https://www.sbnation.com/e/24005223
What got you into basketball and the Celtics?
Well, I’m actually the child of first-generation immigrants, both of my parents having moved to the US from India. Neither of them really followed any American sports, so we only really ever watched Super Bowls in our house, and maybe the occasional baseball game. As my brother and I were growing up, our parents wanted us to find new activities to get us out of the house and help us meet new people, so they started by signing us up for baseball lessons when I was 4 and my brother was 6, and later when I got to 4th grade, they signed us both up for basketball.
That’s really where my love for the game started, and it was complimented well by the fact that a new family moved in just next door to us the same year. My brother and I instantly became best friends with them, and they’re really the ones who introduced us to the NBA. Carlton, the second oldest of the six kids, was an avid Cavs fan, namely because of none other than LeBron James. He spent a lot of time explaining LeBron’s greatness to us, and even got my brother to join the bandwagon.
I, however, was all in on Boston.
I was raised in Connecticut, and since we didn’t really have any big sports teams of our own at the time outside of UConn (and the recent addition of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun), we were always left to pick between Boston and New York teams. Funny enough, we were always much closer to New York than Boston, but as soon as I was put on the Red Sox team in a scrimmage at one of my first baseball practices, I latched on to Boston throughout all my sports teams. Thus, as I started to watch the NBA I became a Celtics fan, and just in time to watch them win the ‘08 championship to boot.
Just in case my brother reads this, I should mention that although he was a Cavs fan (more so a LeBron fan), his fandom also stretched to the Celtics, and he made a custom split hat to prove it, with a drawn-on Cavs logo on one side and a Celtics logo on the other. In retrospect, that would be considered blasphemy, but it’s not as bad as him starting out as a Yankees fan and eventually converting over to the Red Sox after he realized they were the superior team. Since then, my family started watching nearly all of the Celtics games together, and my brother and I were able to convert our parents into fans, too.
What are your strengths and/or favorite topics as a writer?
I never actually envisioned myself being a writer since I was more of a math and science guy throughout school. I even got my degree in Software Engineering, and there’s sort of a running joke in the software engineering community that we’re known for being illiterate, terrible communicators. I’d say the few things that really set me on this path are my ability to overthink and overanalyze the things I care about, my endless need to yap, and my true love of the game.
I never had anything close to a formal education on the X’s and O’s of basketball, but the game always just made sense to me. I’ve always admired the flow, trying to pick apart how each play impacts the next, and what little details could be tweaked to become more efficient on both ends of the court. I’d constantly have those conversations with my brother and friends, along with talks about how different players fit in different systems and could help improve the team. We even spent countless hours crafting super-teams to pit against each other in the MyGM mode of NBA 2K to test our basketball acumen while we were growing up. Eventually, I started writing my thoughts and opinions down, and to my surprise, people actually read them.
I think the reason why people enjoy what I write is because of my ability to craft narratives, use film and data to back it up, and keep things optimistic yet honest (unlike what you find on NBA Twitter.) I don’t come at it trying to push agendas (for the most part,) and I write it as I see it. Usually, the topics that I write about most come from a GM or coach mindset, trying to provide some analysis on team performance and needs. I think “what would I do if I were in Brad or Joe’s position?”
What is your bold prediction for the coming season?
It’s hard to come up with bold predictions for the Celtics when the roster has had almost zero turnaround and is coming off of a historic, banner year. Literally. The only real unknown for us going into the next year is health – of our team and the rest of the league. We already know that Kristaps Porzingis will likely be sidelined until at least December, and I am not one to make predictions about other people’s health because I don’t want to put any bad energy out into the world.
My next line of thought would be to predict the regular season awards, although with the exception of Jayson Tatum’s All-NBA selections, the Celtics haven’t been getting much respect in that department, so I’d hardly call another year of snubs a bold prediction. Any of Jrue Holiday, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum could be considered for an All-Defensive team, the Jays likely should and will make All-NBA teams, and if the Celtics end up atop the league again, I imagine Joe Mazzulla would actually end up getting the Coach of the Year nod this time around. None of that is bold enough, though.
To be honest, there’s not much more about the Celtics that makes me skeptical of them going into next season. The biggest variable I see is the level of competition this year, namely that of the New York Knicks. Most people have them as the biggest hurdle for the Celtics, and some even have them on top. They exceeded expectations last year, until injuries consumed them and brought their playoff run to an end. They finished the year going 50-32, 2nd in the East, and falling to the hands of the Indiana Pacers after going 7 games in the 2nd round.
Despite their offseason upgrades, I don’t have them finishing above 50 wins this season, and I don’t see them making it past the 2nd round of the playoffs either. In theory they should be better this year given their improved health and adding in Mikal Bridges, not to mention getting a full season of OG Anunoby. They have a great defensive team, and are very capable offensively as well with Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle leading the way. Not only that, but they’re a deep team, even if Tom Thibodeau holds them to a 8-9 man rotation again. That being said, I don’t see them having as much success as they did last year.
The most glaring issue in my eyes is that the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein. With Isaiah off the roster, the Knicks are forced to choose between playing Randle at the 5, playing Mitchell Robinson north of 28 minutes a game, or going down the depth chart to bring in Precious Achiuwa or Jericho Sims for meaningful minutes each night (barring another offseason trade or acquisition). Robinson has only managed to play 65+ games in a season twice, those being his rookie year (66 games) and the 21-22 season (72 games.) He doesn’t have a great record of health, and that comes while playing in the 24-27 mpg range. I wouldn’t consider him reliable at this point, but it seems that a lot of responsibility will fall on his shoulders when he’s available.
Randle and Precious both stand at 6’8, making them pretty undersized against the East’s skilled 7 footers like Porzingis, Embiid, and Giannis. Being able to contain those guys defensively is difficult enough as it is, but with such a significant size advantage you’re asking for trouble. Outside of Randle, that big man rotation leaves a lot to be desired on the offensive end, so it’s not like they can get their get back either. Hartenstein was a great rim runner, offensive rebounder, and an underrated facilitator from the post. He created a lot of opportunities for that offense which don’t seem like they’ll be available again this season.
Lastly, this isn’t a bold take, but I don’t love the fit of Randle on this team offensively. While he can help space the floor, he plays a slower game than the rest of the team, and if he has to take on extra facilitating responsibility he’s going to need to work on that 5 : 3.5 assist to turnover ratio. The Knicks were his team when last season started, but Brunson took ownership shortly after Randle’s shoulder injury and is now the official team captain. That puts Julius in a tough position where he has to take a back seat, but still know how to be aggressive and control the game while playing in the system that brought the Knicks so much success last year. It’s not something I believe he’s capable of just yet, and I think their record will reflect that.
I see last year’s Knicks team as a bit of a Cinderella story, and while I think on paper, they are deeper and more talented this year, they’re not quite a contender just yet, although they are knocking on that door.
