NBA podcasts have been a thing for a while now, but the most recent trend that has emerged is players running their own shows. Over the last few seasons, a number of players, including Richard Jefferson and Channing Frye, JJ Redick and now CJ McCollum have cut out the middle man and just host podcasts themselves. 

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the players being the hosts, is that when they have fellow hoopers on the show, it seems to allow for a more real, honest discussion -- especially when the players know each other. We saw that the other week when McCollum and Kevin Durant got into some drama during an episode. And now we have Jaylen Brown letting everyone in on his bold, yet calculated prediction for the Celtics this season on McCollum's "Pull Up" podcast.

Brown and the Celtics have made the Eastern Conference finals in each of the last two seasons, but were bounced both times by LeBron James and the Cavaliers. According to Brown, that trend stops this time around. 

"Oh, we're getting to the Finals," Brown said. "No question about it."

Now, obviously they aren't going to have to worry about LeBron in the ECF since he plays for the Lakers, and the Cavs aren't going to be a problem either. The Toronto Raptors do have Kawhi Leonard now, and the Philadelphia 76ers are up and coming, so it's not exactly a walkover for the Celtics. 

Still, it's not hard to see why Brown is confident in the Celtics' chances of getting to the Finals. For one, they got to the ECF last season without Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward or Daniel Theis in the playoffs, and all of them are expected to be healthy for the upcoming season. And that doesn't take into account the improvement that can be expected from the likes of Brown and Jayson Tatum. 

It was interesting that while Brown is confident in the Celtics' chances to get out of the East, he was still realistic. Notice you didn't hear him claim anything about the NBA Finals.