Boston Celtics SURPRISES at halfway point: Neemias Queta, Joe Mazzulla, & Anfernee Simons

Summary

Locked On Celtics – Boston Celtics SURPRISES at Halfway Point: Neemias Queta, Joe Mazzulla & Anfernee Simons (January 19, 2026)

Host: John Karalis
Guests: Bobby Krivitzki, Noah Dalzell, Jack Simone

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Episode Overview

At the halfway mark of the NBA season, John Karalis and guests take a detailed look at the Boston Celtics’ surprising success. They analyze what’s real or not about their performance, spotlight the biggest surprises (players and coaching), identify a few disappointments, and speculate on what could come in the remainder of the season. The conversation is candid, insightful, and steeped in the hosts’ sense of humor and deep knowledge of the team dynamics.

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The Celtics' Start: Beyond Expectations

[03:53] John Corrales:

• The Celtics are sitting in the 2nd seed in the East at 26–15.
• No one predicted the Pistons as the 1-seed or Celtics as contenders after losing Jason Tatum to injury.
• Most preseason attention was on the Cavaliers and Knicks.

[04:40] Bobby Krivitzki:

“You’d be hard pressed to find someone, even internally, who saw them having this level of success.” [04:58]

• Points to Celtics' top-two rank in net rating and offensive rating, and 2nd in points allowed per game.

[05:17] Noah Dalzell:
Believes the team itself (especially coach Joe Mazzulla) isn’t shocked by the success.

[05:38] Jack Simone:

• National media dismissed the Celtics as a "potentially 35-win, lottery team."
• Instead, Joe Mazzulla and the roster have maximized their talent.

Key Stat:
3rd in point differential per game league-wide.

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Why the Success Feels "Real"

[08:56] Jack Simone:

“It’s hard for me to truly put a pinpoint on what I think the Celtics can do this season because I don’t think there is one.”

• Notes that their success doesn’t feel “lucky.”
• The team has been able to win even when top players weren’t shooting their best.

[11:19] Bobby Kravitzki:

• There’s no “fool’s gold” here: growth feels possible, not regression.
• The team has room to improve via the trade deadline.

[12:51] Noah Dalzell:

• Celtics rarely get blown out and are competitive every night.
• Surpassing expectations is more about systemic improvements (offensive rebounding, turnover control, defensive scheme) than individual leaps.

"It's more systemic things than any one player playing above their weight." [14:04]

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Roster & Culture: Hunger and Buy-In

[13:27] Noah Dalzell:

• Points out that much-maligned players like Neemias Queta and Luka Garza have in fact been extremely productive.
• Surprises have come from unexpected places (like the frontcourt, rather than from, say, Peyton Pritchard or Derrick White taking an All-Star leap).

[23:10] Bobby Kravitzki:

• Attributes success to a culture of hunger and relentless effort:

"Every night, effort is one of the things that you see from them throughout those 48 minutes.”

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The Eastern Conference Race

[19:41] Noah Dalzell:

• Healthy skepticism: acknowledges that if teams like the Knicks, Cavs, or Sixers get healthy and hot, Boston could fall in the standings.
• Still, the Celtics' remarkable consistency and Joe Mazzulla’s steady coaching instill optimism.

[21:32] Jack Simone:

• Praises Boston’s “playoff mentality" in regular-season games—they pick on opponent weaknesses.
• The winning culture persists even as lineups change due to injuries or player moves.

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Biggest Surprises at the Halfway Point

Jordan Walsh’s Leap

[28:57] Bobby Kravitzki:

"...To see him all of a sudden get to the point where he earns 20 straight starts... more comfortable... especially from college where he would pass up open threes. It’s been very impressive..." [29:24]

Neemias Queta’s Breakout

[30:25] Noah Dalzell:

“The front court...way surpassed my expectations. I loved watching Keita in Portugal... but they really have, like, a great thing going.”

[31:19] John Corrales:

• Calls Queta the "biggest surprise by a mile," and credits his rolls and presence for opening up shooters like Sam Hauser.
• Emphasizes that even as a previous skeptic, Queta's impact is impossible to ignore.

Anfernee Simons’ Defensive Turnaround

[33:26] Jack Simone:

“He has gone from unplayable... to now, like, legitimately being, dare I say, a plus defender. It just goes to show that so much of the NBA is coaching, right?”

• Massive swing: from trade bait to a possible long-term piece.

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Biggest Disappointments

Josh Minott

[36:07] Bobby Kravitzki:

• Started strong, but faded out of rotation before his injury.

Peyton Pritchard’s Shooting Slump

[36:42] Noah Dalzell:

"He’s had a good year. But you are not going to ever enter those conversations when you start off in such a big shooting slip."

Derek White’s Efficiency

[37:51] Jack Simone & John Corrales:

• Both expected an All-Star leap in offense, but White’s scoring and shooting haven't matched high expectations.

"I just think the change in his offensive responsibilities hit him a little bit harder than I thought they would." – Corrales [38:50]

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The Joe Mazzulla Effect

[42:13] John Corrales:

“A lot of people who were critical of Joe Mazzulla have disappeared.”

[42:19] Jack Simone:

“The way Joe Mazzulla has gotten the most out of this team is something most NBA coaches wouldn’t be able to do... Coaches get fired because they have a system ... Joe Missoula said, ‘I’ve played this way the last two years. We have new players. I’m going to change the entire way I coach basketball.’ I can’t express how difficult that is.”

[43:27] Bobby Kravitzki:

• Praises the buy-in of players, mentions Garza’s belief he’d get another shot.
• Underscores Mazzulla's ability to adapt on both ends, change team mentality, and instill trust.

[44:43] Noah Dalzell:

“Jalen Brown’s gone out of his way ... to credit Joe and his coaching staff. And Jalen does says things intentionally ... Players have really respected the changes ... It’s an organizational thing, top to bottom.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• “Everything the Celtics are doing feels very controllable... It’s so real that it’s hard to put a definite prediction on it because it just feels like everything is clicking.” – Jack Simone [09:18]
• “If you say they’re not legit, then who is legit?” – Noah Dalzell, referencing Celtics’ league-best net rating [12:49]
• "Every night, every minute... this is a group that every night effort is one of the things that you see from them throughout those 48 minutes." – Bobby Kravitzki [23:45]
• “He hasn’t changed how he coached. He’s coaching the same way, but he’s instilled a different philosophy. He has done the thing that smart coaches do ... That’s what a great coach does.” – John Corrales on Mazzulla [45:33]

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Notable Timed Highlights

• [04:40–09:00]: Opening debate—how surprising is the team’s record and why?
• [11:19–15:10]: What’s “real” about the Celtics’ start—systemic vs. individual growth.
• [19:41–23:10]: How the rest of the East shapes the Celtics’ outlook.
• [28:52–35:21]: Rapid-fire segment on biggest surprises, spotlighting Queta, Walsh, Garza, Simons.
• [36:07–39:52]: Disappointments: Minott, Pritchard’s shooting, Derek White’s efficiency.
• [42:13–45:33]: Deep dive on Joe Mazzulla’s adaptability and organizational impact.

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Conclusion

Boston’s 2025–26 midseason run wasn’t expected, certainly not by national media—yet it’s no fluke. Systemic changes, player buy-in, and Coach Joe Mazzulla’s willingness to adapt have all been keys. Surprising development from Neemias Queta and Anfernee Simons (especially defensively) have steadied the ship, while even the disappointments feel more like unmet sky-high expectations than real failures. The chorus is clear: This group is legit, hungry, and built around a sustainable culture, with the coaching to match.

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For listeners seeking a pulse on the Celtics’ actual on-court surprises, the tone and insights of this episode—mixing optimism with clear-eyed nitpicking—capture exactly where the fanbase and team stand at the halfway mark.

Transcript

[John Corrales]

It's the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day.

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[John Corrales]

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[John Corrales]

Availability and eligibility vary by state. We're at the halfway point of the season. What are the surprises? Did we expect any of this? We got a big team podcast coming up right now on the Lockdown Celtics podcast. Lock on Celtics pod, home of the winner. Hey, welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here in the Lockdown Podcast network. Where is your team every day? Your team is the Boston Celtics, and I talk about them every Monday through Friday, plus bonus podcasts whenever they play. On the weekends, if you're watching on YouTube, behind me is the city of Detroit where the Boston Celtics are are playing on Monday. I am here and I'll have a podcast from Little Caesars arena after that. So make sure you're subscribed and all that stuff. If you're new to the show, I'm John Corrales, beat writer for the Celtics on SI Sports Illustrated. So make sure you're following me, following my work there. I've been covering the Celtics for about 20 years now, doing this podcast for 10, and I've written a couple of books about the team as well. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Open up that FanDuel app on Fridays. You'll get the NBA happy hour. You could also use the code lockdown NBA for on on FanDuel as well. So check that out. It's all there on FanDuel. So today's show is brought is about the halfway point. We're at 41 games in to the season. The Celtics are surprising what's real, what's not. I've decided to invite a few friends. Let me see if I can call them up here. Ah, yes, here we go.

[Jack Simone]

Here.

[John Corrales]

Bobby Kravitzki. No. Noah Dalzell. Jack Simone. What are you doing, man? Are you trying to keep up? Are you trying. Because you can't keep up with me, bro.

[Jack Simone]

John, your view was so spectacular that I. I felt like I was missing out. And so I decided to also move my hotel room to have a phenomenal view of the beautiful city of Detroit.

[John Corrales]

Is. Is that the city of Detroit or did you just take a random sunset over a metropolis? Is that AI generated?

[Jack Simone]

I accidentally googled Atlanta skyline first, so I had to switch it while you're doing your intro because I forgot what city I was in. But this. This is actually the city of Detroit.

[John Corrales]

I gotcha. I gotcha. Well, this is clearly the all star team or better known as the. The best three people I could get on short notice. So no, happy to have you guys on. We were sitting there watching the Patriots game together and I was like, hey, we should all do a podcast. And so this is where we are here. So the Celtics are at the halfway point of the season. Like I said, it's. It's a. A little bit of a surprise to me that the Celtics are sitting there in the second seed 26 and 15. They play it. Did any of you think honestly that here we are MLK day, that the game between the Pistons and the Celtics would be a matchup between the one and the two seeds in The East?

[Bobby Kravitzki]

No. Who, who had that? I mean, no one thought the Celtics this deep into the season would be second in the East. People were not talking about the Pistons being this either. The focus going into the year was the Cavaliers and the Knicks. Whether you were questionable about one of them or not. Those were the two teams widely regarded as the top two in the East. And yet here we are with a totally different landscape, with the Celtics, by the way, top two in net rating and offensive rating, second in points allowed per game. So you'd be hard pressed to find someone even internally, who saw them having this level of success.

[Noah Dalzell]

I think there are some people internally that saw this coming.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

Some.

[Noah Dalzell]

But with it, I think Joe Missoula is not surprised at the, at their level of success. But externally, I felt like I was being super optimistic when I had them winning 45 games, which would have meant with 22.5 games right now. So they're pretty ahead of that.

[John Corrales]

Jack?

[Jack Simone]

Yeah, I think the same. Honestly, I felt like I was one of the more optimistic people about what they would do, and they're on a pace for more wins than I thought they would have. So I feel like most people who aren't on the team, like Noah said, which they kind of should be expecting the most out of themselves, should be surprised at where the Celtics are based on, you know, the, at least the general population. I mean, you had national media talking about them as a potentially like 35 win. Could they tank lottery basketball team and Joe Missoula, the coaching staff, Jaylen Brown, Brad Stevens, everybody on the roster has just completely maximized what they can bring to the basketball court. And they're playing some of the best basketball in the NBA. I think they're like 3 3rd in point differential per game this season in the entire NBA, which is ridiculous.

[John Corrales]

So I think this brings us to a good kind of like divergence of opinions. There's the, the, the national view of, well, they'll, they'll just be terrible because they don't have Jason Tatum, which I always thought was ridiculous. There's the team view, which I know the Boston Celtics, the, the coaching staff thought that they could be a 50 plus win team, and that. That's. They're supposed to, like you said, no, they're supposed to think that the realistic view of this team, I thought, felt, felt somewhere in between. Like the coaches, the front office, they're supposed to sit there and say, jalen, Derek Peyton, all of these guys, they're good and we can be this, we can, we can optimistically be and it's not even optimistic. They just have a genuine belief in themselves. And they're supposed to have a belief in themselves. The outside view was just to dismiss all of that stuff. My, my take was I thought they were a 44 to 45 win team. Somewhere in that range. Six seed, which we're halfway through the season, and they're exceeding that expectation. There's always the poss. We just saw them lose three out of four. There's. There's always the, the chance that they could slip somebody. Like, my big thing is we haven't seen an extended absence of anybody significant. Sorry, Josh. My not. But anybody significant that, you know, Jalen came into the season nursing a hamstring. That's never bothered him since then. We haven't seen a sprained ankle. We haven't seen like a sprained knee. We haven't seen any of this stuff that's been bothering other teams. So we're still like in the wow, everything is going right kind of phase of the season. I expect there to be a little bit of a drop off, but I, I still think that where we've landed on this team is more, more on the. It's. It's between the optimistic view that I had that some of us had and the where the team is versus the optimistic view and where the national media was. I think, I think they're somewhere between the. Hey, I think they can be a succeed to.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

Wow.

[John Corrales]

The team thinks they could. They could be second or third. Who wants in on that? Jack?

[Jack Simone]

Yeah, I mean, it's hard for me to truly put like a pinpoint on what I think the Celtics can do this season because I don't think there is one. Like, I don't know that there is one. And even before you get to all the, oh, can Jason Tatum come back? What would they look like when they add a top five or perennial top five player in the NBA?

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[Jack Simone]

Everything the Celtics are doing feels very controllable, like very little that feels like, oh, they're getting like good shooting. Locker. There's good this, there's good that. Like Jalen Brown had a red hot start to this season. Like maybe that's variable. You can look at and say, okay, top guys outside of jail. Brown shooting terribly from three point range. Sam Houser went through a month stretch where he shot terribly from three. So you look at the way they've been able to win, while not everything has been going like perfect outside of the injury stuff that you're saying, and I don't really know what the realistic expectations should be from here. Like, it's really hard to set one. Like, I genuinely think this team can win the Eastern Conference. Like, they've, they've played the best teams in the league very, very well, and they've taken care of business against almost all of the bad teams they've played. Like, that's the, those are the characteristics of a winning basketball team. So if you're, if you're looking at win totals based on the first half of the season, I feel like what they're on pace for is like, pretty fair, but they can also exceed it. Right. Like, I, I just think we've seen characteristics of a very good basketball team all season from the way that Joe, you know, molded the offense and defense to the personnel rather than vice versa. From, you know, Jalen Brown's willingness to obviously, you know, get his, his shots up, but also finding a way to get other people involved. From Derek White's playmaking to Peyton Pritchard's game management to Anthony Simons becoming like a legitimately impactful defender after, you know, being viewed as one of the worst offenders in the league. Like, everything is just coming together and, and so it's really hard to put like a ceiling or prediction together for a team like this because the way in which they've been winning basketball games doesn't really seem like it has much flukiness to it. Like, there is no, like, the variation is obviously going to be there with shooting luck and stuff like that, but it just feels like everything they're doing is so real that it's hard to put like a definite prediction on it because it just feels like everything is clicking.

[John Corrales]

Bobby.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

Yeah, to that point, the Celtics don't. They didn't put a ceiling on this season and what it could look like and how high they could climb. That was the front facing message from them even before the year got underway. And then when we talk to coaches around the league again, pundits might have had one prediction, but they all say that they're not surprised the Celtics are having this caliber of success. And to Jack's point, not only does it feel very controllable and rather than looking at regression and some things where you say, oh, maybe this is, they're in over their skis and at some point it's going to come back down to earth, it doesn't feel that way. And I'm looking more towards the side of growth where you have the Jayson Tatum prospect looming. You have Anthony Simons continuing to get more comfortable and more impactful at both ends of the floor. Floor. And on top of it, you have the trade deadline coming up where even if there's not a big swing with Jaren Jackson Jr. Being the name bandied about now, even though the contract would come with significant ramifications, but even if they just find another contributor to add to the mix, they get better as a result of that. So I'm looking at it even more from the prospect of growth for this team as opposed to pointing to a particular area. Great. Granted, there's the whole they're having good fortune on the health front, but I still don't look at a particular area beyond that and say this looks like fool's gold right now.

[John Corrales]

Noah.

[Noah Dalzell]

The thing that's impressed me the most about this team is that they are competitive in every single game. Like, they truly have been blown out twice this year to the Houston Rockets and the Milwaukee Bucks. And other than that, either they're blowing teams out or they're right ended and they've had some close losses. And so you look at the overall standings like it's hard to bet against the team that has the second best net rating in the NBA from being a legit. Because if you say they're not legit, then who is legit? Right. The teams that are plus plus one net rating on the year. You know, the teams that have gone through massive skids like since starting own three, the Celtics team has been very consistent. Right. They lose two games and they always bounce back.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

That's.

[Noah Dalzell]

That's kind of been the name of the game under the Joe Missoula era. So there are things about this roster on paper that still feel like weaknesses that don't quite make sense. Like, I still worry in theory about a front court anchored by Miaskeda and Luka Garza, but then you look their production on the floor and it's like it's just kind of more of an in theory thing. And the thing that's been interesting about the season is everybody thought that if this team was going to surpass expectations, it was going to be because Peyton Pritchard or Derrick White, one of those guys, was going to have like an all star leap and just totally elevate their level of play. Or Sam Houser was going to go from like a role player to like a go to, you know, 15 points per game kind of guy. Like something like that had to happen. And none of those things really happened. I mean, I guess the only guy that really took a level that was already, you know, a high caliber star kind of player was Jaylen Brown. But outside of that, like we've talked a lot about this. Like, I feel like people have been disappointed with the Eric White's offensive struggles. You know, Peyton hasn't had like a massive leap as a starting guard for this team and that hasn't mattered because I think that was the preconceived notion from the outside around. Like for them to be successful is going to require an individual to step up like that. Where in reality I think it's just been the remaking of their system. Like Jalen talked about it the other day. But they've changed the way they defend, right? They're conceding different things offensively. Like the offensive rebounding has been remarkable. Like the way that they don't turn the ball over ever. Like it's more systemic things than any one player, like just playing above their weight. Even Jalen, like you look at his numbers now, they've come down to earth a little bit. So it's not like he's been on an absolute heater for the entire season and it's inevitable to crash. Like the last two weeks here he's regressed a little bit in his shooting. Numbers are more similar to what they've been for his career and it hasn't really been a problem for this team. They've continued to be one of the best teams in the league over the past month.

[John Corrales]

Let's take a second here. The rest of the East, I think they're part of the Celtics. Kind of where they are is part of where other teams are aren't. So let's we'll talk about that when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Fridays already feel different during basketball season. FanDuel is making them even better. Every Friday night before game slip off. FanDuel gives you the fan a new way to kick off the weekend with NBA Happy Hour. It's your official pregame, a limited time window when special offers drop inside the FanDuel app before the action starts. It's every Friday from 6 to 7:30 Eastern. You have appointment viewing with NBA Happy Hour. Open that up you get boosts, bonuses, surprises. So very easy to check the specials there before tip off and make a move before the window closes. And the timing is perfect right before the game start, right before the weekend starts. So it adds some energy to your Friday without overthinking it. Before tip off. Check out FanDuel and see what's dropping during NBA Happy Hour. That's every Friday from 6 to 7:30pm Eastern. When you open up the FanDuel app, set your limit, set your budget. Whatever you can afford to lose. If you go on a cold streak, don't worry about it. FanDuel will be there to catch you. So whatever your disposable income, whatever you could afford to spend on a night out, that's what your budget should be. Over at fanduel. Set that and feel comfortable gambling responsibly. It's a little basketball. It's a little action. It's a whole lot of Friday energy with NBA happy hour only on FanDuel, the official sportsbook partner of the NBA.

[Podcast Advertiser]

So everyone's deploying AI agents now, right? They're automating tasks, handling workflows, and making decisions. But here's the thing. Sometimes they mess up. They delete the wrong files, make changes you didn't authorize or just go off script. And when that happens, you're stuck trying to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. Unless you're using Rubrik Agent Cloud. Rubrik Agent Cloud is the only platform that allows you to monitor, govern, and rewind AI agents. One platform to help you unleash more agents faster without the risk it's running in the background the whole time, watching what's happening, making sure things stay on track. You get full visibility. You can set guardrails so agents don't go rogue, and if something breaks, you just roll it back like Undo, but for AI. And the rewind happens fast. We're talking minutes, not hours or days. Rubrik Agent Cloud gives you that safety net when you're experimenting with AI, so one mistake doesn't tank your whole operation. Companies like hospitals and banks are using Rubrik Agent Cloud because they can't afford to have AI agents making mistakes with sensitive data. It's the only way to get real control without slowing down innovation. If your business relies on AI agents, you need the ability to monitor, govern, and rewind their actions. Right now, my listeners get exclusive early access to Rubrik Agent cloud. Head to rubrik.com that's R U B R I k.com rubrik.com thank you for.

[John Corrales]

Making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day and making it the number one Celtics podcast in the world. On the number one sports podcast platform on the world the Lockdown Podcast Network. We've got podcast for every NBA team, every professional sports team. We've got everything covered. It's NFL, so you want Lockdown Patriots. They just won. They're moving on to the AFC championship. If you're a Broncos fan. Check it out. Lockdown Broncos. You got everything covered across the network. It's the number one sports podcast network on the planet. So if you want it, if it's sports related, we got it. All right, let's get back into it here. Looking at the Eastern Conference standings we talked about a little bit before. Detroit's number one, we didn't think that was going to happen. Boston's number two. We didn't think that was going to happen. Cleveland is sitting there at 24 and 19 on the rise, 7 and 3. In their last 10, they've won a couple in a row. The Sixers are starting to figure it out a little bit. Orlando is still kind of like middling, but can they figure it out? The Knicks are struggling a little bit and they're still third. Is there. I think when, when I look at what the Celtics have done, it's not necessarily Celtics specific. No. We'll start with you. Part of why I think the Celtics can drop to fifth or sixth is because I think there are teams out there. Maybe it's New York getting it back together. Maybe it's Cleveland getting, you know, healthier and being on a run. Maybe it's the Sixers getting healthier and being on a run. Do you think that there's a little bit of room in the east for other teams that we expected to be good, to get good and maybe surpass the Celtics? Not necessarily what the Celtics are doing and doing wrong, but other teams are just maybe better than the Celtics and they'll just drop back to where we expected them to be.

[Noah Dalzell]

It's definitely a possibility. And I think the biggest thing is on the health front, right, because it is very difficult to, you know, surpass, endure the absence of a player or two missing substantial time, and they haven't really had to deal with that. You look at the Cavs for all the disappointment over there, like they've had a very injury riddled season and that's something that has to be taken into account when evaluating them. But at the same time, the remarkable consistency of this team is why I don't see them kind of like plummeting down the standings. Like maybe, you know, maybe the Knicks will regain some footing. Like, I think they've been playing uncharacteristically bad over the last 10 games. If they're 2 and 8 or 1 and 9 over their last 10 now. So that's. I think water is going to find its level a little bit over there. And there's only a game and a Half separating the Celtics and the Knicks right now. But I'm looking down the standings. Like, Phil Dung is going to keep dealing with injury prone players. The 76 have injury prone players and so it's easier for me to like, expect that to continue. So I don't know that they're for sure going to finish the second seed. But we've seen that even the stretches that we thought they were going to have like a lot of trouble with, right. Earlier in the season, there's been a couple of stretches of the schedule where it's like, okay, this is going to be the one that really gets them. And they've just managed to kind of breeze past all those stretches. And so nothing that's coming up makes me feel like, okay, they're probably going to go on a losing streak here because again, I think that's a Joe Missoula thing, that when hit with him as head coach, they've never really had prolonged stretches of losing. Maybe last year around January was the time that they had the most inconsistent basketball under his, under his leadership. Other than that, like this, this organization has found ways to like, be very productive during the regular season. Like, that's, that's, that was one of the things that made me optimistic when just looking at their record is that they found ways, they find ways to win games when other teams don't during the regular season.

[John Corrales]

Jack.

[Jack Simone]

Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of season left. Anything can happen, right? The Knicks could get hot. The Cats could get hot. The Sixers could get hot. Like, that's just kind of how basketball goes. But the thing that impresses me most about the Joe Missoula Celtics, which we've seen for the past X amount of years, is obviously every team does this, every coach does this. They just have a knack for picking on whatever weakness the other team has. And obviously that's going to be what basketball is for everybody. But there's just something about the way the Celtics go about it. If it's the Cavs, it's Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell in every action. If it's the Pistons, we're going to make Kate Cunningham defenders and then, you know, we're going to send double bodies at the big down low to crash the rebounds and find ways to affect things there. If it's the Knicks, Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns are in every single pick and roll. It is like they, it's like they play playoff basketball in the regular season. And not every team does that. And I think it just gives them an inherent advantage when they are trying to, you know, remain towards the top of these standings. And it's been less obvious in the past two years, I feel like, because they've been kind of spoiled with just some of the most talented rosters in the league. But all of the same trends we've seen from the the Tatum, Horford, Porzingis, Drew Holiday. Celtics are continuing with uwu, Gonzalez and Jordan Walsh and Luca Garza and Anthony Simon's lineups. Like, you're. You're just. They're winning in a different way, but they're still finding ways to maximize the talent they have in order to pick on the weaknesses of other teams. Right. Like, that hasn't changed. Is it happening differently? Yes, but I, I just think they have a knack for finding ways to win that maybe other organizations sort of take for granted at times.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

Yeah. When you look at teams three through seven in particular in the standings, you recognize the potential of, hey, this is what it could look like if they put it together in an ideal world and if it goes well. Even though the Sixers, I'm way more optimistic about their future than their present. Nonetheless, you recognize that. But when you look at them right now, the first thought that jumps out to me with all of these teams, for the most part, is something negative. Whether it's the season that Paulo Benchero is having, which seems like just massive red flags to what's going on in Cleveland. Noah, you mentioned them being injury prone that court. Darius Garland is out for a little bit right now. And so I look more at the negatives of what's going on. It doesn't seem like Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns get along and enjoy each other's company. Certainly not on the court. And. And so the Celtics, Jack, there is one half of the equation is, to your point, them playing playoff basketball in the regular season and being dialed in on the details. The other side of it is what's winning the day for Boston is what's defined this roster going into the season. And it's how hungry this group is to either prove themselves in the NBA, period, or with more responsibility. That is a defining characteristic for this group. And so every night, every minute, to Noah's earlier point about, hey, they don't really have nights off, this is a group that every night effort is one of the things that you see from them throughout those 48 minutes, whether it's Hugo Gonzalez running around like a madman. Jordan Walsh, same thing. Everyone who gets in there is starving for the opportunity that they're getting. It's why the ones who came over did so. And even Anthony Simons talked about how eager he was to get here and prove that he's a winning player, despite feeling like that's not the reputation he gets labeled with. So this is a group that, the way they've put this roster together, I think the effort you're seeing from them is a massive part of the success they're having right now in the regular season.

[John Corrales]

All right, we'll get back to. I want to get some rapid fire here so we can get some more, some more stuff in. I want to know your biggest surprises, biggest disappointments halfway through the season when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by Game Time. Make sure you're using that Game Time app to get yourself to whatever game or other event you want to get to. If there are tickets available online, it's probably on the Game Time app. I love using Game Time when I'm in another city like this. I didn't go to a hockey game that was on tonight, but I could, could have gone. If I open up the Game Time app, I have done that before, especially like the beginning of the season, preseason when the WNBA is going. I use the Game Time app because very easy to get myself, first of all to see what's going on around town. And then when I want to go to something, the buying the tickets, finding the tickets, it's just a couple of taps away. I can see the view from my seat. I haven't been to any of these arenas in Detroit, so I can see the view from, from my seat if I wanted to buy a ticket and let me know, okay, this is a view that I like. It's not what you know, it's not something I'll go look for something else. At that point I can check out one of the zone deals and say this is the section that I want. And then they would find me great seats at a greater value. Plus the prices that you see include the fees up front so that what you pay is very clear up front. So whether it's an NBA game or something else, another game or maybe a concert or a comedy show or whatever, it's all there on Game Time. Take the guesswork out of buying these tickets by downloading the Game Time app, creating an account and use the code locked on MBA for $20 off. Your first purchase terms apply. Again, create an account and redeem the code locked on MBA L O C K E D locked on NBA for $20 off.

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[John Corrales]

Thanks for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Thanks for being in every day or being with me Monday through Friday, plus bonus podcasts like the one I did last night from State Farm arena in Atlanta. Those shows are all free, but you got to listen to an ad. If you don't want to listen to ads, you can join the Everydayer Club. Five bucks a month. You get ad free audio on every major podcasting app. You also get access to our Discord servers. You can get into the conversation around the NBA and merchandise drops a lot of stuff. It's five bucks a month. Or if you want to pay up front, it's 50 bucks a year to join the Everydayer Club. So please do that. LockdownCeltics.Super Cast.com LockdownCeltics.Super cast.com All right, let's get back to the conversation here. Let's. Let's try some rapid fire, because we don't have a whole lot of time left.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

What?

[John Corrales]

Let's start with Bobby. What is your biggest surprise this season?

[Bobby Kravitzki]

So there are two that come to mind. But the one that I will go with is Jordan Walsh, who he had an okay summer league and he was there as a veteran for Las Vegas, so that's not a great sign. And then he comes into the year where, at a minimum, he's fighting for his Celtics future. He's young enough that maybe he's not fighting for his NBA career, but it's possible it could go poorly enough that he's out of the league next summer. To see him all of a sudden get to the point where he earns 20 straight starts and you see him becoming such a trustworthy piece in filling that void defensively, how much better and more comfortable he's gotten in his role defensively and even more comfortable as a shooter, especially from college where he would pass up open threes. It's been very impressive to see Jordan Walsh's growth this season.

[John Corrales]

Noah, do you have a different answer or what do you think? Who's your biggest surprise?

[Noah Dalzell]

Is this a specific player? Anything in general? I'm going to go with just the front court, because I think when you look at this roster, there was reasons for optimism in other areas. But was, you know, a third big on the Celtics last year, Fourth big? Even Luka Garza never really played NBA minutes. And you look at what those two guys have been able to do on both ends of the floor, like, it has way surpassed my expectations. I had reason for optimism. I loved watching Keita in Portugal. Like, there were some great flashes there. Obviously, everybody knows what Luka did in college, but they really have, like, a great thing going with those two players. And I didn't. I can't say I saw it coming, truthfully.

[John Corrales]

I'm going to hop in here and say that Keita is my guy. Like, Luca Garza is for sure a surprise. But also I. He's just. He's also just doing what he does well. Like, it's a little bit of a surprise that it's going this well, but being a screener, being an offensive rebounder, maybe, you know, hitting a couple of threes like that all has been kind of what he's done. So he's just doing it better.

[Noah Dalzell]

Keda, for me is from three. He's what he's shooting 51.

[John Corrales]

So, I mean, like, he's just doing.

[Noah Dalzell]

Everything, like, the best he could possibly do it.

[John Corrales]

Absolutely. That's absolutely right. I mean, Caitlin Clark knew that he could do it, but, like, he's doing it. You're right. He's doing. He's doing all of the stuff that we thought he could do. But, yes, he's doing it much better than we expected. So it's a valid surprise.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

And by the way, getting better defensively thanks to the changes with the pick and roll that suit him well.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. And that's fair to me. Kada is a such a huge surprise and one of the major reasons why the Celtics are even this good because, like, Jalen is an e. Like, he's a good surprise, you know, a couple of other guys, you know, for sure. Keda to me, especially as a person who has been, you know, like, I did not expect anything from him. You know, I still get crap in the comment sections about, like, but okay, but after the Hawks game, I was sitting there saying, like, you know, he was okay. It was not great, but he was okay. And then I go back and I look and I'm like, you know what? Actually he was better than I thought. He was more impactful than I thought. Even though he didn't do certain things, him rolling and drawing defenders the way the Hawks were doing. Jack, I think you wrote about this too. The. The way he rolled and the. The. They were throwing two at the ball, which means when he rolled, someone down low had to come over and tag him, which means they were leaving Sam Houser. And the ball kept finding Sam. Like, actually Neemi rolling and playing the way he did was a big part of why Sam was able to get open from three a lot. And you focus, like, in real time, like, okay, that's. I see Sam getting open, and then you take a closer look, you're like, wow. The roles, the attention that he got was very impactful. So that type of impact, like, when you look at, he was a plus 39, I think, against Atlanta, and you say, how the hell Was he a plus 30? That's why he was a plus 39, because his impact was key to getting Sam open. And Sam just went ballistic. So I. I have to, like, Neemi is the biggest surprise of the season to me by a mile. And that's even including Jalen having, like, a first team all NBA season.

[Jack Simone]

Yeah, I was pretty low on Nimi heading into the season. Have been for the past couple years. And it's. It's been like, like beyond anything I could have expected. He's been extremely impactful. But what I would go with for mine, what I'm going to go with for mine is another guy that I was pretty low on coming into the season, Anthony Simons. Even from, like, I did a whole video on it from the start of the season to the start of December, he was a plus seven total, right? Like total. Like throughout 20 games he was a combined plus seven, plus minus. And when I, at the time I made the video, it was his 19 games since then and he was a plus 144. He had a higher plus minus per game than he did total in the first 20 games. And it's because his defense has been night and day. He has gone from unplayable. He scored 25 points against the Magic in the first half, then played eight minutes in the second half because they literally couldn't have him on the floor defensively against the Magic. To now like legitimately being, dare I say, like a plus defense. Like he's making a real impact on the defense event for the Celtics with his ball pressure, with the way he's rotating, with the way he is understanding where he needs to be be. And it just goes to show that so much of the NBA is coaching right, Like Anthony Simons. Yeah, very clearly has the athleticism to be a solid defender and it just took some time. He credited Ross McMahon, an assistant coach with the Celtics, just like for teaching him defense, which at the start of the year he was like, yeah, I didn't really learn that in Portland. Like they just didn't teach him defense. And you put him with the Celtics and now he's like an actually good defender. And it went from can they attach, should they attach a first round pick to dump Simon's contract to, oh, maybe they shouldn't trade Simons at all. Like it could not be. Like they, maybe they should just keep him because he's that good. And that swing in a two month span is absolutely insane.

[John Corrales]

That is good. That's good. I, I've definitely come around to the idea of keeping Simons. I think, I think, and this is a whole other podcast which I've talked about a bunch, I think the CBA has depressed the level of a player like him. So he probably could have made similar money in past contracts, but he's probably like a mid level player now. If the Celtics can keep him at the mid level number, then I, I'm all for it. I think it'd be the smartest thing for them to do unless just a no brainer center shows up. So I think we're on the same page there. Any disappointments quickly here. Bobby, do you have any disappointments from this season? Kind of hard to find them, right?

[Bobby Kravitzki]

Yeah, like I think it's okay to be disappointed by Josh Minot. You know, he didn't Have a nice bounce back. Shortly after he moved out of the starting lineup. But to see the way it's gone overall since then has been unfortunate. Where the talk was at that point in time, how excited people were to see what it might look like for him and Tatum and he's earned the right to be on this team next year and all of that, and to see where it's gone now, where even before the ankle injury he wasn't playing. That is unfortunate to see Noah.

[Noah Dalzell]

Not. Not necessarily a player, but I think Peyton Pritchard had a great opportunity this season to open up other people's eyes who don't see what he brings to the game of basketball that I see. And I think because he did not shoot the ball well to start the year and he's still not shooting the ball well from the outside, it takes away from being able to kind of like fully understand his impact on the offensive end. Like, he's had a good year. He's averaging more points than he has the previous year by like three points. Great assistant turnover ratio, one of the best in the league. But the fact that, you know, it's him and Derek. But I'll pick Peyton because I've always maintained that I think he has like a really high ceiling as a player. Some might say an ultra ceiling. This would have been a great year to showcase that. But you just, you are not going to ever enter those conversations when you start off in such a big shooting slip. And he just hasn't found a good rhythm from the outside, really all season long, which I thought a player of his caliber as a shooter. I thought it was going to come around at some point this year and it just feels like the shot just has not come around. So I'll say his three point shooting.

[John Corrales]

In particular, big blow to the, to your. Pritchard is going to be an all star campaign. Jack, do you have a disappointment other than Noah?

[Jack Simone]

Oh, man. Big shoes to fill. I. I think like Derek White deficiency may be a little bit disappointing. I. I think this isn't really stole mine. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

[John Corrales]

I didn't think anybody was gonna say anything about Derek White here, but good, go ahead. Good, good.

[Jack Simone]

I. It's hard to like pile on to Derek White at all because I've said this a million times. Like to Noah, to Bobby, like on air, wherever. I think if 1B doesn't play enough games, Derek White should be the defensive player of the year. Like, I think his impact on the court has been that ridiculous for the Celtics. Team. Like he does everything. He's like anchoring a defense like Rudy Gobert, 6 foot 4. It's. It's insane but it just, it just feels like he could have done more with the efficiency and the slow start got to him and the 2 point efficiency. Hasn't there been there. He's not making as many threes in the high volume and stuff like that. So it's a nitpick because I do think he's been a lot better. But it's just a little bit.

[John Corrales]

It is the classic. I set my expectations very high and.

[Noah Dalzell]

He didn't have me with Pritchard. Yeah, it's really like I'm disappointed in myself.

[John Corrales]

Right. Right. I set my expectations super high. I thought Derrick White was an all star player that was kind of like taking a. Like he was ready to become an all star. And I just think the, the change in his offensive responsibilities hit him a little bit harder than I thought they would. I'm still, yes. I'm still holding out that it's. We're only halfway through the season and a lot of perception is the what have you done for me lately kind of impact where in the next 41 games now I think we've seen a little bit of. He's more comfortable in what he's doing. He's figuring it out a little bit better. Maybe the Simons kind of ascension. Maybe some of these other guys. A Baylor Shireman who has done, you know, a nice job. Some of these other guys.

[Jack Simone]

I was hoping someone brought him up.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. Because he's like we don't have a ton of time but like he, he's been a nice little like not surprised. He's just, he's just done well.

[Jack Simone]

He's just everything. Well, he just does like a little bit of everything. It's right.

[John Corrales]

He has like a little, a little hand and everything. He's. He's done a great job but. So I'm thinking that maybe in the second half of the season Peyton can kind of live up to admittedly lofty expectations and I should not hold it against him. This is a classic media mistake. I have set an expectation in my head. The player is playing differently and it's his fault, not mine. It's his fault for not doing what I thought he was going to do. I didn't take into account that, you know what he is going to be the pick and roll ball handler a ton more than he was in the past and that maybe it'll going to take a little bit of time. There are There are things with Pritchard, too, with. With Derek, even with Jalen. Like, there are little things here and there that have. It just takes a little bit of time to get used. Anthony is a great example, too. It takes a little bit of time for them to just say, okay, this is how it's going to go. I have to get used to all of these new players. Derek is at the center of so many things that the Celtics are doing offensively that 41 games is still a reasonable amount of time for him to, like, take and need before he kind of figures out a groove. So I think I. I still have high hopes that the second half of his season is going to be like, whoa. Like, the rest of the rest of the league's gonna be like, whoa. Derek White really taking off. So that's. That's what I'm hoping for a little bit. I have to wrap this up. I'm. I'm not sure if my Internet is working, but I have to wrap this up. But I. I need to at least mention quickly, Joe Missoula's coaching has been incredible. And, like, that. I can't even begin. This is a whole other half hour that I don't have time for. But we were talking about this privately, like, during the Patriots game. A lot of people who were critical of Joe Missoula have disappeared.

[Noah Dalzell]

And that's what happens. It's just. They disappear. They don't follow up on what they said. They just. I just don't hear from it anymore.

[Jack Simone]

Yeah, I have a tab up because I was going to use this, like, in addition to the Derrick White thing, and that spiraled out. I have coach of the year odds up because I was like, there's no way he's top three. And it's ridiculous. Like, he. What he's done this season. And I don't want to take away from, like, how good Jalen's been. He's MVP candidate. Like, Derek's defense is ridiculous. I think Peyton Pritchard doesn't get enough credit for his offensive organization. The way that Joe Missoula has gotten the most out of this team is something that most NBA coaches wouldn't be able to do. You constantly see coaches get fired because they have a system, and then they get new players, and then their system doesn't fit the players. But they don't change their system. They just expect the players to adapt to their system. Joe Missoula said, I've played this way last two years. We have new players. I'm going to change the entire Way I coach basketball, I can't express how difficult that is. And that's coming from somebody who doesn't know a fraction of what Joe Missoula or any of these guys know. Like none of us do. Joe like the way he has coached this team and change the way like change Celtics basketball to fit what works is unfathomably impressive.

[Bobby Kravitzki]

Yeah, I'm glad we brought this up. And it's the players that have to go out there and execute. He's not a one man coaching staff and he has an entire organization at his disposal. Nonetheless, he has changed the system at both ends of the floor on the fly. It's a new roster, everyone pretty much is in a new role and the buy in from them within that including guys go out of the rotation like a Luca Garza for example. And he says this would happen to me in the past and I never really believed that the opportunity would come back but Joe would check in on me, I'd watch film with DJ McClay and I really believe that this time it would be different. So he gets his opportunity and he capitalizes and is starting to look like hey, if they don't make a move at the deadline for another center, I can hold down the fort. Look at this audition in this case, I'm building for it. And so the buy in, the ability to instill his mentality into this team and schematically changing their approach at both ends of the floor and have it going this well. Joe Missoula, to me you can obviously make a very compelling case for a number of other coaches, but I think he is the coach of the year right now.

[Jack Simone]

Offense is still 2 on ones though, in case you guys forgot. You still find the ones that's still the offense.

[John Corrales]

All right, well, we'll leave it at that. Noah, any final thoughts on Joe?

[Noah Dalzell]

No, I mean I completely agree. It's. I know he doesn't like the word buy in but that's kind of what this is felt like where I feel like Jaylen Brown's gone out of his way routinely to credit Joe and his coaching staff. And Jalen does says things intentionally like I do think players have really respected the changes that have been made the way that they have gone about things this year. And you know, yes, I give credit to Brad Stevens too because I think that if you brought in the wrong guys this summer, you, you know, we didn't. I didn't really see the vision with Ugo. I was like, why they drafted like a really young guy that's going to take years to develop. Like there's all these bigs that are ready. I don't think we really saw it all come together, but now you look at the offseason move as well. Like, it all seems to really make sense. It's an organizational thing, top to bottom. So, yeah, I mean, I was not a Joe skeptic before the season, but this, this year has certainly shown his versatility as a coach and that it's not just a reliance on having a bunch of hall of Fame players on your roster.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, my, my last word on Joe is that I, I think that I'm just going to push back a little bit. Jack, I'm not going to even give you a chance to respond to this, but I'm going to. He hasn't changed how he coached. He's coaching the same way, but he's instilled a different philosophy. He has done the thing that smart coaches do, which is he looked at the players and he said, what can, what's the best way to win with these guys? That's what a great coach does. I keep thinking about Greg Popovich who ran this insane defensive system when it was David Robinson and Tim Duncan and those guys. And then things changed and he had a lot of similar players, but then he became this very high level offensive system and it just. These guys know how to coach with who they have. It's just an incredible, incredible adjustment. So kudos to him. And look, Celtics are a surprising team. They're. It's hard to find a lot of negatives with this group and so I'm excited for what's going forward. Okay, everybody, Bobby Krivitsky, Jack Simone, Noah Dalzell, very happy to have you all up with me. Thank you all for joining me. And I want to thank everybody who is with me on a Monday through Friday basis. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you so much for watching. Very happy to have you on board. If you're new to the show, please subscribe. Watch the show on YouTube. Show is daily Monday through Friday, bonus podcast on the weekends. Now, I'd love it if you shared the podcast and told everybody that they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast here on the Lockdown Podcast network. It's your team every day. Martha listens to her favorite band all the time. In the car, gym, even sleeping.

[Noah Dalzell]

So when they finally went on tour, Martha bundled her flight and hotel on.

[John Corrales]

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[Noah Dalzell]

She saved so much, she got her seat close enough to actually see and hear them.

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Sort of. You were made to scream from the front row. We were made to quietly save you. More Expedia Made to travel Savings vary and subject to availability. Flight inclusive packages are atoll protected.

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