Tag: 2022-23 nba season

Best of Blake Griffin with the Boston Celtics in 2022-23

The Oklahoma alum has proven himself more than capable of everything the Celtics needed and then some.

It would be unfair to say the signing of veteran Boston Celtics big man Blake Griffin was something of an afterthought given the former top pick was on the hunt for an ideal situation on the back end of his NBA career.

But the Oklahoma native was not expected to do much more than be an occasional spot starter and pick up some deep rotation minutes to help the Celtics’ front court depth.

But the Oklahoma alumnus has proven more than capable of that task. He has taking charges at a high rate while showing he still has some hops left in the tank in a pinch. He has used his veteran savvy and effort plays to secure wins.

To celebrate his time in Boston, Celtics fan videographer Tomasz Kordylewski put together a compilation of his best plays as a Celtic.

Check out the link embedded above to see them for yourselves.

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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Did the Boston Celtics underachieve in the regular season?

Or were they keeping a little in reserve for the 16-game season?

The Boston Celtics managed to put together the second-best record of the 2022-23 NBA season despite the chaos surrounding the Ime Udoka scandal and the uncertainty of the Robert Williams III and Danilo Gallinari injuries. For some reason, fans of the team and analysts alike seem to have slept on the Celtics’ ability to succeed in the postseason.

After a convincing Game 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference playoffs, it seems the Celtics are the team to beat this postseason, especially considering several Game 1 stumbles among competing ball clubs.

Did the Celtics underachieve in the regular season? Or were they keeping a little in reserve for the 16-game season?

The hosts of the “Pro Fans Sports” podcast linked up with CLNS Media’s Josue Pavon to talk it over; check out the clip embedded above to hear where they came down on Boston taking it easy or not seriously enough in the regular season.

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 reason Derrick White is so much more effective with the Boston Celtics this season? Confidence

White has become an invaluable member of the team’s starting unit, his team’s belief in his game elevating it to a borderline All-Star level

The start of Derrick White’s tenure with the Boston Celtics began on the wrong foot. Some claimed the deal was a disaster, but the Colorado native has spent the better part of his second season with the Celtics making that take look ridiculous.

White played in all 82 games, the only Boston player to do so. He has become an invaluable member of the team’s starting unit. His team’s belief in his game elevating it to a borderline All-Star level at the end of the regular season into the playoffs on a team that already has two of them.

So far, in the postseason, White has continued his recent stretch of torrid play, putting up 24 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks in Game 1 of the Celtics’ series against the Atlanta Hawks.

Watching White attack Atlanta’s Trae Young relentlessly until Hawks head coach Quin Snyder had to put arguably his best wing defender on him in Dejounte Murray made life a breeze for teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

More of the same may be the recipe for putting away a ball club already struggling to stop Boston’s twin star wings. And building White’s confidence in his current role will only make things easier for the Celtics moving forward.

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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Where do the Boston Celtics stack up against the best backcourts in the NBA?

The Boston Celtics elected to go for depth over star power in their backcourt rotation for the 2022-23 NBA season.

The Boston Celtics elected to go for depth over star power in their backcourt rotation for the 2022-23 NBA season, eschewing investing in megastars at the 1 and 2 to save cap space for their stars on the wing, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

But that does not make the Celtics’ backcourt bad simply because no one player stands out among the top 20 or so players in the league. Instead, the front office assembled a mix of very good players who have different skills to add to the toolkit Boston can bring to bear.

Where do the Celtics stack up against the best backcourts in the NBA?

The hosts of the “Thinking Basketball” podcast explored this question on a recent episode; take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say about it!

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’ Marcus Smart weighs in on the state of defense in the NBA

Is there a decline in defense in today’s NBA, or is there an offensive renaissance going on instead?

Is there a decline in defense in today’s NBA or is there an offensive renaissance going on instead? Veteran Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart recently weighed in on the state of defense in the NBA in an interview with USA TODAY’s Sports Seriously’s Mackenzie Salmon.

Asking the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year how he feels about a purported decline in defense, Smart replied “We are 450 of the best guys (at basketball) in the world doing this at a high level every night when you have guys coming across the line shooting the ball 40 or 50 feet outside of the 3-point line from everywhere on the floor, you’re like ‘What’s going on?!?”

“It’s hard,” emphasized Smart. “Some of the shots you see guys take, you’re like ‘Well, why would I even contest that?’ ”

“That’s not an ideal shot but guys are able to hit these shots and I think with the athleticism and special abilities that guys have, you’re going to see a decline,” he added, “especially playing 82 games a season.”

“It’s tough to do that at a high level for 82 games.

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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Best of Jaylen Brown with the Boston Celtics in 2022-23

Brown’s play puts him firmly in the upper echelon of stars in the league this season.

As was the case in the 2022 NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors, large stretches of the 2022-23 season featured star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown as the team’s best player. These stretches mirrored a mid-season slump by his fellow star on the wing, Jayson Tatum.

Coming into his own as a superstar this season, Brown put up 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game over the course of 67 contests played, some of the best overall numbers of his career in Boston to date.

The Georgia native has become a key part of the team’s play on both ends of the court, and Brown’s play has put him firmly in the upper echelon of stars in the league this season.

Take a look at the video embedded above to see the full-season highlights put together by fan videographer Tomasz Kordylewski.

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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Grading each player on the 2022-23 Boston Celtics

The regular season — and how individual players performed in it — can tell you a lot about how a ball club will play in the postseason.

When the regular season ends and the postseason arrives, it is not that unusual for most memories of the campaign leading up to the playoffs to become something of an afterthought given all the excitement surrounding the pursuit of banners.

But the regular season — and how individual players performed in it — can tell you a lot about how a club will play in the postseason. To such an end, the hosts of the CLNS Media “First to the Floor” podcast took the time to hand out a grade to each player on the Boston Celtics’ 2022-23 roster for their play.

The crew also takes a look at the state of the All-NBA race before word had come out on who won what.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to get their takes on how the Celtics did last season on a more granular level.

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 best of Jayson Tatum with the Boston Celtics in 2022-23

The first Celtics player in franchise history to average over 30 points per game (30.1, in fact), Tatum also put up 8.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest across 74 games played.

For much of the Boston Celtics’ campaign in the 2022-23 NBA season, star Celtics swingman Jayson Tatum had been one of the top candidates for the 2023 Kia Most Valuable Player award, only falling out of the top three after a midseason slump.

Even with said slump accounted for, the former Duke player has been one of the best players in the league this season, helping lead the Celtics to the second-best record in the league and setting Boston up to pursue Banner 18 in the postseason. The first Celtics player in franchise history to average over 30 points per game (30.1, in fact), Tatum also put up 8.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest across 74 games played.

To see the best of those moments for yourself, check out the clip embedded below to see a highlight reel put together by fan videographer Tomasz Kordylewski that we have embedded below.

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 funniest moments from Boston Celtics’ interviews in the 2022-23 season

Slip-ups, mishearings, and other hijinks have occasionally led to some very humorous moments on the postgame podium.

Anyone who has watched enough postgame interviews of NBA players starts to see patterns in how each responds to effectively the same questions on a nightly basis.

They lean on stock replies and non-answers to keep their sanity over the course of an 82-game season (and sometimes a postseason run as well). Sometimes, those shields fall just enough to see the person behind the canned reply — and it isn’t always intentional.

The Boston Celtics are certainly no exception. Slip ups, mishearings and other hijinks have occasionally led to some very humorous moments on the postgame podium.

The folks behind the team’s official YouTube channel assembled some of the best such instances of the 2022-23 season for our amusement while we wait for the first round of the 2023 Eastern Conference Playoffs’ first round.

Check them out for yourself in the video embedded above.

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 Co-Governor Wyc Grousbeck on Boston’s first round series with the Atlanta Hawks

The Celtics co-owner weighed in on his expectations for Boston in their looming series with the Hawks.

Boston Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck recently took some time to sit down with the folks at WEEI’s “Greg Hill Show” to talk about the Celtics’ series with the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA’s 2023 Eastern Conference playoffs.

Grousbeck spoke about the matchup, what he expects to happen in Game 1, how comfortable he was with how Boston finished the 2022-23 season, his expectations for the Celtics in the postseason writ large, the depth of the team and the mindset of star forward Jayson Tatum heading into the postseason.

The crew also touched on how much pressure could be on head coach Joe Mazzulla, his thoughts about team ownership in the NBA and other leagues, and more.

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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