Boston Celtics star Kemba Walker scored nine points in his season debut when Boston was beaten 105-75 by the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Walker played 20 minutes, the goal of Celtics coach Brad Stevens, before leaving the game for good in the third quarter. He also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Walker had been out since the end of last season while undergoing a strengthening program for his diseased left knee.
“He’s obviously excited to play. He’s ready to play,” Stevens said before the game. “They’ve worked hard to get to this point, and we can’t wait to have it there.”
Walker has had knee problems for the past year. He struggled with it before last season was brought to a halt in March due to the coronavirus pandemic and then was limited by it when Boston returned to play in the NBA bubble at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. during the summer.
After Boston lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, Walker received an injection in the knee. He began a 12-week strengthening program in early October that ended earlier this month.
Since then, Walker has been slowly increasing his workload, a process that was inconvenienced due to Boston’s recent problems with COVID-19, as Robert Williams III and Jayson Tatum tested positive and several other players were tracing contacts. .
As a result, Boston had three games postponed last week before returning to the court to beat the Orlando Magic on Friday.
“Very little,” Stevens said when asked how much Walker had practiced with his teammates. “But he’s done a lot with, before our mini-closing last week, he was very involved with the coaches. [Luego] increased their work each day during that period … It’s probably not their typical practice, but they feel really good about where he is, and he feels really good about where he is. “
The Houston Rockets encountered a particular situation after Daryl Morey’s departure from the franchise: Its top star, James Harden, had asked for the trade for the first time. With the request of La Barba, the Texas team began offering their greatest talent to different teams, although he placed a high price on it.
Brooklyn Nets ended up being the franchise that definitely bet on Harden with an offer delivering practically the entire future several years from now, despite the fact that the contract expires at the end of 2022. However, not all teams wanted to take such a risk.
One of them was the Boston Celtics. The franchise currently has a team surrounded by a very young core and an environment that seems to be ideal, although having James Harden at his best would have taken Brad Stevens to the next level. However, management scrapped the idea.
Boston Celtics scrapped James Harden offer
In exchange for James Harden, The Houston Rockets asked for Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and several draft picks. That is, the Celtics could have formed a Big-3 between La Barba, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. In addition, Boston would have kept important elements like Daniel Theis or Payton Pritchard, who begins to stand out.
“We had numerous conversations, but the price was not really evolving. The price was really high for us, and it was something we really didn’t want at the moment. We decided that it was not the time for us and that it was not the price.”revealed Danny Ainge, the general manager of the Celtics, who knows something about these issues.
NBAAfter the stop to which they have been forced by the coronavirus
Jaylen Brown prepares to smash the Magic rim
El listen Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and eight assists with Boston Celtics, who defeated Orlando Magic 124-97, on his return to action after a week-long hiatus related to the coronavirus.
Boston, which achieved its fifth consecutive victory, He had three games canceled because some players tested positive for the coronavirus and others were ruled out because contact tracing showed they may have been exposed.
The wing-pvot Jayson Tatum y el pvot Robert Williams they remained in the NBA’s health and safety protocols along with Carsen Edwards.
But the Celtics had 12 players available thanks to Brown, Tristan Thompson, Javonte Green, Daniel Theis and Semi Ojeleye being allowed to return.
The reserve Semi Ojeleye scored 18 points and Jeff Teague contributed 17 points.
For the Magic, the power forward Aaron Gordon added 17 tantos as the leading scorer.
Guard Dwayne Bacon, Montenegrin Swiss power forward Nikola Vucevic and Cole Anthony scored 15 points each.
Magic pvot Mo Bamba did not travel with the team as a precaution while going through contact tracing.
The Canadian escort Shai Gilgeous-Alexander I got double-double of 33 points and 10 assists with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which was due this Friday for 127-125 to the Bulls Chicago, at the time of extension.
The Thunder posted their first home win in six attempts this season. For Gilgeous-Alexander his 33 points are the highest score of his career.
The Canadian forward Luguentz Dort also got 21 goals, while Isaiah Roby scored 14 points.
For the Bulls, the shooting guard Zach LaVine led the attack with 35 points and could have won in the extension, but missed a triple in the final seconds.
Point guard Coby White had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while power plant Wendell Carter Jr. had 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Brazilian power forward Cristiano Felicio did not play by decision of Bulls coach Bill Donovan. The Bulls lost their fourth straight game.
Listen to him Donovan Mitchell logr 26 tantos as best scorer of the Utah Jazz in the game they won this Friday for 116-92 to the Atlanta Hawks to get your fourth consecutive win.
The victory allows the Jazz to go 8-4 so far this season and leaves their numbers at 2-2 in games held at their field.
The Croatian forward Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and the base reserves Jordan Clarkson aport 16 points for the Jazz.
The Hawks attack was led by the forward Cam Reddish, who scored 20 points.
Swiss power forward Clint Capela had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds, while guard DeAndre Hunter scored 14 points. The Atlanta team saw their record drop to 5-6 in the championship.
The pvot Andre Drummond achieved double-double of 33 points -empat best professional mark- and 23 rebounds for the Cavaliers of Cleveland, who surpassed this Friday 106-103 to the Knicks from New York.
The Cavaliers’ new additions, power forward Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince, from the Brooklyn Nets, were unavailable because they had not completed medical exams.
The Cavaliers are still without three starters, power forward Kevin Love, a five-time All-Star (right calf strain), guard Collin Sexton (left ankle sprain) and guard Darius Garland (right shoulder sprain). ).
Drummond registr the first 30-20 game with the Cavaliers since ex-pvot Carlos Boozer scored 32 points and 20 rebounds against the Seattle SupersSonics on January 20, 2004.
He also had three assists, two blocks and two steals for the Cavaliers, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
The turkish forward Cedi Osman had 25 points and power forward Larry Nance Jr. scored 14 points. and had nine rebounds.
For the Knicks, power forward Julius Randle scored 28 points as the leader of the attack, while rookie guard Immanuel Quigley, who came out of reserve, had 23 points, and forward RJ Barrett contributed with 20, which in the end did not prevent the fifth consecutive defeat of the New York team.
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NBAThe reaction of the Boston bench to each action of the Senegals pvot
The Tacko Fall show and his 2.26 that makes the entire NBA go crazy
Lto plague of casualties that have Boston Celtics has allowed Tacko Fall back to Brad Stevens’ rotation … much to the delight of NBA fans who enjoyed a performance by one of the most charismatic players in the league. The Senegalese pvot gave a performance that even lifted his teammates from the bench with caps and dunks of all the bills.
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The general manager of the Boston Celtics, Danny Ainge, has recently said that his franchise discussed a possible deal to transfer for James HardenBut they felt the asking price was too high and they didn’t want to lose any of their main players.
This was said by Ainge on Boston’s 98.5 station this morning about the ex-Houston Rockets superstar who could have ended up playing for his team if he decided to take a chance:
“We had numerous conversations, but the price was not really evolving. The price was really high for us, and it was something we really didn’t want at the moment … We decided that it was not the time for us and that it was not the price.”
Danny Ainge on 98.5 Boston this AM on Harden: “We had numerous talks, but the price really wasn’t changing. The price was really high for us, and it was just something we really didn’t want to do … We decided it wasn’t the time for us and it wasn’t the price.”
While the Celtics may have thought of Harden as a possibility to win a ring, they will now have to worry about him and the Brooklyn Nets in their division and in the Eastern Conference as they have become clear favorites.
This is what the Rockets asked the Celtics
It has been known that the requested pack in Houston was Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and draft picks. An offer that Ainge did not consider making since it would lose key pieces in its project both in the short and long term.
Tyler Herro tries to get past Jayson Tatum’s defense
LThe NBA was aware that the season, outside of a bubble, was going to have very delicate moments. They have arrived. The increase in infections by COVID-19, contact tracing and established health protocols are causing some teams to be greatly diminished in terms of personnel to face their matches.
The League has decided to postpone the game that this morning must face the Celtics and the Heat in Boston. It is the second game to be suspended this season after the Rockets-Thunder on December 24. Health protocols have been the cause again.
The Celtics would go into the game with only eight players available, the minimum required by the NBA, even if five of them were 6 feet or shorter. The Heat, in which Avery Bradley had been isolated, have encountered an inconclusive test of another of their players and the team does not have the necessary players after the corresponding contact traces.
This Saturday, the Sixers were already forced to face the Nuggets with only seven players available between isolated and injured. And in the Mavericks there are already four members of the staff who are in quarantine.
In recent days there have been unusual events, such as Seth Curry, guard of the Sixers, finding out about his positive for coronavirus while he was on the bench in the first quarter of a game or that Bradley Beal, guard of the Wizards and maximum NBA scorer, must abandon the warm-up prior to a game because he was considered direct contact with Jayson Tatum, the Celtics forward he defended the night before and who was already in quarantine. Those in Washington have four games in a row in which a rival the night before was ruled out the next day by health protocols. The last one, Avery Bradley of the Heat.
Despite how depleted the squads may be, the NBA is not considering stopping the competition for the moment.
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In Boston things are going to get complicated in the next games starting with the duel this Sunday against the Miami Heat since the Celtics will run out of their stars and lose other players due to league sanitary protocols.
In the latest report, the team reported that at least nine players must comply with isolation measures for having been infected with COVID-19 or have contact with a positive case and unfortunately for Boston, among them are two of its main figures: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Although they do not confirm them as positive, Players could go through an isolation period of 10-14 days, which means that at least five games will be lost.
In addition to Brown and Tatum, the names of Tristan Thompson and Grant Williams are added, who are doubtful to play against Miami and Robert Williams III who is one of those confirmed as positive.
Although this situation was something that the NBA expected and the teams had prepared to face it, the reality is that it is a hard blow for everyone and there is nothing left to do but wish this ends soon and calm returns not only to basketball, but to everyone.
The Washington Wizards have not had the best start to the season in the NBA, being bottoms in the Eastern Conference with a mark of two wins and seven losses; however, they have managed to have the escort as a consular figure Bradley Beal, which further gets into the great history of the competition.
In the last two defeats of his team, against Philadelphia 76ers y Boston Celtics, the St. Louis, Missouri born has contributed nothing less than 101 points in 76 minutes on the court, scoring 60 in the first of these games, and in the most recent he managed 41.
Thanks to these performances, Beal became the third player in NBA history to have scored the most points in nine games., with 315 annotations, reaching in the records no less than Michael Jordan, who did it twice, and James Harden, in 2019 with Houston Rockets.
Bradley Beal’s 315 points through the team’s first 9 games this season are the 4th most since the NBA/ABA merger in 1976-77. Only Michael Jordan (2x) and James Harden (last season) scored more in that span.
The incredible thing about all this is that, despite the terrible campaign of the capital team in the current season, the guard manages to get into the records, he already did it with his 60 points against 76ers, where equaled Gilbert Arenas with the most touchdowns in the history of the franchise.
As things are, it seems very difficult for Beal and the Wizards to get into the postseason, considering also that they signed a All-Star as Russell Westbrook, who until now has not put the team on his shoulder, leaving that job to the veteran of nine seasons.
Beal’s historic record in the NBA
– December 23 vs. Philadelphia 76ers: 31 points – December 26 vs. Orlando Magic: 39 – December 27 vs. Orlando Magic: 29 – December 29 vs. Chicago Bulls: 29 – December 31 vs. Chicago Bulls: 28 – 1 de enero vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: 31 – 3 de enero vs. Brooklyn Nets: 27 – January 7 vs. Philadelpha 76ers: 60 – January 8 vs. Boston Celtics: 41
After 15 days since the 2020/21 NBA season kicked off, the coronavirus he is hitting the different teams in the North American basketball competition hard. To the Philadelphia 76ers cases are now added those of Boston Celtics, who could play today’s game with only eight players available from the squad.
As the journalist and insider of the NBA in The Athletic, Shams Charania, has recently reported, the player who has come off the Celtics worst has been precisely their star, Jayson Tatum. The player will have to undergo a 10-14 day quarantine due to the league’s safety and prevention protocols against COVID-19.
Boston Celtics All-NBA star Jayson Tatum is expected to enter quarantine and miss 10-to-14 days due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA@Stadium.
It is not entirely clear if Tatum has caught the coronavirus or has been in very close contact with someone who tested positive. Already in the last Boston Celtics game, where they beat the Washington Wizards, the franchise had to play without Tristan Thompson, Robert Williams III or Grant Williams for the same protocols.
But the matter of the match against the Wizards does not end there. This morning the team decided to leave Bradley Beal without playing in the loss against the Miami Heat. The reason is that in Washington there is concern about how close Beal was to Jayson Tatum last Friday, who had to defend in the match.
NBA suspension lurks
With more and more cases such as the Philadelphia 76ers or Boston Celtics, the possibility of seeing how the NBA begins to consider the idea of suspending the season indefinitely, as was done in the past year, and waiting for the pandemic situation improves throughout the United States.
Jayson Tatum catches a rebound in front of Davis Bertans in the game against the Wizards. EFE
JAyson Tatum will be out between 10 and 14 days since he must enter quarantine under the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. The Celtics will be left without one of their best troops, who in the 10 games played has averages of 26.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
In the last game, the Celtics beat the Wizards despite not having Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Tristan Thompson, all of them out due to the NBA’s coronavirus protocol after the first of them tested positive for COVID-19. and the other two were pushed aside by contact tracing.
It is not yet clear if Tatum, 22, tested positive for the virus or if he is considered close contact with someone who tested positive. In his last game against the Wizards, he stayed on the court for 35 minutes in which he scored 32 points and grabbed five rebounds.
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