CelticsBlog Playback’s host Jake Issenberg joins the writing staff

You understand Jake Issenberg from our Playback channel and his First To The Flooring podcast and now, he’s becoming a member of CelticsBlog as a author. Ensure to take a look at his first piece on Jayson Tatum and his late season capturing stoop.

What bought you into basketball and the Celtics?

My love for basketball and the Boston Celtics could be attributed to a few folks: my dad, John Havlicek and Larry Chicken. My dad, who grew up in Andover, Massachusetts, had his basketball thoughts molded by the 70s and 80s Celtics. Simply right now we have been going backwards and forwards on whether or not or not Giannis’ Bucks will go down as a historic Celtics rival. I stated completely. Dad was on the fence. He did in fact take the chance to remind me that the 1974 Finals sequence between the Celtics and Kareem’s Bucks was his favorite sequence ever. Then someplace between John Havlicek’s final All-Star look and Larry Chicken’s rookie 12 months, my dad moved to Australia, which is how my household ended up as the largest Celtics followers on a single continent.

My love of basketball is definitely traced and was apparent from the start. From House Jam, NBA Stay 2003 on XBOX, I’m ashamed to confess the Lakers have been my most performed staff (minimize me some slack — I used to be 10), enjoying basketball yearly of my life as a *very* undersized combo guard, to beginning a basketball podcast in Jayson Tatum’s rookie 12 months. From the bounce I’ve liked each the sport of basketball and the tradition surrounding it.

What are your strengths and/or favourite matters as a author?

Basketball is enjoyable. I feel basketball content material ought to be enjoyable. Getting swept up within the feelings of sports activities is a part of being a fan however even amidst the ache of a Sport 7 loss to the Miami Warmth in 2023, we will attempt to chortle by way of the ache. That’s the best way I attempt to write. I’m wanting ahead to laughing by way of extra superb victories because the Celtics convey again the perfect roster within the NBA.

What’s your daring prediction for the approaching season?

So far as daring predictions for the 2024/2025 Boston Celtics go, it’s laborious to be daring a few staff that simply gained 64 video games and had one of the crucial dominant seasons in NBA historical past. However I’ll deal with perhaps essentially the most underrated position participant within the NBA, Sam Hauser.

I’m undecided the basketball world absolutely grasped how properly Sam Hauser performed within the NBA Finals. He did the factor that bought him within the NBA, shot the piss out of the ball – 47.8% from 3 for the sequence. On the opposite finish Hauser was focused by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving relentlessly and held up higher than any non-Celtics fan would ever anticipate.

I say non-Celtics followers as a result of Celtics followers already knew what Hauser was able to with regards to isolation protection. You don’t need to come into the Hause Entice. The sort of impression for a seventh or eighth man isn’t simple to seek out. It is going to be laborious to quantify Sam Hauser’s leap into Elite Function Participant territory. He gained’t make the All-Star staff. He gained’t make an All-Protection staff. However he’ll proceed to impression profitable at a excessive degree as Hauser continues to develop his recreation and exceed expectations.

This upcoming season, I’m taking a look at Hauser to proceed enhancing his secondary playmaking and talent to attain when he will get run off the road. If we need to nail down some numbers: final season Hauser performed 22 minutes per recreation and averaged 9 factors on 62.6% true capturing to associate with 3.5 rebounds and 1 help. I’d prefer to see these numbers bumped as much as 28 minutes per recreation – 14 factors – 5 rebounds – 2.5 assists on 60% or higher true capturing. Positive, Tre Murphy and Naji Marshall are the horny position gamers persons are speaking about this offseason, however it’s Sam Hauser’s time to grow to be the position participant each staff needs they’d.