Boston

The Celtics are the NBA's most confusing elite team, plus MLB's Paul Bunyan story

The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Be nice to a Canes fan today. For much of the last three seasons, the Boston Celtics have been the best team in the NBA. They made the Finals in 2022 and have averaged 57 wins a year. Their East playoff seeds in those seasons: No. 2, No. 2, No. 1. So why is this group — winners of a league-high 64 games this season, by the way — so capable of producing playoff stinkers year after year? Last night, the nasty habit popped up again in a...

Chris Branch7

Mr. Clutch: How Carter Verhaeghe's long road to the Panthers taught him not to fear the moment

Michael Russo3

Don't count out the Cavs and Donovan Mitchell, who may have the Celtics right where they want them

Joe Vardon16

Bruins expect Charlie McAvoy, their alpha dog, to bring more bite in Game 3: 'He'll be ready'

Fluto Shinzawa3

NHL Playoffs picks, odds for Friday's games: Panthers at Bruins Game 3, Oilers at Canucks Game 2

Adam Gretz7

NHL coaching carousel speeds up as playoff teams are eliminated

The NHL's head-coaching turnover rate leads the four major leagues by quite a bit.

Shayna Goldman7

Celtics look ahead to Game 3 after blowout loss to Cavaliers: 'We don’t expect it to be easy'

This type of challenge is why Joe Mazzulla occasionally said throughout the season that he wanted the Celtics to experience difficult times.

Jay King15

Celtics lose Game 2 as Cavs' Donovan Mitchell cooks their 'unacceptable' defense

Jaylen Brown said the Celtics defense fell short. Mitchell got wherever he wanted. Now the series is tied going to Cleveland.

Jared Weiss15

Are Celtics' Game 2 clunkers a can't-stand-prosperity thing or is everybody just missing?

After the Cavs had finished a 118-94 drubbing of the drowsy, awful-shooting Celtics, it continued a disturbing playoff trend.

Steve Buckley14

Thursday's NBA playoff takeaways: Cleveland, Dallas even up series as lineup changes loom

It was the Cavaliers' first road playoff win since Game 7 of the 2018 Eastern Conference finals, which was also played in Boston.

The Athletic Staff61

Matthew Tkachuk on David Pastrnak fight and Panthers-Bruins mayhem: 'Guess I wanted in on the action'

After fighting the Bruins star, Tkachuk is looking forward to his reception in Boston: “It’s going to be good. It’s Friday night in Boston.”

Michael Russo111

Hornets hire Celtics assistant Charles Lee as head coach

Lee will replace former Hornets coach Steve Clifford, who stepped down from the role at the end of the season.

The Athletic Staff67

Ranking the top 10 rookies in the American League, an early ROY race no one expected

Let's take stock of the AL ROY race about a quarter into the season. The preseason favorites have underwhelmed, but others have shined.

Jim Bowden109

Nacho, Sergio Ramos, Marco Reus and more: Europe's free agents who could land in MLS

A number of big names will be available on a free transfer this summer. These ones could make sense for at least a few MLS teams.

Tom Bogert34

Did Celtics' Jayson Tatum have a bad game? Understanding the truth behind the box score

Tatum has not been shooting the ball well in the playoffs. So are questions about his impact fair?

Jared Weiss75

How did the Red Sox make 26 moves in 12 days? One computer click at a time

Making any baseball transaction requires a laptop and "a high degree of paranoia."

Chad Jennings33

'Perfect' captain Aleksander Barkov is putting the Panthers on his back

Barkov had four shots, nine hits, two takeaways and eight faceoff wins on 11 chances to go with his 4 points on Wednesday.

Michael Russo23

'You're great. You suck': The good and the bad of landing that big NHL contract

NHL players certainly earn their big paydays, but pressure often arrives soon after the ink dries.

Daniel Nugent-Bowman and Fluto Shinzawa119

NBA Playoffs expert picks, odds for Thursday Game 2s: Cavaliers at Celtics, Mavericks at Thunder

Both No. 1 seeds aim to extend their second-round leads in Thursday night's Game 2 matchups.

Hannah Vanbiber6

Hate, chaos arrive in Bruins-Panthers, including Pastrnak vs. Tkachuk fight: 'I'm not afraid of him'

What led to the fight between David Pastrnak and Matthew Tkachuk and how did it go down? Pastrnak: "I’d do anything for these guys here."

Fluto Shinzawa186

Was David Pastrnak fighting Matthew Tkachuk stupid or awesome? Yes

Maybe when it happened, you quickly shut off your TV. But also: Maybe if the Bruins win the Cup, this will be the moment everyone points to.

Sean McIndoe480

How the Panthers finally got to the Bruins' Jeremy Swayman: 6 takeaways

After putting up a league-leading .955 save percentage in his first seven playoff starts, Swayman was chased in a 6-1 loss Wednesday.

Michael Russo and Fluto Shinzawa89

Willson Contreras injury is more bad news for Cardinals; how a Yankees-Rays-Marlins trade came together

Plus: If you have any youth baseball players in your life, we have a must-read story for you.

Levi Weaver and Ken Rosenthal36

Celtics' patience gives them room for error against Cavaliers: 'We can just wear on them'

"It's gonna be tough for a team to have to beat us four times," says Jaylen Brown, after winning the series opener.

Jay King42

Bruins’ Justin Brazeau back to proving NHL teams wrong after late injury scare: ‘They didn’t want me’

Brazeau, a former Maple Leafs prospect, thought he was on his way out of hockey when Toronto sent him packing in 2021.

Fluto Shinzawa78