Rockets predicted to add veteran free agent for playoff push — and more

The Houston Rockets have had a fine season, but they are clearly feeling the effects of not having a true point guard in the rotation.

Neemias Queta had a career night and almost singlehandedly killed the Sixers on the glass, pushing the Boston Celtics to a 114-98 win over Philadelphia on Sunday evening. The Celtics had 19 offensive rebounds, and Tyrese Maxey sputtered to a 12/34 finish from the field.

Here’s what I saw.

Too little, too late for Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey was just flat-out bad on both ends of the floor in the first half of this game. While I am sympathetic to his plight in a matchup like this, crunched into the middle of the floor with non-shooters and shaky decision-makers sprinkled throughout the lineup, his decision-making against the Celtics was as bad as it has been all year.

Facing constant pressure can cloud your vision, but it wasn’t clear that Maxey was even looking to move the ball against Boston. There were a lot of possessions with Maxey predetermining he was going to shoot the ball, hoisting shots up even when he could not get his feet set or a clean look at the basket. It wasn’t a shock when he ultimately bricked those attempts. It’s not often that you see Maxey forcing shots up to the degree he did on Sunday, and if he is, it usually means he’s on a heater. It’s not clear to me why he kept falling on his own sword instead of looking to move the ball, though they certainly didn’t move much around him to provide him with outlets. He was 4/18 from the field at halftime, and many of those misses turned into quick run-outs for Boston.

I would argue he was just as destructive on the defensive end of the floor, though the scheme gives him an “explanation” for his crimes there. Maxey has taken Nick Nurse’s desire to hunt steals to an extreme degree, often helping from the strong side corner in off-ball positions to help against drivers. It’s one thing when you’re crashing from someone’s blindside and get burned, but he’s often more brazen. Maxey conceded way too many open threes against the Celtics by opening simple passing windows with his help defense, hardly bothering the driver in the process.

It gets old discussing Philadelphia’s defensive scheme over and over, but it remains a problem in many matchups and against the general style of offense in today’s NBA. The Celtics are run by a coach who wants to hunt threes more aggressively than any coach in NBA history. Sending help off the corners to converge on drivers and rollers is a recipe to get bombed away on all night long, and once the Celtics started making threes, this game was put to bed quickly. I don’t understand why there isn’t more nuance to their defensive approach, either in the macro or in individual matchups where it’s warranted.

Maxey would eventually get rolling in the third quarter, finding his touch from the midrange on a few two-dribble pull-ups and runners to bring Philadelphia within striking distance. The final line looks good enough, and might have been with normal-ish performances from the likes of Kelly Oubre and Quentin Grimes. But the bounce back in the second half was ultimately not enough to override his miserable start to the game.

Signs of hope in Boston

VJ Edgecombe’s first two games on the Boston parquet have been pretty good and a welcome sight for a franchise that has rarely had players who deliver results against the Celtics. For obvious reasons, I will refrain from comparing him to another two-guard who rose to the occasion against their hated rivals, but this has been fun to watch so far.

With Maxey struggling to find a rhythm against the Celtics, it was up to Edgecombe to provide the steadying force to keep this close in the first half. A three from the wing here, a closeout attack for a short runner there, sprinkle in a gorgeous move in transition, and you’ve got a stew going:

There was a stretch of the third quarter when it felt like Philadelphia was ready to let go of the rope, even as Edgecombe kept making play after play. The rookie made a terrific recovery play to block a shot from behind, only for Kelly Oubre to stand flatfooted and watch the loose ball trickle to the Celtics, eventually ending in a three from the left wing. But Edgecombe kept coming, knocking down a catch-and-shoot three with a hand in his face moments before hitting Maxey with a beautiful outlet pass in transition for two points in the middle of a nice Sixers run.

He wasn’t perfect, forcing up some tightly contested jumpers when a closeout attack might have done the trick, and he did not have enough to carry this one over the line in crunch time. But I have been encouraged by his play out of the All-Star break, and it looks like he has broken through the rookie wall again.

The rookie was aided in the “little things” department by Dominick Barlow, who played another excellent all-around game for Philadelphia after his own terrific opener in Boston in October. Barlow was both a passing-lane demon and a strong defensive rebounder, ending a lot of Celtics possessions with his hands on a night when second-chance possessions were plentiful. He was also one of their better options against Jaylen Brown, slowing him down early before Brown would eventually find his groove against smaller Philadelphia defenders.

With a lot of the lineup struggling, Barlow had to create more of his own offense than is typical, and he did a great job in that department too. Would have rather seen him at center down the stretch than Drummond, frankly.

The backup big battle shouldn’t be one

Adem Bona is sneakily starting to put it together as Philadelphia’s top center option behind Joel Embiid. I’m not saying to count him as a reliable playoff guy, but I will live with the errors of aggression to try to help him round out the skill set leading into the playoffs.

The second that Bona checked into this game for Andre Drummond in the first half, he made his presence known. A defensive rebound on one end, an offensive rebound and putback layup on the other, strong contests at the rim, and better screens than we’ve seen him set for most of his two years in the league. I am typically skeptical that you can make major improvements to your hands while in the NBA, but I have seen signs of growth from Bona there, which makes me hopeful he could eventually be a genuine two-way player some day.

On the other hand, Andre Drummond looks completely off the pace as a starting or backup option. Neemias Queta had an outstanding game for Boston and has been a great under-the-radar story for the Celtics this season, but Drummond hardly tried to bother him in most of their shared minutes on the floor. He was helpless as a rebounder, often rooted to the spot while the younger big chased down extra possession after extra possession. Drummond flailed helplessly as Queta drove past him over and over again, and the only shocking thing was that Nurse kept going back to him despite repeated crimes against basketball. Outstanding effort from Queta, but Drummond was worse than useless.

Other notes

— Cam Payne’s play in Philadelphia has only strengthened my belief that they should have been searching for wings to fill their end-of-the-bench roster spots. He isn’t organizing the offense or handling the ball much, and he is drawing dead in both help positions and one-on-one defense, as you’d expect. Nurse has tried to use him in three-guard lineups quite a bit already, and they have not gotten anywhere near enough offense out of them to justify how putrid that look is defensively.

It was one thing to have Jared McCain in the rotation, given his draft status and unique shooting talent. I don’t know what they’re getting from Payne or why they need him in anything more than an emergency situation.

— Trendon Watford simply cannot be as allergic to shooting as he is and play a role for this team. I don’t mind if he misses shots, but he has to take more of them.

— Shout out to the woman in the front row who took a kick to the face from Edgecombe in the fourth quarter and kept a smile on her face afterward. Tough lady!

All Times EST

Monday, March 2

MLB - Spring Training

Atlanta vs. Detroit, at Lakeland, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Miami vs. St. Louis, at Jupiter, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay vs. Pittsburgh, at Bradenton, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Washington vs. Houston, at West Palm Beach, Fla., 1:05 p.m.

Boston vs. Toronto, at Dunedin, Fla., 1:07 p.m.

Chicago Cubs vs. Cincinnati, at Goodyear, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

Cleveland vs. Texas, at Surprise, Ariz., 3:05 p.m.

San Francisco vs. Chicago White Sox, at Phoenix, 3:05 p.m.

Athletics vs. San Diego, at Peoria, Ariz., 3:10 p.m.

Kansas City vs. L.A. Angels, at Tempe, Ariz., 3:10 p.m.

L.A Dodgers vs. Colorado, at Scottsdale, Ariz., 3:10 p.m.

NBA

Houston at Washington, 7 p.m.

Boston at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.

Denver at Utah, 9 p.m.

L.A. Clippers at Golden State, 10 p.m.

NHL

Detroit at Nashville, 2 p.m.

Columbus at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.

Philadelphia at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.

Dallas at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

Carolina at Seattle, 10 p.m.

Colorado at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

T25 MEN’S COLLEGE BASKETBALL

No. 1 Duke at NC State, 7 p.m.

No. 2 Arizona vs. No. 4 Iowa St., 9 p.m.

_____

Carson Beck reportedly booed during throwing session at NFL Combine originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Carson Beck heard an unexpected chorus of boos at the NFL Scouting Combine and it had little to do with his performance.

According to USA Today’s Jacob Camenker, a strong contingent of Indiana Hoosiers football fans in attendance made their presence known during the quarterback’s throwing session at Lucas Oil Stadium. Each time Beck appeared on the video board or stepped up in the rotation, jeers echoed through the crowd.

Needless to say, this is a new world given how Indiana has been in college football's basement for years. But with a little luck and Curt Cignetti leading the charge, the Hoosiers are now champions. 

Beck spent his final collegiate season with the Miami Hurricanes and faced Indiana in the national championship game. The Hoosiers secured a 27-21 victory to capture the program’s first national title, a result that apparently left lingering emotions among their fan base despite the triumph.

At least it made for good TV. NFL Network cameras showed the six-year college veteran smiling as boos rained down, appearing unfazed as he delivered passes to wide receivers during drills.

More: Trent Dilfer says he was 'forced' to take UAB head coaching job

Beck revamped his draft stock in 2025 after an injury-shortened 2024 season at Georgia. He threw for 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season, leading the ACC with a 72.4% completion rate.

For his career, Beck amassed 11,725 passing yards and 88 touchdowns across stops at Georgia and Miami. He now turns his focus to the NFL Draft, scheduled later next month in Pittsburgh. 

More college football news: 

• Oregon's Dan Lanning rips College Football Playoff, calls for major changes
• Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
• Steve Sarkisian blasts Ohio State players for not going to class
• NCAA targets exposed calves in latest proposed college football rule change
• High school football recruits using AI-generated highlight tapes is on the rise

Jalen Brunson scored 25 points as the New York Knicks' halted San Antonio’s 11-game NBA winning streak with an emphatic 114-89 victory at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs arrived in New York brimming with confidence after going undefeated February, building their longest winning streak since a 13-0 run in the 2015-16 season.

Wembanyama, who had struggled in the Spurs' last two wins, came out firing, but the French superstar's 25 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots weren't enough. Devin Vassell with 18 points and Stephon Castle with 13 were the only other Spurs players to score in double figures.

They hit just nine of 34 from three-point range and were harried into their season-high 22 turnovers that the Knicks parlayed into 24 points. Bridges came up big on the defensive end with five steals.

"Good win by our guys," Knicks coach Mike Brown said. "(San Antonio) is a really good team. They obviously missed some shots, but I thought our weak side defense was really good. For them to shoot 26, 27% from (three-point range), our activity on the weak side was really good."

San Antonio got off to a quick start and led by as many as 12 in the first quarter, but the Knicks were up by one at the end of the first period and never trailed again, using a 26-2 scoring run spanning the first and second quarters to seize control.

Karl-Anthony Towns scored 12 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for the Knicks, who had six players score in double figures and held the Spurs to their season-low in points.

- Thunder, Pistons march on -

Second-placed San Antonio's defeat saw them lose ground in their pursuit of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of the Western Conference.

Oklahoma City, the reigning NBA champions, improved to 47-15 after a 100-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks in Texas.

The returning Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the OKC scoring with 30 points, edging closer to Wilt Chamberlain’s record for the most consecutive games of 20 points or more.

Sunday's performance was Gilgeous-Alexander's 123rd consecutive 20-point game, leaving him three adrift of matching Chamberlain's historic mark of 126 set between 1961 and 1963.

The Minnesota Timberwolves meanwhile remain firmly in the playoff hunt after scoring an impressive 117-108 defeat of the Denver Nuggets in Colorado.

Minnesota recovered from an 11-point first quarter deficit after a 36-19 second quarter thanks to 21 points from Anthony Edwards and 20 points from Jaden McDaniels. Donte DiVincenzo added 17 points which included five three-pointers.

At the top of the Eastern Conference, the Detroit Pistons maintained their grip on the standings with a 106-92 defeat of the Orlando Magic in Florida.

An upset looked on the cards after Orlando led throughout the first half to edge into a 57-50 lead at the break.

But Detroit outscored Orlando 56-35 in the final two quarters to seal a win which lifts the Pistons to 45-14 in the East.

The Pistons have a healthy lead over the second-placed Boston Celtics, who improved to 40-20 on Sunday with a 114-98 defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers.

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