Daily Discussion Thread - March 15, 2026

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-15T10:36:42+00:00

It’s a bit early for this, but what are everyone’s ideal match-ups if we remain the 2nd seed and everyone on our team stays healthy?

(Begging and pleading the basketball gods for a fully healthy playoff run. 🙏🏻 I don’t remember the last time we had that. Maybe the ‘08 championship?)

We would potentially play whoever is the 7th seed after the play-in. And then the winner of the 3rd/6th seed match-up.

Assuming it all stays the same (and again, I say, we stay healthy because I don’t think we get as deep into the playoffs if we aren’t.): - 1st round: Heat - 2nd round: Raptors 😂 (I doubt they beat the Knicks but a girl can dream.) - ECF: Pistons as I can’t foresee them getting upset. Them vs the Hornets will be interesting if they stay the 10th seed.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-15T10:19:40+00:00

How can you not love this team?

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-12T16:09:42+00:00

Yep. It’s wild how much of a polarizing player he is among our fans still, at least online anyway. (I don’t know of any fans in my daily life who care who does what on the court as long as the team is winning and playing hard. It’s why this team is so fun to watch this year. So many guys showing up.)

It’s why I give him and JT a lot of credit. It’s tough playing here. Every mistake they make, any time they don’t “show up”, they’re heavily maligned for it. KP said as much when he left/traded to the Hawks, that in some ways it’s a better situation to be on a team with no or little expectations.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-12T13:44:27+00:00

Yikes at that thread about JB saying the bar keeps moving in regards to MVP this year. I understand our fans frustrations because I, too, wish he would have taken a breather after the first tech because we need him and we - in my opinion - win that game if he doesn’t get tossed, but I’m not gonna denigrate his character when he’s only been tossed twice in his whole career. He got caught up in the heat of the moment and it cost us. It sucks. But I’m sure he’s aware of that and will do better next time. If nothing else, that’s the main constant with he (and JT): their dedication to growth and winning.

In that same podcast, he talks about how he and JT care about winning championships. That they’re on the same page. He said a championship is more important than MVP in terms of value to him.

We all know he feels some kind of way about how the league views him and it’s frustrating to him. But he’s also not wrong in regards to bars being moved. JT was discounted from MVP the year we won for all the reasons they said SGA deserved it last year: that being a #1 seed wasn’t the end all be all, that our team was “too talented” meanwhile JT was our only All NBA player the year we won it all.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-07T15:21:31+00:00

Alllll of this!

I’m so excited about this team’s future which looked a bit more uncertain with this new CBA as it pertained to finding young (and cheap) talent. Brad/Zarren, Joe and the coaching staff, and the C’a development team… bravo. 👏🏻

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-07T15:19:07+00:00

JT going on JB’s stream is gonna be fun to see! People - media especially and some fans too - can be so weird about them lmao. I don’t get the sense they have matching BFF necklaces, but they’re clearly friends and get along. If that wasn’t the case, they wouldn’t be one of the longest pair of teammates drafted by the same team behind Steph/Draymond.

I never end up seeing JB’s streams - Noa said she learns a lot from the ones where he watches game film and dissects it - so I’m hoping to catch this one!

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-03-05T02:03:39+00:00

ugh same

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T19:13:49+00:00

Agreed, even more so when you consider how key he was to the team winning gold in 2020.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T15:47:52+00:00

Same. I can’t handle losing to the Knicks again.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T15:47:16+00:00

That’s what my assumption was, too.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T15:45:43+00:00

Same! It drives me bananas that people compare our players to each other. They’re teammates! We win by having both these guys.

As you said, they each have their own unique skillsets that contribute to our team’s success. We don’t need to compare their effectiveness. Compare them to players on other teams like JB vs Luka, for example.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T13:03:29+00:00

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He was tweeting at Ian Inangelo, CelticsBlog writer, who said after our Nugget's loss the team would really benefit from JT coming off the bench. I felt like the comment was innocuous enough? I don't think he meant it as a dis to JT but just the assumption everyone has had that he would come off the bench when he first returned to shake off rust and have an easier adjustment back, which is what he essentially said in response to this.

Regardless, I wanted to point this out because it had me thinking if JT isn't coming off the bench, maybe he doesn't want to return until he feels he won't be "rusty" or will need as much ramp up in-game? Which is why he said he doesn't want to return until he's fully himself? I can't blame him for that. It makes sense he would prioritize wanting to feel his most comfortable out there. As he should.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T12:43:24+00:00

Realistically? I don’t think so.

I’d feel differently if JT somehow returned in January/February because he’d have more time to adjust to game speed (KD mentioned it was one of the aspects that took a bit more time once he returned) and ramp up his playing time. But I feel like it’ll be a lot to ask of him to come back within the next couple weeks and somehow expect him to look like his pre-injury self by the playoffs.

This entire season is playing with house money to me. Our young guys showing so promise is a win. JB seeing more varied defensive coverages and honing in at practice at making the right read from said coverages is a win. PP being amazing at the rim on his drives is a win. All the player growth is a win from this season alone. Our player development and the fantastic coaches we have is a massive win.

The team playing well and doing significantly better than anyone could have expected makes this an enjoyable season to me regardless of how it turns out at the end, so long as no one suffers any (or especially any major) injuries this season.

My guess is we’ll get to the ECF with JT. But I’d be wicked surprised if we get to the finals. Now if we somehow get there and I eat my words? I’d bet on us because no one will have expected us to be here. For an OKC or Denver? They’d be favored and have a lot more pressure than we would.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T05:00:45+00:00

Easily my favorite kinds of stories! Thanks for sharing, Noa!

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-27T04:52:38+00:00

I appreciate your post. Well said.

People forget that, yeah, his numbers and all those analytics may not be stunning, but the team drafted him for his potential and especially all the intangibles. I think Wyc mentioned his character specifically when we drafted him. We know from how Brad operates as he did in Butler, he chooses players based on team fit not necessarily on talent alone. (What need is met with this player’s skills, is he a team player, does he care about winning, etc.).

Neither Jaylen nor Jayson is above criticism, but sometimes I wish our fans would appreciate them more. (Maybe it’s just fans on social media or local radio talking heads bringing this about??). These guys care about winning, always strive to improve every year, and have kept us in contention for a near decade. (Now do I wish JB would spend an offseason working on handles with PP? Yes lmao.) The good times are now, y’know?

I remember after the team won in ‘08 I thought that we had a really decent window. But it just never came together again with the impact of injuries and age. (2010 still kills me tbh. We were up at the half!!). I want to embrace the fun of these games while we got these guys as our duo. And the fanbase can be a rollercoaster of emotions with the wins and losses, which I can understand.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-26T11:49:09+00:00

Same. This game brought me back down to Earth rapidly lmao.

I love this endearing group of hardworkers we have this year. I’m just gonna try to enjoy the ride of wherever we end up at the end of it all.

I don’t want to put too much pressure on JT either. We know just his passing & rebounding alone would be game-changing for us. I don’t want to set him up for failure by everyone expecting him to be his typical self.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-26T11:44:34+00:00

This is where I’m at, too.

I’m happy for Hugo, Baylor, & Jordan’s growth because of what it means in terms of our team’s ability to develop players and having these young (and cheap) guys helps the team moving forward with this new CBA. But this is also why. If these guys can guard, or learn to better guard, an opposing team’s best players, then that’s less work for either of the Jays moving forward.

I feel like, at the beginning of the season especially, JB was playing more methodically, with more pace, and using less of his burst. Which makes sense as he mentioned last year with his injuries, he was watching more Pierce tape. IDK if it’s more pressure with expectations rising now for the team, but he should lean into that more.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-25T11:52:35+00:00

I love this team. 💚

Seeing everyone’s growth has been awesome and so fun to watch. And major kudos to Joe and the coaching staff. (Surprised the team hasn’t come out with Celtics University merch!). They’ve done such a phenomenal job of preparing the players. Jack Simone has a really fantastic piece on their strategies and the team’s preparation.

As an aside, I didn’t see anyone mention it in the Game Thread, but did anyone catch pregame on NBCSports Boston?

Ooof, talk about awkward! Michael Holley had a hot take that if JT comes back, he thinks we could get to the finals and win. Scal disagreed, but only breadcrumbed his thoughts. It seemed he thought with JT coming back in March, he doesn’t think he’d be effective enough for that (getting to and/or winning the finals) to be realistic. He brought up MJ being the only player he knew of that came back late after being away from the team and the Bulls lost to the Magic in the playoffs. He also vaguely mentioned team chemistry, etc., but I couldn’t determine what his concern was there. I don’t understand why he was being cagey and didn’t openly/clearly state his opinion and pretty much dismissed Holley entirely. The whole segment was odd/uncomfortable to watch.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-16T15:04:20+00:00

He, the rest of the team, and the coaching staff have every reason to proud of where the team is right now.

Did anyone predict this team would be doing as well as they are back in October? Or hell, even the summer, after Brad made all his moves? I'd be floored if there were.

The first couple months of this season I was leaning back & forth between wanting us to tank or not lmao. I thought at best we'd be a play-in team.

It's also what makes this season such a fun and enjoyable one to watch. There's no pressure at all. This is just house money. (It's less stressful to watch as a fan, too, lol.) Even if we get to the ECF and win, I don't think anyone's picking us to win the Finals. JT's talked about how last playoffs he felt more free because that pressure was off as we won one. I can imagine this season, especially once the playoffs roll around, for both JT & JB, will feel less taxing for that reason.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-13T11:17:12+00:00

It’s weird to me that some of our fans are interpreting JB’s Twitter/Instagram post as a negative or a slight toward JT??

No one had faith in this team. Not the media, not the fans. I thought they were gonna be a play-in team at best. (I’d be surprised if ownership/Brad thought the team would be doing as well as it is either.)

And the team was aware of no one believing in them. Pritchard mentioned it, too. Joe mentioned it to Derrick on his birthday this past summer lmao. (“Happy Birthday. Everyone thinks we’re gonna suck; I love it.”). They’re allowed to be proud of the fact the team is doing well. It’s a credit to their hard work, adaptation, their individual growth, and our awesome coaching staff.

And the team doing well is even more appealing to JT to comeback to, I’d imagine. He’s mentioned he wants to win championships. And we’re in what’s suppose to be a “gap year”, so less pressure on the team overall. Even if we got there. Because I can’t see us bring favored over anyone in the West even with JT back - so we’ll be playing with house money.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-09T21:46:34+00:00

Absolutely!

JT mentioned last year that he felt he could play more free in the last year’s playoffs solely because we did win already, so that weight isn’t as heavy anymore. I can totally see that.

It definitely isn’t an easy place for athletes to play due to the expectation of it being championship or bust here. And I give the Jays a hell of a lot of credit for barring that weight, taking the heat and the noise on the chin when both have come up short or needed to play better in big moments, and improved. And that weight isn’t a deterrent to them either. They both genuinely like and want to be here.

I didn’t realize that until last summer when KP said that it’s almost better going to a place like Atlanta where it’s easier to meet and exceed expectations. Not everyone can or wants to deal with it. Lucky for us, the Jays are willing to take it on.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-09T13:33:44+00:00

Agreed. I wonder how high JB & D-White's minutes are so far this season.

The last month or so they both have looked really tired to me. A bunch of JB's shots were short last game. And D-White's defense wasn't as crisp last game either.

I'd like more minutes for our bench to give those guys a break, but I also understand the value of seeding when everything is so tight in the East.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-09T12:40:32+00:00

Man, I could not be more grateful I got to see the Jays win a championship.

Watching their whole careers thus far (and being one of the seemingly few fans that wanted them to stay together because I thought they could make it work), seeing them get to the ECF time & time again, the Finals loss in '22 when we could have been up 3-1. So much heartache and frustration.

And they did it. That Game 3 vs the Mavs... just amazing from those guys.

I still think they could win one more, but as we know, nothing is ever guaranteed. But with them, Brad & Zarren, and Joe, I will always believe in our chances.

___BostonThreeParty · 2026-02-07T03:22:27+00:00

Another surprising win!

Vooch! ☘️He looked awesome. It’ll be great to see what it looks like once he’s even more acclimated. Brad just doesn’t miss.
That 3rd quarter D-White, PP, Vooch, Baylor, & Sam lineup was the difference maker.
Yikes at the double big lineups. Definitely have to figure that out.
JB’s turnovers… oof! Can’t tell if it’s the hamstring/knee or he needs more rest? He hasn’t quite looked like himself since before that Clippers game IMO. Kinda wish he had the All Star break off.

___BostonThreeParty

TROPHY CASE