Is that a young Larry Bird out here? No, it’s Kelly Olynyk, who dropped 26 points in the Celtics’ Game 7 win to eject the Wizards on Monday. Fourteen of Olynyk’s points came in the fourth as he had Boston teeming with pleasure. Kelly Olynyk, everyone! Get paid, young man.
Maybe Kelly Olynyk is the second-best player in the East
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Isaiah Thomas was great too — Paul Flannery writes that he and the Celtics now have their signature moment — and Bradley Beal kept the Wizards in the game in the second half as Boston’s offense went wild. John Wall finished a very good postseason with a dud, going ice cold from the field. That doesn’t erase what he’d done to this point.
Next up for the Celtics: The draft lottery on Tuesday, where they have the best shot at winning No. 1 overall, and then Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday. Jeff Clark writes that the C’s have nothing to lose against the Cavaliers.
Next up for the Wizards? Get a danged bench!
Don’t click if you have adverse reactions to blood, but there was a helluva fight between fans at Game 7 it seems.
ESPN has the NBA Draft Lottery at 8:30 p.m. ET and Game 2 of Spurs-Warriors at 9. No Kawhi Leonard expected for either event.
Speaking of Kawhi, Gregg Popovich went in on Zaza Pachula’s foul that injured Leonard in Game 1, making a key point about how intent doesn’t matter. Pop even cited manslaughter! (By the way, SB Nation’s artisan dart sharpener Zito Madu wrote about Zaza’s intent before Pop’s rant, too.) Zaza demurred on Pop’s accusation.
The Pelicans announced they’ll bring back Alvin Gentry and Dell Demps for another year, though they are both obviously (and almost explicitly) on thin ice. Work that magic, fellas!
Howard Beck on the joy of being LeBron.
Kevin Pelton ranks the best No. 1 picks ever.
Take a nostalgic walk back to the ’90s with Katie Baker’s Heat-Knicks brawl oral history.
Another jersey patch for next year: Goodyear on the Cavaliers.
Inside the world of NBA conspiracy theory YouTube.
Ramona Shelburne goes long on Lonzo (and yes, LaVar) Ball.
Canada has become a hotbed of elite basketball recruits ... for prep schools.
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