Havlicek Stole the Pod NBA Basketball Podcast

Sometimes, after the Boston Celtics drop a game to a team they have no business losing to, it can seem like some of the worst elements of seasons past are coming back to haunt fans of the team, it bears reminding that this team is currently the owner of the best record in the entire NBA at 11-3 and on track to win 64 games this season.

And while that clip may very well slow some, it is, for now, something we ought to be thankful for, along with the play that has produced it compared to past seasons, the uglier side of Celtics basketball a far more rare thing to see than in those past campaigns. But there's a lot more than that to be thankful for even in a world that can seem cruel and unforgiving.

Whether in the wider world beyond sport, elsewhere in the NBA, or in places we rarely stop to think about, there is plenty of good around us worth taking time to reflect on.

So for this week's "Celtics Lab" podcast from CLNS Media, the hosts linked up with Sports Illustrated's Bobby Krivitsky and "How Bout Them Celtics!" cohost Jack Simone to do exactly that while taking stock of the Celtics and the NBA more generally -- we hope you join us.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics have now played over 10% of their 2023-24 NBA season, not quite enough to tell us all we need to know about this aspirant to the league's 2024 title but enough that we have an idea about what sort of ball club they are and could become.

At the same time, over that stretch, fans of the storied team have gotten to know new Boston broadcaster Drew Carter. Maybe not enough to tell us everything worth knowing about the newest voice of the Celtics, but enough to give us a pretty solid idea of what to expect with him on the call, with New England's notoriously icy fans already warming up to Carter in the booth.

So the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast decided it was a perfect moment to link up with the latter to talk about the former, as well as how the new job of following in the massive footsteps of Mike Gorman is going.

We get into everything from NBA expansion south of the border to Scal's opinion of Drew on his first day on the job, so tune in for an especially fun episode as we take stock of the season so far and how the Celtics' newest broadcaster sees it.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The histories of the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers are forever intertwined via the greatness both ball clubs honed against one another over the decades of their storied rivalry. Lakers legends and Celtics greats have taken their on-court battles to the league's biggest stage as both have fought to lead the league in titles won, now tied at 17 each.

Iconic Lakers have since helped contemporary Celtics find their way as NBA players as was the case with Kobe Bryant and Jayson Tatum -- and former Celtics Hall of Famers now do a tidy business with a different sort of green the basis for the enterprise with Paul Pierce working with Derek Fisher and his wife and partner Gloria Govan. 

That ancient rivalry still echoes in the present, and could even see the two old foes square off for Banner 18 in the 2024 NBA Finals if everything breaks right.

Which makes Govan and Fisher ideal guests to explore the state of affairs between the two teams, where they stand to start the season, and what Fisher, Govan, Pierce, Gary Payton Sr., and other Boston alumni are doing with those Los Angeles ties for the latest episode of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics are now 2-0 to start their 2023-24 NBA season after having defeated the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden to kick off their current campaign, following it with a 119-110 victory over the ball club that bounced them from the 2023 postseason, the Miami Heat.

The Celtics top six players look as good as any team in the league so far and there are only a few lingering concerns it seems the team still needs to iron out, but some of them have been ongoing concerns with the team for several seasons now. Still, they appear to have the talent and more importantly the chemistry and fit to overcome what's left of momentary lapses of focus or devolution into "my-turn, your-turn" basketball.

Will this team need more moves as the season wears on to address those issues? Does it realistically have the assets, cap space, or budget for such moves? Or can we count on improvement from within to ameliorate the few remaining problems that could be a barrier to Banner 18? 

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan to talk over where the Celtics stand as a second apron team that might need to make more moves. We also get into what we've seen from the team so far in their home and road openers.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics just beat the New York Knicks to kick off their 2023-24 campaign for an auspicious start of their pursuit of an NBA-record 18th title, and if their campaign ends anything like the official season simulation by the folks over at NBA 2k, Celtics fans will finally get back on top to pass their rival Los Angeles Lakers as the team with the most championships won.

What did we take from the first game of Boston's season? What can the NBA 2k simulation underscore about what we saw on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden vs. the Knicks? The folks at the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast put together a rapid reaction to the real-life road win to start the 2023-24 season with HoopsHype's Yossi Gozlan, then interviewed NBA 2k brand ambassador Ronnie 2k about how Boston won it all in the digital version of the season.

This episode is as packed full of stuff as one might expect, so buckle up as we dive head first into the quest for Banner 18.

The Celtics Lab podcast is sponsored by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opening night for the Boston Celtics' 2023-24 season opener against the New York Knicks is nearly upon us, leaving little time for the Celtics' front office to make final roster decisions about a number of rotation players, extend or offer full contracts to two way players if they so desire, and to tend to any other issues in terms of how the team will play on both ends of the court that they believe still needs attention for the season ahead.

The team also signed a new two way player to fill the slot left by Jay Scrubb after his ACL injury ended his season with Boston before it began in Nathan Knight, and in a more immediate sense have games against the New York Knicks and Miami Heat for their season and home openers to prepare for.

With all of that in mind, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast put together one final offseason pod for the summer of 2023 to talk our way through all the above and more.

We also get caught up on the trickle of news left to cover before the games begin to count.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There has been no lack of coverage of the new-look Boston Celtics, and as their preseason slate of games has showed us, that's for a very good reason indeed. The additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have made this ball club a wagon, with only a handful of teams in the NBA likely to be able to hold their own vs. Boston.

The Celtics are, by all accounts, a contender -- and in many corners the favorite to win it all. But what about the rest of the league? Where will Boston's peers fall in terms of wins and losses in the 2023-24 regular season? How is the conventional wisdom surrounding the Association's other contenders, pretenders, and also-rans?

To get a bead on the over/under outlook on all 30 teams in the NBA, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with MassLive's Souichi Terada to break down what we expect from Boston and their opponents this coming campaign.

We also talk about our camp and preseason perspectives, potential extensions, and a surprising hire as we get caught up on news.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When a new NBA season begins, every team is undefeated, and, at least mathematically speaking, a title contender as well. But for fans of the Boston Celtics, such slights of hand are not going to be enough to slake the thirst for Banner 18 raging in the gullets of Bostonians and their ilk.

But the consensus seems to be that Boston is as well-prepared to do the deed as any team in the league next season, with the Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets virtual co-favorites to win it all. When the dust settles on the 2023 NBA Finals, we will have our answer, but in the meantime, it is the duty of the league's press corp to sort fact from fiction regarding the season ahead.

To such an end, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with USA TODAY's Jeff Zilgitt to do exactly that, from the preseason tilts we have seen thus far all the way on to the future of the league beyond this season and the next.

Brace yourself for a few spicy takes plus plenty of agreement regarding this tea's potential -- no matter how it pans out, the NBA's 2023-24 season already looks like the wildest of rides.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a series of blockbuster trades to remake their roster into the vision Boston Celtics team president Brad Stevens and the rest of the team's front office have for a championship roster surrounding the ball club's All-NBA wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics held their annual Media Day proceedings.

Those proceedings and the training camp after it generated as much buzz as has been seen in a Boston facility since 2009, with the energy palpable ahead of the Celtics' 2023-24 campaign. With ownership publicly stating they are ready to do whatever it takes to hang Banner 18, there's a lot to be excited about in Boston.

But who ARE these Celtics? What are they good at individually? How will they fit together? And what else needs to be done to make this a complete contending roster?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with the hosts of the "How Bout Them Celtics!" pod Jack Simone and Sam LaFrance to hear what went down at Media Day and day 1 of the team's 2023 training camp, as well as what might be coming down the pike.

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by FanDuel and AG1.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Boston Celtics pushed in a fair amount of their chips to land former Milwaukee Bucks All-Star guard Jrue Holiday in the wake of the Bucks trading away the UCLA alum to land ex-Portland Trail Blazers star guard Damian Lillard.

The twin trades set up the Bucks and Celtics to potentially collide yet again as each ups the ante in pursuit of their next title -- what did these trades do to set the stage for an epic Eastern Conference postseason showdown? What do Celtics fans need to know about Holiday and how he could fit in Boston? Do the Celtics and Bucks need to make more moves in anticipation of such a matchup? And how do we expect each team to do in the regular season and playoffs?

With so many questions to answer about these two teams, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with Behind The Bucks Pass' Dalton Sell to talk all things Jrue and Dame between the Bucks and Celtics organizations.

Join us for our second emergency pod of the week after a seismic trade has reset our expectations of the Celtics, the Bucks, and the East.

This episode of Celtics Lab is brought to you by FanDuel and AG1.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices