News, notes and observations after watching the Lakers tattoo the Celtics on Thursday …
So … is it time to start worrying about Boston?
Thursday’s nationally televised whooping inside Crypto.com Arena was ugly. The Celtics trailed by 11 at the end of the first quarter, by 19 at the half and by 15 entering the fourth quarter before Joe Mazzulla waved the white flag. L.A. shredded Boston’s top-10 defense, connecting on 47.2% of its shots, including 42.9% of its threes.
Bad games happen. But the Celtics are immersed in a few bad weeks, with losses to the Bulls, Raptors and Hawks and near-losses to the Pelicans and banged-up Clippers. After starting the season 21–5, Boston is 10–9 in its last 19 games. Statistically the Celtics have been solid, remaining top-10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency during this bleh stretch, but the effort at times has noticeably waned.
“It’s been a tough month in January for us,” said Jaylen Brown. “We’ve just got to continue to stay the course. We can’t really make excuses about why we’ve dropped games. We’ve probably dropped some games we should have won but at this point of the year we’ve just got to put our best foot forward.”
Midseason malaises happen. The championship hangover is real. Denver had some ugly stretches last season. The Warriors were a .500 team in the middle of the 2022–23 season (Draymond Green’s issues had a lot to do with that). It’s not unreasonable to expect Boston, which battled for the better part of six years to reach the mountaintop last season, to sleepwalk through some stretches.
Still … there are some red flags. Brown’s shot has been off the last two months. Derrick White’s, too. Jrue Holiday’s efficiency numbers are among the lowest they have been in years. Meanwhile, Boston’s once-vaunted defense isn’t as airtight as it was most of last season.
Time to panic? Probably not, though Celtics president Brad Stevens should strongly consider forking over more draft capital for another big to absorb some of these Luke Kornet minutes. But this is still the same team that went 16–3 in the playoffs last season. Boston remains No. 2 in the Eastern Conference with the third best point differential in the NBA. Any real concern will probably come after the All-Star break.
“It’s a part of just navigating the year,” Brown said. “Anything can happen. We just need to finish through the All-Star break strong and then get ready to gear up going in toward the playoffs and just continue to stay with it, stay the course, because I feel like we’re still the best team out there. We’ve just got to put it all together.”
HE'S DOING THAT AT 40?! pic.twitter.com/qCYsBuaRGh
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 24, 2025
With the win over Boston the Lakers improved to 24–18 and are in sole possession of fifth in the Western Conference. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have made it clear the team is not yet a true contender, with Davis telling ESPN this week he would like to see the team add a center, which would allow him to spend more time at power forward. Two names the Lakers are monitoring, per a source: Washington’s Jonas Valančiūnas and Utah’s Walker Kessler, who both have manageable contracts.
Speaking of the Celtics—have you heard they are for sale? It has been more than seven months since the ownership group led by Wyc Grousbeck announced plans to sell the team, and while there have been conversations with would-be owners—in November, Grousbeck told reporters that there was “a lot of interest” in the iconic franchise—nothing appears imminent.
While Celtics officials have expressed no concerns about the speed of the process—the team is reportedly expecting four to five bids this month—a question many league-types are asking is if there will be anyone that meets Grousbeck’s asking price, which is believed to be in the range of $6 billion. Boston is one of the NBA’s marquee franchises but the team does not own the building it plays in and has a payroll that will cost new ownership hundreds of millions in luxury tax penalties if the roster remains intact.
“I think a question potential owners of any team, whether it’s the Celtics or an expansion team, is ‘are these good investments?’” a rival team executive told Sports Illustrated. “You put up $5 billion, $6 billion, how are you going to make money off that? We might be hitting a point where the only suitors are super rich guys who want a trophy or casinos.”
With Jimmy Butler suspended (again) the buzz around a potential trade continues to build. But while Miami continues to engage in trade talks for Butler the Heat are not close to a deal, sources familiar with the Heat’s thinking told SI.
As SI and others have reported, Phoenix is Butler’s preferred destination. The Suns raised eyebrows this week when they finalized a picks-only deal with Utah, acquiring first-round picks in 2025, ’27 and ’29 in exchange for Phoenix’s unprotected first in ’31. But while Miami is interested in draft capital for Butler in league-wide discussions it has been clear it is not interested in taking on any long-term contracts. That includes that of Bradley Beal, who has two years and $111 million remaining on his contract for next season.
Finding a third team for Beal—difficult under the best of circumstances—may be impossible. Beal, as has been noted ad nauseam, has a no-trade clause, with sources close to the Suns star indicating that he would only waive it for a deal to a contender.
Bottom line: There’s a real chance Butler is on the Heat roster beyond the Feb. 6 trade deadline.
Interesting to hear Shaquille O’Neal offer up a defense for Jimmy Butler on TNT on Thursday. O’Neal, who had a rosy relationship with Pat Riley early in his Heat tenure before the relationship went south, said he can understand Butler’s feelings.
"You don't want me, I don't want to be here" 😳
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 24, 2025
Things get HEATED in Studio J as the Fellas talk Jimmy Butler 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/AYyXAdk7Q6
“I just think in this situation, it’s more about human nature,” O’Neal said. “I know exactly how Jimmy feels. I’ve been in this situation many times. ‘All that I’ve done for you, and you don’t want to give me what I want.’ So human nature kicks in.”
Shaq didn’t get much support from the panel and he won’t find more league-wide, either. The fact is Miami has made a commitment to Butler, who can opt in for the final year of his deal and collect $52 million next season. That the Heat don’t want to commit any more than that to a player who will be 37 at the start of the 2026–27 season is just smart basketball business.
While Nikola Jokic is doing Jokic-y things during Denver’s recent surge—increasing his chances of winning a fourth MVP—one of the best stories of the season has been the revival of Russell Westbrook. The Nuggets are 17–5 with Westbrook in the starting lineup. He’s averaging 14.7 points as a starter, connecting on 53% of his shots and 35.4% of his threes while bringing an intensity Denver has been lacking.
14 points and counting for Russ pic.twitter.com/dReR5a35lY
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 24, 2025
Westbrook’s career appeared to be on life support after the Clippers waived him last summer. The Nuggets haven’t just revived him—he has revived Denver.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Celtics' Rough Stretch Isn't a Big Deal ... Yet.
