Picks 'n Pops: Running it back, Europe in Canada, and an epic photobomb

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because I stared at that eclipse for like 25 minutes and now I have to type by memory.

- The Jrue Holiday extension gives Boston a rare level of continuity for the next couple of seasons. Teams rarely bring everyone in their rotation back the following season, but Boston’s top eight (I’m going with Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser as seven and eight) is all under contract for next season. They can easily bring Luke Kornet back too, meaning next season will be a rare run-it-back year for Boston. 

- Why are people so quick to think bad habits will stick but good habits won’t? [pours a glass of whiskey, eats a piece of pizza and a slice of cake] Where do people even get these ideas?

- Joe Mazzulla summed things up pretty nicely, I think, last night. “I saw that there’s only one team in the Eastern Conference that has their seed settled, and no one else does. I saw a high-level of (desperation).”

- The loser of Orlando at Philadelphia tonight probably gets the seventh seed. 

- Watching Bojan Bogdanovic play ball looks like someone brought their agent with them onto the floor. Like, he took a half percent off the agent’s fee but in return he’s getting 15 minutes a night.

- Congratulations to Derrick White for winning this year’s Red Auerbach award.

- Watching Price Is Right: A woman has a chance to win a train tour of Canada. As they announce the prize, she turns to Drew Carey and says “I love trains! And European trains? Oh my God!” … I’m not exaggerating when I say I felt physical pain when I heard it. 

- ESPN Reports that Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore planned to gut the Timberwolves. I’m going to pretend to be shocked that two guys who missed a deadline to buy the franchise because they couldn't scrape the investor money together would not spend freely for a winning team. 

- At the same time, I’m very curious to see what the return of Karl-Anthony Towns means for Minnesota. They’ve been playing well without him. I wonder if that changes … and if it does what that means for his future. 

- Kind of wondering the same for Trae Young in Atlanta.     

- The NBA should make an example out of Jontay Porter if it’s proven he fixed results for betting. Then the NBA should set the example by eliminating player props and creating a more transparent system for irregularities to be discovered. 

- Happy that Isaiah Thomas got his full NBA deal. 

- This play by the Chicago Bulls is one of the funniest, dumbest things I’ve seen in basketball

They were down nine at home in the second quarter. I can’t even find the words to make fun of this. It speaks for itself.

When you accuse the Celtics of messing around, just know that this is what actual messing around on the court looks like. When you accuse people of loser mentality, understand that this is what a losing mentality really looks like. 

- This from Mazzulla is what I call a healthy approach to the postseason

Don’t get caught up in what should happen. Face what is happening and how you get out of it. You don’t need the added layer of “this isn’t what I expected.” Just be present in the moment, assess what’s happening, and find a way out. That's all you can do. There are no style points in the NBA, and especially not in the playoffs. 

- The Celtics have broken their record for 3-pointers made in a season, which was set last year. They’ll probably break it again next season. 

- The NBA challenge rule has taken away an official’s ability to make a makeup call. It was such a standard part of NBA officiating where if a ref realized that someone blew a call, they can call the next borderline foul to make up for it. Now that teams can challenge that, it’s eliminating an easy way refs made up for a mistake.

And I know, you’re saying “then don’t make a mistake.” But they happen. That's how it goes. How mistakes are fixed is the key. 

- I’m not fully prepared for Mike Gorman’s retirement this weekend. 

- The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame has announced a new exhibit called "The Vault: Boston Celtics Unlocked" set in an immersive bank vault. It includes game-worn jerseys, championship rings, the original ’81 NBA championship trophy, lost footage, and guided tour from Celtics legends.

- This putback dunk in the National Championship game was unbelievable

I didn’t even see them sneak the trampoline onto the court for this. That makes it especially impressive. 

- Good luck to the Maine Celtics, who play the OKC Blue in the G League Championship finale on Monday. It would be wild if we get Celtics/OKC in both championships this season.

- Oh nothing, just Paul Pierce photobombing the official team picture

- If the Golden Bachelor can’t make love work, then what chance do the rest of us have?

- This week’s Bing AI-generated image: The finish line is almost here, but still not close enough

That last name must be Ukranian or something. 

- Your current NBA Belt champions: The Philadelphia 76ers ... still

Here’s my latest podcast, if you’re bored: