Fan’s eye view: Where Boston Celtics stand, biggest concern heading into playoffs

Fan’s eye view: Where Boston Celtics stand, biggest concern heading into playoffs

Today’s show from the fans perspective I got a special guest here to talk about where the Celtics stand the biggest concern moving forward We’re Going Down Under we’re going to Australia we’re going to have some fun on today’s lock on Celtics podcast recognize the city of champ

Boston baby we do what you can’t locked on number 18 Tatum and brown J team step back we going to wet that and slay teams of course the stics who else could it be screaming like kg with the lar coralic above average assessing the team status best daily pod no cap salary matching

Clut like bir DJ keep John on replay Prime Time dapping up the truth on the sideline raining JS how we started raising B how we finish locked on Celtics pod home of the winners hey there thank you very much welcome back to the lockdown Celtics podcast really appreciate you being an

Everyday listener an every dayer joining me Monday through Friday where you get free fresh podcast dropped directly to your device you got to be a subscriber though so open up your favorite podcasting app hit subscribe and join me on this ride through a very special Celtic season bonus podcasts when they

Play like Friday nights game against the Dallas Mavericks so there will be a bonus podcast there on your app or on the YouTube page if you prefer to watch the show get into the comment section let me know what you’re thinking if you haven’t been on the show before I’m John

Corales I used to play a long time ago now I’m covering the Celtics for Boston Sports journal and for you because you are the consumer you are the Celtics fan and I’m just here to make your experience a little bit better Today’s Show is brought to you by FanDuel make

Every moment more right now new customers get $100 $150 don’t want to cheat you that extra 50 bucks in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 150 bucks if your bet wins visit fanduel.com lockon to get started today’s show uh a special show because we’re getting directly from the fans perspective you

Know I’m there I cover the Celtics um you know I’m there in the locker room every day I’m I’m a member of the traditional daily media uh so let’s let’s get into uh the I want to hear directly from the fans and today I have a special guest uh who uh if couple

Months ago uh put out there that uh we were taking donations to my sister’s GoFundMe uh she recently lost her husband to Pancreatic Cancer and a bunch of people stepped up and made generous donations and I’m starting to get a few people now I’m going to start getting

People onto the show as promised people uh pitched in and were very generous so uh today we’re going to start that process we’re going to start that by welcoming aboard David Nissen uh David from Australia what part of a Australia you from I’m from Melbourne Melbourne okay the uh very very e expansive

Celtics uh contingent always listening and watching the lock on Celtics podcast so thanks I’m gonna I’m gonna deem you today the represent representative as Tommy said for all of Australia you are all of Australia today uh so thank you for your donation and thank you for your

Fandom and thank you for your support watching and listening to the show uh so tell us a little bit about yourself when did you start as a Celtics fan uh give us give us your story so growing up I fell in love with basketball at about age 10 Australia particularly back in

Those days was you know cricket and footy and a bit of soccer and basketball was just becoming a thing and this was you know late 70s and back then there wasn’t an awful lot of basketball going on you know the pro league in Australia was pretty uh not even sure it was

Around then um the NBA we couldn’t really get to see that the only basketball we saw was you know Celtics and Lakers and you either fell in love with Larry Bird or Magic Johnson or both I fell in love with both but then as we

Got you know a bit further along got to see more of the games um I realized in my heart I was a Celtics fan um I became a Celtics fan probably wasn’t until um well probably till the ’90s that we started be able to get to see games

Regular even then but you know we had our mailing lists of people would you know moderate and have discussions on mailing lists and all sorts of stuff so you know Celtics fan from way back and you know my high day of watching was you know the the bad old days you know Rick

Patino and wal Tommy you know Royal fan all through that um actually made it out to Boston in in 2007 saw two games oh nice um there for three days saw two games one was a double overtime Victory against Dwight how’s magic the other was a victory against the Raptors so in a

Season where we pretty much lost everything I got to see two wins well I think qualifies you as a good luck charm uh which means if the Celtics are anywhere near clinching the NBA Finals you got to fly you up here to make sure that they get a little extra

Luck uh I’ll see what I can do yeah let’s let’s let’s make that happen all right not too much not to put any pressure on you or anything but the fate of the Celtics getting Banner 18 now falls directly on your shoulders I don’t think they’re gonna name me this year

Fortunately uh that’s that’s good I like that uh and I am similarly confident in this team now you now having you you’ve probably been gunshy31 Heath in the Rick patino era then you have you have built some Calles uh over the course of uh the time you

Know when it comes to Celtics wins and losses where does this team for you compared to teams that you’ve watched teams that you’ve thought could do it um and and have you been able to enjoy the season versus just spend the time worrying about oh is this going to

Translate is that going to translate I’m loving the season but there’s still the constant flutter in my heart to compare it to teams it feels most like the 2008 team but also different but also different in many ways so 2008 you know we came in and we

Had a horrible losing season and there’s a whole lot of confidence and we had k there you know roaring in our ears every single game and you just got caught up on the hype and it just for me that year it felt all the way through that we were

Going to win um surprised that that last bus buset going in you know my heart was riding on that one but yeah that year just got all the way through we’re going to make it and then yeah they move on to the the Brad Steven years and we had all

These Plucky teams that you know it was always exciting to watch because they were always doing better than you thought they’re going to do so it was always exciting from that respect but then the last probably the last three or four years every year it’s coming to the

Finals and I’ve said God this could this could be our year we we we we’re almost good enough maybe we’ll get there and then we get beaten by a team that you know in your heart you say we should have beaten those guys and so for that

Reason like a lot of people become a bit gun shy yeah but this year my heart’s telling me that this year this year we going to do it yeah so this is like the the interesting part of you know like obviously I grew up a a Celtics fan I

Grew up I’m still a basketball fan I’ve had to put a lot of that aside right because of my job I have to make sure that I’m fair I have to make sure that I’m when they’re bad I’m treating it appropriately and when they’re good I’m treating it

Appropriately and so you I don’t have a ton of carryover from the year before and this is probably why I’ve been so optimistic for this season because last year’s team is last year’s team and for for fans generally speaking it’s it’s one big interwoven kind of fabric it’s a

It’s a big tapestry and it’s still Tatum and brown and you know missoula’s the carryover from last year and I first of all I don’t think people are able to shake First Impressions and that’s why they always say you don’t get a second chance to make a first

Impression and the the first year offense the Joe Missoula offense the the sheer amount of three-pointers that they took and and I I think people latch on to that and they see this year and they just think it’s the exact same thing and it it’s actually not and I’ve been

Trying to tell people all along moua ball isn’t just shooting three-pointers it’s it’s taking the best possible shots and that happens to include a fair amount of three-pointers 40 plus a game and the team itself is different the makeup of the team is different just changing out a couple of guys uh Marcus

Smart and Robert Williams and you know Brogden as well but those two guys Rob and Marcus make such a significant impact because of holiday and porzingis and who they are this is such a different team even though some of the faces are the same that I H I have put

So much of the past in the past and I see the experiences I see the growth I see the maturity and I think I’m more willing than than fans to look at this team and say this is this is a championship team um and I think at this

Point with 24 games to go I’m talking about like the regular season being over I feel comfortable doing that while some fans are like whoa whoa whoa we still have stuff to do uh let’s let’s take a closer look at this this regular season how things have progressed how your attitude has changed

How your feelings have changed uh as the season has gone on we’ll do that in just a second Today’s Show is brought to you by FanDuel FanDuel is America’s number one sports book and it’s number one because they get to do things like give you $150

In bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s for you new customers uh sign up at fanduel.com lockon you can see it on the bottom here on the screen of the YouTube page you can just have to trust me on the audio side fanduel.com lockon new customers get $150 in bonus Bets

With any winning $5 bet you can use that to bet on anything that quick bets they have live same game parlays they have exclusive props they have everything the best part about FanDuel is that they have the protections they have the the tools available for you to set your

Limit set your betting limit set your budget so you know how much you’re able to bet you know how much you’re able to spend go ahead set that limit gamble responsibly have fun spend your money however you want to spend it but do it responsibly and FanDuel could be a great

Way to have some fun watching sports go to fanduel.com lockon to shoot your shot FanDuel is the official Sports work partner of the NBA thanks for making lockdown Celtics your first listen every day go check out lockdown sports today the first ever National 247 uh National Sports 247 streaming

Channel on YouTube it’s available on Amazon Fire TV now in the free Fire TV channels app so if you want to watch it on YouTube go ahead if you have the Amazon Fire TV you can watch it on your TV 247 it’s there find it on the free

Fire TV channels app on YouTube locked on sports today all the national hosts locked on Celtics will make an appearance from time to time because the Celtics are a big National story so check that out all right let’s get back into our discussion here of the season with

David um so you you came into the season with expectations have the Celtics met your expectations how have your expectations changed over the course of the Season definitely met the expectations I mean I was huge huge huge marus smart guy yes so I was devastated to see him

Go um but having said that you know I’m really really happy to see Pingas come our way to me that felt like a deal breaker in terms of you know changing the team and then they get holiday as well oh my God what’s your reaction what’s your reaction when you’re sitting there

You’re getting ready to watch this season you’re like ah man it sucks you had to give up Marcus Smart but that’s okay you got rob you got all this stuff and all of a sudden they say nope wait we we’re bringing in true holiday how how did that make you feel especially

Being a big Marcus Smart fan I was a big Marcus Smart Guy myself obviously so did you sit there and say oh we’ve got our Marcus Smart replacement or how did you take that yeah it it really felt like okay we we’ve got that Defender we’ve

Got that guy that we know that we can just throw out there and say you know what whever it is you’ve got him yeah um look I was devastated by losing smart and um Rob as well Rob both the William I fan big fan of both the williamses um

But yeah to see the guys we bought so it was that that that mixed bag of emotions that oh God some of my favorite players are going to yeah but look at the guys we’ve got yeah and then this season I’ve been yeah pretty happy with it it’s

Panned out probably better than I expected so far andan the only thing that worries me is they might get bored yes it too easy and then come the playoffs you know may maybe they you know can’t you know ratchet it up fast enough but yeah this season yeah I’ve been very much enjoying

It it’s it’s interesting the boredom thing is is the the biggest fear for everybody because it’s um it what the the the the East is pretty much wrapped up it’s eight games to play with 2 eight games uh lead with 24 games to play which just so funny to see by the way

The Cavs go on this monster 20 uh and five run over basically January and February from January 2nd and and Beyond 20 and five they go from Seventh to second in the East and they gained zero ground on the Celtics the Celtics started that with an eight game lead and

They finished that with an eight game lead over Cleveland uh so it’s kind of wild that the Celtics are able to progress but that shows to me the growth of this team and the boredom is a very easy storyline I think it’s a possibility that it’s there it’s the biggest

Challenge I think for them moving forward but I’ll say that I I fear less and less with this team when it comes to the mentality I’ve completely bought in to what Joe moula is is is selling this team because I see it working I see the

Guys kind of paring what he’s saying I see them buying in um they are doing basically everything that he asking them to do uh the hardest thing for an NBA team to be is all on the same page to have 15 guys all with the same motivation with the same you

Know view of the the situation with the same buyin with the coach and it’s amazing to me have that and and maybe it’s because Jaylen got his contract maybe Jason doesn’t worry about about his contract Derek doesn’t worry about his contract holiday isn’t worried about his contract

They all know that even though uh it’s not done yet that they all know they’re going to get plenty of money so and and holiday’s already won his championship like all of these things together it it’s it’s amazing to me and this is part of why I’m so confident it’s amazing to

Me that they are so together and this last 24 games yeah boredom possibly but I don’t think they’re all going to let each other fall into that trap um I know Denver last year kind of fell into that trap a little bit not even fell into

That trap I think yic was just like I he knows how good he was he didn’t care about the MVP he just cared about getting his body right and his you know all of that and he took off in the playoffs so that that’s almost like a different

Story The the Celtics I just don’t don’t think they are GNA allow themselves that big of a l they kind of know that this is a special situation they know how special this is and it is a special year uh so we were talking before about Tatum and I think

We were talking before like before we started recording you were mentioning how Tatum in the past would fall out of rhythm and not get it back and this year he’s either getting it back or someone else is picking him up and I think that was a good point that you made that that

That’s that might be like a at or near the top of the list of why the Celtics are so good yeah well if I can throw a question back at you um one of the things that probably scares me the most about the finals as you say the bord is

Prob not going to be a thing a lot of the games they’ve been winning recently they’ve been playing hard but it looks like they’ve got another gear they’re just not switching up into yet but they they can when they need to um just on the coaching side of things um we’ve had

You know in the past it’s been teams like the Warriors or the heat who found a way to knock us out of our Rhythm and then we’ve not got it back again now this year I’m a lot less scared about that because you know we’ve got a cheap Cody in porzingis who you

Know we can post up we can do different things around that the players going to get the Rhythm back again just on a a coaching level um and the whole discussion around Rhythm are there any teams that you fear coming into the finals that might be able to knock us

Off our Rhythm and maybe it takes us a while to get it back again well I think in fact okay that’s a good question I will take a second I’m gonna do this and then I’ll gonna answer that question on the other side and we can get into their chances moving

Forward Today’s Show is brought to you by prize picks prize picks is daily Fantasy Made Easy America’s number one fantasy sports app with over three million members and it’s because you just have to pick two to six players all you’ve got to do is pick uh more or less

On their projections you get it right you win uh and if you get up to six right you can win 10 times your money or maybe you can win a hundred times your money oh how about playing along with them on demon time on prize picks you

Can turn 10 bucks into $1,000 with their new demons and goblins squares they have squares there that are marked with Red Demons or Green Goblins they get different payouts you can now win up to a hundred times your money with as few as four correct picks so that is a

Pretty nice payout now I’m sure the projections are a little bit more difficult with that but you’re good you’re good at this and you don’t have to play against experts you don’t have to play against anybody you just got to get the projections right or wrong there’s insurance it’s the only place

That uh has daily fantasy insurance if your player gets uh injured in the first half and doesn’t return that does not count against the rest of your entry and the rest of your entry stays live so prize picks does that they’re the only ones who do that

You can uh go and compete against uh famous people in their Community plays they have uh rappers and actors that who are playing along so have some fun with it uh you can go to prix.com lockdown NBA use that code lock on NBA all lowercase you get a first deposit match

Up to $100 on top of all of that they’ll give you an extra hundred bucks up to a 100 bucks to match whatever your first deposit is so prize.com lockon NBA promo code is locked on NBA for a first deposit match up to $100 prize picks pick more pick less it’s that

Easy thank you for making lock on Celtics your first listen every day if you’re going to check out the Celtics and the Mavs you’re listening on the national broadcast you don’t like what you hear go check out Grandy on Max on the SiriusXM app listen to their audio

Match it up sync it up with the video and boom you got yourself a nice little fun home broadcast experience on the SiriusXM app so go check that out there all right before the break David from Melbourne Australia asked me about finals potential finals opponents because that’s how good the Celtics are

We can talk about potential finals opponents uh so I’m on record as saying that I’m not worried about any team I think the Celtics are good enough to exploit matchups against anybody anywhere and that includes the Denver Nuggets where they have Nicole yic who should be the MVP

I think they have the matchups against the Nuggets I think they can outplay they can go at joic and and they will attack yic defensively uh and then so but I I do respect the Nuggets obviously they’re their Champs and obviously when the Champs have the

MVP there is a if they beat the Celtics in the NBA finals I’m not going to sit there and be like oh what an upset it’s no it I think the Celtics would be favored but the defending champs defending their their title with you know minimal roster turnover would not

Surprise me at all uh but I still think the Celtics have the matchup I think maybe the Clippers if they can get there would be a difficult matchup just because they have length on the perimeter and they have some size in the middle that’s probably the best

Combination to to bother the Celtics it would be surprising if they got to the finals because they have Harden and he has the ball in his hand so much that he’s gonna be a detriment at some point and I don’t know that I don’t I don’t trust them to

Stay fully healthy and I don’t I just don’t know that they they have it to to get all the way to the finals but they could they very easily could and I still think the Celtics have the match but that would be a very tough um just because defensively the Clippers can can

Bother the Celtics which would mean it would be like Kristof porzingis might be the finals MVP if they play the Clippers like it would probably be Tatum in a lot of different circumstances but in that scenario it might be a heavy porzingis pick and pop series uh or they go to it

So much that they can’t play uh they can’t hug up on Tatum and brown as much as they like to and they’d have to start helping uh or or stop helping and and you know Play Everybody straight up and and maybe that’ll change uh some of the

Stuff but like I said the Clippers have to get there uh but that would be just because of their perimeter length would be maybe my biggest fear from a from a western conference standpoint I don’t know that there’s anybody else like I don’t think OKC is going to get there I

Don’t think Minnesota’s going to get there I don’t that it’s it’s great that they’re having the regular seasons that they’re having but I would be surprised I don’t think they’re ready to to make that kind of run so I I expect it to be Denver just because I’m giving the

Champs that kind of respect yeah that kind of agrees with with my feelings on it as well you know I don’t think Miami is going to be any threat this year you know in terms in terms of of of of you know coaches that can you know pull something out of the

Bag and find a way to throw out a rhythm and things I don’t think the H are going to come even close to making even if they did they’ve got the talent at the moment to make use of the coach so yeah I’m pretty much in the the same bag and

This year look it’s not just Missour but the quality of the coach is sitting on his um his bench yeah I suspect that you know all the people who are saying well you know has he got the uh you know the goods for the finals I’m still a little

Bit worried you know until until you see it you don’t say believe until you see it but my less wored this year than I was last year coaching lies as well yeah look like I said before you you don’t get that second chance to make the first

Impression uh but I think you do I do think you can you can kind of change the narrative a little bit but you don’t win until you win you don’t he’s not gonna win until he brings home the title and until then the detractors are going to say yeah but and I think

The biggest thing for me when it comes to Missoula is it’s not the X’s and O’s right X’s and O’s are kind of overrated in the NBA in that there are some fantastic technical coaches out there that can’t be anything more than assistant coaches um and that’s great

Because you have great technical people on benches and the head coach just needs to be the guy that keeps it all together head coaches in the NBA aren’t what they are at any other level in any other sport in any other league uh they it’s just it’s just different they are

Managers of egos they they do have game plans they have their philosophies but if it’s like I said before the hardest thing an NBA coach can uh the hardest job he has is getting all the guys in the locker room on the same page if you can do that it

You could have a bad game plan and if all the guys on the team are executing the game plan and doing it well whatever like whatever that game plan is you’re still gonna win games you’re still going to win with a a subpar game plan because

An NBA head coach a a subpar game plan from an NBA head coach is still probably pretty good and secondly having everybody together on the same page makes it just the the execution is if it’s that fluid it’s hard to stop and so you’re gonna you’re

Still gonna get some wins you’re still G to get some success now you make it a good game plan which I think the Celtics have you have the right mentality and you have everybody together and you have all the talent that Boston has and you have the motivation that Boston has it

All adds up to me so looking forward here I just these are the reasons why I’m so confident I just I I don’t see the same weaknesses that some people see I see strengths and I see okay this might be less of a strength but it’s not a

Weakness and and that’s where that now mind you full health obviously is part of the key but it’s if they’re fully healthy and they’ve done a good job managing Everybody’s Health so far then all of this other stuff I think adds up to kind of being Untouchable kind of

Being Untouchable who in the East is going to be able to beat this team when they’re playing like this at full strength at full capacity uh everybody mentally on board I don’t I don’t see anybody doing it so any final words David um no just you thanks for having me on

And having a chance to meet you in person yeah man I’m not going to be able to very easily wander down and check you out at again so it’s nice to actually say hi well like I said when the finals roll around and they need to make sure

They get those last couple of wins you got to be on a plane we got to find a way to get you on a plane there because you’re the good luck charm uh David I again I appreciated your generosity so much uh and I want to thank you for me

And my family and uh it was a pleasure having you on the podcast and uh thanks thanks for being on here was nice to be here and I want to thank everybody here for listening for watching a little bit of a different podcast here it’s a nice one for Friday having the fans

Perspective uh David is uh you know great fan you can find him on Twitter at David aissen uh with an e and uh yeah go check them out and look let me me know in the comment section where do you stand uh this is a great time the the F

The last 24 games of the season with things all wrapped up it’s a great time to be a little reflective it’s a great time to kind of look ahead so tell me where you think they stand tell me how you’re feeling tell me your fears tell me everything you know let’s let’s work

Through this together we’re one big happy Celtics family so do that if you’re new to the show make sure you’re subscribed if you’re watching from Australia thank you so much I love all the international listeners um I know Australia down that way New Zealand kind

Of get a little lucky the games start at like 9: or 10: a.m. that’s that’s kind of fun uh you wake up and he let’s just watch a game maybe you’re at work and everybody knows at work don’t bother don’t bother David on a game day uh so

Thank you all International listeners I know you make a great effort to be Celtics fans so make sure you’re subscribed watch the show on YouTube and go ahead and share the podcast spread the word tell everybody they be listening to and watching the lockdown Celtics podcast here on the lockdown

Podcast Network it’s your team every day

How do fans feel about the Celtics chances moving forward? What’s the feeling about where this team is versus expectations? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal welcomes in a fan of the Celtics, David Nissen of Melbourne, Australia, to discuss the state of the Celtics, potential finals matchups, and more.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Stitch Fix
Style that makes you feel as good as you look—get started today at StitchFix.com/LOCKEDON

Grammarly
When it comes to writing, Grammarly is there to support you from start to finish. With one click, you can easily and easily brainstorm, rewrite, and reply with suggestions based on your context and goals. Go to grammarly.com/PODCAST to download for FREE today.

Nissan
Our friends at Nissan have a lineup of SUV’s with the capabilities to take your adventure to the next level. Take the Nissan Rogue, Nissan Pathfinder, or Nissan Armada and go find your next big adventure. Shop NissanUSA.com.

LinkedIn
LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

eBay Motors
For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

BetterHelp
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

PrizePicks
Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel
Get buckets with your first bet on FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning FIVE DOLLAR BET! That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – if your bet wins! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOCeltics?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

Locked On Celtics is a daily Boston Celtics podcast by Boston Sports Journal beat writer John Karalis. It’s an inside look at the C’s from a former professional basketball player who is at practices & games.

#BostonCeltics #Celtics #NBA #JaysonTatum #JaylenBrown