Boston has struggled over the last month or so, but the team's underlying numbers show that's no reason to worry. Plus notes on the Lakers' trade deadline plans, Jimmy Butler and more.

One of those is the defending champion Boston Celtics, who — at full health — dropped a disappointing game Wednesday night against a Toronto Raptors team that entered the night with only nine victories. Boston still has elite talent, but it has one glaring issue it seemingly can’t shed.

The Miami Heat feud with Jimmy Butler has brewed for a long time. A local Miami Heat media personality believes it began last summer when team president Pat Ri

It was in the middle of October, in the afternoon, after Jimmy Butler’s infamous practice session, where he took the bench players on his then-team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and beat the starting group.

As always, the NBA trade deadline provides ample storylines, with marquee names potentially on the move, contenders looking to bolster their respective rosters for a playoff push and some organizations fully committing to a second-half tank. The major storylines currently captivating the NBA community are:

Butler and Riley once shared dreams of winning a title together in South Florida. How did things get this bad?

The Miami Heat likely weren’t planning on completing a groundbreaking trade before the Jimmy Butler drama. However, the organization could swap Butler for an undervalued Boston Celtics ...

The latest development is that, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Heat failed to pay Butler for a period during the summer.

A Jimmy Butler trade is complicated for the Suns and Heat. That is why the Bucks could finish the deal with Khris Middleton and Bradley Beal.

The defending NBA Champions are back in action on Friday, Jan. 17 when the Boston Celtics host the Orlando Magic at TD Garden in Boston.

Butler was said to be “caught off guard” by the comments according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. There have been many events that have led to the fractured relationship between Butler and the Heat with the one mentioned by Haynes being when the team questioned the effort level.