Tag: 2024 nba playoffs

Celtics champ and broadcaster Cedric Maxwell on Boston’s playoff journey

Maxwell knows a few things about the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Champion Boston Celtics forward and current day Boston broadcaster Cedric Maxwell knows a few things about the Celtics in the NBA Finals. So when the former Finals MVP has something to say about how Boston might get back to the NBA’s biggest stage, we probably ought to listen.

Speaking on a recent episode, the hosts of the CLNS Media “First to the Floor” podcast linked up with Cornbread to talk about the Celtics’ playoff rotation, this year’s championship prospects, and which modern players compare closely to Max back in his playing days.

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,” “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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Can the Chicago Bulls make teams uncomfortable in the play-in or playoffs?

Time will tell, one thing we do know for certain.

Can the Chicago Bulls make other teams uncomfortable in the NBA’s 2024 play-in tournament, or maybe even the actual playoffs? This was a question posed by The Athletic’s Zach Harper in a recent article that acknowledges the Bulls’ late surge in the standings while fairly questioning its permanence.

“Do we feel confident the Bulls can make it through to the playoffs?,” asks Harper, fairly. “They put a massive scare into (the Miami Heat) last play-in tournament, and we’ve seen them pull off some pretty big clutch moments this season. I don’t think beating out (the Atlanta Hawks) to get a chance for the No. 8 seed is crazy.”

But between injury and the inexperience of several players who would be playing heavy postseason minutes for the first time, it’s fair to question whether Chicago’s recent play will translate in the postseason.

The list of potential opponents for the second play-in tilt, as the Athletic analyst notes, could be the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, or Indiana Pacers, all ball clubs that could be favored to advance.

“If the Bulls get through, can they utilize their size to make Boston work a little bit harder in that first round and maybe even steal a game?”

Or would this team be better off with a higher draft pick after a noble struggle to advance? Time will tell, one thing we do know for certain.

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Bulls seen as ‘too old’ to be a dangerous play-in tournament team

In fairness, the sort of teams Bailey sees as a “dangerous” play-in team include clubs that would likely be favored vs. the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls have leaned into their youth movement since losing Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams for the season. But it is the players on the other end of the team’s age curve who are putting the Bulls outside the ball clubs expected to be a threat from the play-in tournament ranks this season, per Bleacher Report’s Andy Bailey.

Putting Chicago squarely with the squads he calls “no-chancers,” for the Bulls, in the B/R analyst’s estimation, “a deep playoff run (which we’ll define, perhaps arbitrarily, as a conference finals appearance) just isn’t in the cards” due to the age of some of Chicago’s top players.

Other “no-chancer” teams include the Indiana Pacers (“too young” for Bailey), Atlanta Hawks (“too Hawks,” he notes vaguely, yet we all somehow understand), Brooklyn Nets (“probably won’t even be in the play-in”), Sacramento Kings (“the toughest cut”) and Houston Rockets (“too young”).

In fairness, the sort of teams Bailey sees as a “dangerous” play-in team include clubs like the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, and Philadelphia 76ers, all of whom would likely be favored vs. the Bulls.

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Are the Chicago Bulls a legit team for the 2024 NBA Playoffs?

Winners of six of their last 10 contests, the Bulls are trending up at the exact moment they needed to be.

Are the Chicago Bulls a legit team for the 2024 NBA Playoffs? Winners of six of their last 10 contests, the Bulls are trending up at the exact moment they needed to be in order to have a shot at the play-in tournament. Is there a realistic path from there into the actual postseason for Chicago?

While it is too late to make up a 5-game deficit in the standings to get out of play-in range, if the Bulls were to maintain position until the end of the regular season, they might just be able to pull it off with a bit of luck.

To break the possibilities down on a recent episode, the cohost of the “Locked On Bulls” podcast, Pat the Designer, took some time to talk us through the range of possibilities,

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

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Celtics Lab 245: Sizing up unresolved concerns in the stretch run with Justin Turpin

From addressing late-game execution issues to getting everyone rest who needs it, they cover the gamut of issues in front of Boston before the playoffs.

The Boston Celtics are firmly within the thick of the NBA’s 2024 stretch run as they try to wrap up loose ends on the court and nagging injuries while also getting into postseason form. That is not exactly the easiest of needles to thread, but they have a favorable schedule and the right personnel to pull it off, particularly given the lead they have over the rest of the East.

But what exactly is that schedule ahead of them? And when can they rest players, and what concerns remain to be addressed between now and the start of the 2024 NBA Playoffs? The hosts of the CLNS Media “Celtics Lab” podcast linked up with WEEI’s Justin Turpin to talk over what they want to see from the Celtics in the rest of the stretch run on a recent episode.

From addressing late-game execution issues to getting everyone rest who needs it, they cover the gamut of issues in front of Boston before the playoffs. The crew also gets caught up on the trickle of Celtics news makin the rounds as well

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The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks.

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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How might one describe the Boston Celtics in just five words?

For one NBA analyst, it’s all about the postseason.

How might one describe the Boston Celtics in just five words? According to Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz, the words he would use are “Can the playoffs start already?,” and that’s a fair question to ask given that is virtually the only thing the team is focused on this season.

But earning another shot at a title in the 2024 NBA Finals is not a simple goal. As the B/R analyst notes, it is “going to be difficult for the Boston Celtics to find ways to motivate themselves over the final eight weeks of the season” while they wait for the 2024 NBA Playoffs to arrive.

“They hold a six-game lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers for first place in the East and are now 8.5 games up on the Milwaukee Bucks, the team that was supposed to push the Celtics for the No. 1 seed,” writes Swartz.

“This is a veteran-heavy group that doesn’t need many more regular-season reps together and should be more concerned with just entering the playoffs healthy,” he adds.

“This is a championship-or-bust season for Boston, the NBA’s best team thus far. Staying awake through the remainder of the regular season will the greatest challenge until mid-April.”

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 projected to draw challenging opponent in first round of 2024 NBA Playoffs

We aren’t crazy about facing a team Boston has struggled with as much as they have with this team.

With the 2024 stretch run finally upon us, we can make some statements about how we think the NBA standings and first round playoff matchups might look by the time the 2024 postseason gets here. And it is not exactly a hot take to suggest that the Boston Celtics will still be in first place in the Eastern Conference standings by then, given their current stranglehold on the top spot.

To that end, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz projects the Celtics to end up in that spot at the end of the regular season, and to face a feisty Orlando Magic ball club in the first round as a result.

“Boston remains elite on both sides of the ball, traded for Xavier Tillman Sr. at the deadline for extra center insurance, and possesses one of the easiest schedules in all of basketball moving forward,” writes Swartz.

“Getting the No. 1 seed should be a big deal as well,” he adds. “Never in the Jayson Tatum era has Boston finished with the best record in the conference, not even in 2021-22 when it advanced to the NBA Finals (51-31, second to the Miami Heat).

We aren’t crazy about facing a team Boston has struggled with as much as they have with Orlando. But the Celtics ought to make quick work of them, so long as they come with their best game just the same.

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 Kristaps Porzingis will carry the Boston Celtics into the postseason

He may be a recent arrival, but the Latvian center has been helping the Celtics steamroll opponents like he has been with the ball club for years.

There has been plenty of debate on whether Jaylen Brown or Jayson Tatum have been the most important player for the Boston Celtics this season. But no player improves their ceiling more than star big man Kristaps Porzingis so far this season.

He may be a recent arrival, but the Latvian center has been helping the Celtics steamroll opponents like he has been with the ball club for years now. And his chemistry with Brown in particular has helped power Boston to the league’s No. 1 record and a commanding grip on the Eastern Conference’s top spot more than halfway through the season.

Can KP do the same for the Celtics in the 2024 postseason?

The hosts of the popular ESPN “NBA Countdown” show recently weighed in on Porzingis’ postseason import. 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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Why Marcus Smart will be cheering on the Boston Celtics in the 2024 NBA postseason

“As much as I think I deserve it, they deserve it as much as well,” said Smart.

Even though he will not be along for the ride for the first time in his career, Marcus Smart will be cheering on the Boston Celtics. Traded to the Memphis Grizzlies after failing to help Boston get over the hump and back to the NBA finals, one would not blame the Flower Mound native if he held a grudge towards his former team.

But speaking to the media after his first return to TD Garden as a member of the Grizzlies roster, Smart let it be known that it was all love. “When you come that close, and then you have to leave (the team you did it with), anybody in this position … it would be hard to try to wrap your head around it,” said Smart.

“But at the end of the day … it doesn’t stop how I feel about those guys.”

“And just as much as I think I deserve it, they deserve it as much as well,” he explained. “So that’s why I say I am ecstatic for those guys, because they work just as hard, and they deserve it just as much as I do.”

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 the Boston Celtics struggle with the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA Playoffs?

How much of a threat the Pacers might be this year to the Celtics in the coming postseason?

Could the Boston Celtics struggle with the Indiana Pacers in the 2024 NBA Playoffs? On the latest episode of the CLNS Media “Big Three NBA” podcast, hosts A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani A. Lunis debated how much of a threat the Pacers might be this year to the Celtics in the coming postseason.

They also touched on the defensive skills of star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and their case for All-Defensive honors aside from the win over the Pacers. The trio also debates the potential number of All-Stars from Boston this season, and wraps with a look ahead to the classic rivalry game on Thursday, where the Celtics will clash with LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Take a look at the clip embedded below 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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