My interview with Brian Scalabrine - Pt. 2 - The BIG3, his future & his last game at TD Garden

When I spoke to Brian Scalabrine by phone, he had a lot to say in 15-20 minutes. I covered his take on the Celtics Jay-Team, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, in my CelticsLife article yesterday, and I will now get into his thoughts on the BIG3 League, his broadcasting present and future - and why his upcoming game at TD Garden is so very important.


The White Mamba is Captain of the BIG3 Ball Hogs, and his team will be competing Friday night, August 3rd, at TD Garden along with seven other teams. Scal and his Ball Hogs, with a 5-and-1 record, have already been eliminated from playoff competition, but Brian is playing for something important to him. His kids will be at the game, and his young son has never seen him play. He is hoping to have a good game and hear a loud "Scalabrine" chants from the crowd.

Scal: Just come out. We need loud Scalabrine chants. Its going to be my last game ever playing in the Garden. My kids have never seen me play in the Garden - my son - my daughters have when they were young - but my son has never seen me play in the Garden.

Me: My daughter has one of the loudest voices you have ever heard. She has become infamous. As a matter of fact her photo probably is in your locker room. She is an infamous Celtics Stalker. Danny Ainge wasn't safe. Larry Bird wasn't safe. And I don't think Scalabrine is going to be safe either.

Scal: All right. That's what we need. We will need that.

I asked Brian what changes he would like to see to make the BIG3 games even better and faster. He responded:

In FIBA 3-on-3, if you take the ball out of the net (after a made shot) and they play it live. That's the only thing that I would do differently. People want to - like- action. In a way you're treating almost everything like a miss. (In FIBA), they don't check the ball (after a made shot). They score - I take the ball out of the net - I clear it.

I asked Scalabrine about his broadcasting stint, Tommy Heisohn's eventual departure and Scal's plans for the future:

Scal: Yeh, I don't want to take over for Tommy. I want Tommy to do it as long as he can. I would love to call all 82. It's my favorite thing to do. Don't get me wrong. I love working with Kyle (Draper), you know, razzing him- telling him how little he knows about basketball, but I like doing that - but I want to work with Mike Gorman, and I want to call games. To me it is the funnest thing when it comes to Celtics game coverage. I'm waiting in the wings but totally happy with my situation as it is now

Me: You actually answered another question by one of my readers. They're not overly thrilled with Mr. Draper (very loud and long laughter by Scal).

Jo Jo White with Lisa Lane McCarty

Friday's 7:00 PM game at TD Garden pits Scal's Ball Hogs against Coach Rick Mahorn's Trilogy. It's the White Mamba versus McNasty, aptly named by the late-and-loved, chain-smoking announcer, Johnny Most. It will be Scalabrine and Deshawn Stevenson versus Kenyon Martin and Al Harrington.

There are four games scheduled and the last three games can be seen on FS1. Scal's game at 7:00 PM can be seen live on Facebook Watch. Tickets can be purchased through BIG3.com. There are a slew of former Celtics on deck, including Nate Robinson, Jermaine O'Neal, Chauncey Billups, Ricky Davis, Marcus Banks, Mike James, Big Baby Davis, Ryan Gomes and Nate Robinson.

Lets hope for a great game from Scal and loud Scalabrine chants from the stands. You will be competing with my daughter, Lisa - so good luck. As you can see from the photo to the left, even retired Celtics were not safe from The Celtics Stalker.


Follow Tom at @TomLaneHC

Photo via Getty Images