-round sweeps in as many years, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has learned to savor this. The postseason climb only gets…

BOSTON — Compared with some of the Boston Celtics’ recent home-court playoff collapses, Tuesday night was far from the most dramatic. It didn’t exceed Bobby Portis scoring a game-winning put-back layup after Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown collided while trying to rebound a missed free throw. It didn’t top Trae Young completing a double-digit comeback…

NEW YORK — No one has questioned the New York Knicks’ resiliency or what they look like when they’re desperate. For two years now, New York has punched back when pushed into a corner, much like boxer Diego Corrales did against Jose Castillo. See the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics series last year. See the…

NEW YORK — A head-to-toe study of Jalen Brunson inspires a lot of questions, none more obvious than these two: How does he do it? How does a 6-foot-2 guard with a common man’s body and an old man’s game become an NBA superstar? You might recall that the Knicks hired his father, Rick Brunson,…

It all began at Grg’s in the early 2000s. Tim Grgurich, the longtime assistant coach renowned inside NBA circles but almost anonymous outside them, and who is generally credited with creating the NBA’s modern, year-round player development culture, was holding his annual summer development camp in Las Vegas. At the Grg Camp, NBA players from…

SAN FRANCISCO — Which house are you, Alpi? In November, the Rockets were at shootaround at Chase Center when a Houston staff member posed the classic Harry Potter question to Alperen Şengün, the team’s two-time All-Star center — who also happens to be quite possibly the NBA’s biggest Potter fan. “Gryffindor,” the 6-foot-11 Şengün responded,…

NBA Draft season has begun, so we need to update The Athletic’s 2026 NBA Mock Draft. As NBA teams have made clear through their tanking measures, scouts are very excited about the top end of this class. With Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, at least four teams…

For a split second, perhaps Portland Trail Blazers All-Star forward Deni Avdija thought he finally was through the maze that is the San Antonio Spurs’ paint defense — and the alien that anchors it. With his team down 15 with a little more than three minutes left, Avdija spun into the lane and fired up…