DISASTER: Critical Turnover SHIFTS Boston Celtics’ Momentum, Fourth-Quarter COLLAPSE

DISASTER: Critical Turnover SHIFTS Boston Celtics’ Momentum, Fourth-Quarter COLLAPSE

It looked like the Celtics might have had it and then one critical mistake changed everything. We’ll talk about that right now in a bonus locked on Celtics podcast. Uh-huh. Be ready. It’s the season. Who else could it be? What they going to say now? Screaming like JT Cares. We kept the madness every game, every practice. Prime time. Deon D White on the sideline. Raining J how it started. Raise a business. How we finish locked on Celtics, home of the winners, baby. Hey there. Welcome back to the Lockown Celtics podcast right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network. Where does your team every day? Your team is the Boston Celtics and I talk about them Monday through Friday plus bonus podcast on weekends like this when they play on a Friday or a Saturday. The show is free. It’s available everywhere. It’s on YouTube. So, make sure you’re subscribed. Become an everydayer. Join me every Monday through Friday. again daily podcast so you can have it on your way to work as you’re getting ready for work at work I won’t say anything so however you want to listen or watch on YouTube feel free get into the comments section share your thoughts with me John Corales beat writer for Boston Sports Journal I’ve been covering this team for about 20 years now I’ve been doing this podcast for 10 and I’ve written a couple of books about the team this team right now is struggling man we are in on such a back and forth like, oh, they win a couple of games or they they win and they look good and it’s like, hey, maybe they can be a playoff team and then they lose a game like this and it’s like, oh, well, let’s start looking at, you know, lottery film for, you know, whoever they might pick they might pick in the in the top 10 or 15 or whatever. Later on, we’ll just talk a little bit about what’s trying to figure out what sticks. And in the second segment, well, I say second segment. I don’t know if I’m going to do three segments today. Uh, it’s a bonus podcast, so kind of can do what I want. Uh, but I’ll also talk about the Magic shooting and beating a a a game plan that the Celtics had kind of like no choice but to but to throw out there. But let’s just start where this this all started to fall apart, which was uh a little bit like five what was it? 550 mark in the fourth quarter. The Celtics had just taken a one-point lead. They inbounded the ball. They have they force a stop. They inbound the ball. Josh Minot has it going up the right side. The Celtics have a one-point lead and the ball. And Minot turns and says, “You know what? This is a Jaylen Brown situation. I’m going to look. I’m going to give it back to Jaylen Brown to bring it up.” And he didn’t recognize that. I think it was Anthony Black that was there and he just essentially got an assist on Anthony Black’s basket because it was a turnover right there. Uh went up, hit the basket and things started to spiral from there. The run after that I think was 14-2 and all of a sudden the Magic were up 11 again. So, I can’t say that the Celtics were going to steal this game, but it felt like the momentum was building that way. They were uh at that point in the fourth quarter, Anthony Simons was going off. He I think had 11 in the in in the fourth quarter. They were starting to kind of throw their punches at the Orlando Magic. And it looked like the Celtics had the the the opportunity. They Jaylen Brown was back in. Pton Pritchard was coming back in. They they had this just the flow of the game was building towards at least a back and forth finish. And then that that turnover and it’s tough to, you know, look, I get it. you’re you’re Josh Mina in that situation is not looking to come up and initiate the offense or any of that. He’s like, “Okay, we’re up one. There’s essentially six minutes left, five and change, and let’s let’s run this offense to, you know, let’s run the the Jaylen Brown offense. Let’s do what the the coach wants. Let’s do what what’s best for the team.” and it’s just basically a brain fart. But from there, the late game execution just completely craters. The last six minutes of the game, the Celtics um turned it over four times. They shot five of 14. They allowed the Magic to shoot eight for 11, four of six from three and they got to the line eight times. Now, that late game execution is made more difficult by the fact that the Celtics fouled so much early in the fourth quarter. They put the the Magic in the penalty early. And now that puts you in a position here where you’re dealing with a team that’s starting to get desperate, right? a big big burly Orlando Magic team. They’re they’re 610 across the front line. They’re all like 250, 260. Big dudes. And they are hard charging now because they had a lead. They had a 16-point lead in the first quarter. They had leads throughout the game. And here it is, fourth quarter, they’re at home. It’s an NBA Cup game. And they’re they they they’re want to lose. They they they’ve they’ve come out to a disappointing start to the season. You don’t want to lose at home, not to a team like the Celtics that’s very much in figure it out mode. So, of course, there’s going to be some level of desperation. So, when you’ve already put them in the penalty early, now you’re dealing with physicality. Now, they’re going to up that that pressure. They’re going to up their defensive pressure. So when they force those turnovers now you got to come on down the other end. Can you match that physicality? You What ends up happening is it ends up being counterproductive because you see guys be a little tentative, but when you’re tentative, that’s when you foul. You’re trying to be like, “Oh, no. I don’t want to touch him.” And then, “Oh, maybe I should.” And you you just are in a bad mental place. When you put them in the f in the penalty early, you get yourself into a place where you can’t match the physicality the right way. you can’t play free and that that really puts you at a disadvantage. So going to the line eight times, the the Magic in the last six minutes of the game, that’s part of it. So the the Magic scored 28 points in six minutes. 28 points is like a quarter where you’re like, ah, it’s a touch too many points, but it’s okay. Modern NBA, it’s it’s it’s all right. And that’s six minutes of the fourth quarter. The last six minutes of the fourth quarter, you give up 28 points. It’s kind of stark. You We talk about momentum shifts all the time. And you don’t normally see such a black and white. Boom. This play the the Celtics were doing so well. this one turnover just it’s it’s like a meme where people make the uh the Microsoft like error sound and it just goes bump and things change and like all of a sudden the game was completely different. If you stopped watching the game in the, you know, with at the six minute mark, you like you can separate that into two game films and be like, “Oh, these are two different games. There’s no way that the first six minutes of the fourth quarter matches the last six minutes of the fourth quarter. These aren’t the same teams.” It’s it’s kind of wild to see that momentum change, but the Celtics, I don’t want to say they panicked. They were throwing out some wild lineups. They they with um let’s see I I have it down here. I wrote it on Boston Sports Journal. The Celtics with uh where was it? Six and change. Halfway through a a Oh, it was 952. That’s where it was. 952. Anthony Simons, Derek White, Josh Minott, Jordan Walsh, Ugo Gonzalez. 952 to go in what was a tie game at that point. The Celtics have Simons, White, May not Walsh, and Gonzalez on the floor. That’s that’s just you. You’ve got Simons who is I don’t know, still trade bait, new guy, still struggling. Derek White, who’s supposed to be the guy that you’re counting on, but at this point he he even said on his podcast that it’s you’re figuring a lot of stuff out. He doesn’t know where the shots are coming from. It used to be the past few years you knew exactly where the shots were coming from, exactly where what you were trying to do. And now they’re out there trying to like it’s free flowing. You just don’t know where the shots are coming from. So he’s kind of, you know, figuring out that role. He’s struggling with that role. You got Josh Minot, scrap heap guy from Minnesota. Okay, great. He’s playing well, but still only 10 games in. Jordan Walsh, who’s a second round pick that I mean, frankly, he’s kind of on the edge of is he even going to be on this team anymore? And Gonzalez is 19 years old, who’s just, you know, 19. He’s a rookie. He’s, you know, even though he has all the Real Madrid experience is, he’s still a rookie and the NBA is a different animal. To throw those guys out there while the Magic are throwing their main guys, the guys that people are looking at and saying, uh, this this is a team that could be a top four team that could have home court in the first round that could make some noise. This this is tough. This is it’s hard to ask these guys to all have perfect fourth quarter e execution which means Jaylen has more pressure on him which means Derek which means uh Payton all of these guys that have been here who have been around Nimish Kada who was pretty good in this game he has more pressure and it’s like especially on Kada who is just coming around to being a pretty good player, right? The on-off numbers are incredible. Um, I do think that the on-off numbers are a little bit of small sample size theater and a function of when you go beyond Kada on the front line. It’s just impossible to keep up with uh there there’s just no front front court protection there. There’s no rim protection there. Uh, so I think Kada’s impact on the team is positive. The numbers make it like look so incredible because once you get past Kada on the depth depth chart, defensively, things just fall off off a cliff, which puts a lot of pressure on him, too. And like he’s just starting to get used to being a starting center for this team. the pressure of having to carry defensive units, that’s a lot. Um, so that is a big ask for the Celtics. This late game execution stuff, it’s it’s just a big ask for lineups that really make no sense. But what’s Joe Mazula going to do? Who’s he going to put out there? doesn’t make any sense to have this lineup out there. But at that point, you’re like, this is the best we can do right now. The Celtics are going to live with the Magic shooting. I’ll come back. We’ll talk about the Magic shooting and I’ll talk about more of the seeing what sticks. All that’s coming when I come back on the Locked On Celtics podcast. Today’s show is brought to you by Door Dash bonus episode. And Door Dash is going to give you bonuses. When somebody drops 50 points in a game, they’re going to give you 50% off your order with Dash Pass the next day. Door Dash, it’s this is the perfect way to keep fans in their bag all season long. Somebody drops 50. Here’s what happens. You go onto the the Door Dash app, you have Dash Pass, use the promo code NBA 50, you’ll get 50% off your next order the next day after somebody drops 50. And then you’re automatically entered to win what they call the ultimate fan bag. That is player inspired drip exclusive gear stuff that you actually want. So you can go on to Door Dash and it doesn’t even have to be food. We think of Door Dash as food, but you can get anything delivered. Uh headphones, socks, whatever you want. Uh it’s there for you. When somebody drops 50, you go on to the Door Dash app. You have to have Dash Pass. Use the code NBA50. You’ll get 50% off up to $10 the day after a 50 point game with that promo code NBA50. Terms apply. No purchase necessary. Ends April 13th. Open to US residents 21 or older. Visit door dashinyourbag.com for full full details. Door Dashinyoubag for full details. Door Dash in your bag all season long. Today’s show is also brought to you by Prize Pick. The prize picks app is going to help is going to reward you for making good decisions. We all make decisions every day. Why not get paid for them? If you’re following the NBA, obviously you’re here, you follow the NBA. Maybe you’re following the NFL as well. This is a great time to jump in. Prize picks, it’s super simple. You pick more or less on at least two player stats. If you get them right, you win. So, it takes less than 60 seconds to make your lineup. You can play anywhere Prize Picks operates. That includes California, Texas, and Georgia. So, you can use the Prize Pix app on both football Sundays and NBA tip offs. The Celtics play on Sunday, the Patriots play on Sunday. You can do a Drake May, Jaylen Brown uh combination. Their new stacks feature is a game changer. You can now pick more on Jaylen’s points, threes, and assists in the same lineup. Plus, if somebody happens to leave with an injury, your injury re reboot saves the lineup from a loss. Download prize picks today. Use the code locked on NBA to get 50 $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on NBA for $50 in lineups after your first $5 lineup prize picks. It’s good to be right. Thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Make your second listen. Locked on NBA. Locked on NBA Game Night. Game night’s a 7 day a week podcast covering every game in the NBA. Lots of games. So, this is going to be a full podcast on Locked on NBA Game Night. Monday through Friday, you get Locked on NBA covering the big stories. Both of those are free and available wherever you found this podcast, even on YouTube. So, part of the plan here was And and Payton Pritchard said this directly after the game, you got to live with some threes. And the Magic shot 17 of 36 from three. Now, the Magic were bottom three in makes, bottom four in attempts. They were are, I think, dead last in percentage heading into this game. And all they did was shoot 17 of 36, 47%. So, you can even just look at this this number and say, “Well, that’s where the Celtics lost this game.” 17 makes from three is a season high for the Magic. The Celtics shot 13 for 37, 35%. A little bit below average. Uh, not good enough. Only 37 three-point attempts. Once again, the Celtics play the Magic and they shoot 30 something three-pointers. That’s how it goes against the Magic. They are not going to allow you to beat them from three. The Celtics didn’t shoot great again. One for six for Jaylen Brown, one for six for Derek White, one for five from Sam Hower. Meanwhile, Jaylen Suggs, Jaylen Suggs is four for six. Suggs is a career 33% three-point shooter. He’s been shooting better this season, but he has an 0 for seven night a couple of games ago, and the four three-pointers is a season high. So Jaylen Suggs outshot the combination of Derek White, Jaylen Brown, and Sam Hower. That’s not supposed to happen. That’s not how this is supposed to go. The Celtics are are you you have to live with things. And this is where seeing what sticks. My opening line to my column on Boston Sports Journal was, “I would hate to be the person who cleans the walls around the Celtics practice facility because the amount of crap Joe Missoula has to throw at them to see what sticks must be overwhelming at this point.” And that’s where the Celtics are. The lineups are all over the place because they have to be. We talked about them yesterday with J with Tom Wesserholm. there. One day it’s Ugo Gonzalez, one day it’s it’s Jordan Walsh. In the first half it was Jordan Walsh in this game, but not so much in the second half. Um Baylor Shyman, who I thought like, hey, he’s a big dude. Uh he’s going to get some opportunity in this game. Didn’t see Baylor Shyman. DMP coach’s decision. Buché, another DNP. Xavier Tilman was not with the team. Personal reasons. So, the Celtics are just that lineup that I talked about before. You’re not going to see that lineup. Anthony Simons had 11 points in the fourth quarter. Those were his entire that 11 points for the whole game because he played two and a half minutes in the first half because Jordan Walsh came in in the second quarter and was playing well and that kind of changed a lot of the momentum at that point. This Celtics team is just it’s it’s a mix and match trying to figure things out. Guys are talking about like long-term goals in these postgame situations. Um Pton Pritchard, you know, talking about, you know, we’re learning. We’re we’re figuring things out. It’s only 10 games. And it is only 10 games. and they’re four- six after these 10 games. I would like to see them win on Sunday. I’ve talked about them being five and six or six and five. If they’re in that mix, then fine. Five and six will be okay. But the lineups that they’re throwing out there, Minot is starting. Kada is is playing well, but there’s nobody really behind him. Luca Garza, eh, Buché didn’t even play. Tilman not with the team. So, of the four bigs that they had, only the only Garza played behind Kada and then they threw May not out there as a small ball five. I It’s against the Orlando Magic. It’s I know they’re trying to be like, hey, all right, well, if they’re going to go super big, then we’re going to go super small and fast. And you can say, well, Celix can’t guard these guys at that size with this lineup and but Orlando can’t guard these small guys in their speed at that size. So, it’s kind of like a battle of wills. I don’t know how Sunday’s going to go. I think I’m I’m impressed that the Celtics didn’t get crushed on the boards. They gave up 12 offensive rebounds. That’s not a ton. the Magic uh average 19 second chance points per game. That’s what they hit. So, to be honest, if a Celtics team is only giving up a team’s average, which is a good average, 19 I think was second in the league to to not be like, oh, well, you know, 19 against everybody else, but against the Celtics is going to be 30. That’s a win. They they need to be better in their own second chance points. They were five of 13, so they missed a lot of chances at second chance points. They only lost that by three. They lost fast break points by one. They were even in points in the paint. Margins were kind of like, h they fouled way, way too much. Way too much. I know we have to accept some of these fouls because of the style of play, the defense, but 31 free throw attempts is outrageous. And that’s That’s just fouling like not even I I have no qualms with the fouls that were called against the Celtics. 24 of 31 from the line for Orlando. Uh 11 of 16 for the Celtics. Now Jaylen Brown, interestingly after the game was like, “Hey, message received. I’m going to keep my mouth shut.” He was not fined for his comments about the non call uh against uh it was in the Utah game was Kanti George that slip and trip. Obviously Jaylen after the game, after the Jazz game had words, dropped a couple of curse words and then went on to his Twitch and had like a six minutee rant. And I guess the officials I don’t know, like I don’t put it past the officials to have these moments of, yeah, you know what? We don’t like hearing that. So guess what? You’re not going to get these calls. I got to go back and look at the film. I don’t know. I don’t know if a lot of that stuff was missed or not, but Jaylen says message received. I’m going to keep my mouth shut. We’ll see. He only went to the line twice. He’s He’s been going to the line a lot more, so may maybe he has maybe he has a point. I have to go back and look at the film. But I don’t know how this is going to go on Sunday. We’ll we’ll see. We’ll see if Jaylen’s uh keeping his mouth shut gets him to the line a little bit more. Uh but this is this is tough. This is tough for the Celtics. Like this is a tough matchup. These margins where you expected them to lose by a lot, they didn’t. Uh that’s impressive. 14 turnovers for 22 points though, that’s a problem. Fouling’s a problem. Turnovers against the Magic were a problem. And then the shooting. I don’t know. At some point you got to hit shots. Maybe the Magic go back to sucking from three on Sunday or maybe they carry this through and come back to like a normal percentage. I have no idea how. I have no idea. This is the thing like game to game now with the Celtics. I have no idea. If they go five and six through the first 11, they have a chance against the Sixers to go six and six through 12. If they’re even through 12, that basically leaves them 70 games to determine what they’re going to be, a playoff team, a lottery team, or what. Um, and I I can’t even tell you. They they could win by a lot on Sunday. They could lose by a lot on Sunday. Anything in between is possible. Same thing with the the Sixers. There are so many variables, but the Celtics have to just they have to hope certain things go right. Joe is is searching for is this is this a a Jordan game? Is this an augo game? Is this a a Baylor? Whoever game, whatever game it is, you got to try different guys. I don’t know why he hasn’t he didn’t try Shyman. I don’t I have no idea. I thought Shyman would be strong enough to handle some of these guys, but he didn’t think Shyman was good enough. And this comes after a stretch of a few games where Shyman was good enough. So, it’s it’s just all up in the air. It’s all up in the air. Have no clue. No clue. We’re going to figure this out together. That’s the beauty of this season, this podcast. So, I’d like to hear your opinion in the comments section on YouTube. That’s where to have a conversation. Uh so you can obviously listen to this show. It’s available everywhere. It’s free. YouTube uh the comment section is where everybody gathers, the fellow everydayers gather to try to hash this out. I’m normally the one with the analysis, but I can’t tell you how this Celtic season is going to go moving forward. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. People want to tank. People want to go for it. I have no idea how it’s going to go. We have to We have to figure this out. Sunday’s going to be interesting. I’ll be here after the Sunday game. This is the Saturday podcast. I get a day off from podcasting for the first time in two weeks. I’m going to enjoy it. But this podcast is daily Monday through Friday. So, thank you so much for being here with me all of those days. I appreciate it. Uh, make sure that you’re in the comment section and then make sure you share the podcast. Tell everybody they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast. Here on the Lockdown Podcast Network, it’s your team every day.

Boston Celtics stumble against Orlando Magic following a late-game turnover—did a single “brain fart” cost them victory and momentum in the NBA Cup standings?

John Karalis breaks down how Josh Minott’s fourth-quarter turnover shifted the energy, sparking a devastating 14-2 Magic run. The analysis spotlights Jaylen Brown’s leadership pressures, Derrick White’s uncertain offensive role, and the coaching challenges caused by wild lineups and missing depth. Key themes include Boston’s struggles with late-game execution, Orlando’s red-hot perimeter shooting (season-high 17 threes), and foul trouble putting the Magic in the bonus early. The conversation explores rotation experiments featuring Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, and Neemias Queta, plus how Jaylen Suggs’ hot hand tilted the matchup. Can the Celtics find stability, or is lineup chaos their new normal?

Boston faces crucial questions ahead of Sunday’s rematch—will execution improve, will Jalen Brown get more calls, and is this team bound for the lottery or a playoff run?

1:30 C’s late turnover costs them
05:01 Celtics Struggle Against Magic’s Size
07:50 “Momentum Shift Changed Everything”
10:06 “NBA Rookies Facing High Pressure”
19:05 “Celtics Experimenting with Lineups”
22:18 Jaylen Brown’s Comments and Officiating

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
DoorDash
Next time someone goes off for 50, use promo code NBA50 the next day to get 50% off on DoorDash with DashPass — plus your shot at the Bag Drop.
DashPass members only. 50% off up to $10 the day after a 50-point game with promo code. Terms apply.
No Purchase Necessary. Ends April 13th. Open to U.S. residents 21 or older. Visit DoorDashInYourBag.com for full details.
DoorDash — In your bag all season long.

Robinhood
You expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today at robinhood.com/yourmoney. Your money. Your move.

All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Options, futures, and crypto trading carry significant risk and may not suit all investors. Securities offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, member SIPC. Futures trading is offered by Robinhood Derivatives, LLC and not SPIC or FDIC protected. Crypto offered through Robinhood Crypto, LLC (NMLS ID 1702840), not FDIC or SIPC protected. Portfolio management offered by Robinhood Strategies, an SEC-registered advisor.

Gametime
Today’s episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNBA for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.

FanDuel
Right now, new customers can bet just FIVE dollars and if your bet wins—you’ll get THREE HUNDRED dollars in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app now by visiting https://FanDuel.com 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