Boston Celtics "CHEESECAKE FACTORY" offense: MUST BE ready for anything

Summary

Locked On Celtics – "CHEESECAKE FACTORY" Offense: Must Be Ready for Anything

Date: December 17, 2025
Host: John Karalis (with guest Tom Westrom)

Episode Overview

In this episode, John Karalis digs into the evolving and unpredictable nature of the Boston Celtics’ offense this season, coining it the “Cheesecake Factory” offense—overflowing with options, diverse strategies, and constant adaptation. Alongside Tom Westrom, Karalis explores how the Celtics’ ability (or at times, necessity) to shift between isolation play, ball movement, and various lineups—especially small ball—makes them both versatile and at times inconsistent. The hosts discuss the challenges this presents, highlight the strengths and risks, and reflect on the unique coaching and player dynamics at play in Boston right now.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Celtics’ Offensive Identity Crisis (04:13–09:48)

• The Celtics were recently ranked as high as 2nd in NBA offensive rating but have now slipped to 4th (04:13).
• Their offense is a blend of fast and slow-paced play, heavy isolation, and fluid ball movement, making it hard to characterize a singular “style.”
• John Karalis: “Celtics play too fast, then too slow. Isolate a bunch, then pass the ball a bunch. What are they? They're the Cheesecake Factory.”
• The team roster features multiple “genuine bucket getters”—players like Jaylen Brown and (when healthy) Jayson Tatum who excel at one-on-one scoring.
• Celtics’ isolation numbers are elite: 19 isolations (15 single-covered), averaging nearly 1.5 points per possession (05:53).
  • For context, pick-and-roll possessions yield significantly less efficiency.

2. Isolation vs. Ball Movement – Finding the Balance (05:53–11:54)

• Jaylen Brown is highlighted as one of the league’s best ISO scorers, carrying a substantial offensive load in Tatum’s absence.
• Matchup dependency: The Celtics tailor their approach to opponents (e.g., hunt mismatches like Duncan Robinson vs. Brown, but avoid ISO-heavy sets vs. turnover-dominant defenses like OKC).
• A danger of relying too much on isolation: It can leave role players disengaged and reduce ball movement, making the offense less dynamic.
  • John Karalis: “The last thing I want is for the offense to be predicated on, ‘Well, Jalen, just go get a tough bucket,’ because that's... too much for Jalen to do all the time.”
• Key stat: Role players’ shot attempts dip when the offense gets bogged down in ISO play (e.g., Jordan Walsh getting just 3 shots vs. Milwaukee).

3. The “Cheesecake Factory” Metaphor – Adapting on the Fly (30:29–33:47)

• John Karalis (30:29): “Here's what the Celtics are. They are the Cheesecake Factory. The menu at the Cheesecake factory is, like, 30 pages long… Now the Celtics have to be Cheesecake Factory chefs.”
  • The team needs to be ready to serve up any kind of offense—ISO, pick-and-roll, small ball, etc.—depending on the opponent and the game context.
• No singular style or “signature dish”: Boston needs to “do everything well,” adjusting quarter by quarter, sometimes even possession by possession.
  • Tom Westrom: “Just gotta do the thing that's in front of you…”

Memorable Exchange:

• Tom Westrom (32:55): “It is a shame that you came up with the Cheesecake Factory metaphor at the 32-minute mark, because that one's a banger.”
• John Karalis: “We're flipping this. We're clipping this. Getting it out there.”

4. Small Ball Lineups: A Solution or a Stopgap? (20:20–24:01)

• Recent skepticism among fans regarding the viability of small ball lineups, especially as injuries and absences expose depth concerns.
• Calls for acquiring another playable big man heat up as the “Chris Boucher experiment” and “Garza experiment” lose support.
  • Tom Westrom: “The small ball lineups will continue until morale improves or until another big [is acquired]…”
• Both hosts agree the small lineups are here to stay—at least until a trade, as Missoula seems to trust these lineups over seldom-used options.
• Flexibility is key: Coaches must keep “all options on the table” and adapt rotationally to each game’s needs.

5. Big Picture — There Is No Perfect Formula (24:01–33:47)

• The Celtics can’t rely on a single approach; every game might require a different recipe.
  • “They’re just not good enough to say, ‘This is the style that we play and we're just going to ram it down your throats.’”
• Role players need touches and bench production is essential—for example, “just 10 more bench points and you win that game” (16:43).
• Outlier shooting nights still haunt the offense; “hitting some threes would make a big difference.”
• Both hosts trust Joe Mazzulla to keep players on-task and suitably engaged, though games with extreme shooting variance will always look uglier and more stagnant than they might be in reality.

---

Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Versatility and Inconsistency:

• John Karalis (30:29): “They are the Cheesecake Factory. The menu at the Cheesecake factory is, like, 30 pages long… Now the Celtics have to be Cheesecake Factory chefs.”
• John Karalis (24:01): “You need... the depth available to give the game what it needs.”

On Isolation Play:

• Tom Westrom (06:29): “One of the most interesting things about this year’s team, to me, is the number of just genuine bucket getters. It has, like, guys who, you know, like, you just... put somebody in front of them, and they’re like, all right, bet, like, I can beat this guy.”
• John Karalis (09:48): “This year, Jaylen is Jaylen, and there’s no Jayson. There’s no second guy.”

On Coaching and Adjustments:

• John Karalis (33:47): “It’s crazy how much adjusting… every game is 100 adjustments from everybody all the time.”
• Tom Westrom (29:37): “[Joe Mazzulla] said basically, like, zone isn’t really a thing where you’re like, ‘oh, it’s good, it’s bad.' ... What really matters is just how it’s going in this exact moment, and if it stops going a good way, then we go to something else…”

Lighthearted Moment – The Chef Metaphor:

• Tom Westrom (33:19): “I also like the idea of Jaylen… just the mean chef, like screaming at everybody. There are the potatoes! I ordered the MF potatoes!”
• John Karalis (33:31): “Just him, like, putting two pieces of bread but, like, around Jordan Walsh’s face, like, what is this? An idiot sandwich.”

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Celtics offense "Cheesecake Factory" introduction: 01:39–04:13
• Isolation vs. ball movement discussion: 05:11–11:54
• Small ball lineup pros & cons: 20:20–24:01
• No singular style—breadth of options: 24:01–30:29
• “Cheesecake Factory” metaphor explained: 30:29–33:47
• Final thoughts and wrap-up: 33:47–34:30

---

Conclusion

This episode confronts the core reality for Boston: Success means mastering an ever-expanding menu of offensive and defensive approaches, blending isolation with movement, size with speed, and adaptability with execution. The “Cheesecake Factory” Celtics may induce headaches for fans—and their own coaching staff—but that ever-ready, ever-changing toolkit might be the path they need to survive in a competitive Eastern Conference.

For Celtics fans looking for certainty: You might not get it, but you’ll never be bored.

Transcript

[Tom Westrom]

Foreign.

[John Corralis]

Your team every day.

[Mrs. Claus (Younger Sister)]

Guys, thanks for helping me carry my Christmas tree.

[John Corralis]

Zoe, this thing weighs a ton. Drew Ski, lift with your legs, man. Santa.

[Santa]

Santa, did you get my letter?

[John Corralis]

He's talking to you britches. I'm not.

[Mrs. Claus (Younger Sister)]

Of course he did.

[John Corralis]

Right Santa, you know my elf Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list. An elf? I'm six' three. What everyone wants is iPhone 17 and at T mobile. You can get it on them. That center stage front camera is amazing for group selfies. Right Mrs. Claus?

[Mrs. Claus (Younger Sister)]

I'm Mrs. Claus much younger sister. And AT T mobile there's no trade in needed when you switch. So you can keep your old phone.

[John Corralis]

Or give it as a gift.

[Mrs. Claus (Younger Sister)]

And the best part, you can make the switch to T mobile from your phone in just 15 minutes.

[John Corralis]

Guys, my side of the tree is slipping. Kimber, the holidays are better. AT T Mobile switch in just 15 minutes and get iPhone 17 on us with no trade in needed. And now T mobile is available US cellular stores with 24 month legal credits for well qualified customers plus tax and $35 vice connection charge credits and imbalance 2 if you pay off earlier, cancel financing agreement. 256 gates $830 eligible for in a new line 100 plus a month plan with auto payments, taxes and fees required. Check out 15 minutes or less per line.

[New Balance Announcer]

Visit t mobile.com new balance hoops is changing the game with a roster built for the future. Aaron Neesmith, Tyrese Maxey, Zach Lavine, Cooper Flag is the newest NBA draft pick. And Cam Brink who's raising the bar for women's basketball. Whether it's the Hezilo V2 for quick cuts, the two way V5 for all around play, or the Kawai 4 for those who never stop climbing. New Balance Hoops makes shoes built for every player. Visit new balance.com basketball to explore more.

[John Corralis]

The College Football Playoff is everything.

[Tom Westrom]

Toughness, rolls, sacrifices.

[John Corralis]

Place your focus. This is where i50 everything you got all damn day. The attention to detail is like none other. Be physical. Keep playing. We are the winner. T takes on Ole Miss followed by James Madison in Oregon. It's time to bring it first round coverage of the Col Football Playoff presented by allstate Saturday at 3:30 Eastern on TNT and HBO. Max, are you ready? Let's go. Celtics play too fast, then too slow. Isolate a bunch, then pass the ball a bunch. What are they? They're the Cheesecake Factory. I'll explain right now on the Lock on Celtics podcast.

[Tom Westrom]

Uhhuh.

[John Corralis]

Yep, yep. Be town, be ever ready. It's the Seas who else could it be? What they going screaming like JT Corralics we kept the madness every game, every practice prime time Jeopardy White on the sideline Renin J's how we started raising ban is how we finish Locked on Celtics pod home of the winners. Welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here in the Lockdown Podcast network. Where does your team every day I talk about the Boston Celtics every day. That's your team right here on the number one Boston Celtics podcast on the number one sports podcasting network. Thanks to you, the everyday or people who are with me every Monday through Friday, I got bonus podcasts for you when they play like this Friday, Saturday night, I get probably about two straight weeks of podcasts for you. So make sure you're subscribed. Wherever you get your podcast, you can watch the show on YouTube and join me for this Celtics discussion. If you're new, I'm John Corralis, beat writer for Boston Sports Journal. I've been doing a version of this job for about 20 years now doing this podcast for 10, and I've also written a couple books about the team. Today's show is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account and use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase of tickets to all sorts of things. So go check that out. Today's show, we're going to get into a couple of topics. Later on we'll get into small ball lineups which have been, I don't know, I don't know. There's a little bit of a discussion here about whether the Celtics are better now with the small ball lineups, which has been effective, but now maybe not so much. And then isolation versus ball movement, it kind of is related in a lot of ways. And I'm going to be talking about that with our guy, your friend and mine, the one, the only.

[Tom Westrom]

You know, there's not. I'm not the one and only. And there is a Tom Westrom who works in basketball in Europe somewhere.

[John Corralis]

I don't know why. Listen, it's hilarious. I mean, God, you're just killing me here with the comedy rebrand as a comedy. Off to a, a wonderful start. All right. The Celtics have shown themselves to be a, a fantastic offense, generally speaking. In fact, I don't even know where they stand after last night's game offensively, but they were at one point the second offense in the league according to NBA dot com. Now at this point, they are. They have dropped to fourth in the league. So Denver New York, Houston, Boston. Three and a half points separate the three teams per 100 possessions. Okay.

[Tom Westrom]

That's a good company to keep.

[John Corralis]

It's a good team. Below them, the OKC Thunder, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the San Antonio spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers. I mean, that's. That is a bunch of, like, good offensive teams.

[Tom Westrom]

Oh, yeah.

[John Corralis]

Where's their best offense? And that. That is now coming into question. And I. I don't know where this goes, but you brought up the isolation numbers. The Celtics isolated 19 times overall, 15 times when they were single, covered, according to Synergy Sports, and they were at about almost 1.5 points per possession, per. Per isolation, which is fantastic. 1 1/2 points per possession is really amazing.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah.

[John Corralis]

And ISO. And so. And that flies in the face of, like, all pick and roll ball handlers. 36 possessions, 9.944. You know, all of the. All of the pick and roll numbers are. Are much less than the isolation numbers. So, Tom, is this team just better when it isolates? Because the answer here will have a lot of repercussions about these lineups.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah, so I. I think that one of the things that's. That's really interesting about the Celtics that we've. We've talked about a lot. Right, Is how well Joe Missoula utilizes his personnel. You know, last year, a lot of shooting, so they shot a lot of threes. And I mean, this year, they still shoot a lot of threes. They still have a lot of good shooters. Right? He's. He is big. Like, he's really does a nice job of knowing his personnel and then maximizing what they do best. And I think that's one of the most fun things. One of the most interesting things about this year's team, to me, is the number of just genuine bucket getters. It has, like, guys who, you know, like, you just. You put somebody in front of them, and they're like, all right, bet, like, I can beat this guy. And then they beat him. And then they get a bucket. And, like, I, like, that's. That's been one of the best things that Jaylen Brown has been doing. He's. He's been one of the best ISO scorers in the NBA, one of the better ones with huge usage numbers. As you know, we've covered a lot. Like, he gets the ball a ton, and he just attacks people a lot. And, you know, we saw it a lot against the Pistons, especially Duncan Robinson, like, just, you know, like, just really spent the entire game kicking his butt up and down the court. Like, he just. You know, like, he just. He loves to attack guys, but he's not alone. Right? There's, like, Peyton Pritchard can. Can go get a bucket. Anthony Simons scored all of his points, all of his field goals yesterday in isolation. There's just a lot of guys on this team who can go get a tough bucket. And, you know, it's. It. It's funny because it's. I think intuitively you look at that and you think to yourself, okay, well, I mean, you don't necessarily want all of your buckets to be tough, right? You don't. You don't want to be so reliant on difficult offense. But when the Celtics, like, that's what this team has. They've got a lot of guys who are really good at going and finding ways to score. That's going to continue to be the case when Tatum comes back. Right. Like, one of the reasons that they were so slow last year is because Tatum loves to slow it down and just beat his guy, and he's really good at that, too. So I don't know. It's. It's. I mean, it's a very interesting conundrum, I think, because, like, and obviously, you know, one of the things that you noted there, right, is like, synergy breaks it up into when the defense commits versus when the defense, you know, just. Just plays you straight up. And when the defense commits to an ISO possession, that can create great stuff because then you kick it out, and then you can, you know, start the. The wheel of death that the Celtics perfected last year, just, you know, moving the ball around the perimeter. So I don't know. That's kind of a long way of saying that. The Celtics have a lot of really good isolation players, and it. It does make for some interesting decisions.

[John Corralis]

So I think. I think this is maybe a lesser version of what last year's team was in that they still have a lot of ice guys who are best at isolation. They're just not the same kind of guys that they had last year. So, like, Jalen is Jason, and you know that that's fine. There is no second. Like, we've said this before in the podcast. Jason is Jason. Jalen is Jalen. Okay, that's fine. This year, Jalen is Jalen, and there's no Jason. There's no second guy.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah.

[John Corralis]

Okay. And so that's. I mean, you want to put Simons as the second best ISO scorer, that's fine. But he's not those other guys.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah.

[John Corralis]

And, you know, Derek can go do that. And Peyton obviously can go do that. And I think in certain matchups, so you get this matchup against Detroit and you see Duncan Robinson, it's like, you know what? We're not, we're not running all of these crazy plays and you know, we don't have to disguise things and move guys around and, you know, set three picks just to get somebody moving towards the rim. We're just going to say pick and roll. We're going to run something. We're going to get Jalen on Duncan Robinson, he's going to go cook and that's. That's your best off like that. That's it. In other matchups you have to run like when they play the OKC Thunder, they are going to have to run the best offense that they've ever run because that defense is a high turnover defense. And they're. If they try to isolate, they're just going to turn the ball over. They're going to get run out of the gym. So I think some of this is matchup dependent. But the reason why I said this is so important is because for them to win the way they've been winning, they've needed contributions from Josh Minot, Jordan Walsh, Hugo Gonzalez, whenever that is. Those, those guys that are getting the kickouts and nailing shots and when those kickouts aren't there, when it's all ISO. And these guys have to kind of like just stand there and maybe just be. Be kind of like decoys that, that, that takes away from the, the way the Celtics have, you know, piled up points. Jordan Walsh got three shots against Milwaukee, one of two from three. Minot got two shots, two, three pointers. That's not, that's not where they are most effective. You know, against Washington, Minot got seven. You know, he, he's. He's hitting these.

[Capella University Announcer]

He.

[John Corralis]

The more opportunities he gets, the more comfortable he is in the offense. And the Celtics can. Can rely on the gravity of these other guys to open up things for the, the, the. The other guy, the. The role players. And I think that's important because the last thing I want is for the offense to be predicated on. Well, Jalen just go get a tough bucket because that's. It's too much. It's too much for Jalen to do all the time. Jalen getting tough buckets in the first quarter against Detroit. Great. Then. Then some point something has to like, the guys have to start moving. And Jalen, to his credit, did pass the ball plenty. It's just that he, you know, it's just the Celtics didn't, didn't hit a lot of the shots that, that, that he created. I mean, he passed the ball 55 times in, in that game. He passed all plenty. So, and he what, touched it 94 times. So he passed it more than half the time. So like it's, the ball has to move somehow. I just, I think they need to strike a balance. Let's come back and continue this because I, I think maybe where we settled on this is it can't go too far one way or the other. And the best way to get something out of everybody is this balance of both. Where is that balance? We'll, we'll continue this in just a second. Today's show is brought to you by Skims. Now, I have talked about like my wife is, my wife has been wearing skims for a long time, but when we found out they were making it for men, she was like, congratulations, you're going to have the most comfortable underwear you've ever, ever worn. And I think she's right, first of all. And what we're, what we're not supposed to be doing anymore at our age. Gentlemen, come on, gentlemen, join me. We're not buying our underwear in bulk. Let's be grown ups. Let's treat ourselves a little bit. And what better way to treat yourself than with comfortable underwear that stays where it's supposed to be, stay, doesn't lose its shape, hits exactly where it's supposed to hit on the thigh. So check them out. Skims the stretch 5 inch cotton brief is, is my choice. I love it when I wear it to the gym, going out for walks with the dogs, it feels good, stays where it's supposed to stay and it's, you know, comfortable all day long. So whether you're working, traveling, working out, just hanging out at home, these feel better than anything you've ever used before. Underwear that's a game changer. I know it doesn't sound like something that should be a game changer, but it is. Shop Skims men [e-mail] when you place the order, click on podcast in the post purchase survey to let them know that we sent you. This is very important. You go to skins.com you buy what you're gonna buy and then the post purchase survey. Click podcast, select this show and they'll know that we sent you. Plus the skims holiday shop is open. So if you're looking for the perfect gift this season, skims has you covered. Locked on.

[Santa]

Listeners asked for more and now you can get it with the everydayer Club for just $5 a month, you'll get every episode ad free, plus access to our members only discord exclusive audio from Locked on Sports today and other perks you won't find anywhere else. If you never miss a show, this is the next step. Join the everydayer club [e-mail] everydayer club or visit the link in the show notes. That's lockedonpodcast.com/everydayer club, part of the Locked on podcast network. Your team every day.

[John Corralis]

Thank you for making lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Now if you're a die hard Celtics fan, you can level up and go ad free. Join the everyday club. To get locked on Celtics with no interruptions, go to lockedonceltics.supercast.com lockdown celtics supercast.com you get this show with no interruptions, members only, Discord access and more, all for just $5 a month or $50 a year. Locked on celtics.supercast.com or check the link in the show notes to get more. All right, Tom. So I guess, I guess I'm just weary of guys saying, okay, the isolation is working. Forget everything that we've been doing. We're just gonna isolate now because that, that's just, that's just the best and that's the easiest and we're just gonna do that. You know, I feel like Chidi with a yoga A's and F's and no, nothing matters.

[Tom Westrom]

Like, I don't want these guys and more ISOs. Nothing.

[John Corralis]

Yeah, right. Like, they, they do run best when Jalen is isolating for sure and going get going. But then the rest of the guys can't stand there and watch. There has to be movement, there has to be more. Because it gets too difficult when you're not getting the, you know, or anything off the bench. You're not getting anything off the bench. Like, you need, you need to get something. Like if the bench had just given them a little bit of something. Forget the free throws, forget the turnovers, forget all of the bumbling down the stretch, you know, in the fourth quarter, just 10 more bench points and you win that game. So that's, that's where they're going to get these points, I think.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah. I mean, two more three pointers in the second and third quarter and it's a completely different game anyway. Right. Like, it's. And that honestly is a big part of it. Right. Jalen's isos are gonna look way. Like the isolation is going to become really bogged down. And, and a problem is if the team shoots 21 from three point range, you know, for most of the game. Right. Like, that's, that's a big part of it too. The isolation works best when they're, when guys are able to knock down shots and can space the floor, and then everything just starts to flow a lot better. So like, I mean, to some degree, I think that, like, worrying about the isolation is, you know, like, like almost worrying about like a symptom instead of the cause. You know, like, you isolate if, no, none of your shots are falling and you're like, well, geez, I got to get a bucket somehow. All right, let's figure out a way to get Duncan Robinson on me and I'll, I'll. I'll get yet another bucket. I'll backpack this, you know, into the fourth quarter until somebody knocks down a couple of shots. And like, that's kind of what happened yesterday. But. So I do think that, like, hitting some threes would make a big difference. I think realistically, I think that the really encouraging thing about the isolation numbers is that, is that it does. It provides more opportunities. It's one of the reasons that they are the number four offense in the NBA is because they can go to that when they need to. Right. They hung in there pretty admirably despite going 1 for 18 from 3 in the second and third quarters because they have guys who can go get you a bucket in a worst case scenario. Do you want to be relying on that all the time for everything? Of course not. Like, Jalen's tired enough as it is. Like, don't, don't. Don't make this guy do, don't make this guy do more. Right. I mean, I think he, you know, you know, kind of cost the Celtics the game by, by missing so many free throws. But also. Right. Like, if you're, if you're taking that many tough shots.

[John Corralis]

Yeah.

[Tom Westrom]

I mean, you might miss some free throws. Like, it's a lot easier to miss free throws when you're tired than when you've got all of your energy and you're completely focused. Right. So, I mean, I, I think the good news about the ISOs is that they are good at them and they do have really good offensive players because to be a good ISO player, you got to be a heck of an offensive player. And so they've got that. When they can put everything else together, that's where you get a top four offense out of a team missing its best player. So I, I think the, the bigger issue is if you miss. If you miss threes. I, I don't really worry about the Celtics, like, standing around a lot. I think Joe Missoula's got these guys pretty well, like, understanding what they need to do. I think you're going to get outlier games where you miss a ton of shots and everybody kind of looks around and goes like, crap, what do we do now? And then Jalen says, I got it. And it's good that you have that option, but, you know, yeah, you're going to lose some of those games when that's. When that's the strategy.

[John Corralis]

Well, and this brings us to the small ball lineups, because for those to work, I mean, offensively you have to be able to score. And the only way to score with those lineups, like the small ball lineups are not going to be your biggest isolation kind of lineups. Like, those are going to be the. That. That has to be a lineup where everybody's just kind of flying around.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah.

[John Corralis]

And it's, it's the speed, it's. It's all of that stuff that's creating opportunities. Obviously, defensively, it's supposed to be very switchable and you're supposed to get turnovers and run and all of that stuff. But there I've seen just some rumblings out there about, hey, the small ball lineup is. I don't know anymore. And I think that the reaction is that, not that, you know, Chris Boucher or Luca Garza needs to play more. It's, hey, trade season is here.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah.

[John Corralis]

And, you know, the, the small ball lineup was a nice kind of thing here and there, but how about another playable big. How about finding a. The. I think people are done with the Chris Boucher experiment. I think people are done with the Garza experiment. And not everybody, but I think there's some people who are and they want, like, get, get somebody playable so you can have a, just a big in there and you don't have to rely on small ball. Josh Minot at the 5, Jordan Walsh at the 5, all of that stuff.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah. Reasonable. Right. Like, you look at, you know, you look at Cada's numbers and I mean, some of that is Keda has been genuinely good this year. Right. Like, a lot of that is Kate has been genuinely good. But it does make you kind of think to yourself, like, is Keita that good? You know, is he that, like, that. That you would improve the numbers that much? I mean, it makes you think like, hey, add another. Add another big man, and you've got, you're really working with something I think, you know, saying like, oh, I'm done with the small ball lineups is, is, Is fine. But I, I don't think that, like, I think that as, like for Celtics fans, if you're done with the small ball lineup, like, you can't be yet because, like, the small ball lineup is here to stay until they make a trade. Like, you're stuck with it for a bit. I don't think that they're gonna go. I, I don't think that, like, Chris Boucher is not. He's walking through the doors, but I don't think he's walking onto that court. Right. Like, I don't think, like, you might get some, some little bits of, of Garza here and there. You might. I, I still think I, I still think that there's like a place for a little bit more Tillman here and there. I, I don't know. I, I keep. I don't know. Joe Missoula clearly disagrees with me. And yeah, that's fine.

[John Corralis]

I'm with you. But yeah.

[Tom Westrom]

And look, Joe Missoula has forgotten more than either of us know about basketball. So, like, I'm not, I'm not gonna make like a big stink about it. It's just weird to me because I feel like there could be a spot for him. But yeah, we'll leave that one alone. The point being, like, the small ball lineups are like, will. Will continue until morale improves or until another big. Because I don't, I don't think that Missoula likes his other options very much right now.

[John Corralis]

I think, I think every option is on the table. Well, yeah, and that's the thing with these small, like, I don't think my conclusion is like, there is no single answer here that to, to put my, my absolute Joe Missoula hat on. To be like, you need, you need.

[Tom Westrom]

That locked on Celtics hat that Joe Missoula often wears.

[John Corralis]

Often. Every time. Like, you know, you don't see it, but I see it every day where it's. You, you can't. You can't not have that option that you like, you gotta, you gotta have the depth available to give the game what it needs. Well, let's. We'll do this one when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by. Game time. Game Time is here to help you get to the World Cup. It's here in North America for the first time since 1994. 48 teams. It's a massive event. But getting tickets, impossible, right? Not with Game Time. It's clutch. It's giving you a real advantage when it comes to snagging seats. You can track price drops in real time, get alerts when great seats open. Buy tickets the moment they hit the app and it puts the power back in your hands. Pull up the app. The layout makes it so simple to scroll through matchups and compare seat views, which is very, very important. That seat View feature is a game changer. You literally see what the pitch looks like from your exact seat before you buy it. You're probably going to a bunch of new venues if you're trying to get tickets to this. So that seat view thing is really going to help you pick a game. Tap a section. You have your tickets locked within minutes. No confusion, no hunting for fine print, no surprise fees at checkout. What you see up front is what you're going to pay. Take the guesswork out of buying World cup tickets every match, every concert or live event with game time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, use the code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again. Download the app, make an account, use the code locked on MBA for $20 off with game time. Today's show was also brought to you by Robinhood. Nobody knows your money goals better than you. Robinhood puts you in control of your money with tools that work as hard as you do, locking in on every opening, beating your pr, being it again. Channel that drive into your money. Robinhood puts you in control of your money Trade stocks and ETFs, options, futures and crypto all on one platform. You can now build and execute execute your own trades from a desktop with Robinhood Legends advanced tools or take advantage of the new Robinhood strategies with a tailored portfolio managed by a team of experts, you expect more from yourself. Expect more from your money. Get started today@robin hood.com your money again, that's robinhood.com your money. Your money. Your move. Thanks for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Go check out Lockdown NBA Lockdown NBA Game night I'm we're doing this before the NBA cup finals. Spurs and was it Nick Spurs Nicks and I'll be talking about it with Jake Madison. It's the only game we'll be talking about, but we'll be doing three segments not just on that game but on more. So check it out. Locked NBA Game night seven nights a week covering every game in the association. So check it out wherever you get your podcasts locked in NBA also on that same feed covering all the big stories in the afternoons so two podcasts for the price of one, which is zero because these podcasts are free unless you sign up for the every dayers club and you want to get them ad free. I think my final point here with this is like, I think the Celtics have no choice but to kind of, kind of just let go with what works like against. Against some matchups. Like I said before, I think just the matchup based, there's going to be some games where it's more heavy. ISO we get so caught up this preseason about. It's a style. It's, hey, they're going to play fast, and so you always want to see him play fast. And when they play slow, it's like, why aren't you playing fast? You told us this. Why are you lying? And then they, they isolate and you're like, oh, man, you said you'd be moving the ball more. And then you move the ball more and be like, wow, you're wasting Jalen Brown's isolation skills. And it's like, it has to be everything everywhere all at once, has to be just everything. Because you need. You need all of it to work. And the Celtics to win these games and to win like they. They had been winning before, losing two in a row, you need to hit the shots. Like you said before, you need Jalen Brown to isolate. You also need to move the ball, and you need to have Jordan Walsh and Josh Minot hit shots. And you need something from. If it's Baylor or Ugo or somebody, you need that person to hit something and you need Nene to be good and you need to rebound. Well, you also, you need to do all of that stuff. This Celtics team just needs to do everything well. And you just. There's no one formula. They're just not good enough to say, this is the style that we play and we're just going to ram it down your throats. They're not okc. They're not Denver, where you like, we have a style. We'll adjust in a series to like a little bit. No, this is a just quarter to quarter. It could just be like, damn, Jordan doesn't have it tonight, so he's out. This guy comes in. Or he, you know, he had a couple of stupid fouls in the first quarter. Doesn't make him less of a player. Just being like, damn, this was a bad game. Jalen had bad stretches in this game, right? Like, he had, like he said he was. His mindset wasn't in the right place. You just. Each game, each quarter, you think you have an idea of how it's going to go and then be like, oh, man, the ball moving isn't working because we can't hit a damn thing. So I guess we're isolating tonight, boys, and that's how it's. It's just got to be how it is. And one night we're going to be like, wow, the isolation really worked. And then the next night on. On Friday, if they lose to Miami, and it was heavy isolation, you be like, why weren't you moving the ball? Because you need. It's. It's almost like you can't win unless you win, you know? That's it.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah. I mean, it reminds me of. Of different topic. We all. We talked about talking about today. It was like, you know, Joe Missoula talking about the zone last night. I. I thought was really interesting because he. He said basically, like, zone isn't really a thing where you're like, oh, it's good, it's bad. It's just. It's just a thing you do. And then I thought it messed up their rhythm. And regardless of whether it's good or not, we got to be able to do it. And it's like, I feel like that's a very similar concept, right, where it's just like, yeah, I don't know. It's good, it's bad. Who cares? That's not really the issue here. The. The thing that, like, what really matters is just how it's going in this exact moment, and if it stops going a good way, then we go to something else, and then hopefully, we get a few good possessions out of that and, you know, either regain our rhythm or take them out of their rhythm, whatever it might be. It's just. You got to just kind of do the thing that's in front of you and.

[John Corralis]

And, you know, here's what the Celtics are. They are. They are the Cheesecake Factory. The menu at the Cheesecake factory is, like, 30 pages long. You know what I mean? They aren't like, they used to be fine dining. And like, this. You go like, I want fine diet. I want my, you know, steak au poivre. I want my.

[Tom Westrom]

You know, the chef is actually going to decide for me what I get. I don't get to choose. The chef is making his dish tonight.

[John Corralis]

Tonight's menu. Tonight's offering is. That's what the Celtics used to be. They would give you their offering, and that was it. Now the Celtics have to be Cheesecake Factory chefs.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah.

[John Corralis]

And it's just like, hey, we got A section. You. This whole section is Chinese food, and this whole section is pizza, and this whole section is Mexican. And it's like you're gonna. You're gonna get a slip of, like, four different cuisines. You just be like, all right, here's your. Here's your this and that. Like, that's what the Celtics have to be. And a small ball menu.

[Tom Westrom]

What am I gonna.

[John Corralis]

Yeah. When do we get the small ball menu? Just added it today. Would be nice if somebody told me, you know, all right, let's go.

[Tom Westrom]

This small ball menu sucks. 86 small ball. 86 small ball.

[John Corralis]

You know, they said they sent back the salt, the small ball. All right, heavy pick and roll. Let's give him a heavy pick and roll. You have. That's what you got to be. You got to be the Cheesecake Factory cooks, and it's just 10 different options. And on any given night and any given hour, you could be cooking anything, and you got to be good at it. And, yeah, if you are great, you win. If you're not, you lose. And it's tough because you got a bunch of guys who can be, like, on any given night, could be great at it, and then on other nights, can be terrible at it, and you just have to be like, whatever. So it's not even. It's not even just the Cheesecake Factory chefs. It's like, you got five chefs and one guy just all of a sudden, just. He's not making that chicken parm, right? Like, all right, you get in there and make the chicken parm. You go handle the salad. This is so, like, it's crazy how much adjusting. You know, we talk about adjustments. Coaches make all that. Like, every game is 100 adjustments from everybody all the time. It's crazy.

[Tom Westrom]

It is a shame that you came up with. The Celtics are the Cheesecake Factory metaphor at the 32 minute mark, because that one's a banger. That's a.

[John Corralis]

We're flipping this. We're clipping this. Getting it out there.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah, yeah, that's a good one. That's. That's. That. I. I don't have much to add. I. I like that a lot. As a comparison for the Celtics.

[John Corralis]

We're clipping that and putting it outside.

[Tom Westrom]

I also like the idea of Jalen. I wish Jalen was a little meaner, because then we could have, like, Jalen just the mean chef, like, screaming at everybody. There are the potatoes. I ordered the MF potatoes.

[John Corralis]

Just him, like, putting two pieces of bread but, like, around Jordan Walsh's face, like, what is this? An idiot sandwich.

[Tom Westrom]

Oh, no, we got it. Joe Missoul is the chef. Joe Missoul is a chef. Like, you're an idiot sandwich, Josh. You are an idiot sandwich.

[John Corralis]

He would. And he would say that to Josh. I don't know if that. He said that to me.

[Tom Westrom]

Yeah. End of the night, like, yeah. We get drinks together and, you know, because he can take it. It's all right.

[John Corralis]

All right. Well, that was fun. That's a good place to end it. Tom, appreciate you, as always. Appreciate you, man. And I do appreciate you listening, watching, and having fun with us because who knows what I'm gonna say and when. Who knows what Tom's gonna say and when we just say things, and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. So that's why you got to stick around for the whole show and every day Monday through Friday. So thanks for listening, thanks for watching, thanks for making this your first listen every day. And if you want to be in a part of the Everydayer Club and. And get this show without interruptions. Members only. Discord Access and more for 5 bucks a month or $50 a year. Locked on Celtics supercast.com if you if we're part of your Spotify wrapped, you can tag the Lockdown podcast network and they will give you a coupon. You get one month free. So check that out. Join the Everydayer Club and then I would love it if you shared the podcast and 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.

[Chase Sapphire Reserve Announcer]

This is a vacation with Chase Sapphire Reserve, the butler who knows your name. This is the robe, the view, the steam from your morning coffee. This is the complimentary breakfast on the balcony, the beach with no one else on it. This is the edit, a collection of handpicked luxury hotels you can access with Chase Sapphire Reserve and a $500 Edit. Get credit that gets you closer to all of it. Chase Sapphire Reserve now even more rewarding.

[John Corralis]

Learn [e-mail] SapphireServe cards issued by JP Morgan, Chase bank and a member FDIC.

[Capella University Announcer]

Subject to credit approval at Capella University. We believe accessible education can make a difference in people's lives. That's why we offer scholarship opportunities to all eligible students. Whether you're considering a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, our teams will walk you through the process and help you get the savings you are eligible for. Furthering your education is an investment in yourself and tonses que estasperando un futuro diferente esta Macer ca de lo que cres con capella University. Learn more at capella.

[John Corralis]

Edu The College Football Playoff is everything.

[Tom Westrom]

Toughness, roles, sacrifices.

[John Corralis]

This is where I think everything you got all that day. The attention to detail is like none other. Keep playing. We are the winner. Tulane takes on Ole Miss, followed by James Madison in Oregon. It's time to bring it first round coverage of the College Football Playoff presented by allstate Saturday at 3:30 Eastern on TNT and HBO. Max, are you ready? Let's go.