Category: .Podcasts

Kevin Garnett wants us to pay attention to the NBA of today

“We’ve got a (expletive) 7-foot-6 Frenchman in the (expletive) league,” exclaimed KG.

As the famous quote from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” goes, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it,” and Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Kevin Garnett wants us to have that mentality when engaging with the NBA of today, rather than dwelling on the greatness of historical league superstars.

Speaking on a recent podcast appearance, the Big Ticket let us know that the “problem today is that we are so hung up on yesteryear, of the culture, and the history that built the league, bro, we’re missing out on greatness.

“We’ve got a (expletive) 7-foot-6 Frenchman in the (expletive) league — he’s a rookie — looking like he’s a 33-year-old, looking like he’s a god,” added Garnett with his typical fervor. “Wilt Chamberlain is rolling over in his grave right now!”

And KG has a point — Celtics fans and NBA fans more generally spend far too much time stuck in their own memories of glory past, downplaying or missing entirely the greatness unfolding before their very eyes.

With players from the hinted-at Victor Wembanyama to Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and even Boston Jayson Tatum, there’s plenty to appreciate in the present — and the past isn’t going anywhere.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Paul Pierce believes the Boston Celtics could have won another title had Shaq not gotten hurt

“We (had) a great start before Diesel got hurt,” said Pierce.

In the twilight of his illustrious NBA career, Hall of Fame big man Shaquille O’Neal joined forces with fellow HoFers Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce as a part of the Boston Celtics’ title contending roster for the 2010-11 NBA season, but the partnership was a snakebit one almost from the start.

Speaking on an episode of Garnett’s Showtime Basketball “KG Certified” podcast, Pierce recounted what it was like playing with the Big Aristotle. “I love Shaq as a teammate,” said Pierce. “But the only thing I didn’t like about Shaq was when I was on the bench and he was on the bench, he was taking up like three seats.”

But jokes aside, The Truth believed that had Shaq not gotten injured part way through the regular season, Boston might have won another title. “I am telling you, if we had him healthy, I think we would have won it that year,” said Pierce.

“We (had) a great start before Diesel got hurt,” explained the Inglewood native. “We beat (the Miami Heat) with LeBron, yeah he was rolling. We were 23 and 4 before Diesel got hurt.”

Between this and the injury to Kendrick Perkins, it’s a fair claim to make to suggest the long-coveted Banner 18 might have been won that season had the injury bug not reared its head in a big way.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 229: Assessing the East at the 2023-24 NBA season’s quarter-mark with Ky Carlin

How real is the sizzling start of the Orlando Magic, and will the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to flirt with being a lottery team?

Now that the 2023-24 NBA season is roughly a quarter over with, we can see some rough outlines of what each of the league’s Eastern Conference teams will look like by the time the 2024 NBA Playoffs roll around. Some teams have surprised us in terms of their record and play, a handful have disappointed their fans with how they have performed on the court so far — and several are exactly the ball clubs we thought they were.

The Boston Celtics, for their part, have hit the ground running faster than many have expected, but also have shown some weaknesses in need of addressing. But how real is the sizzling start of the Orlando Magic, and will the Cleveland Cavaliers continue to flirt with being a lottery team?

What about the new-look Philadelphia 76ers, who Boston plays on Friday? To answer all of the above — and the last question in particular — the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with Sixers Wire’s Ky Carlin to assess the state of the East at the season’s quarter mark.

We also settle our differences on the merits of the in-season tournament, whether Boston has more moves to make, and more, so hit play on the clip embedded below to get your bearings on how the East is shaking out so far.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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For ex-NBAer DeMarcus Cousins, the Boston Celtics are the best team in the East

I just don’t really see any team getting past them,” said Cousins.

If you ask Demarcus Cousins who the best team in the NBA’s Eastern Conference is, the former star big man has little in the way of doubt. “The (Boston) Celtics’ team is so well put together, I just don’t really see any team getting past them,” said Cousins on a recent episode of his Showtime Basketball “Bully Ball” podcast via SI’s Eric Jay Santos.

“And I think at a certain point the (Philadelphia) Sixers will run out of firepower,” added Cousins. “I could be wrong, but my gut is telling me they’ll run out of firepower, especially during the playoffs when schemes start getting into play and adjustments are made on the defensive end.”

With Boston set to face the Milwaukee Bucks — now owners of the league’s longest win streak after Boston’s loss to the Charlotte Hornets — one imagines Cousins might revisit his opinion if a healthy Celtics squad loses to the Bucks.

But until such an eventuality occurs, the road to the East Finals does indeed appear to run through Boston.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 228: A Boston Celtics Thanksgiving (round) table with Bobby Krivitsky and Jack Simone

Whether in the wider world beyond sport, elsewhere in the NBA, or in places we rarely stop to think about, there is plenty of good around us worth taking time to reflect on.

Sometimes, after the Boston Celtics drop a game to a team they have no business losing to, it can seem like some of the worst elements of seasons past are coming back to haunt fans of the team, it bears reminding that this team is currently the owner of the best record in the entire NBA at 11-3 and on track to win 64 games this season.

And while that clip may very well slow some, it is, for now, something we ought to be thankful for, along with the play that has produced it compared to past seasons, the uglier side of Celtics basketball a far more rare thing to see than in those past campaigns. But there’s a lot more than that to be thankful for even in a world that can seem cruel and unforgiving.

Whether in the wider world beyond sport, elsewhere in the NBA, or in places we rarely stop to think about, there is plenty of good around us worth taking time to reflect on.

So for this week’s “Celtics Lab” podcast from CLNS Media, the hosts linked up with Sports Illustrated’s Bobby Krivitsky and “How Bout Them Celtics!” cohost Jack Simone to do exactly that while taking stock of the Celtics and the NBA more generally — we hope you join us.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 227: On Boston’s early trends 10 games into the 2023-24 season with Drew Carter

This pod, we dive into the early returns from the Celtics season so far, and how the gig is going for Boston’s newest broadcaster.

The Boston Celtics have now played over 10% of their 2023-24 NBA season, not quite enough to tell us all we need to know about this aspirant to the league’s 2024 title but enough that we have an idea about what sort of ball club they are and could become.

At the same time, over that stretch, fans of the storied team have gotten to know new Boston broadcaster Drew Carter. Maybe not enough to tell us everything worth knowing about the newest voice of the Celtics, but enough to give us a pretty solid idea of what to expect with him on the call, with New England’s notoriously icy fans already warming up to Carter in the booth.

So the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast decided it was a perfect moment to link up with the latter to talk about the former, as well as how the new job of following in the massive footsteps of Mike Gorman is going.

We get into everything from NBA expansion south of the border to Scal’s opinion of Drew on his first day on the job, so tune in for an especially fun episode as we take stock of the season so far and how the Celtics’ newest broadcaster sees it.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 225: On Boston looking good to start the season and what they can do to get better with Yossi Gozlan

Will this team need more moves as the season wears on? Does it realistically have the assets, cap space, or budget for such moves?

The Boston Celtics are now 2-0 to start their 2023-24 NBA season after having defeated the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden to kick off their current campaign, following it with a 119-110 victory over the ball club that bounced them from the 2023 postseason, the Miami Heat.

The Celtics top six players look as good as any team in the league so far and there are only a few lingering concerns it seems the team still needs to iron out, but some of them have been ongoing concerns with the team for several seasons now. Still, they appear to have the talent and more importantly the chemistry and fit to overcome what’s left of momentary lapses of focus or devolution into “my-turn, your-turn” basketball.

Will this team need more moves as the season wears on to address those issues? Does it realistically have the assets, cap space, or budget for such moves? Or can we count on improvement from within to ameliorate the few remaining problems that could be a barrier to Banner 18?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan to talk over where the Celtics stand as a second apron team that might need to make more moves. We also get into what we’ve seen from the team so far in their home and road openers.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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Celtics Lab 224: Assessing Boston’s start to ’23-24 season, NBA 2k official season sim with Ronnie 2k, Yossi Gozlan

What did we take from the first game of Boston’s season? What can the NBA 2k simulation underscore about what we saw on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden vs. the Knicks?

The Boston Celtics just beat the New York Knicks to kick off their 2023-24 campaign for an auspicious start of their pursuit of an NBA-record 18th title, and if their campaign ends anything like the official season simulation by the folks over at NBA 2k, Celtics fans will finally get back on top to pass their rival Los Angeles Lakers as the team with the most championships won.

What did we take from the first game of Boston’s season? What can the NBA 2k simulation underscore about what we saw on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden vs. the Knicks? The folks at the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast put together a rapid reaction to the real-life road win to start the 2023-24 season with HoopsHype’s Yossi Gozlan, then interviewed NBA 2k brand ambassador Ronnie 2k about how Boston won it all in the digital version of the season.

This episode is as packed full of stuff as one might expect, so buckle up as we dive head first into the quest for Banner 18.

The Celtics Lab podcast is sponsored by FanDuel.

Listen to the “Celtics Lab” podcast on:

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3zBKQY6

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3GfUPFi

YouTube: https://bit.ly/3F9DvjQ

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