Boston Celtics ‘CANDY’ win over Memphis | Need MORE Neemias Queta?

Boston Celtics ‘CANDY’ win over Memphis | Need MORE Neemias Queta?

Was the win over the Grizzlies too easy? And do the Celtics need more Nish Kada? We’re going to talk about that and more right now on the Lockown Celtics podcast. Uh-huh. Y ready to see who else could it be? What they going to say now? Screaming like JT coral recept every game, every practice. Prime time. Deon D White on the sideline. Marina and Jace. How we started raising business. How we finish. Locked on Celtics pod. Home of the winners. B. Welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here on the Lockdown Podcast Network where it’s your team every day. Your teams the Boston Celtics. I talk about them every Monday through Friday plus bonus podcast on the weekends when they play. So make sure you’re subscribed. Get this show on any podcasting app on YouTube. Get into the comments section. This show is free for everybody. So let’s have some fun together. I’m John Corales, beat writer for Boston Sports Journal. I’ve been covering the team for 20 years now. I’ve been doing this podcast for 10. I’ve written a couple of books. Thank you for making this podcast network, the Lockdown Podcast Network, the number one sports podcast network. The number one sports podcast network in the world. All right, just slow it down. Execute, John. Today’s show is brought to you by FanDuel. New customers, you bet five bucks, you get $300 in bonus bets. So, sign up at fanduel.com to get started. Later on, we’ll talk about Jordan Walsh. Is this truly his emergence? I feel like we’ve been faked out by a few emergences. Is this the one that sticks? Second segment. Nimish Kada. Do the Celtics need more of him. I’ve been a pretty strong critic of his, but maybe they need more of him. Let’s start with is this uh win over the Grizzlies? Was it Was it too easy? Did it really tell us anything? Did we get anywhere with this? And to do that, we’re going to get with Tom Westerhome, everybody. Hey, thank you. Thank you. How’s it going, Tom? I’m good, man. I’m stoked to be here on the Limited number one the number number one Celtics podcast. I’m like the champ in uh uh Harlem Nights. Anybody old any old Anybody old enough to remember that one? The stuttering champ from Harlem Nights? Not this guy. No. Anybody over and over here? No. Okay. The the people who cheered knew they they I’m on a real run. Any Oh, yeah. Okay. They got it. They got it. Delayed delayed audience reaction on that one, but they figured it out. They Googled it, right? Trust me, it’s a great reference from 30 years ago. Uh, nailed it. I’m on a roll. I’m on a roll with just ancient references that nobody gets. So Tom, the Boston Celtics beat the uh tar out of the Memphis Grizzlies. I hope the people listening could hear the air quotes because that really wasn’t much of a a team. Uh I didn’t care that it was a team that was so bad that we in the media were like, “Hey, anybody bring their sneakers? We might be able to get up a few points against these guys and make ourselves feels good.” Feel good. Yeah. Uh what what do you feel about how easy It’s good that you guys still have your swagger after the uh after everything that happened before the season. Listen, man. It’s all you can do. It’s like it’s it’s it’s like the uh the old wrestling jobers. They used to go out and we’d lose every match, but you’d come out and talk into the mic and be like, “Hulk Hogan, you’re going down.” And they come out and wax you and then Yeah. That’s that’s that’s weird. Where are the Jobers? Were the Barry O’s? Anybody? Anybody on that one? No. Yes, they googled it. Tom, what’s your take? Uh, yeah. I mean, I think I I think it So, here’s the funny thing, right? It felt like the be it felt like the preseason, right, where we watched the Celtics just beat the crap out of teams that were clearly overmatched because they weren’t playing anybody. Uh, the good news for the Celtics is that one counted. Like, this one counted. You get to put this one in the standings and everything. Like, it’s right there. That’s another that’s another victory. you’re one step closer to 500 after that one. Like I think my my my biggest takeaway from that game is that like it was candy. You know, it was it you know it doesn’t really do anything for you. Doesn’t have any real nutritional value. But you know what? I don’t know, man. Like sometimes it’s Halloween. Sometimes you go around and you get a bunch of candy and you just just sometimes it’s just nice to have some candy and like that’s okay, you know? Snickers, Milky Ways, you know, like like all enjoy if you want them. Like Sour Patch Kids every once in a while, you know, sometimes that’s that’s what’s you just need it. You need the reward. Yeah. You got a kid. Sometimes you need to dangle little piece of chocolate in front of the kid to be like, “Okay, I will do this thing that you need me to do.” Like, “Okay, fine. Here’s your piece of chocolate.” Like the Celtics, I thought, look, a lot of these shots that the Celtics got, they were missing in in prior games. Regardless of who was out there, those were shots the Celtics were missing. So maybe the process of getting those shots was a little bit easier. But I’m I’m just happy that those shots ended up falling. And if you need to get your confidence up against a bad team and be like, “Oh, yes. I do remember I am in fact Derek White. I am Payton Pritchard, not like some scrub that some people like bots are on on Twitter tell, you know, whatever.” You just kind of need that reminder that that reward. So, you’re right. There’s nothing really to take. Like when I talk about like it was good to see them execute maybe against the you know the better teams in the in the in the whole league against good teams they won’t be executing as well though you know the passes will get tipped and whatever but you know just to see it recognize it complete it just like good you did it nice let’s just take it and move on and just focus on the Clippers now. Yeah. and and you know to that point right there’s nothing wrong with getting a you know bouncing back from a loss getting a big old win and then having a couple of days off to kind of be like okay okay that felt good like you go into a break like feeling like okay all right this is good we can kind of regroup we can take a look at where things are get a better sense of of of who we want to play like like h how we want to play what what what’s worked hasn’t worked like it just you know it feels a heck of a lot better to go going to a little break here off a win. And I think it’s it’s nice too, right? Because it’s not it’s not the kind of victory that like leaves you with this like false sense of overconfidence like, yeah, we’re world beaters. It’s like, no, no, go into this break feeling good and you get to reexamine some things. And I don’t, you know, I don’t think that this team would lie to itself and trick itself into saying like, okay, yeah, like we’ve looked like a contender, you know, in the in the early going, right? It’s like no, there’s there’s a lot of things that need fixing, a lot of, you know, kind of areas that they need to uh pay a little bit more attention to, have a little bit more focus. Like all those things are true, but you get to kind of look at those with a more positive lens now. Like, okay, but we can do some of these things. And like, you know, you just that little lens of positivity, I think, is really important because like you said, we’re talking about like Derek White, Pton Pritchard. We’ve been talking all year about how they’re just they’re just missing shots. missing shots that it feels like they should yeah probably be able to make. So you get to look at all these little things that you can do to improve yourself and have that little bit of confidence, have that little bit of like, yeah, no, I can breathe. I can shoot. It’s okay. So, you know, you listen to Payton Pritchard talk about like, “Yeah, this morning I got my haircut.” And it became a funny little thing, but there’s actual something actually something serious there in that his in his mind, he needed something. He needed something to change. And so, yeah. Is a haircut anything? The haircut didn’t do a damn thing. Yes, it did. Look good, play good. Everybody knows this. But when you’re searching for things and you’re like, you know, look, I’m just going to get my haircut. I’m going to do something different. Like that. And Derek after the game was like, I tried just about everything. That’s a sense of I don’t know if you want to go as far as desperation, but maybe where like they they were 11 12 games into this season and like it’s it’s it’s still not you you don’t feel like yourself. You don’t feel like yourself and that’s that’s that can be debilitating, you know, if you let it go long enough. you when you start to not be yourself in any sense, never mind just basketball, in any sense, everybody has that moment of like, wait a minute, I I’m just I’m not feeling like myself and you know how that you it’s it wears on you. Well, yeah. So, that means the next time you miss an open shot, you just be like, h, you know, and that that gives the other team just a slight opening. Those things compound themselves and getting this performance against anybody. It could have been against the media team. Getting this performance gets you that feeling of like okay I feel like myself again if not for just one day that feeling of normaly is enough to make you feel good. Now you do you take that into three days of film and practice and shooting and you can go through all the little you get time to breathe and really examine everything. So I think I think that win was as important as any other win this season just for that reason. Yeah, it could be. It could also just be candy, but it it could prove to be very it could it genuinely it it could prove to be very helpful. I think is just really fancy candy, you know, you know, like it’s it’s it’s the expensive candy. It’s still candy, but it’s like you put a lot into it. You got to really work to to afford that candy. So, it’s like maple sugar candy, you know, like Yeah. You know, the the I don’t I don’t know any other expensive candies. I can’t like I’m a man of the people, Tom. I don’t have like I don’t have that kind of, you know, money to throw around. I’m just common common man. Yes. Anyway, Nimish, I don’t know what’s wrong. This is a Friday. This is a very Friday show. Uh Nimish Kada, it’s look, I still have my thing with him. I think there are things that he needs to improve greatly, but seeing the way they’re playing and having gone through now 13 games and seeing what has worked and what hasn’t, I think he and the Celtics both need to work together to figure out how to use him even more. And I’ll explain that when I come back. Today’s show is brought to you by Drip Drop. When I’m hydrating, everything just works better. My focus, my energy, my mood, even my beautiful, beautiful skin. That’s why I’ve been using Drip Drop. It’s Dr. Develop hydration that keeps me running at full power, no matter what my day looks like. Drip Drop isn’t your average sports drink. It delivers three times the electrolyte electrolytes and half the sugar of leading brands using a science-backed formula trusted by medical professional professionals, firefighters, and over 90% of top college and pro teams pro teams. Boy, you know what I’m going to do? 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Keep your body and mind performing at their best with Drip Drop. Today’s show was also brought to you by Wayfair. Holiday season is around the corner. My wife came home with little light up Christmas trees already, which means it’s time to get your house ready for guests, Thanksgiving desk, guests, Christmas guests, other holidays that you might celebrate around this time. You can head on over to Wayfair for their Black Friday sale. It’s here to help your uh space and make it shine. Best part, you don’t have to wait. Wayfair’s Black Friday deals are happening all month long with up to 70% off. From sofas to spatulas, we like to kind of mix things up every once in a while. I’ll end up seeing my uh text messages start to light up from my wife. Uh Wayfair links and I now I know it’s time to rearrange a room. Whatever your price point is, they’ve got it for you. Whatever your style is, they’ve got something for you. Don’t miss out on their Black Friday deals. Head over to wayfair.com now to shop Wayfair’s Black Friday sale for up to 70% off. That’s wayfair w afir.com. Sale ends December 7th. Thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Check out Lockdown NBA. Lockdown NBA game night. They’ve got you covered. Game night’s got you covered seven days a week for the uh every game in the association. Lockdown NBA has your Monday through Friday big stories covered all on the number one sports podcast network on the planet. Tom, watching the Celtics run through Nimish Kada, I think Kada in the short role is something that they’re missing out on for two reasons. Number one, the Celtics are missing him a lot of times on these roles. Number two, he’s not that great at stopping himself and making it a short role. And when I say we need more from Nimi, I think they need to see him more, find him more, and hit him more just so they can collapse the defense a little bit more easily because I think he’s seeing the game well enough where he’s making enough good passes where I’m like, “Okay, you know what? I think his passing has gotten better this season and I’m starting to be like I kind of trust him to make the right decision much like you started to trust Luke Cornette. But what he doesn’t do like Cornet did is stop on a dime in the middle of the paint and make the right decision. Uh he’s too out of control. His body is moving forward too much. He got an offensive foul against the Sixers. He survived one early in the game. Celtics missed the shot, but He just needs to be more aware of the defense and control in more control of his body. Something I say on every podcast basically. Uh but if he can do that and the Celtics can trust him in the short roll, then you can run an offense that gets it to him that he passes to, then he now relocates, dunker spot, uh goes and sets another pick, all that other stuff. I think that can really free up a lot in their offense. Yeah, I I think the biggest Nimi takeaway this season has just been like you can see all the work that they’ve that they’ve done with him in terms of like developing and progressing sort of his his basketball awareness. Like he just has such a Yeah, he does. He has such a better sense of of how to of what to do, how to move, where to be, all that stuff. Like it is it is significantly better. What you’re not seeing, you’re you’re exactly right. We’re not seeing him stop on a dime like Luke Cornet. We’re also not seeing him kind of make the same types of reads that we used to see similar, but but we’re not seeing the same type of stuff that we used to see from Robert Williams, right? Where Rob was Rob was a really good passer. Like that was something that kind of just went under the radar with him. I he’s such a when he was healthy, he was such a good player, man. He was really good. And like Nimi is not at that level yet, but I think that’s I think that’s what you’re kind of hoping to at least draw the essence of, right, is to get that level of that that that ability to kind of read things quickly, read things a little bit quicker than he is currently reading them. Although it has improved, but just just getting that level of of awareness, that that ability to to get the ball out. I mean, I think, you know, I mean, the other thing it sounds incredibly simple, right? But if you can find Nimi, like he he shoots like seven of eight frequently, you know? It’s the shots that he scores are so easy and he’s just like, but and that’s not all that’s not to say that he’s like doing nothing. The opposite actually. He’s very good at getting himself into positions where if you can find him, if you can get him the ball and he goes up to shoot, you know, there is a probably greater than 70% chance the ball’s going to go in cuz it’s, you know, a layup, a dunk, whatever, what what have you. It’s it’s it’s all really easy stuff. So, no, I I I I agree that like there there’s there is a lot of value in trying to find him a little bit more. Um, you know, not just because he’s better awareness-wise, but also just because like his shots are super easy and you know, easy offense is good. That easy offense is good. Also, also this team has really a lot of their offense is really tough. Like they’ve No, they do. So, so often against the good teams, they they seem to work hard. Like I I remember I during the Rockets game, which is their their biggest loss of the season, that was like everything the Rockets were doing seemed easy and everything the Celtics were getting seemed like, oh my god, it’s so much work. So, I can see the Celtics, you know, running a free flowing kind of offense where it’s just Nene setting pick after pick after pick and rolling in a way that’s almost the sacrificial cut more than a pick and roll. But against the good teams, it’s going to be too much to ask Jaylen to always get by his man and Derek to always get by his man. And you know what? Sometimes it’s not always easy for Kada to get all the way down from the setting the pick all the way to the rim. So make that read. If they’re packing the paint, teams seem to pack the paint a lot more. If they’re packing the paint, get into that short roll and make a quick pass. Again, the Luke Cornet limited kind of guy, but got the ball in that spot, quickly moved it just so somebody can reverse the ball and move the defense. And hey, every once in a while you get a a a cutter from the corner, and if he can find that guy, then all of a sudden things get a little bit better. I think there is a huge opportunity here in Nimi’s development, in this team’s development to get him into that spot, reading the defense and figuring out where the the next pass goes. And even if you use him as a ball reverser, something like that can be valuable. Uh because then he can go and set that screen. He needs to be better at controlling his body on those short rolls, setting the screens. I don’t know why he feels a need to crouch all the way down and look a guy in the eye. You know, do that little crouch thing. Just stand there and set the screen. I don’t know why he does that. Um, but whatever. It lets you get away with so much more if you don’t do that. Al Harford leaned so much and put his butt so far out into everybody’s way. like they let you get away with way more if you don’t like do your I don’t know what that is. And I think because every motion of his is just more exaggerated and look you you can look at even guys like um uh DeAndre Jordan who’s big but go watch him play he doesn’t have his arms flailing around. He gets even at his age, he gets he sets, he spins, he moves, his it’s purposeful. He stops his momentum. That’s where Kada has to get to. He has to get to that spot. But because he’s doing what he’s doing, sometimes he’s slow getting out of those picks. And if he can just be quicker getting out of those picks, making the right reads, short rolls, making the right reads once he gets the ball, now you got a different story. Now you got a guy that you can lean on a lot more this season. And then who knows what next season is. Do you get a number one center and you can now have Kada as like an incredible number two? Because I think that’s where this can go. I think Kada can be an incredible number two for the Celtics if he does all of these things. Yeah. So, Jordan Walsh can be an incredible three or four for the Celtics, but is this emergence real? Is this one going to stick? We’ll talk about that when we come back. Yes, Tom really wants to talk about that. Today’s show is brought to you by Door Dash. We just had another 50point scorer. And when you get a 50 point scorer in the NBA, Door Dash, the official on demand delivery platform of the NBA, celebrates it by giving you 50% off your order with Dash Pass the next day. And then they enter you for something called the bagrop. You can win the ultimate fan bag. We’re talking player inspired drip exclusive gear, stuff you actually want. So it’s not just food. You can get snacks, drinks, headphones, ice, socks, all of it delivered through Door Dash and Dashpass. So, when somebody drops a 50piece, you open up your Door Dash app. You got to have Dash Pass. You use a promo code NBA50. The next day, you’ll get 50% off on your next order with that Door Dash with Dash Pass. 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So check out Lockdown Fantasy Basketball wherever you got this podcast. All right, Tom Westerhome. This this segment was your idea. Jordan Walsh. Yes. is we look we’ve done Baylor Shyman done Josh Minot. Uh we’ve done Ugo Gonzalez. Uh now it’s Jordan Walsh’s turn. Yeah. Is this going to stick? Is this a true emergence in your opinion? Or are we going to start is the carousel gonna come around again and be like, “Hey Josh, your turn in the spotlight.” I think this one sticks. So I I think that what I think that what we’re seeing with Jordan Walsh right now is there there is there is enough unique skill there that isn’t because one of the things with Josh Minot, right? Minot plays really hard and he has all the measurables and I mean I think he’s I think he’s I think he’s definitely an NBA player. I think that he’s going to stay in the NBA for for a bit. Like I think that this season is going to be really good for him whether that’s with the Celtics, whether that’s with another team. We talked about that before. I think Josh Miner is is for sure an NBA player and probably a fairly long not like, you know, not till he’s like 39, but I think he’s like a got he’s got he’s gonna have a nice nice little NBA career. Yeah. I think what we’re seeing with Jordan Walsh, but the thing about Minot is is that his his skills, right, are a little bit less um specific. They’re a little bit more kind of that generalized. This is a a a a relatively talented wing with with great measurables, who plays really hard, all that stuff. With Jordan Walsh, there is a defensive presence that is like really specific. Like this is a guy who you put on Tyrese Maxi and he makes Tyrese Maxis’s life hell for a for like a really important part of the game. Maxi just can’t do anything. Maxi, you know, one of the best players in the NBA this season and you just put Walsh on him and said, “Yeah, go dog him.” And Jordan Walsh said, you know, ar like I got it. You know what I mean? Like, like it’s it. So, what’d he say? Arf arf is what I said. Okay, good. I said he was going to dog him, you know? Yeah. I arf. Yeah. Well, it’s a my knocked loose fans out there, uh, you got you you might have got the reference. All right. Um, so I mean, so cleaning the glass, right? Jordan Walsh 116 possessions, real small sample size, but plus 20.6 in the onoff. That’s 94th percentile, second best on the team behind, you know, Kada. So, um, like, you know, obviously the answer here is to only play Kada and Walsh. Walsh. That’s the all the the Allstar team. I think where we’ve landed as you’re I’m think where we’ve landed is do Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown support the combination of Nimish Kada and Jordan Walsh. That’s I think it’s clear Jaylen Brown does not because Jaylen Brown is minus 12.4. So get him off the team. He’s got to go. It is the Walsh. We need Jason back to figure out if he fits with these guys so we can he if he needs to stay or go. I guess I guess Jaylen can stay until Tatum comes back, but I mean it’s it’s clear it’s clear that this ship has sailed. Yeah. No, I I I but I do think that like Walsh is his defense is like outlier enough that I’m like I I think that what we’re seeing here is kind of an emergence. I do think that he’s like and I I I get that it’s again very small sample size. You’re 100% right that we’ve seen these guys cycle through, but this one feels different to me just because there is that skill that is so specific and is so helpful. So, I want that to be true. I want that to be true because I love the notion of a guy who was teetering on the edge, finding a way, getting this opportunity, and making the most of it. Like I would celebrate that because as I’ve said multiple times already, I’ve been like this close to being like, “All right, I guess you got to move on from Jordan Walsh.” I also have been in that position. Yes. I in the preseason was wondering if he would get cut. Yeah. In an effort to like save money, open up a space and whatnot. Yeah. So now that but look so much of this like you need a little luck along the way. You need a little opportunity. If Jason Tatum was healthy, maybe Jordan Walsh would have been cut. Yeah. And he could have hooked on somewhere else and maybe it would have worked or maybe it wouldn’t and maybe he would have gone overseas or who knows? Who knows? But because of the second apron, which didn’t exist when they drafted him because of Jason Tatum’s injury, which obviously is a new thing, here he is. like whether whether we were overreacting or not, it’s you got no choice, right? Look, man, he’s been getting DMPS. So now he gets this opportunity because he has to because you’re like Josh did something. I don’t know what it was. Or maybe it’s just maybe it’s just Joe being like, “Okay, we’ve gotten a little taste of Josh. Now let’s get Jordan in that same situation.” It it very easily could just be, okay, we’re going to run we’re running we ran a week of Josh. Now we’re going to run a week of of Jordan and we’re just running a week of all these different guys so we can get film on everybody and then figure out who made the most of it. That’s also a thing that could be happening here. But if Jordan is the one that sticks, then then great because that is a success story. Yeah. Sometimes you need the threat of, “Hey buddy, you might get cut here.” To have somebody be like, “Oh, okay. I need to focus up.” Not that he wasn’t focused before, but that little bit of desperation like if anybody’s ever been close to getting into an accident and you all of a sudden you just like that laser focus like comes in like you kind of need that like okay I need to really lock in and and maybe that’s what Jordan needed. Josh Josh is good enough too like he’s going to stick around too. I think he he’s going to be an important part of this too. So, am I I I don’t know if this is real. I don’t know if this is real, but he’s getting the opportunity. And right now, he’s making the most of it. I want to see it again. I want to see it more consistently, obviously. I want to see it five, six, seven more times. And if he’s still this good, then great. I want to see it against better teams. You know, when when the really good teams come in, look, he did it against Tyrese Maxi, so that’s a really good player. He, you know, went up against Jiren Jackson Jr. That’s a big dude and he kind of like was there toe-to-toe with him. So, good good starts. Keep it up. At this point, the only way to know that this is real for me is I I just I need to see it, man. I’ve been like I can’t be riding this roller coaster anymore with these guys. Very reasonable. Uh I’m I’m gonna ride the Jordan Walsh one. I’m I I think I’m in I’m I’m in on this roller coaster. If it chucks me off, it chucks me off. But I I think he’s I I I really like what I’m seeing. So, I’m I’m going all in. I’m I’m putting my uh putting my eggs in this basket. I don’t blame you. And for people, you know, if you’re listening, if you’re watching and you want to you want to do that, too, go for it. Like, part of the fun is riding a roller coaster of a guy and being like all in. I I look I I I I have that computer chip has been disabled in me and I only deal with like very vulcan you know reason and facts and like logic. I I can’t like just get on board. Well, okay, I shouldn’t say that because I kind of am starting to like the the UO Gonzalez. I’m I’m on that train. I am on that train. But I I can’t I can’t just irrationally be Ugo Gonzalez the uh let’s let’s uh let’s take a look here. Um Oh, he’s minus one on on off. H I hate to tell you that wonky Tom. No, no, get him out. Toss him out with Jaylen. These guys gone. Hey uh hey Sacramento, you’re you’re hitting the reset button, man. Can we Jaylen and Ugo for Demar D Rozan and some salary filler? Like what do you got? Listen, this team this team is taking way more long mid-range shots this season. I think Demar D Rozan is clear like he fits the system. You got to bring him in. We got We got Demar De Rozan. He wears number seven. Hey golly, he’s never going to talk to you again. Look, I mean that in the absolute most complimentary way possible. Jaylen is killing it in the mid-range. He’s just joking. In fact, that’s Jay King’s joke because I forget what game it was. I sit next to Jay in at the games now and uh he said this is like it was like a vintage Demar De Rozan game where Jaylen was like just smoking in the mid-range. And so it’s just funny. He’s He’s better. He’s better everybody. He’s better than Demar De Rozan. It’s just that the midis just kind of like make you think like, “Hey, man. MIDI master.” Like that’s it. That’s it. That’s it. There’s not It’s okay to be a mid-range master. I love it. I love it. Um All right. It’s a Friday. We’re done here, Tom. Appreciate you, man. Oh, man. I like just just We’re fun. It’s goofy. It’s we’re we’re here to have fun talking about the Boston Celtics, which we do five days a week after every game. Uh although, you know, I got to say that I’ve been saying you look, I do postgame podcast after every game except it will be except next Friday when they play against Brooklyn because I am missing that game for a wedding. So, that’s the one game I will miss. But generally speaking, I’m here for you Monday through Friday, plus bonus podcast on the weekends when they play. If you subscribe, the show shows up on your favorite podcasting app. It is free. It’s available there. It’s available everywhere. It’s available on YouTube. Get in the comments section. Share your thoughts with me, yell at me, scream at me, agree with me, whatever you want. Just do that. And 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 dominated Memphis Grizzlies, but was the win too easy to build real momentum? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm of Boston.com debate whether the victory provides meaningful confidence or just temporary relief, spotlighting the shooting resurgence of Derrick White and Payton Pritchard. As the team bounces back from recent struggles, the hosts dissect the value of “easy offense” and the impact on rotation ahead of key matchups against the LA Clippers.

Can Neemias Queta become the reliable backup center Boston needs? The hosts analyze his growing sense for passing, short roll awareness, and defensive challenges—raising expectations for his role this season. The conversation shifts to rookie Jordan Walsh, questioning if his defensive emergence is sustainable as the search for long-term bench solutions intensifies. With playoff aspirations looming, Locked On Celtics uncovers fresh narratives and critical lineup questions for Boston’s pursuit of an NBA title.

0:00 Grizzlies Win Recap
4:55 Easy Wins and Confidence
11:05 Neemias Queta’s Role & Improvements
14:43 Celtics Offense—Pick and Roll Adjustments
22:33 Jordan Walsh Emergence
26:55 Walsh vs Minott—Depth Decisions

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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.

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