Let me start by saying this was an ugly game through 3 quarters. The officiating was horrible for both teams. The two reasons that Celtics have been playing so well lately is because they have placed a huge emphasis on defense and pushing the pace and in a game where there are 41 fouls in 48 minutes, pushing the pace gets extremely difficult. The highlight of today's game by far was the excellent play of Payton Pritchard. He ended the game with 19pts and 6ast on a very efficient shooting night and he did it in huge spots where the Celtics really needed scoring. Another bright spot of today was the ball movement. The Celtics ended the game with 31 assists on 42 makes which is extremely impressive. Like I said to start, this was still an ugly game for the most part BUT they came out with a much needed win and now find themselves just 4 games behind 1st, just .5 games behind the Cavs for 5th and just 1 game back from the Bucks for 4th! 

Let me start by saying this was an ugly game through 3 quarters. The officiating was horrible for both teams. The two reasons that Celtics have been playing so well lately is because they have placed a huge emphasis on defense and pushing the pace and in a game where there are 41 fouls in 48 minutes, pushing the pace gets extremely difficult. The highlight of today's game by far was the excellent play of Payton Pritchard. He ended the game with 19pts and 6ast on a very efficient shooting night and he did it in huge spots where the Celtics really needed scoring. Another bright spot of today was the ball movement. The Celtics ended the game with 31 assists on 42 makes which is extremely impressive. Like I said to start, this was still an ugly game for the most part BUT they came out with a much needed win and now find themselves just 4 games behind 1st, just .5 games behind the Cavs for 5th and just 1 game back from the Bucks for 4th! 

Well it is continuing to look like the loss against the Pistons was the aberration and the Celtics team that we have seen over the last month and a half is what we're going to get if we're healthy. This team is absolutely rolling. Yes, I know the Nets team that we beat tonight 129-106 was very depleted but the Celtics beat them handily as we've done so far in 2022. The emphasis needs to stay on defense being the priority and pushing the pace as that is what has helped us win 17 of our last 22 games. We saw an excellent performance tonight from everyone that played top to bottom. Every starter was great, we got great contributions from Grant and White but we also saw Pritchard come in for extended minutes and play well. Even the guys that played in garbage time looked real solid today. This is the 10th wire to wire win this season which leads the NBA and puts the Celtics just 4 games behind 1st and just 1.5 game back from 3rd in the East. Keep rolling boys

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This podcast is also brought to you by The Basketball Podcast Network and DraftKings.  Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code TBPN, bet JUST FIVE DOLLARS on any NBA team to win their game and win TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS IN FREE BETS. If they win, YOU WIN with promo code TBPN this week at DraftKings Sportsbook — an Authorized Sports Betting Partner of the NBA

Well it is continuing to look like the loss against the Pistons was the aberration and the Celtics team that we have seen over the last month and a half is what we're going to get if we're healthy. This team is absolutely rolling. Yes, I know the Nets team that we beat tonight 129-106 was very depleted but the Celtics beat them handily as we've done so far in 2022. The emphasis needs to stay on defense being the priority and pushing the pace as that is what has helped us win 17 of our last 22 games. We saw an excellent performance tonight from everyone that played top to bottom. Every starter was great, we got great contributions from Grant and White but we also saw Pritchard come in for extended minutes and play well. Even the guys that played in garbage time looked real solid today. This is the 10th wire to wire win this season which leads the NBA and puts the Celtics just 4 games behind 1st and just 1.5 game back from 3rd in the East. Keep rolling boys

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Venture Greens Nutrition. They have the best CBD products in the world including tinctures, salves and gear and all of their products are made and manufactured in the United States. Check them out at venturegreensnutrition.com and use code Celticstake15 for 15% off!

This podcast is also brought to you by The Basketball Podcast Network and DraftKings.  Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code TBPN, bet JUST FIVE DOLLARS on any NBA team to win their game and win TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS IN FREE BETS. If they win, YOU WIN with promo code TBPN this week at DraftKings Sportsbook — an Authorized Sports Betting Partner of the NBA

Give credit where credit is due. The Pistons played a great game today. The Celtics were missing both Smart and Timelord and it showed. With two of our best defensive players out, it makes sense that our defense took a step back. Without Timelord and his 10 rebounds per game it makes sense that the Pistons killed us on the offensive glass. With Smart out and Tatum given more ballhandling duties, it makes sense that he had 7 turnovers. It's never fun losing to a bad Pistons team and even with those two out, we still had more talent on the court than they did but they executed their gameplan perfectly and we didn't. Instead of going into the All Star Break on a 10 game win streak, we are going in with a loss but let's look where we are at.

With 22 games left, the Celtics are just 4.5 games out of first place and just 2 games back of 4th place which would give the Celtics home court advantage. If you went back to December and you said that, very few people would believe it. I think this is where everyone thought we would be before the season started but I don't think anyone expected a 9 game win streak to be the reason for it. With that being said, we are still very much in this and are poised to make a big run in the remaining 22 games. 

Give credit where credit is due. The Pistons played a great game today. The Celtics were missing both Smart and Timelord and it showed. With two of our best defensive players out, it makes sense that our defense took a step back. Without Timelord and his 10 rebounds per game it makes sense that the Pistons killed us on the offensive glass. With Smart out and Tatum given more ballhandling duties, it makes sense that he had 7 turnovers. It's never fun losing to a bad Pistons team and even with those two out, we still had more talent on the court than they did but they executed their gameplan perfectly and we didn't. Instead of going into the All Star Break on a 10 game win streak, we are going in with a loss but let's look where we are at.

With 22 games left, the Celtics are just 4.5 games out of first place and just 2 games back of 4th place which would give the Celtics home court advantage. If you went back to December and you said that, very few people would believe it. I think this is where everyone thought we would be before the season started but I don't think anyone expected a 9 game win streak to be the reason for it. With that being said, we are still very much in this and are poised to make a big run in the remaining 22 games. 

Don't you love a good "Garbage Time Quarter"?! The Celtics absolutely destroyed Philly in this one leading by as much as 51 at one point. This Celtics team that we have seen in 2022 is unlike anything we've seen in a long time. The defensive intensity is unmatched across the league and they are using that defense to fuel their offense. The only negative from today's game is that Smart went down with an ankle sprain but with only one game before the All Star Break, the timing couldn't be better for an injury. We saw a very complete game through and through including some great games from our bench as well. I thought Nesmith was fantastic tonight and Hauser also looked great from deep. The Celtics as a whole was incredible from beyond the arc setting a franchise high 25 made 3pt shots on 55% shooting but it was the defense that really stood out. This is the 9th time the Celtics have held an opponent under 90 points which leads the NBA. This marks 9 straight wins with the chance to extend to 10 straight on Wednesday against the Pistons before the break.

Don't you love a good "Garbage Time Quarter"?! The Celtics absolutely destroyed Philly in this one leading by as much as 51 at one point. This Celtics team that we have seen in 2022 is unlike anything we've seen in a long time. The defensive intensity is unmatched across the league and they are using that defense to fuel their offense. The only negative from today's game is that Smart went down with an ankle sprain but with only one game before the All Star Break, the timing couldn't be better for an injury. We saw a very complete game through and through including some great games from our bench as well. I thought Nesmith was fantastic tonight and Hauser also looked great from deep. The Celtics as a whole was incredible from beyond the arc setting a franchise high 25 made 3pt shots on 55% shooting but it was the defense that really stood out. This is the 9th time the Celtics have held an opponent under 90 points which leads the NBA. This marks 9 straight wins with the chance to extend to 10 straight on Wednesday against the Pistons before the break.

The Celtics came out against the Hawks and feel behind by 10 in the first half but turned on the jets in the second to pull off a 105-95 win. The Celtics have now won 8 straight games and hold the 6th seed by themselves. This game was another tale of two halves. They were down 55-45 in the first half and then held the Hawks to just 40 points in the second half and then put up 60 points of their own in the second. This was another game where the offense really struggled from the field only shooting 42% from the field and 28% from 3 but Jayson Tatum really turned it up and scored 38 tonight that helped put this team ahead. This team is really starting to gel on both ends of the ball even with their new addition of Derrick White and we will look to add in Daniel Theis on Tuesday against Philly and hopefully extend our win streak to 9 games!

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Venture Greens Nutrition. They have the best CBD products in the world including tinctures, salves and gear and all of their products are made and manufactured in the United States. Check them out at venturegreensnutrition.com and use code Celticstake15 for 15% off!

This podcast is also brought to you by The Basketball Podcast Network and DraftKings.  Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code TBPN, bet JUST FIVE DOLLARS on any NBA team to win their game and win TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS IN FREE BETS. If they win, YOU WIN with promo code TBPN this week at DraftKings Sportsbook — an Authorized Sports Betting Partner of the NBA

The Celtics came out against the Hawks and feel behind by 10 in the first half but turned on the jets in the second to pull off a 105-95 win. The Celtics have now won 8 straight games and hold the 6th seed by themselves. This game was another tale of two halves. They were down 55-45 in the first half and then held the Hawks to just 40 points in the second half and then put up 60 points of their own in the second. This was another game where the offense really struggled from the field only shooting 42% from the field and 28% from 3 but Jayson Tatum really turned it up and scored 38 tonight that helped put this team ahead. This team is really starting to gel on both ends of the ball even with their new addition of Derrick White and we will look to add in Daniel Theis on Tuesday against Philly and hopefully extend our win streak to 9 games!

This podcast is brought to you by our friends at Venture Greens Nutrition. They have the best CBD products in the world including tinctures, salves and gear and all of their products are made and manufactured in the United States. Check them out at venturegreensnutrition.com and use code Celticstake15 for 15% off!

This podcast is also brought to you by The Basketball Podcast Network and DraftKings.  Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code TBPN, bet JUST FIVE DOLLARS on any NBA team to win their game and win TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS IN FREE BETS. If they win, YOU WIN with promo code TBPN this week at DraftKings Sportsbook — an Authorized Sports Betting Partner of the NBA