"Will people in Boston be happy if they win?" - JJ Redick pokes fun at overtly critical Celtics media after appearance on radio show
Ever since JJ Redick started analyzing basketball, his calling card has been sharp, discerning dissection of tactics coupled with his articulate oration on what happens behind the scenes. He has often rallied against the generally negative and incendiary tone most sports shows employ. The latest person to draw Redick's ire was NBCSports Boston host Michael Felger.
On the latest episode of his Old Man and The Three podcast, Redick asked his guest Ryen Russillo whether Boston fans would actually be happy if the Celtics won their first title since 2008.
"My question to you is, will people in Boston be happy if they win the championship?"
Appearing on 98.5 The Sports Hub's "Felger and Mazz" show, JJ Redick seemed quite frustrated by the overtly critical tone of Felger who chided the Celtics for having a soft underbelly and speculated that they might lose in the NBA Finals despite being strong favorites on paper against the upstart Dallas Mavericks. Redick shut down such negative premonitions from Felger and deemed his take, 'asinine'.
"I don’t think you get outworked at this stage of basketball. I think that’s a asinine way to talk about the NBA...Boston’s had a lot of success man. It’s hard to win a championship. … You get to this stage in the season, and it’s a little more of a chess match. It’s not who’s outworking someone or who wants it more.”
JJ Redick's other famous disputes against basketball media
JJ Redick started podcasting even before he had retired, starting on the Ringer Podcast Network. He has branched out into broadcasting and even has a podcast breaking down the X's and O's with LeBron James who he could soon be coaching. His most memorable moments in the media, however have come against 'hot take artists,' who he feels disregard the nuances of basketball.
Redick went viral for his brutal takedown of Stephen A. Smith who claimed that Nikola Jokic was not dominant in the post in 2023.
He also went off on fellow First Take regular Kendrick Perkins who had claimed that there was a racial bias in MVP voting.
It remains to be seen whether Redick forsakes the world of podcasting after being linked with the Lakers coaching job, but his impact on NBA media is already quite significant.