Celtics’ Thomas expected back for Game 1 vs. Wizards
WALTHAM, Mass.—The already short break between rounds of the NBA playoffs won’t provide much of a rest for Boston Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas.
Thomas left from the Celtics’ first-round series-clinching victory over Chicago on Friday night to fly to Tacoma, Wash., and attend his sister’s funeral. He was expected to fly cross-country and arrive in Boston early Sunday morning, in time to play in the 1 p.m. start of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Wizards.
“It’s hard to think about how he feels right now,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said on Saturday, the only off-day between rounds, after the rest of the team went through a film session and walkthrough.
Stevens said he and the rest of the team would have accompanied Thomas for support if there had been no game on Sunday. Instead, president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and assistant coach Jerome Allen went with Thomas.
“I know it’s going to be hard on him,” guard Avery Bradley said. “But we’re going to make sure we’re here for him and we’re prepared. I’m sure he’s going to be prepared for the game.”
Thomas scored 12 points but played only 25 minutes in the 105-83 victory over the Bulls on Friday night, when Boston eliminated Chicago and advanced in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2012.That earned then a second-round matchup with the Wizards, who eliminated the Atlanta Hawks in six games on Friday night.
The Celtics and Wizards split their regular-season matchups—several of them turning testy. Here are some things to look for in the series:
THAT LIFE: The Celtics and Wizards have been brewing an increasingly bitter rivalry since last year, when Boston swept the season series.
In a mid-January game, Celtics forward Jae Crowder drew a technical for jawing with the Washington bench and thencoach Randy Wittman. Boston’s Marcus Smart broke Bradley Beal’s nose and gave him a concussion while going up for a layup.
In the offseason, Crowder disparaged the Wizards in the effort to recruit Al Horford, who was also being courted by Washington but signed with the Celtics. Then, in the first matchup this season, Wizards guard John Wall was ejected for knocking Smart to the ground.
After the game, the teams exchanged words and Crowder wound up wagging his finger in Wall’s face. Police officers were summoned to the hallway between the locker rooms to make sure the situation didn’t get out of control. (Crowder was fined $25,000 and Wall $15,000.)
Two weeks later, the Wizards showed up in all-black— dressed for a funeral, Wall said.
“It’s playoff basketball. Everybody wants to win,” Smart said on Saturday. “If you’re not passionate about it, don’t bother doing it.”
BACKCOURTS: Wizards have not reached the conference finals since drafting Wall with the first overall pick in the 2010 draft. Now in his fifth season teamed up with Beal, the Wizards backcourt is developing into the pair they had always envisioned.
Wall and Beal averaged 55 points and 12.5 assists per game in the series against Atlanta. Beal he could tell at the shootaround before Game 6 that Wall was ready to finish off the Hawks.
“Whenever he has that look in his eye ... you could just tell he was locked in,” Beal said after Wall scored 42 in Friday night’s win. “He was ready to go. We just feed off of that.”
Bradley, who has typically had to guard the opponent’s top player, said
“They’re one of the best backcourts in the NBA,” he said. “I know our entire team is looking forward to the challenge.”
ATLANTA HAWKS FOCUS ON RE-SIGNING PAUL MILLSAP FOLLOWING 1ST-ROUND EXIT
ATLANTA, Ga.—Paul Millsap confirmed on Saturday he “probably will opt out” of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent, leaving the Atlanta Hawks to plot their future following a painful firstround exit from the playoffs.
Millsap has a $21.4 million option for next season. The four-time All-Star can earn substantially more in a new longterm deal, making the opt-out decision obvious.
The Hawks’ win totals have slipped two straight years. The team could enter free-fall mode if unable to re-sign Millsap. The power forward, who averaged 18.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, was the top producer on a roster that received disappointing returns from $70 million investments in Dwight Howard and Kent Bazemore.
Millsap said he wants to stay with the Hawks.
“I want to be here,” Millsap said. “I think talks have been pretty good . ... It’s something me, my agent and my family have got to sit down and talk about.”
Millsap’s teammates want him to stay.
“I’m definitely recruiting Millsap to come back,” Bazemore said, adding it is “probably smart” for Millsap to take advantage of the opportunity to “sign a big contract.”
Hawks coach and president of basketball operations Mike Budenholzer on Saturday said he is a “huge believer” in Millsap.
“The best for us is with Paul,” Budenholzer said. “We’re incredibly optimistic and incredibly committed to Paul.”
Budenholzer said Millsap “exemplifies everything” he likes in a player. He made similar statements about center Al Horford at this time last year before Horford signed with Boston.
The team made a four-year, $70 million commitment to Bazemore and signed Howard to a three-year, $70.5 million deal.
Howard did not play in the fourth quarter of the Hawks’ 11599 Game 6 loss to Washington on Friday night. It was the second time in six playoff games the center did not play in the fourth quarter.
One day later, it was clear Howard was still upset.
“It was very difficult. I want to play,” Howard said Saturday. “I want to be on the floor. I want to make an impact. You can’t do it on the bench.”
Howard averaged 8 points and 10.7 points in the playoffs. Bazemore averaged 9.8 points and 3.8 rebounds.
The Hawks were eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2014. Clearly, expectations were much higher .
“I think we thought we had a team that could compete with anybody in the league,” Budenholzer said. “I think when you look at the record from the regular season and then not advancing from this round, I think we all thought we had greater potential.”
Budenholzer said the decision to trade Teague and make Dennis Schroder the full-time starter for the first time in his career meant “there weren’t any guarantees.” Rookie Taurean Prince emerged as a starting small forward late in the season.
“There’s a little bit of risk-reward and also a little bit of hope for the future,” Budenholzer said of the young starters.
Budenholzer acknowledged keeping Howard on the floor can be a challenge. The coach said the Hawks had to “play faster and more spread” when trying to make up a deficit against the Wizards.
“The league with all the 3-point shooting and all the bigs shooting 3s is definitely a challenge for us and a challenge for Dwight,” Budenholzer said.
Budenholzer said he planned to meet with Howard “within a week or two” to discuss the center’s concerns about his diminished role in the playoffs.
Howard’s hurt feelings did not make Budenholzer’s list of top three offseason priorities. He said his focus is the continued development of Prince and Schroder, improving the offense and re-signing Millsap and Hardaway.
Hardaway, a restricted free agent, ranked third on the team with his average of 14.5 points and he led the team in 3-pointers.
Other unrestricted free agents are Ersan Ilyasova, Thabo Sefolosha, Mike Muscala, Jose Calderon and Kris Humphries. ___ For more AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/ NBAbasketball