Tag: 2023 nba playoffs first round

Jaylen Brown dons custom Bill Russell sneakers for Game 1

Jaylen Brown is rocking a pair of green and black sneakers with a photo of Bill Russell for game one of the postseason.

Boston Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown laced up with a very interesting pair of sneakers for Game 1 of the 2023 NBA postseason. Brown wore green and white shoes which featured a photo of Bill Russell, a nice homage to the eleven-time champion.

Russell passed away this summer at the age of 88. Brown, the Celtics, and the entire NBA have honored Russell’s legacy throughout this season, and Russell’s No. 6 was universally retired across the league. Brown’s sneakers are just one of many ways the Georgia native in particular has worked to highlight the life and legacy of one best to ever do it.

Russell was a strong advocate for social justice and racial equality during his playing days and beyond, setting a precedent and culture for the Celtics for years to come. Brown, meanwhile, has been a vocal advocate for social justice and change in the city of Boston and throughout the country since joining the league in 2016.

Mazzulla celebrates One Boston Day: ‘It’s an honor and a privilege to coach in this city’

Joe Mazzulla honored One Boston Day and the anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing ahead of Saturday’s action between the Celtics and Hawks.

Today may be the first postseason game as an NBA head coach for Joe Mazzulla, but the 34-year-old had his focus elsewhere during his pregame press conference Saturday. Though he serves as the leader for the Boston Celtics, Mazzulla was not wearing his usual Celtics green. Instead, he donned a blue and yellow shirt with the phrase “One Boston” across the chest as he spoke to the media.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing which claimed 3 lives and injured 281. Mayor Wu and the city designated today “One Boston Day” as a way to recognize “the resiliency, generosity, and strength demonstrated by the people of Boston and those around the world in response to the tragedy of April 15, 2013.”

Prior to the opening game between the Celtics and the visiting Atlanta Hawks, Mazzulla spoke about the anniversary, his role as a figure in the city, and his relationship with Boston more broadly.

Is the Boston Celtics-Atlanta Hawks first-round series going to be a short one?

Boston has had a nasty habit of playing down to their opponents in ways that bite them later in the game, and Atlanta is finally starting to find some traction heading into the playoffs. Could we be overconfident in the series’ potential to go longer than five games?

The consensus ahead of the first-round series between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics in the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference playoffs seems to be either an actual or a gentleman’s sweep, with the latter 4-1 outcome in favor of the Celtics the most common estimate among most league analysts.

But Boston has had a nasty habit of playing down to its opponent in ways that bite it later in the game, and Atlanta is finally starting to find some traction heading into the playoffs. Could we be overconfident in the series’ potential to go longer than five games?

To tease out an answer to that question, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Beat” podcast linked up with guests Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston and Seth Landmann, former ESPN fantasy basketball writer.

Check out the clip we’ve embedded above to hear what the foursome had to say about the series.

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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Jerseys set for Games 1 – 4 of Boston Celtics – Atlanta Hawks first round series

Let’s take a look at the jerseys we will see on the court in Games 1 – 4.

The Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks are set to take the court to play the first of at least four games in their first round series in the 2023 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs, and for at least those four contests, the Celtics and Hawks have their uniform choices set.

Selecting from each of the four uniforms put together by the folks at Nike behind the Association, City, Icon, and Statement official jersey designs, the folks in charge of making these seemingly minor decisions have made their selections. For now, just the minimum number of contests — four — from the potential seven games in the series now have corresponding uniform choices posted at the league’s Lockervision site.

No point picking uniforms for games that may not be played, we suppose (h/t SI’s Pat Benson). Let’s take a look at the jerseys we will see on the court in Games 1 – 4.

On the Celtics vs. the Hawks and beyond with Howard Beck

Can the Hawks steal a game? And if Boston advances to the next round and beyond, what is their outlook against considerably more dangerous opponents, presuming the Sixers and Bucks are the teams the Celtics end up facing?

The Boston Celtics will get their first test of the 2023 NBA postseason on Saturday afternoon when they host the Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

While the Celtics are heavy favorites to win the series and advance to face the victor of the Philadelphia-Brooklyn series, the Hawks are better than they have played for much of the season.

Can the Hawks steal a game? And if Boston advances to the next round and beyond, what is their outlook against considerably more dangerous opponents, presuming the Sixers and Milwaukee Bucks are the teams the Celtics end up facing?

The hosts of the “Green With Envy” podcast linked up with GQ Sports’ Howard Beck to talk it over in a recent episode.

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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Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics: How to watch, broadcast, lineups (Game 1)

The tilt will see new Atlanta coach Quin Snyder helm his first game for the Hawks, while Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla will take the floor in that role in the postseason for the first time in his career.

The Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks meet for the first game of their 2023 Eastern Conference Playoff series after the Hawks won the right to play the Celtics in the first round for the 7-8 matchup after defeating the Miami Heat in the play-in tournament. The tilt will see new Atlanta coach Quin Snyder helm his first game in that role for the Hawks, while Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla will take the floor as an NBA head coach in the postseason for the first time in his career.

If you happen to be looking for a way to watch the on-court action live on cable television or a local or national online streaming service, keep reading while we get you up to speed on everything else you need to know about the game.

Let’s begin with the players who are among those listed to be available to play.

What Boston Celtics fans need to know about the Atlanta Hawks

Could the Celtics be making their season-long mistake of taking “lesser” teams too lightly?

The Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks are set to face one another in the first round of the NBA’s 2023 Eastern Conference playoffs. The general consensus of how the series should go is both short and in the Celtics’ favor given Boston’s depth and level of talent far outclasses the Hawks.

But this is not the same Atlanta squad Boston faced for much of the season. The Hawks replaced coach Nate McMillan with former Utah Jazz head coach Quin Snyder with about 20 games left in the season. The new-look Hawks haven’t found their footing under Snyder, but they have shown flashes — such as their win in the play-in game against the Miami Heat that got them into this series with Boston in the first place.

Could the Celtics make their season-long mistake of taking “lesser” teams too lightly?

While it seems improbably Boston could lose, there’s a solid chance the first round might go longer than the gentleman’s sweep some see coming. To learn more about the Hawks and how they’ve played lately, check out the latest episode of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast.

Guest Pat Benson of Sports Illustrated gives us everything you wanted to know about Atlanta but were afraid to ask — and then some.

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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Celtics Lab 181: Everything you wanted to know about the Atlanta Hawks but were afraid to ask with Pat Benson

This episode, we see how things look in the Hawks-Celtics first-round series from the Atlanta point of view thanks to SI’s Pat Benson.

The Boston Celtics swept the three-game regular-season series with the Atlanta Hawks, their opponents in the first round of the NBA’s 2023 Eastern Conference playoffs.

But the Hawks have a new head coach, Quin Snyder, who is starting to reshape the team’s style of play to something more dynamic than we’ve seen from them for most of the season. Those changes suggest there’s at least a chance the series will not be quite the sweep some are predicting.

Could the Hawks drag this series out to five or even six games? What would have to happen for that to take shape? Can we trust Boston to take a perceived lesser foe as seriously as they ought to? Do the Celtics simply have too much talent for Atlanta to have a chance of stealing multiple wins?

To get a picture of what we ought to expect from the team heading into Game 1 on Saturday, the hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast (powered by Fan Duel and Better Help) got together with Sports Illustrated’s Pat Benson to talk it over.

We also get into the latest news about awards races, merchandise sales and the health of key players on both teams, so be sure to tune in ahead of Hawks-Celtics.

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’s Jayson Tatum says ‘physically, I feel really, really good’ ahead of Hawks series

“My body feels great, (and my) energy level, so overall, I feel pretty good,” said Tatum.

By his own account, star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and his teammates are more than ready to get on the court in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks.

“We’ve essentially been waiting for this moment to get to the playoffs,” said the St. Louis native to reporters after practice on Friday (via CLNS Media). “The group is locked in, the group is focused. Everybody’s gotten healthy, so we’re just preparing the right way.”

Asked if last season’s loss to the Golden State Warriors left a sour taste in their mouth, the former Duke standout suggested it was out of sight and mind.

“That’s last year, and all we’re focusing on is the Hawks and Game 1 on Saturday,” he suggested.

As to how he was feeling leading up to the series, Tatum said “this is the least amount of games I have played in six years, so physically, I feel really, really good.”

“My body feels great, (and my) energy level, so overall, I feel pretty good,” he elaborated in what is likely music to the ears of Boston fans who had to watch Tatum’s play fall off of a cliff in the 2022 NBA Finals in part due to heavy usage for literally years leading up to that series.

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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