Apr 29, 2026 · 51 min
Celtics collapse fuels a broader fight over NBA incentives
Hour 2 - Feeling Green
Ben Maller connects Boston’s blown lead to larger concerns about tanking, load management, and the NBA’s regular-season product.
- 1Boston’s 13-point collapse against Philadelphia prompts sharp criticism of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Joe Mazzulla.
- 2Proposed three-two-one lottery reforms could flatten odds and penalize the league’s worst teams, but Maller wants broader changes.
- 3Maller rejects Carmelo Anthony’s defense of Nico Harrison, arguing Dallas’s Cooper Flagg payoff cannot erase the Luka Dončić trade.
Don't miss
Maller rejects the idea that landing Cooper Flagg can redeem Dallas’s disastrous Luka Dončić trade.
The brief
Boston squandered a 13-point second-half lead against Philadelphia, and Ben Maller directs the blame at the Celtics’ stars and Joe Mazzulla’s late-game offense.
The collapse becomes a referendum on the NBA’s regular season as Maller weighs proposed three-two-one lottery reforms against tanking and load management.
Maller rejects Carmelo Anthony’s claim that Nico Harrison deserves credit for Dallas landing Cooper Flagg, arguing the pick cannot redeem the Luka Dončić trade.
Listener calls, meet-and-greet plans, trivia, and questions about Nikola Jokić and the three-point line broaden the hour beyond its central NBA arguments.
The sharpest exchange targets the idea that Cooper Flagg’s arrival can offset Dallas’s disastrous transaction, preserving the trade as the hour’s defining grievance.
Weekly email
State of the Pod, every Monday
The week's most-discussed names and stories from podcasts, with the moments behind them. Free, five minutes, unsubscribe in one click.