View From The Rafters: Behind the Scenes with the Boston Celtics

Jayson Tatum and Derrick White broke out of their brief shooting slumps to fuel another double-digit win by the Celtics. On a night when Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford all were out with injuries, Luke Kornet stepped into the starting lineup and excelled at both ends, while the rest of the Stay Ready group delivered strong performances as well. We dive into a dominant start to the fourth quarter, JT and D-White getting back on track, Boston's reserves always being ready, and what the Celtics are looking forward to Thursday night against the Phoenix Suns.

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The Boston Celtics took care of business in Portland to log their NBA-leading 50th victory of the season. Boston took an early lead and never looked back, as it led for the final 45-plus minutes of the game. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Sam Hauser were the team's leading scorers while the Celtics racked up an astonishing 34-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio. After the game, Celtics Nation joined SOUND OFF to discuss grabbing the win, Hauser's hot shooting, a potential night off coming up for Tatum, and the fact that this game was lightning fast.

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Coming off a two-game losing streak, the Boston Celtics needed a win in Phoenix - and they got it. Boston led for the final 37-plus minutes but had to stave off Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns during the second half. In the end, Al Horford drilled the shot that knocked the Suns out, all after Luke Kornet shined throughout the game and Jayson Tatum found his groove while scoring 22 points during the second half. Celtics Nation comments on Boston's ability to respond, Horford's clutch gene, the Celtics hunting out mismatches, Kornet's big night, and overcoming KD's monster night.

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The Celtics continued their road trip Thursday night in Denver, where they took on the defending-champion Nuggets and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic. This one had NBA Finals vibes around it from the opening tip and the game lived up to the hype. While Boston didn't play up to its standard, it still found a way to have possession of the ball during the final minute with a chance to take a lead, but Jayson Tatum couldn't connect. Celtics Nation joins Marc D'Amico in discussing everything that went down throughout the potential Finals preview.

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A shocker in Cleveland as the Celtics gave up a 22-point, fourth-quarter after Cleveland caught absolute fire during the fourth. The Cavs went more than nine straight minutes without missing a shot from the field, a stretch that included eight consecutive makes from long range. The Celtics still had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but complete chaos ensued during the final second as Jayson Tatum was supposed to head to the free-throw line to win it, and then he wasn't, and then the Celtics seemingly were shorted some time on the clock before a jump ball at mid-court. We touch on it all with comments from Celtics Nation in the latest episode of Sound Off!

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In the very first episode of our new postgame podcast SOUND OFF, Marc D'Amico and Celtics Nation sound off on the Boston Celtics' 52-point win over Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors on Sunday, March 3 at TD Garden. We cover Jaylen Brown and the Celtics taking this matchup personally, keeping level heads after the big win, it actually being #DifferentHere this season in Boston, Jayson Tatum's MVP candidacy, and much more.

We'll be back with more episodes of Sound Off after every Celtics game, and you can participate in the conversation by posting comments and reactions to Marc on X.

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Sam Hauser joined Marc D'Amico and Abby Chin live from Memoire at Encore Boston Harbor for the Season 4 finale and this convo didn’t disappoint. Hauser opened up by talking about his Bus 1 experience over the past couple of years (and the fact that he chose not to leave Bus 1) and his elite ability to come off the bench cold and drain shots from long distance. He joked about his defense being underrated because he’s a shooter and about Luke Kornet’s hilarious mid-game celebrations. Hauser also spoke about the sacrifices being made by the top players on the team and how inspiring that is, including Jrue Holiday, who has spoken directly to Hauser about what it took to win the 2021 NBA title. And finally during the last segment, we took video questions submitted by fans, including one that came from a very special someone.

1:00 – Hauser on his Bus 1 Boys experience and turning down the chance to move to Bus 2

5:00 – How Hauser became a rotational piece on a title contender, and what Brad Stevens saw in him that no one else did

9:30 – A crazy Hauser stat, plus being nicknamed Slam Hauser

13:00 – Being underrated on defense because he’s a shooter

15:30 – Hauser and Kornet’s friendship, and Kornet’s hilarious celebrations

22:45 – How the top Celtics players have inspired the team with their sacrifice

31:50 – Playing for Joe Mazzulla, and what Mazzulla has been experimenting with during games this season

34:45 – Fan questions that were submitted by video, including one from one special fan

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Season 4 of View from the Rafters: Behind the Scenes with the Boston Celtics has been our best season yet. We’ve brought on four Celtics starters in Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. We’ve brought on legends like Isaiah Thomas, Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. And amid all of these episodes we have had some crazy and never-before-told stories come out. This episode is all about taking the greatest segments from all of those episodes and stitching them all together as one. Buckle up and enjoy!

1:00 – Jrue Holiday on the competitive nature of his relationship with 2x USWNT gold medalist Lauren Holiday, and facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time as a Celtic

13:00 – A plane seat and a fateful care ride lead to Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis becoming Cookies & Cream

19:00 – Isaiah Thomas relives his epic 53-point game in Game 2 of the 2017 ECSF, on his late sister’s birthday

26:00 – Derrick White and Richard White on Derrick’s upbringing, and Richard teaching him to become a winning player

35:00 - Paul Pierce, Eddie House and Sam Cassell on trash talk, and Cassell stealing the 2008 championship game ball

41:00 – Neemias Queta explains how he went from growing up in Portugal to attending Utah State

47:00 – Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker remember watching each other win titles, and being ahead of their time in firing up 3-pointers in mass

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Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis have been dubbed by Joe Mazzulla as “Cookies & Cream,” and they join Marc and Abby on the VFTR set to dive into their relationship that’s blossomed both on and off the court just months after they became teammates. Listen to them relive Porzingis getting on the plane as the new guy and stealing JB’s seat (the one JB had held for four years), and the moment they got stuck on the side of the road together at 4 a.m. They also explain their chemistry on the court and why they get along so well off of it, with hilarious interactions throughout the convo. Oh, and merch? Maybe!

0:30 – Jaylen and Kristaps remember how the “Cookies & Cream” name came about

2:00 – JB tells the story of KP stealing the seat he’d held on the plane for 4 years

4:00 – Car rides, getting stuck on the side of the road at 4 a.m., and doppelgangers

9:45 – How the off-court relationship has led to on-court success

14:45 – Is Cookies & Cream merch on its way?

15:45 – One last chance to describe each other and their friendship

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With the NBA trade deadline looming this Thursday at 3 p.m., the View From The Rafters crew dives into everything the Celtics have to offer to other teams, the restraints the team is working under due to the new collective bargaining agreement, and areas of the roster that could potentially be strengthened via trade or buyout. There’s also a discussion about how Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge seemingly have different approaches to the trade deadline, while the Celtics are closer to a championship now than they were a handful of years ago. And as always, a few unexpected stories come out along the way, including when the Celtics traded multiple players away right before a game in 2015, Abby’s recent first ride with the Bus 1 Boys, and Shaq’s disbelief of how crazy the Celtics plane rides used to be.

1:00 – Sean and Abby remember their craziest trade deadline moments

6:10 – Discussion around Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge having different approaches to the deadline

11:00 – How the Celtics can get in on the action of other teams’ trades

15:30 – How the Celtics are always prepared for every scenario, which led to the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis

20:15 – Listing the trade assets the Celtics have, and Brad Stevens comments on importance of second-round picks

26:00 – Abby joins the Bus 1 Boys, and Sean breaks some news to Shaq

30:00 – Final discussion of what the Celtics can and should do with the roster

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Derrick White went from receiving no D1 scholarship offers in high school to becoming a star two-way player for the Boston Celtics, and his dad, Richard, has been there for the entire ride. Listen as Derrick and Richard join Marc and Sean to remember the journey, their father-son relationship, Derrick himself becoming a dad, and what they were both thinking after Derrick’s epic putback layup at the buzzer of Game 6 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. Oh, and they may or may not touch on Richard’s newfound fame on X (formerly known as Twitter) as a stats-based voice within the NBA community.

1:00 – Derrick on his dad’s social media, and Richard growing up a Celtics fan

5:00 – How Derrick learned to impact winning and be a chameleon

8:25 – Derrick calling Richard to tell him he’d been traded to the Celtics

12:00 – How their father-son relationship impacted Derrick on and off the court

16:00 – Reliving the buzzer-beating putback in Game 6 of the 2023 ECF

20:00 – Derrick becoming a dad, and Richard being a grandfather

27:30 – The world of social media and Richard’s participation in it

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It was the year 1998 when Paul Pierce came into the league and linked up with Antoine Walker to become one of the most promising young duos in the NBA during the lockout year. Both players were 20-point-per-game scorers and both players were All-Stars. Yet they couldn’t punch through in the postseason, which led Danny Ainge to break them apart. About 25 years after they first became teammates, the duo sits down to remember their time together, their breakup when Walker was traded (plus their reunion when Walker returned), watching each other win titles from afar, their observations of this year’s team, and the parallels between their partnership and that of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

1:00 – Remembering the early years together

3:40 – Learning how to win as young players

14:00 – Pierce watching Walker win a title from afar, then celebrating with him in Chicago

17:15 – Walker’s return to the Celtics and the “two-star” formula

22:30 – Parallels between Pierce/Walker and Tatum/Brown

32:15 – Having two star players who play a similar position

38:00 – Walker tells story of nudging Kevin Garnett to accept trade to Celtics

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There are few individual performances in Celtics history that reach the status of ‘epic.’ Isaiah Thomas’ 53-point effort in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals is unquestionably one of them. In this episode, we begin with Marc and Sean provide full context around the love affair between Isaiah and Celtics Nation, and the emotional circumstances that surrounded the 2017 Playoffs after Isaiah’s sister, Chyna, tragically passed away the day before Game 1 of the opening round. Isaiah himself joins for the second half of the episode for a lengthy conversation about his historical run with Boston, and how that epic 53-point game came to be on his late sister’s birthday.

0:30 – Setting the table for the IT4-Celtics relationship and what made it so special

10:15 – Remembering the emotions of Chyna’s death and the first-round series against Chicago

16:00 – Recalling Isaiah’s oral surgery between Games 1 and 2 of Conference Semis, and his miraculous performance in Game 2

29:15 – Isaiah Thomas joins and gives an update on his workouts

31:00 – Isaiah describes the love affair between him and Celtics Nation

37:00 – An emotional first-round series following Chyna’s death, and how it strengthened the bond between him and the city

42:40 – Reliving Game 1 of the Conference Semis, and his 13 hours of oral surgery before Game 2

49:00 – Isaiah describes what he was seeing and thinking during his magical Game 2 performance

53:15 – A friendly bet that will go down in history

55:30 – Isaiah recalls the game-sealing bucket over Markieff Morris, and how trash talk during that series nearly ended his relationship with the Morris Twins

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Neemias Queta joins Marc and Sean this week to talk about his path to the NBA and the Celtics – which is incredibly unconventional. Queta became the first Portuguese player to ever be drafted into the NBA and to ever play in an NBA game, after moving from Lisbon to Utah to play three years for Utah State. At Utah State, Queta ironically played with Danny Ainge’s son, Crew, and quickly became one of the top shot blockers in the nation. Now, after two years of development in the Kings organization and being the runner up for G League MVP, Queta is playing more minutes for the Celtics than he ever has before in the NBA, all while showing his true promise as a big man – and especially as a shot-blocker.

0:30 – Becoming the first Portuguese player in the NBA

3:10 – Cultural differences between Portugal and Spain, and why to visit Portugal

6:55 – Why Queta chose to attend Utah State instead of going pro in Europe

12:05 – Becoming an elite shot blocker

20:00 – Being drafted by the Kings and developing in the G League

23:30 – Looking up to Al Horford and contributing to the Celtics this season

27:55 – Joe Mazzulla joking to the media about Queta’s goaltending tendencies

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NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg joins Marc and Abby for a special All-Star-themed episode after the Boston Celtics launched a campaign to get all five of their starters to the 2024 NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis. The crew discusses the historical context of teams getting four or five players into the game, and dives deep into the cases Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have made to be voted onto the team this season. The group also discusses how coaches tend to vote on reserves, and how Adam Silver tends to select injury replacements, while also suggesting a couple new wrinkles that the league could consider when it comes to All-Star rosters.

3:30 – Forsberg gives the approach he’d take to voting if he were an NBA coach

9:45 – Marc reveals how he thinks the Celtics will get a minimum of three players into the game

13:15 – Forsberg suggests expanding the All-Star rosters to 15 players instead of 12

19:15 – Abby and Forsberg make a case for Derrick White to be an All-Star

24:30 – The group discusses why Porzingis deserves to make the team

28:45 – The discussion shifts to Holiday’s case to become a three-time All-Star

33:15 – Forsberg suggests that the NBA dedicate an All-Star spot to elite role players

36:30 – How Adam Silver has chosen injury replacements

38:30 – Marc, Abby and Forsberg make their All-Star predictions for the Celtics

WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcJngzG91G0

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Rajon Rondo didn’t just win two NBA championships during his NBA career. He did so while playing on both sides of the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers rivalry. Rondo explores the differences in those two experiences, and how each came to be, throughout this episode.

Rondo also gives his perspective both of being the guy who helped to end LeBron James’ first run in Cleveland, to playing against LeBron during the Miami years, to being LeBron’s teammate in Los Angeles. Rondo specifically remembers the moments of wanting to play LeBron and the Cavs during the 2010 Playoffs and then beating them, as well as LeBron’s career-altering performance during Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.

Much more is covered in the episode, as Rondo recalls nearly being traded for Kevin Garnett, the epic 2009 playoff series against the Chicago Bulls, and what separates Boston from other sports cities. He also tells the story of playing on a torn ACL and how he eventually found out it was torn, as well as playing with a dislocated elbow following his dust-up with Dwyane Wade during the 2011 Playoffs.

0:30 – Rondo’s observations of today’s NBA game

4:45 – Boston’s guards and Jrue Holiday being one of his favorite teammates

7:00 – Nearly being traded by Boston and experience of playing for multiple teams

15:15 – Playing on a torn ACL and learning about the injury from a radio broadcast

20:45 – Reliving biggest moments of his Boston career

30:30 – Facing Brad Stevens and the Celtics in 2017 Playoffs as a member of the Bulls

40:30 – Learning about Rondo’s basketball IQ

43:45 – Winning another championship

WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD8UAk92Gn8

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Fresh off a shooting competition down on the Boston Celtics’ practice court, these three 2008 champions reunite for a lengthy conversation that touches on a long list of subjects but centers around their greatest collective talent: talking trash.

Seriously, you’ve got to listen to these guys chop it up about the way they not only used to talk trash to opponents, but also to THEIR OWN TEAMMATES! Paul Pierce recalls a story of the NBA putting in a private call to Doc Rivers to request that the team dial back its trash talk on the floor. Spoiler alert: Doc didn’t exactly give in to the request.

The interesting tie between the three champs is that not only did they win a title together, but now, 15 years later, they’re all back and involved with the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce is serving in a team ambassador role, Sam Cassell is an assistant coach and Eddie House is an analyst for NBC Sports Boston. They discuss that and how their relationships are growing with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Naturally, there’s also plenty of talk about the 2008 team. They discuss the unbreakable bond between all of the players who won that title, as well as the process of working Cassell and PJ Brown into the lineup after their late acquisitions during the season. House and Cassell talk about the fact that House wound up losing playing time because Cassell joined the team.

0:45 – The guys relive the shooting competition they just had on the court, while throwing some shade at Cassell

2:29 – All three being officially involved with the team 15 years after winning the title

8:52 – Joe Mazzulla inviting Celtics alumni back, and Cassell and Pierce on their time with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in LA last summer

11:30 – The level of trash talk from the 2008 championship team

16:30 – Cassell tells the story of stealing the game ball after winning the title in 2008

19:54 – Cassell joining the team, and a return to more trash talk, including the Doc Rivers story

26:30 – Remembering the journey to the 2008 title

31:35 – More discussion on how they’re building relationships with Tatum and Brown

35:00 – The pursuit of an 18th championship

WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-f4I5m7UeY

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After being traded to the Boston Celtics the day before training camp, Jrue Holiday has taken on the challenge of moving to a new city and accepting a new role on a new team. He dives into his experience, how he’s embraced having the ball in his hands less and how it all comes down to one thing: winning.

Winning a championship alongside Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and the rest of the Celtics is his one and only goal on the NBA court, but as Holiday explains, his competitive nature doesn’t stay in the locker room. He says it follows him home, into a house that features one of the most competitive families in the country. Holiday and his wife, two-time soccer gold-medalist and former US Women’s National Team member Lauren Holiday, can’t be on opposing teams for anything for fear of an argument. And now, their extreme wills to win have passed on to their kids to create an interesting dynamic to say the least. Holiday often calls his daughter “JT,” and he tells a story about how his son thought Jayson Tatum’s sneakers were actually his sister’s.

The second half of the episode dives into Holiday playing against his former team, the Milwaukee Bucks, for the first time and drawing the assignment to guard all-world forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Was that actually Holiday’s idea? Maybe, he says. Holiday has now played alongside Antetokounmpo, Tatum, Brown, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and on a gold medal-winning USA Men’s Basketball Team, so Marc and Abby ask him about common threads among the best of the best. The group rounds out the conversation by diving into Holiday’s experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics – AKA the Covid Olympics – and how bizarre it was for him to see Team USA’s opponents act like fanboys around the likes of Tatum and Kevin Durant.

0:30 – Jrue on his love for food

2:30 – Adjusting to playing with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and how they differ from other superstars he's played with

13:15 – Jrue on his competitive nature, and how that impacts his marriage to USWNT soccer great Lauren Holiday, who's also extremely competitive

22:10 – Flipping to the other side of the Celtics/Bucks rivalry, playing the Bucks for the first time, and defending Giannis

31:00 – Jrue’s experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

35:15 – How the bubble led to the launch of his family’s JLH Fund

WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikhUGyjZtxM

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Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens joins us for a special bonus episode after a busy 48 hours leading into and through the NBA Draft. Stevens breaks down all of the trades and decisions that he and the Celtics front office made, including the emotions of trading away Marcus Smart, the arrival and fit of Kristaps Porzingis and balancing the roster. Stevens also dives into the value of replenishing Boston’s draft stock with a handful of second-rounders, gives his take on Jordan Walsh, and wraps up with comments about the new coaching staff and how they’ll develop players. 

1:00 – Trading Marcus Smart

3:58 – Kristaps Porzingis’ Fit

6:15 – Accentuating Our Best Players

7:57 – The Celtics’ Toughness

9:29 – Draft Night Chaos & Second-Round Value

12:00 – The Jordan Walsh Report

15:20 – Coaching Staff’s Development Mindset 

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For our last episode of Season 3, we combed through each episode to pull out our favorite moments. From current and former players, to members of the media and the Celtics front office, enjoy the best clips from View From The Rafters.  

00:53 – Luke Kornet Takeover Best Moments

13:33 – Blake Griffin & The Bus 1 Boys

18:05 – Danilo Gallinari Recalls Playing Kevin Garnett

22:16 – Stories of NBA Scout

27:14 – Jayson Tatum’s & ‘The Confetti Game’

32:23 – Rob Williams Balancing Fatherhood

37:20 – Paul Pierce’s Beginning In Boston

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