May 28, 2024 • 27 mins
Sound off with us on Jaylen Brown winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, the Boston Celtics coming up clutch time after time after time, on the team dripping with resilience, on Joe Mazzulla being celebrated by his team on international television, and on the Celtics going a ridiculous 12-2 en route to the Finals without the services (mostly) of Kristaps Porzingis. Off to the Finals, let’s go!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
What is up, folks. The Boston Celtics just punched their
way into the NBA Finals, and we just launched a
brand new dedicated feed for sound Off with the Boston Celtics.
I know most of you have been getting your episodes
through the View from the Rafters feed. Well, the episodes
will not continue to go out there, so make sure
you go and search for sound Off with the Boston Celtics.
(00:22):
Click subscribe and you'll get the notifications for every episode
here the rest of the run this season and heading
into next seasons. We appreciate you subscribing, We appreciate you listening.
And with that, here's the latest episode of sound Off
with the Boston Celtics. On the Boston Celtics unquestionable, absolutely
(00:48):
undeniably having the clutch gene. After sweeping their way into
the NBA Finals, they came up clutch yet again in
Game four to win during the final minutes and punch
their ticket into their second NBA Finals in the last
three seasons. First, it was Jalen Brown who tied the
(01:10):
game up with a smooth step through and floater in
the lane. It was a beautiful move. Havn't seen that
much from him but he dropped it through the net
with ease to tie the game up. Then at the
other end, Brown blocked Andrew Nemhart's driving layup from behind
to preserve the tie and make sure that the Celtics
then had the opportunity to pull ahead during the final minute.
(01:35):
And what did Brown do next? He drove to the basket,
split a couple defenders, crossed up Miles Turner, and found
Derek White for the game winning three pointer from right
in front of Indiana's bench. Then they weren't done there.
Drew Holliday, on the final possession of the night, grabs
an offensive rebound to dribble the clock out and end
(01:58):
the game for the Boston Celtics. And that was all
she wrote for the Eastern Conference Finals. Four games to
the Celtics, zero games to the Pacers, and the Boston
Celtics had swept their way into the NBA Finals. This
was clutch play after clutch play after clutch play after
(02:19):
clutch play, and you look back on this series and
the Celtics made literally every single clutch play they had
to make throughout these four games. Rewind to Game one,
Jalen Brown drills a three pointer from again right in
front of Indiana's bench to send the game in overtime.
(02:40):
It was a miraculous shot. I don't care the circumstances
he made it. And then in overtime Jason Tatum completely
took over and Boston goes up one to nothing. Boston
wins Game two pretty comfortably. Let's fast forward to Game three.
Jason Tatum found Al Horford with a ridiculous hind the
back pass to Horford in the left corner, drills the
(03:03):
three pointer, then Drew Holiday scores an and one layup
through Pascal Siakam. Then Drew Holliday grabs the steal on
them hard to seal the game. Then tonight, Jalen Brown
takes over during the final two minutes and forty seconds,
scores or assists on five straight points while blocking a
(03:25):
shot at the other end, and then Holiday grabs that
offensive rebound to run the clock out. Folks, we need
to take a minute and appreciate what we just witnessed.
I do not care who the Celtics played, I do
not care who was injured. All I care about is
what the Celtics just did. They came up clutch at
(03:49):
every single opportunity in this series. This is rare. Teams
don't do this very often. What Boston just did and
showcased that is a special characteristic. It is special. You
(04:09):
simply do not see teams do this very often. So
we need to take a minute, and we're gonna have
plenty of time before the NBA Finals arrive in ten
days on June sixth, tipping off at TD Garden. Let's
enjoy and appreciate what we just watched, because it's damned
(04:32):
if you do damned if you don't. The Boston Celtics
are damned if they blow the Pacers out. I guess
they're damned if they win in the clutch in three
of the four games. But this path that they just navigated,
of having to win in these different ways, in facing
this adversity, in finding a way time after time after
(04:55):
time after time again, certainly has to be a mental
boost for this team heading into the finals because this
has not been on their track record in prior seasons. Occasionally, yes,
every single time the opportunity presents itself, No, but that's
(05:19):
what this team did during this season, during this series.
Excuse me now talking about confidence? Can we please touch
on Jalen Brown. I am so happy for Jalen Brown
to have had that moment when he was crowned as
the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Jalen said after
(05:45):
the game he wasn't expecting it because he never wins anything, which,
by the way, he very well could have been an
All Defensive player this season. He should have been an
All NBA player this season, so he's got a point there.
He didn't expect it, but when it happened, that was amazing.
(06:08):
It was so fulfilling to watch Jalen make all of
those plays and then be rewarded with that trophy during
the after game celebration down on the court and all
of his teammates celebrating him, rallying around him, like how
happy were they for Jalen Brown in that moment? That
(06:30):
was awesome to watch. So watching Jalen take over this
game and make play after play after play during those
final two or three minutes to seal this win and
push the Celtics to the finals, and then to watch
him be celebrated the way that he was having his
(06:53):
moment on international television on the second biggest stage that
skotball has behind the Finals, that's the Eastern Conference finals
or the Conference finals, like that was awesome. I am
so happy for him. And talking about confidence, I mean,
this guy just we already touched on it. He drained
(07:17):
that three pointer at the end of Game one to
send it to overtime. Then in Game two he scores
forty points. Then here in Game four, he absolutely takes
over the game during the final three minutes to push
the Celtics to the win. So his confidence, I mean,
(07:40):
he's a confident guy. I'm not worried about Jalen Brown's confidence,
but man, after this, he's got to be feeling like
he's at a whole other level than to what he
was before this series. Now, another thing that I got
to point out, and I posted this on X after
the game because if for some reason, I feel like
not many people are going to talk about this, I said,
(08:05):
who out there is going to talk about the fact
that the Celtics just won the Eastern Conference title basically
without Christas Porzingis? Is anyone going to talk about that? Anyone? Please?
Anyone on the national TV or radio shows, anyone. It's
a pretty big deal. The Celtics just swept the Eastern
(08:26):
Conference Finals. And again, I do not care who they
were playing. The other team earned its way and made
its way into the Eastern Conference Finals, and then the
Celtics swept them right out. And they did that without
Christas Porzingis, but barely anyone's talking about that. We're gonna
(08:48):
talk about it on this episode later on with one
of our comments from the fans, because it deserves to
be talked about. Christas Porzingis has been referred to all
season as the guy who has unlocked the Boston Celtics offense.
He was the rim protector for the Boston Celtics. He
is the rim protector, so things change when he gets
(09:10):
back in the lineup. We're gonna talk about that later on.
Last thing I got to point out before we dive
into some comments from the fans is another person who
was celebrated on international television on that court in the
postgame celebration. Who was it? Joe Missoula. Baby. Joe Missoula
(09:35):
has coached his ass off during these playoffs. I don't
want to say he out coached anyone, but he's been
pretty damn good. He stacked up pretty well against Eric Spolster,
arguably the best coach in the NBA, during the first
round did a pretty darn good job against JB. Bickerstaff
(10:00):
in the Cavs during the second round and in this series.
You can all make the call, but I thought he
had a very strong series against a coach in Rick
Carlisle who has won an NBA championship. Joe Mizula pushed
(10:21):
all the right buttons. He kept the team locked in
when they weren't playing well. He called the right timeouts,
he drew up the right plays, he found the right rotations.
He did everything necessary from a coaching perspective to put
the Celtics in this position. And did you see the
(10:45):
way that the team celebrated him. They know that Joe
Mizoula gets nothing but flack from everyone who talks about
the Celtics outside of the people who are around the
Celtics every day, and that's the Boston media. I'm talking
about the beat writers and whatnot. They know Joe Mizoula
(11:08):
knows what he's doing. Brad Stevens with Grossbeck, the ownership group,
they all know Joe Missoula knows what he's doing. But
for some reason, Joe gets flack nationally. Well he shouldn't,
and you know why. He has the best record in
the history of the NBA when it comes to head
coaches in the NBA playoffs the best. He has now
(11:35):
gone to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and he has
now gone to the NBA Finals once in two years.
It's pretty damn good. He was great during this series.
He played a huge, huge role in the Celtics. Look, listen,
(11:55):
teams don't execute in the clutch when they are not coached. Well,
teams do execute in the clutch when they are coached. Well.
It's just like football. Everyone talks about coaching and being
able to make the critical play down the stretch. Yeah, well,
the Celtics did it time after time after time after time,
(12:17):
and that's because of Joe Missoula coaching them and putting
them in those positions. All of the coaching that he
did during the preseason, during training camp, throughout eighty two
games of the regular season, throughout the first three well
two rounds prior to this round, and now three rounds,
all of that is an accumulation of information and coaching
(12:40):
that leads to these moments, and that accumulation of information
in execution is what led to the Celtics overcoming those
moments during this round That's why the players celebrated him.
They know, they know the job that he has done.
(13:05):
They know that he deserves the credit, and that is
why they mauled him out on the court. It was
beautiful to watch and I hope he gets some credit
in the national media here. Moving forward, all right, we've
got three comments from the fans tonight. The first is
coming from Jordan Grant on the Celtics answering questions. The
(13:28):
second is coming from j d Alexander on how Boston's
defense must improve. And then, last, but not least, we've
got Carlos Francisco Risotto on Boston's resilience. So let's dive
right in. Here's the first one from Jordan Grant. All right,
Jordan Grant up first, saying, I think they've answered most,
(13:50):
if not all, of the questions that people were asking
of them in previous years. One trophy to go get now. Yeah,
there have been a lot of questions, and many of
them have been about being able to overcome these tight
moments right where you know, the body gets a little tight,
the muscles get tight, the brain tightens up. Sometimes you
(14:11):
make mistakes. The Celtics have made many of those mistakes.
In past seasons when the going gets tough and when
critical moments come up during playoff games, in particularly in
games like the conference finals. In NBA Finals, they played
well for a couple of games against the Warriors a
couple seasons ago, but other than that, they made a
(14:33):
lot of mistakes, and that was when the pressure was
at its peak. Well, all of those questions that have
surrounded this team, have they not answered all of them?
To your point here, Jordan, you say, I think they've
answered most, if not all of them. I mean, what
else do the Celtics need to answer. They won sixty
(14:57):
four games during the regular season. They basically beat every
single team in the league. They ran away with the
best record in the East. They ran away with the
best record in the league. They had a historic point differential.
They had one of the best defenses in the league.
They had one of the best offenses in the league.
(15:17):
They had two players make the All Star Game, easily
could have had three or four. They've got everyone buying
into the correct roles, the coaches making all the right decisions.
What else? What other questions could you have about this team? Well, maybe,
coming into this playoff run, it was about them being
(15:37):
able to make the big plays in the clutch moments
when they needed to make them. Well, those questions don't
exist anymore because the Celtics just did it. As I've
said multiple times already, they did it time after time
after time after time throughout this series. And that is
the only reason why they are now into the finals.
(16:00):
A nice little break to get healthy and rest up
and relax and maybe get Christas porzingis back rolling in
some difficult and challenging practices to ramp him up back
for game shape. That's the only reason they're here in
this situation is because they earned it by answering all
(16:20):
of those questions that have been clouding around them for
the past few seasons. You can't say a question that
they have not answered, period, end of story. That's a
wrap on that. And now the Celtics are coasting their
way into the NBA Finals, awaiting either the Dallas Mavericks
(16:41):
or maybe we have a historic comeback, maybe the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But all of those questions that have surrounded the Celtics
for years have been answered, all right. Next up, jd
Alexander three says defense has to be one hundred percent
better one hundred and ten percent better. Actually still need
(17:03):
KP if he doesn't play. I don't think it works out.
Let's concentrate here from my perspective here JD on that
comment about the defense, you said, defense has to be
one hundred percent better. Uh, one hundred ten percent better.
Actually I agree partially, but I also partially disagree. This
(17:23):
is This might surprise many of you right now, but
after fourteen games, and that's all the games inclusive right
now the Boston Celtics, and after some of these games
where Indiana's played pretty darn well on offense, and we've
seen some other teams play pretty well on offense against
the Celtics this postseason, the Celtics still have the third
best defensive rating in the entire NBA playoffs, one to
(17:49):
eight point seven. It's number three. That's better than Minnesota,
who everyone has been talking about throughout this run. That's
better than then Denver Dallas. I mean, they've been one
of the best defenses throughout. So yes, there have been
(18:11):
some moments where the Celtics have not quite performed two
expectations and the other team has made some shots, but
the numbers don't lie. They have the third best defense
in all of the sixteen teams that played in this postseason,
and they have the best by over a point of
(18:32):
the four teams, well now three teams remaining. But to
your point, JD, it can and should and needs to improve.
You saw what this team is capable of when the
game was on the line, especially these these final two
games Games three and four, when the Celtics needed to
(18:54):
get stops, they got them. When the Celtics needed to
lock down and flow around, they did it. Like Indiana
could not score when the Celtics needed to get stops
during these final two games. In fact, tonight, during this
Game four, Indiana did not score a point over the
(19:17):
final three thirty two of regulation. That's crazy. The final
three and a half minutes of this game they did
not score a point. They also scored only four points
over the final three minutes of Game three. And during
those moments, like if you're watching and you have the
(19:39):
eye test out, the Celtics were dominant, like playing with
desperation on every single defensive possession. And I think that
is what JD. Alexander is asking for. Play with that
desperation for the entire game. That's that one better one
(20:05):
hundred and ten percent better that JD is asking for.
That's what I think would propel the Celtics team to
an unquestionable championship in the next few weeks. If they
play with that level of intensity, that level of communication,
that level of effort all game long, night night like that,
(20:30):
it's a rap like you cannot beat the Celtics when
they play defense that way. And we saw that during
the final few minutes of these final two games. Indiana
could not score. They couldn't. Boston has too many defenders
and this was without Porzingis, by the way, who again
is their rim protector blocked a couple shots a game
(20:54):
during the regular season like that, that's a big deal
that he wasn't back there. And a lot of those
paint points that the opponents the three teams the Celtics
have played so far in the postseason, a lot of
those pain points have been scored because Porzingis was not there.
So defense was great when it needed to be great,
(21:14):
but when you go into the finals, it needs to
be great all the time. So let's keep our eyes
locked out for that. Do the Celtics bring that level
of intensity that they brought during the final few minutes
of these last two games. Do they bring that for
a full forty eight for every game? However many games
(21:35):
it takes against either the MAVs or the Timberwolves, do
they bring it? I think they come pretty close. I
think they come pretty close because they know what they
have to do to beat whichever one of these teams
they face during the next round. They have to play
(21:55):
with that outstanding level of defense, all right. Last up,
our final comment of the night coming from Carlos Francisco Risotto.
This is Carlos's reaction to the game. He says, the
fact we showed this level of resilience in a game
that we could have easily just gave away after it
(22:15):
felt like the Pacers were getting every call and shot
is impressive to me. Man. The fact we went twelve
and two en route to the finals without our third
best player is nuts. And I'm gonna confirm to you
right now, Carlos, it is nuts. It is nuts. Twelve
(22:36):
and two without Christas porzingis again. I don't care who
the Celtics played against, I don't care who was injured,
who was on the floor. To go twelve and two
en route to the NBA Finals is insane and to
have like what six or seven wins by fifteen or
twenty points like this, This has been a crazy, crazy run.
(22:59):
They made every clutch play, they've answered every question, and
by the way, they've done it without their third best player,
arguably in Christas Porzingis, their seven foot three center who
blocks shots and shoots threes and unlocks the offense with
his post game and creates mismatches like let me remind
(23:22):
everyone the Celtics and Brad Stevens went and traded for
Christas Porzingis for this particular scenario the playoffs. Him being
a member of this team and within this offense unlocks
everything because he creates mismatches. The way that the Pacers
(23:44):
and the Cavs were able to defend the Celtics, They're
not gonna be able to do that in the next
round whoever it is that faces Boston. That obviously, that
is if Porzingis is back, you can't defend the Celtics
the same way and with the same switchability and whatnot.
When you have a guy like Porzingis who can score
(24:05):
over a six foot three, four five six guard or
forward with ease, you can't. It puts defenses in a
bund and it changes the entire matchup. So again, Carlos
Francisco Risotto says, the fact that we went twelve and
two and route to the finals without our third best
player is nuts, and I can confirm it is nuts.
(24:30):
This is a crazy run that the Celtics are on.
And I don't care who they played. I don't care
who was in the lineup for them for the other teams.
I don't care who was out of the lineup for
the other teams. Boston just went twelve and two to
win the East. Teams don't do that very often. Teams
just don't do that very often. And the Celtics showed
(24:52):
resilience every time they had to. And that is a question,
you know, going back to the questions that we talked
about earlier in this episode, that's a question that a
lot of people had heading into this season. Would the
Celtics have the resilience for those big moments when some
players get tight and some players stay loose. Well, the
(25:14):
Celtics stayed loose and they made every big play. And
now they are not on the doorstep of the NBA Finals.
They are in the NBA Finals. They've punched their way
in and they can now sit back, kick their feet up,
and watch on as they watch the Mavericks and the
(25:34):
Timberwolves battle it out to see which team will punch
their way out of the West to be that opponent
that comes to Boston on June sixth. June sixth is
the date of Game one of the Finals, so the
Celtics are gonna have a ton of time off. They're
gonna be able to rest, recover, practice, study, get a
great scouting report on whichever team they're gonna face. They're
(25:58):
gonna have plenty of time to not only work on
the themselves, but also install what they need to install
to face off against their opponent. And again, as we've
talked about, they've got plenty of time to try to
get that big man Christas porzingis back to full health
for that first game of the Finals. We shall see
if he winds up being back on the court. We
(26:20):
are excited about it, We cannot wait. It's another NBA
Finals for the Boston Celtics. That's their second in the
last three seasons, and hopefully this is the one where
they punched through for that eighteenth championship. Thank you all
for tuning in tonight on another episode of Sound Off.
For taking part with your comments. We're gonna be off
for a while, but I cannot wait to be back
(26:40):
on June six to talk about whatever it is that
happens that night at ted Garden, where I know that
place is gonna be going nuts. Everyone is salivating and
cannot wait for Game one of the finals because everyone
feels like this is the year. So I'll see you
all on June six. Until then, keep a lock down
all the Celtics channels for all of your life US
content from behind the scenes, from practices, from all of
(27:03):
your media availabilities. We are where you get the top
content and we're going to bring it to you every
single day. I'll see you on June six, folks, Thanks
for taking part
What is up, folks. The Boston Celtics just punched their
way into the NBA Finals, and we just launched a
brand new dedicated feed for sound Off with the Boston Celtics.
I know most of you have been getting your episodes
through the View from the Rafters feed. Well, the episodes
will not continue to go out there, so make sure
you go and search for sound Off with the Boston Celtics.
(00:22):
Click subscribe and you'll get the notifications for every episode
here the rest of the run this season and heading
into next seasons. We appreciate you subscribing, We appreciate you listening.
And with that, here's the latest episode of sound Off
with the Boston Celtics. On the Boston Celtics unquestionable, absolutely
(00:48):
undeniably having the clutch gene. After sweeping their way into
the NBA Finals, they came up clutch yet again in
Game four to win during the final minutes and punch
their ticket into their second NBA Finals in the last
three seasons. First, it was Jalen Brown who tied the
(01:10):
game up with a smooth step through and floater in
the lane. It was a beautiful move. Havn't seen that
much from him but he dropped it through the net
with ease to tie the game up. Then at the
other end, Brown blocked Andrew Nemhart's driving layup from behind
to preserve the tie and make sure that the Celtics
then had the opportunity to pull ahead during the final minute.
(01:35):
And what did Brown do next? He drove to the basket,
split a couple defenders, crossed up Miles Turner, and found
Derek White for the game winning three pointer from right
in front of Indiana's bench. Then they weren't done there.
Drew Holliday, on the final possession of the night, grabs
an offensive rebound to dribble the clock out and end
(01:58):
the game for the Boston Celtics. And that was all
she wrote for the Eastern Conference Finals. Four games to
the Celtics, zero games to the Pacers, and the Boston
Celtics had swept their way into the NBA Finals. This
was clutch play after clutch play after clutch play after
(02:19):
clutch play, and you look back on this series and
the Celtics made literally every single clutch play they had
to make throughout these four games. Rewind to Game one,
Jalen Brown drills a three pointer from again right in
front of Indiana's bench to send the game in overtime.
(02:40):
It was a miraculous shot. I don't care the circumstances
he made it. And then in overtime Jason Tatum completely
took over and Boston goes up one to nothing. Boston
wins Game two pretty comfortably. Let's fast forward to Game three.
Jason Tatum found Al Horford with a ridiculous hind the
back pass to Horford in the left corner, drills the
(03:03):
three pointer, then Drew Holiday scores an and one layup
through Pascal Siakam. Then Drew Holliday grabs the steal on
them hard to seal the game. Then tonight, Jalen Brown
takes over during the final two minutes and forty seconds,
scores or assists on five straight points while blocking a
(03:25):
shot at the other end, and then Holiday grabs that
offensive rebound to run the clock out. Folks, we need
to take a minute and appreciate what we just witnessed.
I do not care who the Celtics played, I do
not care who was injured. All I care about is
what the Celtics just did. They came up clutch at
(03:49):
every single opportunity in this series. This is rare. Teams
don't do this very often. What Boston just did and
showcased that is a special characteristic. It is special. You
(04:09):
simply do not see teams do this very often. So
we need to take a minute, and we're gonna have
plenty of time before the NBA Finals arrive in ten
days on June sixth, tipping off at TD Garden. Let's
enjoy and appreciate what we just watched, because it's damned
(04:32):
if you do damned if you don't. The Boston Celtics
are damned if they blow the Pacers out. I guess
they're damned if they win in the clutch in three
of the four games. But this path that they just navigated,
of having to win in these different ways, in facing
this adversity, in finding a way time after time after
(04:55):
time after time again, certainly has to be a mental
boost for this team heading into the finals because this
has not been on their track record in prior seasons. Occasionally, yes,
every single time the opportunity presents itself, No, but that's
(05:19):
what this team did during this season, during this series.
Excuse me now talking about confidence? Can we please touch
on Jalen Brown. I am so happy for Jalen Brown
to have had that moment when he was crowned as
the Larry Bird Eastern Conference Finals MVP. Jalen said after
(05:45):
the game he wasn't expecting it because he never wins anything, which,
by the way, he very well could have been an
All Defensive player this season. He should have been an
All NBA player this season, so he's got a point there.
He didn't expect it, but when it happened, that was amazing.
(06:08):
It was so fulfilling to watch Jalen make all of
those plays and then be rewarded with that trophy during
the after game celebration down on the court and all
of his teammates celebrating him, rallying around him, like how
happy were they for Jalen Brown in that moment? That
(06:30):
was awesome to watch. So watching Jalen take over this
game and make play after play after play during those
final two or three minutes to seal this win and
push the Celtics to the finals, and then to watch
him be celebrated the way that he was having his
(06:53):
moment on international television on the second biggest stage that
skotball has behind the Finals, that's the Eastern Conference finals
or the Conference finals, like that was awesome. I am
so happy for him. And talking about confidence, I mean,
this guy just we already touched on it. He drained
(07:17):
that three pointer at the end of Game one to
send it to overtime. Then in Game two he scores
forty points. Then here in Game four, he absolutely takes
over the game during the final three minutes to push
the Celtics to the win. So his confidence, I mean,
(07:40):
he's a confident guy. I'm not worried about Jalen Brown's confidence,
but man, after this, he's got to be feeling like
he's at a whole other level than to what he
was before this series. Now, another thing that I got
to point out, and I posted this on X after
the game because if for some reason, I feel like
not many people are going to talk about this, I said,
(08:05):
who out there is going to talk about the fact
that the Celtics just won the Eastern Conference title basically
without Christas Porzingis? Is anyone going to talk about that? Anyone? Please?
Anyone on the national TV or radio shows, anyone. It's
a pretty big deal. The Celtics just swept the Eastern
(08:26):
Conference Finals. And again, I do not care who they
were playing. The other team earned its way and made
its way into the Eastern Conference Finals, and then the
Celtics swept them right out. And they did that without
Christas Porzingis, but barely anyone's talking about that. We're gonna
(08:48):
talk about it on this episode later on with one
of our comments from the fans, because it deserves to
be talked about. Christas Porzingis has been referred to all
season as the guy who has unlocked the Boston Celtics offense.
He was the rim protector for the Boston Celtics. He
is the rim protector, so things change when he gets
(09:10):
back in the lineup. We're gonna talk about that later on.
Last thing I got to point out before we dive
into some comments from the fans is another person who
was celebrated on international television on that court in the
postgame celebration. Who was it? Joe Missoula. Baby. Joe Missoula
(09:35):
has coached his ass off during these playoffs. I don't
want to say he out coached anyone, but he's been
pretty damn good. He stacked up pretty well against Eric Spolster,
arguably the best coach in the NBA, during the first
round did a pretty darn good job against JB. Bickerstaff
(10:00):
in the Cavs during the second round and in this series.
You can all make the call, but I thought he
had a very strong series against a coach in Rick
Carlisle who has won an NBA championship. Joe Mizula pushed
(10:21):
all the right buttons. He kept the team locked in
when they weren't playing well. He called the right timeouts,
he drew up the right plays, he found the right rotations.
He did everything necessary from a coaching perspective to put
the Celtics in this position. And did you see the
(10:45):
way that the team celebrated him. They know that Joe
Mizoula gets nothing but flack from everyone who talks about
the Celtics outside of the people who are around the
Celtics every day, and that's the Boston media. I'm talking
about the beat writers and whatnot. They know Joe Mizoula
(11:08):
knows what he's doing. Brad Stevens with Grossbeck, the ownership group,
they all know Joe Missoula knows what he's doing. But
for some reason, Joe gets flack nationally. Well he shouldn't,
and you know why. He has the best record in
the history of the NBA when it comes to head
coaches in the NBA playoffs the best. He has now
(11:35):
gone to the Eastern Conference Finals twice, and he has
now gone to the NBA Finals once in two years.
It's pretty damn good. He was great during this series.
He played a huge, huge role in the Celtics. Look, listen,
(11:55):
teams don't execute in the clutch when they are not coached. Well,
teams do execute in the clutch when they are coached. Well.
It's just like football. Everyone talks about coaching and being
able to make the critical play down the stretch. Yeah, well,
the Celtics did it time after time after time after time,
(12:17):
and that's because of Joe Missoula coaching them and putting
them in those positions. All of the coaching that he
did during the preseason, during training camp, throughout eighty two
games of the regular season, throughout the first three well
two rounds prior to this round, and now three rounds,
all of that is an accumulation of information and coaching
(12:40):
that leads to these moments, and that accumulation of information
in execution is what led to the Celtics overcoming those
moments during this round That's why the players celebrated him.
They know, they know the job that he has done.
(13:05):
They know that he deserves the credit, and that is
why they mauled him out on the court. It was
beautiful to watch and I hope he gets some credit
in the national media here. Moving forward, all right, we've
got three comments from the fans tonight. The first is
coming from Jordan Grant on the Celtics answering questions. The
(13:28):
second is coming from j d Alexander on how Boston's
defense must improve. And then, last, but not least, we've
got Carlos Francisco Risotto on Boston's resilience. So let's dive
right in. Here's the first one from Jordan Grant. All right,
Jordan Grant up first, saying, I think they've answered most,
(13:50):
if not all, of the questions that people were asking
of them in previous years. One trophy to go get now. Yeah,
there have been a lot of questions, and many of
them have been about being able to overcome these tight
moments right where you know, the body gets a little tight,
the muscles get tight, the brain tightens up. Sometimes you
(14:11):
make mistakes. The Celtics have made many of those mistakes.
In past seasons when the going gets tough and when
critical moments come up during playoff games, in particularly in
games like the conference finals. In NBA Finals, they played
well for a couple of games against the Warriors a
couple seasons ago, but other than that, they made a
(14:33):
lot of mistakes, and that was when the pressure was
at its peak. Well, all of those questions that have
surrounded this team, have they not answered all of them?
To your point here, Jordan, you say, I think they've
answered most, if not all of them. I mean, what
else do the Celtics need to answer. They won sixty
(14:57):
four games during the regular season. They basically beat every
single team in the league. They ran away with the
best record in the East. They ran away with the
best record in the league. They had a historic point differential.
They had one of the best defenses in the league.
They had one of the best offenses in the league.
(15:17):
They had two players make the All Star Game, easily
could have had three or four. They've got everyone buying
into the correct roles, the coaches making all the right decisions.
What else? What other questions could you have about this team? Well, maybe,
coming into this playoff run, it was about them being
(15:37):
able to make the big plays in the clutch moments
when they needed to make them. Well, those questions don't
exist anymore because the Celtics just did it. As I've
said multiple times already, they did it time after time
after time after time throughout this series. And that is
the only reason why they are now into the finals.
(16:00):
A nice little break to get healthy and rest up
and relax and maybe get Christas porzingis back rolling in
some difficult and challenging practices to ramp him up back
for game shape. That's the only reason they're here in
this situation is because they earned it by answering all
(16:20):
of those questions that have been clouding around them for
the past few seasons. You can't say a question that
they have not answered, period, end of story. That's a
wrap on that. And now the Celtics are coasting their
way into the NBA Finals, awaiting either the Dallas Mavericks
(16:41):
or maybe we have a historic comeback, maybe the Minnesota Timberwolves.
But all of those questions that have surrounded the Celtics
for years have been answered, all right. Next up, jd
Alexander three says defense has to be one hundred percent
better one hundred and ten percent better. Actually still need
(17:03):
KP if he doesn't play. I don't think it works out.
Let's concentrate here from my perspective here JD on that
comment about the defense, you said, defense has to be
one hundred percent better. Uh, one hundred ten percent better.
Actually I agree partially, but I also partially disagree. This
(17:23):
is This might surprise many of you right now, but
after fourteen games, and that's all the games inclusive right
now the Boston Celtics, and after some of these games
where Indiana's played pretty darn well on offense, and we've
seen some other teams play pretty well on offense against
the Celtics this postseason, the Celtics still have the third
best defensive rating in the entire NBA playoffs, one to
(17:49):
eight point seven. It's number three. That's better than Minnesota,
who everyone has been talking about throughout this run. That's
better than then Denver Dallas. I mean, they've been one
of the best defenses throughout. So yes, there have been
(18:11):
some moments where the Celtics have not quite performed two
expectations and the other team has made some shots, but
the numbers don't lie. They have the third best defense
in all of the sixteen teams that played in this postseason,
and they have the best by over a point of
(18:32):
the four teams, well now three teams remaining. But to
your point, JD, it can and should and needs to improve.
You saw what this team is capable of when the
game was on the line, especially these these final two
games Games three and four, when the Celtics needed to
(18:54):
get stops, they got them. When the Celtics needed to
lock down and flow around, they did it. Like Indiana
could not score when the Celtics needed to get stops
during these final two games. In fact, tonight, during this
Game four, Indiana did not score a point over the
(19:17):
final three thirty two of regulation. That's crazy. The final
three and a half minutes of this game they did
not score a point. They also scored only four points
over the final three minutes of Game three. And during
those moments, like if you're watching and you have the
(19:39):
eye test out, the Celtics were dominant, like playing with
desperation on every single defensive possession. And I think that
is what JD. Alexander is asking for. Play with that
desperation for the entire game. That's that one better one
(20:05):
hundred and ten percent better that JD is asking for.
That's what I think would propel the Celtics team to
an unquestionable championship in the next few weeks. If they
play with that level of intensity, that level of communication,
that level of effort all game long, night night like that,
(20:30):
it's a rap like you cannot beat the Celtics when
they play defense that way. And we saw that during
the final few minutes of these final two games. Indiana
could not score. They couldn't. Boston has too many defenders
and this was without Porzingis, by the way, who again
is their rim protector blocked a couple shots a game
(20:54):
during the regular season like that, that's a big deal
that he wasn't back there. And a lot of those
paint points that the opponents the three teams the Celtics
have played so far in the postseason, a lot of
those pain points have been scored because Porzingis was not there.
So defense was great when it needed to be great,
(21:14):
but when you go into the finals, it needs to
be great all the time. So let's keep our eyes
locked out for that. Do the Celtics bring that level
of intensity that they brought during the final few minutes
of these last two games. Do they bring that for
a full forty eight for every game? However many games
(21:35):
it takes against either the MAVs or the Timberwolves, do
they bring it? I think they come pretty close. I
think they come pretty close because they know what they
have to do to beat whichever one of these teams
they face during the next round. They have to play
(21:55):
with that outstanding level of defense, all right. Last up,
our final comment of the night coming from Carlos Francisco Risotto.
This is Carlos's reaction to the game. He says, the
fact we showed this level of resilience in a game
that we could have easily just gave away after it
(22:15):
felt like the Pacers were getting every call and shot
is impressive to me. Man. The fact we went twelve
and two en route to the finals without our third
best player is nuts. And I'm gonna confirm to you
right now, Carlos, it is nuts. It is nuts. Twelve
(22:36):
and two without Christas porzingis again. I don't care who
the Celtics played against, I don't care who was injured,
who was on the floor. To go twelve and two
en route to the NBA Finals is insane and to
have like what six or seven wins by fifteen or
twenty points like this, This has been a crazy, crazy run.
(22:59):
They made every clutch play, they've answered every question, and
by the way, they've done it without their third best player,
arguably in Christas Porzingis, their seven foot three center who
blocks shots and shoots threes and unlocks the offense with
his post game and creates mismatches like let me remind
(23:22):
everyone the Celtics and Brad Stevens went and traded for
Christas Porzingis for this particular scenario the playoffs. Him being
a member of this team and within this offense unlocks
everything because he creates mismatches. The way that the Pacers
(23:44):
and the Cavs were able to defend the Celtics, They're
not gonna be able to do that in the next
round whoever it is that faces Boston. That obviously, that
is if Porzingis is back, you can't defend the Celtics
the same way and with the same switchability and whatnot.
When you have a guy like Porzingis who can score
(24:05):
over a six foot three, four five six guard or
forward with ease, you can't. It puts defenses in a
bund and it changes the entire matchup. So again, Carlos
Francisco Risotto says, the fact that we went twelve and
two and route to the finals without our third best
player is nuts, and I can confirm it is nuts.
(24:30):
This is a crazy run that the Celtics are on.
And I don't care who they played. I don't care
who was in the lineup for them for the other teams.
I don't care who was out of the lineup for
the other teams. Boston just went twelve and two to
win the East. Teams don't do that very often. Teams
just don't do that very often. And the Celtics showed
(24:52):
resilience every time they had to. And that is a question,
you know, going back to the questions that we talked
about earlier in this episode, that's a question that a
lot of people had heading into this season. Would the
Celtics have the resilience for those big moments when some
players get tight and some players stay loose. Well, the
(25:14):
Celtics stayed loose and they made every big play. And
now they are not on the doorstep of the NBA Finals.
They are in the NBA Finals. They've punched their way
in and they can now sit back, kick their feet up,
and watch on as they watch the Mavericks and the
(25:34):
Timberwolves battle it out to see which team will punch
their way out of the West to be that opponent
that comes to Boston on June sixth. June sixth is
the date of Game one of the Finals, so the
Celtics are gonna have a ton of time off. They're
gonna be able to rest, recover, practice, study, get a
great scouting report on whichever team they're gonna face. They're
(25:58):
gonna have plenty of time to not only work on
the themselves, but also install what they need to install
to face off against their opponent. And again, as we've
talked about, they've got plenty of time to try to
get that big man Christas porzingis back to full health
for that first game of the Finals. We shall see
if he winds up being back on the court. We
(26:20):
are excited about it, We cannot wait. It's another NBA
Finals for the Boston Celtics. That's their second in the
last three seasons, and hopefully this is the one where
they punched through for that eighteenth championship. Thank you all
for tuning in tonight on another episode of Sound Off.
For taking part with your comments. We're gonna be off
for a while, but I cannot wait to be back
(26:40):
on June six to talk about whatever it is that
happens that night at ted Garden, where I know that
place is gonna be going nuts. Everyone is salivating and
cannot wait for Game one of the finals because everyone
feels like this is the year. So I'll see you
all on June six. Until then, keep a lock down
all the Celtics channels for all of your life US
content from behind the scenes, from practices, from all of
(27:03):
your media availabilities. We are where you get the top
content and we're going to bring it to you every
single day. I'll see you on June six, folks, Thanks
for taking part
Host
Marc D'Amico
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