Tag: 2024 nba all-star game

Jrue Holiday has been shooting the lights out for the Celtics since the NBA’s 2024 All-Star week

Holiday’s shooting splits pre and post all-star break are truly ridiculous.

Veteran Boston Celtics floor general Jrue Holiday has been shooting the lights out since the NBA’s 2024 All-Star week. Holiday’s shooting splits pre and post all-star break are truly ridiculous when you take a closer look, too.

In the last 15 games, the UCLA alum is putting up insanely efficient numbers on almost every shot type, while continuing to evolve in his role as captain of the Celtics defense this season. The hosts of the CLNS Media “First to the Floor” podcasts took some time on a recent episode of their show to take a closer gander at what Holiday has been up to since the All-Star break.

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

If you enjoy this pod, check out the “How Bout Them Celtics,” more “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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Cedric Maxwell reacts to Boston’s Jaylen Brown in the NBA’s 2024 Dunk Contest

Maxwell shared his feelings about Brown’s participation in the Dunk Contest.

We have heard from players, fans, and NBA analysts what they think of this year’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest featuring star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, but what do the Celtics greats of the past think of it? While that might be a hard question to answer more generally, in the case of one of them, we have a clear reply.

And that Boston legend is current day Celtics broadcaster Cedric Maxwell, who won two NBA titles with the Celtics in the heady days of the 1980s. That era certainly had some greats taking part in the dunk contest, even if Maxwell never tried his own hand at it.

Maxwell shared his thoughts on the event and Brown in it on a recent episode of his eponymous CLNS Media “Cedric Maxwell” podcast.

Check it out 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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Q&A: Tyrese Maxey on his first All-Star Weekend, Kevin Durant’s praise and more

“I’m able to channel it because it’s real joy,” Tyrese Maxey told For The Win.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey is enjoying his best professional season yet and just made his first appearance in the NBA All-Star Game.

The 23-year-old former Kentucky standout is having a breakout season and has emerged as a second star alongside Joel Embiid for Philadelphia. He was chosen to represent the Eastern Conference after averaging a career-high 25.7 points and 6.4 assists per game.

While he was in Indiana for the festivities, Maxey received deserved praise from many around the league, including Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant, who said the guard could eventually become one of the faces of the NBA.

For The Win chatted with Maxey on Saturday to discuss his time at All-Star Weekend, his goals for the remainder of the season and more.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Why the NBA’s All-Star Game was unwatchable, and how to fix All-Star Week

The All-Star Game itself bombed after reverting from the playground-style team picking and target score endings, and the Dunk contest was somehow both better AND worse.

Even days after the conclusion of the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game and All-Star Week festivities, people are still reflecting on the many flops involved. But they are also still talking about a few of the high points, so maybe this event can be saved — or at least improved.

The All-Star Game itself bombed after reverting from the playground-style team picking and target score endings, and the Dunk contest was somehow both better AND worse in that the dunks were largely repeats. But there was a Boston Celtics star making some of the flushes, which was cool. Stephen Curry vs. Sabrina Ionescu was a seminal moment — that the broadcasters managed to sully.

And there are plenty of ideas out there in the ether of how to make things better, too. The hosts of the CLNS Media “The Big 3 NBA” podcast weighed in on a recent episode.

Check it out 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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Can the NBA’s All-Star Week be fixed?

Could there be new wrinkles added to boost engagement? Or is it all pointless anyway, given the game is an exhibition tilt?

By now, we all have heard the many complaints about various aspects of the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Week festivities. From the overall lack of effort in the All-Star Game itself, and inconsistencies in the judging of star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown in the Slam Dunk Contest to the sexism heard during Steph vs. Sabrina and the utter confusion that is the Skills Challenge, there’s plenty that irked fans to point to.

That it ended up happening despite the league’s best efforts to ensure a return to the sport itself over spectacle alone to bring forth a greater level of effort and fan engagement makes it worse.

Can anything be done to fix All-Star Week? Are there events that can be changed to make it better? Could there be new wrinkles added to boost engagement? Or is it all pointless anyway given the game is an exhibition tilt?

The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with Thunder Wire editor Clemente Almanza to talk it over on a recent episode.

Check it out 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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Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay have feelings about this year’s All-Star Game

Ryan and Tanguay analyzed the NBA’s All Star Game and the lack of competition in the tilt.

The esteemed hosts of the CLNS Media “Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, and Gary Tanguay” podcast were about as happy as the rest of us were with the level of effort put forth in the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game. Whatever was in the water in Indianapolis did not exactly produce any better results than the changes NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Co. made to the All-Star Week‘s proceedings to boost player effort.

The eponymous hosts took note, and Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay analyzed the NBA’s All Star Game and the lack of competition in the tilt, despite the league’s hopes on their most recent episode. Ryan also looked back on the All-Star Games of old and the players who would have made it more competitive.

Plus, Gary and Bob talk about Jayson Tatum meeting Larry Bird for the first time and address Bird’s distance from the Celtics organization.

Check it out in the clip 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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Boston’s Jaylen Brown gets good grades for his 2024 NBA Slam Dunk Contest performance

Brown got solid grades for his dunk contest performance.

Not everyone in Gainsbridge Fieldhouse for the NBA’s 2024 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Week’s Friday night festivities was feeling star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown‘s dunks. But then, most Indiana Pacers fans are a bit biased against the Celtics star on a normal basis, so we see little reason why that would change in a dunk contest.

But Brown got solid grades in an article by ESPN’s Kevin Pelton, who gave the Boston forward a B+ grade for his solid dunk package put on display in the contest. “The judging panel seemed more enamored of Brown’s dunks than outside observers were,” writes Pelton.

“He reached the finals with a dunk which saw him take a lob from teammate Jayson Tatum and jump over a sitting Kai Cenat … in … a tribute to Dee Brown, who won the 1991 dunk contest for the … Celtics.”

“Alas, Brown’s effort to cover his eyes as Dee Brown famously did on his final dunk came only after the ball had gone through the net,” says Pelton. “A couple of Brown’s dunks … were the kind occasionally seen during game action.”

“Brown did stir emotions with the latter dunk by paying tribute to the late Terrence Clarke, a Kentucky star who died in a car accident while preparing for the 2021 draft,” remembers the ESPN analyst, who notes that Brown has called Clarke, a Boston native, his “little brother'”

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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Jayson Tatum gets a ‘B+’ for his All-Star Game performance, and Jaylen Brown an ‘A’

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown represented the Boston Celtics at the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game, and acquitted themselves well.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown represented the Boston Celtics at the NBA’s 2024 All-Star Game, and acquitted themselves well in the annual league-wide exhibition tilt, each getting a good grade from ESPN’s Kevin Pelton. Tatum earned a B+ the season after taking home the 2023 All-Star Game Most Valuable Player award, but his teammate stole the show with an A grade for Brown.

The St. Louis native “opened the scoring Sunday, then took a step backward and let his teammates shine,” writes Pelton. “Tatum’s 13 shots were second fewest among East players and fewer than his 3-point attempts a year ago (18).”

“Tatum did knock down a Dirk Nowitzki-esque fadeaway and contributed a strong sequence when he stripped Kevin Durant going up, then made a 3 on the other end,” notes the ESPN analyst.

“The third East contender for MVP, Brown had 36 points to top last year’s total of 35,” writes Pelton. “He knocked down six 3-pointers and was 9-of-11 inside the arc, including a left-hand layup to quiet critics of his off hand.”

“Brown had a game-high five offensive rebounds for the second consecutive year and also showed enough effort on defense to come up with a couple of deflections.”

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 Boston’s Jayson Tatum meeting Larry Bird for the first time

You have thought it, and we have too — it is a little weird that Hall of Fame Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird just met star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.

You have thought it, and we have too — it is a little weird that Hall of Fame Boston Celtics legend Larry Bird just met star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum at this year’s All-Star Game in Indianapolis. But the two Boston icons have finally crossed paths, with Tatum surprised and honored that The Hick From French Lick was looking forward to it.

The St. Louis native related that the encounter left him a bit star struck, noting that Larry Legend is “a lot taller than I thought he was” when speaking to the media about meeting Bird at the All-Star Week festivities.

The hosts of the CLNS Media “How Bout Them Celtics!” podcast took a closer look at the pair of Boston greats finally crossing paths on a recent episode.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear their thoughts on the meeting!

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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A genius solution to fix the NBA All-Star Game after the awful 2024 edition

Here’s how the NBA can increase competitiveness and reduce injury risk all at once.

The NBA All-Star Game hit a low point this year, which is saying a lot because it’s been bad for awhile. But this might’ve been rock bottom.

There was no defense, players acted too cool to care and the final score was 211-186. 211!

Adam Silver has to do something to save the league’s showcase event, and I have a suggestion. If players are too cool to go hard in a team game, the NBA should make it less of a team game. Force players to put a little more pride on the line by going to a 1-on-1 and 3-on-3 tournament. Let me explain how it would work:

There are 12 players on each team, so the first round would be six 1-on-1 games in each conference for a total of 12 games. And you set a low number to win like seven, so the games don’t drag on for too long. Once that round is over, it’s halftime.

Then, for the second half, with it down to six players in each conference, you go to a 3-on-3 semifinals. The 3-on-3 team to advance from each conference advances to the championship round, and you name an MVP from the winner of that game.

And that’s it. I guarantee players go harder for that, because there’s nowhere to hide. It’s also not a full-court game, so there’s less risk for injury. Make it happen NBA.

@forthewintok

The NBA All-Star Game hit a new low in 2024, but @pgprincej has a suggestion to fix it #nba #nbaallstar

♬ OK – Flight School & Zai1k

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