Locked On Celtics - Daily Podcast On The Boston Celtics Locked On Podcast Network

It's time for another mailbag and in this one we get into whether the Celtics actually won the offseason and the potential return of fan favorites. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal gets into those topics, a look ahead to a couple of seasons from now when Boston might have to make some tough choices (and what those might be), and then a look at Team USA and why there aren't any NBA players on the 3-on-3 team. Also... did Bill Russell get left off an impressive list of Olympic and NBA winners?

The new FanDuel postseason awards odd are out and Jayson Tatum is nowhere near the top of the MVP race and Joe Mazzulla is nowhere close in the Coach of the Year odds. All this while Joel Embiid says the Celtics have a super team. So which is it? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss that, whether this is just a way to get some money in on these guys to win awards, and whether Mazzulla will get a delayed win for his coaching last season.

FanDuel has released their win projections for the upcoming season and the Celtics are projected to be the best team in the NBA. Will they win more or less than their 58.5 win projection? John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal goes into reasons for both the over and the under while examining the closest competition (Knicks, Sixers, Bucks) and the next group that could be an early round matchup (Magic, Cavs, Pacers). Also, the one team that would be the most fun first round matchup and why Miami should consider tanking.

Team USA is probably going to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, but their close calls against Germany and South Sudan have exposed a couple of stylistic issues that can be fixed ... if they take some advice from the Boston Celtics. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss USA Basketball's refusal to take 3-pointers, why that's contributing to the close games, and why the Celtics are the closest NBA comp to Team USA. A couple of little tweaks can make each of these upcoming Olympic games a blowout.

Sam Hauser is sticking around for a while with a four-year, $45 million extension with the Celtics. It's a deal that kind of makes sense for both sides, even though it falls on the team-friendly side. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal explains that before getting to Jordan Walsh finally having a good game at summer league, Baylor Scheierman struggling, and Anton Watson showing some NBA-ready skills. Plus, the one guy on this summer league roster who could join the rotation this season.

The Boston Celtics are the world champs ... or are they? They won the NBA championship, but Greek club Panathinaikos is the Euroleague champion, and their coach said Boston isn't the world champion until they go through his team. John Karalis of Boston Sports Journal and Tom Westerholm discuss what would happen in a game between those two teams and whether it's even feasible to have a game or series to determine the "world champion" once and for all. Also, a discussion about Team USA turns into a discussion about developing talent in the US.