Celtics Lab NBA Basketball Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Sorting through the chaos of the 2021 summer free agency period Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

With Silly Season in full swing and the summer free agency nearly upon us, making sense of potentially explosive rumors, trade proposals and free agent signings can send one's mind into a tailspin.

The Boston Celtics might trade away longtime point guard Marcus Smart -- or extend him. They could end up dealing for New Orleans Pelicans point guard Lonzo Ball, Brooklyn Nets floor general Spencer Dinwiddie, Los Angeles Clippers veteran guard Reggie Lewis or a small army of other targets. And now we are hearing that we need to have a conversation about the King in the Fourth!

How to make sense of what might happen, what has, and what we don't yet know enough to say?

Join us for a pre-free agency edition of the Celtics Lab where your regular hosts Alex Goldberg, Cameron Tabatabaie and Justin Quinn dive into the madness about to descend on the league.

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Does a Bradley Beal trade make sense for Boston, and if not, what's next? Jul 28, 2021

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There are some strong opinions out there on whether or not the Boston Celtics ought to trade for Washington Wizards star Bradley Beal, but even if the team doesn't end up dealing for the potentially disgruntled All-NBA guard, they will need to have an alternative plan in mind.

To that end, on this episode of the Celtics Lab, we dive into our thoughts on a potential deal for Beal as well as some other directions the team might take in the short term in order to prepare the franchise for bigger moves down the road. We even have an alternate blockbuster in there that may be far-fetched, but then perhaps so are dreams of a certain University of Florida product in green and white.

Check out all this, some more draft chatter, and some news catch-up among several other topics covered in this episode of the pod, hosted as usual by Cameron Tabatabaie, Justin Quinn, and Alex Goldberg.

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Sniffing out value for Boston in the 2nd round with Bryan Kalbrosky Jul 21, 2021

Show notes

With every passing moment, Boston Celtics fans draw closer to the 2021 NBA draft, and while they may not have a first round pick, that doesn't mean the Celtics can't extract a valuable player with some careful drafting on the part of new team president Brad Stevens and company.

With that in mind, we brought in friend of the pod and NBA draft expert Bryan Kalbrosky of USA TODAY SMG to talk all things draft-related for Boston's 2021 options, zeroing in on some of the more likely suspects who could conceivably fall into the Celtics' range and a few more who likely won't.

We also get into the Olympics, trade rumors and a host of other news in the podcast embedded below.

So, join your usual hosts Alex Goldberg, Justin Quinn and Cameron Tabatabaie for the lowdown on where the Celtics ought to be sniffing around regarding the draft and a whole lot more.

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Will Yam Madar be a Celtic next season, and can the U.S. count on Gold? Jul 14, 2021

Show notes

The NBA's offseason tends to shift the focus of its fans to a more international context as favorite players spend time abroad and potential overseas players come into focus for the season to come. But in an Olympics year in particular, we can find the league's media attention focused outside the ambit of the NBA even more than usual.

And for fans of the Boston Celtics, a much-anticipated guard previously stashed abroad coming stateside in one Yam Madar makes for a most cosmopolitan basketball summer. To that end, we brought on Sports Rabbi's Moshe Halickman to get us up to speed on Madar's potential in the NBA, and some context about what he's accomplished so far.

Halickman has covered the Beit Dagan native including breaking his contract arbitration news, and has plenty to say that won't be slowing down the Yamaniacs and their hype train any time soon.

Our regular hosts of Cam Tabatabaie, Alex Goldberg and Justin Quinn also talk Team USA's struggles with Celtics Lab O.G. Josh Coyne (also of Double Clutch U.K.) to get an unbiased perspective on just how much we ought to be worrying about the potential of the U.S. National Team.

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Talking Tatum and Yam in Sin City, and saying the quiet part out loud Jul 07, 2021

Show notes

While there isn't any Boston Celtics basketball to watch, there is news of current and possibly future Celtics gearing up to play some roundball in Las Vegas. There's also several Boston alumni about to play in the 2021 NBA Finals to keep us busy basketball-wise, and some disheartening commentary regarding covering them making the rounds.

On this episode of the Celtics Lab, hosts Cameron Tabatabie, Alex Goldberg and Justin Quinn talk about Jayson Tatum and Team USA prepping for the Tokyo Olympics in Sin City, the news stashed 2020 guard prospect Yam Madar may join the Celtics' Summer League squad slated to take the court in Las Vegas later this summer.

They also address the controversy over Rachel Nichol's comments regarding Finals coverage that's in the news for all the wrong reasons.

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Talking Al's return and the new-look Boston Celtics with Anna Horford Jun 30, 2021

Show notes

While it might have been a trade that not only was predicted by half the Boston Celtics media, it's also one the fanbase effectively wished into existence -- the deal in question of course being the Al Horford return to the Celtics from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And with Al comes the Horford clan, and friend of the podcast Anna in particular. A Boston lifer who was as happy as anyone -- maybe even Al -- that her brother is back in green and white, we had to catch up with Anna to talk Al's return, her thoughts on the Celtics as they are currently composed and some thoughts on NBA fandom from her unique perspective.

Check out the pod embedded below to hear her thoughts on the Horfords' return and the new-look Celtics under head coach Ime Udoka.

Join hosts Alex Goldberg, Cameron Tabatabaie and Justin Quinn as they catch up with the host of the CLNS Podcast "Horford Happy Hour" to talk all things Boston, and Al.

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Ime Udoka hired as head coach, Al Horford speaks on return Jun 24, 2021

Show notes

The Boston Celtics have a new head coach in former Brooklyn Nets assistant Ime Udoka, and former Celtic big man Al Horford made his first appearance with the press after his trade back to the team from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With all this in mind, we felt we needed to make an early podcast appearance to discuss some of the significant goings-on with the team, taking the temperature of the Udoka hire and talking through our excitement --and Al's -- for the return of Horford to the Celtics. In a week of significant change for the team, we just couldn't wait any longer to talk through some serious developments for Boston.

Listen to the podcast embedded below to get up to speed on the Celtics' new coach, Horford's fit in today's Boston roster and more with your usual hosts Justin Quinn, Alex Goldberg and Cameron Tabatabaie.

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Talking Kyrie's exit, logo stomps and activism with author Matt Sullivan Jun 23, 2021

Show notes

While it might be an era many Boston Celtics fans would prefer to forget, the story of Kyrie Irving's exit to join a Brooklyn Nets superteam is a window into some uncomfortable truths about the city and a subset of the team's fans. And while certainly no stranger to self-created controversies through his communicative style and mercurial persona, there's still quite a lot of ties between the former Celtic and several contemporary Boston players. To simply focus on broken promises and over-the-top gestures in questionable taste misses much of a story about today's NBA and even the Celtics that should be told.

To that end, former Bleacher Report and Esquire editor Matt Sullivan wrote a new book detailing Irving's exit from Boston to form the Nets as we know them in the present, touching on how franchise icons like Bill Russell helped shape his decision to decamp. Sullivan's book, "Can't Knock The Hustle" also deals extensively with activism in light of the broader societal upheaval taking place as a backdrop to the so-called "Disney Bubble," which of course was inseparable from Jaylen Brown's activism and voice. Join us on a special episode of the Celtics Lab with your usual hosts Cam Tabatabaie, Justin Quinn, and Alex Goldberg. We take a deep dive into Sullivan's recently-released book, the stories behind it, and how it intersects with issues much bigger than basketball -- and be sure to stick around to the end of our conversation.

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Hello again, goodbye; Boston deals Kemba Walker to OKC for old friend Al Horford Jun 19, 2021

Show notes

Al Horford is a Boston Celtic again and Kemba Walker is now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Moses Brown -- the big from that team you probably hadn't heard of before he hung 21 points and 23 rebounds on the Celtics -- is also headed to Boston in a trade that took most by surprise in timing if not structure. Boston's first-round pick is headed to Sam Presti's ever-growing war chest while both teams swap second-rounders, and there's a host of things to discuss from cap implications to the fit of the players with plenty more in-between. To that end, we hosted an emergency Celtics Lab podcast with the editor of our sister site Thunder Wire, Logan Newman, along with our fellow USA TODAY family cap expert, Yossi Gozslan of HoopsHype. We talk all things Horford reunion, try to divine what our favorite UConn product will be doing in his new home, what this means for team-building in the short term and run the gamut of imminent concerns for the Celtics and the Thunder after this deal set the stage for the Brad Stevens era as Boston's team president. Listen to the podcast embedded above to get up to speed on the trade with your usual hosts Justin Quinn and Alex Goldberg -- and don't worry, Cameron Tabatabaie wasn't included in the trade, he just had the night off.

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Breaking down Boston's coaching search, offseason with Cedric Maxwell Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

Former NBA Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell helped bring two titles to the Boston Celtics, and played his career under a number of famed coaches of the storied franchise, so he knew a thing or two about the dynamics a coaching change can have on a team with title aspirations even before he tried his hand at the trade himself.

And now with the Celtics neck-deep in a coaching search, Maxwell has made a point to call for a person of color -- perhaps even a woman -- as the next head coach of the team he once carried on his back to win one of the 17 banners hanging in the rafters of TD Garden. We were lucky enough to have the Boston great join us on this most recent episode of the Celtics Lab, where we talk not only what sort of head coach Boston's front office ought to hire, but also the moves the team should make this critical offseason, the apparent lack of fight the team displayed at times last season, and a lot more.

Join your usual hosts Justin Quinn, Alex Goldberg and Cameron Tabatabaie on this episode to get the low down on the Celtics shake-up from our special guest.

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