Boston Celtics
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Ime Udoka, currently the coach for the Houston Rockets, found his name trending on X this morning (June 18) after his former team, the Boston Celtics, captured their 18th NBA championship on Monday. Because the game is the game, Ime Udoka is getting cooked on the social media network for fumbling the bag and other choice digs as expected.
The Boston Celtics put on a masterclass in basketball efficiency last night, taking out the Dallas Mavericks with ease after getting walloped last Friday on the Mavs’ home court. The team the Celtics put on the floor last night was comprised of players Udoka coached, during his years with the franchise.
As most know, Udoka was suspended by the Celtics organization for the entire 2022-23 season for engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a woman who also worked for the team. Assistant coach Joe Mazzula assumed head coaching duties, leading the team to victory in the 2024 NBA Finals with Jaylen Brown earning the Finals MVP trophy.
Udoka was a beloved coach for the Celtics and got the team to the 2022 NBA Finals, but bumped into a still feisty Golden State Warriors team despite going up 2-1 in the series. It was assumed that the Celtics would eventually reach this level again under his leadership but the controversy proved to be too meddlesome.
Further, Udoka’s relationship with actress Nia Long also suffered an end due to the issues stemming from the relationship with the Celtics employee. If there is one bright spot, Udoka, despite the stain on his name, managed to secure another head coaching gig with Houston, although the team didn’t perform up to the standards befitting of its young and talented core.
On X, formerly Twitter, fans are frying up Ime Udoka as his former team basks in glory. Check out the replies below.
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Maddie Meyer / Getty
So far there’s only been two official colorway releases of Travis Scott’s “Jumpman Jack” Jordan sneaker line, and though more have been promised in the near future, the “Highest In The Room” rapper teased a new colorway that may or may not see the light of day.
Recently the Houston representative was spotted at Game 2 of the NBA Finals in Boston and in an apparent show of support for the Beantown team, Scott was rocking a never-before-seen Celtic green and black colorway of his popular “Jumpman Jack” sneakers. According to Sneakernews this particular pair isn’t scheduled to release anytime soon (if ever), but don’t be surprised if these joints end up being one of the many unreleased Travis Scott x Jordan colorways that have turned to grail status as only a select few have had the honor of being blessed with a pair.
Per Sneakernews:
While the emerald tones front-and-center on this shoe are certainly fit for the occasion, that design choice presents a bit of a curveball in La Flame’s lineage. His neutral-toned takes on the Air Jordan 1are well documented at this point, but even on the Jumpman Jack, an edition without any earthy tones whatsoever is noteworthy. There’s also a switch-up materially; luxe suede marks the underlays, typically composed of mesh on both past releases and those we’ve gotten an early preview of.
It’s entirely unclear whether this is a sample pair afforded to or conceived by La Flame, or if this is an early preview of a colorway that’ll hit shelves later in the shoe’s run. Releases for the Jordan Jumpman Jack “Mocha” and Jordan Jumpman Jack “Thunder” will almost undoubtedly precede this pair, leaving this edition’s potential debut a bit down the road regardless.
These are cool and all, but us sneakerheads still rather see a release of the Travis Scott x Air Jordan 4 in the mocha colorway or purple and white that he was rocking a few years ago. Just sayin.’ Not sure why he and Jordan Brand likes to make us sneakerheads suffer like this.
What do y’all think of the black and green “Jumpman Jack” sneakers that Travis Scott rocked at the NBA Finals? Would you want to see these drop or rather one of his many other exclusive colorways? Let us know in the comments section below.
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Source: Nick Cammett / Getty
It’s official; the Indiana Pacers are going to Cancun. The Boston Celtics swept them in the NBA Eastern Finals.
As reported by ESPN the Celtics have proven to be the best NBA team in the Eastern Conference. On Monday, May 27 they won their fourth straight game against the Indiana Pacers. While Andrew Nembhard and his squad fought hard they couldn’t maintain their 98-90 lead with under six minutes left in the fourth quarter. Boston’s clutch defense caused the Pacers to miss several shots and turnover the ball. The Celtics outscored Indiana 15-4 to close out the series.
Jaylen Brown lead his team with 29 points, three steals, six rebounds, two assists and one block. At the end of the game he was given the Larry Bird Trophy as the Eastern Conference MVP. He made it clear the honor came to him as a surprise. “I wasn’t expecting it at all” he said. “I don’t never win sh*t.” The Marietta, Georgia native went on salute the Pacers during their celebration. “And give credit to Indiana, they played us tough. I know people think that Indiana wasn’t a good team or whatever the case may be, but I thought they were as tough as anybody we played all season. They were physical, they were fast, they put a lot of pressure on us. So shout out to them, and respect to them.”
When asked about his second trip to the NBA Finals Jayson Tatum responded “it’s special.” He added “even though we’ve been there before, most of us have, you don’t take it for granted. We were excited.” The Dallas Mavericks currently lead the Minnesota Timberwolves 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals.
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Source: Matthew Stockman / Getty / Udonis Haslem
Miami Heat’s legendary enforcer Udonis Haslem shook the sports table with comments about the late Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell.
Udonis Haslem has never been one to bite his tongue about anyone or anything, so his latest comments shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.
On a recent episode of The OG’s podcast, Haslem’s former teammate, center Bam Adebayo, shared a story about a 2022 pregame speech Haslem gave before the Heat took on the Celtics where he expressed his full disdain for his Eastern Conference rival.
Per NBC Sports Boston:
“We playing Boston, so you know his feelings,” Adebayo said. “So we’re in the huddle. Cap (Haslem) come in there, he gave his pregame speech, and you know they retired Bill Russell’s jersey for everybody in the league. So they got 6 in our rafters. And he ends his pregame speech like, ‘F— Bill Russell, too.’ I said, ‘This man dead, OG!”
Haslem tried to explain his stance, explaining he meant no disrespect, noting he was more upset about the fact a Russell’s Boston Celtics jersey was hanging in the Kaseya Center’s rafters, an honor Haslam says will never be given to a Heat player.
The NBA paid respect to Russell by retiring his jersey across the league following his passing in July 2022. LeBron James switched his number from 6 to 23 to honor the legendary big man.
“Tell me when you’re going to see a Miami Heat jersey hanging in Boston,” Haslem said. “I had to repent that, I love Bill. No disrespect to Bill,” Haslem stated. “He just caught that stray. Respect to Bill Russell.”
He continued, “The s— that comes out of people’s mouths to us when we playing there (in Boston)? I might not take back what I said, now that I think about it.”
As you can imagine, the NBA X, formerly known as NBA Twiter, was not feeling his comments, mainly because he didn’t have the same smoke for Michael Jordan’s jersey hanging up in the Kaseya Center’s rafters.
Boston Celtic all-star Jaylen Brown liked a tweet bringing that fact up.
Interesting.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Matthew Stockman / Getty
2. Yes, please
8. Bam Adebayo cleaing things up
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Marcus Smart was the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics and one of the team’s better players in its last playoff rum but will now suit up for a new team in the upcoming season. Smart was moved in a three-way trade that sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies, Memphis guard Tyus Jones to the Washington Wizards, and the Wizards shipping Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics.
Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of The Year and three-time NBA Hustle Award winner delivered his best assist total at 6.3 per game this past season for the Celtics and elevated his scoring during the playoffs. However, he was sent to Memphis with Boston getting the Grizzlies’ 25th pick in exchange along with Golden State Warriors’ protected first-round pick in 2024.
Tyus Jones joins a new-look Wizards team who recently traded star guard Bradley Beal for Chris Paul and Landry Shamet, part of a rebuild for the Washington squad that welcomes a new front office looking to spark a long-discussed rebuild. The Celtics are sending its 35th pick in tonight’s draft to Washington. Much of the details of the trade between the details can be found in his report from ESPN.
As the outlet noted, the Celtics were in talks with the Los Angeles Clippers in hopes of sending guard Malcolm Brogdon, the 30th pick in tonight’s draft to the Wizards, and Porzingis to the Celtics. When the deal didn’t materialize, Memphis came into play.
On Twitter, the discussion of the Marcus Smart trade was largely celebrating the Texas native’s time in Boston and we’ve got some of the reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
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The NBA playoffs are winding down with the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Finals in full swing. In the east, the Boston Celtics are now down 0-3 in their best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat, with the Los Angeles Lakers sharing the same record against the Denver Nuggets.
In NBA lore, few teams are as notable as the Celtics and Lakers given the long length of their rivalry and dominance on the court in different eras. In fact, it was expected by some that the two teams would meet in the 2023 NBA Finals, but both teams are on the brink of elimination.
On Sunday (May 21), The Celtics headed down to Miami to face the Heat in a must-win game after going 0-2 at their home arena. It was expected that the trio of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart would have an offensive explosion.
Instead, it was Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Gabe Vincent, who led all scorers with 29 points, owning the night. It was also a night that saw Tatum and Brown shoot 33 and 35 percent from the field respectively, and they didn’t get much help elsewhere although Grant Williams did give 12 off the bench. Butler scored 24 for the Heat but did so on 5-13 shooting, and got to the line seven times and sinking six.
On Saturday (May 20), Jamal Murray went off for 37 points against the Lakers, with Nuggets big man passing wizard Nikola Jokic dropping 24 with eight assists. The Lakers have been competitive in spurts but each game in the series has been huge swings and momentum changes that LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and coach Darvin Ham haven’t been able to figure out.
Tonight, the Lakers will take on the Nuggets in a win-or-go-home game for King James and Los Angeles. Even still, they would need to win four games to climb out of this major hole they’ve built for themselves. On Tuesday, the Celtics and Heat resume their series in a must-win for Boston.
On Twitter, the reaction to how the NBA Playoffs are currently playing out is all over the place. We’ve got reactions from NBA fans below.
[h/t NBA.com]
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Photo: Getty
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Ben Simmons is definitely persona non grata in the city of Philadelphia after flaming out as a member of the city’s professional basketball team. The former Philadelphia 76ers star has Twitter talking after fans took notice of Ben Simmons taking in Game 7 of his former squad taking on the Boston Celtics in a loss and speculation is high that he was throwing shots.
Ben Simmons, who will be 27 this summer, is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets after a disappointing stint with the Sixers ended with a whimper. Simmons didn’t go on to resume his former glory with the Nets but he’s still considered a player with the potential to turn around his basketball fortunes.
What has Twitter reacting to at the moment is an image from Simmons’ Instagram story feed featuring the Australian player taking in the Sixers-Celtics game without any further context. Why that has sparked such curiosity is an unspoken and largely unconfirmed beef between Simmons and the Sixers considering the strained relationship between him and the team.
Adding to this, the Sixers lost in explosive fashion in the semifinal contest against the Celtics and looked poised to take the series at one point. However, 51 big points from Tatum and 25 from co-star Jaylen Brown nullified Joel Embiid, James Harden, and the rest of the Sixers. In fact, Tobias Harris led all Sixers with 19 points.
On Twitter, folks are assuming that Simmons is smoking on that Sixers pack. We’ve got the reactions below.
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Photo: Getty
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Joel Embiid, the current Most Valuable Player of the NBA winner, and his Philadelphia 76ers squad looked poised to make their way to the Eastern Conference finals. However, after falling to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the series on Sunday (May 14), Joel Embiid is catching the wrath of NBA fans questioning his mettle.
Joel Embiid, 29, had a strong playoff run with the scoring heroics of James Harden aiding him when the points weren’t coming as easily for the big man. Even after suffering an injury, Embiid showed incredible grit in the paint and on the perimeter, proving why he won MVP honors this season.
That said, the Celtics, featuring the core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Marcus Smart, were heavy favorites heading into the Eastern Conference finals and proved why on Mother’s Day. Especially Tatum, who led all scorers with 51, followed by Brown, who poured in 25. In contrast, the 76ers’ leading scorer was Tobias Harris with 19, followed by Tyrese Maxey, who dropped 17, and Embiid with 15. Harden, who has been lights out for much of the series, scored 9.
In the postgame press conference, Embiid put himself and Harden above the team in his comments and seemingly took shots at his supporting core by saying they didn’t show up. In fairness, Embiid also put the blame on himself, especially as he gave wider context.
Given Embiid’s offensive output and the way the Celtics rolled over them in a win-or-go-home matchup, Embiid’s comments invited a barrage of criticism. Further, given the recent firings of NBA head coaches such as Monty Williams in Phoenix and Mike Budenholzer in Milwaukee, many believe 76ers coach Doc Rivers could be on the chopping block next.
Make no mistake. Joel Embiid is an elite NBA big man and one heck of an all-around player. The 76ers just ran into a prepared, hungry, and focused Celtics team on their home floor. Still, many on Twitter aren’t as forgiving and the tweets prove it. We’ve got them listed below.
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