The Celtics didn't play much defense early, but they got by with their offense, which was led by Derrick White and his 30 points. Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday also made big contributions, showing an important bounce-back quality that good teams show. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into all that, the total team effort, and Jaylen Brown's weak ejection.

With a few days off, this felt like a great time to open the mailbag. Today, we're getting into handling mistakes by the superstars, their ability to win it all, and Jayson Tatum's habit of complaining to officials. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into that, the best defensive backcourt in the NBA, JD Davison, and Sam Hauser's potential. Plus, questions about criticizing players as a member of the media, breakthrough questions, and John's love for Kevin McHale.

Kristaps Porzingis has missed four games with a strained calf, but it looks like he's about to return. He went through some 5-on-5 scrimmaging in practice on Wednesday and felt good. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss his impeding return, the incredible level of importance to Boston, Joe Mazzulla's use of the bench to mitigate another absence, and the Shams Charania report that he expects Boston to be active on the trade market.

Jayson Tatum has put up some good numbers, but he's been a net negative on the floor over his last nine games. What's going on there? Plus, Jrue Holiday seems to be struggling a bit, despite a couple of recent nice shooting games. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss all that, and the very confusing third quarter team struggles.

The In-Season Tournament atmosphere was rocking in Indiana, creating a real playoff environment. The Celtics looked good enough early on, but Tyrese Haliburton had a historic triple-double and the Pacers role players were able to do something the Celtics role players weren't. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses what went wrong, how the role players failed the stars, and why a lot of this stuff feels familiar to fans.

The Celtics beat the tar out of the Pacers the first time around when Indiana didn't have Tyrese Haliburton. He is probably playing Monday night, and if he does, it'll be a big moment for him. Can he be the difference against Boston in this first ever In-Season Tournament quarterfinal game? Is the Pacers defense ready to handle Boston's big wings? Can the Celtics defend the Pacers with their offense by forcing the big guns to spend a lot of energy defending? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal is joined by Tony East of Locked On Pacers for a big crossover preview of the big game Monday night.

The Celtics played down to a Sixers teams decimated by injuries and illnesses and it nearly cost them. Jayson Tatum was ejected for talking too much to the refs, and John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal says both sides are to blame. That, plus, the human nature aspect of this game that's impossible to avoid, the heroics of Al Horford and Payton Pritchard, and more.

It's not Monday, but it was an off day so we opened up the mailbag to get some questions about the In-Season Tournament's impact on Boston and the league (and what happens to those courts), the Celtics' bad third quarters, and getting back to winning at home. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal answers those questions, and then gets into Oshae Brissett's role on the team, a timeline where Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward have normal times in Boston, the worst NBA franchise of all time, and when the NBA might see every team win a championship.

The In-Season Tournament forced the Celtics to run up the score as much as they could against the Bulls, which led to some interesting thing happening on the floor that they should probably carry forward with them. From cutting more, to running through Al Horford, to just keeping an attacking mentality, John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss all the ways a very weird game might actually teach some good lessons.

The Celtics played it cool in the lead up to this in-season tournament game, but in the end, they were aware of how badly the needed to beat the Bulls and they went for it. The result was a 27 point win and, with the Brooklyn win, a berth in the IST knockout round. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into the great basketball stuff we saw, including playing with a big lead, and then gets into the weirdness the tournament forced Boston into. Regardless of how you feel about it, this is what the NBA wanted.

After seeming to struggle a bit with where he fit on a newly revamped Celtics team, Jaylen Brown has shown off his full basketball prowess in recent games. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm open with some leftover thoughts from the Hawks game before diving into Jaylen's recent excellence and how he's been playing exactly how the Celtics need him to play.

The Celtics shot 27.7% from 3, normally a recipe for disaster, but still managed to score 113 points and beat the Hawks by 10. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explains how the little things added up to the big win, led by Al Horford doing a little of everything. Plus, the Celtics did give up another big lead, which is not great, but they got it together to hold on for the win, and that's a really good thing at a time we should expect the Celtics to be less than perfect.

The Boston Celtics were without Jrue Holiday (ankle) for this game, but they still looked good for most of the first half. Then the second half happened and it just looked like Orlando was the tougher team. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into what happened, the loss of Kristaps Porzingis, Joe Mazzulla's lack of a timeout during the third quarter 17-0 run, and more.

The Celtics showed a lot more fire and played a lot better basketball against the Milwaukee Bucks ... for about 42 minutes ... then it was a little messy. They still held on to win, and it was because Jaylen Brown was the best player on the floor. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses this amazing game from Brown and why this is the standard he should be held to. Plus, some of the other great performances, including the Brown/Kristaps Porzingis connection, and the recipe for avoiding disaster like the last six minutes of this game.

The Celtics recent play has fueled a lot of mailbag questions, so this was a good time to get a few answers. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into the Celtics offensive philosophy, Jayson Tatum's dwindling post ups, Jrue Holiday's struggles at the rim (and whether the C's defense has anything to do with that), Sam Hauser's development, and Kristaps Porzingis' technical fouls.

The Celtics once again played with their food, building up leads but not doing the little things they needed to do to put the Hornets away. They blew a nine point lead with two minutes to go and lost in overtime. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into why this game could mean nothing and everything at the same time, and also runs through some of the bigger issues in this game (giving up offensive rebounds, tough nights from Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Sam Hauser).

The Celtics very clearly didn't take the Memphis Grizzlies very seriously, and it showed with an undisciplined effort that still somehow resulted in a win. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal is in Memphis to tell us the few good things that happened (a win is a win, right? Sam Hauser is still on fire, and they got to the line) before explaining all the different ways a lack of discipline nearly cost the Celtics.

The Celtics didn't play their best basketball, but they played well enough to beat the Toronto Raptors. Things went well enough early on, but it fell apart in the third quarter and the fourth was a fight. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into all the big topics, like how they closed without Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown being too involved and the lesson they should learn from that. Also, the NBA needs to answer for the slippery floor that got Jaylen Brown hurt.

Jrue Holiday didn't get enough love after the win over the Sixers, so he gets some of that here. That, of course, turns into love for Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and everyone else after that win. But as John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm explain, this isn't some indictment of Jaylen Brown. All that, plus should the Celtics just start Al Horford every time they play the Sixers?

The Celtics were without Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis, but they got huge performances from Al Horford, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday ... and then Jayson Tatum closed out the fourth to help slam the door on the Sixers. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into all that, the bench stepping up, and the big fourth quarter performances, and the Celtics still struggling with keeping Philly off the boards in a brutal second quarter. And then we wonder why the Sixers continue to antagonize Al Horford when he clearly loves it and feeds off it.

The Boston Celtics defense has been making strides, and they really showed out against the New York Knicks. So John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal decided to give them a little time to properly appreciate how well they played. Plus, a couple of developments from Tuesday night's games could help the Celtics out on their current road trip. And then, a look at whether the Celtics could get Alex Caruso now that it looks like the Chicago Bulls are ready to blow things up.

The Celtics came out looking a little rough (not surprising in their third game in four nights) but it was impressive to see how they closed the first half and the third quarter. They turned a rough night into a comfortable finish by sticking with it and working through their rough patches. John Karalis of Boston Sports Joural digs into the win, Jayson Tatum's impressive night, Derrick White doing the little things, Sam Hauser being more than just a shooter, and how the rotations might be shaking out.

It's Mailbag Monday, and today's questions include Jaylen Brown's basketball IQ, Jayson Tatum trusting his teammates in the clutch, why the offense looks stagnant sometimes, and minutes for Lamar Stevens. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal has those answers and more on Sam Hauser's progression, a reunion with Gordon Hayward, new play-by-play man Drew Carter and some personal questions.

The Boston Celtics got a nice, business-like blowout win against the overmatched Toronto Raptors thanks to big games from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. But it was Kristaps Porzingis and the perfect contribution from a third star that really stood out to John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal. All that, plus great minutes from the bench, and why Toronto's staff needs to STFU when it comes to Joe Mazzulla's challenge late in the game.

The Celtics got a nice, simple, regular win over the Brooklyn Nets in their first In-Season Tournament game. Tatum and Brown combined for 51 and the Celtics got some really nice performances from their guards. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal is at the Garden with all that, how the offensive rebounding really helped the Celtics accomplish what they wanted, and how Brown plus bench units are still struggling.