David Price Seems to Savor Being Hated

David Price doesn’t do himself any favors. After a reporter asked if his forearm bothered him after getting struck by a comebacker in the first inning, Price had a sarcastic response.

“You know me,” Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Price said. “I'm the softest guy in this clubhouse. If it bothered me, I'd be out of the game. I'm soft. … It wasn't painful. I'm fine. If it was painful, I would have come out.”

#RedSox pitcher David Price very sarcastic after the game today.  He took a liner to the chest and stayed in and got the win. This is likely in response to the carpal tunnel condition and how the media reacted to it. He calls himself "soft" a number of times. pic.twitter.com/U7Rc25fQVU

— Raul Martinez (@RaulNBCBoston) May 28, 2018

Following his five-inning performance—in which he allowed two runs to the opposing Toronto Blue Jays to earn his fifth victory of the season—Price went out of his way to revive the chatter regarding his apparent lack of toughness.

"I'm soft, period, Price said in a mocking tone. "It's not a joke. I'm soft. ... No. I'm soft. It's cold. Can't pitch. My hands tingling. Can't do my job. That's it."

Price has had a rocky relationship with the media, and the Boston fan base, since signing his record-setting seven-year, $217 million deal before the 2016 season. The feud with the media and fans reached its boiling point last month when Price missed a start against the New York Yankees due to a mild case of carpel tunnel syndrome. Rumors circulated that Price, an avid video game enthusiast, suffered the injury playing Fortnite. He denied that was the reason he got hurt, forcing him not to pitch against the Yankees—despite admitting the popular video game has “kind of taken over.”

Mocked by national and local media—and by many baseball observers—who felt he ducked the start to avoid getting racked by the heavyweight Yankees offense, Price clearly remains agitated by his detractors. He went out of his way to label himself “soft,” even after a successful outing that helped lead Boston to an 8-3 victory on Monday.

Price improved to 5-4 on the season, but his peculiar interview became the biggest story on Monday. (Elise Amendola/AP)

Refusing to just enjoy the win, Price apparently felt compelled to stir up controversy in his bizarre postgame interview. A year after cursing out Red Sox legend Dennis Eckersley on the team plane, he gratuitously fired back at critics who have noted his various strange ailments.

The real shame is that Price has actually pitched well since his carpal tunnel diagnosis. He has surrendered two runs or fewer in four consecutive starts, posting a 2.49 ERA in that span. But that is now overshadowed by his post-game comments that shows he is fixated on what outsiders think of him.

A five-time All-Star and former Cy Young winner, Price has been a major letdown in Boston. In his third year with the team, Price has a mediocre 4.10 ERA. That’s simply doesn’t cut it for a guy making $30 million per season.

As if his disappointing pitching wasn’t enough, these incessant off-the-field distractions make it harder for fans to like him. Maybe that’s simply the way the contentious Price prefers it.

Ty Lue Offers Absurd Reason for Not Playing Kyle Korver More in Game 5

The Cleveland Cavaliers were a mess in Game 5. They were overwhelmed by rookie Jayson Tatum, four-time All-Star Al Horford and a raucous crowd which has now witnessed the Boston Celtics win 10 consecutive playoff games at TD Garden. The Cavs, pushed to the brink of elimination, left Boston searching for answers after the lopsided defeat.

LeBron James’ apparent fatigue and the lack of production from George Hill and J.R. Smith were topics of discussion, but another question arose: why didn’t Kyle Korver receive more playing time?

Kyle Korver was a non-factor in Cleveland's Game 5 loss. (Ken Blaze/USA Today Sports)

The often-beleaguered Cleveland head coach Tyronn Lue said Korver—who averaged 13 points in the past three contests—saw limited action because Celtics backup rookie forward Semi Ojeleye did not play.

“Well, initially, he's been putting Ojeleye in,” Lue said of Stevens. “So that's been kind of Kyle's matchup when he comes in the game. He didn't play him tonight, so it kind of threw us for a loop.”

Apparently, Ojeleye’s absence (DNP-coach’s decision) was enough for Lue to sit the Cavaliers’ lone effective bench player. Score that another win for Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who also wisely inserted the bruising Aron Baynes into the starting lineup in order to defuse Tristan Thompson’s impact on the glass, particularly on the offensive end.

Playing Korver less because Ojeleye was removed from the Celtics’ rotation is asinine no matter how the matchup-based Lue spins it. Korver has been a spark-plug for Cleveland. But his reduced minutes (19) limited him to just six shot attempts from the floor in Game 5. He knocked down two 3-pointers and hit one free throw, finishing with seven points. Korver came into the contest averaging 10.7 points and 25.1 minutes per game in the postseason.

Lue’s logic for not playing Korver doesn’t add up. Ojeleye only saw nine minutes in Cleveland’s Game 4 victory, yet Korver received ample playing time (25 minutes) that contest and delivered his best performance of the postseason, posting 14 points, four rebounds and three blocks.

Coming into tonight's game, Korver had played 90 minutes in the series - just 31 of them were while Ojeleye was on the court.

What. Is. This. Dude. Talking. About

????? https://t.co/FyZ9XQ41Kx

— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) May 24, 2018

Regardless of whether Ojeleye returns to the Celtics rotation, Lue needs to find minutes for Korver in Game 6 if Cleveland is to keep its season alive.

Martinez and Betts, MLB's Best Hitting Tandem, Have Red Sox on Record Home Run Pace

The top hitting duo in MLB resides in the American League East. No, it’s not the New York Yankees’ slugging combo of Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Instead, it’s Boston’s tandem of Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez.

The addition of Martinez, who signed a 5-year, $110 million contract with the Red Sox during the first week of Spring Training, to Boston’s power-starved offense—which ranked last in the American League in home runs last season—was (understandably) overshadowed by the Yankees’ acquisition of Stanton in a blockbuster trade with the Miami Marlins. But through nearly two months of the season, Martinez has panned out as baseball's best offseason addition.

Martinez blasted two homers on Sunday, the first one wrapping around Fenway Park's Pesky Pole in right field.

J.D. Martinez goes oppo-🌮 ... because what else is new? #RedSox pic.twitter.com/obqTYUAzqI

— NESN (@NESN) May 20, 2018

Connecting for a two-run shot in the fifth inning, Martinez collected his eighth career multi-homer game and his first with the Red Sox.

Your HR leaderboard update:
Mookie Betts - 15@JDMartinez14 – 15

This is getting absurd. pic.twitter.com/5d5ZgcOr22

— MLB (@MLB) May 20, 2018

Martinez and Betts are tied atop the MLB leaderboard in homers with 15 and have led Boston to a historic home run pace. The Red Sox have launched an MLB-leading 68 home runs. That is the most home runs the Red Sox (32-15) have ever mashed in the first 47 games of a season.

J.D. Martinez hit two homers in Boston's 5-0 win over Baltimore. (Michael Dwyer/AP)

The Red Sox are the first team since the 2001 Colorado Rockies to have two players hit 15 or more homers through 47 games. Not even the duo of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, one of the deadliest hitting combos in baseball history, accomplished this feat.

“The two guys I thought did it, Manny and David, never did it,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “It’s fun to watch. There’s nothing else I can say, it’s fun to watch.”

Martinez has 10 home runs in the last 18 games. Only Baltimore’s Manny Machado has more RBIs (42) this season than Martinez, who has drove in 41 runs. Martinez has recorded at least one extra-base hit in 23 games, the most in MLB. He’s on pace to belt a career-high 54 dingers.

While Martinez is the hottest hitter in baseball, Betts maintains the best résumé of the 2018 season. Betts leads MLB in batting (.365), runs, slugging, doubles and OPS. Boston’s leadoff hitter is also tied for the league-lead in hits and ranks second in OBP and WAR, trailing only Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout in those two categories.

Betts and the red-hot Martinez have the Red Sox—who are on pace to smash a franchise-record 234 homers—in position to be the best power hitting team in the league. That’s quite the turnaround from last season’s club, which clubbed an AL-worst 168 home runs.

Rockets' Role Players Shrink in Game 1 Loss

The Golden State Warriors demonstrated on Monday night why it is such a grueling task to defeat them come playoff time. The opposition must execute close to perfection. The Houston Rockets failed to do that in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals and now face a must-win contest on Wednesday night at the Toyota Center.

James Harden, expected to be named the league’s Most Valuable Player, performed at an MVP level—but so did Kevin Durant in the Warriors' 119-106 victory. While Harden scored a game-best 41 points, Durant recorded 37 of his own. Chris Paul, who posted 23 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, was on par with two-time MVP Stephen Curry (18 points, eight assists, two steals and one block).

Review of the game tape and a quick glance at the box score shows that both teams’ superstar duos came to play and essentially offset one another other. But the remaining cast of the Warriors severely outplayed Houston’s. There lies the problem for the Rockets. They don’t have the depth of talent to go neck-and-neck with the Warriors. No NBA team does.

On a night where the Rockets needed Clint Capela (who is far more than just a role player, as these playoffs have shown, but still clearly playing third fiddle to Harden and Paul) to dominate on both ends, he was instead held in check. Houston's center scored just 12 points (mostly off alley-oops) and had just six rebounds—the same amount as Curry.

P.J. Tucker, fresh off scoring 19 and 15 in his last two playoff contests, respectively, had one measly point. He missed all three field goal attempts and went 1-of-3 shooting from the charity stripe. Luc Mbah a Moute couldn’t muster a single point on 0-for-6 shooting, while Trevor Ariza registered just eight points.

Trevor Ariza struggled mightily against the Warriors in Game 1. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

The aforementioned forwards need to hit outside jumpers for Houston to have a chance this series. Tucker, Mbah a Moute and Ariza went a combined 1-for-9 from behind the arc. They didn’t make an impact on the glass (11 rebounds combined) and had no answer for Durant.

Ariza picked up his fifth foul less than three minutes into the second half. Tucker ended up spending the most time guarding Durant, who used his height to shoot over the top of Tucker. Mbah a Moute actually has the length to defend Durant, but struggled against him in limited chances and put forth a brutal overall showing—as evidenced by his game-worst minus -14 in 20 minutes of action.

Eric Gordon was the only non-star to deliver on offense for the Rockets. The 2017 Sixth Man of the Year had 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes. However, he turned the ball over four times, struggled on the defensive end and posted a minus-10.

So while Houston relied on Capela, Gordon, Tucker, Mbah a Moute and Ariza to aid its superstar duo, Golden State leaned on the likes of Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala to compliment its superstar pair. Advantage, Golden State.

Thompson had a field day, hitting six treys en route to a 28-point showing, while Green delivered his typical all-around offensive performance (five points, nine rebounds, a team-high nine assists) and stellar defense, which included a couple of steals and blocks.

Iguodala didn’t have nearly the statistical output as Thompson and Green, but his insertion into the starting unit (their “death lineup”) caused all sorts of problems for the Rockets, who were forced to sit Capela during some important stretches of the game to combat Golden State’s smaller unit.

The Rockets are counting on guys outside of Paul and Harden to come through in Game 2. If they don’t, the Rockets will likely be staring at an 0-2 series deficit, which all but ends their upset hopes.

Marcus Morris Shuts Down LeBron, Backing up Pregame Claims

For the first time all postseason, LeBron James did not lead his team in scoring. Kevin Love scored a team-high 17 points for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who got pummeled by the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. James has had some historic postseason games at TD Garden, but struggled mightily on Sunday—posting just 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting with seven turnovers—in a demoralizing 108-83 defeat.

It certainly took a team effort to shut down James, but Marcus Morris was the driving force behind the Celtics containing the NBA’s best player. Morris guarded James on a team-high 39 possessions and held him to 3-of-10 shooting with five assists and four turnovers in those instances. James missed all five of his three-point attempts and was never able to get into a rhythm offensively.

Morris played suffocating defense on James in the Celtics' Game 1 win. (David Butler II/USA Today Sports)

Before Game 1, Morris praised his ability to guard James.

"Personally, I think I’m probably the best guy defending him in the league, outside of Kawhi [Leonard],” Morris said.

Earning the start over center Aron Baynes as the Celtics went with their small-ball starting unit, Morris backed up his claims in the series opener. The 6'-9” forward used his strength and toughness to slow down James, who looked out of sorts all afternoon and finished with a stunning minus -32. It was just one game in what is expected to be a long series, but there is an extended history of “Mook” containing “The King”—proving that Morris' lofty claims have some serious merit.

UPDATED – LeBron's last 12 Games vs. a Marcus Morris team
– 20.6 PPG
– 14.6% from 3
– Has not reached 30 points in a single gamehttps://t.co/ajQR7pQppT

— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) May 13, 2018

Not only did Morris play terrific defense, he also had a strong game on the offensive end, posting 21 points with a team-best 10 rebounds. Morris says the injury-riddled Celtics—who were underdogs on Sunday for the fifth time in six games (5-1 record in those contests)—believe they are capable of defeating any opponent.

“Our confidence is very high,” Morris said. “The younger guys to the older guys, we think we can compete and play with anybody. At the end of the day, all the talking done off the court. Once we step between them lines, we have to compete no matter who we have out there, and that's what we've been doing.”

How Rockets Can Upset Warriors

The Houston Rockets won a league-best 65 games in the regular season and have lost just two games this postseason, but will enter the Western Conference Finals as underdogs against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are listed as -185 favorites to win the series, according to the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. However, the Rockets are currently favored to win Game 1 of the West Finals on Monday night in Houston.

Oddsmakers shouldn’t be ostracized for leaning towards the Warriors over the top-seeded Rockets. Golden State, after all, has posted a 24-3 record over the past two postseasons and has yet to even partake in a series longer than five games since Kevin Durant ditched Oklahoma City for the heavyweight Warriors.

Although it’s tough to foresee the Rockets dethroning the Warriors, here are three factors that could make it possible:

Chris Paul Outplays Stephen Curry

Advancing to the conference finals for the first time in his career, Chris Paul needs to perform at the same superstar level as he did against the Utah Jazz last round. Paul scored 41 points in the Rockets’ series-clinching victory over the Jazz, shooting 13-of-22 shooting from the field—including 8-of-10 from three-point land—and added 10 assists (zero turnovers) with seven rebounds and a steal.

Chris Paul will go head-to-head against Stephen Curry. (Kyle Terada/USA Today Sports)

Paul is certainly capable of outshining two-time MVP Stephen Curry on the big stage. For all the negativity associated with CP3 and his lack of team playoff success, he ranks fifth all-time in postseason assists per contest. Paul, a seven-time member of the NBA All-Defensive First Team, must be physical against Curry, particularly when guarding him away from the ball. The more off-the-ball pressure Paul can provide, the less pick-and-roll opportunities will be available for Curry, who is all but unstoppable in the two-man game on offense.

Clint Capela Maintains Dominance

Clint Capela, a restricted free agent this summer, was a borderline All-Star during the regular season and has shined thus far in the postseason. Houston’s center outplayed his counterparts Karl Anthony-Towns and Rudy Gobert in successive series. The 7-footer will be challenged, though, by Golden State’s “death lineup,” which features Draymond Green at center.

The Warriors will likely open with their small-ball lineup as they did at the end of their last series against the New Orleans Pelicans. In the past, centers have been pushed off the floor by the quickness of this lineup because it steers the opposing big men away from the hoop. Capela is shifty for a player his size and possesses the ability to keep up with the Warriors’ fast-paced offense. Furthermore, Capela can overpower any player on Golden State’s roster and can be particularly effective in the post versus the death lineup. If things going according to plan, Capela will defend the Warriors’ smaller players well and dominate the paint on offense as he done all playoffs long.

Mbah a Moute and Tucker Play Strong Defense, Hit 3s

The Rockets will rely on Trevor Ariza on defense against Durant to start the game. But offseason additions Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker will be tasked with guarding the superstar forward for portions of the contest as well. Mbah a Moute provides more length against Durant, while Tucker is a more physical defender. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey constructed his roster to match up with the Warriors—even admitting he was obsessed with beating the champs—and brought both players to Houston with an eye on slowing down Durant by bodying him and forcing him to take difficult jump shots.

Mbah a Moute and Tucker are both defensive specialists who don’t provide much offense. As Golden State hones their defense on James Harden, Paul and Capela, forwards Mbah a Moute and Tucker will be often left alone on the perimeter to shoot threes. Tucker has been effective from behind the arc this postseason, making 22-of-48 (45.8 percent) of his 3s. Mbah a Moute missed the first round and made just two of his 10 3s versus the Jazz, but the 31-year-old did hit a career-high 63 three-pointers in the regular season, despite missing 21 games to injury. When Harden and Paul penetrate to the basket, Mbah a Moute and Tucker will be the open men who need to make shots to keep the Warriors’ defense honest and limit their double-teams.