The Celtics were expected to have trouble maintaining their spot as a title contender after star forward Jayson Tatum suffered a torn Achilles tendon in last year's playoffs. Boston also parted ways with key veterans like Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis over the offseason.

All three of Boston’s backup bigs had strong performances in a 122-102 blowout win over the Wizards – especially Neemias Queta. The fourth-year center scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed seven rebounds, including a game-high four on the offensive end, all in less than 14 minutes of action off the bench.

Jayson Tatum is a finalist for the NBA’s Teammate of the Year award, while Derrick White is a finalist for the league’s Sportsmanship Award.

Part of a handful of pioneers integrating the league in 1950, his story is an important one for US and NBA history both.

The Charlotte Hornets host the Boston Celtics in a pivotal Sunday NBA clash. View the latest odds, player prop projections, and a data-backed score prediction based on 10,000 simulations.

The Boston Celtics led by Joe Mazzulla may be deep with talents like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown but they will look for Payton Pritchard during hard times in the NBA Playoffs.

Jordan Walsh had an underrated, but great game for the Boston Celtics in Jaylen Browns absence, which raises the question of how this team keeps hitting all the right notes