On Friday, the Los Angeles Lakers parted ways with head coach Darvin Ham, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The purple and gold went 47-35 in the regular season, beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament to earn the seventh seed in the Western Conference, then lost 4-1 to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. Ham, who is out after just his second season in Los Angeles, is the Lakers' first coach not to return after making the playoffs since Phil Jackson in 2011, per ESPN researcher Matt Williams. As they begin the process of interviewing candidates to fill ..read more

When he arrived in Boston last June, an exuberant Kristaps Porzingis told Inside The Celtics about the motivation of knowing the franchise viewed him as the player who could put them over the top in their pursuit of Banner 18: "The most exciting feeling that you can get." The former All-Star center capped his comments with: "That fire that I got from that idea is gonna gas me up for the rest of the summer and for my time being here." On Saturday at the Auerbach Center, as he engages in the early stages of rehabbing a soleus strain in his right calf, Porzingis provided an up ..read more

On Friday night at the Amway Center, the Orlando Magic forced a Game 7 in their first-round series vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers. That's welcome news for the Boston Celtics, who are temporarily without Kristaps Porzingis. Given that the timetable to return from a mild soleus strain, the right calf injury the former All-Star suffered late in the first half of Boston's Game 4 win over the Miami Heat, is two-to-three weeks, the most likely outcome is Porzingis doesn't return until the Eastern Conference Finals, provided his team takes care of busine ..read more

On Wednesday night at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics started the Miami Heat's summer vacation, delivering a 118-84 haymaker to knock their conference rival out of the playoffs. After applying the finishing touches on their 4-1 series win, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown expressed what eliminating the team that did the same to them in last year's Eastern Conference Finals and has given them more postseason trouble than any other meant to them. While the Celtics now wait for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic to settle who's advancing and who's joining the Heat on vacation, Boston ..read more

With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined due to a soleus strain in his right calf that, based on the injury's recovery timetable, may keep him from suiting up in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Celtics will lean even further on Al Horford. In a season built on Boston sacrificing to maximize having the most talented top six in the NBA, the 16-year veteran embraced a role anchoring the second unit and not being a part of the closing lineup. Entering the current campaign, he started all but 12 of the 1,180 NBA games he played.  While the former Florida Gator transitioned seaml ..read more

Payton Pritchard is a key player in the Boston Celtics’ second unit. This season, the Celtics guard averaged a career-high 9.6 points, 3.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds over 22.3 minutes per game.  Last year, Pritchard played a career-low 13.4 minutes per game and reportedly requested a trade from Boston. In October, the 26-year-old agreed to a four-year, $30 million contract extension and was given a bigger role within the rotation.  Per Inside The Celtics, Pritchard has placed an emphasis on growth mindset throughout his time in Boston. “Since being in the league, I've adapted that. I ..read more

On Wednesday night, after the Celtics ousted the Heat in Game 5, Tatum pondered the concept of ‘toughness’ at the podium.  “What’s the definition of tough?” Tatum asked. “Having the louder guys on your team? Like, that shit don’t make you tough. Everybody has their own definition of what toughness is. Playing the right way, showing up every day to do your job without complaining. I think that’s being tough.” Tatum’s comments came after years of discourse regarding whether the Celtics can be  – and have been – out-toughed. Media personalities have routinely questioned Jayson Tatum and ..read more

On Wednesday night at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics returned the favor after the Miami Heat ended their title hopes on that same parquet a season ago. The C's capped their 4-1 series victory in this first-round rivalry clash with a 118-84 knockout blow. It's the first time they've beaten a playoff opponent by at least 30 points since they bested the Los Angeles Lakers 131-92 to win the 2008 NBA championship. As the Celtics prepare for a second-round matchup against the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers' series against the Orlando Magic, the Heat contemplate how much change is require ..read more

Opponents trying to challenge the Celtics' physical toughness, hoping it also creates a mental edge, is an approach Boston's repeatedly run into in recent years. No team has seen that strategy yield better results than the Miami Heat. It's a tactic essential to the defending Eastern Conference champions overcoming the gap in talent between them and the Celtics last year. But with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown sharing the court in their primes for the first time in their careers and their familiarity with that approach, it's getting more challenging to bring the team boasting the most talented ..read more

The Boston Celtics were able to close out the Miami Heat 4-1 after torching them back in Boston for Game 5, 118-84. The Celtics got off to a substantial lead early on in the opening period, credit to Derrick White, who started the show continuing his electrifying play. White probably takes the crown for best player in the series, finishing with a 22.4 points per game average, shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 47.7 from three with a 74.3 true-shooting percentage. The guard followed up his 38 points, eight threes, and three block Game 4 in Miami, with a 25-point, five rebound performance ..read more