All-Star hopeful Jaylen Brown may have caught the deejaying bug from former Celtic Shaquille O’Neal, who Djs by the name “DJ Diesel”.
The greater Boston area has long been a major contributor to DJ culture over the decades the cultural phenomenon has existed.
Boston record stores were the first to sell Rapper’s Delight outside of New York City in 1979, and in the decades since, the New England Metropolis has embraced everything from electronic music to dancehall DJ culture.
So, it should probably come as no surprise the Boston Celtics have had at least one well-known disc jockey come from their ranks, with another perhaps in the chamber.
Former Celtic Shaquille O’Neal has made a career for himself off the court as a deejay, returning to Boston recently to perform as DJ Diesel at Big Night Live, to a capacity crowd of nearly 2,000 fans, reports HoopsHype’s Bryan Kalbrosky.
The 15-time All-Star might have passed the torch at the event, as a current Celtic happened to be in attendance — first-time All-Star hopeful Jaylen Brown.
The fourth-year wing has always had an eye for niche culture and how it intersects with the NBA, social justice and other related issues, so an interest in a discipline steeped in the roots of the African diaspora makes a lot of sense.
And contemporary Boston has plenty of options for Brown to get into, whether the local Jamaican community’s dancehall and dub-oriented deejays, local house music icons like Armand Van Helden, drum-and-bass stalwarts Elements, or the city’s vibrant hip-hop scene.
While visions of DJ Juice hyping up the team at halftime to a good boneshaker tantalize, it’d likely take some time before a perfectionist like Brown would let his craft hit ears.
So, we shouldn’t get our hopes up in a hurry — but don’t be shocked if you see the Georgia native behind the wheels of steel someday.
Previewing Thursday’s Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks sports betting odds, with NBA matchup analysis and picks.
The Boston Celtics (27-12) go to the Cream City to play the Milwaukee Bucks (36-6) in the Fiserv Forum for an 8 p.m. ET tip off Thursday. We analyze Celtics-Bucks odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.
Celtics at Bucks: Key injuries
CELTICS
SG Jaylen Brown (thumb) questionable
SF Jayson Tatum (knee) questionable
C Robert Williams III (hip) out
BUCKS
SG Wesley Matthews (finger) probable
SG Donte DiVincenzo (finger) probable
Celtics at Bucks: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Thursday at 2:25 p.m. ET.
The Bucks have been steamrolling teams recently (and all season really); they are 9-1 in their last 10, including three straight wins of 20-plus points. Milwaukee might have revenge on its mind because the Celtics overcame a 19-point first half deficit to beat the Bucks, 116-105, in their first meeting on Oct. 30. The Bucks had won three of the previous four meetings and covered the spread all four times.
It’s hard to find a bad trend/stat for the 2019-20 Milwaukee Bucks, or even a bad game, so I expect Giannis Antetokounmpo and company to even up the season series with the Celtics. PASS on both moneylines though because the Celtics aren’t winning and the Bucks -500 is a terrible price.
New to sports betting? You would have to bet $500 on the Bucks just to win $100 … and then pray an upset doesn’t happen.
Again, tossing out the first meeting of the season, the Bucks covered the previous four games against the Celtics. Boston is only 3-5-1 when having a rest disadvantage versus their opponent. Also, the Bucks are 9-3 ATS when laying 7.5-9.5. For sure, monitor the injury report for this one (I’d even recommend taking the number now before it goes up); Tatum missed Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons and Brown sprained his thumb in that game. If both those players are out, the brunt of the defensive responsibility will fall on Marcus Smart and the Bucks’ top-ranked scoring offense should have a much easier time.
Plus the juiced up line is what LEANS me to BUCKS -9.5 (-115) in this game. Before writing this I was thinking the Celtics +9.5 was too many points to pass up but seeing the Celtics-Bucks recent history and BetMGM making the Bucks -9.5 more expensive, I think it’s best to go with the house in this game.
TAKE UNDER 223.5 (+105) because the trends say so. The Under is 5-2 in the last seven Celtics-Bucks games, including three straight Unders, plus the Under is 8-2 in Celtics last 10 games playing on 0 days’ rest. The combined Celtics-Bucks over/under record is 38-42-1. And while both teams excel offensively, they each also ranked in top-4 in defensive rating with the Celtics being fourth and Bucks being first, respectively.
Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.
Sixers Wire and Celtics Wire preview the matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics on Thursday.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Boston Celtics matchup in a big rivalry showdown on Thursday in South Philadelphia. The Sixers have won the first two matchups and they will be looking to win the first three on Thursday. However, they will have to do so without the services of superstar Joel Embiid who is out with a ring finger injury.
Ahead of the matchup, Sixers Wire hooked up with our sister site Celtics Wire and lead writer Justin Quinn to discuss the matchup and get the perspective of the Celtics as they enter this important contest.
SW: Can you give me an overview of the Celtics’ season so far?
CW: Sure. Boston came into the season with a host of question marks hanging over a team seeing two top-50 talents (Al Horford to the 76ers being one of them) and several other important players leave the team. At the same time, the Celtics made some surprising moves with All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker and center Enes Kanter.
It also added seven rookies, and so far, several of them have proven reliable depth options.
The chemistry hinted at by Team Shamrock — the four Celtics playing on Team USA — over the summer has proven to be real, and anticipated growth for wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum coupled with veteran forward Gordon Hayward returning to form has catapulted the team to the third-best record in the league.
Questions remain about matching up with a few teams around the league who happen to have highly-mobile but powerful bigs, like the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo and of course Philadelphia. There’s hope the team, when healthy, will be able to find ways to compete against even those teams, perhaps with a midseason frontcourt upgrade if not internal growth.
SW: How do the Celtics win Thursday’s matchup? How does Philly win?
CW: For Boston, the 76ers massive front line has been a near-insuperable obstacle in the team’s two meetings this season. It will take a hot-shooting night with all their key players being healthy for Boston to manage to take a win from Philly this season, something of a challenge of late with Kemba Walker having missed two of their last three games due to illness and Hayward missing time recently due to foot pain. With a little luck, Boston should have all their starters available.
I wouldn’t be too surprised to see the Celtics break out some zone over stretches — just to rattle the Sixers a bit — either.
Philadelphia just needs to stick with what they’ve been doing defensively against Boston, using their superior size and length to smother the Celtics’ perimeter game. On the other end of the court, Boston has had precisely zero answers for covering Embiid other than baiting him into posting up, something the Sixers should obviously avoid if they’d like their biggest star to not throw up ill-advised jumpers late in the game.
SW: What else should we know?
CW: After losing two in a row to the Sixers but having a much better season to date, I think Boston really wants a win against their Atlantic division rivals. It won’t be easy getting the W on Philly’s home court, but considering health and the relatively easy games Boston has had before this meeting, it might just be their best shot for a win this season.
The Sixers and the Celtics tipoff at 7:00 p.m. EST from the Wells Fargo Center where Philadelphia is a robust 17-2 to begin the season. [lawrence-related id=23091,23079,23064]
Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were all under consideration for December Player of the month, won by the Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was awarded Player of the Month honors for December Jan. 2, and he deserved it.
The award was under consideration for three Boston Celtics, however, reports the Boston Herald’s Steve Bulpett, with point guard Kemba Walker, shooting guard Jaylen Brown and swingman Jayson Tatum among the 10 nominees considered for the award.
While perhaps not as well reflected in early All-Star voting returns as they should be, each of the three logged outstanding months as 2019 drew to a close, and were worthy of consideration.
UConn product Walker recorded 23.2 points and 5.9 assists per game while shooting 40.8 % from deep, while Tatum put up 22.4 points, 6.7 boards and 3.3 assists per contest in December.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month…
Celtics Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were among the 10 other nominees.
Georgia native Brown had an exceptionally strong end to the year, logging 22.9 points and 6.6 rebounds each tilt while shooting a scorching 44 % beyond the arc and 55.9 % overall.
Giannis, to his credit, earned the honor with a 29.3-point, 12-board, 5.3-assist average per game in December — though that the three Boston players managed to remain in the picture with each averaging north of 20 points per game is worthy of its own accolades.
While it’s been a while since a Celtic took home the designation (January of 2016 for Isaiah Thomas, to be exact), with these kinds of performances coming from the Jay Team and Walker, that streak might soon be coming to an end.
Budding star Jaylen Brown and Atlanta’s Trae Young are poised to return in the two team’s Jan. 3 meeting while Kemba Walker looks to be a scratch with flu-like symptoms.
In a hectic January schedule, it maybe a blessing that the Boston Celtics are deep and their schedule comparatively light.
With only a handful of teams possessing a winning record on a slate without consecutive days off until the All-Star break, we may see Celtics players rest against inferior foes.
And from what we’re hearing from the team today, All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker may well be on that list Jan. 3 whether he likes it or not.
As first-time All-Star hopeful Jaylen Brown seems poised to return from a sinus infection Friday when the team faces the Atlanta Hawks, news is that the UConn product is dealing with flu-like symptoms, and is likely to miss the first contest of 2020 as a result, reports NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
Kemba Walker missed practice with flu-like symptoms. Status uncertain for tomorrow.
Jaylen Brown went through the full practice with some lingering congestion from his sinus infection.
Missing practice Thursday due to the illness, the former Charlotte Hornet can likely rest without putting the team’s return to the win column in much jeopardy assuming Brown is able to play against the 7-27 Hawks when guard Trae Young makes his own return from injury, as Sports Illustrated’s Ben Ladner reports as imminent.
Boston Sports Journal’s Brian Robb relates that rookie reserve center Vincent Poirier remains on track for a late January return from a broken pinkie finger sustained in mid-December.
This will help Boston feel more confident in its frontcourt depth, thinned greatly as Poirier and second-year center Robert Williams (left hip edema) have both been out for some time, perhaps even granting the Frenchman some of the elusive playing time he’s yet to win so far this season.
Recognized for his humanitarian work with area children, Boston >Celtics fourth-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown was honored by the Massachusetts State Legislature New year’s Day.
Ailing Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown was honored by the Massachusetts State Legislature on New Year’s Day for his humanitarian work with local children.
Brown, too ill to travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets the night prior, made the event honoring the fourth-year Cal-Berkeley product for his work with the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, his own Juice Foundation and the No Books No Ball program despite his less-than-optimal health.
Boston handled the Hornets handily in his absence, and the Georgia native found himself the first African-American Celtic lauded by the state legislature after state Senator Nick Collins nominated Brown for the honor, reports NBC Sports Boston’s Kwani A. Lunis.
“This is the stuff that keeps me going and motivates me and gets me out of bed even if I’m a little bit under the weather,” offered the Marietta native via NBC Sports Boston’s Patrick Dunne, alluding to the sinus infection that kept him from traveling with the team the day prior.
FULL STORY: Jaylen Brown honored at State House for charity work with Boston children https://t.co/iEQhkZ0IFJ
Education — and improving it — have been a centerpiece for Brown’s civic engagement in Boston, both in and outside of formal school environments. The former Golden Bear referenced that work while addressing the legislature honoring him.
“Children are the ones that are paving the way for the next generation and carrying the torch, so, teaching them the right way, showing them the right values, the right way to do things, is important to me because they’re going to grow up and they’re going to be the next people to carry the throne so they’ve gotta be handled and taken care of the right way.”
Brown’s work as an MIT Media Fellow in particular has focused on education, an issue that hit home for the young entrepreneur as he himself shuttled back-and-forth between normal and advanced classes in high school.
Though he has much bigger plans for his educational vision than Boston alone, he’s looking at the place as a long-term base from which to build his philanthropic ventures.
“This is now a part of my home … I definitely want to be a part of the change in the community,” said Brown to the legislative body on Wednesday.
“I think that Boston has, over the last 10 years, has definitely come a long way and I think we’ve still got some ways to go,” he added. Given the state of public education in the United States compared to other highly-developed countries around the world, he’s not wrong.
And while Brown alone will not transform public education without much help, the recognition he’s starting to receive because of his platform should go a long way towards smoothing the path.
Former Celtic Isaiah Thomas had some humorous words for Jaylen Brown’s Player of the week honors — and Brown had a few for IT as well.
It has to be a little weird to find out you won the NBA’s East Player of the Week honors in the hospital.
But that’s exactly what happened Monday for Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown, who noted as much in a recent Instagram post.
And despite the fact that the Georgia native was ailing enough to miss his trip to play the Charlotte Hornets on the afternoon of New Year’s eve, former teammate and friend Isaiah Thomas (now with the Washington Wizards) couldn’t help but crack a joke on Twitter.
“Jaylen cut his hair and started hoopin like me LOL,” said the Tacoma native about Brown’s preseason decision to remove his trademark flat top haircut.
“[You’re] welcome bro”, he continued, taking credit for the reverse Samson (the parable where a biblical hero loses his strength after getting a haircut).
The Cal-Berkeley product took the jab in stride and responded with one of his own, a low blow if ever there was one.
IT definitely set himself up for that one, even if it was a bit…below the belt (pun intended).
In truth, it’s wonderful to see the pair have maintained their friendship in spite of the rollercoaster ride of the last two seasons for both.
It’s even better seeing the pair find success this season, with Brown finally getting the league-wide recognition he deserves, and Thomas a chance to show he’s still got plenty left in the tank for the right situation.
The NBA has named Boston Celtics fourth-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown its final East Player of the week for 2019, boosting his profile for a 2020 All-Star nod.
Boston Celtics fourth-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown has been named the final East Player of the Week for 2019, his first such honor in his career.
Brown, whose extraordinary play of late has driven home the wisdom of Celtics president Danny Ainge extending the Georgian wing ahead of the 2019-20 NBA season’s start, has been instrumental in Boston winning five of its last six games.
Over the three games which took place in the week he is being honored, the Cal-Berkeley product recorded 27 points per game on 62.2 % shooting (including 57.9 % from deep), showing off his chops as one of the league’s most efficient high-usage players in recent weeks.
The Marietta native has forced reassessment from his critics, who panned the former No. 3 pick’s $107-million, four-year extension as overly-generous at the time.
👏 @FCHWPO has received @NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career!
Now, with the likes of NBA-champion color commentator Richard Jefferson praising the deal as a bargain, the former Golden Bear is helping push the narrative Boston ought to have three players — including Brown of course — in the 2020 NBA All-Star game.
While it’s too early to say how the 3-year-old’s All-Star campaign may go with third-year swingman Jayson Tatum and All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker also potential All-Stars, honors like this one should boost Brown’s candidacy among voters, if nothing else.
Leaving practice early due to illness today, Boston’s budding star wing Jaylen Brown could miss Tuesday night’s New Year’s Eve game against Charlotte.
New England winters are brutal, weakening immune systems and generally making life tough for those who choose to live there, and fourth-year wing Jaylen Brown may be dealing with a bit of that himself right now.
Brown had to leave practice today due to feeling ill, and may yet miss the flight to North Carolina for tomorrow’s away game against the Charlotte Hornets, reports the Athletic’s Jay King.
He went to the hospital to get checked out as a precaution, no word as of yet as to whether he’s expected to play, but may end up joining big men Robert Williams III (left hip bone edema) and Vincent Poirier (broken finger) on the injured list for the game.
Jaylen Brown is out sick. He tried to come to practice, but ended up leaving to get checked out at the hospital.
The 13-22 Hornets do not exactly inspire fear in most of their opponents, and should be able to be handled by the team in the Georgia native’s absence, especially if forward Gordon Hayward and reserve guard Marcus Smart are available.
That pair are recently returned from injury themselves, Smart a double eye infection and Hayward chronic nerve pain in his foot, each having been able to play in Boston’s last game, a home loss against the Toronto Raptors.
Both should play against Charlotte, and should easily be sufficient to cover for Brown should he need a game off to get healthy.
With shooting guard Jaylen Brown, forward Jayson Tatum and point guard Kemba Walker driving Boston’s success, the case for three Celtics in the 2020 All-Star game is a strong one.
Do the Boston Celtics have a legitimate shot at sending three players to the 2020 NBA All-Star game?
After the Jay Team combined for 64 points and 14 rebounds in their 129-117 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the case is getting stronger.
Just the third trio to play for the storied franchise who have scored 30 or more each while still younger than 23, the young duo of fourth-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown and third-year swingman Jayson Tatum are in rarified air.
Only Bill Russell and Tommy Heinsohn, and Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker decades later are the only other duos to achieve such a feat.
And we should not forget they are doing it alongside a modern-day Walker having a career year wearing the same No. 8 jersey his predecessor did.
That Walker, UConn product Kemba, joined Brown as the first teammates in NBA history to each make five threes on Christmas.
What’s more, he has hit as many in a dozen games already this season, just four games short of the franchise season record held by Isaiah Thomas in 2016-17.
Did we mention there’s more than half the season ahead?
The Celtics are the only team in the NBA with three players averaging north of 20 points per contest, own the league’s second-best scoring differential, third-best record, third-best defense, and fourth-best offense, as related by Celtics play-by-play maestro Sean Grande.
The case only gets stronger when you look at the other options given the former Husky is likely a starter for the mid-season friendly.
Only the Brooklyn Nets’ Spencer Dinwiddie and perhaps Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal or the Atlanta Hawks’ Trae Young the only guards with reasonable shots at stealing away a starting role from the Bronx native.
There’s also few truly transcendent frontcourt players in the East for the fire-and-ice duo to compete with after Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
And, as noted by MassLive’s John Karalis, there are plenty more reasons than counting stats to include the Jay Team in full, such as the fact Brown joins Giannis as the only other East player averaging above 20 points per contest with greater than 50 % accuracy.
The Duke product is second among East forwards in plus/minus, and third in net rating, while joining Brown among the top six in offensive rating.
The Celtics own the NBA’s 3rd best record (22-7), the NBA’s 2nd best scoring differential (8.3), 4th best offense, 3rd best defense and only one East team (Washington) has more home games remaining.
One might even make the argument it’s hard to not have the Celtics with three players in a wing-starved Eastern Conference. Teammate Daniel Theis, for example, thinks all three ought to make it, though he’s obviously going to be biased.
“I think we’re going to have all three in there,” Theis offered (via MassLive’s Tom Westerholm). “I think they deserve it. Personally they’re playing great, and as a team we have the second-best record [in the East] right now,” he added.
Unbiased eyes are coming around as well, with basketball fanatics like actor Michael Rapaport seeing the argument for three being sound as well.
Of course, none of this will happen without the fan vote lifting the trio into the event with fan voting, a fact noted after Boston’s Friday afternoon win over the Cavs by outspoken center Enes Kanter.
“Please don’t forget to vote for Tatum and Brown for the NBA All-Stars,” admonished the Turkish big man, who has been on something of a tear of his own over the last few games Boston has played.
“Please, vote for them,” he continued, noting it was their play making everyone around them better.
Brown has kept his eyes on the prize, however, prefering to take each game in front of the team as a chance to hone their skills further. “We have to continue to have the right balance. Make the right plays, the right reads, and continue to get better,” noted the Georgia native.
“We have to get better,” he added. “We’re looking to be a team playing deep into the postseason this year so every game counts, every game is a chance to get better, every game is an opportunity and we’ve got to make sure that we seize it.”
“We still have our best days in front of us, so as a team we have to continue to strive, less about the opponent and more about us,” he continued.
The prospect of this version of the Celtics as incomplete and growing stronger has to strike fear into the hearts of rival teams around the league, because this trio of scoring menaces has already put the league on notice.
Are we really still debating whether they should be in the All-Star game?
