(You can also listen on Apple and Spotify)

Anfernee Simons saw his playing time limited to just 12 minutes as the Boston Celtics secured a win over the LA Clippers on Sunday.

The 26-year-old has been inconsistent to start the season, but at times, has provided valuable scoring off the bench. The primary issue has been how frequently the ball sticks in his hands when working in the half-court — where he leads the Celtics in average seconds per touch (4.39) and average dribbles per touch (3.94).

Joe Mazzulla has been cuthroat this season, yanking guys when they miss rebounds or when their shot isn’t falling. And while that style of coaching is clearly resonating with the roster, there is a risk of hurting players’ confidence. So, it will be interesting to see whether Simons responds or recoils at his limited playing time.

In today’s episode of the Celtics Chronicle podcast, I’m joined by Bruce Veliz (formerly of Celtics Digest) to discuss Simons’ limited minutes, where he’s struggling and why it’s important to get him going — both in terms of production and trade value.

The episode is also live on YouTube if you prefer to watch the show.

During the episode, we also touch on Derrick White and Payton Pritchard’s impressive night against the Clippers, how their roles are slightly adjusting and why that’s a good thing, and Sam Hauser’s shooting slump — where his gravity should still hold significant value.

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When the Celtics fell to a 0-3 start on the season, talk of a potential tanking season began to gather steam. The Celtics own their draft pick heading into next summer, the 2026 draft class is deep, and the dream of adding an elite-level lottery pick was an easy sell for some sections of the fanbase.

However, back-to-back wins against the New Orleans Pelicans and Cleveland Cavaliers have likely given everyone some food for thought as far as tanking is concerned. We know this year’s team isn’t going to be bringing home a chip, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to be sub-500, either. Sure, it’s possible that Joe Mazzulla’s squad endures a losing season; however, at present, it feels like things could go either way.

With that being said, I was joined by Gary Webster — an 18-year season-ticket holder and former podcaster for “Section5ive” — to discuss Wednesday’s win over the Cavaliers, and more importantly, the pros and cons of potentially pulling the rug on the season.

So, tap in to today’s episode with Gary, and, of course, let us know if you are on “Team Tank” or “Team Competitive.”

As usual, if you prefer to watch these podcasts, the episode is already up on YouTube…

(You can also listen on Apple and Spotify)

The Boston Celtics only have one game left on their preseason slate. So far, every team they’ve faced has kept some, if not all, of their starters out of the rotation. So, while we’ve gotten a taste of how the Celtics are trying to play, we haven’t seen how it will work against primary rotation NBA players.

In today’s episode of the Celtics Chronicle podcast, Billy Calabrese and I discuss some of the things we’ve noticed over the past three games and how that could, should or shouldn’t translate into the regular season.

We touch on:

* Queta’s limited playing time, and why that could be

* The importance of defensive rebounding in order to control the tempo

* How “Pace” is a wide-ranging concept that isn’t just sprinting the floor to attack in transition

* Why building the right framework is more important than immediate results, this early into the retooling process

* Whether there is a redundancy with both Anfernee Simons and Payton Pritchard on the same roster

* Shot creation + quality vs. shot volume

* And a brief discussion over Josh Minott’s hot start to the preseason.

If you prefer to watch the video version, it’s already up on YouTube. Oh, and be sure to subscribe on your podcast player of choice so you never miss an episode!

If you know someone - or a social platform - who/that would enjoy this episode, and potentially become part of the Celtics Chronicle community, you know what to do!