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

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 BostonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke Kornet takes over as the host of this week’s episode, bringing in special guests Malcolm Brogdon, Sam Hauser and President of Basketball Operations, Brad Stevens.    In this episode, Luke Kornet starts by asking his teammate Malcolm the burning questions on his mind. They discuss Brogdon being a finalist for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year, Virginia basketball and his presidential nature. Kornet wraps it up by gloating about winning a lockerroom trivia competition.   Next, Luke brings in Sam Hauser to chat over a Wisconsin-inspired cheese tasting. In their conversation, Kornet asks Sam why teams target him on defense and gives him some unsolicited marriage advice ahead of Sam’s summer wedding.    To wrap up the episode, Brad Stevens joins Luke, giving Kornet the opportunity to ask Brad about his varied employment history and talk about what it was like to play for Brad.    00:40 - Malcolm Brogdon 11:37 - Sam Hauser 19:25 - Marriage Talk 22:50 - Brad Stevens 33:40 - Questions for Brad “from fans”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Antoine Walker joins us this week to reflect on his career and share thoughts on this year’s current Celtics roster. He tips off the conversation explaining how he plans to be around the Celtics organization in an ambassador role going forward. He then dives into his early career in Boston, drawing parallels between his relationship with Paul Pierce and what he sees now between Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.    The conversation pivots into Walker’s college career, the development of the “Walker Wiggle” and what it was like to have his college coach, Rick Pitino, join him in Boston.    As the episode wraps up, Antoine and Marc discuss how he was a player ahead of his time, taking threes and playing the perimeter as many young stars and frontline players in the game do today. Antoine closes with final thoughts on how his career unfolded after being traded by Boston, including reflecting on his championship run with the Miami Heat.   2:25 - Updates From Antoine 4:05 - Playoff Outlook 6:48 - Relationship with Paul Pierce 14:21 - Early Years In The NBA 16:10 - Rick Pitino, From Kentucky To Boston 22:42 - Walker Wiggle 25:20 - A Game Of Threes 29:35 - Career After Boston 33:25 - Relationship With KGSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celtics radio duo Sean Grande and Cedric Maxwell join this week’s episode to share stories of their on-air relationship. The episode begins with Cedric Maxwell praising Sean Grande’s ability to bring energy to their broadcast, regardless of the outcome on the floor. As a former player, Max admits he can get swept up in emotions, recalling a few trophy presentation stories from the 2010 Finals and last year’s 2022 Eastern Conference Finals.   From here they go back to the beginning of their on-air relationship, 22 years ago. They discuss how their chemistry developed, their roles on the broadcast team and how beneficial it’s been having the ability to work interchangeably with the broadcast crew at NBC Sports Boston.    Before wrapping up, the crew discusses how their longevity brings a level of intimacy to the stories they share with fans. For example, how intertwined Cedric Maxwell was with Kevin Garnett before he even played for the Celtics.    2:31 – Grande Brings The Energy 4:23 – Max’s Trophy Presentation In Miami 6:50 – How The Duo Began 14:01 – Complimentary Styles  18:15 – Chemistry From The Start 21:08 - Challenges This Season Splitting Time With Radio & TV 25:04 – Kevin Garnett  26:40 – KG Welcoming Back Ray Allen 30:00 – Body Of Work Matters 34:20 – Cedric Maxwell’s Multitasking Abilities See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Captain and The Truth, Paul Pierce joins this episode to talk all things Celtics basketball. Pierce has been making an effort in his retirement to try to get to as many games and continue to support his franchise whether it’s at TD Garden or meeting them on the road. Just like us, he’s a fan of the organization, but Paul also explains it’s now his job to pass on the culture to the next generation.   In discussing the Celtics culture, Pierce recalls seeing Legends not only at games, but any given practice players like Satch Sanders, Jo Jo White and Tommy Heinsohn and that their presence alone would give the current players energy.   The Truth then reflects on his early days as a Celtic, sitting down with Red Auerbach, learning from the vets on the team and soaking in the history from Legends on the sidelines. Now he views that at his role, setting the example and helping guide players would want to be the ones to raise another banner in TD Garden.   4:55 – Once A Celtic Always A Celtic 8:20 – Presence Of Legends 10:13 – Rookie Year Memories 13:24 - Learning On And Off The Court From Vets 16:02 - Tommy Heinsohn 18:00 – Passing The Torch To The Next Generation 20:00 – Work Ethic 21:39 – Relationship With The Current Roster 23:40 – PredictionsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Williams III and Al Horford give their perspective on fatherhood in this week’s episode. We start out hearing from Rob about the importance of leading by example and being someone his kids can be proud of.   Rob talks about how everything changed when his oldest was born and the difference in his relationship and parenting styles between his daughter and son. He shares how he learned how to juggle the demands of the NBA and being a dad by watching how his teammates prioritize.   The conversation then pivots to talking about the Celtics’ family-first culture and how Brad Stevens sets a tone of prioritizing family moments from the top down.   Al Horford joins the conversation and opens by describing the moment he became a dad when he had his first child seven years into his career. He then comments on how great it is to see the level of joy and commitment younger guys on the team have shown raising their kids.   2:55 – Perspective Changes Raising A Daughter 7:25 – Rob Williams On Being A Role Model, Learning From Teammates 9:57 – Cherishing The Little Moments With A Busy Schedule 15:52 – Celtics’ Family-First Culture 22:03 – Al Horford’s Fatherhood JourneySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Luke Kornet joins us this week to discuss his career path and the challenges that come with just trying to make it to, and remain in, the NBA. He opens up the conversation diving right into the camaraderie in the Celtics locker room this season, specifically with the Bus 1 Boys and unique experiences they have together arriving to arenas four hours ahead of games.   The conversation then shifts to Luke’s journey into the NBA after initially receiving zero Division 1 offers in high school and eventually going undrafted. Luke recalls questioning multiple times if continuing to pursue professional basketball was the right choice for him. He discusses the trials and triumphs he endured since then, which ultimately led to him signing with the Boston Celtics G League affiliate, the Maine Celtics, and how that decision has impacted his life since.   Maine Celtics General Manager Jarell Christian then joins the podcast to provide a bit of insight into the business side of the G League, how it differs from the NBA and the challenge of running a team full of players whose individual sights are all set on making it to the next level. Jarrell talks about roster construction and how the Maine Celtics can be a useful development resource for players on the Celtics roster like Sam Hauser to develop in their role with more time and opportunity.   1:05 – Chemistry In The Celtics Locker Room 2:06 – The Bus 1 Boys Experience 9:07 – Luke Kornet’s Career Path 14:10 – Life In The G League 20:31 – Living In Uncertainty 33:10 – Making Business Decisions Based On Values 39:12 – Defining Roles 42:55 – Creating A Development System In Maine 48:38 – What Makes This System Work?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode five of this season, Al Horford, Brad Stevens and ESPN’s Doris Burke join hosts Marc D’Amico and Sean Grande to look back on the chaotic ending to Game 3 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Semifinals against Philadelphia, which has been called ‘The Confetti Game.’ Marco Belinelli hit a desperation shot for Philly to send it to OT, but the combination of a 19-year-old rookie named Jayson Tatum bursting onto the scene, and the timely play of Playoff Al Horford, boosted the Celtics to a dramatic win and 3-0 series lead over Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and the 76ers.   1:22 – Celtics/Sixers Rivalry 7:48 – Remembering The Confetti 9:29 – Belinelli’s Game-Tying 3 14:27 – Brad Stevens Explains How He Came Up With After-Timeout Plays 20:12 – Jaylen Brown Ties The Game With 24 Seconds Left 28:15 – Jayson Tatum’s Coming Out Party 33:25 – Inside The Horford Basket That Won The Game 41:55 – How Playoff Experience Has Impacted The Celtics’ CoreSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coming out of the All-Star break, co-hosts Marc D’Amico, Sean Grande and Abby Chin sit down together to look back at the first half of the Celtics’ season. The group starts by discussing Joe Mazzulla’s impressive handling of the team through his challenging circumstances, and getting the team to turn the page. From there they switch gears to dive into the depth of the team, including Derrick White’s impact. Throughout the episode, the trio bounces around talking about the importance of the one seed for a long playoff run, their favorite moments thus far, the All-Star game, and Jayson Tatum’s chances of winning MVP.    2:48 - Obstacles To Begin The Season 7:30 - Joe Mazzulla’s Impressive Transition 16:44 - Derrick White’s Impact 22:52 - Learning’s From Last Year’s Playoff Run 25:10 - Importance Of The Number One Seed 27:10 - Favorite Moments Of The Season 37:03 - Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown In The All-Star Game 42:11 - Jayson Tatum’s MVP ChancesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Celtics scouts Austin Ainge, Ashley Battle and Benas Matkevicius talk about their experiences as NBA scouts. The episode begins with Austin and Ashley sharing travel stories, the value of seeing players in person vs remotely and the importance of intel gathering. As one of few female scouts, Ashley recaps how her WNBA career ended and her journey back into basketball as a trailblazer in scouting. The group then shifts to the skillsets needed in scouting and how accurate (or inaccurate) Adam Sandler’s movie, Hustle, depicted the life of an NBA scout. International scout Benas Matkevicius then joins the conversation to share some of his wildest travel stories and how he landed his role years ago.   1:45 – Travel Stories 8:04 – Advantages To Being In Person To Evaluate And Gather Intel 16:11 – Ashley’s Journey From The WNBA To Scouting 23:16 – Diversity Of Skill Sets And Experiences  39:40 – Introducing Benas Matkevicius 43:34 – Scouting Internationally 1:06:05 – Communicating Intel Back To The CelticsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.