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

Season 4 of View from the Rafters: Behind the Scenes with the Boston Celtics has been our best season yet. We’ve brought on four Celtics starters in Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White. We’ve brought on legends like Isaiah Thomas, Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. And amid all of these episodes we have had some crazy and never-before-told stories come out. This episode is all about taking the greatest segments from all of those episodes and stitching them all together as one. Buckle up and enjoy!   1:00 – Jrue Holiday on the competitive nature of his relationship with 2x USWNT gold medalist Lauren Holiday, and facing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks for the first time as a Celtic   13:00 – A plane seat and a fateful care ride lead to Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis becoming Cookies & Cream   19:00 – Isaiah Thomas relives his epic 53-point game in Game 2 of the 2017 ECSF, on his late sister’s birthday   26:00 – Derrick White and Richard White on Derrick’s upbringing, and Richard teaching him to become a winning player   35:00 - Paul Pierce, Eddie House and Sam Cassell on trash talk, and Cassell stealing the 2008 championship game ball   41:00 – Neemias Queta explains how he went from growing up in Portugal to attending Utah State   47:00 – Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker remember watching each other win titles, and being ahead of their time in firing up 3-pointers in massSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis have been dubbed by Joe Mazzulla as “Cookies & Cream,” and they join Marc and Abby on the VFTR set to dive into their relationship that’s blossomed both on and off the court just months after they became teammates. Listen to them relive Porzingis getting on the plane as the new guy and stealing JB’s seat (the one JB had held for four years), and the moment they got stuck on the side of the road together at 4 a.m. They also explain their chemistry on the court and why they get along so well off of it, with hilarious interactions throughout the convo. Oh, and merch? Maybe!   0:30 – Jaylen and Kristaps remember how the “Cookies & Cream” name came about   2:00 – JB tells the story of KP stealing the seat he’d held on the plane for 4 years   4:00 – Car rides, getting stuck on the side of the road at 4 a.m., and doppelgangers   9:45 – How the off-court relationship has led to on-court success   14:45 – Is Cookies & Cream merch on its way?   15:45 – One last chance to describe each other and their friendshipSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the NBA trade deadline looming this Thursday at 3 p.m., the View From The Rafters crew dives into everything the Celtics have to offer to other teams, the restraints the team is working under due to the new collective bargaining agreement, and areas of the roster that could potentially be strengthened via trade or buyout. There’s also a discussion about how Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge seemingly have different approaches to the trade deadline, while the Celtics are closer to a championship now than they were a handful of years ago. And as always, a few unexpected stories come out along the way, including when the Celtics traded multiple players away right before a game in 2015, Abby’s recent first ride with the Bus 1 Boys, and Shaq’s disbelief of how crazy the Celtics plane rides used to be.   1:00 – Sean and Abby remember their craziest trade deadline moments   6:10 – Discussion around Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge having different approaches to the deadline   11:00 – How the Celtics can get in on the action of other teams’ trades   15:30 – How the Celtics are always prepared for every scenario, which led to the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis   20:15 – Listing the trade assets the Celtics have, and Brad Stevens comments on importance of second-round picks   26:00 – Abby joins the Bus 1 Boys, and Sean breaks some news to Shaq   30:00 – Final discussion of what the Celtics can and should do with the rosterSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Derrick White went from receiving no D1 scholarship offers in high school to becoming a star two-way player for the Boston Celtics, and his dad, Richard, has been there for the entire ride. Listen as Derrick and Richard join Marc and Sean to remember the journey, their father-son relationship, Derrick himself becoming a dad, and what they were both thinking after Derrick’s epic putback layup at the buzzer of Game 6 of the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals. Oh, and they may or may not touch on Richard’s newfound fame on X (formerly known as Twitter) as a stats-based voice within the NBA community.   1:00 – Derrick on his dad’s social media, and Richard growing up a Celtics fan   5:00 – How Derrick learned to impact winning and be a chameleon   8:25 – Derrick calling Richard to tell him he’d been traded to the Celtics   12:00 – How their father-son relationship impacted Derrick on and off the court   16:00 – Reliving the buzzer-beating putback in Game 6 of the 2023 ECF   20:00 – Derrick becoming a dad, and Richard being a grandfather   27:30 – The world of social media and Richard’s participation in itSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It was the year 1998 when Paul Pierce came into the league and linked up with Antoine Walker to become one of the most promising young duos in the NBA during the lockout year. Both players were 20-point-per-game scorers and both players were All-Stars. Yet they couldn’t punch through in the postseason, which led Danny Ainge to break them apart. About 25 years after they first became teammates, the duo sits down to remember their time together, their breakup when Walker was traded (plus their reunion when Walker returned), watching each other win titles from afar, their observations of this year’s team, and the parallels between their partnership and that of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.   1:00 – Remembering the early years together   3:40 – Learning how to win as young players   14:00 – Pierce watching Walker win a title from afar, then celebrating with him in Chicago   17:15 – Walker’s return to the Celtics and the “two-star” formula   22:30 – Parallels between Pierce/Walker and Tatum/Brown   32:15 – Having two star players who play a similar position   38:00 – Walker tells story of nudging Kevin Garnett to accept trade to CelticsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are few individual performances in Celtics history that reach the status of ‘epic.’ Isaiah Thomas’ 53-point effort in Game 2 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semifinals is unquestionably one of them. In this episode, we begin with Marc and Sean provide full context around the love affair between Isaiah and Celtics Nation, and the emotional circumstances that surrounded the 2017 Playoffs after Isaiah’s sister, Chyna, tragically passed away the day before Game 1 of the opening round. Isaiah himself joins for the second half of the episode for a lengthy conversation about his historical run with Boston, and how that epic 53-point game came to be on his late sister’s birthday.   0:30 – Setting the table for the IT4-Celtics relationship and what made it so special   10:15 – Remembering the emotions of Chyna’s death and the first-round series against Chicago   16:00 – Recalling Isaiah’s oral surgery between Games 1 and 2 of Conference Semis, and his miraculous performance in Game 2   29:15 – Isaiah Thomas joins and gives an update on his workouts   31:00 – Isaiah describes the love affair between him and Celtics Nation   37:00 – An emotional first-round series following Chyna’s death, and how it strengthened the bond between him and the city   42:40 – Reliving Game 1 of the Conference Semis, and his 13 hours of oral surgery before Game 2   49:00 – Isaiah describes what he was seeing and thinking during his magical Game 2 performance   53:15 – A friendly bet that will go down in history   55:30 – Isaiah recalls the game-sealing bucket over Markieff Morris, and how trash talk during that series nearly ended his relationship with the Morris TwinsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neemias Queta joins Marc and Sean this week to talk about his path to the NBA and the Celtics – which is incredibly unconventional. Queta became the first Portuguese player to ever be drafted into the NBA and to ever play in an NBA game, after moving from Lisbon to Utah to play three years for Utah State. At Utah State, Queta ironically played with Danny Ainge’s son, Crew, and quickly became one of the top shot blockers in the nation. Now, after two years of development in the Kings organization and being the runner up for G League MVP, Queta is playing more minutes for the Celtics than he ever has before in the NBA, all while showing his true promise as a big man – and especially as a shot-blocker.   0:30 – Becoming the first Portuguese player in the NBA   3:10 – Cultural differences between Portugal and Spain, and why to visit Portugal   6:55 – Why Queta chose to attend Utah State instead of going pro in Europe   12:05 – Becoming an elite shot blocker   20:00 – Being drafted by the Kings and developing in the G League   23:30 – Looking up to Al Horford and contributing to the Celtics this season   27:55 – Joe Mazzulla joking to the media about Queta’s goaltending tendenciesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg joins Marc and Abby for a special All-Star-themed episode after the Boston Celtics launched a campaign to get all five of their starters to the 2024 NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis. The crew discusses the historical context of teams getting four or five players into the game, and dives deep into the cases Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday have made to be voted onto the team this season. The group also discusses how coaches tend to vote on reserves, and how Adam Silver tends to select injury replacements, while also suggesting a couple new wrinkles that the league could consider when it comes to All-Star rosters.   3:30 – Forsberg gives the approach he’d take to voting if he were an NBA coach   9:45 – Marc reveals how he thinks the Celtics will get a minimum of three players into the game   13:15 – Forsberg suggests expanding the All-Star rosters to 15 players instead of 12   19:15 – Abby and Forsberg make a case for Derrick White to be an All-Star   24:30 – The group discusses why Porzingis deserves to make the team   28:45 – The discussion shifts to Holiday’s case to become a three-time All-Star   33:15 – Forsberg suggests that the NBA dedicate an All-Star spot to elite role players   36:30 – How Adam Silver has chosen injury replacements   38:30 – Marc, Abby and Forsberg make their All-Star predictions for the Celtics   WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcJngzG91G0See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rajon Rondo didn’t just win two NBA championships during his NBA career. He did so while playing on both sides of the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers rivalry. Rondo explores the differences in those two experiences, and how each came to be, throughout this episode.   Rondo also gives his perspective both of being the guy who helped to end LeBron James’ first run in Cleveland, to playing against LeBron during the Miami years, to being LeBron’s teammate in Los Angeles. Rondo specifically remembers the moments of wanting to play LeBron and the Cavs during the 2010 Playoffs and then beating them, as well as LeBron’s career-altering performance during Game 6 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals.   Much more is covered in the episode, as Rondo recalls nearly being traded for Kevin Garnett, the epic 2009 playoff series against the Chicago Bulls, and what separates Boston from other sports cities. He also tells the story of playing on a torn ACL and how he eventually found out it was torn, as well as playing with a dislocated elbow following his dust-up with Dwyane Wade during the 2011 Playoffs.   0:30 – Rondo’s observations of today’s NBA game   4:45 – Boston’s guards and Jrue Holiday being one of his favorite teammates   7:00 – Nearly being traded by Boston and experience of playing for multiple teams   15:15 – Playing on a torn ACL and learning about the injury from a radio broadcast   20:45 – Reliving biggest moments of his Boston career   30:30 – Facing Brad Stevens and the Celtics in 2017 Playoffs as a member of the Bulls   40:30 – Learning about Rondo’s basketball IQ   43:45 – Winning another championship   WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD8UAk92Gn8See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fresh off a shooting competition down on the Boston Celtics’ practice court, these three 2008 champions reunite for a lengthy conversation that touches on a long list of subjects but centers around their greatest collective talent: talking trash.   Seriously, you’ve got to listen to these guys chop it up about the way they not only used to talk trash to opponents, but also to THEIR OWN TEAMMATES! Paul Pierce recalls a story of the NBA putting in a private call to Doc Rivers to request that the team dial back its trash talk on the floor. Spoiler alert: Doc didn’t exactly give in to the request.   The interesting tie between the three champs is that not only did they win a title together, but now, 15 years later, they’re all back and involved with the Boston Celtics. Paul Pierce is serving in a team ambassador role, Sam Cassell is an assistant coach and Eddie House is an analyst for NBC Sports Boston. They discuss that and how their relationships are growing with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.   Naturally, there’s also plenty of talk about the 2008 team. They discuss the unbreakable bond between all of the players who won that title, as well as the process of working Cassell and PJ Brown into the lineup after their late acquisitions during the season. House and Cassell talk about the fact that House wound up losing playing time because Cassell joined the team.   0:45 – The guys relive the shooting competition they just had on the court, while throwing some shade at Cassell   2:29 – All three being officially involved with the team 15 years after winning the title   8:52 – Joe Mazzulla inviting Celtics alumni back, and Cassell and Pierce on their time with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown in LA last summer   11:30 – The level of trash talk from the 2008 championship team   16:30 – Cassell tells the story of stealing the game ball after winning the title in 2008   19:54 – Cassell joining the team, and a return to more trash talk, including the Doc Rivers story   26:30 – Remembering the journey to the 2008 title   31:35 – More discussion on how they’re building relationships with Tatum and Brown   35:00 – The pursuit of an 18th championship   WATCH on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-f4I5m7UeYSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.