As far as surprises go, Johnson’s selection to the Rising Stars roster was more pleasant than his COVID-19 diagnosis. “We were definitely surprised,” Johnson said. “It just happens. We take so many protocols to avoid COVID, and to have so many players come up with it, it sucked.” Johnson and the other infected players formed a sort of support group during their time in quarantine. “We definitely stayed in touch,” Johnson said. “Everybody called and checked on me and made sure I was all good. We were in each other’s corner.”
As far as surprises go, Johnson’s selection to the Ri…
May 22, 2022 | 5:43 pm EDT Update
Since these bench decorum issues generally have been resolved after the league intervenes, technical fouls have not been used a deterrent, and the league does not plan to start issuing techs during the conference finals. However, the topic will be discussed in the offseason, and the league will explore ways to address bench decorum during games in real time, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports.
The final item – distracting opponents in an unsportsmanlike manner during game action – came into play in Game 2 when Steph Curry, with the Warriors wearing white uniforms, threw the ball to Theo Pinson, who was not in uniform but wearing a white sweater with his left arm raised. Curry clearly thought it was a Warriors teammate. That play in particular riled league officials.
“Stay level-headed,” Grant Williams said when asked how the Celtics have managed to survive the peaks and valleys of the playoffs so far. “At the end of the day, no matter what happens, whether it’s a big win or big loss, you have to play it the right way. We can’t let it carry over. It’s 2-1 right now and we play in front of our Garden fans and can make it 2-2. “It’s one of those things where we still control our destiny. We have to come out there and not only be a little more physically dominant and be more conscious of what we are trying to accomplish. Just like a regular season, there’s going to be peaks and valleys, you are going to have success and times you are not playing well, but the best teams stick together through thick and thin and they do their best job understanding the same thing can’t beat you twice.”
“It was brutal,” Green said of not being in the playoffs the previous two seasons. “We’ve been dying to get back to this space. “And we didn’t leave the space because we just got too old to do it … [or] because all of us went our separate ways. … Yeah, Toronto beat us, but no one has really come and said, ‘All right, the Golden State Warriors’ time is up.'”
StatMuse: Jayson Tatum has been guarded by PJ Tucker for 127 possessions this season (regular season and playoffs). He has scored 15 points in those 127 possessions. pic.twitter.com/iiM6G8mRyC
Krishna Narsu: Saying the Celtics are better because they’ve outscored the Heat in the series (337-329 Boston) is more relevant than saying the Celtics have won 6 out of 8 quarters.
Brady Hawk: Jaylen Brown with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo defending this series: 3 of 16 – 19% With everybody else defending: 27 of 38 – 71%
Mark Followill: The Mavs are trying to equal their longest single-season home playoff win streak tonight in Game 3 of the West Finals. They’ve won 5 straight (2 vs Utah & 3 vs Phoenix). Their best was 6, the first 6 of the 2011 run (3 vs POR, 2 vs LAL, 1 vs OKC).
