The Boston Celtics elected to take Ring Night to a whole new level, blowing out the new-look New York Knicks 132-109. That it was against the team that was framed as their biggest rival for the 2024-25 NBA regular season made the victory all the more sweet, wrapping up a timeless ring ceremony replete with Celtics champions of past eras there to celebrate the historic moment pre-game.
Most impressive of all was star Boston forward Jayson Tatum, who had himself one of the most efficient nights in league history on his way to putting up 37 points and 10 assists, while the Celtics as a team tied the record for made 3s (29 in total) in the win.
What was worth a second look from the big celebration? What is sustainable from the beatdown victory? And what else should we take from Game 1 of 82 in the new regular season? The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast convened directly from TD Garden to talk it all over, so check it out below.
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Most impressive of all was star Boston forward Jayson Tatum, who had himself one of the most efficient nights in league history on his way to putting up 37 points and 10 assists, while the Celtics as a team tied the record for made 3s (29 in total) in the win.
What was worth a second look from the big celebration? What is sustainable from the beatdown victory? And what else should we take from Game 1 of 82 in the new regular season? The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast convened directly from TD Garden to talk it all over, so check it out below.
*****************************************************
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Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Celtics Lab is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.
00:07Alrighty, welcome to the Celtics Lab podcast brought to you by Price Picks, the exclusive
00:10fantasy basketball partner of the CLNS Media Network, and by Game Time Tickets.
00:13Less than a ticket slows price, guaranteed.
00:16What time is it?
00:17Game Time.
00:18I'm Cameron Tebbits.
00:19I am coming at you live from TD Garden, which means I got to see the banner go up and also
00:25that the Wi-Fi is bad.
00:26I'm also joined by Alex Goldberg out in Brooklyn and Dr. Justin Quinn in Mexico City.
00:31We watched the Boston Celtics receive their 2024 championship rings.
00:35We watched the banner 18 hit the rafters after the second longest championship drought in
00:41franchise history.
00:42And we watched the Boston Celtics absolutely dismantle the New York Knicks.
00:47By the way, they played a basketball game.
00:49And that's what we're going to talk about here.
00:51I'll just go around the whore and pick one thing that just like is going to stick with
00:55you from the rest of, from tonight for the rest of your days, Justin.
01:01Just watching everyone's faces while they tried to beat the three point record at the
01:05end of the game, just over and over and over again.
01:13And we've got a frozen Cameron.
01:16Yeah, well, I'll piggyback right off the bat.
01:21It's extremely hilarious for the following sequence of outcomes where Boston Celtics
01:28raise banner 18, receive their rings, Jason Tatum comes out and has one of the most efficient
01:35games of his career.
01:36They lay an absolute beat down on a supposed conference rival in the New York Knicks.
01:41And all the fans are mad because they don't break the three point record in a single game.
01:47That's an extremely funny way to start the season and couldn't be happier in a lot of
01:52respects.
01:53And you know, who also couldn't be happier?
01:55I'm guessing it is Joe Missoula.
01:58This is this is the perfect Joe Missoula season opener.
02:01I'm thrilled to see where this goes.
02:04What is the park it tastes like blood?
02:09Well, welcome, Cameron sorts out his Wi Fi issues, obviously, you know, the main thing
02:15that we have to talk.
02:16There's nothing to sort out.
02:18It's not my Wi Fi.
02:19Ah, well, I'm not.
02:21This is whatever, if the worst thing that happened tonight at TD Garden is that our
02:27Wi Fi is no bueno.
02:29It's a pretty good outcome for Celtics fans, I think.
02:32Yeah, no, I would agree.
02:35And, you know, I think so.
02:38Let's start at the beginning.
02:39Obviously, you know, they raise the banner.
02:42Spring Night in general was a pretty fun affair.
02:46You know, you have a bunch of Celtics legends coming out in the form of Ray Allen, Kevin
02:51Garnett, Paul Pierce, Cedric Maxwell, Bob Cousy, you know, all of these kind of icons
02:57of the franchise.
02:58And to see that happen and to see, you know, the Celtics players kind of react to that
03:04both before and after the game was really cool.
03:06JQ, did you catch any of the kind of opening ceremonies and what were your thoughts there?
03:11I did.
03:12One of the things that struck me is kind of similar to what happens when they win the
03:18championship.
03:19And it's just, why are the owners the first in line?
03:22I mean, I know they own the team, but they didn't do the thing.
03:25Let the people who did the thing get their honor, then do the owners at the top of the
03:29stack.
03:30There was a really good photo of Wick Grusbeck chilling on the Boston Common, enjoying the
03:35sunlight on what I'm sure was a beautiful day in Boston, though.
03:40Obviously, shout out to Wick, shout out to the owners general.
03:43But let's be real.
03:44We were here to watch our boys, both the team and coach Joe Mazzuola.
03:50Cameron is back.
03:51Cameron, what did you have to say about the opening ceremony?
03:55Obviously, you were in-house for all of it.
03:58How did it look to you?
04:01It looked great.
04:02We're not going to restart the episode?
04:04No, I don't think so.
04:07Okay.
04:08It looked fantastic.
04:09I thought the white jackets were really special, classy.
04:16I know it's like rooted in some awful stuff, but I miss when there's all this war white
04:20at home all the time.
04:22There's just something historically pertinent about that.
04:25Again, also kind of icky for other ways.
04:29It just looks good.
04:30Do you remember?
04:31Yeah, it looks good.
04:32It was clean.
04:33I talked to someone with the team.
04:35They said rehearsal did not go that well.
04:37They were a little worried that it was going to be not well executed, but it went off without
04:42a hitch.
04:43Everyone hit their marks.
04:44The crowd was fantastic.
04:48It was really special.
04:50I've never been to a moment like that in sports.
04:54We talked about this on this podcast.
04:55We're impartial viewers.
04:57It's our job to be, but I did grow up a fan of the team, so that felt special.
05:01Joe Mazzuola, after the game, he joked about the blood on the court, and he said the ring
05:06was too big, so I don't really like it.
05:08He was being funnier than usual.
05:11He said that he looks at the banners often.
05:13Joe Mazzuola, he's honest sometimes in a really unique way, and I believe him that he looks
05:20at the banners often as someone who also grew up in New England.
05:24He said that that was really special to him.
05:28It's silly and symbolic, and sports are silly and sometimes symbolic, but when you're in
05:33it, it was really special.
05:36The Boston Celtics raising a banner is one of the special things in North American sports.
05:43Jason Tatum had some stuff to say right at the beginning of this game with regard to
05:47both this banner and potentially ones to come.
05:50How did the Garden react to Jason Tatum's kind of pronouncement earlier, and can you
05:55recap that for the listeners?
05:57Sure.
05:58So between getting the rings and raising the banner, Tatum took center stage with Brown
06:04and Orford, but he spoke, and it was pretty canned stuff.
06:10It was actually kind of boring, and then he said, and to the best fans in sports, and
06:14he really melts the long pause, let's go win another one or let's do it again.
06:19I forgot the exact line.
06:22I asked him about it after he said it was not planned, that they're taking the mantra
06:27of let's just take it one day at a time, but the emotions got the better of him.
06:32He said that the energy from the fans just really got to him, so it was this really special
06:37moment where Jason Tatum, who calls himself a shy person and who is usually very polished
06:46and thoughtful when he addresses the public, had this really earnest, honest moment with
06:52the fans.
06:53It's a good line.
06:54That's why I asked him about it.
06:55I asked him if he pre-wrote it because it's such a good line, and he said he didn't.
06:59Yeah, tickets were stupidly expensive, and I think probably fans got their money's worth.
07:09This really supports my theory that Jason Tatum just needs to undo the top button of
07:15the shirt.
07:16It doesn't need to be like Anthony Edwards, but this is good.
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08:09Prize picks.
08:10Run your game.
08:11Well, it's funny you say that.
08:14I asked Jalen, you know, we all kind of assumed that the weight is going to be lifted off
08:19your shoulders.
08:20Did you feel that tonight?
08:21And he, he laughed and then gave a really like, we're just going to take it one day
08:26at a time.
08:27Just take it one day at a time.
08:28He kind of like acknowledged.
08:29Yeah, he knew exactly what I was talking about.
08:32And yet he went away from it entirely.
08:35So I was thinking about that, like, what, like, I don't know what we're going to talk
08:41about day over day here.
08:43I mean, they're going to keep giving the same answers.
08:45Got to take it one day at a time.
08:46It's got to be process oriented.
08:47I mean, we're going to hear the same answer every night because they can't say a lot about
08:54Joe Missoula doing strange things like kissing the parquet and saying it tasted like blood.
09:00I think this season because we're going to need to generate some storylines if they keep
09:05playing like this.
09:06I have well, I have a counterpoint to that, which is that I actually think that the Celtics
09:12perhaps in a fashion befitting of both the team and their title run, that they mostly
09:18did their talking on the court tonight.
09:20That is a fair assessment.
09:22Yeah, I mean, so so let's get into that because Jason Tatum obviously, you know, starts off
09:28by saying, let's do it again, and then comes out and has the most efficient game of his
09:34career, lays an absolute beat down on the Knicks and is kind of the center of attention
09:41there.
09:42And then starts off with a made three, the first of quite a few.
09:46And yeah, let's get into it a little bit.
09:50Well, can I just 15 points in the first quarter on four for six from three was Alex, just
09:56to your point, he was locked and loaded.
10:00Biggest outcome here is Jason had 10 assists.
10:04He has hit 63 at 63 in the first half.
10:07He's done that six times in his career.
10:09That's not he's not, you know, a splash brother, but he can light it up.
10:13I think the 10 assists is the bigger number.
10:15But yeah, Alex, to your point, I don't know what the Knicks were thinking, but they were
10:21not in this game for very long.
10:22And the Celtics were all over them.
10:24I mean, the Celtics lost missed.
10:27So I think listeners will know the Celtics tied an NBA record 29 made threes.
10:33Al Horford hit one at like the eight and a half minute mark or so in the fourth quarter.
10:37Boston went on to miss 13 consecutive threes to close the game and still shot 47% from
10:44three as a team.
10:45That's crazy.
10:46And three point attempts, Derek White, I think that's a pretty significant number two.
10:53I think the starters, um, I know I tweeted this, they went 26 for 4133, the starters
10:58did something like that, like, not 26, it would be Yeah, 26 Yeah, 2641 from three is
11:06another, just like, sometimes box stores, scores can indeed tell you a lot.
11:12The Celtics have three turnovers.
11:15That's another result, like the three point, that's the headline, but three turnovers.
11:21It is mathematically impossible to lose a game where you have three turnovers and shoot
11:2747% from 33 assists.
11:32Like that's an absolute buzzsaw of a team.
11:38Well, can I am Can I try to take on precise?
11:44The Knicks are gonna be really bad on defense.
11:45Brunson and yeah, on the court together was that was a real problem in the Celtics didn't
11:51hunt it because they didn't need to hunt it because it just created issues for the next
11:55those two guys are not fast enough.
11:57It's not that you can, like, get them in isolation and dance on them or power them
12:02down.
12:03They can't move their feet fast enough for a team like the Celtics, especially when they're
12:06zipping ball around like that.
12:07Um, yeah, it's gonna be a long season and a lot can happen and teams change and grow
12:12and Carlton counts was just dropped in their lap.
12:15They definitely don't know how to use them yet.
12:16But the New York defense was very uninspired, I felt.
12:23And what's tricky about that, because I agree, you know, I think it was pretty clear from
12:28the jump that Brunson and towns were huge red dots that Jim Zula was all too eager to
12:33hunt.
12:34Um, but, you know, another thing that stood out to me is, Boston did not respect Josh
12:40Hart, McHale bridges or OGN and OB at any point during this game.
12:44On the other end, they were more than content to let them chuck away.
12:49And those guys looked afraid to shoot.
12:51They did not look like they were comfortable or in the flow of the offense.
12:54The gel bridges kind of got it going in garbage time.
12:58But we're in an OB and heart from a spacing standpoint, really looked like they had not
13:04adjusted well to the system.
13:06I do think that the Knicks are going to get it together.
13:08I think that by the time you know, like March, April rolls around, they're going to be a
13:13pretty rock solid team.
13:15But let's talk about the frontcourt depth, though.
13:18Yeah.
13:19Fair enough.
13:20New York.
13:21Because I mean, it's 24 minutes of Jericho Sims.
13:25Yeah.
13:26And it's so cuckoo that the Celtics, they didn't even use Porzingis tonight.
13:31Um, yeah, obviously, Mitchell Robinson, being absent is going to hurt them for as long as
13:36it's going to hurt them.
13:37Precious, precious to also how I mean, they do have more frontcourt depth, but it's not
13:44well, the frontcourt depth, like, I mean, Luke, we're not pretty good tonight.
13:49We saw a little bit.
13:50He was fine.
13:51I mean, some fleetingly saw Tillman like the Celtics flashed their frontcourt depth.
13:56The Tillman Horford combination was pretty sexy for a hot second on defense for sure.
14:01Yeah.
14:02They really seem like they knew where to be in a way that looked like they had been playing
14:06together for a lot longer than they had.
14:09Yeah.
14:10I mean, that's what happens when you bring back 14 or 15 guys.
14:15There was great continuity.
14:16Uh, again, even with that, so the three point numbers were just closer to an outlier than
14:22a new expectation.
14:24This was just so solid.
14:25Boston was just like up in New York's jerseys from the jump.
14:30I think that's really sustainable.
14:31I think Boston's like really, really good perimeter defense is going to continue with
14:37not improve.
14:38And, you know, one of the criticisms we've had about them is that they don't play to
14:42their potential.
14:43They don't play like the 2013 Spurs that they wanted to tonight, they did.
14:48And if they get better at that, like, holy mackerel, is that going to be good?
14:53Yeah, I was in a bar near my apartment in Brooklyn here, and the bar was populated overwhelmingly
15:00with Knicks fans.
15:02And, you know, being there and watching that experience with my buddy, Mac, who is a diehard
15:08long suffering Knicks fan, and a few other of my friends and various Knicks fans, it
15:13just became so clear that the opposing fan base, and I imagine the opposing player reaction
15:20to this Celtics team, at least now is one of overwhelming dread and resignation, like
15:27the game was over by the second quarter, and everybody in that bar knew it.
15:32I remember just like, you know, chatting with some of them and being like, we don't have
15:37any idea what to do with this team.
15:40And I think I think that's going to be the case for a number of opposing fan voices.
15:45Now, I don't think the Celtics are going to like, they're not going to go at two and oh,
15:49they're going to, you know, when every single game, you don't say, Yeah, shocker.
15:53I know.
15:54But um, you know, like, in one game, uh, you know, if Twitter is to be believed, like people
16:01are talking about changing the rules of basketball, because that's how much of a beat down the
16:08on what I think many expected would be probably their fiercest challenger in the Eastern Conference
16:14in many respects, that's, like, every other team should be terrified of what just happened
16:21tonight.
16:22And again, you know, I mentioned before the pod, I'm sidestreaming Lakers Wolves right
16:26now.
16:27And you know, I'm seeing Anthony Davis and Rudy Gobert get in rock fights around the
16:31rim.
16:32It's a super sloppy game filled with turnovers and questionable decision making and Dante
16:38DiVincenzo cricking threes.
16:39And it's just like, there are times when it feels like Boston is playing a completely
16:44different sport.
16:45And I think that's not going to be that's, that's not going to be unique for just this
16:51game.
16:52Let's talk about our friends over at game time.
16:54The basketball season is here.
16:56That means the roar of the crowd, the energy of a live game, the smells, the sounds, the
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18:10Download game time today.
18:11What time is it?
18:12Game time.
18:13Alex, our YouTube viewers will notice that I had to change locations.
18:16So apologies to the YouTube folks and also our editors.
18:22But now I'm in the family room and I've never been in this room and it's cute.
18:26I'll tell you about it later.
18:29Yeah, let's, I don't know, pick a couple more things.
18:33I mean, we can over intellectualize this game if we want, but it's not really a result that
18:38you can expect again, unless...
18:40That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you all about the way that they were getting
18:44these threes against one of the best defensive coaches, if not the best defensive coach in
18:51the NBA.
18:54It felt really sustainable, right?
18:56Like I know they're not going to be like pushing for the record every night, but like, it feels
18:59like they could be pretty close to this if they wanted to, right?
19:03Yeah, I felt like it was kind of bushy to hunt the three point record at the end.
19:09But the Knicks were giving us such open looks that like part of me thought, man, this is
19:15like, I can't believe Missoula is allowing this, but also this is like kind of pathetic.
19:19They just hit Mr. 7th or 8th or 9th, but like, the only thing more pathetic was how
19:23open the Celtics continued to be, but weren't the Knicks also trying to, like, did they
19:28not want the record to happen in front of their faces?
19:31So I mean, they worked hard for those looks.
19:36I mean, part of it, Justin, to your point, and I'm not hugely long-term important, but
19:42Jordan Walsh was really important in generating some of those looks in the fourth quarter.
19:46It was garbage time.
19:47Again, the Knicks have pride, and they couldn't really stop the attempts.
19:51So yeah, it was wacky, but like, there is something to the suggestion that like, the
19:58Celtics aren't just good shooters, they're good at generating those shots.
20:02Yeah.
20:03Yeah, I mean, they are good at generating those shots.
20:06And you know, I think it does, at least tonight, it all started with the threat that Jason
20:11Tatum presents on offense.
20:14That he is able to pull up seemingly effortlessly from three, shout out Drew Hanlon, shot seems
20:20like it's just fine.
20:22That he's able to pull up pretty effortlessly from three, and also get into the lane and
20:27create offense for others.
20:29I mean, that's, you know, there's a very short list of players that are able to do that at
20:35the level that Jason Tatum did that tonight.
20:38And I think that if that's going to be the case, you know, knowing that Derek White and
20:44Drew Holliday and Jalen Brown and Al Harford are all elite three point shooters in their
20:49own right, that the process to me feels like it's not going to be much of a problem.
20:56Now, obviously, they will play to better defensive teams, they will go up against harder challenges.
21:01I don't think anybody's doubting that.
21:04But if everything starts with Jason Tatum, and Jason Tatum continues to play like this,
21:09I just, I think it's going to be really, really hard to stop this team.
21:16Question about that.
21:17Based on what you saw tonight, he keeps playing like this.
21:21I mean, obviously not 37 points a night, but over 30 points a night, hitting these three
21:26pointers like in motion.
21:29Is he a legit MVP, top five MVP candidate?
21:32Is he the leading MVP candidate?
21:35I think he absolutely has to be, especially if the Celtics have the best record in the
21:40league or the best record in the Eastern Conference, which I think are both not just possibilities,
21:45but likely.
21:46If he's going to put up this kind of efficiency, then he's going to be firmly in the MVP conversation
21:53and might be the leader.
21:54How many points are they going to lose to the Wizards to...
21:59Right, exactly.
22:02I don't think he, I think he's going to play himself out of the MVP conversation because
22:06if Jason Tatum plays this well, he's not going to play in like any fourth quarter.
22:11And so Luke is going to average 35, seven and eight, and Jason's going to average 25,
22:18five and eight, and he's only going to play like 20 minutes a game.
22:21So I still think Jason Tatum will get an MVP, or if he gets an MVP, it'll be like a legacy
22:27MVP that like two or three years from now, it'll almost like the Westbrook MVP, right?
22:33Well, that was a little different, but you know what I mean.
22:37I just like, I can't imagine...
22:38Not a short podcast, Cam.
22:40That's not a short podcast.
22:41I just can't imagine Jason producing the kind of numbers just because of how good this team
22:45is.
22:46And if he does produce as efficiently as tonight, he's not going to play in the fourth quarter.
22:50This team's too good.
22:51Yeah, you have a point.
22:53So that's a happy note to end on, I guess, other than, well, there's certainly seasons
23:02quite on the road, including the next ones in Washington on the road.
23:07Between now and then, we're booked to have a special guest come on, so you could be excited
23:11for that.
23:12So enjoy this.
23:13This was a special bonus episode.
23:14We'll be back to a weekly episode sometime next week around when the Celtics host the
23:20Bucs, who may or may not have Chris Middleton.
23:23We'll see what's going on with that.
23:26Until then, thanks, PrizePix.
23:27Thanks, GameTime.
23:28Thanks, everyone, for bearing with me moving around the garden while we recorded this.
23:32Justin, Alex, any last, like, non sequiturs for ring night?
23:39I think Josh Hart said it best.
23:41The NBA needs to drug test them dudes.
23:43I ain't never seen anything like that.
23:46If this is the Celtics team we're getting for this year, we're going to be in for something
23:50really special.
23:51Hello.
23:53I'll add, it was very nice to see Mike Gorman in the audience.
23:56And an Amika ad.
24:00I think the thing that stuck with me most is that winning is cool because sports history
24:04is cool and it's fun to rip your friends from New York or whatever, but it's so fun.
24:09It was like, this was a very fun night and the players had fun and the coaches had fun
24:14and the fans had fun.
24:17You should want your favorite team to win the title because it's really, really fun.
24:21Way after.
24:22Yeah.
24:23Yeah.
24:24All right.
24:25Well, on that note.
24:26Thanks, everyone, for listening.
24:27We'll be back soon.
24:28And until then, Arrivederci.