• 2 years ago
Dan Greenberg covers the Celtics for Barstool Sports. Dan joins the program to chat about the Celtics West Coast trip, the improvements of Jaylen Brown, and why Wyc needs to put his money where his mouth is. Twitter: @StoolGreenie

3:43 Curry still owns the Celtics
15:06 Jaylen is moving the ball much better in December
27:44 Wyc needs to pay the tax to keep White
36:06 C’s can own Boston
45:07 Previewing the LA games

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Transcript
00:00 Celtics B is brought to you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNX Media Network.
00:07 What's up everyone? Welcome to another Celtics B two in one week. Imagine that. We may start to
00:13 make that a regular thing, but it's nice to have you back here with us and it's nice to be with you
00:19 on the heels of a win versus what was just a like a soul-crushing loss to the Warriors
00:27 against Golden State out there in the Bay Area. Not, I'm not saying it was like, Oh, you're like,
00:32 your season's over this. You, if you can't beat Steph when he's red hot, you can't win a time.
00:38 That's not what we're doing here or anything like that. It was just, you know, to be up as much as
00:43 they were, what 17 points to have Steph Curry with five fouls when he was still stuck on 13
00:51 and to see him go nuclear finished with 30 plus, not find a way to get him out of that game,
00:56 or at least avoid the collapse late and lose an overtime. Part of it is I'm pissed about how my
01:01 bets tracked that night, but look, things just got a little wonky. Hell of a response the following
01:08 night against Sacramento. Chris Stapp's forcing us back in the lineup. Jason Tatum was out Al
01:13 Horford, expectedly out it being a back to back in the seas still, despite actually being underdogs
01:20 for the very first time all season went in and thumped absolutely thumped the team. The, the,
01:26 the, the, the, the team, they said, take your beam and shove it up your arse. We're going to be by
01:31 25 points. And it was a majestic thing to watch Adam Kaufman, Evan Valenti, Dan Greenberg is here
01:37 with us from barstool sports. Good friend of this program. And we're not going to like break down
01:41 these games in vivid detail. Other places have done that. That's not what this show is a bigger
01:46 picture stuff, obviously, but certainly highlight some of the key moments and things that have
01:52 happened in the last couple of games since we last had a show. And I will tell you, depending
01:56 on when you're listening to this, you have one more game, of course, before the big Christmas
02:01 game that is finishing off the well, these will both finish off the West coast trip, both with
02:08 Los Angeles. First, the Clippers who are a totally different looking basketball team these days.
02:12 And of course, the Lakers who don't seem to be trying as hard when it's not the in-season
02:16 tournament, that will be your Christmas day showdown at five o'clock Eastern. And then
02:21 it's back home off the West coast swing for a couple more games. So guys welcome. It's good
02:26 to have you as we always like to tell you rate review, please subscribe to the podcast Celtics
02:30 beat wherever you find it. Greeny. I'll start with you here now, admittedly, and I've talked
02:35 about this ad nauseum, so I'm not going to do so now I will just simply say the win over the Kings
02:40 while exciting while entertaining. I just need to deal. I need to cope. I need to get with the
02:45 times. It's not my brand of basketball to just watch a three-point competition for two and a
02:50 half hours. That's what it was, but I'm at least happy to sell this. We're on the right side of it.
02:54 How much did it impress you the day after losing the way they did against the Warriors to go out
03:00 absent their best player in Jason Tatum and really after that first quarter, just take it to the
03:05 Kings and not relent? Yeah, I think I think we all have the same PTSD trauma, whatever you want
03:13 to call it. And whenever this team faces Golden State, I mean, Steph Curry is, is just ruining
03:19 our lives. But when this happened last year, at the same time with the Celtics with the same record,
03:24 there was the start of their spiral, right? Like that's, I think what most of us wanted to see.
03:30 Okay. You were in Golden State. You had another opportunity to stomp on their throat.
03:35 You didn't. Steph Curry buried you. Now you're at the risk of really letting this West Coast trip
03:42 spiral out of control. You don't have your best player. You don't have your sixth man.
03:46 The Kings were 10 and three at home, had one three in a row. So it's like, okay, now show us that you
03:51 have the mental focus to not let the Golden State game bleed into how you're going to play moving
03:59 forward. So I love that they played with the exact same approach that we saw in Golden State.
04:05 You know, they obviously mixed in some, some Porzingis mismatches and, you know, attacking
04:10 switches in the post with him, which is great. But I think it says something to where you're going
04:15 in another tough building to play on the second night of a back to back. And we didn't see the
04:20 whole woe is me. We're mentally dominated by Golden State. Maybe we're second guessing how
04:26 we should play or who we are as a team. You know, I know you don't like the threes, but I will stress
04:31 again, they were all quality looks of good ball movement that this team should be taking. And it
04:38 just goes to show you, you know, they're not always going to miss 41 threes in the game.
04:42 So it's like, you have to understand that for the subjects to be successful,
04:47 they have to play with confidence. And for them, that means taking a look when it's there and also
04:52 finding a way to hunker down defensively. So seeing them actually play defense after that
04:57 first quarter was encouraging. But, you know, we'll see if they give it back on Saturday
05:02 and backtrack and then lose to the Lakers and finish this trip one and three. You know,
05:06 I'm not feeling great, but, you know, it's always good to see them bounce back.
05:10 And to your point, 22 out of 42 from three in that game against the Kings and probably zero
05:17 people would have predicted 22 made three pointers in a blowout win in which Jalen Brown hit zero of
05:24 them. It was, you know, everybody else, you know, Peyton Pritchard off the bench, 20 points. He had
05:29 six threes on 11 attempts, six of nine for Derek White, who is suddenly everybody's favorite player
05:35 on the planet, let alone on the Boston Celtics. And he has been amazing, obviously, with a lot
05:41 of hometown bias, true holiday hit for Chris Dabbs, Porzingis three, a couple for Sam Hauser,
05:46 who was in the starting lineup. It was nice to see, but bigger than that, we were texting about
05:50 this have, you know, I, I mentioned no three pointers made for Jalen Brown, big deal, 28 points,
05:57 six assists, five rebounds, 29 minutes, efficient shooting night, over 50%, not a single turnover.
06:05 There are certain games we've talked about this in the past where Brown has to rise to the occasion.
06:11 And I'm not being critical in saying that he's done so plenty of times, but there are certain
06:16 spots where he needs to be the guy, or if not, you know, one, a one B, especially when Jason
06:23 Tatum is not around with Tatum unavailable, Brown needed to go out and have a game, not talking best
06:30 game of his career, but he needed to have a game. And he did just that. And I think the zero
06:34 turnovers is as important a stat as anything. Yeah, certainly a impact of the game, both ends
06:40 in the 29 minutes that he played, right. That game was over by the time they were going to bring it
06:44 back in. No need to bring Jalen back in 20 minutes, 28 points, six assists, five rebounds,
06:49 no turnovers, just tremendous stuff. The Jalen we've seen the last like six games.
06:55 We got to bottle that up and keep that. I think, and I think a lot of other people have put clips
07:01 together and numbers together and all these things, the Jalen Brown experience is starting
07:05 to feel a little different. The ball movement's a little better. He's attacking quicker. He's,
07:10 he's, he's not trying to go like one on three as much anymore. He's certainly passing out of
07:15 double teams a little bit more. And this is the corner that I think the Celtics need Jalen to
07:19 take, nor for them to take that next step in order to get the offense at the end of games,
07:24 to not bog down and get everybody touches and to have it all move around. This is really encouraging.
07:30 I mean, the fact that you had 28 on no threes is spectacular, but again, it's the ball movement.
07:34 It's the way he's moving off the ball, how he's confident in his teammates to either take the
07:40 right shot, or if they can't get one, get the ball back to him. So we can do is, you know,
07:44 max player, all star, all NBA stuff. If they need to at the end of the shot clock,
07:48 the Chris taps, poor Zingas Jalen Brown minutes are extremely positive. What's more positive
07:56 are the Jalen Brown minutes with Derek white and no Jason Tam on the floor there. I think
08:00 they're what plus was a plus 12 and a half or whatever it was. Forrest Berg had that earlier
08:04 today. I just, it's exceed me at the current moment. Um, but the, the numbers, sans Jason
08:09 Tatum with Jan on the floor have been really, really good. And that to me is the biggest stat
08:15 from the entire season. So far, I said it all last year. I said it all off season.
08:20 And here we are in the beginning of this season, roughly 32, 33% of the way through the season.
08:25 And we finally have an answer potentially to a question that has plagued the Celtics for quite
08:30 some time is what happens to this offense when Jason Tatum hits the bench, usually craters.
08:36 And lately it hasn't, they've grown leads with Tatum on the bench and Jalen Brown is becoming
08:43 sort of a facilitator playmaker kind of guy that we've all kind of been waiting for. And Jalen's
08:49 Ascension to this player changes the ceiling of this team. Let's see if it lasts again. I think
08:56 a lot of us might be a little skeptical and see how long it's going to last Kaufman, but you can't
09:01 deny that it's, that it's not happening anymore. All the Jalen Brown stands are, I would say like
09:06 defectors out there that don't care for Jalen Brown have been awfully quiet lately because he's
09:11 been, I mean, you could call certain guys, Derek white, the best player in the team, Jalen's
09:16 playing the best ball. I think best team basketball on both ends of the floor in his career right now.
09:22 And it's, it's very evident to anybody that actually watches the games. Well, green,
09:27 yeah, no, please. Well, I was going to say, I would actually piggyback off that evidence and
09:33 say, it's better than you're saying. So you're saying the last six games, if you look back on it,
09:39 the, the, like the changing of, of his season really started with the Milwaukee win about a
09:47 month ago on the 22nd, since then over his 13 games, I mean, he's well over 50% his turnovers
09:54 are under two and a half a game. His passing is better. Like you said, but what stands out to me
10:00 is where is his approach, right? Like last, or, you know, the Sacramento game, we're saying
10:06 chains out. Jalen has to be the guy that didn't mean he needed to score 40, right? Not once during
10:12 that game. Did you ever get the vibe that Jalen now, you know, needs to force the issue offensively.
10:18 The shot distribution was even his willingness as a passer is what you want. And to your non
10:24 Tatum minutes, this is the biggest story of the entire Celtics season. The Celtics net rating with
10:30 Tatum off the floor is the same as it is with him on the floor. You're going to win a title.
10:35 If you're not losing the Jason Tatum minutes, that's a fact. That's what happened with the
10:40 nuggets. They figured out how to survive the non Yoko minutes. It's what's plagued the Sixers
10:46 during the entire and beat era. They can't seem to figure out how to survive the non and beat
10:51 minutes. If you look at each of the players between drew and Porzingis and holiday and white,
10:57 they are all elevating their play in the non Tatum minutes. And I think you have to credit
11:02 Missoula with how he's structured their lineups of he's finding that balance of combinations
11:08 that are, you know, there are going to be times where they maybe don't score for three or four
11:12 minutes, but on the whole, I think it's like a plus 8.8 net rating with Tatum on and a plus 8.2
11:19 net rating with Tatum off or something around those, those numbers. We've never seen that at
11:25 any point of the Tatum and Brown era. It's always, they play like a 39 wind team when he's off and a
11:30 65 wind team when he's on, if that's going to change and they're going to play like a 50 something
11:35 wind team when he's not on the floor, that is how you're going to win the NBA title.
11:40 - But I think a lot of what we're talking about, like Evan saying one thing and Greenie,
11:45 you're saying another, but I think what interconnects these things more than anything
11:49 else is Jalen Brown, the facilitator. That he doesn't need to go out to your point, score 40
11:55 points, just be efficient, get your shots. You know, obviously it's, if he's, you know, averaging
12:00 24 to 26, like that would be amazing. That would be great. And you'll blow up for 30 occasionally.
12:06 And occasionally he's going to have a, you know, a sub 20 game like this, these things,
12:10 they all average out. But I think the notable thing about Brown is he's continued to grow and
12:15 develop and we've praised him for years and years, about every off season, he adds a little something
12:19 to his game, whatever it may be, whether it's, you know, trying to obviously protect the ball
12:25 less, turn the ball over, you know, less frequently, all of that, the assist, the
12:30 facilitating, like going back, if you look at his career, four years through his career,
12:36 he had never averaged more than 2.1 assists and was often down in the one point something. And I
12:42 had a number of people, keep in mind, still young, obviously he, you know, entered the league as a
12:47 teenager, but you know, he was four years in and I had people saying to me like real basketball fans,
12:53 Celtics fans just looked at Jalen Brown and said, this is not a guy who is ever going to average
12:59 three to four assists per game. It's just not his game. It's not how he's built. There's some,
13:04 you know, bad luck involved in there, but it's just, it's never going to be him.
13:08 He's never going to do it. And then you start to see him turn a corner, obviously 2021, which,
13:13 you know, I think for a number of reasons, it's an interesting turning point, but it starts to
13:18 slowly climb 3.4, 3.5, 3.5 this year, currently through three through 26 games, he's at 3.7.
13:26 You could look at that and say, well, 3.7 to 3.5. That's, that's not a big jump. I understand that,
13:32 but again, recent sample size and it's small last couple of games, six assists, seven to six,
13:39 six assists before that, even before four, five, four, four, that's your, your stretch basically
13:46 for December. I would not be at all surprised greenie because we have a lot of season left.
13:51 If he has someone who is averaging four, even 4.1 assists per game, if he continues on this
13:56 trajectory, obviously, and he's fully capable of being that guy. Yeah. He's still going to turn the
14:01 ball over a couple of times a game to two and a half. We know that's not going to change,
14:05 but if he can regularly get teammates involved in the way that honestly Jason Tatum does,
14:11 if we can see this from Jalen Brown on a nightly basis, like Tatum, like Derek White, even now that
14:17 he's obviously the, the starting one to, you know, for whatever people believe in, in positional
14:24 basketball. I know it's not really a thing anymore. I think it's just such a, a gigantic
14:28 thing in terms of this team's offensive performance and leads to obviously that success in the non
14:34 Tatum minutes. Yeah, I would absolutely agree with you, but I also think we have to be a little
14:39 consistent, right? Like, I don't think we can only focus on his assist total, right? If, if there are
14:45 going to be games where he has zero assists and then we want to be like, well, you have to watch
14:49 and how he's playing and moving the ball. Like there's more that goes into his playmaking
14:54 evaluation than just his assist average. At the same time, I think when you're watching him play,
14:59 you can see his head is up more. He's making reads and finding guys that he wasn't making,
15:06 you know, in the years past. So if a guy misses a shot, but it's a great read, I don't care. Like,
15:12 I don't deem that as Jalen's not growing because he didn't get the assist. Right. So there was one
15:17 play. I think it was Hauser where he had it in the paint. He was driving and he kept his head
15:22 up and he looked off and made the read to Hauser in the corner for one of his corner threes. And
15:27 I just think that's the evolution that's going to unlock everything more so than if he, if he only
15:34 averages three and a half assists, but he's making the right reads, that's more important to me than,
15:39 you know, if he's just finding a simple dump off pass for an assist, but he's still driving into
15:44 traffic or he's still, you know, playing with his head down with tunnel vision. Those are the
15:49 glaring issues. But I think when you look at how he's seeing the floor, combining with his turnovers
15:55 going down, that's, that's the growth that you can say, okay, he's clearly addressed what played
16:03 him in a playoff series, but I also think his role is changing right now. He doesn't just need to be
16:08 the guy who is the receiver of those passes to then shoot and score. Now, Brad gifted him a gift
16:16 from the basketball gods in Port Singh is to where he can be way more dimensional in how he approaches
16:23 his offense, right? Like you don't need to be a super talented passer to say, Hey, this guy's
16:28 seven three, let's maybe just give him the ball, but the willingness to run actions with him and
16:34 the understanding that this is where Porzingis can get the ball in spots to where he's an absolute
16:40 force makes everybody look better, right? Like Derek White being a confident catching two,
16:46 three point shooter now helps everybody look better. So I just think it's a, the, the growth
16:52 in Jalen as a passer is attributed to his own work, but it's also credit to what Brad has built
16:59 around him to enhance those skills and enhance those playmaking, you know, growth. And I think
17:05 when, and I'll keep going back to it when they traded for Porzingis, I think we all said,
17:10 we got Tatum this new toy, that's going to unlock things. I think it was more for Jalen. I really
17:16 do because Tatum fits with everybody. We have never seen Jalen operate this way with a two-man
17:23 game before like he does with Porzingis. And I think Brad saw that and said, if we're going to
17:28 get over the hump and we're going to get, we're going to make Jalen become a passable playmaker.
17:34 We need to find something that works for him and unlocks that. That's what Porzingis does for him.
17:39 Just want to finish up here. Cause I, I, I attributed it for his bearing. I want to make
17:43 sure I get this right. So he had this in his article very recently, 14.4 is Brown's average
17:50 assist points created per game or Boston's last seven games. In fact, Brown leads the team with
17:55 5.1 assists per game in that span, just to show everybody's, you know, we're all on the same page
18:01 with Jalen. He's just been out of control. Forest Berg had the stat. And again, the other stat I'm
18:04 looking for is the number that Celtics are without Tatum in the lineup. I'm still looking for that,
18:12 but those are the numbers. Check my timeline. I, I pull tweeted, uh, trade from Celtics Twitter.
18:18 He had, uh, he had the screenshots of the stats. It's like my, it's on my timeline somewhere.
18:23 I'll look for that, but that's, that's the other big thing that's like kind of really
18:27 happening right now is the fact that this team again can survive with Tatum off the floor.
18:32 It's impressive. Yep. Well, and not to be
18:37 overlooked, undervalued, uh, ignored certainly is, you know, I, I think we do need to have a
18:42 few moments to just celebrate Derek White because obviously not enough good things can be said about
18:47 the way he is playing this year. I will fully admit I've said this before, but I will fully
18:52 admit, uh, while I was pro Derek White at the trade, I loved it. I saw his value when, you know,
18:59 some people were out there critical of him and, and the deal. And, and what does he bring live?
19:04 I've always been something of a Derek White stand, but only to a point to the point where I still
19:11 thought going into this year, he was going to be your sixth man. He was going to be coming off the
19:15 bench. I did not foresee this, you know, all-star Derek White, you know, as, as Joe Mazzola referred
19:22 to him the other night, you know, he has been just a, a revelation. He is a consistent double
19:28 figure scorer in a group where he is, you know, you would think on paper is your fifth scoring
19:34 option. It has not been the case, obviously that's I'm saying that when everybody is healthy,
19:38 obviously, and you have holiday and porzingis along with the Jays, these last couple of games,
19:43 not to again, sample size it, but I think I heard a stat that the 58 points 30 against the Warriors,
19:50 28 against the Kings, the most he has ever had in a two game span. It wouldn't surprise me at all,
19:55 if that was the case. Uh, but again, the way that, that he is shooting, you know, he's well
20:00 over 50%, 60% in those two games overall, the shot volume is incredible. I mean, you're talking about
20:05 58 points on 37 attempts, including 27, three pointers. So the guy is, you know, regularly
20:13 living outside and hoisting threes. He's taken as a matter of fact, uh, more than eight per game in
20:19 the month of December, but he's hitting about 48% of those. So he is locked the hell in right now.
20:26 It has been incredible. It doesn't really get to the free throw line. It's not a surprise. He's
20:29 not a guy that goes to the basket. He's, you know, he's taken jumpers, but you know, what white is
20:34 doing and facilitating, by the way, he's getting you five assists per game this month. What white
20:38 is doing, it just, again, unlocks another piece of this offense. Greeny that, that, you know,
20:45 they had it at moments last year, but this is why so many people, you know, including Evan and I,
20:51 at the time and greeny, I'm sure you, you know, were bitching and moaning late in games about
20:56 some of those rotations where, you know, smart and or Brogdon route there. And, you know, white
21:01 might've had a great third quarter and all of a sudden he's nowhere to be found in the fourth.
21:05 They have opened things up to where Derek white has to be out there and they want him out there.
21:10 And you're seeing the rewards. Yeah, I think it's, it's sort of like Jalen, right? I think
21:16 first you have to attribute it to his individual improvement, right? Like the work he's done
21:22 to fix himself as a shooter ever since, you know, the end of the finals run, right? Like he had that
21:28 great game one, but he still was what I would consider an inconsistent shooter. He came back
21:33 last year. It was like a revelation. What we're seeing this year is that on steroids. So it's like
21:40 you have to attribute you to the hard work to improving a glaring weakness. First, second,
21:45 I think, like you said, is opportunity, right? They've, they've cleared the path for him.
21:50 They've given him the keys. They've embraced him. Is this, you know, not just a sixth man type guard,
21:56 but a integral part to their success. I also, then you then have to go to, you know, he's more
22:04 comfortable, right? Like this is a guy who came over mid season that takes time to acclimate.
22:10 Then last year. Okay. Well now even after making the finals, he has to figure out his role now
22:15 with Brogdon in the mix. Now he can fully feel confident in his role on the team and how they
22:23 want him to play. How many times have we heard Jason Tatum be like, we all need to like, we yell
22:28 at Derek that he needs to be more aggressive. Now he shaved his head. He turned into Michael Jordan
22:34 and now he has no problem being an aggressive player. And you can see what a difference that
22:40 makes just because, you know, now you have to worry about him, not just as a catch and shoot
22:45 three point shooter, but he's taking pull up threes off screens. He's driving to the rim
22:49 and getting to his float game. He's shooting 15, 16, 17 times a night, which are things that I
22:55 don't think we would have dreamed of his first year and a half as a Celtic. So I think you're
23:01 seeing a guy enter his NBA prime. Who's empowered, who's developing and who has the confidence that
23:09 if he has to feel like he needs to call his own number, that's not going to be a problem because
23:14 everybody knows this team is at his best when they have an aggressive Derek.
23:17 Yeah. I mean, I'm just taking victory laps here. I love Derek White. It's been awesome.
23:23 You're ahead of me. No doubt about it. He was just, he's just like,
23:26 gives the game what it needs. And that varies from night to night and from possession to possession.
23:32 But the guy's just, I mean, he does everything well. And again, he's probably not going to make
23:35 the all-star team just because that's not how this works, but he's certainly playing on an
23:39 all-star level. I mean, he plays both ends of the floor. He's a highly efficient score,
23:43 moves the ball around cuts. There's all this stuff. I mean, you guys,
23:47 he's as good as it gets and he's like overqualified, but yet perfect for this team.
23:57 Like overqualified to be on this team. Like he should be on a different team with more
24:01 responsibility to be frankly, honestly, however, on this team, the fact that he's so good at so
24:06 many things just gets highlighted every single night because every night Boston seems to need a
24:11 little something different, right? Tatum hasn't been on the best shooting, you know, rhythm the
24:15 past couple of games. So we've needed a little bit more Derek White in terms of shooting the
24:18 basketball. You know, I tracked it with, with Weiss that the shot distribution has changed a
24:24 little bit. And the biggest change is that Derek White's just taking more shots and guess what?
24:29 It's good for business, baby. We love it here. We love this stuff. I am, I am such a big,
24:35 I was a proponent of him being the starting point guard when the year started. Cause he's the only
24:39 guy I thought was capable of making an entry pass on this team. He just, he's, he's excellent. I,
24:46 I smile every time I see him play, you know, he's just perfect. And, and the fact he's humble about
24:52 the whole thing too, which makes him even more like, like it'd be hard press for any non Celtic
24:59 fan. I obviously sees fans. We're all obsessed with the team. It's fine. The biggest compliment
25:05 is when other fan bases are like, man, I wish we could have Derek White. Or like my favorite is
25:10 I'll get in these like rabbit holes with, with Spurs fans who were like, you know, should we have
25:16 kept Dejounte Murray or Derek White? And every answer is Derek White. Everybody's like, no,
25:21 we should have kept Derek. Derek's awesome. And then I heard Simmons today with Justin Termini
25:25 talking about how they, you just can't believe what they got Derek White for.
25:30 When you look back at the trade people, again, people at our own company, Kaufman
25:34 did not like this trade. Not very anti you can't believe you're giving up future assets for Derek
25:40 White. What are you talking about? Josh Richardson's playing. What are you doing now?
25:45 Romeo we're giving up on a Romeo Langford for, for Derek. Now we're all here saying this is such
25:51 a steal of a trade. Brad has just masterfully put this roster together. Beast by beast,
25:57 little by little. And now you're at the point where the Celtics have, you know, outside of
26:02 Philly's best five who inflated their stats against really awful competition. Now they did
26:08 beat the wolves the other night, so I will give them credit for that. But the Celtics have just,
26:12 if not the best five minute league, one of the best five minutes of the league. And that's
26:17 because they got the guy pulling the strings, Brad Stevens, who sees the future. It's amazing.
26:20 And I think we're seeing why Derek turned down that early extension. Yeah. It's a bummer, huh?
26:26 You know, you're going to have, you're going to have to max them out at this, at this rate. He's,
26:31 he's playing his lane to a max extension, whatever that number is.
26:34 I mean, you can't not give it to him. Kaufman. You've been talking about this for years.
26:39 This is the, this is going to be the guy that makes wick put his money where his mouth is right
26:44 here. Oh yeah. If, if it's very obvious in Kaufman, this has been your, you've been on this
26:51 for like four years. Cause you're like, he keeps saying when the team's right, they'll spend it in
26:55 the tax. Very clear at this point, Derek white needs to be on this team. You're going to have
27:01 to pay the tax to retain the services. Let's see it. Wick. Let's see. He's not the only one true.
27:08 Drew's coming up to extension. So it's like, this is your put up or shut up moment. This is it.
27:14 It's it's no brain. Oh, you gave Jason Tatum a max extension. Oh, you gave jail in a supermax.
27:18 Yeah. No kidding. Like that's not a hard decision to make. These are the ones where
27:24 you have a guy who isn't an all-star quote, but is so integral to your team and is playing so well,
27:32 you now have to pay him like an all-star. If you don't, you don't have any way to replace it.
27:38 So if that means that, you know, you got to jack up, take your prices, jack them up because every
27:43 single fan will pay more to keep Derek white on this roster. I'm pretty sure. Yeah. Well,
27:49 just to see a, an annual contender, you know, which obviously this team is,
27:54 is built to be like, you could make cases over the last couple of years, you know,
27:58 who was the guy that, that was, that wick was, you know, we keep saying wick because obviously he is
28:04 the chairman, but wick and company, the ownership group that was going to make them collectively,
28:09 potentially a little bit uncomfortable was Grant Williams going to be the guy you had to give,
28:14 you know, give grant 40, $50 million. Well, you could have made the case, you know, for obviously
28:20 his role on the team, he fit a, a certain need, but he wasn't irreplaceable. You know, you allow
28:29 yourselves to, you know, get nothing in return for Derek white, Derek white just leaves. Like
28:34 you've created a hole, you have created a gigantic problem. And I, I just have to believe that,
28:41 you know, this goes beyond that ownership group again, saying they're willing to spend and being
28:48 fans of the team. In addition to owning the team, this is good business sense. This is being,
28:54 you know, this is the breeding ground for the guys making the billions of dollars that they have to
29:01 get where they are in their careers. This is looking at it and saying, you know, if, if we
29:07 can win titles, you know, or at least be in the title conversation annually, you know, it's that
29:12 much more we're making, like you said, on ticket sales on rev, you know, merchandising, like
29:16 everything it's, you know, bringing, bringing, it sounds so ridiculous that we're talking about,
29:21 you know, Derek white in this way, but that's where you're at. Because like you said, greenie,
29:25 you don't have a question when it, unless you're like the red Sox with Mookie Betts and Xander
29:29 Bogarts, you don't have a question when you are a basketball team and you have a top level,
29:35 you know, talent and, and two of the better players to, you know, one, a top five, another,
29:40 a top, whatever we want to call Brown, 15, 20 player in the NBA. I realized the money doesn't
29:47 equate and that drives people nuts. But you know, when you have these two upper echelon players,
29:52 yeah, you got to pay them. Derek white, you know, drew holiday, Chris taps, Porzingis,
29:58 obviously Porzingis already got his deal. Like this is, this is not cutting time. This is when
30:03 obviously you have to pay these guys to keep yourselves at that threshold. Yeah. And I just
30:08 think it's the reality of life in the NBA, right? Like I think we're all pretty certain drew
30:13 holidays, turning down his player option this, this summer. So he can get his new deal. You have
30:19 this year and next year with Derek white. If you don't extend Derek white this summer, NBA history
30:26 tells you, you have to then trade him because if you don't and he leaves you for nothing, you're
30:33 already a second apron team. You don't have, you know, it's not like all that money comes off your
30:38 books and you can spend 30 million on another player. If you don't extend him while he has one
30:43 non, a fully guaranteed year left, you have to get ahead of it because the longer you wait,
30:49 if you wait until the trade deadline, his value goes under. So I just think people,
30:54 and I think WIC probably understands the fact that like, like you said, it's not just that
30:59 in the NBA, you have to pay your good players. His team is going to drastically change and they
31:05 will be forced to make a trade or do something that probably makes them worse. If he doesn't
31:11 pony up and as long as they're past the second apron, who gives a shit how much it costs? Like,
31:17 it's not like you are trying to be under that line. You're already past it, right? You have Tatum
31:23 Supermax coming down the road anyways, after next summer. So it's like, if you want to contend,
31:28 you have to pay. If you don't pay, you have to gut your roster because you do not have the tools
31:34 to replace those players. And I do not think we want Brad operating in a position where he is
31:40 trying to make a trade without leverage. It's just not the recipe for success. So this is it. You
31:45 either extend them this summer or your hand NBA history tells you it's kind of like what the
31:50 bulls are going through right now with like DeMar DeRozan. They didn't extend him. He's now an
31:55 expiring deal. The longer they hold him, his value is going to tank. It's like, if you are going to
32:01 decide that you don't want to keep a player, you have to trade them a year early as opposed to the
32:07 year they're an expiring deal. That's just how it works. On top of that greedy. And you know,
32:11 people who are much smarter than me, not exclusive group, by the way, have written about this and,
32:17 and, you know, the, the capologists out there have examined like people, we talk about this,
32:22 you know, the Royal, we, we talk about the whole, like the second apron. Oh my God,
32:26 what's that going to mean? The penalties. When you have the kind of money, these guys have owners of,
32:33 of basketball franchises, the penalties are truly not that severe. They're not that egregious to
32:41 where, you know, you're going to be, at least if you have a contending teams, one thing, if you
32:46 don't, but if you have a contending team, like the warriors for so long and, and, you know, spending
32:52 the way they spent or obviously the Celtics, the way they're positioned right now among other teams,
32:57 it shouldn't scare you off. It's not so much money where it's like, I don't know, can we like,
33:03 we're tight around the collar. Can we do that? No, of course you do that. You don't even hesitate
33:08 to do it because you want banners. Right. And I think the penalties for the second apron,
33:13 I always view more, the things that matter are the team building restrictions. You can't count,
33:18 you know, you can't combine salaries. You can't sign buyout guys. That's what matters.
33:23 If it comes to just wick writing a check, like you're the majority owner of the Boston Celtics,
33:27 who have been the best team in the league and are in a title window. If you're not prepared
33:31 to reach into your billions, sell the team to someone that will like, what are we talking?
33:36 Like we like take a look around you what's happening with the other franchises in your city
33:41 and what's happening where those riches, how billionaires are getting rid of generational
33:47 talent because they don't want to pay. It has closed their title window. You're going to
33:51 willingly do that because you don't want to write like a $70 million tax bill that, you know, you're
33:56 probably regaining an interest by the time you wake up the next morning. I just think, you know,
34:02 wick to his credit has stepped up when he's been in these spots before. Well, now we're talking
34:08 about money that's higher than anything he's ever had to pay when he has previously stepped up and
34:13 footed the bill. You know, it's a lot easier to, you know, foot a max contract when that max
34:19 contract's a hundred mil. Well, now what are you going to do when that max contract is 225? It's
34:23 just, it's a different scale, but if you win, you're going to be making so much money that I
34:30 just, I mean, I don't know what his finances work, but common sense says if your team is good and
34:35 you're the only team in the city that is contending and people are buying your products and the
34:41 ratings are going up and you know, you have one of the faces of the lead. My gut says that probably
34:46 brings in a decent amount of revenue to offset your tax penalty. It's not like you're paying
34:52 second apron money for a 30 win team that nobody cares about. You know, and I hadn't even thought
34:57 about this, Ev until Greeny just mentioned it, but there is maybe I'm more of a sucker for this
35:04 than is, is true, but there there's a narrative street component to that. There's, there's ego
35:10 on the part of the ownership group of the Celtics, or at least there could be ego there where you
35:14 look at it and say, as Greeny said, like the Bruins fine. I mean, they're, they're playing well,
35:19 but they're probably not going to win a cup. You know, the, the, and when I say that, I mean,
35:24 like in, in the next few years, the, the Patriots, obviously, yeah, they could turn things around if
35:29 they draft the next guy in, in, in the upcoming draft at the quarterback position. But right now
35:34 it's in shambles. The red Sox, I mean, need, they need to be sold and be in the hands of,
35:39 you know, ownership group that actually is going to spend again and spend the right way.
35:43 So the Celtics, they have a window here where it can be the freaking eighties again, man. I mean,
35:52 they can be the center of the basketball universe. And not only that they can be the only show in
35:58 town, they can be the talk of Boston when it comes to sports. And I have to think Wick and
36:04 company are aware of that. 100%. These guys aren't, these guys are not stupid. I mean, they're,
36:08 you know, they're all doing very well for themselves for a particular reason. And if you
36:13 need any advice on what it's like to own the city for a while, just ask Robert Kraft, you know,
36:17 life's really good. Life's great when you own the city, especially in a city that loves sports as
36:20 much as Boston does. And you're right. I mean, the red Sox are an absolute disaster, an absolute
36:25 joke. I don't want to get into that. Cause I'm gonna get really mad about it. The Bruins are fun,
36:29 right? They're, they're, they're playing fun in the Patriots, you know, look 20 years of
36:34 unprecedented dominance. Like it's going to eventually come back down and they're gonna
36:37 have to rebuild and we'll see how it goes. But Boston has an excellent opportunity to become
36:41 the face of a city that loves sports. And that's as you, you know, talk to, you know, people that
36:45 work in programming in people that, you know, do radio shows are the country. There's a reason why
36:51 the ratings in Boston, Trump, whatever's in LA, the people that live in the city of Boston,
36:56 the people that root for these teams are way more fanatic about it than the people that live
37:01 on the other side of the state. And again, by owning a city that loves sports, you're going
37:06 to be in the new cycle, 365 days a year. And that's good for biz, right? You're, you're constantly
37:12 call it top of mind, advertiser, top of mind, whatever you're always in, in the views and
37:17 in the brains and the ears of, of everybody that, that watches his team. And that's going to be a
37:22 positive thing. I, again, this is, this is going to be real interesting. This off season. I know
37:26 we're, we're fast forwarding a little bit and we've been fast forwarding for the entire season,
37:29 pending the guests. I mean, yes, last this earlier this week, Steve will pet much like
37:34 some other guys who had the show. Like it doesn't matter. This team doesn't make it. The season
37:37 doesn't matter. You got to wait for the post season. So we're just sitting here waiting for
37:40 the post season. Well, now here we are waiting for the off season to figure out what wick's going to
37:44 do and what the rest of the guys are going to do in terms of keeping this group together. Cause
37:47 this is a special, special group of guys and you know, it's going to be costly. Sure. But I don't
37:53 think golden state, uh, uh, has any reservations about paying all those guys as much as they did.
38:00 They were the face of the league for a long time. Steph Curry was the face of basketball,
38:04 probably still is kind of for a long time. I'm not saying Tim's gonna be the face of basketball.
38:08 We'll see. It's already kind of that way. Like to what you're talking about when the
38:13 does retire, when Steph does retire, you know, keep in mind how much younger the Jays are than
38:18 these guys. Like if it doesn't mean what it once did, obviously, I know you're getting a pair of
38:23 those new shoes, a flower in the garden. Those are the Celtics could be the lead on sports center
38:29 every night, man. Like that's, that's what they could be. That is the world that they could be
38:34 entering into. We'll talk about the rest of this West coast trip here in a sec, but have let's,
38:38 uh, you know, for people out there, you've, you've probably missed the boat to bet on the Celtics to
38:42 win a championship in terms of getting a favorable number, obviously, although I'm still not sure
38:47 that the best team in the NBA, when, when you got Nicole the Oakage and the Denver nuggets, but
38:51 that's, that's a whole other thing, obviously, that we'll get to as, as time goes along and let's
38:56 shout out our, uh, fine folks over at FanDuel. Yeah. Quick break. Tight. Today's show is brought
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39:43 pistons, it's a real easy win. It's free money. It's sitting right there for everybody. They've
39:48 lost 25 games in a row. They lost to a team last night and tape of this recording. So
39:54 I can't believe you even did that. They lost to a Utah jazz team playing what three games in four
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41:07 plates. Smart from the start game sense ma.com or call 1-800-G-A-M-1-2-3-4.
41:15 There was a, a bet to that point. I think it's real. I mean, I've seen the bet slip circulating
41:21 on social media. I guess it could be Photoshop, but I think it's real, uh, on, I believe, well,
41:27 I'm not sure which book was used, but the, uh, and this was made prior to that game in which the,
41:33 the Pistons were again, favored to beat the jazz. Uh, it was the Pistons to not win another game
41:39 this season. Somebody bet $40 to win 40,000. If that's not enough, if you win that bet,
41:48 I feel like they should give you like a million dollars.
41:50 If the Pistons go winless the rest of the way plus, you know, however many zeros that is.
41:54 Now we do have to say though, you know, they have these two back to back against Brooklyn.
41:59 I think if they lose both of those, it's the Celtics game on the 28th. That's for the all-time
42:05 record. I don't know. There's like 3% of me. That's like, hold on a minute. No, no, no, no.
42:12 They're not like 3% of me. That would it's their first game coming off the, uh, West coast ship.
42:19 I believe, I think they're going to have two or three days off. I don't know. I know like that
42:25 just screams a game to me where a lot of years, here's the thing, right? Big seven threes or
42:30 something crazy. Here's the thing. We've been doing this all season long. We had bullpen on last, uh,
42:35 on Monday. And one of the things that we talked about was the way this season feels different
42:40 because the Celtics seem to pick themselves up when they fall, they catch themselves a little
42:44 bit. Now that can be within the same game, right? They could, they could blow a lead and take it
42:48 right back. We've seen that already this year, or in the instance where they lose to golden state,
42:53 they play the next night after going on overtime without all these dead legs, they get on a bus
42:58 ride. Nobody says a word, the entire bus ride, they refocus up and they pull the doors off the
43:02 Sacramento Kings. So this team did, you know, in the past, greenie I'm with you. This is a,
43:07 like, this is a trap game. We're all looking at it, but this is, this is old Celtics teams.
43:13 I'm with you. I think I'd be a little more nervous about this with this team this year.
43:16 I'm not even sweating this. These guys are professionals. They're going to,
43:19 as long as they're healthy, like, like I'm almost to the point and maybe green, you tweeted this
43:24 out. It's like, as long as Chris steps, poor Zingas is on this team. Like they're just going
43:28 to beat most of the teams they play. Like as long as he plays, because he presents such an
43:32 interesting nightmare matchup for so many teams, like the fact that they just went, you know, uh,
43:37 get the switch. They wanted to that. Like Kevin Herter probably still has nightmares about Chris
43:42 steps, poor thing is after what ports the other night in Sacramento, as long as they have their
43:47 full compliment of players, or at least the majority of them, including poor thing is white.
43:51 They're going to win that game. I'm not even sweating. I'm just putting it into the basketball
43:55 universe, the basketball gods. I respect the Detroit Pistons. I am not overlooking that game.
44:00 I am not chalking it up to a, an automatic. I just think, you know, it's going to be the worst
44:06 day of my life. If they are the team that 28 game losing streak, I mean, that's just going to be a
44:12 tough day for me and I just don't want it. All right. In a few minutes, we've got left here.
44:17 There are a couple more games on the West coast. And while I think most people to some degree are,
44:24 or at least mentally may be taking for granted a win over the Lakers on Christmas day, even though
44:29 we know LeBron and company are going to be absolutely amped. I mean, it may as well be
44:33 the in-season championship game all over again, Christmas day clash with the Celtics, you know,
44:39 bus is going to be rolling over in his grave. We're going to have John C. Riley in attendance
44:45 out there, you know, in, in, in costume decked out cheering on the Lakers maybe. But this first one,
44:52 this next one against the Clippers on Saturday night, they're, they're not your dad's Clippers
44:56 anymore, folks. I mean, this team has won nine out of 10. They're, they're blowing doors. And
45:00 most of those they've got James Harden turned back the clock. Russell Westbrook has a roll
45:05 off the bench. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are playing most nights. These guys are connected.
45:10 They're playing well. Ty Lou has, has tapped in. He's got it figured out with this collection of
45:15 former and still some current all-stars. What are your expectations for this game?
45:19 Really? I think, you know, whenever Tatum, I feel like he always goes crazy against the Clippers.
45:29 If he plays, I mean, I don't know if we're thinking this is playing, I'm just going to assume
45:33 everybody's back. I think it's going to be another iron sharpens iron type test. You know,
45:40 there are no cupcake games on this four game road trip. I think if you want to, if you want to talk
45:46 about the Celtics being the best team in the NBA, this dominant team, they have all this talent.
45:50 Well, that means that when you go up against talent, you still have to beat it. It's not an
45:55 excuse to, Oh, this is, you know, the same way it's not an excuse. Like, Oh, they lost to Golden
46:00 State. They're still pretty good. Well, no, they had enough talent to win. I think, you know,
46:05 you're going to have to battle the nightlife of LA being undefeated that I'm sure they've been there
46:11 for a little while now. And, you know, I, I like these in-season tests of, you know, where are you
46:19 amongst some of the hottest teams or most talented teams in the league? They're deep,
46:24 just like you are. They're well coached just like you are. And they feel revitalized now that they've
46:30 made their lineup change to have hardened being, you know, they're starting guard when he's engaged.
46:35 We know when, when Harlan was on a team and that team is in the honeymoon phase,
46:40 that team is really good. So, you know, I do not think this is going to be a game where
46:45 the Southers can just show up and think that they're going to roll over. I think,
46:48 you know, given how well the Clippers are playing, you're trying to take you being on your,
46:53 you know, P's and Q's to, to pull out a win. And it would not shock me if this is another
46:59 clutch time opportunity against a good defense that has good size that you're going to have to
47:04 execute down the stretch. -
47:06 Yep. - Yeah. I mean, this is,
47:10 this is going to be an, again, another tough one. This has been like the most grueling schedule
47:15 that I can remember. Just playing the toughest schedule where out of the gate like this is
47:21 not fun for anybody. And at that same, you know, I'd sound like a hypocrite if I,
47:26 if I didn't at least admit to the fact that I like this, like there was a take earlier in the
47:32 season when I wanted Boston to do as well as they could in the in-season tournament, because you're
47:36 going to play better teams and like playing better teams, you'll get a better idea of where you're at
47:40 instead of playing cupcakes the entire time. So I, I, I do, I am excited for this, both of these
47:46 games. Cause again, like Kauffman said, I think that the Lakers are coming out guns blazing here
47:51 for sure. I mean, that's just the way - - Yeah, I don't think you can, like,
47:53 I think they're one in five since the tournament, but like - - Yeah, but this is going to be - -
47:57 - I'm talking about Celtics-Lakers, like - - Yeah, LeBron's getting up for this game,
48:00 folks. There's no question about that. But this, this, you know, it's a measuring stick game,
48:05 I think for Tatum and Brown specifically, because they're looking at two guys that are the older
48:08 version of themselves, right? With George and with, with Kawhi. And, you know, I, I don't know
48:13 if it was the last time they played Kawhi or maybe two before that, where Tatum, like, went at Kawhi,
48:18 I think it was maybe two years ago. First game was in LA and they went at it. And the Clippers
48:22 were, I think, a tough one in overtime. - Overtime, yeah.
48:25 - And then the Celtics came back when they played in Boston and just absolutely, I think, I think
48:28 they beat them pretty handily throughout the entire game. And I remember Tatum kind of being,
48:32 like, like he's just going at Kawhi the entire game, trying to show the world, like, hey,
48:37 you're the old, you're old news, I'm the new guy, like, this is the way it's going to be.
48:41 I am excited for that. I love when they take matchups personally. And then, and you know,
48:45 LeBron's taking this personally, like, you just know it. And, you know, he probably still has
48:49 Eastern Conference Finals games, you know, against the KG Celtics still buried in his
48:54 head somewhere where he's, he's just fired up about, you know, he sees green and all of a
48:58 sudden he gets nuts. So it should be fun. I, you know, coming out of this trip to, you know,
49:03 they can get out of two and two, one, two, three, and three and one. That's a terrific trip,
49:08 a terrific trip. And this team has been dialed tested so far. So you got to feel confident
49:12 heading into this thing. But as long as they keep moving the basketball the way they've been moving
49:16 it, good luck. Good luck. Yeah. And I think, you know, again, assuming Tatum plays, I think it's
49:21 a good test for him of like, hey, the rest of your team did you a solid salvage the trip up to this
49:28 point by winning in Sacramento. Now's the time for you to say, all right, I'm back. Don't worry
49:33 about it. I'm going to make sure we finish this trip strong. It's kind of like a, it's like a
49:39 statement final two games of, all right, you, you know, you had your struggles against Golden State.
49:45 You responded without the best player against Sacramento. If he's going to be back, these are
49:50 the two games where Tatum says, hey, Kawhi, Paul George, LeBron, you guys are old news. This is now
49:57 how the NBA is going to work. I'm a top five, top 10 guy. I would hope that he could elevate his
50:04 game to make sure like they can't afford a Tatum egg. They can't afford a Jalen egg. Like these
50:10 are the type of games where your best players need to step up, close out the trip, get home
50:16 with the momentum. And then you're going to, you know, start to enter the easier part of your,
50:20 of your schedule. I'm curious before we go, knowing that you are as passionate,
50:26 as lively, as self-expanded as one would find, certainly check out Greeny on,
50:31 on Twitter and you will see it in and around games, battling with people out there on social media.
50:37 Do you allow yourself, like, are you wired to allow yourself to believe this could be the year
50:44 or do you need to like, do they need to reach the NBA finals before you even let your brain go there?
50:53 No, I mean, I, the product I see on the court right now, I mean, I felt the Celtics have been
50:57 good enough to win the title probably since the bubble. I just think there's a difference between
51:02 are they good enough versus, you know, you and your brain saying, holy crap, they might actually
51:07 hoist the banner this year. Watch what I mean. That's, that's my, that's how I viewed them.
51:12 You know, especially these last two years, I just think, you know, we've seen a large enough
51:18 sample to know that when they play to their potential, they're the best team in the NBA.
51:22 They haven't won the title because their two best players have faltered in the two biggest moments
51:28 in consecutive seasons. That's just the reality. The hope is as you enter your NBA prime, if they
51:35 continue to play the system that has gotten them to where they are, they should win the NBA. I
51:42 don't even, I think even making the NBA finals and losing is a failure based on my own expectations.
51:48 There is, if they are healthy, there is not a team in the NBA that I would say it's okay that they
51:54 did not win an NBA championship over if they play to their potential. I just think, you know,
52:00 there's a lot of variables in the playoffs, there's matchups, there's injuries. Even knowing all that,
52:06 you cannot look at this team and say, this is not a true tier one NBA championship.
52:13 I'm with you, man. I totally agree.
52:17 Just need to see it play out. It's a good conversation to take us into the Christmas
52:21 break. Of course, we hope everyone has been enjoying their holiday season thus far. If you
52:26 celebrated, you know, Hanukkah, hopefully it was a happy Hanukkah and Christmas right around the
52:31 corner. Have a very merry Christmas, you, your families, whatever it is that you celebrate.
52:35 Obviously, we hope it's a wonderful time, a restful time. You get to mix in some basketball
52:40 on Christmas day. That'll be great for all of us, sitting around all the football. NFL is
52:44 still going to find a way to strip Christmas away from the NBA because football's king. That's just
52:49 the way, the way the ratings work, but maybe not in Boston, maybe not in Boston. It'll be a big
52:54 focus on Celtics-Lakers. It's going to be a huge game to close out that trip. Hopefully they get
52:59 that win against the Clippers first. And we will be back with you sometime next week before the
53:05 new year for one more check-in on 2023 before we turn the calendar in 2024. But it's been
53:11 an awesome time, loads of fun. Greeny, we always enjoy when you hop on with us, obviously, bud.
53:17 And, you know, happy holidays to you. We'll do it again soon. Absolutely. Appreciate it.
53:21 All right. For Dan Greenberg and Valenti, I'm Adam Kaufman. This has been Celtics Beat. Thanks
53:26 for hanging out with us. Rate, review, subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts.
53:32 Again, just search Celtics Beat. We will pop up. In the meantime, happy holidays.

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