sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Celtics @ Timberwolves

EPISODE 50 | Celtics are on the road again, this time in Minnesota where the Timberwolves take a bite out of the Celtics unblemished record with a 114-109 OT victory over the Celtics, who fall to 5-1 on the season. King Chuddy is back and well-rested as him and Doug Outs break down what they saw in the Celtics first loss of the season, including Tatum and Brown dueling with Anthony Edwards, Porzingis against a big T'Wolves lineup, Gobert gets dunked into bolivian, and a deeper dive into the final possessions of the 4th quarter and overtime. In "Around the League" we check in on the former Celtics with their new teams (RIP Timelord), Chud talks Wemby, Embiid drops 48, and we end with some in-season tournament talk. We close with a special guest announcement for upcoming Wednesday episode 👀

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Celtics @ Nets

EPISODE 49 | Celtics travel to the Brooklyn for a Juicy matchup against the Nets who were on the second night of a back to back. But anyone who thought the Nets would be Ready to Die were Dead Wrong. With King Chuddy load managing, Doug Outs takes the lead and provides a lone wolf recap of the game including, Derrick White did sex, Jayson Tatum scores 10,000 points, Al gets the start and looks young and spry, and Doug asks the question - "Do the refs hate Porzingis?" Also in "Around the League" Doug Outs reads a few box scores with some added gusto, Dillon Brooks has a big night, Devin Booker has another rest, and the Lakers lose.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Celtics vs Pacers

EPISODE 48 | Celtics return to the Garden and take the Pacers behind the woodshed with a 155-104 victory. Chuddy and Doug Outs give their breakdown of the game including a super efficient Jayson Tatum leading another big night for the starters, Pritchard and Hauser find their shots, and the "Stock Exchange" continue to put the clamp.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Celtics @ Wizards

EPISODE 47 | Celtics storm the nation's capital and beat up on the Wizards. Chuddy and Doug Outs break down the game and provide their instant reactions in a special Halloween episode of Chuddy's Corner.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Season Preview!

EPISODE 45 | After some technical difficulties that delayed this episode until after game 1 vs NYK, the season preview is finally here! It was a wild off-season with major shake ups to the roster/staff, mourning the loss of some old friends and welcoming in some new ones. Let's see how Chuddy feels about the future of the team and what to expect going forward.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Postseason Recap & Off Season Preview

EPISODE 43 | WARNING: PODCAST RECORDED PRIOR TO THE MARCUS NEWS... Miami does not believe in miracles, crushing the Celtics hope of a historic 0-3 comeback to make the finals. Moving on, it's time for the off season with the first stop the draft, or so we thought. Kristaps is coming to Boston! But the terms have changed since we recorded... We'll have updated thoughts on the next pod.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) 76ers Recap & Miami Preview

EPISODE 42 | We finally wrapped up an all too familiar seven game grind that we've come to expect from the Celtics in the playoffs. Fortunately, we came out on the winning side thanks to a historic performance by Tatum. Now on to another all too familiar foe that tends to take us deep... Let's hope this one doesn't play out a little differently than the last few years.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Heading into the All Star break

EPISODE 39 | The trade deadline is in the rearview, Tatum and Brown are heading to Utah along with HEAD COACH Joe Mazzulla. The hospital Celtics have kept things rolling but the team hopes to be rested and healthy coming out of the other side of the All Star Break.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) Playing Catch-Up & Pre-Deadline Chatter

EPISODE 38 | Chuddy is back! The first episode of the Celtics 2022-2023 season is finally here and there was no shortage of topics to get in to. We take Chuddy's temperature on the C's performance so far this season, grades Joey Mazz in his first year as the "interim" head coach, previews the trade deadline (less than 48 hours away), tells us what (if anything) the C's should do and a lot more. It's an action packed episode, it feels good to be back!

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sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler

Celtics trade for Brogdon, Sign Gallinari

The Boston Celtics started the free agency period quietly, not making a single move on day one. They had limited resources to work with going into the off-season, holding no cap space, but they held multiple traded player exceptions, including one worth $17.1 million from the Evan Fournier sign and trade deal last off-season with the Knicks. Along with those trade exceptions, the Celtics were armed with only the taxpayers mid-level exception - worth roughly $6.5 million per year- and minimum contracts to offer. The Celtics weren’t exactly primed to be big spenders in free agency, but they had enough ammunition to add depth and improve the team on the margins. A team, that is, that just went to the NBA Finals and came up just short of winning a title with a young roster and a rookie head coach. Things were looking good going into the off-season for the Celtics, but fireworks and big splashes weren’t necessarily expected (or needed). All of this made it pretty normal, and almost expected, that the Celtics essentially sat out day one of free agency, allowing their competitors to toss around big money at the flashy names (frankly there weren’t a lot of stars changing hands - purely via free agency).

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) 2021-22 Finals & Season Recap

EPISODE 37 | It was a fun playoff run, but ultimately the Celtics came up two wins short of an NBA title. It didn’t end well, but there are many reasons to be thankful for the season they had and plenty of silver linings. Chuddy tells us what went right, what went wrong and what to look forward to in this 2021-22 season finale of Chuddy’s Corner.

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sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino sports, podcast Nicholas Piraino

(Podcast) 2021-22 Warriors Game 5 Recap

EPISODE 36 | The Celtics struggles continue. Turnovers and offensive inconsistency being the main culprit, as they tend to be when the C's lose games. Are they running out of gas? Can they pull it together at home and extend the series, or does GS raise the trophy on the parquet? Let's ask Chuddy.

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sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler

Season on the Brink as Celtics Fall Flat Yet Again

The Boston Celtics showed up fully rested and ready to go for their pivotal game five of the NBA Finals in the Chase Center on Monday night. They came in 7-0 in these playoffs following a loss, and looking to respond to a game four collapse in Boston. Spirits were high, as fans have witnessed this team play their best basketball in the wake of their worst, especially in the biggest moments. But on this night, in the biggest game of the season, and the biggest game of many of these Celtics’ careers, the team put forth a mostly lackluster performance. They came out flat, struggling mightily on offense and digging themselves a 24-8 hole not even 10 minutes into the contest. The Celtics would settle into the game eventually, especially defensively - where they played very well - but spotting a team like the Warriors a 16 point lead in the blink of the eye on the road is a near death sentence. Boston looked like an inspired team after half, putting together an amazing start to the third quarter and even taking the lead briefly. But sustaining that level proved to be too great of a challenge as the Warriors would retake the lead at the tail end of the third and then completely dominate the fourth quarter to defeat the Celtics 104-94 and take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals.

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sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler

Another Late Collapse Prevents Celtics from Taking Stranglehold Over Warriors

On Friday night at TD Garden the Boston Celtics had the opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals, and all but put the Warriors away. They came out with the proper level of intensity and with focus, and for about 40 minutes it appeared that the Celtics were on track to take that commanding series lead. But the Warriors had other ideas and put on a two-way clinic for the final few minutes to take the lead and then pull away for a 107–97 win to even the series at 2-2.

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sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler

Celtics Pull Away from Warriors to Take Game 3 at Home

The Celtics came home after a disappointing game two loss in Golden State that included a total meltdown after the half. All year long, and especially in these playoffs, we’ve seen this team bounce back, show resolve and resilience, and play their best basketball following their worst performances, and in game three they did it again. Wednesday night in TD Garden, the Celtics came out in front of a raucous crowd and took it to Golden State from the jump. Everything lacking in the second half of game two showed up very early. The Celtics were the more aggressive and intense team, and made sure the Warriors felt their physicality immediately. Desperation and urgency was apparent, as the Celtics came out in attack mode and jumped out to a 15 point lead in the opening minutes. Boston was in control for almost the entire game until the Warriors made one of their patented third quarter runs, momentarily taking the lead, before the Celtics regrouped with a dominant fourth quarter to win game three going away, 116-100, taking a 2-1 lead in the NBA Finals.

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sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler

Celtics Implode After Half, Drop Game 2 in Golden State

Going into these NBA Finals, it’s safe to say that most Celtics fans would have been happy to split the first two games on the road and head to Boston with the series tied 1-1. But the way things unfolded Sunday night in the Chase Center has to leave a bad taste in the mouth of Celtics nation. After winning game one in dramatic, comeback fashion, it was always going to be a tall task to defeat the three time champions in their own building again. In fact, only twice in NBA Finals history has the road team won both games one and two. So the odds were stacked against them, and in some ways it felt like they were playing with house money, having already stolen game one. But the Celtics have been better on the road than at home lately, and they had a real chance to take a stranglehold of these finals, and they completely collapsed. Following a tightly contested first half, Boston turned in yet another disastrous third quarter effort, losing the frame by 21 points, and causing Ime Udoka to waive the white flag with almost an entire quarter left as the Warriors back ups were able to coast to a comfortable 107-88 victory, tying the NBA finals at 1-1 as things head to Boston.

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sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler sports, podcast, blog Ben Handler

Celtics Ride Huge 4th Quarter Comeback to Game 1 Win

The Celtics knew they would have their work cut out for them to win the NBA Finals, but especially to win game one in Golden State. The prevailing narrative seemed to be that the Warriors had more rest, more experience, and had home court advantage. While the Celtics were coming off a brutally taxing seven game slugfest with the Heat, and not a single player on the team had a second of experience in the NBA finals. Early in the game, this seemed to be the case. Boston looked nervous and a little tight, making mistakes - especially on defense - and taking some time to lose the jitters and settle into a basketball game. Through three quarters, the Warriors had mostly been dominant and it appeared as if game one would be mostly a learning experience for Boston. But everything shifted in the fourth quarter, as the Celtics completely dismantled the Warriors on both ends to the tune of a 40-16 run, going from down 12, to up 15, eventually emptying the bench and coming away with a monumental 120-108 game one victory in Chase Center.

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