data-mm-id=”_rx4kmaux9″>The Boston Celtics are going out sad. A team many considered to be title favorites heading into the postseason has gotten embarrassed in three straight games by the Miami Heat and are on the brink of elimination without even putting up a fight. There is plenty of blame to go around but the primary fall guy is Joe Mazzulla. Erik Spoelstra has put on a coaching clinic and run circles around Mazzulla during the Eastern Conference Finals, but more importantly Mazzulla was unable to get his players to show up to the most important games of the season. It's one thing if everybody played hard but Spoelstra's ability to amplify weaknesses and mitigate strengths of opposing rosters won the day. It's quite another when the Celtics' very decorated group of All-NBA and All-Defense players look entirely uninterested as they fall down by 30 while the season slips away. Last night's Game 3 loss was so bad that it necessitates change unless the Celtics do the impossible and come back from down 3-0. But anybody who watched that game knows there's less than a zero percent chance that happens. Is it totally fair for Mazzulla to end up in the crosshairs like this? Of course not. He did remarkably well considering the circumstances under which he got this job. But Boston boasted the deepest roster in the league led by two All-Star wings and just… no-showed in the Eastern Conference Finals. That is unacceptable and since it's pretty unlikely the team is going to ditch Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown Mazzulla is the primary candidate to be shown the door and replaced. For my money it's not a sure thing, but change has to come in some form. If the franchise decides Mazzulla has to go, here are a few options to replace him. Doc Rivers It's been a long time since Doc Rivers was considered a championship-level coach. He hasn't made it out of the second round in years and no playoff lead is safe with him on the sideline. But he still connects with his players well and there's obviously a history here with Boston. Could Rivers create Ubuntu 2.0 and get the whole roster to buy into a winning culture after flaming out this season? Maybe all he needs is that Southie air to get back to his old ways. An uninspiring choice but one that must be considered with the connections at play. Monty Williams Brad Stevens and Mazzulla are coaches cut from the same cloth in many ways– smart basketball minds who have a strong grasp of the X's and O's but struggle to motivate the roster to dig deep and reach the next level to play championship basketball. Williams is that sort of coach. He's a connector, a player's coach, whatever terminology you want to use. This means he'll get outschemed every now and again but he helped the hapless Suns reach the NBA Finals. He knows what it takes. Williams is owed a lot of money by Phoenix so there is no guarantee he'll want to jump right back into the head coaching life after his abrupt dismissal. But if he does, Boston will be calling. Frank Vogel One of the other common themes with recent Celtics head coaches is a lack of experience. Stevens got hired straight out of college. He picked Ime Udoka off the Nets' bench to replace him. Then Udoka was suspended and Mazzulla was thrust into the spotlight. Vogel is strong in that department if anything. He has a decade's worth of experience as the head honcho and his stints were varying levels of successful outside of two forgettable seasons with the Magic. He has championship experience after winning in the bubble. He also has a history in Boston, where he kicked off his NBA career as the head video coordinator for Rick Pitino. Vogel checks a lot of boxes.
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Market: Lens win
Odds: 5/6 @
Two sides who will turn their attention back to Coupe de France duties on Wednesday evening, Nantes will welcome Lens to the Stade de la Beaujoire.
Starting with the hosts, while Nantes might have opened their Europa League knockout stage adventure with a rugged display away at Italian giants Juventus on February 16th, Les Canaris are enduring an extended struggle. Eventually crashing out of Europe following a 3-0 drumming at home against the Old Lady last week, Antonie Kombouare’s side have now lost each of their last three matchups across all formats. Along with being last seen over the weekend putting in a toothless performance as they slumped to a 1-0 loss at home against Rennes, Rennes were also hit with a 3-1 defeat when they…
Victor Osimhen will not let his Premier League ambitions prove a distraction to short-term objectives of firing Napoli to a Serie A and Champions League double.
The Nigerian striker has been linked with clubs including Chelsea and Manchester United, after hitting 19 goals in 20 Serie A games this season.
Napoli are charging towards a first Scudetto since 1990 and Osimhen s goals have been crucial, drawing plenty of interest from Europe s richest clubs.
He has two years remaining on his Napoli contract, but England appeals.
Now is not the time to be thinking about a move, though, with Osimhen wanting to focus on success at home and in Europe, with Napoli close to securing a Champions League quarter-final spot.
Winning 2-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt in …
Ajax s unlikely bid for Champions League glory will be lent a helping hand after the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) announced it will move an entire round of Eredivisie fixtures.
The Dutch top flight s 33rd round of fixtures – the season s penultimate round – was due to take place on Sunday, April 28, two days before Erik ten Hag s side face Tottenham in London.
The KNVB is committed to giving teams at least two full days of rest between games and moving Ajax s scheduled match against De Graafschap forward to April 27 is problematic as that date marks the national holiday of Koningsdag.
To avoid teams playing a key set of fixtures at different times, the entire round will now take place on May 15 and will be the final slate of games.
…
Ukraine great Andriy Shevchenko has thanked the Polish people for their support during the war against Russia, hailing sports stars Iga Swiatek and Robert Lewandowski for their efforts.
An ambassador for Laureus Sport for Good, Shevchenko surprised children who had fled the war with a visit to a school in Warsaw.
The world has rallied around Ukraine following Russia s invasion, with sporting stars and celebrities using their platform to raise awareness of the situation in the country.
On Saturday, WTA world number one Swiatek organised a charity tennis match, where Shevchenko was a special guest, while Lewandowski has been vocal in his support – and will wear a Barcelona shirt featuring the UNHCR logo, the United Nations main agency for refugees, this seaso…
Competition: Serie A
Market: Napoli to beat Atalanta
Odds:
Serie A returns this weekend for yet another massive round of games as the competition gets back underway. Every side will want to return with a win to kickstart their campaign, with the fans desperate to see their team hit the ground running. With all of this in mind, Atalanta host Napoli on Sunday.
Atalanta have been in good form recently as they chase a European place for next season. After 20 games they have won eight, drawn six and lost six, scoring 32 goals and conceding 26 times. In their last five they have won three, drawn one and lost one, seeing them onto 30 points for the season so far. Atalanta are currently 15 points clear of the relegation zone, meaning they are now focus…
Goalkeeper Adam Federici is determined to secure top billing at AFC Bournemouth after agreeing fresh terms with the Premier League club.
The Australia international penned a three-year deal on Monday and underlined his desire to usurp Artuc Boruc as manager Eddie Howe s first-choice keeper.
I m delighted to have signed a new contact, Federici, who made just six top-flight appearances in 2015-16, told the Cherries official website.
I ve worked hard this year to keep improving and the last year has been great. I ve been settling in and getting to know the lads so I m really looking forward to next year now.
The manager played a big part in me signing, the coaching staff and the way we play football are factors too. I feel I suit the team and look for…
Cagliari have revealed it will take a huge offer to sign star midfielder Radja Nainggolan this summer.
The Belgian midfielder is heavily tipped to join one of Italy’s top clubs after yet another impressive season at Stadio Sant’Elia.
Juventus have long ago opened negotiations to sign the highly rated player, but they have yet to reach an agreement with Cagliari over the transfer fee.
The club from Sardinia have now informed interested sides that it will take at least €18 million to sign the 24-year-old.
“I’ve promised him that I would let him go if a big club came in for him with a bid,” Cagliari president Massimo Cellino told Unione Sarda.
“However, the offer has to be a big one – an offer that is not any smaller than €18m.”<…
Manchester City cruised into the last eight of the FA Cup with a classy display as they registered a 4-0 victory over Leeds United.
Manchester City cruised into the last eight of the FA Cup with a classy display as they registered a 4-0 victory over Leeds United.
Yaya Toure opened the scoring early on after a powerful run, before Sergio Aguero bagged from the spot to double the lead inside 15 minutes.
Carlos Tevez s early second-half goal and Aguero s cool finish compounded Leeds miserable afternoon, and the 2011 winners will go into the quarter-finals as one of the big favourites.
Roberto Mancini rang in the changes, with only five of the starting line-up from the 3-1 defeat at Southampton keeping their place. Costel Pantilimon came in for Joe Hart wh…
According to a recent report from Sport Bild, Inter Milan are considering the possibility of putting forward a bid for Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng. The German international was once, and still is by some, considered to be one of the best defenders in world football. He was once a target for Manchester United but the deal never came to fruition, and now, he is said to be expected to leave Bayern during the summer transfer window. Boateng was considered to be one of the ‘villains’ of Germany’s 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign last summer, but ever since then he has done a solid enough job of rectifying his reputation.
Inter, on the other hand, have made no secret of their desire to bring in a whole host of new players during the upcoming transfer window. If they can l…
Uruguay head coach Oscar Tabarez is confident star forward Luis Suarez will be fit for the Copa America in Brazil.
Suarez, who scored 25 goals in all competitions this season, will miss Barcelona s Copa del Rey final against Valencia on Saturday after undergoing knee surgery.
The surgery put Suarez in doubt for next month s Copa America – with Uruguay set to open their campaign against Ecuador on June 16 – however Tabarez has high hopes .
I think yes, I hope so, he s working well, Tabarez told reporters when asked if Suarez will be fit for the tournament. I can t give you details but he keeps us updated through videos and images.
He s working on his recovery and I know the meaning Luis gives to these things, I know he ll give 100 per cent to be …