Havlicek Stole the Pod NBA Basketball Podcast

Once, a wise man told the fans of the Boston Celtics that anything was possible. And in Game 6 of the 2023 Eastern Conference finals as the Celtics could have let their title aspirations and their season slip through their fingers as Jimmy Butler made free throws to put the Miami Heat up 1 with just 3 seconds left, Boston's Derrick White remembered that fact.

A miraculous tip-in won the game for the Celtics and put Boston in a position to be the first team in the history of the NBA to overcome a 0-3 series deficit on their way to punching a ticket to face the Denver Nuggets in the 2023 NBA Finals and another chance at winning Banner 18.

They will do it on Monday at home, playing for history on their home court of TD Garden. The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast sat down postgame to talk over a memory that will live on in Celtics lore for the ages.

As well as what they expect to see in the best thing the NBA playoffs has to offer -- a Game 7.

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No team has ever come back from a 0-3 deficit, but on Thursday night at TD Garden, the Boston Celtics looked as if they are as likely of a team as any before them to break that seemingly unbreakable record vs. the Miami Heat. In a wire-to-wire victory flowing from Boston's elite defense, the Heat never had a chance in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference finals.

Can the Celtics do the (at least until now) impossible? How did they win Game 5? What do they need to keep up in order to steal Game 6 in Miami? And can they keep their mind in the present, avoiding looking past the Heat?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast got together postgame to talk it over live from TD Garden; be sure to tune in to the immaculate Game 5 vibes.

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Somehow, despite the odds being against their even winning one game in the 2023 East finals after dropping the first three contests, the Boston Celtics won Game 4 vs. the Miami Heat on Tuesday night. Now, the Celtics will need to repeat that feat three more times over the next six days, a tall feat if ever there was one given the 150 previous attempts to do the same coming up short.

Is there a legitimate path to such an outcome, or are fans getting deep into their copium stash? Did Joe Mazzulla save his job, or will he still be on the hot seat? What was different for Boston in this game that was missing in the prior three contests? Most importantly, can they win another game now that the series heads back to Boston?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast did their best to wrap their heads around the improbable win and what it means for the short-term future and beyond.

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The Boston Celtics desperately needed a win in Game 3 of their 2023 East finals series with the Miami Heat on Sunday night, but dug deep into their reserves of basketball magic and found nothing. Now down in the dreaded 0-3 series deficit that no team has ever come back from, the Celtics are staring down an uncertain future.

Can they stave off disaster and accomplish the as-of-yet-impossible comeback? Should we put our energy into trying to imagine what this ball club does next once the dust settles on the series? And who ought to be blamed for this predictable yet also painful collapse?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with Off the Glass "Heaters Gonna Heat" podcast host Kyle Russell to try and answer all of the above in brief given we will likely have more than enough time in the future for postmortems.

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The Boston Celtics wilted in the white-hot lights shone on them by a determined Miami Heat ball club in Game 2 of their East Finals series. Now, the Celtics find themselves in a 0-2 series deficit headed back to Miami, one loss away from the dreaded 0-3 hole.

Boston has come back from a 0-2 start before, most recently against a Jimmy Butler-led team when he was with the Chicago Bulls, but this series feels very different from that one. Can Boston find the right combination of effort, scheme, and coaching to save their season from the brink of disaster?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast jumped into the fray to try and make sense of what went wrong from curious coverage and rotation decisions, coaching mistakes, and poor late-game execution. 

They also get into what they want to see in Game 3, as well as the other team currently in a 0-2 hole in the conference finals.

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The first half of Game 1 of the NBA's 2023 Eastern Conference Finals went exactly how fans of the Boston Celtics hoped it would, with the team defending and attacking with the sort of intensity needed to meet a determined opponent like the Miami Heat.

But in the second half of the tilt, the Celtics came out a little flat, and that was all the encouragement needed by Miami to punch Boston in the mouth, never looking back as they cruised to a 123-116 win. What went wrong? Why are the Celtics allowing themselves to be taken out of their game so easily? Have they still not learned their lesson, or is there something more here? And is head coach Joe Mazzulla being outcoached by Erik Spoelstra, or was this loss more on the players?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast took the pulse of the team at the podium to try and answer some of the above, as well as getting caught up on the NBA coaching carousel and other non-playoff news while we look ahead to Game 2 of the series.

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After a dramatic Game 7 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals driven by a historic 51 points from star Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, the Celtics are set to face the Miami Heat in what will not only be a rematch of the 2022 East Finals, but a rematch of both conference finals that we saw unfold in the 2020 Orlando bubble.

What will the now-staple Eastern Conference postseason matchup look like this time around? Has Boston finally exorcised the demons that have haunted them since the last time these two teams collided in the postseason? Or are they still vulnerable to Miami's zones, Jimmy Butler's maniacal play, and Eric Spoelstra's masterful coaching?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast got together with host Kyle Russell of the "Heaters Gonna Heat" podcast to help us get our bearings on this iteration of Boston's Floridian menace.

We get up to speed on how healthy the Heat are, how Kevin Love and Cody Zeller have given Miami a competent frontcourt rotation, and why this team should not be judged by how they played in the 2022-23 regular season.

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The Boston Celtics needed to come with their "A" Game to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in Game 7 of their East semis series with the Philadelphia 76ers, and somehow the Celtics found a way to dig even deeper with a historic, 51-point outing from star forward Jayson Tatum.

What did Boston do differently? Why did we see so much pick-and-roll for a Celtics squad in 2022-23, and how did Boston work to take away what the Sixers lean on the most offensively? And most important of all, how are we feeling about the looming rematch with the Heat in a do-over of the 2020 bubble's final four teams as the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers advance to face each other in the Western Conference finals?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast had plenty to say after a 112-88 Boston blowout Game 7 win, as well as the rest of the postseason landscape now that the Celtics are no longer in danger of getting sent fishing.

The gang also touches on the disturbing behavior from Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant, 2023 Celtics draft prep, and more so be sure to tune in.

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With the Boston Celtics' season -- and perhaps much more -- on the brink in Game 6 of their 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics needed to put it all out on the court for a win. And somehow, despite a 0-of-10 first half for Jayson Tatum that saw the Duke alum put up just one make from the floor in the third quarter and 18 turnovers for the team, Boston did exactly that.

A shift back to the defense-first, double-big lineup of Al Horford and Robert Williams III paid early dividends, and despite things coming a bit unglued for much of the middle of the game, Tatum getting hot from 3 late saved the season and perhaps more.

To talk about the improbable, dramatic win for the Celtics, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast linked up with High Off the Glass' Greg Brueck-Cassoli.

We also (very) briefly touch on the other series around the 2023 NBA Playoffs and look ahead to Game 7 on Mother's Day at TD Garden.

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The Boston Celtics dropped a critical Game 5 of their 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night by coming out with low defensive intensity and poor ball movement. The loss gave fans flashbacks of the 2022 postseason when Boston put their backs against the wall against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Will the team be able to win two games in a row to avoid their season ending? Can they get their act together before it is too late? Or is this iteration of the Celtics doomed to repeat history and end their season in disappointment as another opportunity to hang a banner passes them by?

In a slightly unhinged episode of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast, your usual hosts vent their frustrations at being back in the same situation that has plagued this team for ages yet again, as well as taking the pulse of the locker room postgame.

We also get caught up on the rest of the teams still playing in the 2023 NBA Playoffs and team news since we last podded.

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