Celtics ready to UNLEASH New High-Speed Offense | Who will STEP UP?

Summary

Locked On Celtics — Episode Summary

Episode Title: Celtics ready to UNLEASH New High-Speed Offense | Who will STEP UP?
Date: October 8, 2025
Host: John Karalis
Guest/Co-host: Tom Westerholm

Overview

This episode of Locked On Celtics heralds the return of Celtics basketball, opening with a comprehensive preview of the preseason opener against Memphis. Host John Karalis and guest Tom Westerholm deep-dive into the new high-speed offensive approach, set realistic expectations for the early preseason, and scrutinize individual and team adjustments. They highlight focal points such as Jaylen Brown’s role as a leader, how the new style fits the roster, and which newcomers are most worth watching.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Preseason Expectations: Embracing Sloppiness for Growth

[03:02–07:34]

• Early Sloppiness is Expected:
  Both hosts stress that preseason is about experimenting, working out timing issues, and pushing the new up-tempo style—even if it means turnovers and missed opportunities early on.

  • “My first expectation is little sloppy, but just keep hammering home and use this preseason for what it is.” (John Corrales, 03:23)

• Practice Against Real Opponents:
  Playing preseason games against other NBA teams brings a necessary unpredictability that can expose flaws and accelerate necessary adjustments.

  • “This is just practice... but there's a level of reality to it, right? Where you're actually going against opponents.” (Tom Westerholm, 04:35)

• Changing the Culture:
  The shift to faster pace isn’t just a tactical tweak; it’s a redefinition of Celtics identity.

  • "This is how we play basketball this season and, hopefully, beyond. I think this is also setting a kind of a culture change." (John Corrales, 07:34)

2. The Importance of Breaking Old Patterns

[05:21–07:34]

• Urgency to Commit to Change:
  Tom agrees that preseason must be used for breaking old habits, not falling back into familiar but less effective patterns.
  • “Use this time to break those old patterns, because this season is gonna look different.” (Tom Westerholm, 05:21)
• Use of Timeouts:
  Karalis jokes Missoula might call “an early timeout just because the Celtics aren’t moving fast enough,” underlining the emphasis on process over results.

3. Jaylen Brown: The Tone-Setting Leader

[13:33–22:34]

• Commitment to Fast Play:
  Both hosts are keenly watching how Jaylen Brown buys into and exemplifies this new style.
  • "I expect him to 100% do that [commit to the new style]... Maybe this is a game where he does say, I'm not, I don't care if I score at all. It's nothing but rebounding, assists and setting screens for me." (John Corrales, 13:36)
  • "Triple double with rebounds, assists, and screen assists. Let's see it, Jalen." (Tom Westerholm, 15:39)
• Brown’s Growth and Headspace:
  Karalis sees this as a pivotal season where Jaylen's career and maturity align, describing him as looser, more self-composed, and poised to thrive in a leadership role.
  • "It's a new level of Jalen Brown... I don't know if it's a level up or just a different level of maturity." (John Corrales, 17:59)
  • "If it is, then I kind of expect a big year from him because all that other stuff that was weighing him down is gone. And that, to me, that's a freeing attitude." (John Corrales, 20:53)
• Potential for a Big Year:
  • "If you're playing free, one of the things that's nice about playing free is you're playing like yourself... you achieve this level of self-actualization… I think it could be kind of refreshing, honestly." (Tom Westerholm, 21:48)
• Summary Sentiment:
  • “My hope is that that kind of attitude allows him to unlock something... when they play fast... he's right there leading it and executing, getting guys. He needs to know everything. And hopefully you see him teaching a little bit on the court as well.” (John Corrales, 22:34)

4. Who Will Step Up Among the Newcomers?

[26:00–32:14]

• Chris Boucher — The Frontcourt Adult:

  • "I think the answer is Boucher... bringing him in felt like a nod to the fact that the Celtics do plan to take this season seriously... he's a professional, he's an adult." (Tom Westerholm, 26:14)
  • He's considered crucial for stabilizing a frontcourt with lots of unknowns, serving as a mentor and reliable presence amid experimentation.

• Josh Minott — The Energetic Wild Card:

  • "If Minott can come in and be energy and defense and some kind of contributor on the offensive end, that can change a lot about what the Celtics do because that wing depth has been kind of... thin." (John Corrales, 28:54)
  • Minott’s high energy, “run through a wall” attitude and defensive potential stand out as potential depth-swingers for Boston’s rotation.

• Xavier Tillman — The Quiet X-Factor:

  • "I'm really interested in Xavier Tillman... if he had a good season on both ends, it would change the trajectory of this team just a little bit. Which is crazy to say about Xavier Tillman, but... it matters so much." (Tom Westerholm, 30:52)
  • The hosts discuss how Tillman’s health and reliability could add 3–4 additional wins, given how he would ease frontcourt rotation burdens.

5. Overall Tone: High Optimism but Cautious Realism

[32:14–33:34]

• Karalis projects the Celtics as a possible 42–43 win team with “overachieving vibes,” but emphasizes that a few breakout performances or smooth integration from new additions could comfortably push them to 45+ wins.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Preseason Sloppiness:
  “I'd rather see nothing but turnovers and 24 second violations for an entire game than Jalen just, you know, going off on his own because he feels like he needs to score.”
  — John Corrales [03:23]

• On Breaking Habits:
  “Don't fall back into old patterns. Use this time to break those old patterns, because this season is gonna look different.”
  — Tom Westerholm [05:21]

• On Jaylen Brown’s Leadership:
  “Maybe this is a game where he does say, I'm not, I don't care if I score at all. It's nothing but rebounding, assists, and setting screens for me... Maybe that's the best way for him to do it.”
  — John Corrales [13:36]

• On Growth and Self-Actualization:
  “If you're playing free... you achieve this level of self-actualization. Right? Like self realization. Like, I know who I am...playing free kind of like mindset, that's usually when guys start to kind of like take off a little bit.”
  — Tom Westerholm [21:48]

• On the X-Factor Newcomers:
  "Tillman could be the guy. Tillman alone could be worth like three, four wins, just because of not just his impact directly, but how the rotations change around him. That could be huge."
  — John Corrales [32:11]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Preseason Mindset & High-Speed Offense: [03:02–07:34]
• Changing Celtics Culture & New Identity: [07:34–11:19]
• Jaylen Brown’s New Role & Leadership: [13:33–22:34]
• Spotlight on Newcomers (Boucher, Minott, Tillman): [26:00–32:14]
• Closing Remarks & Realistic Team Projections: [32:14–33:34]

---

Final Takeaways

• The Celtics are deliberately using preseason to break from old habits and instill a new, fast-paced, detail-oriented offense—even at the cost of early mistakes and ugly play.
• Jaylen Brown’s role as an invested leader and his trajectory this season are pivotal, both for locker room culture and on-court identity.
• Integrating veterans like Chris Boucher and high-energy prospects like Josh Minott and Xavier Tillman will be critical as the new system takes root.
• The tone is optimistic, but the hosts keep expectations realistic, noting that early struggles are not only likely but essential for long-term success under the new system.

---

For anyone eager to know what to watch for as the Celtics’ new era tips off, this episode is a perfect primer—providing insight on strategy, key personalities, and why the preseason matters for Boston’s transformation.

Transcript

[John Corrales]

Foreign your team every day.

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[John Corrales]

The Celtics are finally back to playing basketball Wednesday night in Memphis. What do we want to see? Jaylen Brown? The pace, the new guys. It's all right now on the Locked On Celtics podcast, huh?

[Tom Westerholm]

Yup.

[Ren and J (Podcast Promo)]

Be ever ready. It's the seas. Who else could it be? What they gonna say now screaming like J.T. corralis recap the madness every game, every practice, prime time, Depp and D on the sideline. Ren and J's. How we started raising ban is how we finish. Locked on Celtics pod. Home of the winners baby.

[John Corrales]

Hey there. Welcome back to the Lockdown Celtics podcast right here on the Lockdown Podcast network where it's your team every day. Your team is the Boston Celtics and they play on Wednesday night. Yes. So I'm here to talk about them Monday through Friday. Today previewing the game. Tomorrow's podcast will be post game. So that's gonna be a lot of fun. Subscribe wherever you get your podcast. It's free. It's available Everywhere. It's on YouTube. Get into the comment section. Share your thoughts with me. I'm John Corrales, beat writer for Boston Sports Journal. I've written a couple of books about the Celtics. I've been doing a version of this job for about 20 years. So hopefully you get something out of this podcast besides staring at my wonderful good looks. That's supposed to be a joke. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Get over to FanDuel.com Place your first five dollar bet. If you win, you get 300 in bonus bets if you're a new customer. So go check it [e-mail] bringing in. Okay. An actual handsome man, Tom Westerholm.

[Tom Westerholm]

It's Me.

[John Corrales]

Hey. Yes.

[Tom Westerholm]

You've been slacking on the, the applause and don't think it hasn't been noticed. Appreciate you.

[John Corrales]

All right, so the. So all of this talk we've go. We go from like the summer of. Okay, let's, you know, kind of speculate.

[Tom Westerholm]

Friday, you know, like.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, and then training camp starts, like, okay, great. And we get like four pieces of information. We spend like all this time talking about those four pieces of information, and now we finally get to see it in action. So let's just spend this half hour, you know, going through and just going through our expectations, realistic expectations, I think, for the first game. And like yesterday I talked a lot about the timing issues that we're going to see because they're playing fast. And Jalen Brown admitted, like, that's the toughest part right now for us. We're having a tough time just getting the timing down. So let's just throw this out there right away since that's the biggest thing that they're dealing with. I want to see, I want to see them just working on that. And it's, it's about pushing the pace and trying to execute and just. It doesn't matter if the guys miss a couple of things. What I don't want to see is, ah, okay, we're going to. Let me just ISO here and do something. I, I'd rather see nothing. This is extreme example, but I'd rather see nothing but turnovers and 24 second violations for an entire game than Jalen just, you know, going off on his own because he feels like he needs to score. I need to see them working on that. So my expectation, my first expectation is little sloppy, but just keep hammering home and use this preseason for what it is. And that's just trying to get on that same page and trying to get better.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah, preseason is practice. Like it's just. But it's like, it's just like real. You know, there's a level of, of reality to it, right. Where you're actually going against opponents. You know, you're actually gonna go against, you know, people from the Memphis Grizzlies, like that you're, you're gonna do it.

[John Corrales]

Other people who are not in your.

[Tom Westerholm]

Practice facility, not in your prayer. Like you won't go against John Morant, it sounds like tomorrow, but you will go against, you know, like, like actual other NBA players who are not employed by your franchise. And so there is a level of reality to it, but this is just practice. And that is like, that. That's something that I think it's really, really good. I think it's really important. I actually think this preseason is. Is a really important time for this team, because when you change your style of play, like, it's.

[John Corrales]

It.

[Tom Westerholm]

It. It's really complex to be an NBA team and to play an NBA basketball game. And when you change your style, especially when it's a style that, you know, really. The Celtics have been like this for a couple of years, right. Like, it's been two years at least, that they played a very similar style. One year, they won a championship. One year, you know, like, a lot of things went wrong, and now it's going to be different. That's. That's. That is a. That is a tectonic shift that the Celtics are. Are about to be kind of embarking on here. And I think, you know, I liked Jalen's comments about, like, all right, like, let's. You know, one thing I don't want to see is us coming out and being. And like. Like, kind of taking it easy because it's preseason. Like, no, like, let's. Let's get after it. Let's get going. And I think that's the right. That's the right attitude. Like, don't. Don't fall back into old patterns. Use this time to break those old patterns, because this season is gonna look different. So, yeah, like, get into it now. I think. I think he's right. I think that's a good attitude to have going into it.

[John Corrales]

Yeah. And so I. I think that's just gonna mean, like, a lot of different combinations, a lot of weird things. And, yeah, the. This. This need to constantly put, like, I would not be surprised if Missoula calls an early timeout just because the Celtics aren't moving fast enough. Yeah, you know, like, that. That type. He's not going to care about the timeouts in the preseason. He's not trying to win a game because guys aren't going to play their full complement of minutes. He's going to get a look at everybody, and, you know, he'll give the standard, we want to win the possessions that we have, and. And we're trying to. If you execute them well, that means you win, and ultimately you'll win the game. But no one cares about the win or the loss in these four preseason games. So.

[Tom Westerholm]

And to be clear, that standard that you're talking about, that's not just lip service. That is the thing that they should want to do. They should want to, like, yeah, like, you. You don't care about the results of the game. But you, your focus should be win every possession. Like, like win the possessions the way that you want to win them. Like that's, that's actually a really important part of what they should be trying to do over the next couple of weeks.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, this is how we do it. This is how we play basketball this season and, and hopefully beyond. Right. I think, I think this is also setting kind of a culture change. Like if we're going to look at the Celtics as a best case scenario, like Jayson Tatum. I think one of the best case scenarios is Jason Tatum coming back this season and partly being forced to play this high, high intensity style. Now it's going to be, you know, that might mean that he takes a little longer to ramp up and you know, all of this optimism of him being back in January or February, maybe you give them the extra month to ramp up because hey, we're, you're, you're stepping into a track meet, right? You've gone from nothing to catching, taking that baton on the closing leg. So. But getting him on this, on this team and saying, look man, you're going to, you can't slow things down. You can't come in here and change how we're playing. You're going to have to come in and like figure this out. That might actually be a, a positive, you know, a silver lining in all of this where we're, we're looking at an up tempo team. You know, Josh Minot's talking about. We're, we're going to be the fastest team in the league and all these guys are high optimism. I think you, you gotta, it's not just this year, like we're just going to change how we play for a season, then go back to it. I think this is going to be how it is. So this first preseason game, it's so much about getting every little minor detail right. It's the, you know, how quickly do you want them to even just get in and out of timeouts? How quickly do you want them to get. Just to do whatever simple little things in inbounding the ball, getting the ball over half court without pressure on them like. So I want to see that almost, even if it's exaggerated, I want to see that. Yeah, high speed and you know, this is what we're trying to do. And like I said before, if, if you have like Nimius Keita there and he has to set, you know, five screens on a play, let him set all five screens, right? Don't, don't. Just don't Just like come down and take that first opportunity. Run it through. Run through a couple of of iterations. Let's see if you don't see something, if you don't like something, or even if you see something. Let's just kind of run it through and just see what we get to the other side. Just tell them on these five possessions, we're not taking the first option. Second options only. You know, second or beyond. And just do that. Like, that's the level of speed I want to see. Ignore that first option for now. This is a drill. It's not a game. It's a drill.

[Tom Westerholm]

Right.

[John Corrales]

Against live opponents, which is so critically important. You know, I said it yesterday and I'll stop talking for sure for in a second. You. You go through camp and everybody knows what everybody's doing, and you just. You get into like a little bit of a routine. The Grizzlies will at least present some unpredictable defensive decisions where the Celtics will have to, you know, it'll throw them off. So I do expect them to be thrown off. I want them to be thrown off.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. Yeah. I'm guessing Joe Missoula does too.

[John Corrales]

Just make them uncomfortable.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

So let's. Let's go to the. The head of the snake, Jaylen Brown. And what are. What are our expectations for Jalen and what would. What would a perfect Jalen Brown game look like? We'll do that when we come back. Today's show is brought to you by Monarch Money. Look, we're grown ups. Even though I don't act like one all the time. I'm in my 50s. I am looking towards retirement in the not so distant future. I hate to say it to myself. Retirement is not that far off, and a lot of you are probably in a similar boat. Do you know where all your money is? Do you know what your finances are doing? Is it working for you? Are you prepared for that time? Monarch Money is going to help you because it's an all in one personal finance tool. It brings all your financial stuff together in one easy, clean interface. It's on your laptop. It's on your phone. You're busy. I'm busy. It's tough. You've put off organizing everything, but Monarch Money is going to do all that work for you. All you got to do is take a couple of minutes to link your accounts. Monarch Money then takes care of everything. It'll give you data, visuals, smart categorization. You'll feel in control of your money. And it's not like it's just some spreadsheet. It's going to work for you. It's easy to use, easy to understand app. Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. You and your partner get everything together so you can see what you what your situation is. Use Locked on NBA that's the code locked on [e-mail] in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first [e-mail] with the code lockedonnba at Foresight we make.

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[John Corrales]

Thank you for making a lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. Go check out the Locked on Fantasy basketball podcast. Lockdown Fantasy Basketball, hosted by Josh Lloyd is the number one show fantasy basketball podcast in the world. You get daily tips. It's going to help you win your league. It's going to make you a smarter NBA fan. You find lockdown fantasy basketball wherever you found this show on YouTube. It's everywhere. It's worth the listen. All right, Tom, so I guess the, from a individual player perspective, Jalen, like the, the commitment to the, the, the plan for Jalen, I think it's the simplest way I can put it. I expect him to 100% do that. But I do think that he also will mix in. Hey, this is, I'm going to take this, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna do my individual stuff. I'm gonna do my ISO stuff. Just because I think for him, like even though I said don't do that before, it is also precedent. He's gonna have to like work on some of that stuff. He might have some moves, you know, some, whatever he's working on. Every once in a while he is going to have to work on some moves. So he's, he's gonna have to pick his spots I think early on with that starting group and with certain, certain combinations. You want to see him work certain things and then give him the opportunity to kind of go work on his own individual stuff at some point, obviously. But it's, I just, I think we need to see Jalen's kind of like leadership commitment to this, this style of play and maybe, maybe this is a game where he, he does say, I'm not, I don't care if I score at all. It's nothing but rebounding, assists and setting screens for me. He, he talks about being a leader. They need to hear his voice and all of that stuff. Maybe that's the best way for him to do it.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. Triple double with rebounds, assists, and screen assists. Let's see it. Jalen.

[John Corrales]

Let's.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah, I mean, it'd be, it'd be a heck of a game from him. I, I, I'm excited to see it, too. Jalen is, I mean, you know, obviously, right, like, the star player is, is the guy you're most excited to watch. Right? But I'm really excited to see how Jalen is used in this game because I think I'm with you. I, I think he is very bought in on everything that they're doing right now. I think he's bought in on the new style of play. He's bought, he seems, like, really enthusiastic about it, which, which is what a great tone to set, right? And Jalen, he's, you know, we've joked before that he's, you know, that he gets in his own head sometimes and that, like, you know, we've talked a little bit about just kind of some of the challenges that he has as the, the second star on a team, but he has always really kind of, you know, publicly, he's really toed the line very well with, like, what the organization wants. He's very bought in on what the organization wants and, and, and, and where it's trying to go. And I think this is one of the first times, maybe in his career, right, where the organization is going in a direction that is really Jaylen Brown focused, right? It's like, you transition, hey, get out and transition. Like, Jalen is great in transition. Like, that's going to be awesome. Like, playing fast is going to be, it really could be very good for Jaylen Brown. So I'm really excited to see that. I'm excited to see what that looks like. I, you know, I'm sure he'll try out some stuff. I think you're right. But I, I think really getting into the pace, really, like leaning into pace and, and, and getting up and down the floor, I think that's going to really benefit Jalen. I, I, it's funny, right, because it's like, this is going to look so drastically different. I think that I almost don't know what to expect. Like, you know, it's like, like what, you know, what are we looking for. It's like, I don't know, like. But I'm excited to see it on Jalen's side because he's always been really good in transition. He's always been really good at getting up the floor and getting things going. And, and after last season, all the stuff we saw from him as a playmaker and a facilitator, I'm really excited to see him just, like, taking on that role and just embracing it and making that who he is. Like, I, I don't know. I think it's. I, I think it's going to be a fun Jalen Brown season and I'm excited to see get our first look at it. I guess.

[John Corrales]

I, I'm. I am really, really interested in Jalen season this year. Like, beyond, beyond just the, hey, can he truly be the number one guy? This is, this is such an interesting year for Jalen. I kind of wish the Netflix starting five thing was following him around this season instead of last season because he is so much looser. He. I mean, the Twitch stuff, the, the online streaming stuff. Yeah, Yeah. I asked him about it on media day. Like, he gave a real thoughtful answer. Like he's, he's like entering this new level of Jalen Brown. It's, it's. I don't know if it's a level up or just a different level of maturity. It's a. And I've used that term before. Not that he was immature before, it's just a, A new level of it. He's. He's different. There's something different.

[Tom Westerholm]

Maybe not a new era for all the swifties out there.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, there we go. There we go. And I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's because he knows he's going to be the number one guy here. And maybe, maybe he's. I don't know. I don't know what it is. But this, this feels different to me. It just feels different to me when it comes to Jalen. And that also includes the stuff that you're talking about before, earlier in his career. For sure. He would always, like, get caught staring off the thousand mile stair because his. He was in his head. I don't know if he's doing that. Like, he hasn't done that as much. He certainly hasn't done it as much lately. I, I don't know that he's. He's that guy anymore. And everybody gets backdoored in the end. Like, it's gonna, it's gonna happen. So I Don't want to be. The guy goes, oh, he just got backdoored. He's doing it again. Like, I don't want to. Yeah, I don't want that to be the thing. But I just, I feel like he's in a different headspace. He's just in a different headspace. And maybe that comes with being almost 30. Maybe that comes with understanding that his time in the NBA is limited. He, he's at a point now where it's very likely that he's played more years than he has left, you know, and that's, that's going to be tough. Like, that realization when you're young and in your prime, you're like, wait a second. Statistically, like. Well, statistically your career is already over. You know, most career, most careers last five years. But like.

[Tom Westerholm]

He'S probably got a couple more in him.

[John Corrales]

But he's, he's got a few. But, you know, he's gonna be 30 next year. Once that three's in front of you, you know, you're washed. Yeah. You know.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yep.

[John Corrales]

It's like, yeah. So I think, I think maybe he just kind of sees that, okay, I am turning a corner. And why am I worried about this? Why am I worried about certain stuff that I was worried about before? I'm, I've made all this money. I'm, I'm. I am who I am. And like, if you don't like it, you don't like it. And if that means you don't vote for me, you don't vote for me. But it feels like that's kind of like the space that he's in. And if, if it is, then I kind of expect a big year from him because all that other stuff that was. Been weighing him down is gone. And if he's gonna be. If, if that's gonna be. And that, to me, that's a freeing attitude that you're playing free, you're. You're acting free, you know, and that, that type of playing free kind of like mindset, that's usually when guys start to kind of like take off a little bit.

[Tom Westerholm]

So. Yeah. And of course, not that he hasn't taken off previously in his. But like, that's the thing. Yeah. Yeah. But like, if you're playing free, one of the things that's, that's nice about playing free is you're playing like yourself, you know, you're playing like you're. You achieve this level of self actualization. Right? Like self realization. Like, I, I know who I am, you know, like this is who I am on a basketball court. And like, you know, I mean that's, and that's, honestly, that's something that comes with age anyway. Right? You like.

[John Corrales]

Sure.

[Tom Westerholm]

Like, you kind of like. All right, all right. I kind of, I kind of know who I am. Like.

[John Corrales]

Yeah.

[Tom Westerholm]

And you know, like Jalen's. Yeah. Is his frontal lobe is completely developed. You know, he kind of knows who he is. And like. Yeah, I think it's, I mean, you know, it could be kind of refreshing, honestly.

[John Corrales]

So that's, that's a whole lot of talking for me to say. Like I'm expecting in the first game. I don't know actually what to expect in that first game. But my hope is that that kind of attitude and just it allows him to kind of unlock something and when they play fast and all that stuff that he's, he's right there leading it and executing, getting guys. He needs to know everything. And hopefully he's like, you see him teaching a little bit on the court as well. All right, let's get back from Jalen Brown.

[Tom Westerholm]

This season is self actualization. So no, no pressure, Jalen. Nothing, nothing big. Just, you know, fully unlock yourself. Get to work on that.

[John Corrales]

Let's, let's get into guys, the new guys who we expect to, you know, what do we accept? I'm not editing, editing that out and I haven't had anything to drink, so it's just my brain saying, nope, you're not talking today. What do we expect from the new guys? That's all coming up next. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. If you're a new customer, you go to FanDuel.com right now. Sign up, make your first five dollar bet and then you get 300 in bonus bets if that bet wins. Very simple. Pick a bet, put down 5 bucks if it hits you Unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So you can do things like build the same game parlay, you can do player props, you can go into live lines if you're watching football on a Sunday, kind of just scrolling through and go, oh, let's. It's a halftime of this game. What's the score? Let's see what you get at kind of odds you get at halftime. Just a fun little way to make the games a little bit more exciting. So whether you're a casual fan or you love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes. FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. I swear I'm going to get through this what are you waiting for? Visit FanDuel.com today. Use the tools that are available, the budgeting tools, so you can set your limit, whatever you can afford to lose, whatever that is, if it's five bucks or 50 bucks or whatever, set that limit so when you hit it, if it happens, you just come back when you get that money back and then you try [e-mail] do it now to download the FanDuel app today and get started.

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[John Corrales]

Thank you for making Locked on Celtics your first listen. Every day go check out Locked on NBA and Locked on NBA Game Night. I am about to head over to Lockdown NBA Game Night when we're done with this show to talk about the two preseason games that happened in the NBA. The Pacers and the Timberwolves and the Cavs and the Bulls. So catch our thoughts there. Unlocked on NBA Game Night. That's a seven day a week podcast and Locked on NBA is a five day a week podcast covering the big stories in the NBA. All right, Tom Westerholm, got some new guys here. Is there one in particular that you're looking at other than Anthony Simons?

[Tom Westerholm]

Oh, the. No.

[John Corrales]

We'Re all looking at Anthony Simons. Is there, is there one particular, particular guy that you're looking at to say, okay, we need to see what he can do?

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. I mean, you mean among like the new guys.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tom Westerholm]

I mean, I think the answer is Boucher. Right. Like, I'm sure. I think bringing him in this off season felt like a, it felt like a nod to the fact that the Celtics do plan to take this season seriously. You know, like, this isn't like. Which is funny because, you know, kind of expect him not to start, you know, by, by way of like, you know, the, the lineups and, you know, the possible lineups here. But even so, just bringing in a guy, a veteran, a, a guy who has played in, you know, actual games that matter, you know, who's played like a big role, who, who, you know, like you brought in a guy who, you know is an NBA player, not somebody who's like, hey, let's get a look at, you know what, what can, what can Garza do for us? What can Minot do for us? It's like no, like Boucher is going to come in and be an NBA player and like that. I, I'm, I'm interested to see that. I think primarily, obviously aside from, aside from Simons. But like Boucher is, is a, he's a professional, he's an adult. I, I'm excited to see a guy who, who has been around a little bit and just kind of see how he starts to fit in with the team.

[John Corrales]

Yeah, I think Boucher is a good choice because the front court is just such a mess. That's the other thing. Right. Like you need to like I get so some pushback by calling any amount of the Celtics a mess. But I mean it is Namish Keda. We don't know what he's going to do, especially in this up tempo style. Boucher is the, the, you know, I used to call Drew Holiday the adult in the room. Boucher is going to have to be that a little bit for the Celtics, especially in the front court. Right. He's going to have to be the guy that leans on his experience and is able to do multiple things for the Celtics and can kind of guide Keda along a little bit. So yeah, Kate is the guy who's been here and he's going to help Boucher with the terminology and some of the stuff, the expectations. But Boucher is the vet. He's the guy that's had experience and success. So he's going to have to, he's going to have to be kind of like in a lot of ways like the best big that they have at that pace.

[Tom Westerholm]

I think. So yeah.

[John Corrales]

It's obviously Kada, Kada's going to probably start and he's going to have to be the defensive presence and he's going to, he's going to have to be, he's gonna have to play the best. But Boucher is gonna have to be the guy that's like setting multiple screens and, and you know, flashing to the corner and all of these little things. He has to be the guy that is setting the example out there. So yeah, I think, I think that's a good choice. I, I am gonna say Josh Minot.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

And, and partly because I wrote a feature on Josh for Boston Sports Journal. But I, I really think that he can be that wild card wing for the Celtics. He's six, eight with a nearly seven foot wingspan. He's, he, he said if Joe needs me to run through a wall every game for 82 games. I'm going to go run through an effing wall, bro. Like, he's going to be that guy. I'm thinking like a six, eight. Aaron Neesmith, you know, dialed back like not so much of a death wish when he was with Boston, but if Minot can come in and be energy and defense and some kind of contributor on the offensive end, but mainly that versatile defender, high energy guy, that can change a lot about what the Celtics do because that wing depth has been kind of. And like Minot playing desperate, has that opportunity. If he can show something, if he can stick. Not only are we looking at a guy that can contribute this year, you get him a multiple. He's the type of guy that you can sign to a three year deal at like, we'll just say 5 million per, like taxpayer mid level kind of thing. A three year, 15 million, three years, you know, 18 million. Somewhere in that range where you can. That's a real nice contract to have. If you can get that guy performing at a level where he'll, you can pay him that and it'll stick. Like, I think that's a really important thing because then when Tatum comes back to have him there, that would be huge. So I'm, I am hyper focused on what he's going to be doing.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. The other guy that I had my eye on and the reason I clarified like new guys is a guy who seems new in some ways. I'm really interested in Xavier Tillman. I. I'm. Yeah, like in like so much that he could bring to this team in like a fully realized state. Right. Like Xavier Tillman could, I mean, if, if he had, if he had a good season right on both ends, if he had a good season on both ends, it would change the trajectory of this team just a little bit. Like, which is crazy to say about Xavier Tillman, but like if Xavier Tillman has a good season. It matters so much.

[John Corrales]

So much.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah. So he's, he's the other one that I'm just like really going to be focused on this year.

[John Corrales]

Did we have. We talked about this in a podcast like a few weeks ago?

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

Where. And this is if, if he can rise to the level of rotation four. Right. So whether it's, I mean, starting level would be the ultimate, but if he can be part of the rotation, that, that does change a lot. I, I do wonder if it changes a lot about next year's team.

[Tom Westerholm]

Right.

[John Corrales]

Do you trust his knee long term?

[Tom Westerholm]

I Don't think I would know, you.

[John Corrales]

Know, but it does change this year's team. And, you know, if I said on the podcast the other day, I feel like this team has some strong kind of overachieving vibes to it. I still think right now it's probably a 42, 43 win team. But if a couple of things go right and it doesn't take much, 45 is easy. And beyond that is not out of the question. And Tillman could be the guy. Tillman alone could be worth like three, four wins just because of not just his impact directly, but how the rotations change around him. That could be, that could be huge. So I, I agree. Tillman's a guy to watch. So.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yeah.

[John Corrales]

All right, well, we'll leave it there. I think that's good. I think that's a good place to, to leave it and we'll see what happens next. Podcast is post game. So basketball, NBA.

[Tom Westerholm]

I talk to you. We will have watched 2025, 2026 Celtics basketball.

[John Corrales]

I know, it's crazy. Crazy back.

[Tom Westerholm]

It is.

[John Corrales]

All right, Tom, well, till next time. Thank you.

[Tom Westerholm]

Yes, sir. Appreciate you.

[John Corrales]

I always appreciate Tom Westerholm. I always appreciate you listening, watching whatever it is, however you're consuming this podcast. I do. Thank you for doing so. Season is just, just about here. So again, it's five days a week, it's free. Become an everyday or join me every Monday through Friday. Bonus podcasts when they play on the weekends. So sometimes six, sometimes seven days a week. It's all free for you, so make sure you're subscribed. Watch the show on YouTube, get to the comment section there and share the podcast. Tell your friends, tell everybody they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast. Here on the Lockdown podcast network is your team every day a sapphire reserve.

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A prime members. You can listen to this locked on podcast at free on Amazon Music. Download the Amazon Music app today. Thank you for making Locked on your first listen every day. For your second listen, go find Locked On Fantasy Basketball Josh Lloyd hosts the number one fantasy basketball podcast, giving you daily tips and helping you win your league, all while making you a smarter NBA fan. Find Locked on Fantasy Basketball on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. Part of the Locked On Podcast network. Your team every day.