Dejounte Murray has been suspended for Game 5, which means this series should be over after Tuesday night. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss Murray's stupid decision, the Hawks defense that just has no shot against the Cetlics, why there's so little to take out of this series that carries forward for Boston. Also, Ime Udoka gets the Houston Rockets job.

The Atlanta Hawks were pesky, thanks to De'Andre Hunter dropping 27 points, but the Celtics held it together to hold them off and take a 3-1 series lead. Jaylen Brown ditched his mask, Robert Williams was everywhere, and the Celtics showed poise and maturity in coming up with the win. John Karalis talks about all that, how the rebounding improved, Al Horford making a monster impact even while scoring zero points, and why Tuesday's Game 5 is a must-win game. Plus, why Dejounte Murray will probably be suspended for Game 5 and why the refs were sending the Hawks a message in Game 4.

The Celtics dropped Game 3 to a hot-shooting Atlanta Hawks team, but they had their chances to win a few different times in the fourth quarter. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal looks at all the little things that swung this game in Atlanta's favor, and explains why this series is following the script perfectly, and what should be coming next.

With the Celtics cruising and a couple of days off, it was a good time to rip through a monster mailbag that included questions about Malcolm Brogdon winning Sixth Man of the Year, Derrick White on All-Defense, Jaylen Brown's hand injury, potential Finals opponents, Boston media bias, and more. Plus, John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal reveals the conditions under which he will podcast in a Trae Young jersey.

No matter how many ways we look at it, the Boston Celtics are making things look too easy against the Atlanta Hawks. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal is joined by Howard Beck to discuss if there's anyting the C's can take away from this series, who the Celtics might hope to play down the road, and Derrick White (and Boston's role players) as game changers in this potential championship run.

The Celtics are up 2-0 against the Hawks and they can thank Derrick White for some big plays on both ends of the floor. Not only that, his play in these two games can have a long-term impact on how the Celtics are guarded. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses that, how the Hawks won some important battles in this game and STILL ended up down 22 in the fourth, and why the overrated chants for Trae Young were right on point.

The Celtics held practice on Monday and their message was clear ... they're focusing on themselves in practice, which means there isn't much about the Hawks that they're worried about. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss that, and why the Hawks making open shots might change Boston's minds (but actually probably not because the adversity would be good. Also, after Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant got hurt (and Jayson Tatum earlier this season), should the NBA ban charges?

We take a deeper look back at Game 1 to see how the Atlanta Hawks can play better, starting with De'Andre Hunter and Bogdan Bogdanovic. What's their main adjustment that the Celtics should be looking for? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses that, plus takes a look at Boston's defense and whether they can match their Game 1 effort? Can Malcolm Brogdon and Al Horford do more? Is their strategy something that will continue in Game 2? And Robert Williams has a little Dennis Rodman in him?

The Boston Celtics made it look easy for a half against Atlanta, then they took it easy to make the score look close. But there is no mistake, the Celtics are the superior team, especially with Marcus Smart getting back to his Defensive Player of the Year level and the Boston defense following suit. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss the win, the defense, the big performances, and why the Hawks look like they have no chance.

The Celtics are getting ready to take on the Hawks in Game 1 of their first round series Saturday afternoon, so John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal welcomes Locked On Hawks host Brad Rowland to discuss Atlanta's disappointing season, whether the offensive rebounding has a chance to really hurt Boston, Quin Snyder's impact, and whether the Celtics can make Trae Young one-dimensional.

The Celtics took Wednesday off so this was a perfect opportunity to get a pre-playoff mailbag in and answer questions about the Hawks figuring stuff out and whether this series can be a trap for Boston. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into that, whether the Celtics should have gone after Dejounte Murray instead, and also a look to the future and JD Davison.

The Atlanta Hawks beat the Miami Heat in the play-in game, setting up a first round matchup with the Celtics. And according to the numbers, the Boston offense should have a field day. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal has a quick look at the matchup and then shares his 1-on-1 interview with Marcus Smart. We hear from Smart about his injury, the ways the defense will be different in the playoffs, what it means to have Robert Williams behind him defensively, and how Smart is looking to make up for a subpar defensive season.

This is a great time to take a day to look back at some of the big storylines from the regular season and then see how they might apply to the Celtics playoff run. Will they regret losing some winable games? How does Jayson Tatum's minutes load, especially early on, impact his ability to stay fresh in the playoffs? What about Joe Mazzulla's coaching and whether he's learned enough to help him adjust when needed? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss all that and more.

The Celtics won their 56th and 57th games this weekend with wins over Toronto and Atlanta to close out the regular season with a bit of fun. Sam Hauser dunks highlighted one game, then a Payton Pritchard triple-double punctuated the second. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss the two wins, Jaylen Brown's surprise hand injury, Joe Mazzulla's progress, and then the suddenly real chance for a Finals rematch.

In the second part of our discussion about the new CBA, we look at how it impacts the players like Jaylen Brown and his extension, Grant Williams and his restricted free agency, and Jayson Tatum's impending opt-out and new supermax contract. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Keith Smith of Spotrac discuss all that, the impending TV deal, and the one-and-done rule going away.

The Celtics won an ugly game over Toronto where no one could make a shot and clinched themselves the second seed in the East. Malcolm Brogdon was the hero for Boston, who was without Jayson Tatum or Marcus Smart, and John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal thinks that should be enough to give him the Sixth Man of the Year award. Plus, Joe Mazzulla's interaction with Chris Boucher shows the coach might be an absolute maniac.

The Celtics had a chance to beat Philly without Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams thanks to the Sixers nearly collapsing in the last 10 seconds of the game, but Joel Embiid's 52 proved to be too much to handle. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses the loss, why the Celtics seemed cool with how the night went, and why they didn't guard Embiid like they normally would have. Plus, thoughts on Jaylen's interview with Shams Charania and his comments about Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum.

The NBA has a new collective bargaining agreement, and there are a few key changes to it that will directly impact the Celtics in a significant way. In part one of a discussion between John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Keith Smith of Spotrac, we dive into all the way the Celtics will no longer be able to add talent to the roster moving forward, including losing the mid-level exception and being limited on what kinds of trades they can do. Does that mean some guys might end up getting more money? What other ways can Boston deal with the changes?

Milwaukee beat Philadelphia, so while a couple of things can technically still move around, it looks like the top 6 in the East is set. That means the Miami Heat could easily be Boston's first round opponent. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal breaks it all down and then discusses an impressive win over Utah that featured a monster Jayson Tatum performance in a game he was supposed to sit out if the team plan had gotten back in time. Plus, Malcolm Brogdon's underrated impact, and Blake Griffin's energy that will probably win Boston a playoff game down the road.

The Celtics seemed to be pretty motivated Thursday night in Milwaukee and they proved it by beating the Bucks by 41 points. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown dropped 70 combined points (they almost matched the entire Bucks team through 3 quarters) to show us all that they know exactly where the switch is an how to flip it. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into that, why the matchups are really in Boston's favor against Milwaukee, and how their record against good teams shows we shouldn't worry about any other losses as the regular season winds down.

The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Pacers, meaning they have a three game lead with six games left. That basically locks up the top seed for the Bucks and pushes the Celtics to the second seed regardless of what happens Thursday night. The Celtics don't seem to be bothered by this, despite what Malcolm Brogdon said, but a lot of fans are. Should we be? Is it our own fault for caring too much about the top seed? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm talk through their feelings.

The Celtics streak of great basketball is over. They didn't have the same energy as they had over the past few games and it cost them against the Wizards. After the game, they chalked it up to "one of those games" but that brushes past some of the real issues, like the crappy defensive effort. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal talks about that, how the top seed is probably no longer in play, and why this game shows how Joe Mazzulla needs to develop a better feel for the game as it's happening.

Jaylen Brown was named Player of the Week on Monday, the third Celtics player to win the award this year (Derrick White, Jayson Tatum). Brown was great, but John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal thinks Brown still has a lot left he can do to reach his full potential. Plus, Gregg Popovich's answer about his 2014 Spurs serves as a message the Celtics need to hear and take to heart. And, we'll take a quick look to see if the Celtics can actually reclaim the top seed.