Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
  • 5/24/2024
The Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 126-110 in Game 2 of the NBA's 2024 Eastern Conference finals thanks to a career playoff-high matching 40 points from Jaylen Brown. But it came at the expense of backup big man Luke Kornet's wrist being sprained on a team already thin at center; will Boston be okay with Kornet on the bench?.

On the other side of the court, however, we saw Pacers star Tyrese Halliburton leave the game injured in the second half with what initially appeared to be a re-aggravation of the hamstring injury that kept him out for significant time this season. Will he be able to play when the series shifts pack to Indiana for Game 3, and if not, is a sweep incoming?

The hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast reacted to the win postgame from the Garden (excuse the Wi-Fi issues, please), seeing some small ball looks that paid off -- and defensive lapses that did not.

0:09 - Introduction to the podcast and game coverage
3:00 - Analysis of Jaylen Brown's performance and defense
4:10 - Jaylen Brown's response to not making All-NBA
5:30 - Prize Picks
7:00 - Jaylen Brown's impressive performance with 40 points
8:01 - Pascal Siakam's standout performance in the game
11:20 - GameTime
16:30 - Experimenting with lineups for success
18:00 - Adjusting shot selection for success
21:27 - Celtics proving doubters wrong

The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks and Gametime.

If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.


Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS

Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.

Category

🥇
Sports
Transcript
00:00Alrighty, welcome to the Celtics Club Podcast brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive
00:13fantasy basketball partner of the CNS Media Network.
00:15And by GameTime, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed.
00:18I'm Cameron Tepesabai, I'm sitting courtside at TD Garden.
00:22Half the lights are off because it is 1215 in the morning.
00:26But we are wrapping up our coverage of game two, a game that was not as close as the score
00:32would suggest Boston win over Indiana.
00:36Boston is up two games to zero, 90% of the time when that happens in the conference finals,
00:41the team that is up goes on to the finals.
00:43Dr. Justin Quinn, how are you managing that statistic?
00:49It's making being up at this hour with plenty more stuff to do after we get off this call
00:54a lot more bearable.
00:56Yeah, this is our playoffs too, I suppose.
01:02So actually, we've we can peek right behind the curtain here.
01:06We discussed whether or not we need this episode in so far as Boston is winning and we have
01:14already made our sponsors happy with an episode earlier this week.
01:17But I wanted to come on because I think Jalen Brown's game deserves recognition and that
01:23will lead to another kind of conversation.
01:26Jalen Brown has 40 points.
01:28Let's contextualize that.
01:30Second ever 40 point playoff performance.
01:33One of now three players to ever score multiple 40 point games in an Eastern Conference Finals
01:38joining LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
01:41And one of seven Celtics players to score more than 40 points a game more than once.
01:48And that list includes Havlicek, Bird, Jones, Pierce, Tatum, Thomas and Brown.
01:54So yeah, Jalen Brown just inserted himself as a pretty fine company.
02:00And you know, that's fun.
02:01And like, that's trivia.
02:02But like, more importantly, he scored 26 points in the first half and again, the Boston didn't
02:05look very good.
02:06Later, they looked way better than Indiana.
02:09But in the first half, they weren't that impressive.
02:14It was kind of something we've seen a lot of this postseason that in bits and spurts,
02:18it's so obvious they're the more talented team.
02:21But when those bits and spurts become four minute, five minute stretches, either there's
02:27something fundamentally broken with their defense or they're just the beneficiaries
02:31of bad luck because Indiana was shooting pretty good from three to open the game, getting
02:35open looks and Boston just like couldn't really pull away.
02:40In fact, Indiana was leading at the end of the quarter, Jalen's 40 points, it's not just
02:46fun history stuff, it also floated the suffix.
02:51I don't know that Boston wins the game if that's not the case.
02:55And certainly Indiana gets into a way bigger lead if Jalen doesn't have it going on.
03:00Justin, what do you think of the 40 point performance?
03:04Well, I think it was a great counterpoint to the lack of defense in the first quarter
03:08that you were kind of dancing around.
03:10It was really bad and the level of intensity and focus in the first quarter of this game
03:14for Boston was only survivable because Indiana was nearly as bad in terms of turning the
03:20ball over, in terms of making stupid mistakes as well.
03:23So Boston got really lucky in that regard.
03:26In terms of the 40 point performance, you know, we often on this show say not to make
03:32a referendum of a single game.
03:35If I will, as many are, this was just another great example, particularly when contrasted
03:41against Jason Tatum's performance, which was fine, but not the level, you know, we've had
03:45this conversation many times already in this postseason.
03:49Jalen Brown's performance was certainly better than Tyrese Halliburton, who made third-team
03:53All-NBA, and arguably better than several other players on the third team, who I think
03:59really, it's very fair to say that this was a snub, but the best revenge for a snub is
04:05exactly what we saw on the court.
04:06Yeah, it was interesting.
04:09Jalen, he was really short in his postgame presser and someone asked point blank, hey,
04:16were you pissed off you didn't make All-NBA?
04:17He said no.
04:19And later in the press conference, Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, who has always had a
04:24close relationship with Jalen, so I think that's important for this.
04:28He said, you know, sometimes you're underrated, you don't always get the praise, I know you
04:32read this stuff, like, what do you think?
04:34And Jalen opened up a little more and he basically said, yeah, there are people who are getting
04:38accolades that maybe I think I'm better than, but at this point in my career, I'm just,
04:43I'm just not going to listen to that.
04:44I know where I'm at with myself, I know what my goals are, so people can say what they
04:49need to say.
04:50And it was interesting because it was clear that he came into the presser thinking, first
04:55of all, clearly so pissed off he didn't make All-NBA, but it was clear he didn't want to
04:58talk about that.
04:59Like, he wanted that to be the narrative and someone who, I think, thinks about these things.
05:05But it was also interesting that Gary got him to open up.
05:08I have two theories here.
05:10One is that he trusts Gary.
05:11Another is that he trusts Gary, knows that that's important for Jalen to comment on in
05:19some way or another.
05:20But either way, it was kind of an interesting, Jalen didn't want to talk about it.
05:25In a way that made it clear he was so pissed about it, but later, you know, added a little
05:29bit of texture there.
05:30All right, let's pause the action, talk about our friends over at PrizePix, America's number
05:34one fantasy sports app.
05:35It's the easiest and most exciting way to get in on the action while you watch your
05:38favorite sports and players, because PrizePix has something for every sports fan, from basketball
05:42and hockey to League of Legends and everything in between.
05:45PrizePix even has injury insurance, so your entries stay in play, even if one of your
05:51players gets injured.
05:52It's been one of my favorite parts of using PrizePix and my favorite way to feel safe
05:57when I get in on the action and ensure that everything that I'm mulling over for that
06:02night's slate of games is ship shape.
06:05So download the app today and use code CLNS for our first deposit match up to $100.
06:12Pick more, pick less.
06:13It's that easy.
06:14Download the app today and use the code CLNS for our first deposit match up to $100.
06:23A lot has been said and tweeted and YouTubed about, oh, the media doesn't like the Celtics.
06:30The media doesn't like the Celtics.
06:33But then it becomes a dog chasing its own tail, where then Celtics fans spend all their
06:37time and energy talking about the media.
06:40And like you said, one game is not a referendum on a player.
06:44It's also an entertainment product.
06:46Basketball's fun.
06:47Like, yes, we care about it deeply.
06:50Some of us use the gambling apps or fantasy like our sponsor, PrizePix.
06:56And so they have, you know, extra investment.
06:58But fundamentally, it's fun.
07:00And you know what was fun?
07:01Dylan Brown scored 40 points and it was fun.
07:03He had four massive three pointers, one of which was like a beautiful assist from Tatum.
07:09He was getting to the rim.
07:11He was physical.
07:12He was feeling himself.
07:14There's some photos that you can find on Celtics Wire where he's sticking out his tongue.
07:18It was just badass.
07:20I'm so sick of where we're at with basketball that for reasons that we can get into in the
07:25offseason where we can really talk about the nitty gritty of like the incentive structures
07:30for everyone from ESPN down to blog boys, it's just reached a critical mass where like
07:37all there is is narratives supreme.
07:40But then fans are so dialed into it too and content creators of their own that it becomes
07:45talking about the narratives.
07:48That's why I like this game so much.
07:49Dylan Brown kicked so much ass.
07:51I grew up in Boston.
07:52I root for the Celtics.
07:53But like I like basketball.
07:54And he was ballin'.
07:56And I'll support myself by saying, you know who was the second most ballin' player tonight?
08:00Pascal Siakam.
08:01That dude had it going on.
08:03He couldn't miss.
08:04The only reason the Pacers looked half decent was because Pascal Siakam was tremendous.
08:09Obie Toppin and Miles Turner had some like really amazing three pointers.
08:13But yeah, I thought Siakam was tremendous again.
08:17I thought he was so good.
08:18And I was so happy to watch that.
08:20Justin, we talked about this before, like our lives are better when the Celtics win.
08:25People listen to our podcasts and read the things we write and our advertisers are happy.
08:29So like we want the Celtics to win for selfish reasons.
08:32But I also do this because I love hoops.
08:35And we got some good hoops tonight.
08:36Not, you know, if you're on the Pacers side of the equation ultimately.
08:40But for a while they were pretty good.
08:42It was 68-66 or maybe 68-70 or something like that in the third quarter.
08:46I mean, it was a close game until it wasn't.
08:49Just I can't tell people how to live their lives.
08:53I can't tell ESPN how to run their programming.
08:56But basketball's fun.
08:57And if other people aren't having fun with it, you don't have to engage with them.
09:01Go find the people that are having fun.
09:02It's okay if someone has an opinion you don't agree with in basketball.
09:04You don't have to spend three hours online arguing with them.
09:09Just bookmark it and retweet it when you're right.
09:12And if you're not right, who cares?
09:14It's fun.
09:16Yeah.
09:17And believe me, Justin and I know it's fun to be right.
09:19I'm a teacher.
09:20I got in the business that I get to tell people what's true and what's not.
09:23Justin has a PhD.
09:24He likes learning things.
09:25We like to know what the truth is.
09:28But sometimes it doesn't matter.
09:29And yes, Celtics fans are anxious that they're going to get punked again and not win the
09:34title.
09:35But when they win, just have fun with it.
09:37I don't know.
09:38Omit, please clip.
09:39I just went on a good rant for Celtics Live.
09:42Can you clip this?
09:43Great.
09:44Great.
09:45Justin says, hi, you rule.
09:49All right.
09:50Let's pause the action once again to talk about our beautiful sponsor, PrizePix.
09:54And then we'll wrap up looking at a game three.
09:58The NBA players are heating up and so is the WNBA season as it's just beginning and there's
10:02no better way to add some extra excitement to the games by putting your hoops knowledge
10:06to the test on PrizePix.
10:07I've been using PrizePix all season long and it's the perfect way to get in on the action.
10:10The best part about PrizePix, you can win up to 100 times your entry speed with just
10:15a few well-chosen picks, turn $10 into $1,000 with just a couple of star performances.
10:20Plus, PrizePix lets you pick and choose the players and stats you think will shine.
10:23You're not limited to pre-made contests and plays.
10:25PrizePix gives you the flexibility to create your own personalized entries.
10:28You can check out all the player projections and stats on the PrizePix app.
10:32It's super easy to use, super easy to make picks and get your entries in, it takes less
10:36than a minute.
10:37So Celtics fans, what are you waiting for?
10:39Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match for up to $100.
10:43100 bucks!
10:44That's CLNS, double your fun, PrizePix.
10:47Remember, pick more, take less, it's that easy with PrizePix.
10:50All right, Justin, is it going to be that easy with Boston headed to Indiana for games?
10:57Oh, Hal Burton's hammy.
11:00I was like, hi, hammy.
11:02We are communicating in the chat, just in case you're wondering where these random comments
11:08are coming from.
11:09Where else is Wigan at?
11:10I don't know if listeners can tell.
11:11I don't know how much composure we usually bring into this game, but tonight we're just
11:16riffing.
11:17We're speaking off the top of the head as much as anything.
11:21Let's pause the action and talk about our friends over at gametime.co, and then we will
11:26preview what's to come next.
11:27The NBA playoffs are heating up.
11:28Wouldn't it be great to be there live?
11:30The energy, the buzzer beaters, the chance to see the best players in the world battle
11:33it out.
11:34The Geno time.
11:35Well, getting tickets doesn't have to be a hassle, especially when you use the GameTime
11:37app like I do.
11:38That's gametime.co.
11:39It's the best way to see your favorite sports live.
11:42I use GameTime whenever I want to go to Fenway Park, catch the Red Sox, or when I'm headed
11:45into town for a concert.
11:47There's no more wondering about what I pay for tickets.
11:50And guess what?
11:51GameTime guarantees the lowest price.
11:52If you find a cheaper ticket, they'll credit you 110% of the difference.
11:56So ditch the ticket stress and download the GameTime app today.
11:59Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase.
12:04Terms apply.
12:05Once again, create an account and redeem code CLNS for $20 off.
12:09Download GameTime today.
12:10Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed.
12:15The rest of the series.
12:16So astute watchers of the game and probably very less astute watchers of the game may
12:23have noticed that Halliburton was not in the game for much of the second half.
12:28He re-injured his hamstring that kept him out, which he actually injured, I think, in
12:34an in-season tournament, but definitely one of the games versus the Celtics this season.
12:38January 8th.
12:39Yeah, that's not an injury that, first of all, it's changed how he's playing now, right?
12:45Which is part of the impetus behind some of the people saying that maybe he doesn't deserve
12:49the third team All-NBA.
12:51Maybe they put him on there so that way he doesn't end up being screwed over for money.
12:55If so, fine, whatever, I'm not going to hate on that.
12:59But in terms of the series that's ahead of us now, it's incredibly unlikely he's going
13:03to return and play even like he has been playing, which is a lesser version of what
13:07he was playing like earlier this season.
13:09So even if he does come back, he's going to be somewhat limited and tentative about what
13:14he's willing to do on the court.
13:17So even in the best case scenario, we can talk about the pulling of the best players
13:23by Carlisle fairly early in the fourth quarter when there's still time left to win.
13:28Whether that is a clue as to how serious the injury is or not is not known at this
13:33moment.
13:34We'll find out more tomorrow.
13:35But if Halliburton is not available, then as far as I'm concerned, it's time to try
13:41out some weird lineups and not play Al Horford.
13:44Yeah, a lot of times tonight, the Celtics mentioned that the Knicks were up two games
13:51to nothing against the Pacers, and so they can't get over their skis.
13:55And you can't take anything for granted in the postseason.
13:57It would be quite bold to sit one of your five best players, especially because Luke
14:05Burnett might be out with a wrist sprain.
14:08But that being said, Halliburton, yeah, maybe he can come back.
14:12You can't steal a hamstring on the fly, so he'll never this season.
14:14He's never going to be back to one hundred or ninety percent.
14:17And they for what it's worth, the Pacers called it left leg soreness.
14:20They haven't yet called it a hamstring, but it's the same way which called it hamstring.
14:26Yeah, well, we're just a careful reporter, not even my kind.
14:31Fair.
14:32Regardless, Halliburton's a special player because of how fast he is and how quickly
14:39he makes decisions at speed.
14:41He's an OK shooter.
14:42He's a pretty good passer in the half court.
14:43But yeah, he won't be the same player if he plays at all.
14:47So I think how many minutes did Horford have on my phone?
14:51I can't look it up.
14:52I saw O'Shea Brissett get some burn.
14:56Cornette got some burn until he got hurt.
14:57It did look like and Tatum did indeed play the five.
15:02So it did look like Joe was thinking about Horford's minutes and the first three Horford
15:07took barely hit the red.
15:09Yeah, if we can duplicate that for the rest of the series, I think we're to be in good
15:15shape.
15:16So yeah, the Celtics way too arrogant to say they get.
15:20I mean, I don't know, Al Horford had that he was so brave fighting that toe injury all
15:26season.
15:27Right.
15:28Like he could have a toe injury again for a night that feels really risky.
15:32But going from Thursday to Monday rather than another game on Saturday would be kind of
15:37nice for 37 year old Horford.
15:41That is interesting.
15:43I hadn't possibly considered that.
15:44I feel like the Celtics haven't either.
15:47But I suppose it's I don't know, you can't cough up, you can't cough up a game.
15:54I think that's yeah, no, they need to approach this as if nothing has changed and settled
16:00their business.
16:01There is absolutely no other situation.
16:04That doesn't mean that they need to play Al Horford heavy minutes.
16:08But at the same time, they were willing to show some interesting looks.
16:12We saw O'Shea Brissett, which we have not spoken about, plus 18 on the night.
16:17He doesn't do very much in terms of offense, but the energy, the rebounding, the past Jalen
16:22Brown, I think we should see more experimentation like that, more Jason Tatum to five.
16:30We could even get Al Horford down to like 20 minutes in game two or three.
16:36Excellent.
16:37Just because I feel like it's going to come up, I want to just like note that I think
16:44Jason Tatum actually had a pretty good game.
16:45He had four turnovers and he was one for seven from three, which is not good.
16:49There's no putting lipstick on that pig.
16:51That's not good.
16:53But he was eight for 13 inside the three point line.
16:58He had six rebounds, five assists, and he was playing defense out of position.
17:03And I thought he did an OK job with that.
17:08I actually don't think that the national media is too difficult on the Celtics, and as you
17:13were astutely pointing out, we write for a national outlet.
17:16We could be considered national media, as opposed to just people who talk on television
17:21during the day for college students who have bad tastes.
17:24But I do suspect that people are going to be hard on Tatum, and I thought he had a great
17:30game, especially most of the Celtics had a bad first half, and Tatum had a really good
17:33second half.
17:35He's still making, shall we say, regrettable decisions at times.
17:40But there were also a lot of those Kobe fadeaways that I love to jump all over that did connect
17:44tonight as well, even if his three point shot wasn't connecting.
17:48I would like to see a little bit less Marcus Marqueecheck numbers compared to what his
17:53three point shot has been lately.
17:56Feel it out more gently at the beginning of the game, and maybe once you hit your sixth
17:59miss.
18:00Seven three point attempts for a star player in 2024 is not that many attempts.
18:12It's not.
18:13It's not.
18:14But there were periods earlier in the game where he could have attacked the cup, got
18:19it to go in that way, got some free throws, got his feel for a shot in the game, his confidence
18:26up.
18:27You don't need to completely abandon the three pointer so people just stop guarding you.
18:31What I'm saying is, vary your shot diet up a little bit more rather than just continually
18:35repeating the same thing, which is really the only valid criticism, I think, in a Joe
18:39Mazzullo system you can make of that kind of a situation.
18:42Yeah.
18:43And again, in the third or fourth quarter when the Celtics were humming, Tatum was passing.
18:47Tatum was, I mean, he was rebounding really well.
18:50I thought he did the things that you want a superstar player to do except make threes.
18:57So I don't feel like I need to defend his honor.
18:59Like, I don't think it's a well, I just don't think it's like an epidemic that like there's
19:03a conspiracy against the Celtics.
19:05But I do think he had I think the Celtics played that pace was pretty even in the first
19:12half.
19:13So call it a wash.
19:14And the second half on the Celtics dog walked them.
19:16Tatum was a big part of that.
19:18I don't know.
19:20We probably will not podcast until unless something happens until after game four.
19:25Is that a good guess?
19:26Probably.
19:27So like and subscribe to our podcast to never miss an episode because we like to keep you
19:32guessing.
19:33We like to not let you know for sure, apparently.
19:36But Justin, quickly, while I pull open the post roll predictions for what happens in
19:42Indiana.
19:45I would be lying to you if I said that I think the Celtics lose.
19:50But I do think that they might get a little bit of a scare, particularly earlier in the
19:55game.
19:56If they approach this game as they usually do.
20:00This is, again, presuming that Wojcich is right about the hamstring and that from that
20:07the Halliburton sits in game three.
20:09He may not.
20:10He may try to play.
20:11It will be critical enough where he might try to do that and they will have a long enough
20:15time in the offseason for him to get that healed up as long as he doesn't do another
20:19split.
20:21So I wouldn't be shocked if he does try to play, but this is a long and roundabout way
20:25of saying we might see a movie we've seen many times before when the best player on
20:30another team is injured, but I don't think it's going to result in a loss.
20:34You're talking about Luke Cornett?
20:37Of course.
20:39Yeah.
20:40There's just enough of me that has seen old habits die hard that it seems unlikely the
20:50Celtics are going to pull off the sweep, even if Halliburton is reduced or out.
20:56But when you do see the Celtics playing to their level, the whole smokes, right?
21:03So I said they were going to sweep the heat or the Cavs.
21:09I said they were going to sweep the Cavs.
21:11They choked the game away.
21:14I'd say they're going to go for the sweep.
21:15It would be nice if they get the sweep, right?
21:19That would hopefully quiet a lot of the narratives that we are also aware of that are kind of
21:25ridiculous.
21:26The team with the best record in the postseason is currently being talked about as if they
21:32should not be trusted, and to a certain extent, they should not be trusted until they show
21:36us otherwise, but they're showing us otherwise.
21:39Yeah I said if they lost to the Cavs it would be a nuclear explosion, and I said ahead of
21:44this series, there's no argument the Celtics are definitely going to the finals.
21:49At this point, the Celtics do not go to the NBA finals.
21:51It's not a nuclear explosion.
21:53It is a Cambrian explosion for all those nerds out there.
21:57It is a KPG boundary baby!
21:59KPG boundary.
22:00Shout out to the UK's fan peninsula.
22:02And while you're all showered with iridium, let me tell you that this episode of the Celtic
22:06Fan Podcast is brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive fantasy basketball partner of
22:09the CLNS TV network.
22:10And game time, last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed.
22:13If you want to learn more about how the dinosaurs were extinct 65 million years ago, please
22:17reach out to me or Justin.
22:19I speak for both of us when I say we have so much to offer on that topic.
22:24We also talk about the Celtics, so like and subscribe to never miss an episode.
22:28Alex, break a leg at Boston Calling.
22:30The music you heard at the top of this podcast comes from Divine Sweater.
22:33They're sharing a stage with Ed Sheeran at Boston Calling this Friday.
22:38If you're in Boston and you're listening now and it's still Friday, go get a ticket
22:42and go see Alex.
22:43He plays bass.
22:44We love Alex.
22:45Go Alex go.
22:46All right.
22:47Catch y'all later.
22:48Arrivederci.

Recommended