NBA Notebook: Celtics use trivia to warm up before games

One year ago -- an hour before the Celtics tipped-off on the road against the Wizards -- an argument broke out in the back of Boston's locker room over the game. But not the one about to play out on the court. 

Players can either relax by their lockers, the section of the room open to reporters for 30 minutes each game night, or stay in the private areas like the trainer's room to get away. Some bury their head in their phone, most wear headphones, stretch a little and take the floor closer to tip-off for their warm-ups. That leaves different players in different places at different times, but in Boston's locker room across the past three seasons, they've all converged at some point to look at a whiteboard featuring that night's trivia. It's become a more heated competition than some of their opponents provided. 

"I tied for first today," Xavier Tillman Jr. said after the Celtics beat the Mavericks 138-110 on Friday, their 10th straight. "I got 12 points today. You know, they cheat a lot in that game. I think they got a little thing going on between Sam and Luke and Derrick. I don't really like it." 

Jace Delaney, Isaiah Covington and Ty Yeaton, trainers in the Celtics' sports science department, came up with the questions each night that either call for an answer, give multiple choice options or ask to identify a photograph. On Tuesday, before Boston faced the 76ers at home, the questions included, what the smallest state in the US is, which food can never go bad, what the largest ocean in the world is, what the No. 1 song in Spotify history is, what the average height of an American male is, along with a sixth question asked players to identify a Zamboni printed out and taped to the wall. 

Derrick White, who places himself in the top three among the trivia performers, took part in a similar competition in his time with the Spurs before road games. It began as one question, to see if anyone knew it, and a leaderboard would build on who's able to answer the most. Jakob Poetl dominated in San Antonio, White said, then when he arrived with the Celtics in 2022, he asked Celtics trainer Paul West if they could carry on the tradition in Boston. 

Covington and Yeaton, who since moved on to the Knicks, originally asked players to identify objects in what became a competitive routine last year at home. Phil Coles, the team's head performance coach, would make cultural references from his native Australia that stumped the team and turned up the competition. The Celtics now have two types of trivia, White's training room edition on the road and a more formalized one on the white board at home in the Celtics' locker room that has a leaderboard and pulls from categories from music to culture, geography and more. 

"I've been able to take part," Jrue Holiday said, laughing and smiling at shootaround. "It's fun. It shows how old you are, sometimes it does, especially when they show pictures of Skype and none of the young kids know what Skype is. I think to be able to go through stuff like that before the game and lighten the air, to be able to do that as well as mentally prepare is really cool." 

While newcomers have embraced the game to varying degrees, the Celtics' mainstays over the past three seasons have jumped out to the lead in this year's competition. Luke Kornet is elite, White said, and Sam Hauser rounds out the top three alongside White. Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Holiday are also known to be strong competitors. Oshae Brissett thinks the game is cool, but he's among the lowest-performing finishers and has given up. He'll try again next year. I definitely try, he said. But there are questions you never think about. 

The challenge comes with getting answers correct on the fly. Celtics usually take a glance at the board on their way to the court for their warm ups and don't have long to ponder the answers at home. It displays the age gap on the team, Covington approaching 30, Jordan Walsh and J.D. Davison hovering around 20 and Horford turning 37 in June, with players at just about every stage of their careers in between. 

Horford tried to put Walsh on to older references like The Godfather early in the season to little success, Walsh struggling with the length of the movie and its black-and-white coloring. For Tillman, the newest addition to the competition, it reflects what he's enjoyed most about the Celtics. The team can leave the basketball behind when they step off the court and embrace other interests. Joe Mazzulla often says he's not in the locker room, so the players have come together naturally to form bonds over multiple years. 

"Those types of things are a great part of the routine and a great part of us all coming together on a daily basis at the games," Kornet told Boston Sports Journal. "There's so much routine to the NBA life and heading into games that I feel like having a creative, fun outlet is a nice part that brings us together and a little friendly competition that's not in our usual domain, but it's something I look forward to every game day. I get a lot of competitive outlet there, which I think others do too. It's a lot of fun." 

Here's what else happened around the NBA this week...

Atlanta (26-33): Trae Young underwent surgery on his left pinkie finger and will miss at least four weeks in what's already become a disappointing Hawks season. They then waived veteran guard Patty Mills, who will be available to apron teams, in order to convert Trent Forrest to a standard contract. Mills, 35, is shooting 38.2% from three on 1.8 attempts per game in only 10.6 minutes. He's shooting 35.3% from two-point range. Atlanta has won 2-of-3 without Young, 

Boston (47-12): Won their 10th game in a row in a runaway fourth quarter against the Mavericks, their longest win streak since 2019 that matched the 2008 championship team's longest regular season mark. Xavier Tillman logged his first real minutes in the win, posting six points, three rebounds and a block, appearing for the decisive 15-5 run to begin the fourth. They host the Warriors on Sunday for the fourth time since their Finals loss in 2022, losing 2-of-3 since including in San Francisco in December, before beginning a five-game west coast trip through Cleveland. Multiple Boston players reached out to Blake Griffin during that trip to LA about a return, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard said, but Griffin responded that he's focused on his family. 

Charlotte (15-45): Closing in on Nets executive Jeff Peterson as their next GM, replacing Mitch Kupchak, who stepped aside after six seasons with the team. The hire marks the first step by Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin to reshape the franchise after purchasing a majority share from longtime Hornets owner Michael Jordan last year. Celtics executive Austin Ainge interviewed for the position as well, as first reported by Marc Stein, and was considered a finalist for it. Ainge became Boston's director of player personnel in 2011 after spending time as a coach, including for the Maine Red Claws. Aleksej Pokusevski signed with Charlotte following his release from the Thunder. 

Cleveland (39-20): Max Strus ended the Mavericks' eight-game win streak with a half-court heave before the Cavs snuck by the Pistons without Donovan Mitchell to stay in the second spot in the east, 8.0 games behind the Celtics. They host Boston for their final meeting of the regular season on Tuesday. Darius Garland scored 29 points in the win and Evan Mobley dominated with 22 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocks. Cleveland has won 12-of-16 since Mobley returned from a knee injury alongside Garland, who went down requiring jaw surgery in the last Celtics game. The Cavs rank 15th in offense and second in defense, a similar profile to their success last year with a net rating (+5.2) behind only Boston, Minnesota and the Thunder. 

Dallas (34-26): Kyrie Irving accepted boos from the Boston fans in Friday's Mavericks loss to the Celtics, speaking to Boston Sports Journal and another reporter after the game. He said it comes with the territory and rightfully so, he added, given that Irving's losing streak against Boston now stretches back to the 2021 first-round series where he infamously stepped on the logo, nine straight between Brooklyn and Dallas. Irving also praised Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum navigating leadership roles with the Celtics since his departure and sounded at ease with his new life with the Mavericks. Elsewhere, Jason Kidd would not comment on why the Grant Williams signing didn't work and resulted in trading him last month, nor would he compare the impact PJ Washington made in his place, saying he's the coach and those questions are for the front office. 

Denver (41-19): The NBA made a suspension exception for Nuggets champion Thomas Bryant, now with the Heat, when the teams met for a rematch of the 2023 NBA Finals and ring night for Bryant in his return to Denver. The league had suspended Bryant three games for his role in the clash between Miami and the Pelicans, but allowed him to collect his ring at the game before leaving the arena. Nikola Jovic and Jimmy Butler also received one game suspensions, allowing them to play in the championship rematch, while New Orleans' Naji Marshall also missed a game and Jose Alvarado three. The Nuggets host the Celtics for another potential Finals preview on Thursday after beating them in Boston by two points earlier this season. 

Detroit (9-50): Monty Williams unloaded on the referees following the conclusion of Knicks-Pistons earlier this week, when Donte DiVincenzo appeared to take out Ausar Thompson, allowing Jalen Brunson to recover a loose ball and find Josh Hart for the decisive basket between the teams late. Williams called it the worst call of the season and though the Pistons had the right to protest, it almost certainly would've failed for the same reason New York's did over their loss to the Rockets on a bad foul call. James Williams admitted a foul should've been called on DiVincenzo, but a missed call does not rise to the level of a misappropriation of the rules. The last time a game was replayed over a protest was in 2008. 

Center Isaiah Stewart returned from suspension and apologized following his alleged punch. 

Golden State (32-27): Enter TD Garden on Sunday winners of 11-of-13 and three straight on their east coast swing after Steph Curry admitted the Warriors are finding an identity following Draymond Green's return from suspension. Chris Paul took the floor for the first time since January this week, returning from his hand injury with 17 assists and nine steals over three games. Klay Thompson has transitioned into a bench role while Andrew Wiggins took another personal leave from the team, reportedly over a family matter. Brandin Podziemski missed the team's win in Toronto on Friday with knee soreness, Golden State getting by with 27 points off the bench between Paul and Thompson. Thompson reflected on the move with ESPN.

Clippers (38-20): Russell Westbrook fractured his left hand in the Clippers' win over the Wizards on Friday, an injury that'll likely leave him out for a significant amount of time as March begins. It's unclear whether he'll need surgery or how long he'll miss, but he had played in every game this season, mostly embracing a bench role that allowed him only 11.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game in 23 minutes, but made much of the Clippers' puzzle come together, especially after the trade for James Harden. Before that injury, LA squandered a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to the Lakers in what marked the final Clippers home game at Crypto.com Arena before they make the move to the Intuit Dome this summer. 

Lakers (33-28): LeBron James enters Saturday's game against the Nuggets only nine points from becoming the first player in NBA history to reach 40,000 points. James passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in the league last February, and hasn't slowed down since turning 39. He's averaging 25.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG and 7.9 APG on 52.5% shooting, including 40.8% three-point shooting on 5.5 attempts per game. James outscored the Clippers 19-16 in the Lakers' fourth-quarter comeback earlier this week, a potential turning point for a team stuck in mediocrity for most of this season.

Milwaukee (40-21): Winners of five straight games that tied the Cavaliers for second in the east behind Boston. Damian Lillard averaged 20.2 PPG and 7.0 APG while shooting 39% from three over that stretch, the latest two wins over the Hornets and another at the Bulls. He spoke to Sports Illustrated about life in his new city, painting a lonely picture that mostly sees him going to games, practices and otherwise staying home to play video games or watch boxing. Lillard preferred a trade to Miami last summer before the Trail Blazers agreed to a deal with the Bucks. Lillard also said he thought the partnership with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee would flourish similarly to how the Celtics have. Still, Milwaukee is tied for seventh in net rating and fifth in offense. 

"Being away from my kids is tough. In Portland, my life was set up," he said. "My mom was down the street; my brother was the other way down the street. My sister was down the street. My kids in school. Just my whole life was set up perfectly right there. It was a great situation. So just leaving that behind alone is a lot. And then you add the basketball side to it and that is what it is ... I type in [boxing website] FightHype on YouTube 100 times and be praying for something new to be on there. Seriously, I don’t have much of a life. But that’s what comes with making a big boy decision. You got to be down for that and figure it out." 

New York (35-25): Sliding in the east, losers of two straight and 7-of-10 despite strong efforts from their reserves in the face of a mass of injuries. The Knicks now sit 4.5 games behind the Bucks in fourth, only 1.5 games above the Heat over the play-in line. Both Miami and Orlando have won 7-of-10 and threaten to overtake them, New York ranking 18th in offense and last in defense over that stretch. The Celtics executed flawlessly in their win over them at Madison Square Garden to move to 4-0 over the Knicks this season, shooting 70% through three quarters. Josh Hart grabbed 18 rebounds in a loss to the Warriors. Doctors cleared OG Anunoby (elbow) to return to basketball activity this week. Julius Randle (shoulder) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle) remain out.

"I'm not sure what you all expect, or what you all think," Hart said after playing 47 minutes. "We are playing as best as we can with the bodies that we have."

Oklahoma City (41-18): Have won 7-of-10 over the same period that the Nuggets and Timberwolves have in a race for the top seed in the west that's now separated by only 1.0 game. The Thunder further added to their center depth, bringing back Mike Muscala after his buyout from the Pistons. The Celtics traded for Muscala one year ago then traded him to Washington in the Kristaps Porzingis deal, where he played until the Wizards dealt him to Detroit at this deadline. He provided winning minutes during his first Oklahoma City stint from 2019-2023, but his three-point shooting dropped from 39.1% last season to 31.8%. In 13 games with the Pistons, he shot 13-for-34 (38%), renewing hope in his floor spacing. The Thunder also signed Bismack Biyombo last month to complement Chet Holmgren after Oklahoma City declined to add center depth at the deadline, preferring to stick with Chet. 

Philadelphia (34-25): Joel Embiid updated reporters on his recovery from meniscus surgery, sharing no timeline other than that he hopes to return this season. He said everything has to go right with the ramp-up process, while Nick Nurse and Daryl Morey have both shared hopefulness as well. That hasn't been enough to inspire winning play from the team he left behind, losing badly to the Bucks and Celtics this week trying to play small ball before sneaking past the Hornets on Friday. They're now 5-8 since Embiid last played on Jan. 30, but have remained in the fifth seed ahead of Indiana for now.

Portland (16-42): Dalano Banton scored 19 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two blocks as the Trail Blazers beat the Grizzlies to break their nine-game losing streak on Friday. Banton's consistent run off the bench since being traded from the Celtics last month continued to yield positive results. He's now averaging 10.3 PPG in 17.6 MPG on 44.8% shooting, hitting 36.8% of his threes. The win saw him play opposite of former Celtics teammate Lamar Stevens, who's also succeeding with his new team in Memphis, scoring 19 points too on Friday and averaging 12.1 PPG on 56.3% FG.

San Antonio (12-48): Victor Wembanyama vs. Chet Holmgren delivered again, their third meeting this season resulting in Wembanyama's first win over Holmgren's Thunder, 132-118, on Friday. Wembanyama scored 28 points with 13 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks while shooting 5-of-7 from three in what marked San Antonio's first home game in 26 days around the all-star break. Wembanyama became the most efficient volume three-point shooting big in the NBA over the past month, rising to 32.7% from deep for the season with a 41.3% run since February began. He leads the NBA in blocks with 180 while Holmgren ranks second with 155, a start for both so dominant that it's already changing the dynamic in the west with the Thunder's success. 

Toronto (22-38): Scottie Barnes broke the third metacarpal bone in left hand on Friday against the Warriors and is out indefinitely for a Raptors team sliding toward the bottom of the league since trading Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby. Toronto is 4-5 since the deadline, not quite bad enough to break into the bottom-four in the league, which secures the best odds at staying in that range. The Raptors traded a top-six protected first to the Spurs for Jakob Poetl last year. If Toronto stayed in its current slot in the lottery, the Spurs would pick No. 7 overall in their place. The pick remains top-six protected in 2025 and 2026 if it doesn't convey this summer, then it would become a pair of second-rounders.