If you’re a Boston Celtics fan searching for optimism amid a depressing offseason, allow us to direct you to the 2025 EuroBasket tournament in Riga, Latvia.

That’s where Celtics big man Neemias Queta took the court for his native Portugal against Czechia early Wednesday morning — and put on an absolute show.

Queta racked up a game-high 23 points on 11 of 15 shooting along with 18 rebounds, four blocks and two steals to power Portugal to a 62-50 win, the country’s first in EuroBasket competition since 2007.

Queta was an force on both ends, scoring at will in the paint and dominating on the glass to become the first player with at least 20 points and 15 rebounds in his EuroBasket debut since FIBA began tracking rebounding numbers.

📊 23 PTS 18 REB 4 BLK 39 EFF

🇵🇹 Neemias Queta is the first player with more than 20 PTS & 15 REB in their #EuroBasket debut since 1995! pic.twitter.com/iZPkkXMX1e

— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 27, 2025

But the most notable moment from Queta’s performance came at the very beginning, when the 7-foot big man buried a 3-pointer to open the scoring for Portugal.

For context, Queta has yet to attempt a 3-pointer over four NBA seasons. Yet there he was on Portugal’s opening possession, spacing the floor and knocking down a deep ball.

Neemias Queta, welcome to the #EuroBasket! 🔥

📺 https://t.co/O8gpIsQl2R pic.twitter.com/9WfqQ9xSF7

— FIBA EuroBasket (@EuroBasket) August 27, 2025

Lest the hype train go off the rails, Queta only attempted that one 3-pointer in Wednesday’s game, so we’ll need to see a bigger sample size. But there’s little doubt that Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla would be thrilled if Queta developed a 3-point shot.

While the C’s just smashed the NBA record for 3-pointers made in a season, they lost two sharpshooting big men this offseason in Kristaps Porzingis (trade) and Al Horford (likely leaving in free agency). Even if Queta can make the occasional 3-pointer for Boston this season, that could help open up a Celtics offense that will need to rely more on spacing and ball movement with superstar Jayson Tatum sidelined to due to injury.

Czechia is not a very talented opponent, so it’s worth monitoring how Queta fares against the likes of Nikola Jokic (Serbia), Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Alperen Sengun (Turkey) and Porzingis, who is playing for Team Latvia. But Queta’s debut Wednesday morning certainly was an encouraging sign.

Portgual’s next EuroBasket game is against Jokic and Serbia on Friday at 2:15 p.m. ET.

How Jimmy Butler is at center of Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga contract stalemate

How Jimmy Butler is at center of Warriors’ Jonathan Kuminga contract stalemate originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

With the pre-divorce posturing of the Warriors and Jonathan Kuminga in its ninth week, anticipation has become tedium, which is a hothouse for conjecture finger-pointing. The Blame Game is in full effect.

Golden State CEO Joe Lacob is catching arrows for his publicly staunch devotion to Kuminga, who is catching arrows for rejecting multiple offers. Former general manager Bob Myers is catching arrows for drafting Kuminga, at age 18, on the recommendation of lieutenants in the front office. Coach Steve Kerr and the members of his staff are catching arrows for not teaching Kuminga how to become a young Paul George.

Current general manager Mike Dunleavy is catching arrows for staying patient rather than making a trade that will vault the Warriors back to the top of the NBA mountain – as unrealistic is that is.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler III, whose arrival spun Kuminga toward the exit, is somewhere sipping coffee and playing dominoes.

The case for keeping Kuminga on the roster was considerably weakened on the afternoon of Feb. 6 when Butler was acquired in a trade with the Miami Heat. With the Warriors going in circles with or without Kuminga, Dunleavy gambled on Butler and hoped the move would put the squad back into the NBA playoff picture.

It did. The Warriors, 25-26 before Butler’s debut, won 14 of 16 games immediately after Butler joined the roster. Over the final 31 regular-season games, they were 23-8 – third-best record in the league – with a core of Stephen Cury, Draymond Green and Butler.

Golden State was 13-2 with Butler while Kuminga was inactive with a right ankle sprain. That effectively sealed the young forward’s fate. The Warriors might have consulted an attorney to start divorce proceedings, with at least three valid reasons for taking such action.

One, they know Kuminga was aching to start and there is no way Kerr would start JK at forward ahead of decorated veterans Green or Butler.

Two, there was no way Kerr would start a frontcourt of Kuminga, Butler and Green (at center), inviting a clogged offense that would make every game an obstacle course for Curry and the three defenders chasing him.

Three, the idea of patching a Warriors-Kuminga relationship that spent four years trying to make the incompatible somehow compatible is not desirable for either party.

It always was difficult for Kuminga, a raw talent coming to a franchise which had dreams of transforming his elite physical attributes into a future cornerstone. His arrival coincided with a remaking of the player-development staff, recruiting highly respected Jama Mahlalela from Toronto and Dejan “Deki” Milojević from Serbia.

That led to a 2022 NBA Finals victory, which planted a seed of belief that the so-called “two-timelines” approach could sprout success. It has not. And Kuminga remains a square peg in a system designed for those who fit neatly into round holes.

“One guy that was put in a similar situation is Paul George when he got to Indiana,” one NBA front-office executive tells NBC Sports Bay Area. “When he got there, they were right on the cusp. Danny Granger was playing in front of him, and Lance Stephenson was there. And eventually, he was able to play with that David West group; they were competing for championships.

“But it was like the perfect setup for Paul. They weren’t a big-market team, but they were a good team. He got a chance to grow while they were trying to win. And a lot of his mistakes weren’t as magnified as Kuminga’s have been because of the team he is on.”

George came off the bench as a rookie and became a starter in Year 2. The Indiana Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals in Year 3, with George becoming an NBA All-Star and being voted Most Improved Player.

Whereas George entered the NBA at age 20, having played two years of collegiate ball as a starter at Fresno State, Kuminga entered the league after starting 13 games with the G-League Ignite. Very different conditions, very different trajectory, very different result.

Regarding Golden State’s prevailing quandary, the blame must be shared by the front office, the coaching staff and Kuminga himself.

But it was Butler who last season gave the Warriors the kind of bump they surely hoped Kuminga might provide by Year 4. Following two previous big-money acquisitions in the Lacob era – David Lee in 2010, Kevin Durant in 2016 – Jimmy showed he can lift the Warriors to a higher level.

Sometime within the next 10 months, Kuminga will move on. And all parties will know any hope for his future in Golden State was sacrificed for Butler’s present. Blame Jimmy at your own risk.

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Tyrese Haliburton on if he regrets playing in Game 7 of Finals: ‘No. Hell no.’

“It’s the Finals, man. I’ve worked my whole life to be here and I want to be out there to compete. Help my teammates any way I can.”

That was Tyrese Haliburton after undergoing an MRI on his strained calf and before Game 6 of the NBA Finals last June. He knew the risk he was taking, he even called Kevin Durant — who had tried to play through a calf injury in the Finals with the Warriors and tore his Achilles — for advice. Haliburton got through Game 6, but early in Game 7, the worst possible outcome happened — Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles. However, he has no regrets, he told Logan Paul and the crew on the Impaulsive podcast (hat tip Hoopshype).

Haliburton: “I had some close friends, family, and mentors in my life call me after Game 5 and say, ‘Hey, shut it down.'”

Interviewer: “Do you wish you would have taken that advice?

Haliburton: “No. Hell no. Hell no. I’ll be honest—I called KD after I got my MRI after Game 5. I said, ‘Bro, do you regret playing in the game you tore [your Achilles]?’ He said, ‘No, not at all.’ He said, ‘You never…’ I was like, ‘Alright.’ Yeah, I wasn’t going to switch anyway, so I’m glad he said that. It made me feel a little bit better. But no, I don’t regret it, bro.”

Haliburton also said it would be 15 months from the injury before he’d play in a game again, echoing what the Pacers have said, that he is out for all of next season.

In a podcast conversation that covers a wide range of topics, Haliburton also laughed at the idea that the NBA is scripted or rigged.

“Well, the problem is, I play for the Indiana Pacers. So, if the NBA was going to rig the league, the last two teams they’d probably rig it for would be the Indiana Pacers and the Oklahoma City Thunder.”

Giolito’s sharp outing and homers from Story, Hamilton lead Red Sox to 5-0 win over Orioles

BALTIMORE (AP) — Lucas Giolito allowed four hits in eight innings, Trevor Story and David Hamilton both homered, and the Boston Red Sox blanked the Baltimore Orioles 5-0 on Tuesday night.

Kyle Bradish (0-1) struck out 10 in six innings in his return from Tommy John surgery, but the Orioles gave him no run support. Story and Hamilton went deep leading off the second and third innings, and that was enough for Boston. The Red Sox added another run in the eighth, then two more in the ninth when rookie left fielder Dylan Beavers overran Hamilton’s shallow fly with two outs, resulting in a two-run double.

Boston entered the night as the American League’s top wild card, five games behind AL East-leading Toronto. The Red Sox have won five of six since the Orioles swept two games in Boston last week.

Giolito (9-2) looked like he might be on his way to a shutout after needing only four pitches to get through the seventh, but he threw 21 in the eighth, which included his only walk of the night. Giolito battled his way to an 11-pitch strikeout of Jeremiah Jackson to end that inning.

He ended up with 104 pitches and eight strikeouts.

Bradish allowed just four hits in his first start since June 14, 2024. He threw 81 pitches, 51 for strikes, and had at least one strikeout in every inning. The right-hander did not walk a batter.

Key moment

The Orioles put two men on with one out in the sixth, but Gunnar Henderson struck out for the third time in the game and Colton Cowser grounded out.

Key stat

Nine of the game’s 21 strikeouts came on called third strikes.

Up next

Brayan Bello (10-6) takes the mound for Boston on Wednesday night. The Orioles had not announced a starter.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Are the Boston Celtics destined for the play-in tournament?

After a summer of change, the Boston Celtics head into the 2025-26 NBA season as a complete unknown. Joe Mazzulla has been tasked with developing a swath of young talent while also figuring out how to get the best out of a roster that is drastically different from his first three seasons with the franchise.

The Celtics’ path to success is going to be all the more difficult due to Jayson Tatum’s injury-induced absence, and the need for Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard to absorb more responsibilities as a result. Nevertheless, there should be more than enough talent on hand for the Celtics to remain somewhat competitive, even if that doesn’t mean contending for a championship.

During a recent episode of the “Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast,” the hosts discussed the Celtics’ current roster and debated whether the team is destined to fight for a playoff spot via the play-in tournament next season.

You can watch the full episode by clicking on the embedded video above.

Watch or listen to the “Celtics Chronicle” podcast on:

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS

Spotify: https://bit.ly/40JRevf

Apple: https://apple.co/45sAUBG

Substack: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Are the Celtics destined for the play-in tournament?

Can the Boston Celtics expect to play postseason basketball in 2026?

For all of team president Brad Stevens’ moves this summer, the Boston Celtics still have an impressive trio of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard leading the way. Behind those three, Joe Mazzulla can lean on Sam Hauser to space the floor and a string of young talent fighting to prove themselves at the NBA level.

There’s no doubt that Boston’s offense is still going to operate at a high level. However, the same can’t be said about the defense, especially on the interior, where the current front court rotation looks concerningly flimsy. With that said, the Celtics will be competing in a wide-open Eastern Conference, which should help their chances of earning a respectable seeding.

During a recent episode of the “Celtics Beat” podcast, hosts Evan Valenti and Adam Kaufman were joined by Gary Washburn from The Boston Globe. The trio discussed Boston’s chances of making a playoff push in the upcoming season, detailing the reasons why Celtics fans should still plan for some postseason action in 2026.

You can watch the full podcast episode by clicking on the embedded video above.

Watch or listen to the “Taylor Talks Celtics” podcast on:

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3QnlPcS

Spotify: https://bit.ly/40JRevf

Apple: https://apple.co/45sAUBG

Substack: https://bit.ly/3WoA0Cf

This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: Can the Celtics expect to play postseason basketball in 2026?

Could the Boston Celtics move Derrick White before the trade deadline?

There’s been a lot of movement within the Boston Celtics roster this summer, with key contributors leaving and new, unproven faces taking their place. As a retooling franchise, the Celtics will likely be making deals right up until the February 2026 trade deadline, and then get straight back to business next summer.

Therefore, it’s hard to envision anyone outside of Jayson Tatum being totally safe. Stevens could likely be tempted to the negotiating table for any member of the rotation, assuming the return was deemed beneficial to the Celtics. As such, the rumor mill hasn’t stopped churning, with multiple trade ideas being floated across various outlets.

During a recent episode of NESN’s “Hold My Banner” podcast, hosts Adam Pellerin and Ountae Campbell dove into a recent trade idea from Sports Illustrated’s “Fantasy on SI”, where the Celtics would flip Derrick White to the Toronto Raptors in return for three future first-round picks and Gradey Dick.