Celtics Banner 19 TIMELINE | Will Tatum's PRIME Be WASTED? - Flashcard Friday

Summary

Locked On Celtics - Flashcard Friday: Celtics Banner 19 Timeline & Tatum’s Prime

Date: September 5, 2025
Host: John Karalis (with guest Tom Westerholm)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Locked On Celtics features a lively "Flashcard Friday" format, where host John Karalis and Celtics analyst Tom Westerholm draw random, fan-submitted topics and offer unscripted thoughts. The main theme circles around the future of the Celtics—specifically, when Banner 19 (the next championship) will come, and whether Jayson Tatum’s prime will be wasted. Along the way, they tackle Celtics Mount Rushmore, favorite non-Celtics, draft pick regrets, player development, and the challenge of being a “regular fan” after working the beat. The tone is conversational, honest, and sometimes nostalgic, with insights for diehard Celtics followers.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Celtics Mount Rushmore

[04:29]

• “Your Celtics Mount Rushmore. Four players.”
• Russell and Bird are untouchables for both hosts.
• Debate over the last two spots:
  • Karalis prefers: Russell, Bird, Koozie, and Pierce (with Tatum likely to replace Pierce in the future).
  • Westerholm: Russell, Bird, Havlicek, and Pierce (swapping Koozie for Havlicek).
• Quote:
  • “You can’t tell Celtics history with four guys.” — John Karalis [06:28]
  • “Mount Rushmore, the Celtics — you can’t get it right, and you can’t get it wrong.” — Tom Westerholm [07:06]

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Favorite Non-Celtics

[07:16]

• Tom picks Steph Curry: credits him as the greatest and admires his swagger and trash talk.
• John picks Grant Hill, noting Hill’s potential to be an all-time great if not for injuries, even though he played for teams John hated (“Without the injury...we aren’t talking about Michael Jordan or LeBron, we’re talking about Michael Jordan, Grant Hill or LeBron.” [07:54]).
• Other nostalgic faves: Kemba Walker (Yukon tie), Hakeem Olajuwon, Sean Kemp, Clyde Drexler, and Ricky Rubio’s electrifying rookie stretch in Minnesota.

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Most Hated Celtics Draft Pick

[14:12]

• Tom:
  • Terry Rozier pick (“absolutely mystified me” [14:19])
  • Fab Melo pick (2012), and the stash picks (Yabusele, Zizic) as disappointments.
  • “The absolute number one with a bullet: worst one was drafting Desmond Bane...and then immediately trading him.” [15:19]
• John:
  • Hasn’t been a huge draft head, but hated the lack of flexibility that led to the Yabu pick. Dislike wasn’t about the player, just how asset-strapped the team felt.

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Jordan Walsh’s Development

[17:35]

• Both agree: The G League isn’t an ideal developer, and Walsh risks stagnation if not tested at an NBA level.
• Karalis:
  • “He’s better than G League players...but he’s still not, I think, an NBA-level player.” [17:52]
  • “He plays too fast, still a little kind of hectic. I still don’t believe in that jumper yet. He fouls too much.”
• Westerholm:
  • This is a “last opportunity” year for Walsh—if he doesn’t earn a bigger NBA role, he’ll star overseas.
  • “He’s gonna have a long, highly paid basketball career...maybe some with the Celtics, but this is his last shot.” [21:16]

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Building the Perfect Celtic

[22:04]

• Fun exercise constructing a “perfect Celtic” by mixing current player skills:
  • Tatum’s build and shooting
  • Pritchard’s handle
  • Derrick White’s passing/decision making (“I call Derrick White the best pure basketball player on the team.” — Karalis [23:25])
  • Hauser’s shooting, Jalen’s explosion, Tatum’s footwork
• “If you took last year’s team and tried to build a perfect player, you’d basically just build Victor Wembanyama.” — Tom Westerholm [24:12]

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Banner 19: When’s the Next Championship?

[24:59]

• “Not to put you guys on the spot, but when will they win Banner 19?”

Outlook:

• Both agree: It will take a few years.
• Karalis:
  • “Next best chance will be the 27-28 season. If they don’t win it by then, it’ll be in the 2030s.” [27:14]
  • Urgency: “That might be the last, like, really good Derrick White season ... by that 27-28 season, it’s going to be like, ‘Oh, crap, I’m pushing 30, and this is all going to go away.’” [28:18]
• Westerholm:
  • “2028 is just ... there’s a chance.” [29:22]
• Factors: league’s evolving CBA, the fate of Jalen Brown, Tatum’s future, a shifting league landscape.

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Will Tatum’s Prime Be Wasted?

• Implicit in the championship timeline debate: concern over wasting Tatum's prime if Celtics can't rebuild quickly enough.
• No direct answer, but both hosts' urgency about the “window” and referencing aging core (“everybody’s...pushing 30”) signals the risk.

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Being a Regular Fan After Working the Beat

[31:31]

• Can you ever be a regular fan again?
• Tom: Found fandom again in soccer (Tottenham), but not basketball.
  • “Feels good to, like, be super invested, but not from a super analytical perspective.” [31:52]
• John:
  • “I don’t know if that’s possible. ... The job forces you to remove that from your whole thing.” [32:19]
  • No emotional highs/lows for team results anymore; job changes perspective, age mellows passion.
  • “Part of the job is taking that out of me, but part of it is...I’ve got bigger things to be emotionally invested in.” [33:23]
• Both agree: Still passionate about the sport’s beauty, less so about outcomes. John says he’s closest to “being a real fan” at WNBA games, but even there, analysis seeps in.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Karalis:

  • “Without the injury...We’d be talking about Michael Jordan, Grant Hill, or LeBron.” [07:54]
  • “You can’t tell Celtics history with four guys.” [06:28]
  • “He (Jordan Walsh) plays too fast, still a little hectic. I still don’t believe in that jumper.” [17:52]
  • “I don’t know if that’s possible ... the job forces you to remove that (fandom).” [32:19]

• Westerholm:

  • “Terry Rozier pick...that one absolutely mystified me.” [14:19]
  • “The absolute number one with a bullet: worst one was drafting Desmond Bane...and then immediately trading him.” [15:19]
  • “You almost get more excited for feats of athleticism than the results.” [34:16]
  • “You can’t get it right, and you can’t get it wrong.” [07:06]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:29] Celtics Mount Rushmore debate
• [07:16] Favorite non-Celtics, Grant Hill and Steph Curry love
• [14:12] Most hated Celtics draft pick
• [17:35] Jordan Walsh’s development and G League critique
• [22:04] “Build a perfect player” using Celtics skill sets
• [24:59] Banner 19: predicting when the next championship comes
• [31:31] Will you ever be a regular fan again?

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Tone & Style

The hosts’ tone is candid, casual, and infused with humor and mutual respect. Banter frequently drifts into personal nostalgia and quick asides, but the basketball analysis remains sharp, especially on roster-building and player evaluation. Across discussions of hope and frustration, the affection for the Celtics community is clear.

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For diehard Celtics fans or NBA followers, this episode offers a mix of insight, therapy, and genuine behind-the-scenes perspective—especially valuable in a “transitional” post-championship phase.

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Share your own answers to the flashcard questions in the comments, and tune in all week for more Celtics analysis as the show returns to five episodes per week!

Transcript

[A]

Foreign podcast Network your team every day. This is Jake from Lock Dawn. When the game's on the line, the best know when to pass because the.

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[A]

It's a flash card Friday you submitted these random topics. We are going to draw them blind. We don't know what's coming. We're freestyling the answers right now on a Locked on Celtics pod podcast.

[B]

Huh?

[A]

Be ever ready. It's the seas. Who else could it be? What they gonna say now? Screaming like J.T. corralis. We kept the madness every game, every practice, prime time. Jeff and D White on the sideline. Ren and J's. How we started raising banners. How we finished. Locked on Celtics pot. Home of the winners, baby. Hey there. Welcome back to to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here in the Lockdown Podcast network. It's your team every day. We're back to Monday through Friday next week so make sure you're subscribed. Wherever you get your podcast, watch the show on YouTube. Get into the comments section because we are daily. We are back. We are free and available everywhere. I'm John Corrales. I'm the host of this show, beat writer for Boston Sports Journal covering the Celtics. You might notice if you're watching on YouTube a little bit, not wearing the stuff I just was wearing before and that I will be wearing because we recorded the Flashcard Friday episode before I wrote my story on Kawhi Leonard. If you didn't see it go to Boston Sports Journal. It is free. I have learned that the Kawhi Leonard deal that side deal, if you've been paying attention, that has been raised as potential salary cap circumvention is bigger. Maybe twice, almost twice of what was originally reported. So that story is on Boston Sports Journal. Maybe you've heard it and you're coming here to listen to me talk about it. I just talked about it on Locked on NBA Game Night. So if you want to hear me talk about that. That's on Locked on NBA Game Night, go check that out. Once you're done with this podcast, do a segment and a half talking about the Kawhi Leonard stuff there and my reporting on that story. And it is on Boston Sports Journal. It's free. It's available to everyone. Not on a paywall on this particular story. Now let's get back to the Flashcard Friday episode with me and Tom Westerholm. I asked you for topics. I've written down your one sentence topics on these flashcards. We've gone through a ton of them. This is just a fun way for us to talk about something, but off the cuff, we don't know what's going on. When I say we, it's Tom Westerholm, everybody. Tom Westerholm. You find his work.

[B]

It's. This is nice. This is, it's, it's good to get the podcast off on the right foot.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Round of applause.

[A]

Yeah, it's better. It's better than.

[B]

Either one. I welcome your. I welcome the love. I welcome the hate.

[A]

It's like my favorite, one of my favorite Rick. Rick and Morty lines. Your booze mean nothing to me. I've seen what makes you cheer. All right, so people know the deal. I got random topics here on the flashcards. It's just a fun way to kind of go through stuff. We're thinking on our feet. Challenging. It's challenging. So let's go through. I've been, I've been just kind of playing with this, shuffling these up all along. So let's just dive in here.

[B]

And you're not putting your thumb on the scale this time.

[A]

No, no, I had. Yeah, I cheated because it was my own. Oh, here we go. Celtics. Your Celtics, Mount Rushmore. Four players on your Celtics, Mount Rushmore. I think it's fair to say two of them are Bill Russell and Larry Bird.

[B]

Listen, no, oddly enough, no disagreement.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

The other two are up for some debate. And, and especially now because, like the fourth one, it might be rotating.

[B]

Or.

[A]

Can we say Bob Koozie is, is there. He's the original.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Or is it Havlicek I think it.

[B]

Might be Havlicek for me. Yeah, I think it might be like.

[A]

I think, you know, Koozie and Havlicek. Or is it Havlicek? No Koozie for me.

[B]

I think it's Havlicek, no Koozie.

[A]

So then who would number four be?

[B]

Well, because I think if. I mean, if you. If you have Havlicek and Koozie, I think you're ignoring a whole lot of Celtics history that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Has happened since, you know, I. I think that, like, you can't get too, you know, ancient, historical. I mean, at that point, I think, you know, you're looking at Pierce. Right. Like, it's.

[A]

It's tough because Havlicek has been like the guys. The Celtics all time leading scorer. But there are a lot of guys that have. You can say he has a stake. I have to put Koozie on there, I think, because he's like the original. He's the original NBA superstar. So I. I don't know. I feel like you can't tell Celtics history without Bob Koozie. There's a lot of guys you can say that about.

[B]

You can't. I think the point is that you can't tell Celtics history with four guys.

[A]

Yes. Which is true.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But it's. I gotta go. I gotta go. Coos Russell Bird and Pierce. But Pierce is going to be replaced by Tatum probably at some point. But for now, I. I kind of have to. It's. Which is crazy.

[B]

Yeah. I. I would do the same Mount Rushmore with the same caveat about Pierce, except that I would swap Koozie for how much I could.

[A]

Which is totally fine. Which is totally fine. Legit. It's. It's hard to. Yeah. It's like you can't. Mount Rushmore, the Celtics.

[B]

You can't get it right. And you can't get it wrong. Like, it's right. It's tough.

[A]

Right. All right, here we go. Favorite non Celtics.

[B]

Oh. I mean, look, I. I've always loved. I mean, like, from a superstar perspective, my favorite non Celtic superstar is gonna be Steph. Right. I just. I. I mean, like, you know, as a shooter, to watch the greatest who's ever done it do it and. And just. I mean, and do it, you know, just such a killer.

[A]

Such.

[B]

Such a. You know, everything about him is just. And. And, you know, I mean, as somebody who enjoys a good, hefty amount of trash talk, you know, like, Steph is very disrespectful. I enjoy that as well, so my.

[A]

My favorite non. Celtic is Grant Hill, which. I mean, I will die on this hill. No pun intended. Grant. Without. Without the injury. Without the ankle injuries. We. We aren't talking about Michael Jordan or LeBron. We're talking about Michael Jordan, Grant Hill or LeBron. Like, I think Grant Hill was that good. He was everything. He had everything going. And I say this about a guy who, when he came out, my two least favorite teams, because that was still. I was still kind of like it was post bad boys Pistons. But at that point, I still had a lot of residual Pistons hate. And so this dude played at Duke and for Detroit, and I still freaking loved him. I hate Duke. I hate Duke basketball. You can blame Christian Leitner and Bobby Hurley for that. But I just always. I've always been unc in the Unc Duke thing. But Grant Hill was so good that it didn't matter that he played for two of my least favorite teams. I just. I think that he. He was. Oh, God, I can't. I can go on and on and on, but. Yes.

[B]

Yeah. One of my. One of my. One of my favorites. Non. What? Non Celtics became a. Became a Celtic and became a guy I covered, which was a little awkward. But that was Kemba. Oh, yeah. He was. He was always one of my favorites. You know, a Yukon guy. You know, I've always. I've always.

[A]

Yeah, sure.

[B]

Yukon. So. So I mean, I. I loved Kevin before that. And I mean, just aesthetically. Right. I mean.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

How can you not love watching Kemba Walker play? And then. Yeah, he became a Celtic, which ruled him out of this question.

[A]

So. Yes. Yeah. Okay. Who else would I be? Like Akim Olajuwon, for sure. Sean Kemp. Sean Kemp. Clyde Drexler. I loved. I love those Sonics. The Gary Payton to Sean Kemp. Ali. Oops. Sean Camp. Oh, my God. The Duncan Alton Lister is one of my all time. Like, that's just. I still think it's the best in game dunk in NBA history.

[B]

Yeah. You know, if. Okay. And I mean another, like, kind of.

[A]

Okay, here's.

[B]

Here's my random stretch. Here's my random one. So I was. I grew up in Iowa and for a while I was going to a bunch of Timberwolves games, which was the closest team. However, those Timberwolves teams were horrific. I mean, for like a long stretch. However, there was a. There was a very brief and shining moment during the first, like two thirds of Ricky Rubio's rookie season where he was electric.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

It's hard to explain post injury how Great. He was that, that first like two thirds of a season before he tore his acl and like, that was a, that was a real pivotal moment for me, like going to games and like going to as many Timberwolves games as I could and seeing Ricky, rookie Ricky Rubio say that 10 times fast and just, I mean, just a magical player. I think, I think if, if Rubio stays healthy, Derrick Williams has a different NBA career. He was, he was play well. But I mean, that Kevin Love, Nicola Pekovic, all those guys from that Timberwolves team that were just so fun. Yeah, man, that dude.

[A]

Yeah, he looked like the super, the Superman villain.

[B]

He is a villain. He's a criminal now.

[A]

Oh, is he really? That, that, that does not surprise me in the least bit. Okay, let's take a break and when we come back, which Celtics pick did you hate the most when it was picked? Which Celtics pick did you hate the most? It's a good question.

[B]

I gotta go do a little poking here during the.

[A]

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Mobile.Comnetwork thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen. Every day check out lockdown NBA season is around the corner when the season starts back up Lockdown NBA game night has every game covered and I'll be doing that on Fridays with Jake Madison. So check that out. We also have the afternoon locked on NBA show covering the biggest stories in the league. So subscribe wherever you got this podcast. All right, Tom Westrom, this is a pick. This is a question right up your alley.

[B]

It is.

[A]

Which Celtics pick did you hate the most when he was selected?

[B]

So I got a few. I hated the Terry Rosier pick. That one, that one absolutely mystified me. I, I mean he was, he was not considered a middle of the first round guy at the time. That was, that was a surprising pick. I hated that pick. That was one that I, that I kind of got wrong. I, if you go back even further, I hated the Fab mello pick in 2012. Really did not like that one. I, I think, you know, Yabu and Zizich that year, the Jalen Brown year, were just really disappointing because it was just like, you could have done better than that. But I know that, like there were roster constraints and all kinds of stuff that were like, really? So I hated that. But yeah, I would say that, I would say Terry was one where I was just like, what in the world are you doing? The worst one though was, was not the pick, but what they did with the pick, the absolute number one with a bullet. Worst one was drafting Desmond Bane. And I was like, that's great. You did it. You should beat that guy. Well, that's a good pick. Way to go. And then immediately trading him, that was rough. So anyway, that's, those are mine.

[A]

I, you know, I'm looking through, I can't say. And I say this because I've never been the biggest draft guy, so I'm not, I never really had the strongest opinions, like, you gotta draft this guy here. And they didn't. I'm like, ah, you screwed up. So I didn't have that kind of thing. I was gonna say Yabu in that in just because it was a middle of the draft kind of stash, you know, and you like that you could have done something, but they were so stuck that I hated that they were in that position that they couldn't. They couldn't have done something with that pick other than use the 16th overall pick to stash somebody overseas that I. That was like. And it was nothing about Yabu. And like you said, auntie's is. It's the same idea. Like, I just was Nothing about them in particular. I just hated that they were in that spot and they couldn't get out of it. So, yeah, that's. That was the one that kind of stuck out to me.

[B]

I do feel like it's. It was a funny situation because I do feel like in 2025, I don't think a team would find themselves in that position. I think you'd be able to, like. Like the number 16 pick, like, you could get. I. I don't care. Like, if teams are trying to leverage against you, like, a team is taking the number 16 pick and giving you something of value in 25, I think. But anyway, it was a. It was a very 2016 problem, I think.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. All right, let's move on here. Oh, Jordan Walsh's development. Okay, so we've talked about this a little bit on the show.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I. I think that there's something there. I think that he needs. And. And this. This could almost be the situation for him to continue to develop. It's tough. I. I don't think the G League is where it needs to be.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

To develop people. And it's interesting. Like, you look at. You look at, like, we're just talking about the draft, and you don't have to go back that far to find, like, you know, in the 80s, there were seven rounds of the NBA draft, but there were fewer teams. And so it's. Nowadays, you're lucky in the NBA draft in the first round. How many of those picks really pan out in the first round? You. I mean, you really. It's like. It's like bird shot. It's just like everything's scattered, and you're like, maybe a couple of those pellets hit and, you know, sure, great. But it's. There's not enough talent in the G League to make it a true, I think, developmental place for players. And this is tough because you can go overseas, but that comes with its own set of challenges that aren't really helpful to teams. So I think Jordan is stuck where he's. He's better than G League players. I don't think he's necessarily the quadruple a kind of player. But he's still, he's still not, I think, an NBA level player. We'll see. Maybe that changes this year. He's still, he still plays too fast. He's still a little kind of hectic. I still don't believe in that jumper yet. He fouls too much. I, I don't know. I. The stuff that, you know, look, we, we were talking about, you know, off. Off camera, the, you know, your son's playing soccer. And, you know, he said this, he said the perfect things, like, I want to. I want to be challenged against better players. So he wants to be a soccer player. And like, you want to play against better players. And like, that's awesome. You got to do that, right? And, and I don't think Jordan is playing against the better players necessarily because he, he's working on stuff like, oh, man, this is all working in the G League. You get to the NBA and it's like, oh, this isn't quite working the same way. So I, I don't. I think he needs an NBA situation now to get the minutes to develop.

[B]

I agree. And I mean, look, maybe this is the year, right? Maybe this, this, it could be wiener season. I mean, this is. If there's ever going to be a season for Jordan Walsh to develop with the Celtics, it's this one. Otherwise, Otherwise, I don't think it was going to happen right. If the, if the Celtics were going to be good again this season. Like, if Jason Tatum hadn't gotten hurt. If, like, there was, like, if this was a team that was going to compete for a championship. You can't afford to have a developmental guy out there. No, but like, this, this actually would be a pretty good opportunity to see what you've got in Jordan Walsh. And I don't mean see what you've got in, like, you know, give him like five minutes at the end of the game. Like, no, like, hey, like, this could be. If he could be a valuable piece for your team if he pans out and you've got a chance to see if he's gonna pan out this year. So, like, I think that if there's ever going to be a season for him to pan out with the Celtics, it's this one. And if, if not, you know, I mean, I think, you know, we've talked about this a million times. I think he'd be. I think he'd be a superstar overseas. I think he could be like a superstar overseas who comes back to the NBA. I think there's a Lot of. I mean, he's gonna have a long, long, highly paid basketball career ahead of him. And that's, and that's great. I still do think that there is a chance that some of that, that it's. He spends some of it with the Celtics and this year is his, I think, probably last opportunity to make that happen.

[A]

I agree, I agree. This is why I lump him in. I don't even lump him in with the returning players. I lump him in with the Josh Minot, you know, Luca Garza. He's, he's, he's. I think he's in that group. Like he's part of that group of what, what do we have here? And, and he has an advantage of having been here before, but yeah, that's where he is.

[B]

I think he also has the advantage of he, he got a ring. You know the other guys.

[A]

Sure, he got a ring. Oh, okay. Interesting. Build a perfect player using Celtics skill sets. So we're build a perfect NBA player.

[B]

So I'm gonna have Jason Tatum's build. I'm gonna have Jason Tatum's shot. I'm gonna have Jason Tatum's. No, I'm just kidding. Jason is a pretty close to perfect basketball.

[A]

Sure. Yeah. No, his, his. But like Peyton Pritchard's handle.

[B]

Yep, yep, yep.

[A]

You know, I would say Derek White's passing vision, you know, decision making.

[B]

Yeah. Is he a better passer than Tatum?

[A]

Tatum. Okay. I think yes, because Tatum's passing is built on his talent. Drawing multiple players, creating that advantage and then making the right pass off of that.

[B]

Sure. Okay.

[A]

Whereas I think Derek, Derek's passing is reading. More reading playmaking and, and just kind of like he's not, he's not drawing multiple players.

[B]

Sure.

[A]

I think, I think Derek. This is why I call Derek White like the best, best pure basketball player on the team. Because Jalen and Jason are obviously better than he is, but there's so much of it that's physical and just, they just have more talent then, then they can, they can do things wrong but still succeed where Derek I think does more fundamentally correct. So I would, if I were teaching a kid, okay, here, here you are. 10 year old basketball player. I'd say watch Derrick White more than I'd say watch Jason Tatum or watch Jaylen Brown.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Watch Derrick White and do what Derrick White does because it's just more fundamentally sound.

[B]

You know what's funny is if you took last year's team and you tried to build a, a perfect player, you'd basically just build Victor Wembanyama. You'd be able to say, poor Zingus is height and everything. So, yeah, you could just make Victor women. Yama.

[A]

That's crazy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, dude, we get everything.

[B]

Sam Howarder, Sam Houser's shooting or, you know, like. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Jalen's explosion. His. His. You know.

[B]

Yeah. Yep. Yeah, yeah, I think that's, you know.

[A]

And then I think that works.

[B]

Yeah. Tatum's footwork and all that stuff.

[A]

Sure. Yeah. Yeah. No, I like that. All right, let's. Okay, we'll. We'll take this into the break. When will they win? Banner 19.

[B]

Not to put you guys on the spot, but when will they win? Banner 19.

[A]

When will they win? Banner 19. When. When we come back.

[B]

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[A]

And Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual, but now we want you to feel it. Cue the emu music. Limu. Save yourself money today. Increase your wealth. Customize and save. We save. That may have been too much feeling. Only pay for what you [e-mail] savings very unwritten by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company affiliates excludes Massachusetts. Hey, thanks for making locked on Celtics your first listen every day. Like I said, football season is here. So you got locked on Patriots. We got locked on every team. We got everybody covered. Locked on baseball. We got locked on mlb. We got locked on every team there. Locked on any NHL team. It's all there. So whether you're a Boston sports fan or if you're one of those, like, out of towners that loves the Celtics but has other favorite teams, go check out lockdown, whatever. It is so very fun. Easy question, Tom. When will they win? Banner 19.

[B]

Oh, man, guys. Because I think it might be a little bit.

[A]

It might take a while. It might take a while.

[B]

Learn to love the process again, you know?

[A]

So I will say, okay, so obviously 26 is out. I will say that their next best chance will be the 2720. The 20, the 27, 28.

[B]

That's what I would say. I would say I would Say, give Tatum a full season back.

[A]

So. Yeah. So next season's out. Yeah. And then the following season after that is their best chance. And if they don't win it by 20, in 27, 28, it will be in the2030s, I think. So.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, that'll. It's gonna take a while. So when will they. I'm gonna be optimistic and say that 28 season is gonna.

[B]

All right. All right, all right.

[A]

Because they're here. Well, because that's going to be like. Remember you. You were saying this the other day last week on the. On the. We were talking about the. The spurs, like, you go through and you win a championship, and then it's like, okay, you know, sorry, we got it. And then after that, you lose. You're like, oh, man, I want to win another champion. I think there's going to be by. By that 27, 28 season, it's going to be like, oh, crap. You. You know, I don't know what's going to happen with Jalen Brown by then, but I feel good about Tatum being around. Feel good about Derek White being around. That might be the last, like, Derek White.

[B]

Really good Derek White.

[A]

You know, Derrick White season. And don't forget, now these guys are like, 27, 28. So, like, a couple seasons from now, it's like 29. Like, everybody's gonna understand, buddy, I'm. I'm over 30 or I'm pushing 30, and this is all going to go away. Like, this is it. Because that. Because after that season, who knows what second apron CBA is going to do to this team? So I think that's going to be, like, the galvanizing guys. It's now or never, and that's going to be the motivation. And I think by then, the rest of the league will have also settled.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In their CBA madness. And I don't think there's going to be, like, by then, OKC will have made some decisions, and everything's going to kind of stabilize. So I think the Celtics won't be as good as they were when they won, but the league won't be as, you know, top heavy. And so I'll have a good chance.

[B]

Yeah. And I mean, you know, guys might have shaken free by that point that the Celtics.

[A]

Right. You don't know.

[B]

You don't know. Like, I think that. I think 2028 is a. Is a. Just. There's a chance in 2020.

[A]

Yeah. Okay. Let's have some fun. I'm gonna go into the fun pile now. I'VE I've, I've separated this. I think next year, you know, I'm always up for improving.

[B]

I'll be honest. I kind of liked the chaos. I kind of liked the chaos of like.

[A]

I know you do, but, you know, you gotta have a little bit of stress merchant. You gotta, you gotta have a little bit of structure. We're gonna Indiana Pacers it. We're gonna like a little bit of structure to the chaos. All right, all right. So these are the goofy, fun, like, not that like Celtics. Mount Rushmore wasn't like.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

The most serious thing, but like.

[B]

Friday.

[A]

The very serious, very serious. This is why this card is separated. Would Ugo drive a Hugo? I don't even know who submitted that, but would Ugo Gonzalez drive a Hugo? Do you even know what a Yugo is?

[B]

Literally? I was literally about to Google what a Yugo is.

[A]

A Yugo is an old car from my youth when I was younger than you, which is a very long time ago. Hugo was a Yugoslavian import car that was very small and very terrible. And so just not like, this is.

[B]

Not like a geometro situation where it's like, it's tiny, but like, the people who had a geometro were like, I miss my old geometro all the time.

[A]

Yeah, the Hugo. I don't remember exactly what it looks like.

[B]

I'm looking at them now. They're hatchback. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Well, yeah, the Hugo.

[B]

But here's a, here's a better question. Would Hugo know what a Yugo is?

[A]

No.

[B]

My guess is no, he would not.

[A]

And it's Ugo. Ugo. Ugo. Would Ugo drive a Hugo?

[B]

You're 100, right?

[A]

And so that's question is a no go. All right, let's do this one. Oh, I like this. I like this. Will you ever be a regular fan again?

[B]

You know what? I Corralis will say no. I have become a regular fan of the, of Tottenham Hotspur. And it feels good. You know, it's a, you know, different sport, obviously, but yeah, man, it feels really good. It feels good to, like, be super invested, but not from, like a super analytical perspective and just be like, you know, they sign somebody and I get to just be like, oh, this guy's awesome. I can look at his YouTube highlights. This guy's amazing. That's good. I, I, I, I, I recommend it.

[A]

I understand that. So the, the answer of would I ever become a regular fan of the NBA again? Yeah, I don't, I don't know if that's possible.

[B]

Yeah. I don't think I could. I go, I don't think I could either. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And I will say that my stance on just being a regular fan, Sports wise, I'm 52 years old. It's tempered over the years. And. And part of it is the job where I grew up a Boston Celtics fan. But you. You. The job forces you to remove that from your whole thing. Like, yes, you just. I. I have to be.

[B]

People don't believe that either. It's very funny to try to explain that to people. People don't believe it, but it. Honest to God, it is true.

[A]

It is true. Like, I'm not saying when the Celtics won a championship, there was no. Literally, there's no. Part of me was like, yes, they did it. Oh, my God, they did it. There's like, I'm just like, okay, that's great. Okay, so go write this story and what questions and where do I go and what do I like all that stuff? I just don't. It's. That part of me is actually gone now.

[B]

Like, I've been removed from the beat for a while now. And like, when they won the championship, I was like, ah, good for the boys.

[A]

Good job. But also being, you know, when you get into your 50s, I think you've seen enough of life that you're like, okay, I've got bigger things to be emotionally invested in where my day is not going to be ruined.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

By the result of a sporting event. And like, yeah, I hope the Red Sox win and I'll go to a Red Sox game and like, I'll be. If they want to hit a home run, like, yeah, you know, all right, great. Like, that's awesome. But I can also sit there. Like, I sit there during games. I'm just like, stone faced, like, okay, that was nice play. And that's just. Like I said, part of the job is taking that out of me, but part of it is like, you know, I'm okay. Nice play. Great diving catch. That was great.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And move on so well, you almost.

[B]

You almost get more excited for, like the. The like, feats of athleticism than for the results. You know, it's like, it's like, whoa, that's cool as a. But like. And then they win. It's like, hey, good job.

[A]

Well, this is the thing about, like, being on the beat and understanding 82 games, like, how long the season is and, like, Red Sox, you kidding me? Like, okay, football, shorter season. I get it. Different story.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Which is why the NFL will never be touched in terms of popularity because, you know, losing three games in a row, it's like, oh, my God, are we. Are we even gonna, like, be a playoff team? Yeah, but. But you just understand, like, you know, whatever. It's. They'll bounce back or whatever. It's. It's. It's not a big deal. But. But I will say this is part of why I like the wnba, because I do actually get to go. It's my one place where I do get to go watch basketball and be like, oh, okay, this is fun. Like, I do have fun. I go to the games. I can actually sit in the stands. I can buy myself a beverage and, you know, not have to hide it. No, I'm kidding. You buy myself a beverage and sit.

[B]

There, pour out a water bottle and fill it with vodka before.

[A]

Yeah. I can't pretend, you know. No, I can sit there and have some fun and be like. I will be like, oh, that was a terrible call. What are you doing? It was obviously bad. And so, yeah, I. The wnba, I do have. I still have a passion for basketball. Of course, that. That's where I. I. I'm closest to being a regular fan, but even then, I'm like, oh, all right. They did a little screen. The screener. They're. No, no, no, Shut up, shut up, shut up. You know, like, yeah, I'm not. I'm not looking to see how they scored that, but I'm also like, oh, that was an interesting play, because I can go on and on. But I guess the short answer is I'll never be a fan. Like, I was in my 20s or 30s. No, that's. Those days are. Are gone, and I'm okay with it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know?

[B]

Yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't lessen the. The interest. It just lessens the. The emotional blow, you know?

[A]

Yes, yes. That's. That's a good way to put it. I. I just. I am not. I'm not phased by wins and losses. Like, I can understand. I can say, oh, this was a big win. Yeah, that was a tough loss. But personally, I'm not, like, broken up by.

[B]

No. You know, you can see why certain wins and certain losses affect fans, and you can, like, be very understanding to fans and be like, yeah, man, I get it. Like, that was. That was a bad one. Or that, man, that one meant a lot, you know? And it's like, yeah, but.

[A]

Yeah, sorry. But being on this podcast, I do have to capture the emotion.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I do have to. It's. It's kind of a weird Dynamic where in my writing and at the games, I'm just like, very. Whatever happens, happens. Like, you know when you have like Peyton Pritchard hits a three quarter court shot in the NBA finals, and we're all going like, whoa, I can't believe he did that. You know, like, oh my God. And you react to that moment. But it's, it's not like I'm, I'm like celebrating the moment. I'm just like, I can't believe he hit a three quarter court shot. I can't believe Pete Bridger did it again. Yeah, but when the emo, when, when you do the podcast, this is, you know, the most die hard fans. And so I do have to match the energy of like, when they lose, I am down. I'm not sitting there like, oh, this is great.

[B]

Like, right, right.

[A]

You know, every once in a while a loss is not a bad loss. And I'm like, hey, listen, my energy is a little bit different, but I do have to match the energy of the fan of like, after a win, I gotta pump it up and after a loss, I gotta temper it down a little bit.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And you know, meet people where they are. But that's, you know, it's kind of like, yeah, you. So you have to capture some of that fan emotion. But it's not. I'm not like living and dying by it, you know, hey, that's how it goes. All right, thanks everybody. Tom, appreciate you as always.

[B]

Appreciate you, man.

[A]

I do appreciate Tom Wester home hopping on next week. Five days a week. We're back. So does that mean more Tom Wester home? Yeah, probably. All right, so subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Watch the show again Monday through Friday. So get into the comments section, share your thoughts, answer all of these questions yourself. Have some fun with it. Hope you enjoyed the show. I would love it if you now share 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.

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