Tag: 2023-24 nba season

What are the most important things to watch for the rest of the Boston Celtics’ season?

Do we need to fret over how much star players are seeing the floor, given there is nothing left for the Celtics to play for?

What are the most important things to watch for the rest of the Boston Celtics’ 2024 NBA season? Do we need to fret over how much star players are seeing the floor, given there is nothing left for the Celtics to play for? Is there something to be said about momentum heading into the 2024 Eastern Conference playoffs?

And what about the experimentation we are seeing from Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla? Do we want some proof of concept for his more radical ideas, or should he be holding his cards close to his chest in anticipation of pitched postseason coaching battles?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Still Poddable” podcast, Brian Robb and Jay King, were joined by Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston to draft the six most important things to watch for over the rest of the season after the Celtics clinched the NBA’s best record. 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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San Antonio Spurs rise in the final Bleacher Report weekly NBA power ranking of the season

Even with as rough of a start as we saw in its outset, it’s hard to look at the growth of Wemby as anything other than success.

The San Antonio Spurs have risen a spot from No. 25 to No. 24 in the final Bleacher Report weekly NBA power ranking of the 2023-24 season. Andy Bailey’s latest and final assessment on the status quo of the Association has the Spurs on the upswing to close out French rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama’s first season in the league with San Antonio.

“He went 9-of-29 from the field, and the … Spurs lost, but … Wembanyama gave us another potential glimpse into the future in Tuesday’s matchup against Nikola Jokic,” writes Bailey. “Against the consensus best player in the world, the rookie finished 1 block and 2 assists shy of a quadruple-double.”

“And he pushed the reigning champs all the way to the final buzzer,” adds the B/R league analyst. “Massive stat lines and more competitive finishes aren’t some new development, either.”

“Since their last game in February, Wembanyama has averaged 23.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 4.3 blocks, 2.2 3s and 1.2 steals,” notes Bailey. “And over that stretch, San Antonio’s net rating is minus-1.2. Not great, but certainly much better than the minus-8.5 the Spurs had before then.”

The season may be nearly over, but even with as rough of a start as we saw in its outset, it’s hard to look at the growth of Wemby as anything other than an unmitigated success. As for the rest of the players on the roster, well — that is not a this-season problem, truthfully.

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On the Boston Celtics securing the NBA’s best record for the 2023-24 regular season

What else do the Celtics have to play for?

With the Boston Celtics clinching the best record in the NBA with their recent win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at TD Garden, what else do the Celtics have to play for between now and the rest of the NBA’s 2023-24 regular season?

For one, momentum. The Celtics have been steam rolling their opponents, both good and bad, and they do not want to take their foot off the gas just because they think they have the East sewed up. That is the same elite mindset they have brought to bear to get to where they are now in the first place — and what they need to keep up to hang Banner 18.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” and “Talkin’ Cs” podcasts, Jack Simone, Sam LaFrance, and Bobby Krivitsky, took some time to talk about Boston’s 60-win season and what it means for the playoffs. 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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Boston Celtics hit 60-win milestone for the first time since 2008

What can we expect from the Celtics in terms of how they approach the remaining games on their schedule for the rest of the season? 

For the first time since Hall of Fame Boston Celtics big man Kevin Garnett reminded us that anything was possible after beating the Los Angeles Lakers at TD Garden to win the 2008 NBA Championship, the Celtics have won 60 games in a season.

At the same time, Boston managed to lock up the best record in the league for the 2023-24 regular season, guaranteeing home-court advantage throughout the playoffs in a building where they’ve only lost three times all season. What can we expect from the Celtics in terms of how they approach the remaining games on their schedule for the rest of the season? 

The hosts of the CLNS Media “First to the Floor” podcast, Jake Issenberg, Ben Vallis, and Wayne Spooney, weighed in on the milestone win on a recent podcast. 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 earn 60th win, clinch best record for first time since 2008 championship team

That achievement was not lost on the Celtics, who tried their best to soak up the glory of the victory without lingering on it too long.

The Boston Celtics have won their 60th win of the NBA’s 2023-24 season, their highest total of wins for any season since their 2007-08 campaign that saw them hang Banner 17. That achievement was not lost on the Celtics, who tried their best to soak up the glory of the victory without lingering on it too long Wednesday night in their 135-100 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“It’s very hard to do. We may never be in this position again,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla to the media postgame via the AP. “We should enjoy it tonight, and when (we) wake up tomorrow — nobody cares.”

NBC Sports Boston’s Eddie House and Brian Scalabrine joined Tom Giles to talk over Boston’s impressive night, the win total and its significance, and locking up the league’s best record on a recent episode of “Celtics Postgame Live.” Check it out 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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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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Are the Boston Celtics’ crunch time concerns that bad?

Is this hand-wringing much ado about nothing, or is it the way that Boston has been losing those weird losses a justifiable concern given this team’s past?

The Boston Celtics have suffered some nasty crunch-time losses this season to ball clubs they had no business dropping a game to, and often on national TV for all to see. But how do their crunch-time issues compare to other contenders in the NBA so far this season?

And perhaps more importantly for our own collective understanding of what it takes for a Boston squad to hang a banner, how do they compare to the 2008 championship Celtics team? Is this hand-wringing much ado about nothing, or is it the way that Boston has been losing those weird losses a justifiable concern given this team’s past?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “First to the Floor” podcast, Jake Issenberg, Ben Vallis, and Wayne Spooney, took a closer look at the situation 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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San Antonio Spurs hold steady in latest ESPN weekly NBA power rankings

San Antonio’s last full week of the 2023-24 NBA season is sure to be a tough one. 

The San Antonio Spurs are holding steady in the latest ESPN weekly NBA power rankings, maintaining their spot at No. 25 in the league overall for another week. And with a fairly tough week ahead of them with several players out for the season, the Spurs might slip some more, too.

“As the Spurs enter the final stretch in Victor Wembanyama‘s rookie season, they’ll do so without injured starters Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan. Vassell was averaging a career-best 19.5 points and had 87 assists to Wembanyama, while Sochan had settled into a defensive role after starting the campaign as the team’s point guard,” writes ESPN’s Andrew Lopez.

“Tre Jones, first on the team in assists per game (6.1), will play a key role in helping Wembanyama and the team in their efforts to finish the season strong.”

With ball clubs like the Philadelphia 76ers (with Joel Embiid back in the fold, we might add), New Orleans Pelicans, and Oklahoma City Thunder left on the docket, San Antonio’s last full week of the 2023-24 NBA season is sure to be a tough one.

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Celtics on top of latest weekly ESPN NBA power rankings

It seems probable that Boston could finish the 2023-24 regular season No. 1.

The Boston Celtics remain atop ESPN’s weekly NBA power rankings, hanging on to the top slot over the Denver Nuggets for another week. Maintaining their lofty perch after having held it the week prior courtesy of a pair of wins over the New Orleans Pelicans and Charlotte Hornets after dropping an away-and-away series with the Atlanta Hawks, it seems probable that Boston could finish the 2023-24 regular season No. 1.

“While there were lots of reasons to believe that Boston’s new-look starting lineup would be successful this season, it has been every bit as good — and then some — as the Celtics could have realistically hoped for,” writes ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

“The grouping of Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis has played the sixth-most minutes of any five-man lineup in the NBA and is outscoring opponents by an impressive 12.6 points per 100 possessions.”

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 seen as one of NBA’s biggest winners for month of March

And it is a fair assessment, given Boston only increased its stranglehold on the league standings throughout the past month.

The Boston Celtics have been recognized as one of the NBA’s biggest winners for the month of March in a recent article by Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey. And it is a fair assessment, given Boston only increased its stranglehold on the league standings throughout the past month.

Noting that Boston only lost four games in the entire month and the fan ire for losing even those, Bailey writes that “disappointment over that may prove little more than how much this team spoiled us to this point.” In fact, the Celtics may be the only team in the Association to crack 60 wins this season.

“Despite the losses, the Celtics still had the best net rating in March, outscoring opponents by 16.0 points per 100 possessions,” adds the B/R analyst.

“They beat the Golden State Warriors by 52 points, the Dallas Mavericks by 28 and the Phoenix Suns by double-digits twice,” he recalls. “More recently, they beat the second-place Milwaukee Bucks.”

“Boston’s foot may not be on the gas quite as aggressively as it was earlier in the season. It’s hard to maintain that level of intensity when the gap between first and second is as big as it is (11 whopping 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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