The Philadelphia 76ers won their play-in game against the Miami Heat, sending Miami home to face the Chicago Bulls, who beat Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks in their play-in game. Now the Sixers go to New York to face the Knicks in the 2-7 series, which doesn't rule out a future matchup with the Celtics. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss the Heat and Bulls chances against Boston and why injuries to Butler and Caruso are the worst-case scenarios for both...

The Celtics hit the practice floor on Monday and it was a long, tough session. Al Horford called it a harder practice than training camp, and says he's happy with how the guys looked. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into that and the difference this team is already showing from last year's team. Plus, hear Brad Stevens talk about how this team compared to his expectations and Joe Mazzulla's progression as a coach.

While we wait for the Celtics to find out their playoff opponent, we open up the mailbag to figure out how to avoid playoff stress, worries about how the Celtics will play, how deep they'll get into the bench, and the toughest playoff path. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal answers all that, plus questions about Derrick White's contract, Neemias Queta's impact on the depth chart, Robert Williams coming back, Jeff Van Gundy, and riding on duck boats.

The Boston Celtics wrapped up the season with 64 wins, the fourth-most in team history. Payton Pritchard, Svi Mykhailiuk, Sam Hauser, and Neemias Queta all showed good stuff in the final win of the season, without Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the regulars. We also now know the path through the playoffs for the Celtic and it looks like it might be a fun one. Plus, honoring the legend Mike Gorman on his special tribute day at the Garden.

The Celtics mailed it in again against the Knicks, falling behind by 30 before the bench made the final score look respectable. There isn't really much to take from this game, but John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal tries to answer the question of whether the Celtics are relaxing to end the season, or relapsing into their worst habits. Also, a look at the playoff picture and why this loss might actually work out come playoff time.

Holiday and the Celtics have agreed to a huge new extension that saves Boston some money in the short-term and makes sure they have their core together for a few more seasons. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss the deal, what it means to the Celtics, why it's the perfect timing for the deal, and what it could mean long-term. Plus, hear Joe Mazzulla's explanation of how the Celtics need to mentally approach the playoffs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo fell and grabbed his calf just running up the floor against the Celtics and was diagnosed with a calf strain. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal talks about that injury, the possibility of it being serious, and how it might change the entire course of the East playoffs. Plus, why the game was mostly a make/miss thing, but it did lead to one playoff question that's been lingering for a little while.

Kristaps Porzingis won East Player of the Week, Neemias Queta got a full NBA contract, and Isaiah Thomas is sticking with the Phoenix Suns. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal touches on all those news items before opening up the mailbag to answer questions about regretting the Dalano Banton trade, Jayson Tatum's free throw routine, handling the wait for a first round opponent, who the easiest opponent would be, why the NBA is so normal this season, and the double standard from fans about...

The Boston Celtics easily cruised to a win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night, even though they didn't really try very hard. Jaylen Brown scored his 10,000th career point, doing it in front of Chauncey Billups who is newly elected to the Hall of Fame. So John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal started wondering if Brown has a case for the Hall of Fame based on Billups getting in? Also, Payton Pritchard has been impressive closing games for Boston.

The Celtics tried something new, and it worked ... sort of. The Celtics rolled with some unique lineups down the stretch and blew a 19 point lead to the Sacramento Kings, but Xavier Tillman's floater won the game for Boston. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal talks about taking the opportunity to experiment and how it paid off for the Celtics.

The Celtics have 60 wins and have clinched the best record in the NBA, all with a couple of weeks before the playoffs start. So John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm decided to take a show to just appreciate how amazingly well this season has gone so far before we have to focus on the playoffs and a championship run ... including Joe Mazzulla's coaching, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and the Jayson Tatum story we're haven't talked about...

The Celtics have 60 wins and have clinched the best record in the NBA, all with a couple of weeks before the playoffs start. So John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm decided to take a show to just appreciate how amazingly well this season has gone so far before we have to focus on the playoffs and a championship run ... including Joe Mazzulla's coaching, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and the Jayson Tatum story we're haven't talked about...

The Celtics have clinched the best record in the NBA with a big win over the OKC Thunder. It's their 60th win of the year, and it came thanks to a heavy dose of Kristaps Porzingis. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explains how Porzings was a problem, why the third quarter was textbook process for answering an opponent run, and how Jaylen Brown shook off a horrible first three quarters to dominate the fourth.

Rajon Rondo said he's done playing in the NBA, which got a lot of reaction in the media even though Rondo hasn't played a game in two years. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss that, Joe Mazzulla and Ime Udoka winning Coach of the Month, and then the lesson Jayson Tatum and Xavier Tillman explained to highlight the difference between last year's team and this one.

The Celtics took an early punch from the Charlotte Hornets but hung in there to shut them down over the next few quarters. Offensively, the Celtics went with whatever worked, giving Derrick White, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser, and Jayson Tatum ample opportunities to dominate stretches of the game. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into all that and then explains why this road trip was successful ... maybe more successful than you thought.

Mailbag Monday brings us questions about (not so) meaningless games, last-minute offense, trusting Jayson Tatum in those situations, and Boston's record versus the top of the West. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal answers all of that, plus whether the Hawks and Celtics will repeat 2008, Jrue Holiday's future, Dalano Banton's explosion in Portland, and a non-basketball dream job.

The Celtics came out a little slow, but their defense stepped up to get Zion Williamson under control and then take control of the game. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal was at the game and has more on the defense showing its full capabilities, the different things Boston did down the stretch to hold off the Pelicans late run, and how just trying at all was a big step in the win.

The Celtics are in New Orleans after two straight losses to face Zion Williamson and the Pels. Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Celtics have room to experiment, but they also need to get some wins under their belts to get the positive vibes back. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Jake Madison of @LockedOnPelicans discuss Herb Jones vs Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday vs. Zion Williamson, and the value of getting back on track.

The Celtics suffered their second-straight tough loss to the Hawks, thanks to 44 points by Dejounte Murray (on 44 shots). John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into why the Celtics allowed certain things to happen to Kristaps Porzingis defensively, and why they don't view the game the same way we do.

With 10 games left to play, the playoff picture is starting to come into focus. There can still be plenty of movement, but we're starting to narrow down the possibilities. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into who the first and second round opponents might be, and who might be the biggest threat to the Celtics.

There has been a lot of conversation about the Celtics after their loss to the Hawks Monday night, but most of it is still missing the point, focusing more on the collapse than the real issue of late-game execution. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss what went right and wrong, and why Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown needed to be better at recognizing what was needed. Plus, Jrue Holiday was on Draymond Green's podcast talking about Boston's mentality, Brown &...

Everything was looking great through about 18 minutes or so as the Celtics were building a 30-point lead in Atlanta, but then the Celtics completely got bored, the Hawks started hitting a bunch of 3-pointers, and Boston played terrible, slow basketball. The result was a blown lead and a streak-snapping loss in Atlanta. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explains that the loss itself doesn't mean much at all, but the way they lost does because it's the same stuff over and over again.

We open up the mailbag once again (JohnKaralis.com/mailbag) answer questions about what has changed since the All-Star break, Payton Pritchard and Oshae Brissett bringing energy, home court advantage, and whether the Celtics really should be nervous about potentially facing the Denver Nuggets. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal has those answers, plus answers to questions about how long this team can stay together, which Celtics are having the best seasons of their careers, and which C's...

The Celtics keep on rolling, even when they don't play their best. Playing their fifth game in seven nights, the Celtics ended up beating Chicago by 11 thanks to hot shooting from Sam Hauser and Al Horford and some great rebounding by Luke Kornet. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses all that, a very important four seconds by Jaden Springer, and how their mentality of "win the day" is carrying them this season.