Jared Weiss

BOSTON — As the wrapped their final practice before the came to town, was working on missing. Remember that in Miami last year? It wasn’t random. White practices that. That’s why on Monday, a big plastic egg crate covered the rim where White and his coaches were working. His touch has been so good lately, that they couldn’t let him practice offensive rebounding without a lid on the hoop. Derrick White practicing scoring on — Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) In the opposite corner of the gym was…

MIAMI — is going to make you work. With out, the guard has stepped up into the primary creator role for Miami and has been running ’s defense in circles all series. He had just about the best performance of his career in the Heat’s Game 2 win, putting the challenge on the Celtics to make a statement in Game 3. This was the moment for to show why the Celtics brought him in. Advertisement Holiday has been instrumental in shaping and directing the defense with his versatility and great reads, b…

As the bench dismantled the in a 131-98 win Friday, it felt like some fun but meaningless basketball for the team that clinched the top seed some time ago. But around the East, some serious battles were going on. Boston’s spot at the top was the only thing set entering the evening. As the prepares for Sunday’s final matchups of the regular season, plenty is still up in the air. Advertisement Boston’s path in the playoffs still remains unclear, so let’s break down where things stand. The Play-…

BOSTON — didn’t know if this day would come. His arrival in Boston was a whirlwind. He was suddenly traded from Milwaukee, where he was a pillar in the community, rerouted through Portland and then landed in Boston. It was a disorienting event requiring time to orient himself to his new reality. Advertisement “I think there was a little bump there in the beginning, just trying to get my bearings in the city in general,” Holiday said. “But I think it comes pretty easy, just that type of guy that…

The and guard have agreed on a four-year, $135 million contract extension, league sources confirmed Wednesday. ESPN first reported the news of the deal. “Once I knew I was getting traded here, this is a part of what I wanted or what I envisioned,” Holiday said Thursday. “Being in a great organization, being here for a lengthy amount of time and being able to play along guys like () and () and really try to get more banners, get more rings here.” Advertisement was involved in the trade last off…

BOSTON — Most players dream of winning a title one day. Basketball stories are regularly told through the lens of pursuing championships. But the reality in the is that it’s a job, a high-paying one, and many players just want to survive in the league. For , that meant being a minimum-salary player riding the bench for the best team in the league. Advertisement He came to the hoping to find some minutes, providing defensive size and rebounding while being able to run some point when the Celtic…

NEW YORK — knew this would work. He’s seen a few imperfect teams in his time. When he played for the they were, quite simply, flawed. Dallas, Washington, it was all the same thing. A team with a couple of dominant players, but missing a coherent identity that worked for him and everybody else. Then Brad Stevens and the front office pitched him on, well, this. Advertisement “When the opportunity presented, for me at least, I said this is gonna work, 100 percent,” Porziņģis said after the beat…

The have swung a deal for P.J. Washington, sending the a package centered around , and a top-two protected first-round pick in 2027. Washington, who started 17 games, is averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game in 44 contests this season. The 6-foot-7 forward has shot 35.9 percent from 3 in his career but is shooting a career-low 32.4 percent this season. Williams arrived in Dallas after agreeing to a four-year, $53.34 million deal. He spent the first four years of his career with the…

is a case study: in a player’s maturation, in the importance of role acceptance, in the beneficial nature of a different sports scenery completely changing who you can be. Porziņģis’ departure from the , and his renaissance season with the , has been discussed online recently, but there’s only so much nuance that can be crammed into social-media discourse. The Athletic ’s Tim Cato, who covers the Mavericks, and Jared Weiss, who covers the Celtics, decided to have a conversation about Porziņģis’…

BOSTON — There was a time when couldn’t stand . As Brown was ascending toward being a perennial All-Star, Smart was always in the way. It wasn’t that was impeding his progress toward the upper echelon of the league. Smart was just everywhere in every way. He was unavoidable. He was a basketball maverick with carte blanche to do anything and everything he could think of in the pursuit of winning. That got to be a lot. Too much at times. Sometimes it could be talked out. Other times, they needed…