🏆 A New NBA Title Contender Is Emerging

The Celtics have been lights out this postseason and have transformed into a legitimate title contender. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: Brad Stevens’ team is emerging as a popular pick to win the East, but good luck getting the Celtics coach to admit it ... we take a look at how preseason All-American Marvin Wilson is leaving a lasting impact at Florida State, both on and off the field ... and Jimmy Butler gives some love to virtual Dwyane Wade. Brad Stevens doesn’t deal much in predictions for the future, even the immediate future. He likes to keep it in the here and now. When the present looks like this for the Boston Celtics, who can blame him? This fact hasn’t exactly been at the forefront of NBA focus lately, but the Celtics have been lights out during this unique postseason, winning six straight games ahead of today’s Eastern Conference semifinals Game 3 matchup against the Toronto Raptors. While the hoops world has been permanently all about the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, got briefly sidetracked by a pair of Game 7 slugfests in the Western Conference, then bamboozled by how the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo seem to be falling apart, Boston has been quietly doing its own thing. That is, if you can call winning six games in a row “quiet.” [STORY IMAGE 1] Stevens, seven years into his Celtics tenure, isn’t one for grand statements and inflaming the hype, but his team – at least according to statistics site FiveThirtyEight.com – is now the team with the highest probability to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Just don’t expect him to talk about it. Stevens, who looked set for a post-college career as a pharmaceutical sales rep before being drawn back into basketball, will extol the virtues of his players all day long. However, you’re not going to find him speaking about championships until his team is actually playing for one. “We play with really good intentions,” Stevens told reporters, which was his way of saying that spirit within the group has never been higher. “And we have a great deal of respect for (Toronto). Can’t say enough good things.” [STORY IMAGE 2] FOX Bet has the Clippers as title favorites at +230, with the Lakers at +275 and the Celtics third favorite at +500. Yet FiveThirtyEight gives Boston a 31 percent chance of winning it all, narrowly ahead of the Clippers. Stevens’ squad is a talented group that was expected to be good, but perhaps not this good. Even in Boston, not everyone believes. The local media there has seen plenty of championship teams before, across all the major sports, and they are still deciding whether this one has that kind of potential. Yahoo Sports national columnist Dan Wetzel has known Stevens since the coach was doing remarkable things with mid-major Butler, taking the Bulldogs to two NCAA championship games in 2010 and 2011. In the first of those, Butler came within a Gordon Hayward buzzer heave of upsetting Duke. The fact that this Celtics run has come without Hayward, one of their stars, makes this effort even more impressive. [STORY IMAGE 3] “Stevens commands an incredible level of respect,” Wetzel told me via telephone. “Not just from his players but from his assistants and everyone in the organization. He gets that respect because of confidence and consistency. “It is clear he knows what he is talking about and doesn’t need to be over the top. Think about what the average person wants in a boss - someone who knows what they are doing and puts you in the best position for success. He does that. He is the kind of guy who is impossible to dislike. His players would kill for him. It is an unnatural trait, to be that assured, but still that genuine.” Many around the NBA are finding it impossible to shake the narrative that the winner of the Lakers vs. Clippers matchup in the Western Conference Finals will then cruise to the title, assuming those teams get by the Rockets and Nuggets, respectively. It is a school of thought only enhanced by the Bucks and the Raptors, the East’s top two seeds, both falling into a 2-0 hole. But don’t sleep on the Celtics, who are being buoyed by the elite play of Jayson Tatum, the smooth calmness of Kemba Walker and a ton of belief powering them forward. They lost Kyrie Irving a year ago when he decided to depart for Brooklyn, and yet seem all the better for it. [STORY IMAGE 4] “I am in shock,” [admitted former Celtics star Antoine Walker on FS1’s First Things First](. “The Celtics had a lot of question marks. But yes, (now) I believe they can make a title run. They’ve got good chemistry right now. In Jayson Tatum, you’ve got a closer who can finish games for you. He is playing just how he left off before the pandemic. Even hardcore Celtics fans are only just starting to wake up to the fact that the Celtics may be a realistic title threat. “The effects of the playoffs being in a bubble has changed how the city perceives it,” longtime fan Mark Melli told me. “Without home games to feed off, it has been a slow burn. Suddenly you look at this team and think, wow, why not? Honestly, until a few days ago everyone was talking more about the Patriots and the new NFL season. We are waking up to it – and it is a good thing to wake up to.” The Celtics still have work to do, but they have confidence at exactly the time of year when you need it the most. And they have a coach who maybe, just maybe, is beginning to feel like something special is brewing here – although good luck getting him to admit it. [STORY IMAGE 5] Here’s what others have said ... Danny Ainge, Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations: “Brad (Stevens) is one of the most intelligent and hard-working coaches in the game today. More importantly, his character and integrity have contributed to a culture that we all highly value here. Brad is a great teammate, and a leader people want to follow.” Nick Wright, FOX Sports: “I thought the Celtics defense was going to be abysmal. I was clearly, obviously wrong. (Jayson) Tatum is making that star turn. I don’t think they can win a championship, but they don’t have to win a championship for this to be a massively successful season … even if this doesn’t end with a ring, Celtics fans, I would think, would be incredibly happy about their year.” Marc D’Amico, Celtics.com: “If you’re gonna win a title, you need someone who is not only capable of creating his own shot scoring at critical junctures of games, but also someone who can be relied upon to do so. Boston has two bona fide scorers who can and have done just that in Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. The need for these plays arrives in many ways throughout NBA playoff games. Sometimes a team needs to build and maintain momentum. Sometimes it needs to end an opponent’s momentum. And sometimes it just needs to win a game during the final seconds.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - The month of September is already here, which means the MLB postseason is starting to take shape. [The Sports Illustrated MLB staff]( take a look at who’s facing the most pressure in the final month of the season. - Marvin Wilson could have left school for the millions of dollars that awaited him as a projected first-round pick in the NFL Draft. Instead, he chose to come back to Florida State for his senior season. [ESPN.com’s Andrea Wilson]( writes how Wilson is leaving a lasting impact at FSU, both on and off the field - One year ago, the possibility of JT Daniels being the starting quarterback for the Georgia Bulldogs seemed a little too far-fetched. With Jamie Newman opting out of the 2020 season, [David Cobb of CBS Sports]( explains how Daniels is poised to capitalize on his second chance. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( Who knew Jimmy Butler was so funny? We featured Butler in last week’s newsletter when he asked Miami Heat teammate Tyler Herro to put him on his “Tiky Tok” during a timeout. Today, we’re highlighting the Miami Heat superstar again after he gave some love to a former Heat superstar … sort of. Dwyane Wade appeared as a virtual fan in the stands during Wednesday’s Heat vs. Bucks game, and Butler made it a point to go over to “virtual” Dwyane Wade and dap him up. This is outstanding content from a guy who had the reputation of being all business, all the time. Keep the content coming, Jimmy Buckets! [VIEWER'S GUIDE] Toronto Raptors at Boston Celtics (TNT 6:30 p.m. ET) Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors take on Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of this second round Eastern Conference Playoff matchup. Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers (TNT, 9 p.m. ET) Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets battle Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 of this Western Conference playoff matchup. PGA Tour Golf: TOUR Championship (Friday, Golf Channel, 1 p.m. ET) Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas highlight the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by FOX Bet College Football National Championship Winner Clemson: +165 Alabama: +225 Georgia: +450 Florida: +850 Oklahoma: +1000 It’s been a while since we’ve featured college football odds, and a lot has changed in the past month. You won’t see Ohio State or Oregon on this list anymore, as both the Big Ten and Pac-12 announced back in mid-August that they would postpone the fall college football season. Georgia’s national championship chances took a hit on Wednesday when Jamie Newman, who was expected to be the Bulldogs’ starting QB this season, announced he has opted out. Clemson is listed as the clear favorite to win the national championship at +165, but even the Tigers took some hits with star wide receiver Justyn Ross having season-ending surgery and defensive end Xavier Thomas announcing he will redshirt this season after his battle with COVID-19. This is shaping up as a wild season where normal conventions count for little, so while Clemson and Alabama (+225) look to be the favorites as of right now, don’t be surprised to see an unexpected long shot make some noise when it’s all said and done. [WHAT THEY SAID] “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do." — Shaquille O'Neal [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download FOX Sports App: [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [Google Play]( [App Store]( [Fire TV]( [Roku]( [App Store]( [Google Play]( Also available on these devices: [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] [fireTV | AppleTV | ROKU | Google Chromecast | XBOX ONE | SAMSUNG Smart TV] Trademark & Copyright Notice: ™ and © 2020 Fox Media LLC and FOX Sports Interactive Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Please do not reply to this message. If you do not wish to receive emails like this in the future, please [unsubscribe](. 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