Havlicek Stole the Pod NBA Basketball Podcast

The Boston Celtics won Game 1 of their first-round series of the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs vs. the Philadelphia 76ers in decisive fashion, blowing out the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91 at TD Garden on Sunday (April 19) night. Plenty went right for the Celtics, and little Philadelphia, so we can expect Game 2 to have a different contour than we saw in these two ball clubs' first meeting of the postseason.

But what, specifically, can the Sixers do to counter the scoring onslaught we saw from star Boston forwards Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum? Is there a way for Philly to boost their 3-point shooting to a level they will need to get to in order to beat Boston? And what else do we need to know about the postseason so far?

The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down to talk through Game 1, and how it may inform what we see on the court in Game 2. We also get caught up on the news, so be sure to tune in to this episode.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Now that the Boston Celtics are set to take on the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2026 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs, what do we need to know about the series? It has become something of a ritual to face the Sixers early in the postseason for Boston in recent years, and up until now, it has typically gone the Celtics way even in series where the games were close.

Now, Philly is in the midst of the start of a new era with rising stars Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe set to take the reigns from aging vets Paul George and Joel Embiid. And with latter dealing with a serious injury and the former still untested in the postseason, just what sort of an opponent are the Celtics facing?

The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down to flesh out the outline of the seven-game series set to kick off Sunday, as well as what we expect in terms of matchups, play style, and outcome. We also get caught up on all the news of Boston's off week and more, so be sure to tune in.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

There are just a few games left in the 2025-26 NBA regular season. What do the Boston Celtics need to do before they start the 2026 NBA Playoffs? The hosts of "Havlicek Stole the Pod" sat down with Forbes beat writer Bobby Krivitsky to talk through what Boston has in terms of unfinished business before the start of the postseason, how the playoff picture has changed since our last pod, and where Derrick White and Jaylen Brown are in the All-Defense and All-NBA races, respectively.

We also touch on the rumbles connecting Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Celtics, Boston President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens to college coaching vacancies, players gearing up for postseason pushes after extended absences due to injuries, recent games, and more.

We even get into Neemias Queta's odds at being named Most Improved Player, so be sure to tune in.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.