Category: .Uncategorized

The Boston Celtics survive the Cleveland Cavaliers 109-102 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead

With their 109-102 win, the Celtics are now in a position to close out the Cavs at their home court of TD Garden.

The Boston Celtics have taken a commanding 3-1 lead in their 2024 Eastern Conference semifinals series vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse this past Monday (May 13) night. With their 109-102 win, the Celtics are now in a position to close out the Cavs at their home court of TD Garden this coming Wednesday (May 15) evening.

This may allow them to perhaps snatch a bit of rest as they await the winner of the New York Knicks – Indiana Pacers series, and perhaps get star Boston big man Kristaps Porzingis back in the fold from his soleus injury.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, took a deep dive after the win. Check it out below!

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

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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The NBA’s Eastern Conference Playoffs are the Boston Celtics’ to lose

One can very easily make the case that the Celtics are their own biggest potential obstacle.

The NBA’s Eastern Conference Playoffs are the Boston Celtics’ to lose. Or at least they ought to be, so long as the Celtics take care of the ball club in front of them all the way to the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals and arguably beyond it.

One can very easily make the case that the Celtics are their own biggest potential obstacle to getting back to the NBA finals. Or at least their tendency to not bring their very best in the league’s postseason in a very predictable manner before now has been. The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Beat” podcast, Adam Kaufman and Evan Valenti, sat down with NBC Sports Boston’s Drew Carter on a recent episode to talk it over.

They talk about if the Celtics-Heat first-round playoff match-up, if Joe Mazzulla is a good coach, and whether or not it matters if the path to the Finals is easy. Check it out below.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

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: Kristaps Porzingis to miss Game 5 with soleus strain

The Celtics have officially ruled Kristaps Porzingis out for Game 5 against the Heat.

The Boston Celtics announced big man Kristaps Porzingis will miss Game 5 of the opening round of the 2024 NBA postseason against the Miami Heat Wednesday night. Porzingis left Game 4 with an apparent calf injury and did not return to action.

The team officially dubbed the injury a soleus strain, the severity of which is unknown at this time. The soleus is a muscle in the calf that helps support the work of the Achilles tendon. A strain here can be painful, but more importantly, can lead to more severe injury elsewhere in the body as the rest of the leg compensates. Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo is dealing with a similar injury as well.

How long Porzingis is sidelined depends on the nature of the strain and how conservative the team is willing to be. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Porzingis is expected to miss at least a few games. Boston will look to close out their series against the Heat at home on Wednesday before facing either the Orlando Magic or the Cleveland Cavaliers in the next round of the postseason.

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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Could champion Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo one day be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

It is admittedly a close case.

Could champion Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo one day be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame? The University of Kentucky alum has won two NBA titles, one each with the Celtics and their longtime rival Los Angeles Lakers.

He also got the All-Star nod four times, made an All-NBA team, four All-Defensive teams, and was the league assists leader for a total of three seasons in his 16-season career. That has to be pretty close if it is not over the line of what should get one into the Hoops Hall, but it is admittedly a close case.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Cedric Maxwell” podcast, Maxwell himself and cohost Josue Pavon, weighed in on this question on a recent episode. Check it out below.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

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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On this day: Celtics icon Red Auerbach retires as coach, 1966 championship won

On this day, renowned Celtics head coach and GM Red Auerbach retired as coach of the team after winning the franchise’s 9th championship.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, legendary head coach Red Auerbach retired after taking the Celtics to their ninth championship with a 95-93 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 7 of the 1966 NBA Finals the day prior.

Auerbach coached Boston for all nine of its championships up to that point — eight of them consecutive between 1959-66 — before passing the baton to player-coach Bill Russell. His 16 seasons as head coach produced a 795-397 regular-season record (a .667 winning percentage) and a 90-58 postseason record (.608), the winningest in league history to that point, a record that would hold for many years.

Auerbach would remain with the team in an executive capacity until his death in 2006.

Dick Raphael-USA TODAY Sports 

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Celtics’ Luke Kornet cleared to play in Game 3 vs. Heat

The Boston Celtics will have a full-strength roster for their game against the Miami Heat.

The Boston Celtics will enter their Game 3 matchup against the Miami Heat at full strength. Luke Kornet has been cleared to participate in the game should Joe Mazzulla decide to insert him into the rotation. He has missed the past two games due to a calf injury. Kornet, 28, has been an important part of the Celtics’ rotation this season.

Operating as the third-string big man, Kornet has made 63 appearances for Mazzulla’s roster, averaging 5.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game, shooting 70% from the field. He has also been an integral part of Mazzulla’s offensive system due to his ability to set solid screens and slip to the basket while offering short-roll creation.

Kornet’s return will give the Celtics some additional size against the Heat. Miami, on the other hand, will be missing four rotation players, leaving them incredibly short-handed against arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference.

After missing the opening two games, it will be interesting to see if Mazzulla tweaks his playoff rotation to find some minutes for the veteran big man.

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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Why does Boston’s Jayson Tatum walk the ball up the court so much?

If Taco Jay can excise any lingering bad habits, Kobe-style fadeaways are likely at the top of the list. But eliminating point Tatum can’t be too far behind.

The Boston Celtics are rarely at their best when star forward Jayson Tatum freelances as the team’s point guard while bringing the ball up the floor. Yet, we see it fairly often even now in games after Boston paying a steep price for Tatum’s bad habits in more than one postseason run.

Now, an anonymous opposing NBA exec has shared with Heavy’s Steve Bulpett why he believes JT plays point guard, even with plenty of evidence his casual pace up the court is hurting the Celtics. “It’s when he gets tired,” they explained. “When you’re fatigued a little bit, you turn and get the ball, and you walk up at your pace.”

“If you don’t get the ball, then you have to run,” they added. “You’re required to run the court.”

“They’ve got point guards,” noted the exec. “Every one of them should dribble the ball up the court so he doesn’t have to. But that means he’s got to run. Remember the Finals against Golden State? He was bringing it up, and they were pressuring him.”

“I think that took something out of him and out of their offense. He’s too important to have him doing that job, too, unless he’s got the ball and sees an opening for transition.”

If Taco Jay can excise any lingering bad habits, Kobe-style fadeaways when not utterly necessary are likely at the top of the list. But eliminating point Tatum can’t be too far behind.

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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How concerned are you with the Boston Celtics heading into the postseason?

Are we simply counting off the days before another disappointment, or will Boston start to grow as a ball club?

That the Boston Celtics dropped a game at State Farm Arena to the Atlanta Hawks on this past Monday is excusable, if annoyingly familiar to similar collapses that have given Celtics fans pause. But for the Celtics to lose consecutive games to a Hawks roster with more players out injured than an entire starting lineup is the sort of thing to spark panic among some fans.

And it has, if a measured, contextual panic over how Boston will play when they find themselves in a tight game in the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Are we simply counting off the days before another disappointment, or will Boston start to grow as a ball club? The eponymous hosts of the CLNS Media “Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, and Gary Tanguay!” podcast weighed in on their level of panic on a recent episode.

Check it out below!

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

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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Will the Boston Celtics extend Jrue Holiday after April 1?

Will the Boston Celtics extend Jrue Holiday after April 1 to avoid pending business heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs?

At this very moment, veteran Boston Celtics combo guard Jrue Holiday could be extended by the Celtics. But as of April 1, the range of what Holiday could get for an extension improves in a way that makes signing one before that date unlikely at best.

But the UCLA alum will also command a big chunk of Boston’s cap space as the team soars in cost — and there are legitimate concerns about how well that deal will end, given Holiday is no spring chicken. Will the Celtics extend Holiday after April 1 to avoid pending business heading into the 2024 NBA Playoffs?

The host of the NBC Sports Boston “Celtics Talk” podcast, Chris Forsberg, took some time to talk it over on a recent episode with Celtics cult cap expert Ryan Bernardoni (a.k.a. Dangercart).

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.

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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Second loss in a row to undermanned Atlanta Hawks squad for Boston Celtics

Should we be worried about this unsettling mini-trend?

The Boston Celtics somehow found a way to blow a 30-point lead to an Atlanta Hawks ball club that was without almost half of their roster due to injury on Monday night at State Farm Arena. And on Thursday night, they managed to find a way to lose to the Hospital Hawks once again, despite having gotten healthier with the return of Jrue Holiday.

What is going on with these bizarre losses for the Celtics? Is this just midseason boredom, and nothing to worry about? Or are some bad habits of the past coming home to roost at the worst possible time?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast, Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance, took a closer look at the loss on a recent episode. Check it out in the clip embedded below.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” “First to the Floor,” and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.

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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