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Locked On Celtics - Daily Podcast On The Boston Celtics
Myth & Reality of Getting Layups | Sean Grande Perfectly Sums Up The Season
00:35:07
Boston Celtics' dramatic season exposes the truth about shot selection and expectations—are fans missing the bigger picture? John Karalis of Celtics On SI and radio voice Sean Grande debate the real impact of missed layups versus three-point attempts and dispel common myths around Joe Mazzulla’s game plan. The conversation spotlights Derrick White’s critical role, questions about his future amid shooting struggles, and Jayson Tatum’s underappreciated value to the team’s success. Insightful comparisons to the Isaiah Thomas era, breaking down why this season’s heartbreak felt different, and candid reflections on fan reactions elevate the discussion. Can Jaylen Brown and Tatum sustain their partnership? Get key takeaways on the Celtics' collapse against the Philadelphia 76ers, playoff expectations, and what’s next for Boston’s offseason moves. Plus, Grande's one perfect sentence to sum up the season.
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- [00:00]
John Corrales
Foreign.
- [00:11]
Wes Goldberg
Hi, this is Wes Goldberg, host of Locked on NBA Daily and Locked on Heat. And today's episode is brought to you by adt. Imagine you're watching the game at a buddy's house when you get a call that someone tried to break into yours. In a second, everything can change. That's why there's ADT. ADT security systems help keep your home safe 247 with the most company operated monitoring centers in the industry, and the ADT plus app keeps you in control the whole time. Don't leave your home wide open during an emergency. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit ADT.com or call 1-800-ADT ASAP.
- [00:46]
John Corrales
This is Jake from Lock Dawn. When the game's on the line, the best know when to pass because the right assist can change everything. And off the court, it's no different. That's where your State Farm agent comes in. Whether it's protecting your car, your home, or helping you prep for the unexpected, they'll help set you up with a game plan that works for you. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state.
- [01:11]
Wes Goldberg
Hey everyone, this is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked On Podcast network. If your group chat's been a little quiet lately, I want to invite you to come and join ours. If you sign up for the Everydayer Club, you get access to the members only group chats for your favorite teams, plus national chats for every sport. Personally, I love watching folks talk a little smack in the NFC South Trash talk chat. You also get an ad free version of your favorite Locked on show and a whole lot more. You can check it out by tapping the Everyday Club link in the show.
- [01:39]
John Corrales
Notes now in the Lockdown Celtics podcast, Part two of the conversation with Sean Grandy, including the one thing I wish people would get right about shot selection and Sean's perfect One sentence about this season.
- [02:00]
Sean Grandy
How we finish Locked on Selfish Pod
- [02:02]
John Corrales
Home of the Winners.
- [02:05]
Sean Grandy
Welcome back to the show.
- [02:07]
John Corrales
My name is John Corrales and today we continue our conversation with Sean Grandy. I recorded Yesterday was Sunday a 90 minute conversation with Sean Grandy. Part one was yesterday we started our deep dive into the season. Today we're getting into in the third segment the Perfect One sentence about this season and Jason Tatum's role in getting our hopes up. In the second segment we'll look at the duality of Derrick White season. But part one we're going to pick up right where we left off at the end of Part, part. In segment one, we're going to pick up right where we left off at the end of the first podcast. We're talking about shot selection. And here's. It's me and Sean, radio, voice of the. The. The Celtics broadcast. We're gonna pick it up with the one thing I wish people would get right about shot selection.
- [03:03]
Sean Grandy
This is the only thing I'll say about the threes because I, I baited some people on social media today just for the fun of it in the first half when I said just, you know, scrolling Twitter seeing if anybody's complaining about the Knicks shooting too many three.
- [03:14]
John Corrales
Yeah, yeah, so.
- [03:16]
Sean Grandy
And that's the sound bite I've been using doing all these interviews. And you know, my new friends over at Nesson this year is 23 months ago. I was on a duck boat for an hour and there were 1.4 million people to the left and right of me on that duck boat ride. And you know what? None of them said the Celtics shoot too many threes. People only complain when they don't go in. They only complain about Joe in the 20 of games that he loses, not the 80 of games he wins. I know it's frustrating. The Celtics have to get better shots. You want to get free throws, Everybody wants two on ones everybody wants. And when they don't go in, they don't go in. And when you don't get the offensive rebounds, when the Sixers choked that out second half of the series, that was that.
- [03:57]
John Corrales
I'll add one more thing to the three point conversation. The one thing that no one ever, ever, ever, ever complains about is missing too many layups. No one ever says a thing. When the Celtics miss layups, at least they got to the rim. That's what people missed layups are more damaging than three pointers. And that I want desperately for that fact to sink into. People missed layups almost always lead to advantages for the other team. At least with missed threes, that shooter in the corner can get back, or sometimes they're crashing and, and they end up ahead of the ball anyway. Now, obviously you have to go, you set your defense. So I'm not saying missed threes are okay, but this notion that I would rather have you get to the rim and whatever happens, happens is absolutely false. Because if that shot gets blocked, or more likely it's a contested layup that gets that like Jalen is sprawled out on the, on the end line there, and they go five on four and there's a hey, where's the foul? And all that stuff and you're late getting back. That is almost always a bucket. And if you're online watching us on
- [05:22]
Sean Grandy
YouTube, whatever, get another window open. Look up this game during the championship season. Remember the Celtics lost by two at home to Denver in January, like 100 to 98 or something like that. The Celtics missed like 14 layups in that game. It was one of the most absurd games that they played in this era. They should have won easily and they ended up losing that game. But again, it'll be funny to hear the talk show guys right the next day going, the Celtics take too many layups, right? I mean, like, they can't make them.
- [05:49]
John Corrales
If, if you're getting to the rim, it. Let's just say people, oh, Jalen should have just gone to the rim. Okay, if you go to the rim and they collapse on you. There was one play. Oh God, I forget what day, what game it was. He went one on four and people like, hey, no one complained about that.
- [06:08]
Sean Grandy
But then right before everyone's, Jalen should have gone or he should have driven it. Earlier in the second half of game seven, Joel Embiid just swatted him with the world watching. I mean, just, yeah, gobbled up one of those shots on the way. That's nothing is. Embiid was good. He wasn't good in the pick and roll when you made him move, but he was good at the rim. And so again, go get, just go get layups. Stop chucking up threes and open three is better than a one on three two point shot. And by the way, wherever the Celtics have been this year of Jalen shot an unbelievably high percentage. Peyton did a little bit too, of shots that you're quote unquote not supposed to take anymore in the NBA. How many of those long twos did Jalen Brown hit? Particularly in the first half of this year? He would just take crazy shots because he's just this unbelievable weight room strength freak. And he could hit those long, those long fade away twos that are impossible to defend. And it's one of the things that makes him, you know, unique and special. I'm sure we got plenty of Jalen Brown conversation coming up here because dominate our now elongated summer.
- [07:09]
John Corrales
Yeah, yeah, the, the Derrick White stuff is fascinating to me because I, I just, I don't know. I thought the way he was asked to play with Tatum out was very much the way he played in San Antonio with the ball in his hands a lot more and very much not like how he played in those first Few years in Boston where so much of his stuff came off of the catch on the move. And so even the pull up shots were. They weren't just dribble down, pull up all the time. It was catch come off a screen dry, then pull up. He just. I don't think he was just ever able to shake whatever. Whatever it was that. That hurt him earlier in the season with, with all the pull ups. He just could never. He could never shake that. And it's. It's a very interesting kind of. What are you. What are you looking forward to next year with Derrick White? Because, okay, he, he's had a few years in Boston as this, this year was kind of a. I don't want to call it a regression, but is very reminiscent of what it used to be when people were like, oh man, this dude can't shoot. Remember when he got traded here, there. One of the questions was he's not exactly the best three point shooter.
- [08:37]
Sean Grandy
Yeah. Yeah. 22. Playoffs are rough.
- [08:40]
John Corrales
Yeah. So that's. I'm. I'm as big a Derek White guy as there is. This is such a critical season coming up for the Celtics that. That is a question I like. I would have the confidence in him to figure it out and come back next year as a better version of Derrick White than we saw this year. But he's also 32 and it's. He's not the biggest guy in the world. He's. It's. You. You wonder if the aging is going to come quickly with Derek because he's a little bit smaller and it's not exactly like Isaiah Thomas, like small guards age quickly type of thing. But I don't know. The Derrick White question is a painful one to me because he's. He has been so critical to Boston success. He was critical even without the shooting this year to Boston success defensively. I'm just. If, if he can't get the shooting back, then what. I think that's a fair question to ask.
- [09:52]
Sean Grandy
That's very fair. But he was. I hope people. It doesn't get lost. We live in an age now. Top layer is always the people conflating somebody's shooting with how well they're playing.
- [10:05]
John Corrales
Yes.
- [10:06]
Sean Grandy
Somebody went two for 12. He had a bad game. Maybe, maybe not. Derrick White had an elite defensive. He wasn't good defensively. He was great defensively and by the way, he took some of the burden off Jalen. Jalen was able to have the year he had offensively carrying this team. Because while people talk about Jalen as being the guy that would guard the other team's best play. Derek was doing that for the most part. There were individual cases Jalen took on and his. When he painted his Picasso against the Clippers in January against Kawhi, he was guarding Kawhi in that game. You saw him try to defend them beating in Game 7. That's not a knock on Jalen to say that was Derek's job to do it. I look at things like what were some of the things, particularly in the first half that weren't going well? Defensive rebounding. Derek wasn't getting the same quality of shot. You can make a list of about four or five things you say what's, what's connected about. It's the connective tissue there. Jason Tatum is the connective tissue because he makes all of those things. I, I just think even now people just don't quite realize how good at basketball Jason Tatum is. And it was really interesting this year. One of the things Max and I did at the end of the year was with the year that Jalen had, I thought it would be an interesting conversation because it was Max and I was our 25th year. So it was a good time to, you know, go 30,000ft. Best individual seasons from Celtics in that 25 year span. And I became a really interesting exercise because obviously you're gonna, you're thinking of Jalen this year. You're thinking of Isaiah Thomas in 2017. There were some Paul Pierce ones to choose from. I went with 09 was my particular Paul Pierce one. My at the top of the list to me is Kevin Garnett 2008 because he should have been the MVP of the league. And then the hardest deal I had was trying to pick the Jason Tatum seasons apart and try to say this because I really had a difficult time with 23 and 24 and 25 and even 22. It was really difficult because 22 especially the on off numbers were insane for Jason Tatum in 22. And my baseline. This is the reason I bring up Tatum thing when people were. Some of the people were talking themselves into 45 wins, 46. I could feel it coming 47 wins at the start of the year. And I was not moving off of my 42 near 500. The baseline of that was not just what I ran at the beginning about the front court going from the, the before to going from after to before. Right in one of those ads like what is this front court you have now? That was number one. But number two was this the dirty little secret of Jason Tatum's first eight years is that when Jason Tatum was on the floor, The Celtics were a 66 win team. The equivalent statistical equivalent of one when he was off the floor, they were barely a.500 team and that's with Porzingis Horford, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving, Marcus Martin, you name everybody he played with and they were still, when he was off the floor, a 40 win, two win team. And to me, this roster at the start of the year was not as good as some of those other teams that Jason Tatum had played with, obviously. So to me, I thought, and by the way, the Tankers, that was absurd. The idea of tanking this season was gone in the first week of the year. And unless you were going to Kathy Bates, Misery Hobble, Jalen Brown, Derrick White and Joe Missoula, no chance that that was ever going to happen this year. So it was a matter of where you were going to finish. And I just thought it was in it was irresponsible to think the Celtics could win 47, 48 games. 50, 52, 56, not in a I have said I've done this line many times and I have an addendum to it now, but this team this year forced me to use the words I was wrong more than any other time in my life. And I've been married twice, so consider the ground that covers. And then I realized at the end of the year I was wrong again. I was wrong to try to temper the enthusiasm as it was going on. I was that was a very parental thing I was doing.
- [14:09]
John Corrales
When we come back, we'll get to Sean's one perfect sentence about this season and Jason Tatum's role in getting our hopes up. Today's show is brought to you by Kalshee. The playoffs are here and it's the most electric time in basketball. California. You can trade every single playoff game, every series, the conference finals, championships. It's all there at CalShe. The Knicks advanced and are pretty big favorites. They're 59 on KalShee to win their next series, paying out at 164.76. So the Knicks are looking good. People like them on calsha. You're trading against your peers in a live market so there's no house. As the probability changes, you can buy in and out of your position. It doesn't work like a stock market. You don't have to wait until the gains are played. You can buy in now and cash out before if you've made a little bit of money. That's how it works. So for a limited time. You can download the Kalshi app, use the code locked on you get $10 when you trade 10 that's K A L S H I Kalshi trade on anything 18 plus. Only restrictions and eligibility requirements apply. Event contract trading involves risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Price, value and available markets may differ from those mentioned. For more information, see kalsheet.com regulatory Today's show is brought to you by Rocket Money. If you've ever opened up a bank account and thought, where'd all my money go? You're not alone. Keeping track of subscriptions, spending and bills can get overwhelming fast. And I know, especially nowadays, that money can really fly out. That's where Rocket Money comes in. Helps you take control of your finances all in one place. It tracks all of your subscriptions in one spot so you can cancel the ones you don't need with just a few taps. It automatically categorizes all your spending so you can actually see where your money is going. And you can set budgets, get alerts, and stay on top of upcoming bills. It makes everything feel more organized, gives you a clearer picture of your finances day to day. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps you find and cancel unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you lower your bills so you can grow your savings. Let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join@Rocket Money.com LockedOn that's RocketMoney.com LockedOn thanks for making Locked On Celtics your first listen every day and being part of this show every Monday through Friday. Plus bonus Podcast like one of these parts of the conversation with Sean's going to be the show is daily. It's Monday through Friday. Like I said, it's on YouTube. So subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the show there, get into the comments section, share your thoughts with me. I'm John Corrales. I'm a beat writer. I cover the Celtics for Sports illustrated Celtics on SI. I've been doing this podcast for 20 years, doing this, covering the team for 20 years, doing this podcast for 10. So thank you for being with me and being an everydayer. Let's get back to the conversation here with Sean.
- [17:01]
Sean Grandy
I have said I've done this line many times and I have an addendum to it now. But this team this year forced me to use the words I was wrong more than any other time in my life and I've been married twice. So consider the ground that covers. And then I realize at the end of the year I Was wrong again. I was wrong to try to temper the enthusiasm as it was going on. I was, that was a very parental protective thing I was doing. Because when you're a parent, you're just, you don't want your kid to get hurt. You're doing anything you can to not let them get hurt. And to me it was just, I don't want to say smoke and mirrors, but it just seemed too good to be true. And you're trained as a parent to teach your kid if something's too good to be true. But I realized I should have just been like everybody else, gone all in and then been completely shocked and disappointed when it didn't go that crazy way. Because if you can't love this team and fall in love with that, with this team we just saw when all those ridiculous games this year. What's the point of being a sports fan if you, if you can't go all in and enjoy it? Are there real issues now? We have Jaylen Brown conversation to have. Who are going to be the free agents? What are you going to do with that trade exception? All that stuff is fair to jump into and to be, you know, critical. Get the expectations back. And what do you do as long as you have Jalen and Jason, should they play together? And what did this year mean? All fair, but I just don't want that 82 games to get lost because it was, it was awesome. There were no championship expectations on 2017 when Isaiah Thomas went crazy. Yeah, that year. And you had the Jay Crowders and the Evan Turners and Jerebco and the players that fans loved and you were able to enjoy that. But the illusion that this team could beat the Knicks or OKC or San Antonio in a seven game series, they made you believe that. Sure.
- [18:47]
John Corrales
Yeah.
- [18:47]
Sean Grandy
The way they played, they made you believe. And as I said, they only thing I could think of to try to come up with something on the difficult last night was to break your heart. They had to capture it. That they did.
- [18:59]
John Corrales
That's a perfect way to put it. That's absolutely perfect way to put it. Because that's kind of what I do, John. That's.
- [19:05]
Sean Grandy
Listen, right?
- [19:07]
John Corrales
Just take the compliment. Just take the compliment. It is the perfect way to put it because yeah, we, we went through this roller coaster. I think this, this season is as much a it, it's like a psychologist's dream, you know, like sit there with the fans and just watch how expectations change the reactions to what's happening. Because when you come in with no expectations, man, all of these wins were so great. People were like, really? Wow, man, I can't believe. This is so amazing. And you're right. So they spent all that time capturing your heart. This is like the, like the, the, the Tinder scammer guy. Like they just spent all the time, like, just winning you over. This was the season to be skeptical and be like, nah, this is not going to be anything. And then at the end, they pull the rug out from under you, like, haha, psych. And it's, it becomes disappointing. Even though this. I, I said it before. People get on me because they're like, yo, you can't, you can't look at it that way. When you say, if I told you this is how the season was going to end back in October, people would be like, yeah, okay, yeah, I, I buy that. The Celtics are going to lose a Game 7 in the 27 series to the Philadelphia 76ers. And I think the reaction if I said that back in October, they'd be like, okay, so Embiid stayed healthy.
- [20:41]
Sean Grandy
Yep.
- [20:41]
John Corrales
They got to the second seed. The Celtics kind of had to play their way into the seventh. The seventh seed. And like, oh man, was there ever a chance for them to tank? Should they have the tanked to get out of the plan like that? That would have been the, the conversation like, no, actually the Celtics were the second seed. That, that would have been like the mind blowing. Like, no, no, no, no. Pixar didn't happen. And, and the whole 83 games, like, that's. Those were the picks. It happened.
- [21:10]
Sean Grandy
Tatum made you believe. And that was a big factor. The way he looked, that he would. He looked as good as he did. Made you believe it. But it's funny because was Tatum there in game seven? No. Was he there last year when the Celtics got eliminated? No. Was he hurt on the first play of the game and unable to do anything in the last time they were eliminated before that? Yes. Noticing a pattern between what you need to, you know, to win as much as you can say, the dude said all year. I know the national media jumped on Jalen for saying it after game seven, but we all know Jalen had been calling this his favorite year all year. He kept doing it over and over again, even if a lot of us were. And this is a YouTube gem, you know, making it like, hey, dude, like, chill. We don't, we get it. You don't need to keep saying it over and over again. There were some PR ways. I think the whole thing could have been handled differently. Maybe on both sides too, because we probably didn't need the docu series right in. In retrospect. But all that being said, Tatum made you believe. And whatever Jalen was saying all year long, I think he knew in his heart of hearts he needed his guy with him if they were gonna make a run. And when game seven was there, his. His guy wasn't there, wasn't there with him. So come on, let's do it. Let's do it.
- [22:26]
John Corrales
You want to get into the aftermath,
- [22:27]
Sean Grandy
you know, you know you do. Well, yeah.
- [22:29]
John Corrales
Okay. So like the Jalen stuff, I. I think, well, I just wrote a column that said basically they. All of this is self inflicted because all the Celtics had to do was take care of business against the Philadelphia 76ers. Like so number one, none of this happens if they just handled their business against the Sixers. And they did have Tatum in game two, they did have him in game five, and they did have him in game six. So one of those games should have been a win. They were up 3:1. So they could have won that series. And then whatever happened against the Knicks, let's just say they go in there and they get worked okay. At some point they go down.02, let's say, which would have been crazy because they would have had to lose two games at home. Again, another thing. But if the Knicks come in and are just like, whoa, they're just better, then I think people like us, people on other podcasts, people everywhere will look at those games and say, hey guys, the Knicks are the better team. And we might have like believed the bravado, might have said whatever we. We're saying, but the Knicks are the better team. Let's wrap our heads around that and hopefully they can make this a series. And who knows? But I think that's how it would have gone.
- [23:52]
Sean Grandy
I think, John, I'm jumping you to say, I think you are living a little bit in a world of what you hope would be true versus we're saying that now. Yeah, the Knicks look great and Bo, you know, we tip our hat to the better team. I don't think that's the case. I think we. There would be the same conversation about something that happened. They blew that 14 game lead at Madison Square Garden in game three and they did all this. I think you'd be hearing a lot of the same stuff in the story. Refusal to accept, because it's an abstraction now. We don't have a Celtics nick series to look at that the Celtics lost and then people would be able to Say, oh, man, they lost game two at home and they were up and they should have had. I think it would have been the same thing. I think people had talked themselves into this is this team's going to the Finals. I think the only way Celtics fans, the loud ones, would have been reacting the way you're saying they would have reacted is if they. That happened to them with OKC in the Finals, I think they would have found a way no matter what they had talked themselves into this being a Finals team, it's our birthright.
- [24:58]
John Corrales
You know, we're the Celtics, and there's. There's, like, there's always going to be some level of that. Doesn't matter who. Doesn't matter who's on the team. There's always going to be some level of that. And I do think that part of. Part of the issue with that is when it comes to social media, the. The anonymity of it all causes us to treat every comment equally when every Twitter comment is not equal. If we. If we were to walk out of the arena together and two drunk guys walked out of the harp and just started screaming, drunken, drunken. Like, we. We'd be able to walk by and be like, okay, dude, whatever, and ignore them. But when that comes out in a tweet, we just treat it with the same reverence that we treat every tweet and engage, or at least I have the problem of doing that. And so whatever. So that happened.
- [25:45]
Sean Grandy
That happened to me once. You know, the only time I've been yelled at by fans, because I walk home. I live about a mile from the Garden, so I walk home. And the only time that Celtic fans were so full of rage, they were actually mad at me by. Through. You know, that through connection was the. The elimination game against Milwaukee with. They were so mad at Kyrie and so desperately wanted Kyrie to leave. They were literally, like, honking their horns. Granny, get him out of here. Like, they were so mad at him. They were mad at me.
- [26:15]
John Corrales
Sure, sure.
- [26:16]
Sean Grandy
I always laugh when Kyrie was saying. Kyrie was like, you know, I'm sorry I left and I broke people's hearts. I'm like, dude, they. Were they to say they were willing to drive you to the airport? They, you know, they would. It would have been, you know, it would have walked you to the airport certainly, like, by the time that was over. But, yeah, people get mad. Not fans. I think we. I think we tend to look at social media sometimes at the extreme of it as being representative fans. I'm just saying there is a group of people that aren't satisfied and I think they, that just hurt me so much because if you can't love this particular team this year.
- [26:49]
John Corrales
Yeah.
- [26:50]
Sean Grandy
If you assigned to them their success and started treating them like the fourth best team in the league and they're a 56 win team and they should go to the finals because you know Cade was banged up then you're setting yourself up for disappointment. And sure it was just a, it was a, it was a special year. Nobody thinks about the again going back. Nobody thinks the Isaiah Thomas here negatively. But no right here is that this 26 season will get lost in those last three games.
- [27:17]
John Corrales
I mean I hope not. I hope not. But but again they did. See I feel like that season it was you tell me if I'm wrong. I don't think people got their hopes up the way they got their hopes up in this season. Today's show is brought to you by five Hour Energy. If you've got a sweet tooth, you know how tough it is to find that perfect treat without all the sugar. That's why Fruity Rainbow five Hour Energy Shots bring that nostalgic flavor back in a whole new way. Fruity Rainbow 5 hour energy shots treat your taste buds to an explosion of fruity flavor with a tasty caffeine kick. It's quick, it's easy, and you get that satisfying sweet craving satiated while keeping things simple and on the go. And again, no sugar. So sweet tooth approved. It's very convenient. Little small portable shots. You can grab a handful of them, throw them in your bag. Whenever you need a little pick me up, just reach in and grab one and there you go. It's a go to. I know when I'm traveling it's easy to throw into my bag. I know I'm not traveling right now, but you can get one. Maybe that 3 o' clock crash that you feel. That'd be a good time to grab your candy flavored chaos with fruity rainbow Five Hour Energy shots. It's available online at Five Hour Energy, the number five hourenergy.com or on Amazon. Today's show is brought to you by Wayfair. Your outdoor space should feel like you. It's one of those spots that you keep meaning to fix up but never quite get around to. That's where Wayfair comes in. They make it easy to find pieces that match the vibe that you want. It's very easy to filter on Wayfair by style, by budget, so you can get exactly what fits your space. My wife and I are constantly exchanging Wayfair links whenever it's time to refresh a space. We did a porch recently and that was something that Wayfair very much helped with. And again, your style, your budget, you want to maybe save a little bit, you want to splurge. It's all there. At Wayfair, with thousands of verified reviews, you can feel confident in what you're getting. So your space actually feels put together someplace that you want to actually sit, relax and spend time. Get prepped for patio season. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W a Y f a I r.com Wayfair Every style Every home thanks for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. If you never miss an episode, it's time to make it official. Join the Lockdown every day or club get ad free audio access to our members only. Discord and more. It's all built for you, our most loyal fan. Go to lockdownceltics.super cast.com lockdown celtics.supercast.com 5 bucks a month or 50 bucks for the year to join the Lockdown Celtics every daters club now more with Sean Grandy.
- [30:02]
Sean Grandy
Nobody thinks the Isaiah Thomas here negatively, but my fear is that this 26 season will get lost in those last three games.
- [30:10]
John Corrales
I mean I hope not. I hope not. But. But again they did. See I feel like that season it was you tell me if I'm wrong. I don't think people got their hopes up the way they got their hopes up in this season.
- [30:26]
Sean Grandy
No, because there hadn't been a run of the same run of success before. Remember that 17 team the Celtics hadn't won a playoff series in five years. Going in, they had lost in 15. They. They had blown out in 15. Swept. 16 was the electoral math of the tiebreaker and they had to play Atlanta in the first round instead of Charlotte. A series they would have won. So yeah, and you had this unbelievable Isaiah story and then his sister died and you had the run. They won the fourth straight against Chicago. It was all magical and no, nobody really had those aspirations for any year. But they shouldn't have this year either.
- [30:58]
John Corrales
Right? But they did. And so but I don't think it's unfair to say they should have. They should have found a way to beat the. You're up 3:1. You should. Okay, so they. They should have beaten the Sixers. They should have. They blew it. It's not. I don't think it like and being we can say that and Vijay Edgecomb and Paul Jordan. All of that stuff is true. The Celtics still blew it. That, that is, that is a fine way for people to process that series. We can sit here as rational human beings, you and I, and say they were going to probably lose against the Knicks. So let's wrap our heads around that. They blew that opening round series. They were on their way to a second round loss no matter what. And so we should all just love and enjoy the what this was and let the disappointment of what happened dissipate and just enjoy the entirety of what. What was really 90% great and just that last 10% was.
- [32:08]
Sean Grandy
I also wonder if it's a psychological thing. What if game four and five had been reversed? What if the Celtics Embiid's great in game four and they win, they come back two two and then they blow them off the face of the earth and win game five and then they lose the last two. See, to me, everyone is putting a lot on the 3:1 thing. And to me, I don't care if you were up 30 and lost, if you lost the first three and that, like Miami in 23, you lost. I think home and home and away has changed the dynamic of these series with shooting variants, with home court advantages down to what we're not quite the NHL, but we're getting there. We're home court advantages down into the 50s, right? 56, 58% home court, that isn't as big a deal, but I think a lot of people are falling back on a three one and, and that. Here's the, I'll say the quiet part out loud, that there was an element of Celtic fans dropping the confetti early after game four in Philadelphia. That was one, you know, one of my altar. I never get involved in the social media stuff with the teams ever, ever, ever. But in 2020, before the pandemic, the Sixers won the first three games in the regular season, and they won the regular season series from the Celtics for the first time in a while. And the Sixers social media put out this big tweet about winning the season series from the Celtics. And I remember our social media team didn't really know what to do with it. They were up 30 in the season series, whatever. And the only time I've ever done any trolling of any kind was, of course, flash forward to the playoffs, Celtics win four straight and sweep them. And I quote, tweeted that tweet about this regular season January said, drop the confetti a little early again, huh? Like, because that was more just trying to defend our social media because they didn't know how to deal with that. But listen, it. It hurts to be on the other side of horrible losses that you have inflicted on other teams for decades. My storyline, as I was calling game seven, I was so convinced when games as. As 48 hours were going by and then Tatum was out. To me, this became an unbelievable opportunity for the Sixers. And the way Embiid and George and everybody was playing, to me, I thought the Celtics could win Game 7, but I wasn't expecting it. I thought that's. That's a team with momentum. That is probably the better team right now. And when they got up by 17 late in the third, going into the fourth and Celtics started chipping away, the way I was calling that game, my storyline was, they can't. The Sixers can't possibly blow this, can they? After 44 years. They can't possibly. This. I can't even begin to describe how calamitous a loss that would have been for the Sixers to cough up that lead after 44 years against a team that not only didn't have Tatum and, you know, Kaden, foul trouble, the Sixers had to win that game and very nearly didn't. And again, I don't know if people subscribe to that theory of one more shot goes in, if there's a psychological element to the Celtics taking the lead, if they have, oh, yeah, you know, with, with. With two minutes to go. So I think you have to be able to change in real time. And maybe because of my whole perspective of the whole year, it was easier for me to put on that hat as the game was going on. But. And I'm not being. I'm not. The last thing I'm being is, hey, wasn't it a great year? Forget what happened, mourn what happened, be angry about what happened. Just know when we start to turn the page to what is next, and this is going to be a fascinating summer, as many of them are, as you turn the page, that this year was in many ways what it was supposed to be, including, hopefully a first team, all NBA, for Jalen, for whatever we're about to say about him. His year was, as you like to say, chef's kiss.
- [35:48]
John Corrales
So right there, we're just going to leave that and pick up the Jalen Brown, Tracy McGrady stuff. After thinking about it, after dwelling on it, Sean and I will give our take and we're going to get into the fading home court advantage and Brad Stevens maneuvering to get into the tax. And people, a lot of people are reading that just the wrong way. That's all coming up in the next podcast that that will be released as a bonus podcast. So I'm not dragging it out too too much. So part one yesterday, part two today, part three bonus podcast later today. So one for your ride to work, one for your ride home from work. So thank you for subscribing, for being here every Monday through Friday, for taking in these bonus podcasts and being an everydayer with me. Thanks for all of that. And now please share the podcast. 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.