The 2025-26 NBA regular season is more than 90% over, with the Boston Celtics having just six games left to play. But after that of course comes the 2026 NBA Playoffs, and the Celtics are poised to make some serious noise in the Eastern Conference postseason scrum thanks to an MVP-caliber campaign from star Boston forward Jaylen Brown, big steps forward from several rotation players, and a surprisingly capable incoming cohort of rookies, new Celtics, and a healed Jayson Tatum.

This then begs the question of which East ball club Boston will likely face in the first round of the 'offs -- and more to the point which teams we most (and least) want the Celtics to face in the first round. With three likely opponents and another trio of less likely ones pending who comes out of the play-in tournament (and where Boston finishes in the standings), the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" took some time on this episode to talk through the field of potential opponents for the Celtics, along with which we feel would be the biggest (and least) challenge for Boston.

We also get caught up on all your late-season Celtics news, so be sure to tune in!

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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As we approach the end of the 2025-26 regular season, the NCAA tournament is heating up. There, we will get our best glimpse yet of most of the incoming cohort of 2026 NBA Draft, and who the next members of the Celtics organization might be.

The league is also elevating their assault on the tendency of teams to make their play worse to get said players after a recent Board of Governors meeting laid out a number of routes the NBA could take to lessen tanking. To get a read on who Boston ought to consider drafting and what the league should (not?) do to fix tanking, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down with USA TODAY draft guru Bryan Kalbrosky to talk through a very future-focused episode.

We also cover some important health news in the context of the Celtics stretch run and more, so be sure to tune in.

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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The Boston Celtics are currently well past the three-fourths mark of the 2025-26 NBA regular season. And with that point in time having been arrived at, we are seeing an uptick in talk about the full-season awards that various Execs, coaches, and players from around the league are in the running for.

There are a handful of awards that a member of the Celtics organization have a shot at, from Jaylen Brown being in the hunt for this year's Most Valuable Player award to Joe Mazzulla being a frontrunner for Coach of the Year and Boston President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens Executive of the Year. And there are a host of awards that ought to exist, yet for some reason do not. To thread the needs of all the above, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down with CelticsBlog's Ian Inangelo, diving deep into the award races, both real and made up.

We also get caught up on a busy week of news, so be sure to tune in to this week's episode.

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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Derrick White has carved out a critical role with the Boston Celtics on the court since being dealt to the team in 2022. And he has also become an integral part of the greater Celtics community off the court, from his Curbside Care charity events to his beloved Sam Adams commercials for their Derrick White Ale. And the Colorado native has also had a privileged view on the rehab and return of his star teammate Jayson Tatum.

The University of Colorado - Boulder alum sat down this week to talk to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" about all of the above, as well as his own "White Noise" podcast, his preternatural defense this season, and a new Sam Adams ad campaign among several other topics in this wide-ranging interview.

We also get caught up on how Tatum has been doing in his return from injury, what the Nikola Vucevic injury means for Boston, and more – so be sure to tune in to this special episode.

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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With a certain St. Louis native having his injury report status changed from "out" to "questionable," the world of Boston Celtics (and NBA) fandom just kicked into overdrive. How will he change the Celtics season to date, where will he fit into this version of the team, and how should our expectations change are just a few of the relevant questions in need of some answers.

But we can also turn back the clock to talk about Hall of Fame Celtics legend Larry Bird's origin story in 'Heartland: A Forgotten Place, an Impossible Dream, and the Miracle of Larry Bird,' a new account of the years that basketball truly grabbed a hold of the Hick from French Lick and didn't let go – to all our benefit. On this week's episode of "Havlicek Stole the Pod", your hosts address the likely imminent return of Tatum and what that means for Boston before we take a closer look at the new Bird tome with author Keith O'Brien.

Make sure you tune in for one of the most packed episodes we have put out so far this season!

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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Jayson Tatum is playing 5-on-5 basketball again with the Boston Celtics, and fans of the team can almost feel his return to the court this season. But such a return is still, even now, not certain – nor is what will happen to the Celtics when he does. The surprise success of Boston in his absence (and that of Al Horford, Luke Kornet, Jrue Holiday, and Kristaps Porzingis, while we're at it) might be the story of the season in the NBA.

But how the Celtics respond to Tatum's return could very well be the story of the decade depending on how it pans out, good or bad. What can we expect from the St. Louis native when he does start playing again? How will Boston reintegrate the Duke alum into what has been a play style very different from what he has grown used to? How will Tatum and his costar on the wing Jaylen Brown share the load? And most importantly, could this team win it all with Taco Jay playing for them again?

To assess the likely imminent return of Tatum to the Celtics, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" linked up with Ringer reporter and Real Ones cohost Howard Beck. We cover all the angles of JT's return from injury, get caught up on all the Celtics news of the week, and even check in on the state of the Los Angeles Lakers - Celtics rivalry. Check it out!

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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All-Star Week is now behind us, and the Boston Celtics and the wider NBA turn their attention to the stretch run and the postseason beyond. Which Eastern Conference ball clubs are contenders, pretenders, or somewhere further down the hierarchy of the East?

Taking into account the moves made by these teams and their general health (and predilection for accumulating lottery odds while we're at it), the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" took some time to assess the order of the Eastern Conference now that the dust has settled and we have some returns on the moves made around the conference.

We also touch on one of the more interesting antitanking proposals we've come across, reflect on All-Star week itself, and make sense of the two signings made by Boston this week so be sure to tune in.

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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The Boston Celtics and the NBA have taken the week off for the league's 2026 All-Star Week proceedings, opening the door for all manner of debates about how the league conducts business as is often the case in the absence of games that count to talk about. But with a few of those issues rising to greater prominence than usual for better or worse this season, some of these debates have become especially polarized.

We are of course talking about the discourse surrounding gambling in the NBA, teams tanking more egregiously than ever. And the prospect of the Association expanding to 32 (or more!) teams! Did we mention the All-Star game is kind of a mess? With so much to talk about, the hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down with Gio Rivera of Celtics Blog. We take the pulse of these hot-button issues from a Celtics-leading point of view while we wait for Jaylen Brown to suit up for...(checks notes) one of the US teams as an All-Star starter for the first time in his career.

Join us for a wide-ranging episode that might even have some novel ideas on how to solve at least one of these concerns.

Outro: Whistle by Benjamin Banger - https://tiny.ee/Jk4U or BenJaminBanger.com

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