Jaylen Brown showed up at Celtics practice on Wednesday and looked like he was close to returning. Plus, there rumors that the Golden State Warriors are poking around about Payton Pritchard. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into those stories and then dives into the mailbag for questions about the odds the Celtics make a move, the biggest challenges the Celtics will face in the NBA, looking for Rob more on lobs, and comparing Grant Williams and Glen Davis. Also, a word on Draymond Green's accusations that Celtics fans used racial slurs against him during the NBA Finals.

The Boston Celtics have been linked to San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl, supposedly expressing significant interest in a trade, but are they really, or are they just being used to pump up the price again? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm get into the trade rumor and why it probably doesn't make sense for the Celtics to pursue Poeltl. Then they get into the discussion of Robert Williams, and who might be the four around him if he's moved into the starting 5.

Jayson Tatum scored 51 in Boston's win over the Charlotte Hornets, even though the game wasn't really as easy as it could have been. A lot of guys, like Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, and Luke Kornet played a nice role in the win. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss the win, how Tatum was able to get the 51 without chasing it, and why it's funny that we sort of believed Joe Mazzulla a little bit when he said he might not start Rob.

For a quarter and a half, it looked like the Celtics were in trouble in Charlotte. But then Robert Williams made some incredible hustle plays and turne the game around. Jayson Tatum and Malcolm Brogdon made sure the effort wasn't wasted. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses how the effort turned things around, why this might be a signal that Boston has gotten past their spiral of bad performances against bad teams, and then gets into the growing problem of Sam Hauser's play.

With Jaylen Brown out with a groin injury and Al Horford sitting on the back-to-back, it seemed like Jayson Tatum's time to put on a show against Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets (without Kevin Durant). But Tatum had an off night, and it was up to everyone else to step up. John Karalis discusses how they all did, from Derrick White to Malcolm Brogdon, to Payton Pritchard, and Luke Kornet. Plus, Joe Mazzulla said the team would be judged on their reaction to a bad loss, so we'll do that!

Tatum and Brown combined for 72 points and 22 rebounds, but Jaylen Brown's 41 came about as perfectly as you can expect from him. Al Horford loved how Brown attacked, and so did John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal. John explains why Brown's mindset was right from the beginning and how his first 3 quarters combined with Tatum's 4th to close out a good game against a tough Pelicans team that got a big performance from CJ McCollum. But even though those guys had a great night (and got 20 from Malcolm Brogdon), John says this was actually a great team win.

The trade deadline is only a few weeks away, and the Celtics have tools to make deals between now and then. Where do they stand halfway through the NBA season? Can the Celtics find more help for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Will it cost them Payton Pritchard? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Keith Smith of Spotrac discuss the tools at Brad Stevens' disposal and what seems most likely.

The Celtics led for most of the game against the Bulls, and Jayson Tatum scored 32 points, but Chicago kept making runs. Their late run behind Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic nearly stole the game, but the Celtics never lost their composure and they found a way to grind out a win. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses the game, the big (and bad) performances, and why grinding out wins like this is good for the team.

Robert Williams is playing pretty well, and even though there's an adjustment period, he needs to start playing more. He seems to be on a minutes limit, even though he officially seems to be off any restrictions (but Joe Mazzulla loves semantics, so who knows). Either way, Jayson Tatum says he wants to play with Rob more, so John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm believe Rob will end up starting soon enough. Plus, a real conversation about adjusting our expectations about the Celtics when it comes to them facing bad teams.

The Celtics looked good for a little while against San Antonio, thanks to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but then they started to get away from what worked. Luckily, Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogdon were awesome and bailed Boston out. They let the Spurs back into the game, and San Antonio felt like they were one shot away from winning, but they never could get that shot to fall. John Karalis gets into all of that, and why we should probably recalibrate our expectations in games like this.

The Celtics needed to bounce back after the OKC loss and they did it in a big way against Dallas and Doncic. Tatum dropped a triple double, the bench stepped up (thanks to a challenge from Joe Mazzulla), and while the coach enjoyed the win, he wants to see more. So does John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal who has all that and more from Dallas.

Time to cleanse the palate a bit after that loss to the OKC Thunder so John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal is opening up the mailbag (submit at JohnKaralis.com/mailbag) to answer questions about Payton Pritchard, a measuring stick game against the Mavs (it's not... it's another team that's more of a measuring stick), making a trade, walking the ball up the floor, and more.

The Boston Celtics actually started out the game against the Thunder well enough, but then they got crushed in the second and third quarters on their way to giving up 150 points and taking the worst L of the season. It was the third quarter that really got John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal, who gets into how the game devolved and why the loss showed a lack of humility, respect, and appreciation for the situation. Plus, what the hell is wrong with Malcolm Brogdon and the bench?

The more we look at the Denver Nuggets game, the more we can say that game was mostly Boston not playing well and making decisions that they don't normally make. Robert Williams was added to the injury report after the game, though, which John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm address to start the podcast. Then, Kristaps Porzingis was named East POTW, but it should have been Jaylen Brown, who has been awesome lately. Also, a little about the Celtics recent shooting skid.

Nikola Jokic dropped a 30/12/12 triple double on the Celtics, and it started with the bad decision to start doubling him early. That led to some bad play from the Celtics (not Jaylen Brown, he was awesome) that got Denver's role players open shots. Then the bad luck kicked in when Denver got scorching hot while the Celtics couldn't buy a bucket. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses all that and the most hilarious thing he's seen in a basketball game, which came after a ridiculous 40 minute delay due to a bad rim.

The Boston Celtics won their fourth straight game Thursday night with a very fun win over the LA Clippers. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum each scored 29, but Marcus Smart might have been their best player, pushing the pace, getting a bunch of assists, and then scoring when the passing lanes closed down. The othe role players were great, too, and the defense was really good, allowing the Celtics to win a game where they shot terribly from 3. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses all that, Brown's cutting opening up his offense, and lessons Joe Mazzulla can learn from this game.

I know this seems like a no-brainer to most of you (us too), but Joe Mazzulla suggested that the Celtics might not end up starting Robert Williams once he's fully recovered. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss Rob's best game since returning from his surgery, the little plays that signal big things, and whether Mazzulla has a point, or if he's just being a contrarian challenging our preconceived notions of what should happen.

The Celtics pulled off a classic good team vs. bad team game where they tried to shoot their way to a win and then later figured out it would take a little more effort than that. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were awesome on their way to 76 combined points, but as John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explains, they were able to do it all in a casual sort of way. Plus, why they're now the measuring sticks for young players around the league, and the evidence from this game that paint touches = good.

Brad Steven held a media availability on Friday to discuss the state of the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla's progress and how he's been doing as the interim head coach, why he still has that tag, and more. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss all that as well as the odds that Stevens does someting to add to the roster at the trade dealdine.

The Celtics and Bucks were in a tight one on Christmas Day, but Jayson Tatum went off for 20 in the third quarter and then Jaylen Brown carried things in the fourth to lead the Celtics to huge win. The defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo was great, led by Al Horford and Grant Williams. Tatum and Brown let the game come to them and didn't force anything. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal discusses that and why the Bucks visit to Boston came at just the right time.

The Boston Celtics were aggressive, scoring almost half their points in the paint to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jaylen Brown had 36, 23 in the fourth quarter to carry the Celtics, but it was Derrick White setting the tone and being the best player to start the game. Jayson Tatum carried the third, and as John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal says, the lesson out of this game should be that attacking should be the first priority, and it can even save them from a bad shooting night.

We open the mailbag to answer a lot of questions in this one: Desperation leading to problems? Pacers mess kickstart motivated defense? Derrick White's issues? Al Horford not playing the same? Good shots? super-talented slackers vs. hardworking scrubs? Clutch Player of the Year? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal has all the answers for you. Questions can be submitted at JohnKaralis.com/mailbag.

What on earth is going on with the Celtics. This was supposed to be a spot in the schedule where they piled up wins. Instead, they're stacking up losses. They got down by 30 to the Pacers before making a furious comeback, and John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into the big picture of what's going on, what's going wrong, and how to snap out of it.

The Boston Celtics are giving away points, and the ways they're doing it are starting to add up. Their love for the 3-pointer is part of why they're getting the ball stolen from them more often. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explains how that's leading to massive point swings and making things more difficult. Then, John and Tony East of the Locked on Pacers preview link up to talk about why the Pacers are better than expected and the Malcolm Brogdon trade (AND AARON NESMITH!)

Why was Grant Williams inbounding the ball at the end of the loss to the Orlando Magic? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal breaks down what he saw before diving into the numbers over the past 8 games to see exactly what's going wrong. Plus, people are getting worked up about Joe Mazzulla's postgame comments but they have to be taken with a grain of salt.