Expectations for Celtics Heading Into Opening Night vs Knicks | A List Podcast
Welcome to episode 151 of the A List Podcast with A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani A. Lunis. In this episode, Sherrod, Gary and Kwani put a bow on the Celtics preseason, the team's demeanor and attitude heading into the season, expectations for opening night, and more!
0:00 Teaser
0:29 Intro
0:57 Preseason recap
3:10 Even in preseason, Celtics seemed more locked-in and serious than years past
4:19 Celtics bringing back old players to visit
7:10 FanDuel Sportsbook
7:53 "Pick and roll" scenarios game
14:58 What is your favorite storyline heading into this NBA season?
22:32 Marcus Smart story in The Athletic
23:07 What are expectations for the Celtics on opening night vs Knicks?
26:53 NBA Finals predictions
28:20 Outro
This episode of the A List Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5 and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5 and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything from spreads to player props and more! So, visit https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won’t wanna miss. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.
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0:00 Teaser
0:29 Intro
0:57 Preseason recap
3:10 Even in preseason, Celtics seemed more locked-in and serious than years past
4:19 Celtics bringing back old players to visit
7:10 FanDuel Sportsbook
7:53 "Pick and roll" scenarios game
14:58 What is your favorite storyline heading into this NBA season?
22:32 Marcus Smart story in The Athletic
23:07 What are expectations for the Celtics on opening night vs Knicks?
26:53 NBA Finals predictions
28:20 Outro
This episode of the A List Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5 and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5 and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything from spreads to player props and more! So, visit https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won’t wanna miss. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.
ODDS-R! Ever wished you could navigate the betting field with the confidence of a pro? Enter OddsR. They're not a sportsbook, but they're the sports betting advisor you've always needed. It's like having a playbook for smarter bets right in your pocket. Especially since CLNS Media listeners get a 30-day free trial! Elevate your game day and join the smart betting revolution! Go get it at https://oddsr.com/celtics
Visit https://factormeals.com/NEWSFEED50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.
Transcript
00:00 Who's your NBA finals, Sherrod? Celtics, Lakers, let's go.
00:06 Unfortunately, I'm going to agree with Sherrod.
00:10 Wait, what? Unfortunately, Celtics, Lakers finals. I think the Lakers,
00:16 there's something in them this year. You think the Lakers win?
00:19 No, I think the Celtics win this series. Oh, okay, yeah, I can agree with that.
00:23 The Celtics-Lakers final, I think is a rematch of all the great ones.
00:28 The A-List Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel,
00:31 the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:34 Hello, everyone. This is the A-List Podcast. I'm Quanie Lunas, joined by A-Sherrod Blakely
00:40 and Gary Washburn. And we are moments away from tip-off for the Boston Celtics, their 2023-2024
00:48 NBA season. So obviously, the NBA season started on Tuesday night, but of course, because this is
00:53 a Celtics podcast, we'll just get into the expectations for this season. But before we do
00:58 that, let's quickly go over the preseason. We talked about it every, you know, the last few
01:03 weeks, but overall, what grade would you give this Celtics team in their preseason performance?
01:08 And how should that momentum be used in game one that starts Wednesday night?
01:13 Eh, I mean, they were good, but there's nothing that they did that just made me think like,
01:22 oh my gosh, wow, they're so much better than I thought they were. I mean,
01:25 they did what you're supposed to do. You work on some things, you develop, trying to develop
01:29 chemistry, show some signs that you are going to be better than you were a year ago,
01:33 been doing some things. And I thought defensively, I thought they looked a lot better than they did
01:39 last season. When you look at some of the trapping that they did and the fact that you've got two
01:43 incredibly defensive-minded playmakers in the backcourt, when you talk about Derek White
01:48 and Drew Holiday, too, all NBA defenders. So they did, I thought they made it clear that was going
01:55 to be a bigger part of what they're going to do this season in terms of being successful. But for
02:00 the most part, I mean, they kind of pretty much handled their business and did what they're
02:03 supposed to do. I'd give them an A. I thought that, uh. Well, you're an easy grader, Gary.
02:10 Yeah, I ain't taking your- I'm a guy that went to Cal, that's right.
02:13 I ain't taking your class to be you, too.
02:16 Hey, their student-athlete grades now affect our conference, Charrods.
02:20 You hired them teachers in a different world.
02:22 You're right.
02:23 I think that I give them an A. I mean, they went 4-1. They lost the game. They didn't play their
02:31 starters, but they played hard, pushed the Knicks to the final minute. But I give them an A because
02:36 of the focus of the entire preseason training camp. They were about business. I just noticed
02:42 that the whole atmosphere, you know, you see training camp. I've been to a bunch, seen a bunch,
02:48 seen a bunch of preseasons over the years. And you see work and all that stuff, but it just seemed
02:54 like there wasn't a whole bunch of horsing around. There wasn't a whole bunch of just like,
02:58 "We got this." There was a lot of focus on improvement. There was a lot of like,
03:06 "We're good, but we need to be better." There was a lot of just been a locked-in mentality.
03:14 I saw the coaching staff, with the players, with the star players, with Tatum's and the Browns and
03:20 the Drew Holliday's and the Porzingis. I just think there was a seriousness there that I haven't seen
03:26 before. And I'm not saying that they're not serious in previous years and criticizing,
03:32 you know, anybody in particular or it's Marcus Smarts, or nothing like that. No,
03:36 they've been serious in previous years, but this training camp had a tone of just like,
03:42 "You know what? We're going to, we need to be better. We got to do something different. We've
03:50 got to step our game up." So I give them an A because I just thought the focus, and then also
03:56 they made it out healthy. No injuries, if you want to knock on wood for that, but just nothing.
04:01 I didn't see any slippage. I didn't see any horsing around. I saw a team that's like,
04:08 "You know what? We ready to punch. We ready to punch first." Now it'll be interesting to see
04:11 how they come out Wednesday against the Knicks and the Knicks in the heat. So the competition
04:17 is stiff right off the bat, but I was impressed with the tone of the training camp. And also,
04:23 too selfishly, a lot of the old self that's coming back, that memo they sent,
04:30 Pierce and our great friend Rajon Rondo a couple of days ago.
04:35 Now he's your great friend.
04:37 Yeah, my great friend, my close friend.
04:39 Leon Poe and Sam Vincent and Antoine Walker apparently came by. I didn't see him,
04:51 but just the vibe was all about bringing the old guys back, appreciation for the past, but also
05:00 they want to be one of the great Celtic teams. And they've been very, very good over the last
05:07 few years. So it's not like they haven't been good, but this team, they want to be great,
05:11 and that's why I give them an A.
05:13 Well, the reason why, Gary, I think that they were such a much greater focus is because,
05:20 well, two things. One, first and foremost, they understand that it's championship robust issues.
05:23 There are no excuses. There are no ways that you can justify doing anything less than winning a
05:29 championship. And two, in case they had a day or two where they forgot about that, you got Sam
05:35 Cassell in the building. You got Charles Lee in the building. You got Paul Pierce in the building.
05:39 You got folks who have either coached or been on the floor in winning a championship, being the
05:44 last team standing. And if you are a team that that is your goal and you have the kind of roster
05:49 that has the ability to accomplish that, having those steady daily reminders is what is going to,
05:55 frankly, put you in the right frame of mind night in and night out.
05:59 This team can't afford to mentally take a night off, and they've got the type of players from
06:04 the past and coaching staff of the present that's going to keep them present with that focus.
06:09 I'm excited about this season. My reason for not giving them a better grade than a B
06:15 is because as this is a preseason and I'm not convinced that all those feel good
06:21 vibes that we've seen from this team. She asked you to grade the preseason.
06:24 She asked you to grade the preseason. So basically, they had no shot at all getting a regardless.
06:32 Look, the reason I see one season, the preseason, play the game to win, Gary, play the game to win.
06:45 Oh, God.
06:46 Get the grade that you get. And if you don't like it, you're better.
06:49 Because you did what I said and you didn't do what I said. Yeah.
06:54 It's like a teacher that gave you a B because they just want you to do better.
06:59 Like, more scholarship on your shoulder. I see the mentality here, Sherrod. It's
07:04 the reverse psychology.
07:05 I gave you a B on the midterm because it ain't the final.
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07:49 Okay, let's get into one of our favorite games here on the A-List Podcast. We haven't played
07:57 it in a while. It's pick and roll time. So I'm going to give you three scenarios and you're
08:03 going to tell me who will be the biggest difference maker for their new team this upcoming season.
08:09 First, we have Damian Milwaukee. Second, we have Drew in Boston. And finally,
08:16 we have Mr. Bradley Beal in Phoenix. Take your pick and roll.
08:21 Who you got, Gary?
08:22 Biggest impact? Oh boy.
08:27 I'm ready for my career as a game show host. So this is perfect for the segue.
08:32 Okay, Miracle Black.
08:36 I'm going to say Drew because I'm not sure about Bradley Beal. I like Bradley Beal.
08:46 I think in previous years, in the past, he was a very, very exceptional player.
08:52 But I don't know. He's been hurt a lot over the last few years. He scores a lot of points,
09:00 but they're meaningless. He's not on winning teams. I just don't know what he's going to turn
09:08 into in Phoenix, whether he'll be the number three guy, which I think he'll be,
09:13 whether he'll step up his game and just be that all-star again. I'm just not as bowled over by
09:23 Beal. I know there's a report and Beal said that the Miami Heat were good on it.
09:29 He wanted to go to Miami and the Heat were like, "Well, we'll get back to you on that."
09:34 They didn't want him. I kind of understand why not. I think he's not a good player,
09:42 but he's not as durable. He's 30 and that's not old, obviously, Quanie.
09:49 Wow.
09:51 With all due respect, Quanie.
09:56 No, it's not.
09:57 Absolutely. Respect for me.
09:58 Not everybody's 30 ain't the same.
10:01 For sure. An NBA body 30 is different from a...
10:05 Yes, from being in at the club 30. There's just a difference.
10:11 Quanie, you just...
10:12 I get you, but you're right. You're right.
10:14 There's a difference. For me, I'm going to say Drew, and the reason I didn't choose Dame is
10:21 I don't know how much Dame has left. I don't know how it's going to go over. I just think
10:26 there's some stuff in Milwaukee. Now the coaching staff, Terry Stotts just walked away.
10:31 Adrian Griffins had kind of a rocky start with the media. It just seems like everything ain't all
10:39 kosher with the Bucs. Not saying they're going to collapse or they're not going to win 50-something
10:46 games. They will. For Drew, I think he's in a perfect opportunity, a perfect spot. He's going
10:52 to show out. He's going to run the show on offense. I just think he'll have more of an impact
10:57 because he can do more than score. Dame, what does he do besides score?
11:03 What does he do besides score? I think holiday defends, shoots, facilitates, does the dirty work,
11:13 gets those hustle plays. He does so much more for his team than those other two.
11:18 All those two are prolific scorers, but if they're not scoring, if Bradley Billings scoring,
11:22 what is he doing? The same thing with Dame. I love Dame. He's headed to the Hall of Fame,
11:28 top 75, but it's all because he can score. We'll see if that changes.
11:34 I'm going to rock with Dame. Here's why. The point that you make about him, he doesn't just
11:42 score. He scores in ways that very few people in the NBA can do. His range is very Steph Curry-like.
11:50 He's one of the best players in clutch situations. With that Milwaukee team, I agree with you, Gary.
11:57 They definitely have some issues that they need to iron out, but they've got an 82-game slate of
12:01 games to figure that out. One thing you know about Dame right off the bat is the pick and roll with
12:07 him and Giannis is deadly. That is going to put defense, including the substitute, who have a
12:13 pretty good defense. It's going to make it very difficult to keep that team from scoring because
12:18 they have two elite scorers who, between the two of them, cover the entire damn half of the floor.
12:24 They get buckets in every way imaginable. Yes, he is defensively challenged. There's no question
12:29 about that, but he has been able to more than compensate for that when he has been on the floor.
12:36 The team that he has in Milwaukee now is the best team he's played with. I think Dame is going to
12:42 not have as nearly a difficult transition in Milwaukee as some people think. As long as
12:49 Adrian Griffin is smart enough to let Dame do what Dame has done for years, it's going to be okay.
12:55 They're going to be one of the last teams standing. Because of what he's capable of doing,
13:01 because of what they need him to do, he's going to have a more significant impact.
13:06 Because Drew, to me, Drew, if Drew has an average year, the Celtics are probably going to the
13:11 conference finals. If Drew has a below average year, they're still probably going to the
13:15 conference finals. No disrespect to Drew. Dame, Dame can't be average. In an average season for
13:22 Dame, they're not getting out of the second round. So Dame is more likely going to have to step his
13:27 game up, be more of a up as a ball besides Giannis, but still maintain that high 20s, low 30 point per
13:34 game scoring average, which he has the ability to do. He does that during the conference finals
13:38 and potentially the NBA finals if they can get past Boston. You made a lot of great points,
13:44 but I just need to acknowledge your Teddy Riley internet because I don't know if it was just my
13:50 computer. No, he was freezing. Okay. And for context, in 2020, they did this versus challenge.
13:58 If you go look it up, Teddy Riley had some terrible internet connection and now Sherrod
14:03 is also dealing with the same. I'm blaming you, Quanie, because for the longest time,
14:10 that jiggity jacked up internet connection.
14:16 The beauty of the digital era is that we can all conveniently be in different places. The
14:21 bad part is that our internets are always on different wavelengths, quite literally.
14:26 Gary's next. You don't know it yet, but Gary's next.
14:29 Oh, come on. Don't do that. Nah. Gary, I hope you're safe.
14:33 No, I'm good. You a hater. Sherrod a hater.
14:37 All right. Going back-
14:39 You get a C, Gary. A C. Today, you get a C.
14:42 No, your internet gets a C.
14:44 Your internet. I-N-N-A-N-E-T. Internet.
14:51 No R. No R in your internet.
14:54 No. I'm sorry.
14:56 Internet.
14:57 All right. So we talked a little bit about, obviously, Drew, Bradley, Bill, we had that
15:02 little conversation, but just looking around the NBA overall, what would you two say is your
15:07 favorite storyline going into this upcoming season? It can be-
15:11 It's Wendy.
15:12 Off the court, on the court, whatever. I don't-
15:14 Wendy.
15:14 Wendy. Okay.
15:16 Number one pick.
15:16 He is so insanely good. He makes everything look easy. I'm curious to see, can he do that
15:28 over the course of a full NBA slate of games? He's my interest. He's the guy I'm looking really,
15:33 really, I want to see.
15:34 Okay.
15:35 That's a shocking development.
15:38 Breaking news.
15:41 Oh, breaking news.
15:43 He wants you to see-
15:44 He's supposed to break the news component, Gary, if you read this.
15:46 The storyline I'm looking at is our friend James Harden. Where is he going? What is he going to do?
15:58 What's going to happen? How does it affect Philadelphia? How does it affect- I just think
16:04 it's just so interesting. Harden just asked for a trade. He's not messing with people's lives.
16:10 He's like, "I want to trade." Then they just throw players to the other team. I know it's a
16:14 business, but people got families and homes. Look how the Kyrie Irving trade demand affected Isaiah
16:24 Thomas. You know what I'm saying? He probably comes back to Boston. That changed his whole
16:29 career. Him going to Cleveland and the hip and all that, never finding his footing.
16:34 I just think you'd be messing with people's lives in a sense when you just demand trades
16:40 every two years. I just think that's hovering over everybody. He's not reported to camp. He's not
16:46 going to be there Thursday against the Bucs in the opener probably. Now, suddenly his mom is sick.
16:52 You don't want to challenge that, but you're like, "Are you sure?" It's like suddenly around
16:57 when you don't like, "Is that really happening? Is his mother really ill?" I hope if he is,
17:03 I hope she gets better and is okay. That's a very serious situation. It's just hovering. It just
17:09 makes the league look bad. I just felt like the league looked terrible this summer with Dane
17:14 just demanding a deal, Harden, and just hovering over. Tyler Hero had to sit there and figure out,
17:22 "Okay, am I going to go to Port? Where am I going to go?" It just makes everybody uncomfortable.
17:28 I just think the storyline is spilled into the season. The NBA wants all of us to concentrate
17:33 on the game. Who's playing? Every day, Harden update. Harden's not at practice. Harden's not
17:43 at-- "Coach, new coach, what do you think?" "Okay, I got to talk about Harden."
17:52 "Joey, what do you think about Harden not being here?" It's unfortunate, but that's what I'm
17:58 thinking about. How does that affect other teams? How does that affect Philadelphia?
18:03 Are they still going to compete in the East? I'm also excited about the other teams in the East,
18:09 Miami. I just think it's going to be a great season in terms of the competition.
18:14 A lot of teams are-- "Damn, Shara, it's not going to be a great season? Why are you looking like--
18:19 "You said Miami as if they got a squad. They got a great coach. They got one player in Jimmy Butler."
18:26 I'm saying there's going to be a lot-- I think there's going to be interesting teams,
18:29 teams that are either going to sink or swim. I think this is the year teams like Minnesota,
18:37 Miami, that either are going to win or are going to rebuild, and they're going to blow it up.
18:42 I think there's going to be a lot of teams around who are looking to win, but by trade deadline,
18:47 I might be like, "You know what? Do you want this guy? Miami could be one of those teams."
18:51 Jimmy Butler is 34 years old now. I think Spall has something up his sleeve. I don't think they're
19:00 going to be 40 or 42, but nothing happened because of Dane to them this summer. They didn't do
19:07 nothing. They waited for Dane. Philadelphia, what's going to happen with them? Ben Simmons
19:11 in Brooklyn, is he back? I just think it's a great-- it's not a great storyline. I think the
19:16 hard thing for me, and then also just the competition, there's not a real-- you can't
19:23 really pick a team and be like, "This is going to be freaking terrible this year." Washington,
19:29 but Washington also has Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma, Trey Duff. They got a lot of good young players.
19:34 They could bite you every now and then. There's no tanking teams. Houston is going to be interesting.
19:41 You mean-- I think that's good for the league. The bad teams are starting to get better.
19:45 That's what's good about the league. Not Charlotte, though.
19:51 I think related, Joel Embiid, the new development that the Knicks are willing to spend money on him
19:57 as well just adds another wrench into what Philadelphia's future looks like.
20:01 It's just hilarious. The Knicks are technically the laughingstock of the league sometimes,
20:06 but then Philly with the trusting of the process, which at this point, I don't even want to use that
20:11 phrase ever again in any part of my personal life because it hasn't really worked for them.
20:15 Also, in the West, I'm looking at Donchik and how's him and Kyrie-- what will that
20:24 duo look like? I don't know. Don't forget Grant Williams.
20:30 Grant Williams, ESPN's top 100 players. Is Kyrie going to be interested in playing and helping
20:38 Luka win and them getting pretty far in the league this year? I don't know what that looks like
20:45 either. Obviously, there's a lot of storylines, but those pique my interest because obviously,
20:50 they're related to Boston in some ways, but also the NBA just loves drama, as we know.
20:55 Dallas may not even make it to the playing game for the second year in a row.
21:00 I mean, that's not a problem either.
21:03 Gary was talking about there's really no team that's going to be clearly at the back of the
21:09 pack. I think Dallas might be that team. They might be that team.
21:13 That's a hot little Luke Warren hot take.
21:15 I think there's going to be a lot of movement. I think coaches are going to-- I think Billy
21:23 Donovan's on a hot seat, Jason Kidd, Chris Finch in Minnesota. I think there's going to be a lot
21:29 of teams, like I said, like you said, Dallas, Chicago, that are like sink or swim.
21:35 They could be a lot of player movement at the trade deadline with Zach Levine and some of these
21:42 guys who their team didn't go through. But then there's also going to be some interesting teams.
21:47 Brooklyn's going to be fascinating. They're not going to win 60 games, I'm talking about,
21:52 but just talking about being competitive, how the Knicks look, what's going on in Cleveland,
21:58 how the Charades pissed, what's going to happen with that?
22:00 Oh, they coming this year.
22:02 Okay. Indiana is a very intriguing team. Don't sleep on the paces, Bruce Brown and Howard Burton,
22:18 Miles Turner.
22:19 Don't forget the new story with our former guy, Marcus Smart. One team's trash,
22:27 is another team's gold. That nugget wasn't thrown in that article for no reason.
22:31 We already knew this, but he's definitely going to have a big chip, Marcus Smart,
22:35 on his shoulder this season.
22:36 In the Athletic, he said one team's trash is another team's gold.
22:44 Referring to the fact that the Celtics traded him, but also him finding out via his girlfriend
22:52 while he was sleeping. It kind of reemphasized what we already knew. But
22:57 even though we saw Brad at the wedding and they all seem to have made up, he's not forgetting that.
23:02 He may have forgiven, but he's definitely not forgetting.
23:05 All right. Looking ahead, just because if you're listening to this, you're probably waiting for
23:11 the season to officially start. For the Celtics, Wednesday night, they play the New York Knicks.
23:17 What are your opening night expectations? What are some matchups fans should be watching
23:22 tonight? I'm assuming you're listening on Wednesday.
23:24 Win the game. Win the game. Tatum, do what you do well. And I want to see someone who I don't
23:30 have already in that top five, top six pecking order do some work. I wouldn't mind seeing
23:35 Peyton Pritchard have a good game. See my man O'Shea Brissett do some things. Gary's Defensive
23:40 Player of the Year, O'Shea Brissett. Oh my gosh.
23:42 That's what I'm looking for. I want to play. Put me in the game.
23:48 Go ahead. Go ahead and play, Quani.
23:51 Just like Double Dutch, Quani's trying to get in the game. You see that, Gary?
23:54 Just on the side.
23:56 And we all know all Quani family from Jersey coming. They're going to be-
23:59 Right. Why did she say that?
24:01 They're going to want front row seats, caviar, champagne.
24:06 That's right. All the family's going to be on the-
24:08 Shrimps.
24:09 Don't let Quani family in. They're going to want to come from Jersey.
24:14 That's in their garden.
24:15 Don't forget their shrimps.
24:18 They're going to want the first class service.
24:20 Quani wants shrimp of all the things. They want shrimp.
24:24 Don't forget them shrimps.
24:25 Shrimps. Listen, caviar, champagne.
24:29 Period. Champagne.
24:31 You got to have the champagne, Gary. Champagne is always popping.
24:35 So I'm looking forward to whether the Celtics, I think defensively, I think I'm looking,
24:42 I'm going to be fascinated like how they're going to guard Julius Randle. Who's going to guard him?
24:49 Brunson, Barrett. They've had trouble with Barrett in the last couple of years.
24:53 The Knicks are going to come out there. They're basically the same team they added
24:56 Dante Vincenzo to kind of make the Nova crew over in New York.
25:03 But to me, I feel like this is a tricky, dangerous game.
25:09 The Knicks are a team that the Celtics struggled with last year.
25:13 They beat them three out of four times.
25:18 I think that they could bite them again in the opener.
25:20 The Celtics are going to come out focused, defensively sound.
25:24 Let's see how Porzingis does playing, going back to the garden.
25:27 And the atmosphere is going to be raucous the opening game.
25:31 And they're going to want to make a statement.
25:32 But the Celtics should want to make a statement too.
25:35 National TV game, ESPN, they're going to want to, they should be like,
25:38 no, we hitting fools in the mouth.
25:40 We coming at, we're not starting slow.
25:43 We're not going to shoot 23s in the first quarter.
25:47 We're going to move the ball around, get in the paint, use our strengths,
25:50 get jump on them.
25:53 And it's going to be a good game.
25:54 The Knicks are not a slouch.
25:57 And even though they didn't do a lot of moves in the offseason,
26:00 they're still a very quality club.
26:01 So I expect a very competitive game.
26:03 But I want to see how the Celtics come out defensively
26:06 and how focused they are in the opener.
26:08 It's a front row scrimps.
26:13 Paquani's scrimps.
26:14 It's a scrimps and stakes.
26:15 Uh-oh.
26:21 Uh-oh.
26:22 Paquani, the deep and thawed and she's frozen.
26:27 See how I smacked you talking Gary?
26:34 That's what you get.
26:36 That's what Cousin would say.
26:38 That's what you get.
26:39 Wednesday night, it all goes down.
26:44 One of 82 games.
26:45 That's all we have because obviously there's so much more to talk about
26:49 this upcoming season.
26:50 We appreciate you guys sticking with us in this preseason.
26:53 Well, let's do some predictions.
26:54 Let's do some predictions Paquani, real quick.
26:56 Oh, we're doing NBA finals.
26:57 Who's next?
26:58 Yeah, who's your NBA final, Sherrod?
27:00 Celtics, Lakers.
27:04 Let's go.
27:05 Unfortunately, I'm going to agree with Sherrod.
27:09 Wait, what?
27:12 Unfortunately, Celtics, Lakers finals.
27:14 I think the Lakers, there's something in them this year.
27:17 You think the Lakers win?
27:18 No, I think the Celtics win this series.
27:21 Oh, okay.
27:22 Yeah, I can agree with that.
27:23 Celtics, Lakers final, I think is a rematch of all the great ones.
27:27 I think the Lakers, some got me on them in terms of just their boys,
27:34 what they've done in the offseason, picking up Cam Reddish.
27:36 I say Cam Reddish when we were championship, you know,
27:39 Torian Prince, Christian Wood, Risa Riyadh, Austin Reeves getting better,
27:45 Gabe Vincent, the guy who pestered the Celtics, the playoffs.
27:49 Just getting reinforcements.
27:50 Don't forget about LeBron James.
27:51 Okay, I heard about him.
27:52 In that Martin commercial.
27:53 Yeah.
27:54 And so I think that they're ready to make a run.
27:58 I think the Celtics get them in, I would say six games.
28:02 I'm not going to say seven, epic seventh game.
28:04 That's too much, six games.
28:07 For those who believe in a script, this would be a perfect script for the NBA anyway.
28:11 So be it.
28:13 I'm here for it.
28:14 Well, these predictions are locked in.
28:16 We won't change them until, we'll revisit them at the end of the season.
28:19 But until then, H.R.I.
28:22 Blakely, Gary Washburn, not until the end of the season, until next week,
28:25 we'll be back with the A-List Podcast.
28:28 Thank you for listening.
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