From Across the Atlantic

A little more personal today

It’s Friday! The Celtics face the Detroit Pistons for the second time in a week as they move closer to clinching the 1st seed in the Eastern Conference. Then, they turn their attention to securing the best record in the league. As we would expect, Joe Mazzulla will likely rest some guys tonight. We’re probably not going to see much of the full-strength roster between now and the end of the regular season.

Analysis Paralysis

Newsletters are a really cool way of connecting with and growing an audience. I want to use that by occasionally peeling back the curtain. Being someone based in the UK who *tries* to cover the Celtics comes with a unique set of obstacles—most of them mental, some geographical, and, shockingly, some physical.

So, now and then, I will add some personal stuff to these posts. I can’t expect everyone to rock with me if they don’t know the journey or why I do things the way I do them. I also know some of you won’t care. You’re here for the hoops. That’s cool. I get it. But if I can open up more and be authentic, I hope that resonates with you. My first-ever newsletter post was my initial foray into being more vulnerable. The below thoughts will be my second toe-dipping.

Have you ever heard this term? I came across it a few months back. Essentially, it’s when you spend so long thinking about doing something that it actually never gets done. You’re too wrapped up in all the potential outcomes, how it could be better, or what could go wrong. You end up stuck in a doom loop.

That’s where I am. That’s where I’ve been living.

If you follow me on social media, you will know I’ve been on a merry-go-round regarding whether I should reside on Twitter or Instagram. For 95% of you, this will seem arbitrary. It’s social media. It’s not real life. Yet, in my mind, it’s one of the most important decisions I can make.

Here’s why.

I don’t live in Boston. Heck, I don’t live in the United States. I’m thousands of miles away. I’m not at games. I’m not in the locker room. I can’t attend watch parties or interview fans on the streets.

More importantly, I can’t regularly attend games as media. And even more importantly, the chances of me getting a full-time gig covering a team are slim to none.

All I have is social media.

Any success I have will be based on social media.

So, for me, picking the right platform is essential.

“Twitter is where basketball lives.” “IG has a broader following and can be built in conjunction with FaceBook.” “No other bloggers/journalists/creators use IG, they’re all on Twitter.” — These are some of the arguments I have with myself. And I know I have driven people crazy with the neverending back-and-forth.

Of course, the easiest answer is to be on them both—to be everywhere Celtics content lives. In theory, that’s great. In practice, it’s nearly impossible. It can’t be done if you want to do it properly, not without a team behind you. I don’t want to just post stuff and have my ego jerked.

I want to build relationships and learn. I can’t do that while fulfilling my freelancing gigs, having time for family, and taking care of myself. I have to choose one and supplement it with YouTube. I haven’t been able to make that decision in over a year, and I’ve suffered for it—both mentally and professionally.

To this day, I don’t think I’ve settled on an answer. I need to. I know that much.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because this newsletter is my latest battle with analysis paralysis.

I want to produce content that makes paid subscribers feel like they’re getting their money’s worth. I also want it to entice free subscribers to consider upgrading. And, of course, it’s got to be good enough to attract new faces. That means I’m putting crazy pressure on myself to be perfect.

Take today, for instance. I had no clue what I wanted to write about. It’s a dead point in the season for a team that’s pretty much waiting for the playoffs. And it’s too early to begin profiling potential playoff candidates.

So, I let the analysis paralysis creep in. Rather than writing what interested me, I wrote what I thought others would want. Then, I deleted it. Then I did it again. Eventually, I was like, f— it, let me open up a little.

I’m trying to figure it all out. I know we will fall into a nice cadence with this newsletter. Figuring out what that will look like is going to take some time. But I aim to get a little bit better with each post. Still, the more analysis paralysis battles I’m fighting, the more frustrating it becomes.

Anyway, I just wanted to peel the curtain back a little. It won’t happen too often, but it will happen on occasion.

Now for the hoops.

Celtics vs. Pistons primer

🚑 Injury report: Jaylen Brown (Questionable), Sam Hauser (Probable), Jrue Holiday (Out), Al Horford (Questionable), Kristaps Porzingis (Questionable) and Jayson Tatum (Questionable)

🚑 Injury report: Simone Fontecchi (Out), Taj Gibson (Out), Quentin Grimes (Out), Isaiah Stewart (Out), Ausar Thompson (Out), and Stanley Umude (Out)

☄️Payton Pritchard is on a mini tear. He’s had impressive performances against the Washington Wizards, Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks. Over those three games, he’s averaging 18.7 points, 7.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds. He’s shooting 54.5% from 3-point range and 52.5% from the field.

The Celtics need this version of Pritchard. His production off the bench will be vital during the postseason, especially if he can make hustle plays and force defensive rotations when penetrating off the dribble. Facing a weakened Detroit team is a great opportunity for him to keep building some momentum.

His showing against the Bucks was an “I’m here” moment. It’s one thing to cook some of the league's weaker teams, but it’s another to have a big night against a potential Eastern Conference Finals opponent. Pritchard showed out on Wednesday.

One of my favorite developments to his game this season is his ability to create space via contact and flow straight into his shooting motion.

That’s a grown-man move right there.

☄️Xavier Tillman was the primary backup big against the Milwaukee Bucks. His ability to guard out on the perimeter was a welcomed addition to the bench unit. With Horford and Porzingis listed as questionable on the injury report, Tillman could get another run against Detroit.

Luke Kornet and Porzingis were part of a double-big starting five when these two teams faced off on Monday. Tillman was the primary bench big. It will be interesting to see how Mazzulla lines his team up and whether Tillman continues to get some run in the rotation.

I’ve got Kornet ahead of Tillman in the pecking order. However, both provide different skill sets and have upsides based on matchups. For example, Tillman makes sense against teams where you need to run a switch 1-through-5 system or need some additional physicality at the 5. Kornet is more logical when you’re playing a PnR-heavy team and need to contain the ball handler — which is the more prominent system Boston will face.

☄️If Brown or Tatum are ruled out of the game, Oshae Brissett could get another opportunity to step up in the rotation. He needs to start converting his shots. It’s one of his biggest flaws right now. I’ve said it multiple times in recent weeks: his defense and energy have value, but in a larger role, where he’s on the floor for decent stretches, he has to convert his shot attempts. Otherwise, a minimal-impact role will be the best he can hope for whenever he’s on a contending roster.

🔈There’s a major incentive for either team heading into tonight’s game. The Celtics will likely want to wrap up their seeding atop the East as soon as possible. The Pistons will want to add more wins to their tally. Outside of that, neither team will be using this game to chase something. So, I wouldn’t expect fireworks. After all, there’s a reason so many players will potentially be missing from the roster.

🔈With that in mind, I hope we see Boston’s coaching staff lean into their playbook. The more reps the team can get and have on film, the better it is for game planning during the postseason. The Celtics have been getting a lot of run out of their “Horns” series recently — via chin actions, UCLA actions, some Horns cross, and Horns flare…We looked at some of these actions recently. The full post is below.

Skewered! How the Celtics' Horns Gored the Nets' Defense

The play-in battle

While we’re all sitting here loving how the Celtics are about to cement themselves as the 1st seed in the East, multiple teams are battling out in the middle and lower ends of the conference. The primary battle is to avoid the play-in tournament, which will directly impact the Celtics.

Right now, the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are positioned to face each other in the battle to be crowned as the 7th seed. The losing team would then face the winning team of the 9th and 10th seed games. Whoever wins that matchup would have the pleasure of facing the Celtics in the opening round.

Let me put this differently: right now, the Celtics could potentially face one of the Heat, Sixers, New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers or perhaps even the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Whoever ends up in that 7th and 8th matchup will be a really good team. Whoever loses that matchup will likely beat out the loser of the Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks.

Look at each team’s magic number to secure themselves within the East’s top six.

• Cavaliers - 9

• Magic - 9

• Knicks - 10

• Pacers - 12

• Heat - 13

Of course, these numbers will change based on each team's results. It’s not just based on a team winning X number of games. Still, if the season were to end today, it’s fair to assume the Celtics are facing either the Heat or the Sixers in the first round. Neither of those matchups will be easy, but both are winnable.

As the season progresses, and we get a clearer picture of who are potential first-round opponents, we can start diving into the matchups a little deeper, but for now, let’s just keep track of how things are unfolding around those play-in spots. Things are tight down there, and there will undoubtedly be some twists and turns in the coming weeks. It’s exciting, especially when you can have some skin in the game courtesy of a first-round matchup.

Catch up on the podcast.

Every Thursday, the Green With Envy podcast goes live to answer questions from viewers on YouTube and Twitter (X). Yesterday was no different. We covered topics ranging from “Who would you rather face, OKC or DEN?” to “Tillman or Kornet in the playoffs.”

Feel free to join in with these livestreams in the future. They happen on or just after 5 PM ET every week.

Catch you all tomorrow!