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

Payton Pritchard is in the middle of a career year, both on and off the court. Whether it’s going viral after playing with kids in the park, getting married to a social superstar, or being the NBA’s leading candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, it takes a lot of work and focus to keep everything under control. But how did he get here? What did he have to go through to become who he is today? Payton takes us under the hood of how he crafted his incredible work ethic, and how he battled through the hardest year of his life – and a public trade request – to propel himself into NBA stardom this season with the Boston Celtics. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The COVID-19 pandemic broke out at the tail end of Baylor Scheierman’s and Anton Watson’s freshman seasons in college. The pandemic wound up shaping the rest of their lives, as both wound up staying in college for five years. The two Boston Celtics rookies and draft picks recall what it was like when COVID hit, how they benefited from an extra year of college basketball, what they’ve learned from being teammates with superstars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, and what they think of head coach Joe Mazzulla. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sam Cassell has won four NBA championships spanning 30-plus years in the NBA. He’s played with multiple MVPs (Hakeem Olajuwon, Kevin Garnett). He’s coached an MVP (Joel Embiid) and multiple MVP candidates (Jayson Tatum, Blake Griffin, Chris Paul). When we suggest that when he speaks, you should listen, we mean it. Cassell describes the experiences of winning four championships and what set the 2024 title apart, including being the first person to greet Jayson Tatum in the locker room with a champagne shower. He also discusses what it’s like working with Joe Mazzulla, what makes Jayson Tatum such a special player to coach and what makes him ready for an NBA head coaching job right now. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Derrick White and Jrue Holiday react to their nickname “The Stock Exchange,” and say they need some suggestions from Celtics Nation about a Stock Exchange hand shake. They dive into what it’s like playing defense alongside one another, including Jrue’s disbelief at how Derrick blocks shots in so many ways as a guard. They also discuss how they communicate to each other in the middle of games, and give their takes on what makes both a great individual defender and a great team defense. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Joe Mazzulla joins us for the first episode of the View from the Rafters season to break down his unique approach to coaching in the NBA, and to life in general. That includes his use of psychology and methodology with everyone around him, including his players. Most importantly, we ask him to give context to his best quotes, and he also talks about his inspiration from Red Auerbach and Pep Guardiola, and why he thanked every member of the Boston Celtics staff via a personal letter following last season’s championship. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Boston Celtics advanced to 4-0 on the season with a win over Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks thanks to an insane shooting performance from Payton Pritchard. He scored 28 off the bench and tied the Celtics franchise record with eight made 3-pointers as a reserve. It’s got fans talking about his Sixth Man of the Year candidacy. We also take comments on what’s different about this year’s team, as well as the balance on Boston’s roster. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Celtics are 3-0 after coming up clutch Saturday night in Detroit. Tonight we take a comment from Derrick White's father, Richard White, on what he took from the win, another fan is already looking ahead to the Playoffs, and another says Jayson Tatum has reached top-3 status after another 37-point outburst. Let's dive into the win! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

GreenGuru thinks the Celtics might finish this season with record-breaking 75-7 record. Is that realistic? We discuss that, as well as the play of Payton Pritchard, The Jays and Neemias Queta in tonight’s episode of SOUND OFF after the Celtics led by as many as 32 points before polishing off a 122-102 win over the Wizards down in DC. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SOUND OFF is back for another season and we tip it off from Banner Night at TD Garden. How insane is Boston's 3-point shooting? Are the Celtics apex predators? How good is the defense? We answer it all after the Boston Celtics received their preposterously-sized championship rings, then raised the franchise's 18th championship banner to the rafters, and then clobbered the Knicks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sound off with us on the Celtics proving their naysayers wrong YET AGAIN during Game 3, as they came through in the clutch for another win behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scoring at least 30 points. We touch on their performances, Xavier Tillman filling in for Kristaps Porzingis, what the Celtics have done to arguably the most talented backcourt in NBA history, and how far an 18th championship would go beyond just the Celtics’ locker room. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sounding off tonight on Boston’s backcourt of Jrue Holiday and Derrick White providing the Celtics with clutch play from start to finish, and we also touch on Payton Pritchard’s impact plus give the latest on Kristaps Porzingis on the health front. Our fans join the conversation with comments on what they took away from the win, on the national media not understanding what this Celtics team is all about, and on what Boston needs to do to close this series out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sounding off on the Boston Celtics dismantling the Dallas Mavericks during Game 1 of the NBA Finals to take a 1-0 series lead. We’re diving in on the ridiculous performance that Kristaps Porzingis put forth during the first quarter, on Jaylen Brown having yet another take-over game while making life difficult on Luka Doncic, on the Celtics proving their critics wrong, and on how Boston can be even better during Game 2 against the Dallas Mavericks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sound off with us on Jaylen Brown winning the Eastern Conference Finals MVP award, the Boston Celtics coming up clutch time after time after time, on the team dripping with resilience, on Joe Mazzulla being celebrated by his team on international television, and on the Celtics going a ridiculous 12-2 en route to the Finals without the services (mostly) of Kristaps Porzingis. Off to the Finals, let’s go! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sounding off on Jrue Holiday coming through in the clutch to steal Game 3 away from the Indiana Pacers with a perfect final minute that included five points and the biggest defensive play of the NBA postseason thus far. We’re also diving into Jayson Tatum putting up a stat line that literally no other player has ever logged before in an NBA playoff game, and then we take comments from the fans on Boston’s composure and stability, Holiday’s impact on the team, and a potential finals matchup. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sounding off on Jaylen Brown putting forth the most impactful performance of his playoff career, which now includes a whopping 116 games. He dropped a 40-piece on the Indiana Pacers while leading the Boston Celtics to a runaway win during Game 2 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. Brown was dominant, and we also dive into Jayson Tatum’s performance, Jrue Holiday’s game getting better and better as the stakes get higher and higher, and what the Celtics might do with their rotation going forward with Al Horford logging big minutes this postseason and Luke Kornet now suffering a left wrist sprain while Kristaps Porzingis is out. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sounding off tonight on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum spurring the Boston Celtics to a miraculous win over the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals. We’re taking you through all of the clutch moments from Brown as he single-handedly willed the Celtics to overtime with clutch free throws, by forcing a turnover, and then drilling the biggest shot of his life. We then detail how Jayson Tatum took over in OT to push Boston into the winner’s circle, and our fans then chime in about the national narratives surrounding the Celtics, the relationship between the Celtics and their crowd, and what Boston needs to improve on heading into Game 2. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sound off with us on Al Horford and Jayson Tatum leading the Celtics to their third straight Eastern Conference Finals after the duo picked apart the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game 5 at TD Garden. We dive in on their performances, the Celtics proving that they’re killers and on whether or not Boston deserves criticism after this win. We also explain the scenarios of when the Eastern Conference Finals will tip off, either against the New York Knicks or the Indiana Pacers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Boston Celtics took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers thanks to Jaylen Brown showing off his clutch gene. We’re sounding off on Brown’s clutch effort and the Celtics figuring out a way to win despite their worst combination of assists and turnovers all season long. We also discuss Boston’s ability to grab the win during clutch time, during their first game that qualified as a “clutch” game since way back on April 5 of the regular season. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sound off with us tonight as we dive into these Celtics feeling like they’re different than their teams of the past. Our listeners say this win was revenge against the Heat, that it was a perfect response to national criticism, and that the Celtics still have another level to reach as the postseason wears on. In Wednesday’s Game 5, Boston came out in its first close-out opportunity of the NBA Playoffs and destroyed the Heat by 34 points behind dominant defense and Derrick White and Jaylen Brown controlling the offensive end of the floor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sounding off on the Boston Celtics taking a 3-1 series lead over the Miami Heat thanks to Derrick White’s career-best 38 points during Game 4. We dive into what stood out from White’s performance, and also go through the moment that made Celtics Nation’s collective heart drop as Kristaps Porzingis exited the game with a non-contact injury. We’re talking White, Porzingis, Boston’s depth, and a close-out opportunity Wednesday night as the Celtics head home for Game 5. Sound off with us, folks! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.