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The Garden Report goes live following the Celtics game against the Jazz. Catch the Celtics Postgame Show featuring Bobby Manning, Josue Pavon, Jimmy Toscano, A. Sherrod Blakely, and John Zannis as they offer insights and analysis from Boston's game vs Utah.  This episode of the Garden Report is brought to you by:  Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media Network! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS in BONUS BETS – WIN OR LOSE! Go to FanDuel.com/BOSTON! The app is so easy to use and there are so many different ways to bet like:  ● Live Same Game Parlays ● Find Bets in the NEW Explore Tab ● Make a parlay in the Parlay Hub – the best way to find popular parlays ● And more!  SeatGeek! Use code DREAMERSPRO for $20 off your first SeatGeek order! Visit https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/DREAMERSPRO !  With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Go to https://HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE and use code CLNSFREE for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. That’s free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE with code CLNSFREE!  #Celtics #NBA￼ #GardenReport #CLNS

Transcript

00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:04 Can you say hard hats, folks?

00:00:06 Hard hats, munch pails, steel tool boots.

00:00:08 Anything short of a championship this year is a failure.

00:00:10 Look at this boomer right here.

00:00:12 You've just got so much talent here.

00:00:15 Somebody said we need to apologize for Jaylen.

00:00:17 Can I pull the John?

00:00:18 What are we apologizing for?

00:00:19 What did we say?

00:00:20 What did we do?

00:00:21 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:24 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:00:30 Look at this boomer right here.

00:00:32 Look at this boomer.

00:00:35 Which one?

00:00:36 I love how the party--

00:00:37 I like the mix.

00:00:39 Fades right into Sherrod's party.

00:00:41 Sherrod's got a little thing going, yep.

00:00:42 Because we always got a party at the TD Garden.

00:00:45 Yeah.

00:00:46 Always.

00:00:47 Yep.

00:00:48 Well, they always win.

00:00:49 So it's always a party.

00:00:51 Here you go.

00:00:52 There you go.

00:00:53 My goodness.

00:00:56 What's Gucci, Sherrod and John?

00:00:59 I don't know.

00:01:00 I stopped watching this game like three minutes

00:01:03 into the second quarter.

00:01:06 Yeah, me too.

00:01:07 They went up 30 and they just never gave it up.

00:01:09 You weren't alone.

00:01:11 It's unusual to see a team go up or down

00:01:14 36 points in the first half.

00:01:17 And keep it.

00:01:19 Yeah, and have no significant let up.

00:01:23 I don't think the lead ever dipped below like 23,

00:01:25 25 after they went up big like that.

00:01:28 That's unusual.

00:01:30 That's unusual.

00:01:30 Not just for the sales, but just in a broad sense.

00:01:32 It's unusual to shoot 18% from three, too, if you're the--

00:01:37 And the worst part about it, Jimmy,

00:01:39 from three-point range and from the field.

00:01:41 Because at one point, I think they were down like 15%

00:01:44 from the field.

00:01:45 I mean, we're talking damn near sales tax

00:01:47 shooting from the field.

00:01:48 You know you're having a rough day when you're shooting.

00:01:50 It's damn near what the sales tax percentage is.

00:01:53 There should be some level of punishment,

00:01:56 though, for performing this poorly.

00:01:58 You know what I mean?

00:02:01 Forget load management.

00:02:02 We're not talking stadium stairs.

00:02:04 We're talking like, let's get a real punishment.

00:02:06 Relegation.

00:02:06 No, but I mean like--

00:02:07 Players have to be in a G League for like a week.

00:02:10 All the boomers freaked out about load management.

00:02:12 What's worse, if Tatum sat out tonight or literally Utah

00:02:17 existing?

00:02:19 That's a lot worse for fans and for the game.

00:02:22 Nobody wins here.

00:02:23 Like, nobody.

00:02:25 Other than the Celtics.

00:02:26 It would have been more fun--

00:02:28 And my guy Lamar Stevens wins.

00:02:29 My guy Lamar Stevens did win.

00:02:31 Because he got on the floor.

00:02:32 It'd be more fun to have watched the Celtics bench

00:02:35 try to win this one than what transpired tonight,

00:02:39 which was lazy ball.

00:02:41 But whatever.

00:02:41 You're going to have a few of these on the schedule.

00:02:43 You're slowly trending towards it

00:02:45 would have been more fun if the Celtics just lost tonight.

00:02:47 Or if everyone just tore their ACLs,

00:02:49 it would have been better tonight.

00:02:51 Oh, God.

00:02:52 That's an old joke.

00:02:53 That's an old joke.

00:02:54 That's an old joke.

00:02:55 Shut up.

00:02:56 That's an old joke, everybody.

00:02:57 Relax.

00:02:57 They're coming for you, John.

00:02:58 They're coming.

00:02:59 Shut up.

00:03:00 They're coming.

00:03:01 We're just joking.

00:03:02 All of you, shut up.

00:03:03 Yes.

00:03:04 Yeah.

00:03:05 Yes.

00:03:05 Yeah.

00:03:06 It's just one of those games.

00:03:07 They won.

00:03:08 Next.

00:03:09 Spacers tomorrow.

00:03:11 That's the show.

00:03:12 No, but that's what's kind of fun.

00:03:13 That's what's fun is there's not--

00:03:14 I'm not going to spend a second talking about anything

00:03:16 that went on tonight because none of it mattered at all.

00:03:19 They hit-- I mean--

00:03:20 We got a good Drew holiday game.

00:03:22 We got a good Drew holiday game.

00:03:23 That's true.

00:03:25 That was-- that's literally the only thing

00:03:27 that I could even sort of, kind of, but not really

00:03:31 like about this from a basketball standpoint.

00:03:34 Yeah, the-- I like driving the lane in the left handed dunk.

00:03:39 Nice little statement from Drew there.

00:03:41 Yeah, right.

00:03:42 Just a bat to start things off.

00:03:43 He brought it tonight.

00:03:44 You can tell that he watched the show.

00:03:46 Sure odd.

00:03:47 He watched the show.

00:03:48 He saw the chat, you know, kind of hating on him a little bit.

00:03:52 And he knew he had to show up tonight.

00:03:54 And he had a nice bounce back game.

00:03:55 I thought Celtics as a whole had a nice bounce back game.

00:03:58 Not that they all needed one.

00:03:59 But Drew holiday, certainly, if you

00:04:03 had any concerns about health or anything like that,

00:04:07 I think he looked pretty active out there.

00:04:08 He was quick.

00:04:09 Now, again, what good does it do you

00:04:12 when it's against a team like Utah compared

00:04:13 to a team like OKC?

00:04:15 Not much, but it's at least good to see that he's not hurting,

00:04:21 I guess you could say.

00:04:22 Yeah, and the thing about this particular game,

00:04:25 the Celtics came into this game ranked in the top three

00:04:28 in both offensive and defensive rating, which

00:04:30 is highly unusual for a team to be ranked that high.

00:04:33 But the thing about it in this game,

00:04:35 they show why they're ranked that high.

00:04:37 I mean, they dominated this thing at both ends of the floor.

00:04:39 And yeah, it's Utah.

00:04:41 And you should win, but Utah's been playing a lot better.

00:04:44 Utah came in here feeling pretty good that at a minimum

00:04:48 they'd compete, which I thought they would.

00:04:49 I didn't think they'd win, but damn.

00:04:51 I didn't think they'd get their ass whooped like this, though.

00:04:54 I thought they'd play a little bit better than this.

00:04:57 Will Hardy's a good coach, but some of his lineup combinations

00:05:00 didn't make sense.

00:05:01 Like his second unit looked way better

00:05:03 in terms of just known talent than his starters.

00:05:06 I mean, you've got John Collins came in from Atlanta

00:05:10 coming off the bench.

00:05:11 And you got Clarkson, six-man-of-the-year type guy

00:05:14 coming off the bench.

00:05:14 They have better players on their second unit.

00:05:16 And that second unit sucked.

00:05:18 First unit sucked.

00:05:19 They sucked as a whole.

00:05:20 It's a bad game.

00:05:21 But give the Celtics credit.

00:05:22 They did what teams near the top should do.

00:05:24 You bring a bad team into our building,

00:05:26 we're going to kick your ass.

00:05:27 This is what's supposed to happen.

00:05:29 And so I guess we'll say the nice things is

00:05:34 you could get bored with this one

00:05:35 and let a team crawl back into it.

00:05:37 And it didn't happen.

00:05:38 The second quarter was as dominating as the first.

00:05:40 And the third quarter was as dominating as it needed to be,

00:05:44 which just to maintain that distance.

00:05:46 And that's basically all you had to do.

00:05:48 And you did it.

00:05:49 So I mean, hats off.

00:05:51 Again, I just find it disappointing.

00:05:53 I find this similar.

00:05:54 And you see the Celtics starting to slack in the third

00:05:58 a little bit.

00:05:58 But I mean, they also emptied the bench

00:06:00 with about three, four minutes to go.

00:06:02 This felt a little like that--

00:06:05 which one was the Washington game really early in the year

00:06:08 when you're like, these guys didn't come at all.

00:06:10 Like, at all.

00:06:11 And again, kudos to the Celtics.

00:06:14 Just hammered away.

00:06:15 And that was that and took care of business.

00:06:18 What's funny is at the same time-- not funny,

00:06:19 but interesting-- same exact time,

00:06:22 Pacers are putting it on the Hawks as well.

00:06:26 And you know these two teams play tomorrow.

00:06:28 You know the Celtics got--

00:06:30 I'm not going to say embarrassed,

00:06:31 but they definitely-- they were put on notice a little bit.

00:06:36 And so have the Bucs.

00:06:37 So have the Bucs, too, into that in-season tournament

00:06:40 situation when the Pacers just ran them out of the building.

00:06:43 They just beat them.

00:06:44 They outplayed them.

00:06:46 And Celtics put up 70-something in the first half.

00:06:50 Pacers put up 78.

00:06:51 Celtics kind of like rest all their starters,

00:06:54 pump the brakes.

00:06:55 Pacers rest all their starters.

00:06:56 They keep going.

00:06:57 They put up 150 tonight.

00:06:59 That's the third time this year they put up a 150 spot.

00:07:02 That's what you have going in tomorrow.

00:07:04 This is actually pretty fun.

00:07:05 I know this has been Jimmy's team, even though in his mind--

00:07:10 he's rooting for like erstwhile Pacers.

00:07:12 Like his team involved-- his team involved like Sabonis

00:07:15 and Turner and you know--

00:07:16 Turner is still--

00:07:17 Turner's there.

00:07:18 But yeah, exactly.

00:07:19 I'm still affiliated a little bit.

00:07:21 He's still affiliated.

00:07:22 But holy crap, man.

00:07:24 You know like--

00:07:24 McConnell, still there.

00:07:26 Halliburton had 10 points.

00:07:27 He didn't even-- he was like, that's all I need?

00:07:30 This offense is unbelievable.

00:07:31 It's like historically good, right?

00:07:33 I mean--

00:07:33 That's going to be fun.

00:07:35 That is.

00:07:36 And that's the big takeaway.

00:07:37 You came out of this game.

00:07:38 You got your guys some rest for what's

00:07:40 going to be a great weekend series against the Pacers.

00:07:43 Indiana is a sneaky good team, man.

00:07:46 I mean, they've had their ups and downs this year.

00:07:48 But when you start looking at what they're able to do

00:07:50 on a night in, night out basis, they

00:07:52 can score with the best of them.

00:07:54 They are the best at doing that.

00:07:56 And if you're the Celtics, you're going to be challenged.

00:07:59 You're going to be tested.

00:08:00 I think there's a different level of respect for Indiana

00:08:03 now than there was maybe a month, month and a half ago

00:08:06 from the Celtics.

00:08:07 I think they thought Indiana was a pretty good team.

00:08:09 But we're better.

00:08:10 And now it's like, we can't think we're better.

00:08:13 We have to go out and show it.

00:08:14 And they're going to get a couple cracks at doing that.

00:08:17 The last--

00:08:18 Yeah, I mean, it's an era of offense right now.

00:08:22 Go ahead, Jimmy.

00:08:22 I'll follow up.

00:08:23 No, I was just going to-- quick stat.

00:08:24 Three of their last four games, the Pacers

00:08:26 have scored at least 140 points.

00:08:29 That's insane.

00:08:31 It's not an accident.

00:08:34 The top six offensive rating seasons--

00:08:38 and I know teams start hot and things cool down.

00:08:42 The top six offensive rating seasons all time are right now.

00:08:47 With the Pacers number one, with the greatest

00:08:50 offensive rating in the history of basketball, 123.4.

00:08:53 And the Celtics at 121.7, coming in second.

00:08:56 Then the Bucs, Sixers, Thunder, Hawks.

00:09:00 So we're in that era right now.

00:09:03 That's crazy.

00:09:05 Wow.

00:09:06 It's crazy.

00:09:07 So you've got teams that put it on there.

00:09:10 And then you got boomers like Nick longing for the days

00:09:14 of '96, '94, when the guys played real defense

00:09:18 with their elbows.

00:09:19 You got four guys that finished the game with five balls each.

00:09:24 Hey, the '90s were fun basketball games too, John.

00:09:28 They're just different.

00:09:30 Is that what they're calling it?

00:09:32 Yeah.

00:09:33 They were tougher, Sherrod.

00:09:35 They were tougher.

00:09:36 Shout out to Jason Tatum for giving us--

00:09:38 My man.

00:09:39 --$5 of his $33 million.

00:09:42 Thank you, Tatum.

00:09:44 He said this is a game that Sherrod's been asking for,

00:09:47 he says, Sherrod.

00:09:49 This is what you're supposed to do, though.

00:09:50 Seriously, though.

00:09:52 If this is a team that you know you're significantly better

00:09:54 than, beat the snot out of them.

00:09:57 Since you're out--

00:09:58 Oh my god.

00:09:58 Tatum went to the bench, went like three minutes

00:10:00 left in the third quarter.

00:10:01 And there was not a minute where you felt, maybe, just maybe,

00:10:04 he might have to come back in.

00:10:06 Hell no.

00:10:06 You're going to take the sneakers off, get on a bike,

00:10:09 ride a little bit.

00:10:10 Go get a snack, order something from the upper area.

00:10:14 Just relax.

00:10:15 And this is what you're supposed to do against teams like Utah.

00:10:20 Love it.

00:10:20 Let me ask you guys a question.

00:10:23 If you haven't closely looked at the Pacers' box score,

00:10:26 they scored 150 points.

00:10:28 How many assists do you think they had tonight?

00:10:31 150.

00:10:31 The Pacers?

00:10:33 Like 45.

00:10:34 Assists, Jimmy.

00:10:35 I'd say 45.

00:10:36 50.

00:10:37 50 assists.

00:10:40 Wow.

00:10:41 Jimmy's like, 112.

00:10:42 No, Jimmy, no.

00:10:43 Quick math.

00:10:44 It was quick math.

00:10:46 You put me on the spot.

00:10:48 Homeschooling at its finest, baby.

00:10:50 300 assists.

00:10:52 Yes, Jimmy.

00:10:55 Orange.

00:10:56 [LAUGHTER]

00:10:58 Yeah.

00:11:00 Yeah, they pass the ball a lot.

00:11:01 Wow.

00:11:02 Yeah.

00:11:02 How many did Halliburton have?

00:11:05 10 points.

00:11:06 Oh, how many assists?

00:11:07 Yeah.

00:11:07 I'm going to go with 12.

00:11:08 Yeah, that makes sense.

00:11:10 That adds up.

00:11:11 Halliburton had 18 assists in 25 minutes.

00:11:15 He's just feeding the troops.

00:11:17 So who contains Halliburton tomorrow, Sherrod?

00:11:20 So that's my question.

00:11:22 OK.

00:11:22 No, it's my question.

00:11:23 I missed-- OK, fine.

00:11:25 You ask.

00:11:25 No, I just did.

00:11:28 I missed the OKC game.

00:11:30 If I were here, I would have said--

00:11:34 hey, come on.

00:11:35 Come on.

00:11:36 God report here.

00:11:38 What's up with that guy?

00:11:40 Come on.

00:11:41 Come on, mush.

00:11:43 Hey, so if I were here, I would have said my favorite part

00:11:46 of last--

00:11:48 the OKC game, which I thought the Celtics played fairly well

00:11:52 for most of it.

00:11:52 I think OKC played extremely well.

00:11:55 And they shot really well.

00:11:56 My favorite part was Tatum finally saying, that's my guy,

00:11:59 and stepping up and guarding SGA again.

00:12:02 My criticism-- now, criticism is, look,

00:12:06 I think Holliday's in the same mold as Smart.

00:12:08 And this is what got me and Sherrod in trouble when we said,

00:12:13 like, hey, those really quick, shifty, straight line,

00:12:15 attack the basket guards are a little bit tough for guys

00:12:18 like that and for guys like Smart who play more physical.

00:12:20 Holliday's in the same mold of defender as Marcus Smart.

00:12:23 Physical, smart, great positioning,

00:12:26 tries to stay in front of you, use the body,

00:12:29 terrific instincts, great hands.

00:12:31 But a guy like SGA ate him up a little bit.

00:12:34 Derek White might have had a little better chance,

00:12:36 but he wasn't super successful.

00:12:37 I would have liked to see Jalen Brown say, that's my guy.

00:12:41 I'm the guy who's talking about all defense.

00:12:43 I'm priding myself on it.

00:12:44 I play on the perimeter, too.

00:12:46 I'm going to lock this dude up, OK?

00:12:49 I kind of thought that might happen.

00:12:50 I thought, like, when Jalen had that great Harden shutdown

00:12:54 game in the playoffs after Harden went off,

00:12:56 I thought you might have had that.

00:12:57 I wonder who's the guy to do it to Halliburton here.

00:13:00 And I wonder if Jalen Brown might kind of draw that--

00:13:02 I've got to believe it's going to be Tatum.

00:13:05 Again?

00:13:06 I think down the stretch, Tatum is going to-- yeah,

00:13:08 I think Tatum is slowly understanding

00:13:12 that has to be the role of a great player in this era.

00:13:16 That, yeah, I can go out there and get you 30 points every

00:13:18 night, but can I defend the best player when I-- Tatum

00:13:22 doesn't need to lock him up in the first,

00:13:23 the second, third quarter.

00:13:24 What do you do in the fourth quarter

00:13:26 when the game's on the line?

00:13:27 Are you going to be that dude to step up and make life tough

00:13:30 for him?

00:13:30 I think Tatum's going to be that guy.

00:13:32 I do.

00:13:33 I really do.

00:13:35 I wonder.

00:13:36 What do you think?

00:13:38 The chat seems to like the Tatum thing.

00:13:40 I think, again, Tatum was the only guy who really stepped up

00:13:44 and got in SGA's way.

00:13:46 That's what I'm saying.

00:13:48 And it's too bad that maybe he didn't

00:13:50 do it a little bit sooner.

00:13:52 Jalen Brown picked up two quick fouls in that game.

00:13:54 I wouldn't be shocked if he wants another crack at it.

00:13:57 Maybe it's a different situation here.

00:13:59 But isn't this why they brought in Holiday John?

00:14:03 I understand that he's better against certain guards,

00:14:06 and the quicker ones, and the shifter ones give him trouble,

00:14:10 and he'd rather just use his body and his force.

00:14:12 But I'd be surprised if the guards aren't giving it

00:14:18 a shot here against Halliburton.

00:14:20 Jimmy, they're all going to get some of that smoke.

00:14:22 Everyone's going to get some.

00:14:23 I mean--

00:14:23 They are.

00:14:24 I mean--

00:14:24 Yeah, but I think late in the game, though, I think you--

00:14:27 to me, Tatum, I think, is better in those half-court sets,

00:14:31 moving latter, getting over screens, than I think Drew is.

00:14:33 Drew is a great defender.

00:14:35 But Drew, when it comes to quick, shifty guards,

00:14:38 that's not his strength.

00:14:39 Tatum is better in that regard defensively

00:14:41 than Drew Holiday is.

00:14:42 And down the stretch, those are the kind--

00:14:44 that's the matchup that you know Indiana's going to go to.

00:14:47 You know they're going to look to iso him.

00:14:49 And Tatum, I think, is a better defender

00:14:51 in that particular situation than Drew Holiday is.

00:14:54 But Jimmy, you know, Drew's going to get some of that.

00:14:58 Tatum's going to get some of that.

00:15:00 Yeah, they're going to be--

00:15:00 They're all going to get some of that Halliburton smoke.

00:15:03 But I think down the stretch, I think

00:15:05 we're going to see a little bit more of Tatum on him.

00:15:11 I mean, you also got Turner and Heald.

00:15:13 They're going to-- are going to create issues too out there.

00:15:17 So I don't know.

00:15:19 It'll be interesting.

00:15:19 I agree.

00:15:20 I think it's going to be a committee approach.

00:15:21 I mean, Halliburton's the head of the snake here, right?

00:15:24 I mean, if he's not scoring, he's

00:15:26 passing the ball or the hockey assist,

00:15:28 whatever you want to call it.

00:15:29 He's involved in practically every single one

00:15:31 of their plays.

00:15:32 So I think the important thing is to just get in his face.

00:15:37 Just make it difficult for him.

00:15:38 Be physical.

00:15:38 Don't let him run circles around everybody out there.

00:15:42 I mean, that's what I would-- that's my message to the team

00:15:44 is, he's too comfortable out there right now.

00:15:46 He thinks he's the star of the show, and he is.

00:15:49 But he's still Tyrese Halliburton.

00:15:51 Like, I mean, as far as I'm concerned, he hasn't arrived.

00:15:55 He shouldn't feel that he's arrived,

00:15:56 even though he kind of has.

00:15:58 Put him back in his place a little bit.

00:15:59 Be physical.

00:16:00 Knock him down.

00:16:01 I'm not saying play dirty.

00:16:02 But don't make it so easy for him to dance around out there

00:16:05 and smile for the cameras and all this stuff.

00:16:07 That's kind of where I'm at with it.

00:16:09 And I think that's where a veteran team, a guy like Holiday,

00:16:12 been there, done that.

00:16:15 Bring the smoke a little bit if I'm Holiday.

00:16:18 So I like that--

00:16:19 Bring some '90s boomer ball to a kid, right?

00:16:20 Exactly.

00:16:21 Bring me back some--

00:16:22 I don't want to see 140 to 142 tomorrow.

00:16:25 I want to see--

00:16:26 You want to see 92-88?

00:16:27 --rough and tumble.

00:16:28 I want to see 92-88.

00:16:29 I want to see guys fouling out.

00:16:33 I want to see 15 rebounds.

00:16:36 I want elbows.

00:16:37 I want all that stuff.

00:16:38 But if you're physical with Halliburton,

00:16:40 I think that's going to go a long way in really slowing down

00:16:42 the Pacers offense a little bit.

00:16:44 Again, there's a fine line between being dirty

00:16:47 and being physical.

00:16:48 But I think if you're physical with this Pacers team,

00:16:50 I don't think they want to play tough.

00:16:52 I think they just want to razzle dazzle and play offense.

00:16:54 But if you punch them in the mouth a little bit

00:16:56 and make things difficult for them, slow it up,

00:16:58 I think that's how you win the game.

00:17:00 Jimmy, I would run through a frigging wall for you, dude.

00:17:02 Let's go, guys.

00:17:04 Let's go.

00:17:05 Let's have a go.

00:17:06 Oh my god.

00:17:07 Stop letting these guys dance around.

00:17:09 I'm pumped up right now.

00:17:11 This isn't dance class.

00:17:12 This is the NBA.

00:17:14 I am pumped up.

00:17:15 Someone ripped my heart in a shed.

00:17:17 Someone ripped my heart in a shed.

00:17:18 And a tear over what you just said, Jimmy.

00:17:20 That's right.

00:17:20 If I'm the Celtics-- and this isn't just going for tomorrow.

00:17:24 Where's the pride in playing defense anymore?

00:17:27 John, you're talking about the six best offensive teams

00:17:29 of all time.

00:17:30 The Hawks are five games under 500.

00:17:32 They might not even make the playoffs.

00:17:33 And we're going to sit here and talk

00:17:34 about how they're one of the best

00:17:35 offensive teams of all time.

00:17:36 Where's the pride in playing defense?

00:17:38 Why are you mad at me?

00:17:39 They're not the--

00:17:42 John, this is your fault.

00:17:43 This is your fault.

00:17:45 I'm not their coach.

00:17:46 A team like the Hawks is nowhere near a historically good team.

00:17:51 So to act like they're a top five offense of all time,

00:17:53 like where the hell has defense gone in this league?

00:17:57 And it's effort, it's pride.

00:17:59 A little bit, Shara, but I think there's a lot of pride

00:18:02 that needs to be taken on the defensive end.

00:18:04 A guy like Jayden Brown or whoever

00:18:07 should look at the matchup and say, he's mine.

00:18:10 I want him.

00:18:11 And I don't care if I go out there and score 10 points

00:18:13 tonight.

00:18:14 If I force him to take 30 shots to score 20,

00:18:17 then I'm pumped about that.

00:18:19 And the Celtics will win that game.

00:18:21 If Halliburton has to shoot like that,

00:18:23 that's a layup win for them.

00:18:24 But they need to want to.

00:18:25 And that's, I think, again, maybe

00:18:28 Missoula can get through to them on that front.

00:18:30 But I think-- and I want not to bring him up,

00:18:33 because I know he's coming to town too.

00:18:35 But I think Emeigh was good at making these guys play

00:18:38 like assholes and take that asshole mentality.

00:18:40 Here we go, Jimmy.

00:18:41 You're starting trouble.

00:18:43 No, I'm not.

00:18:45 You're not giving credit to the coach in a month?

00:18:47 I'm giving him credit.

00:18:49 Listen, he deserves credit too.

00:18:51 But I think when it comes to the defensive side of the ball,

00:18:53 I mean, it's not just a Celtics issue.

00:18:54 It's an NBA issue.

00:18:55 And you just got to play like assholes more and play harder.

00:18:59 And I think Emeigh was good at that with this team.

00:19:02 And I'm not saying Joe isn't, but I think that we can all

00:19:05 agree that there's been games where we've all been pretty

00:19:07 frustrated with the effort on the defensive end.

00:19:10 And it's not a Celtics problem.

00:19:11 It's an NBA problem.

00:19:12 But I only care about the Celtics.

00:19:14 I'm surprised that Joe isn't--

00:19:16 You sounded a little boomer, but that's OK.

00:19:18 You did.

00:19:19 And we're going to move on from your boomerisms.

00:19:21 But Joe, I'm a little surprised, isn't a little bit

00:19:24 more defensive minded when you're coming from the Huggins

00:19:29 tree of players that he's coached.

00:19:31 Because Bob Huggins, you think about some of the guys

00:19:33 that he's coached.

00:19:35 Toughness was the one thing that up there

00:19:36 every single one of them had in common.

00:19:38 And it was like tangible toughness, not like, oh, he's

00:19:41 a really mentally tough guy.

00:19:42 No, guys like Kenya Martin would absolutely

00:19:44 put you on your ass.

00:19:46 And dare you say--

00:19:47 Oh, Kenya Martin?

00:19:47 Yeah.

00:19:48 Kenya Martin was one of my favorite players in the NBA,

00:19:50 not full disclosure.

00:19:51 Loved him.

00:19:52 Because that was the one--

00:19:53 That's a hustle.

00:19:55 He was.

00:19:56 And if you weren't sure if he could come with the smoke,

00:19:59 test him and find out.

00:20:01 Many have tried, all failed.

00:20:03 He would knock you on your ass like that.

00:20:08 So the Celtics, they don't have anyone like that.

00:20:10 They don't have that enforcer.

00:20:11 No.

00:20:12 Right.

00:20:13 And the league has legislated that stuff out of the game.

00:20:15 I mean, basically, think about this.

00:20:16 Grant Williams is a really nice guy.

00:20:18 But he was kind of their low-key enforcer last year,

00:20:21 which tells you how legislated that type of role is out of--

00:20:25 And that's--

00:20:26 It's part of being an enforcer in this game.

00:20:27 And you know what?

00:20:28 That's why these guards are out there

00:20:29 dancing around all the time, Sheryl.

00:20:31 They can just dance and prance and do whatever the hell

00:20:33 they want, because there's nobody that's going to check them.

00:20:35 No one is going to check them.

00:20:37 And if they get-- even if you try to get physical with them,

00:20:39 you're going to pick a foul, or you'll pick up a tag,

00:20:42 or you'll get tossed.

00:20:43 So yeah, I get it why guys are more physical.

00:20:48 That doesn't mean you should let your guy score at will.

00:20:50 Get a hand in the space.

00:20:51 Get up in his airspace.

00:20:52 There are ways you can still be a defender and not--

00:20:54 Use your fouls up.

00:20:56 I don't give a crap about that.

00:20:57 You got six of them.

00:20:58 You got six of them, man.

00:20:59 Just--

00:20:59 Go ahead, John.

00:21:00 No, just look.

00:21:01 Play connected and close out on the threes.

00:21:03 Like, just do what you got to do defensively.

00:21:07 You just can't allow free shooters, you know this.

00:21:09 And you just got to match their pace, you know?

00:21:13 You got to slow their pace.

00:21:15 Don't you?

00:21:15 Because--

00:21:16 We don't play to them.

00:21:18 I got to go.

00:21:20 OK.

00:21:21 Get that guy on TV.

00:21:22 Get this guy on TV.

00:21:23 Oh, Jesus, he's mad.

00:21:25 Sherrod doesn't get mad.

00:21:26 Whoever out there is messing with Sherrod--

00:21:28 It was that guy who crossed behind you before.

00:21:31 Back the--

00:21:33 Yeah, yeah.

00:21:35 I don't like that.

00:21:36 Speaking of checking yourself, Sherrod's

00:21:39 about to check that dude.

00:21:41 Uh-oh.

00:21:41 John, I want to go back to one thing that you just said.

00:21:44 OK.

00:21:47 You said match their pace.

00:21:50 It's not on the Celtics to match the Pacers' pace.

00:21:54 It's on the Celtics to set the pace.

00:21:59 That's the difference.

00:22:00 The Celtics need to be the aggressor.

00:22:02 They need to come out and set the tone, set the pace,

00:22:05 whatever you want to say it.

00:22:07 Slow the Pacers down.

00:22:08 No pun intended with all this pace talk here.

00:22:11 But they have to slow it down.

00:22:12 Otherwise, they're going to lose that.

00:22:14 They're going to lose that game, Sherrod.

00:22:16 I mean, John, Sherrod just left us.

00:22:19 The Pacers have proven that--

00:22:21 again, no pun intended.

00:22:23 But when they set the pace, it's hard to keep up.

00:22:26 That's why they're scoring, outscoring everybody.

00:22:30 They're not doing it on the defensive end.

00:22:32 They're setting the pace.

00:22:33 And they're doing it faster.

00:22:34 And they're doing it better than everybody.

00:22:36 So slow the pace.

00:22:37 No, I hate that.

00:22:38 Don't slow it down.

00:22:39 Slow it down, yeah.

00:22:41 You go slow, they go fast.

00:22:42 I hate that.

00:22:44 Celtics scores--

00:22:45 No, no, no, no.

00:22:45 They don't go fast.

00:22:46 You slow them down.

00:22:48 The way the Celtics--

00:22:49 let you just defend.

00:22:51 Anyway, we'll get to it in a minute.

00:22:52 Bobby's going to join us.

00:22:53 Josue's going to join us.

00:22:55 We're going to tell you briefly about FanDuel.

00:22:58 NFL season is winding down.

00:22:59 There's only one thing left to do.

00:23:02 And that's to put all of your energy into the Patriots

00:23:06 losing on Sunday.

00:23:07 It's the most important thing that

00:23:09 will have happened to this franchise since Brady left.

00:23:12 It is really, really, really, really important.

00:23:16 So but--

00:23:17 It's the most important draft pick since Drew Buetto.

00:23:21 Sure.

00:23:22 Agree.

00:23:23 Don't sure me.

00:23:23 Yeah, I mean, that's a fact.

00:23:26 I was a Rick Myra guy.

00:23:27 I'm just kidding.

00:23:30 Anyway, if you want to get in on the action here,

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00:23:36 ahead of the playoffs, and there's

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00:23:58 Before, it was a little trickier.

00:24:01 You had to win a $5 Moneyline bet.

00:24:03 Those aren't always easy, despite all of the strong

00:24:07 advice Jimmy Taccano was giving you.

00:24:08 All you got to do--

00:24:10 all you got to do, deposit 10, bet five.

00:24:15 Yep, bet five.

00:24:16 I got balloons.

00:24:18 How did that happen?

00:24:19 What is going on over there?

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00:24:45 state where gambling is legal.

00:24:48 And it's a $10 deposit is required.

00:24:52 Only a $5 bet.

00:24:53 You sign up, deposit 10, bet five.

00:24:57 Real money wagers only to start.

00:25:00 And if you do that, no matter what, once that bet is settled

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00:25:17 Yeah, gambling problems, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit

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00:25:21 And for--

00:25:23 oh, I'm sorry, gamblinghelp.org for any sort of

00:25:27 gambling help if you need it.

00:25:29 24/7 support in Massachusetts as well.

00:25:33 So make sure you take advantage of that

00:25:36 gamblinghelpline, MA.org.

00:25:39 Call 800-327-5050.

00:25:42 I'll give everybody some help for a second.

00:25:45 Are you done?

00:25:46 Yeah, what kind of help do you have?

00:25:48 Well, just a little gambling tip for week 17.

00:25:52 Give it to me.

00:25:54 There's a lot of players that are playing for like a

00:25:57 production bonus this week.

00:25:59 So you got to find out who those players are.

00:26:00 It's probably a couple articles floating around out

00:26:02 there, and you got to bet the over.

00:26:04 Like let's say player X needs five catches to cash in on a

00:26:07 $500,000 bonus in his contract.

00:26:11 You bet your ass he's going to get those five catches.

00:26:13 So you got to find those players and

00:26:15 bet the overs on those.

00:26:16 Now, that's not part of this $5 Moneyline bet, but you could

00:26:21 theoretically win the 1 PM game $5 Moneyline bet.

00:26:24 Maybe you get the $150 in bonus.

00:26:25 No more Moneyline, Jimmy.

00:26:26 Come on.

00:26:28 Oh, just any bet.

00:26:30 You don't have to win anything.

00:26:31 You just got to place it.

00:26:32 Yeah, you just got to bet it.

00:26:33 So I thought you still had to bet.

00:26:34 OK, so you bet your $5.

00:26:36 Hopefully you win it.

00:26:37 Let's just assume you do.

00:26:39 Then you take that bonus money, and you bet all the

00:26:41 player overs for any player that's playing for something.

00:26:44 There's a lot of players that are playing for contract

00:26:46 bonuses this week.

00:26:49 That's my gambling help.

00:26:50 That's my tip line.

00:26:52 OK, we like it.

00:26:53 We like it.

00:26:55 This is the question--

00:26:56 DeAndre--

00:26:58 who's the dude on Tennessee?

00:27:01 DeAndre Hopkins.

00:27:02 DeHopkins.

00:27:03 I feel like he's due for a big bonus if

00:27:05 he catches a few balls.

00:27:08 So I'm going to bet the over on that dude.

00:27:09 He's boomer boss to everyone.

00:27:11 OK.

00:27:12 I like it.

00:27:13 I like it.

00:27:14 Interesting talk in the chat, people talking about

00:27:16 Jonathan Kuminga.

00:27:17 I don't know what it would take to get him.

00:27:19 I would find him to be very intriguing as somebody who

00:27:21 might benefit from a change of scenery.

00:27:23 I know he's on the outs there.

00:27:25 Also, someone put out there earlier asking the question,

00:27:29 who's better, Jason Taylor-- who's better, Jimmy Toscano

00:27:32 or Bobby Manning?

00:27:33 And we just said Jimmy, right?

00:27:36 We said Jimmy.

00:27:37 We didn't even think about it.

00:27:38 Smart.

00:27:39 Smart, smart, smart.

00:27:40 Really smart.

00:27:42 Not when it comes to style, though.

00:27:43 Look at Bobby.

00:27:44 He's always got something.

00:27:46 I think you had a sweatband on earlier this week, John.

00:27:49 Did I?

00:27:51 Bobby, you had some kind of sweatband on on the show.

00:27:54 No, I was wearing a hat.

00:27:55 You guys always say that.

00:27:57 It looked like a sweatband from my angle.

00:27:59 What's up, Bobby?

00:28:00 Got anything?

00:28:02 Yeah, I love the defense tonight.

00:28:04 I'm sure you guys hit on it.

00:28:05 Feels like the defense is going in the right direction.

00:28:07 We actually haven't spent a second talking about the game.

00:28:10 We talked about defense, but not in this game.

00:28:14 It's been a Pacers preview show most of the way.

00:28:16 But I'm curious-- you're there.

00:28:17 You covered it.

00:28:18 You talked to the guys.

00:28:19 Give us some thoughts on this one before we jump back.

00:28:23 Yeah, right from pregame tonight,

00:28:25 I felt like the defensive emphasis

00:28:31 set a tone for this game after what

00:28:33 was a pretty lackluster one against Oklahoma City,

00:28:35 as Jimmy and I talked about that night.

00:28:39 I like where it's going.

00:28:41 18 turnovers forced on Utah.

00:28:43 I felt like many of the misses from the Jazz in this game,

00:28:47 and certainly some of the turnovers were unforced.

00:28:49 This was just a dreadful effort from that team.

00:28:51 But it feels like the Celtics more and more

00:28:54 are starting to figure out who they are on that end,

00:28:57 what roles they're playing.

00:28:58 You saw Drew on the big guys again,

00:28:59 whether it was John Collins or Markington at times.

00:29:02 You saw Porzingis roaming and protecting the rim

00:29:05 as he started to do a little bit more.

00:29:06 I love the way he did that against Oklahoma in moments.

00:29:10 So this is a side of the ball I felt really good about

00:29:13 with them all year.

00:29:14 But we've talked about the lack of forced turnovers

00:29:17 and the lapses in transition and some of the other issues

00:29:20 they've had there.

00:29:21 They're starting to clean those up a little bit.

00:29:23 And I just love-- we heard it from the moment

00:29:25 training camp started this year, Joe emphasizing

00:29:27 defense, talking about it.

00:29:29 Still saying that the offense is setting the tone for that end.

00:29:32 He really believes that.

00:29:34 But also emphasizing their half court principles,

00:29:38 mixing looks, going to some zone again tonight.

00:29:40 They have a bunch of different stuff

00:29:41 that they can go to on that end.

00:29:43 And certainly the personnel this year

00:29:45 has really allowed them to reach a new level.

00:29:46 They were third in the league to start this game.

00:29:48 I'd have to imagine they'll finish tonight at second

00:29:50 ahead of Houston.

00:29:51 Sherrod, you might not know it, Bobby,

00:29:56 is coming in hot right now.

00:29:57 Sherrod, you're a four man?

00:29:59 I know.

00:30:00 I was just with him.

00:30:01 Let me see your hands.

00:30:02 Is there blood on them?

00:30:04 I'm not going to show you my hands, Jimmy.

00:30:07 Sherrod is coming in hot right now.

00:30:10 I'm trying.

00:30:11 I was enjoying listening to Bobby talk because it

00:30:13 was just kind of like--

00:30:14 Soothing.

00:30:16 Yes, it was soothing.

00:30:17 He's not calling you boring, Bobby.

00:30:19 No, not at all.

00:30:21 No.

00:30:23 Bobby has seen-- just got a snippet of my state

00:30:26 of existence right now.

00:30:29 Sorry, Bobby.

00:30:30 I didn't mean to do that.

00:30:31 It's all good.

00:30:33 All right.

00:30:34 It's fine.

00:30:35 Let's go.

00:30:36 We're all together.

00:30:37 Let's go.

00:30:38 We're together.

00:30:39 OK, we are together.

00:30:40 All right, ready?

00:30:41 So here's where I'm going to go with it, OK?

00:30:43 I was setting this up with my earlier conversation

00:30:47 just in terms of the Tatum stepping up in that last game

00:30:54 guarding SGA.

00:30:55 And I thought that was like the signature moment in a game

00:30:58 that I thought he played really well after kind of like--

00:31:02 he felt his way out in the early going.

00:31:03 I didn't think he was aggressive enough with some

00:31:05 of what he was doing.

00:31:06 But then everything else that he did,

00:31:08 the offense flowed naturally.

00:31:10 And he focused on other aspects of his game

00:31:13 with the rebounding and the defense.

00:31:14 And that's what we always talked about as the key to Jason Tatum,

00:31:17 hitting that next level is worrying less about scoring

00:31:20 and not always trying to win the superstar battle.

00:31:23 However, I feel like every time this year they've

00:31:28 matched up with the hot new thing, you leave that game

00:31:33 and everyone's like, oh, is that guy better than Tatum?

00:31:36 And I understand it's a natural reaction.

00:31:39 You had it with Anthony Edwards when they lost to Minnesota.

00:31:42 You have it with SGA and with that last game there.

00:31:47 And look, really strong cases can be made for those guys.

00:31:49 We debated it ourselves on the thread

00:31:51 about where you rank everybody.

00:31:53 I actually think they're all pretty jumbled together

00:31:55 and super close.

00:31:56 And that's not an insult to anybody to take it away.

00:31:59 I think there's some really good players.

00:32:01 But now you've got Halliburton kind of like nipping

00:32:03 at everybody's heels and like, I might be a top 10

00:32:06 friggin' player and I'm here now.

00:32:08 And so here you go again.

00:32:09 So now it's like, is it important for Tatum

00:32:12 to win the superstar battle?

00:32:14 Or do you just sit back and rest and not relax,

00:32:17 but say like, we're awesome.

00:32:19 We're doing this as a team.

00:32:20 Like what kind of happens in this scenario here?

00:32:23 - He needs to continue to--

00:32:24 - 'Cause every time the other team's guy

00:32:27 puts up big numbers, Tatum right or wrong,

00:32:30 people are gonna look at him and point at him

00:32:32 and be like, well, our guy didn't do that.

00:32:34 - He needs to continue to do what he did tonight,

00:32:36 which was, yes, hit big shots and score a ton,

00:32:39 but also pass.

00:32:41 I thought the three assists in the first quarter,

00:32:42 he could have had two at least on top of that.

00:32:45 So this is another really strong passing game

00:32:47 in a week or two here where he's had

00:32:50 some much higher assist totals than usual,

00:32:52 eight against Oklahoma City,

00:32:54 10 again in that Pistons game,

00:32:56 seven in the Lakers game on Christmas.

00:32:58 So those numbers are starting to tick

00:33:00 a little bit higher for him.

00:33:01 I've loved his passing.

00:33:02 I thought he passed well against his own in this game.

00:33:04 And the defense, the rebounding,

00:33:07 we're seeing that alongside his scoring make him impactful.

00:33:11 And Joe talked about that tonight,

00:33:13 that he doesn't have to be defined by that three-point shot,

00:33:16 that he wants someone to take him and be confident in them.

00:33:20 But there's other areas of the game

00:33:21 where he can impact when that's not there.

00:33:22 And I feel like going back to the EMA days,

00:33:25 the Celtics coaching staff has talked about that,

00:33:27 that he's just such a well-rounded player,

00:33:29 that even when his shot's not there on a given night,

00:33:33 it shouldn't take him out of the game.

00:33:34 And more and more, I think we're starting to see him,

00:33:37 whether it's the 14 free throws tonight,

00:33:39 the passing numbers, the defense,

00:33:41 certainly in that last game down the stretch.

00:33:44 I mean, I'm still amazed by that fourth quarter

00:33:47 he had in Oklahoma City.

00:33:48 There was a play where he missed the ball inside,

00:33:50 grabbed his own miss twice,

00:33:51 and just slammed it through everybody.

00:33:53 So there's other components to his game,

00:33:56 and Joe continues to stress this,

00:33:57 that he needs to lean on.

00:33:59 And it might not get you the accolades,

00:34:02 might not get you the MVP award,

00:34:04 but him kind of playing in the muck sometimes,

00:34:07 like him being that rugged defender,

00:34:10 the guy who's rebounding in crowds,

00:34:12 or just even making a timely stop.

00:34:14 Those things matter in winning.

00:34:18 And he hit his shots tonight,

00:34:19 so that made it a spectacular night for him.

00:34:22 - And he got to the free throw line.

00:34:23 - I felt like he did some other stuff

00:34:24 that would have won the game.

00:34:26 - The biggest thing in all of this conversation

00:34:29 is figuring out what you gotta do to help your team win.

00:34:31 I mean, Tatum, and I think what we're starting to see

00:34:34 is that the more you're matching up with the Halliburtons,

00:34:38 the Anthony Edwards,

00:34:39 the Shea Gildress Alexanders of the world,

00:34:42 the more your impact defensively

00:34:44 in that particular matchup

00:34:46 is what you're going to need to do the win.

00:34:48 I think Tatum is embracing, not figuring out,

00:34:51 but actually embracing the idea that,

00:34:53 yeah, I can go out there

00:34:54 and get 30 points every damn night,

00:34:55 but a 30 point game doesn't necessarily mean

00:34:57 that was a good game for me.

00:34:59 Tatum has to figure out more than anything else

00:35:01 how to consistently impact winning.

00:35:03 And I think he's doing a good job of that.

00:35:05 But if you're looking for like the blueprint

00:35:07 on how to do it,

00:35:08 this was a game that you have to look at.

00:35:10 His ability to, again, get his points,

00:35:13 get rebounds, play good defense overall,

00:35:17 and do all those things

00:35:19 that the great ones are supposed to be able to do.

00:35:21 We didn't see that until,

00:35:22 I thought against Oklahoma City,

00:35:24 I thought it felt it was like a little too little too late

00:35:28 when he embraced that need

00:35:29 to get on Shea Gildress Alexander,

00:35:30 'cause I thought he had a-

00:35:31 - And he asked for that, Sherrod.

00:35:32 - Right, right.

00:35:33 But I thought it should have happened sooner.

00:35:35 I would have liked it to have happened sooner.

00:35:36 And maybe he was hoping one of his teammates

00:35:38 would step to the forefront

00:35:40 and take on that challenge while he was getting buckets.

00:35:43 That didn't happen.

00:35:44 Because there's a couple of things

00:35:45 that the more I watch this team play,

00:35:47 there's two things that really, really stand out to me.

00:35:50 One, Tatum needs to be more comfortable.

00:35:53 And I think more take charge of those matchups, number one.

00:35:56 And number two,

00:35:57 they really need to continue to lean on Derek White

00:35:59 to get them buckets in the clutch.

00:36:01 Because Derek White right now is their best clutch story.

00:36:04 You look at his numbers, the last six, seven, eight games,

00:36:07 the only guy who's making more of an impact

00:36:09 in clutch moments of games in terms of scoring

00:36:12 is some dude in Denver named Jokic.

00:36:14 That's it.

00:36:15 That's the guy that he is looking up to

00:36:17 in terms of clutch points per game.

00:36:19 And that's nothing to sneeze about

00:36:22 because you're going to have more games like that

00:36:25 where you're going to have to make plays

00:36:26 in close games down the stretch.

00:36:27 And you've got a guy in Derek who can get buckets.

00:36:29 And you've got a guy like Tatum

00:36:31 who I think his lateral quickness, his length,

00:36:33 he poses a lot of, I think, matchup challenges

00:36:36 for the Anthony Edwards, the Halliburtons of the world.

00:36:40 And they need to take advantage of that.

00:36:42 - And I want to point this out to you, John.

00:36:44 - Interesting, fun stat.

00:36:46 Since you mentioned Jokic, this is not a knock on Tatum,

00:36:50 but Tatum missed more shots tonight,

00:36:52 taking only 12 field goal attempts

00:36:54 than Jokic has in his last five games.

00:36:55 - But here's the thing.

00:36:56 And listen, we've been tough on Tatum all year.

00:36:58 - That's not. - That's stupid.

00:36:59 - Bam!

00:37:00 - That's just, it's a stupid stat.

00:37:03 He's missed five shots.

00:37:04 - And I do. - He's 39 for 44.

00:37:06 - I do want to get Tatum credit for this

00:37:08 because we've been tough on him all year.

00:37:10 - Just silly season. - Bam!

00:37:12 - And deservedly so.

00:37:14 But you look at the defense for him this year.

00:37:16 In isolation, he's given a 0.61 points per possession

00:37:21 to opponents.

00:37:21 That's in the 88th percentile.

00:37:23 So as far as isolation defense goes,

00:37:26 he's up there with anybody in the league right now.

00:37:29 You're talking about some of the best perimeter defenders

00:37:32 in the league right now.

00:37:33 He's in that conversation.

00:37:35 And he has the length, he has the mobility.

00:37:39 We've seen him embrace that challenge against Kevin Durant

00:37:42 in the playoffs two years ago.

00:37:43 And you mentioned some of the individual star players

00:37:46 he might go up against.

00:37:47 I get it during the regular season, John.

00:37:49 You're not going to go all out guarding Jimmy Butler

00:37:51 all game or Halliburton in this mini series here.

00:37:55 - And you shouldn't.

00:37:57 - But when the moment comes for you to close out a game,

00:38:01 his ability to defend those type of guys

00:38:03 should come into play.

00:38:05 And if it comes down to him having to be the guy

00:38:08 to volunteer that matchup,

00:38:10 he's going to have to do it more consistently,

00:38:12 especially in big spots.

00:38:13 I mean, I don't think we've seen him enter

00:38:17 the highest level of defense we can see from him

00:38:21 consistently throughout this year.

00:38:23 And when he reaches that,

00:38:25 you're blown away by how good he can be.

00:38:27 And he doesn't get credit for that.

00:38:29 Like you see some of the stars in the league

00:38:31 and guys that you're debating who could be over him, John,

00:38:33 they can't defend like that.

00:38:34 And that matters in terms of how I view

00:38:37 the best players in the league.

00:38:39 So that's always been, I think,

00:38:41 a very underrated thing with him

00:38:43 is just how many different areas of the game he can touch.

00:38:46 And defense in particular,

00:38:47 I think people don't talk about enough with him.

00:38:49 He's one of the best defenders in the league.

00:38:51 - Well, let me say something.

00:38:54 - He is, and Bobby, and again, I agree.

00:38:56 Like there's two paths.

00:38:57 Anybody's obsessed with this at all,

00:38:59 and Jimmy, sorry, I'll let you jump back in,

00:39:01 but anybody who's obsessed with the MVP stuff at all,

00:39:04 it's Tatum's got two paths to it.

00:39:07 Scoring 34 points on a team that has fewer players,

00:39:11 34 points doing the MV.

00:39:13 I got one other guy on my team,

00:39:15 I'm gonna put up 33 a night.

00:39:17 We're gonna finish top two or three in the conference.

00:39:19 I'm gonna lead the league in scoring.

00:39:20 I'm gonna win the MVP based off of that.

00:39:22 Or he does the 25, eight, and six

00:39:27 with second team all defensive

00:39:30 on by far the best team in the league.

00:39:32 He can do that this year.

00:39:34 Like you could do that right now.

00:39:36 Like that's the next evolution.

00:39:37 And it's through the other thing.

00:39:40 Take, enjoy not having the burden

00:39:43 of being the only one who can score.

00:39:45 It should be liberating.

00:39:47 Once you free your mind completely of that,

00:39:51 which he does a lot of the time,

00:39:53 and like I'm gonna affect the game other ways,

00:39:55 is the best version of him by far.

00:39:57 So that's what it'll come down to.

00:40:00 But you're right, like the stats might suffer

00:40:01 on a team this talented.

00:40:03 It's supposed to.

00:40:04 This team should not have a 30 point scorer

00:40:07 with all of the offensive options.

00:40:09 If you do, you're doing it wrong, right?

00:40:11 - And you can tell they're trying to break 'em

00:40:12 out of that mindset, emphasizing that

00:40:14 you might not have scored great tonight, but you--

00:40:16 - You don't need to.

00:40:17 - You don't need to.

00:40:19 So I love how Joe's pressing that with him.

00:40:23 And we've talked about Joe in the past,

00:40:24 not getting on these guys enough,

00:40:26 not criticizing them enough.

00:40:27 But I feel like if that's his way of doing it,

00:40:30 we talked about Jalen with the potential assist

00:40:31 earlier in the year.

00:40:33 He wasn't criticizing Jalen's playmaking,

00:40:36 he was reinforcing when he did good things.

00:40:38 And I think it's a similar approach here

00:40:40 with Jason's other skill sets outside of his scoring.

00:40:43 And listen, we knew the shooting was becoming a problem

00:40:46 for a while there.

00:40:47 It's starting to pick up a little bit, it feels like here.

00:40:49 I know you didn't love the shot selection, John,

00:40:51 tonight again, even though they went in.

00:40:53 But--

00:40:54 - I just hate when they go in.

00:40:55 Are you like, I hate when those pull up threes go in.

00:40:58 I hate it.

00:40:59 - But I think we--

00:41:00 - Because you know what I hate about it?

00:41:03 - What?

00:41:04 - Go ahead.

00:41:05 - No, what do you hate about it?

00:41:06 - On a night where you get four--

00:41:06 - I hate multiple things.

00:41:08 The obvious thing, which is, you know,

00:41:11 it's gonna encourage them to do it more,

00:41:13 even though statistically, over the course of two years,

00:41:16 it's proven that you're among the worst,

00:41:19 if not the worst volume shooter in the NBA at those pull-ups.

00:41:23 It's not an effective shot.

00:41:25 But two, when Twitter lights up, it is like,

00:41:28 oh, Tatum's unstoppable when he does that.

00:41:31 I know, great, but it just, just do the math, guys.

00:41:35 You hump numbers all day long to make points

00:41:39 and prove that you know ball,

00:41:40 and you're gonna celebrate a guy doing something

00:41:42 that he's ineffective at on the, when it goes in?

00:41:46 I would rather the process be the getting to the line

00:41:49 and working for the bucket.

00:41:50 He's gotta take some of those shots.

00:41:52 No question about it.

00:41:53 You gotta keep the defense honest.

00:41:55 Even if he's not shooting it, great.

00:41:57 That's gotta be in his bag.

00:41:58 It's just the shot profile that we criticize this year.

00:42:01 The number went up like 1.5

00:42:03 or almost two extra pull-ups per game

00:42:07 while still shooting close to 29, 30% on them.

00:42:10 It's just not the right balance in your shot profile,

00:42:14 especially when you don't need to do it

00:42:16 when people aren't doubling you and blitzing you as much,

00:42:19 and you have to, you know, pull up and do those fadeaways.

00:42:22 You can go to work.

00:42:23 He can do that.

00:42:24 So there's just not a need for it.

00:42:26 That's all we're saying.

00:42:27 So when they go in, it's like, uh-oh,

00:42:29 now he's gonna get back into that.

00:42:31 And I wanna see fewer of those attempted, that's all.

00:42:36 - Yeah, he had two of those going tonight.

00:42:37 One he got fouled on and still hit it.

00:42:39 But for me, when it comes to Tatum,

00:42:41 and John, you kinda stole a little bit of my thunder

00:42:43 'cause I was gonna say,

00:42:44 it's the shot selection that he takes sometimes

00:42:48 that for me, in my opinion,

00:42:51 that's preventing him from creeping up

00:42:53 a little bit higher on that list.

00:42:54 I mean, even if instead of pull up threes,

00:42:59 if he just did more catch and shoot threes,

00:43:02 that's where he's great at.

00:43:03 I mean, I think he's shooting 45% on catch and shoot threes.

00:43:06 So I don't know if that's him.

00:43:07 I don't know if that's coaching.

00:43:08 Do guys need to get him?

00:43:10 Does he need to be coming around more screens?

00:43:12 Like, do they need to be looking for him

00:43:14 off of different plays?

00:43:15 - I definitely think his corner three attempts

00:43:17 can go up, Jimmy.

00:43:18 I think he has like 17 or something like that all year.

00:43:21 - So that could be one thing too.

00:43:23 But instead it's like, again,

00:43:24 it's the shots that they went in tonight,

00:43:26 but it's those ones where he's on the elbow

00:43:29 or at the top of the three point line.

00:43:32 There's a guy in his face, he steps back

00:43:33 and he shoots a three.

00:43:34 And yeah, two of them that I can recall went in.

00:43:36 I did see him miss one pretty badly as well.

00:43:39 But I think the catch and shoot threes

00:43:41 are one way he can improve that three point percentage.

00:43:44 And the other thing is,

00:43:45 and somebody in the chat mentioned it,

00:43:46 he just needs to drive more.

00:43:48 I will say that it does look like

00:43:50 he has definitely improved his driving abilities

00:43:55 and his moves to the basket.

00:43:58 He can kind of get there in like two steps practically,

00:44:01 when he's in motion.

00:44:02 And he's quick on the little spins

00:44:05 and he's got great footwork,

00:44:06 but he just doesn't do it enough.

00:44:08 You're bugging my game with 12 jumpers at the park.

00:44:11 And I spoke to you.

00:44:12 (laughing)

00:44:13 He just doesn't do it enough.

00:44:14 When he does, it seems like he gets good results.

00:44:16 He'll either make it or he'll get fouled

00:44:18 on more times than he doesn't.

00:44:21 But he's not doing it as much as he should be.

00:44:23 And again, tattling for those pull up threes

00:44:25 is the problem I have.

00:44:26 And then on the other end-

00:44:26 - But he didn't tonight.

00:44:28 He didn't tonight.

00:44:28 He just did fairness.

00:44:30 He took it to the basket.

00:44:30 He got to the free throw line a lot.

00:44:32 He just hit a couple.

00:44:33 It's just every time they go in,

00:44:34 I'm like, "Oh, the next five shots are gonna be that."

00:44:36 - 225.

00:44:37 So that's part of it,

00:44:39 is he has the body to go inside now.

00:44:42 - Right, he's bigger.

00:44:43 He's put on muscle.

00:44:44 And he's worked on his low post

00:44:45 and his moves to the basket.

00:44:47 - I feel like we're not seeing him post

00:44:49 as much recently. - And in his bag

00:44:50 a little bit.

00:44:51 - Yeah. - No, I agree.

00:44:52 - And he had enormous success with that early in the season.

00:44:54 - I love the post.

00:44:55 And the numbers are there too.

00:44:57 That's exactly it.

00:44:58 It's like, lean into the,

00:44:59 like, you don't have to be a slave to the numbers.

00:45:01 But acknowledge what's going on.

00:45:06 You know, like, they're a dominant post-up team right now.

00:45:09 Across the board, obviously Porzingis lifts that up.

00:45:12 But Tatum's numbers in the post have been outstanding.

00:45:14 - But one thing I will say is-

00:45:15 - If you wanna see more. - They do seem to be

00:45:16 playing a little bit faster.

00:45:17 And that's obviously something

00:45:18 Joe's emphasized recently too.

00:45:20 Tatum's starting to get involved in that flow too.

00:45:23 - Totally. - In a game like this.

00:45:24 I mean, 30 points in three quarters.

00:45:26 You gotta be playing fast to do that.

00:45:27 So, I like where he's at right now.

00:45:30 We've had concerns with him going back to last month.

00:45:32 - I liked last game.

00:45:33 I like this game. - Yeah.

00:45:34 - I like both, you know.

00:45:35 - He had a really excellent game tonight.

00:45:36 I thought it was one of his best all year.

00:45:38 So, good to see that from him.

00:45:40 I feel like Brown, you know, he's in a decent place too.

00:45:43 Coming off a good December here.

00:45:45 And they got Drew going tonight as well.

00:45:46 And poor Zingas, it's like every night he's on

00:45:48 at this point.

00:45:49 So, they're having everybody involved,

00:45:52 night to night more or less here, which is important.

00:45:55 - You also have coach of the month, Joe Mazzuola,

00:45:59 who talked about that honor today

00:46:02 in a nice back and forth with his good pal, Gary Washington.

00:46:05 We're gonna listen to that.

00:46:07 - Does that mean anything to you?

00:46:08 Do you get a plaque, a certificate?

00:46:10 - Plaque.

00:46:11 - Like, what do you get for that?

00:46:12 (audience laughing)

00:46:13 - Does it mean something to me?

00:46:14 - I would probably say, in the past,

00:46:17 I probably would have said no.

00:46:18 But I think it's a testament to what we're building

00:46:21 and what we're creating.

00:46:21 And so, it's a testament to the staff.

00:46:24 I wish they would change it to staff of the month

00:46:25 'cause I'm not doing it by myself.

00:46:27 I'm not the ones controlling the scouts.

00:46:28 I'm not the one making the edits.

00:46:30 I'm not the one, you know, doing the matchups

00:46:32 during the game or coming up with lineup suggestions.

00:46:34 So, that's the entire staff.

00:46:36 And then if the players don't let me coach them,

00:46:38 then I'm not really a good coach.

00:46:39 So, like, I think it's just a testament

00:46:40 to the environment that we're creating.

00:46:42 And so, yeah, it does mean something to me

00:46:44 because it shows what we're doing is paying off.

00:46:47 - Joe, we--

00:46:49 - I do think they should get rid of the award.

00:46:52 Yes.

00:46:53 Or change it to staff of the month.

00:46:54 - Staff of the month.

00:46:55 - Yeah. - Okay.

00:46:56 - Clarify, staff of the month.

00:46:59 - That's a good, humble answer for Joe.

00:47:02 He might wanna start to acknowledge

00:47:04 that he does have some role here.

00:47:06 - See, that was the thing that--

00:47:07 (laughing)

00:47:08 They do this and they do that and they do this

00:47:11 and the players let me coach them and it's like, oh, Joe.

00:47:14 - It's like, I don't--

00:47:15 - Okay.

00:47:16 - So, what do you do here, exactly?

00:47:18 - I try not to completely publicize the fact

00:47:20 that Ahmet does everything here.

00:47:22 (laughing)

00:47:23 - Yeah.

00:47:24 - But he does.

00:47:25 (laughing)

00:47:28 - We know that.

00:47:31 - We know that.

00:47:31 (laughing)

00:47:32 - So, what you're saying is--

00:47:34 - I gotta pretend I'm like, you know, do this.

00:47:39 - Joe, do better than that. - Do well, nice job.

00:47:42 - I mean, Joe's got a point though.

00:47:43 I mean, he has a point.

00:47:44 I mean, there's a lot of folks that play a role

00:47:47 in how these teams play,

00:47:48 particularly really well-run, successful teams.

00:47:52 And Joe, I think it's a great idea to figure out a way

00:47:55 to give them a little bit of love too,

00:47:57 but man, let me know what you do.

00:48:01 (laughing)

00:48:02 When you're going down all the things that your staff does,

00:48:05 give me a little insight into what you do specifically.

00:48:08 If you're gonna be specific about--

00:48:09 - What do you do here?

00:48:11 Yeah.

00:48:12 - But he deserved it.

00:48:12 I mean, he had a great month

00:48:14 and the Celtics had a great month.

00:48:15 And the thing about it that,

00:48:18 the only pushback I'd have to something like that is,

00:48:20 at the end of the day, when your team is doing well,

00:48:23 you, the head coach, are gonna get credit for that.

00:48:25 And when your team is crap in a bed, guess what?

00:48:28 You're gonna get blamed for that.

00:48:29 Your staff isn't gonna catch that.

00:48:31 So to me, that's the double-edged sword

00:48:33 was with the coaching of the month

00:48:35 and coach of the year and all that type of stuff.

00:48:38 It's great when it's working out for you,

00:48:39 but when things aren't going well with your team,

00:48:41 guess who's catching those strays?

00:48:44 You, the head coach.

00:48:46 - And that's the smart tactic by kind of,

00:48:49 pushing off the credit is,

00:48:52 you take the credit, you take the blame as well.

00:48:55 The thing is with the coach is like, again,

00:48:57 whether or not Joe's the guy for the team or not,

00:49:01 it's just the lowest hanging fruit

00:49:03 of all kind of sports criticism.

00:49:05 And just what I think everything,

00:49:07 you're gonna lean into when things aren't going right,

00:49:11 fix it.

00:49:11 It's like, in America,

00:49:13 it's the president.

00:49:16 Whoever's the president is responsible

00:49:18 for everything going on in your life.

00:49:20 - Thanks Obama.

00:49:21 - Fix it.

00:49:22 Yeah, thanks Obama.

00:49:23 Doesn't matter.

00:49:24 It's the same thing.

00:49:25 It's like, Joe, do something.

00:49:27 So he's gonna catch crap for it.

00:49:30 I always think it's like with a,

00:49:32 almost like with a referee.

00:49:33 The best thing about a coach, you wanna not notice them.

00:49:37 It's just that things just happened and it seemed normal

00:49:42 and you didn't do anything really to mess it up

00:49:45 or to make yourself the story,

00:49:47 especially in basketball.

00:49:48 In a sport like football, it's a little bit different

00:49:51 because game planning and tactics

00:49:53 are so much more involved here.

00:49:54 But again, Bobby, you've talked with Joe,

00:49:58 you've watched the games.

00:49:59 I mean, he lets them play.

00:50:01 He has his philosophies

00:50:02 and he has a thing that he pushes on.

00:50:04 And obviously there's a lot that goes into it.

00:50:06 It's a structure, but then he trusts them

00:50:08 to go out and kind of do it.

00:50:10 This notion that Joe's gonna be able to like a puppeteer,

00:50:13 be able to pull all of these strings

00:50:15 and like keep them from going off the rails at times.

00:50:17 I don't know.

00:50:18 I always think it's a little bit,

00:50:19 it's a little bit too much blame when it goes bad

00:50:22 in these situations.

00:50:24 So again, hat tip to Joe in the Celtics

00:50:26 for having a great month.

00:50:27 I think it's deserved.

00:50:28 - They become the scapegoat when things go bad.

00:50:30 - Exactly, yeah.

00:50:32 - Yeah, and from the start of his tenure,

00:50:33 I feel like he's implemented things

00:50:35 to make the offensive reads easier for guys

00:50:38 and limit the turnovers

00:50:39 and some of the other issues that they've had.

00:50:41 So he has had an impact

00:50:42 and he did seem to have a pretty keen awareness

00:50:45 of what was wrong with the team's offense.

00:50:47 Even going back to that EMA year

00:50:49 where offensive execution

00:50:51 was still a massive problem that year.

00:50:52 So I've loved the job he's done this year.

00:50:54 I love the emphases he's making

00:50:56 and even some of the adjustments and tactics he's gone to.

00:51:00 Like last game, he went to Pritchard over holiday late

00:51:03 and had pretty good results there.

00:51:05 So I think there are times this year

00:51:06 where you look to him as being a positive contributor

00:51:09 to what they're doing right now,

00:51:11 beyond his steady leadership

00:51:12 and the buy-in he's getting from these guys.

00:51:14 I mean, across the board,

00:51:15 it's not the number one thing, John.

00:51:17 You know, if we're gonna talk about

00:51:18 what coaches do well and poorly, it's buy-in.

00:51:22 And he seems to have top to bottom

00:51:24 - 100%. - Like the buy-in

00:51:26 from this group right now.

00:51:27 And these are a lot of stars

00:51:28 and guys who have had big egos and big roles and stuff.

00:51:31 That was a question for us coming into this year,

00:51:34 was how he was gonna handle that.

00:51:35 And it happened seamlessly.

00:51:37 - It's buy-in or on the opposite end of it, mutiny.

00:51:40 You know, like that's what you're,

00:51:42 number one thing you're afraid of

00:51:44 is when everybody teams up against you.

00:51:45 - And it did seem like he struggled with that

00:51:47 a little bit last year at times.

00:51:48 - And like when they start to second guess,

00:51:50 when the players are, you know,

00:51:52 kind of seem to be running the ship,

00:51:54 what, you know, running the ship

00:51:55 a little bit more than you are.

00:51:56 - Joe's been getting killed and rightfully so.

00:51:59 (laughs)

00:52:01 - People are listening to you.

00:52:02 - Right, exactly, exactly.

00:52:04 People aren't listening to you in timeouts.

00:52:06 You know, they come out of it and be like,

00:52:07 nah, screw it, we're gonna do our own thing.

00:52:10 Yeah, yeah, he's been getting killed and rightfully so.

00:52:13 (laughs)

00:52:14 - And traded.

00:52:14 - That was funny.

00:52:17 But yeah, a couple other things we'll get into

00:52:21 before we wrap it.

00:52:23 We had-

00:52:24 - What about Pacers?

00:52:26 We're gonna talk Pacers again or no?

00:52:28 - I thought we did it for a minute on it.

00:52:29 - Bobby didn't say boo about Pacers yet.

00:52:32 Bobby, I have a question for you.

00:52:33 - Does he have to?

00:52:34 - Yeah, I have a question for Bobby.

00:52:35 - Okay.

00:52:35 - 'Cause you said something earlier.

00:52:38 You mentioned how the Celtics had been playing

00:52:40 really fast, faster recently, and that's been by design.

00:52:43 Missoula's been trying to get them to play faster.

00:52:46 Now they're playing a team in the Pacers

00:52:49 who play faster than everybody.

00:52:52 So how do you approach-

00:52:54 - JB wants to slow it down.

00:52:56 - John, you just ruined my question.

00:52:58 I couldn't even get my question in.

00:53:01 How do you approach the-

00:53:01 - You do a block of the ball up.

00:53:02 - How do you approach tomorrow's game, Bobby?

00:53:03 Do you try to outpace them or do you try to-

00:53:06 - No, you can't.

00:53:08 - I shove it down their throats.

00:53:10 - Thank you, thank you, Bobby.

00:53:11 I don't think you can either.

00:53:12 So I'm going the opposite side.

00:53:14 I think we try to slow them down instead of speed-

00:53:17 - Do the Celtics, let me ask you this question for real.

00:53:19 - John, no, I already asked the question.

00:53:22 - No, but I'm asking you.

00:53:23 - I already asked the question.

00:53:23 - Do the Celtics play better when they-

00:53:25 - You don't answer my question with a question.

00:53:27 - Do the Celtics play better when they play fast or slow?

00:53:30 - It depends.

00:53:31 - Really?

00:53:33 - Who are they playing?

00:53:34 - I think against a team like the Pacers,

00:53:35 you're able to more easily find mismatches in the half court

00:53:40 so you don't have to play as fast to avoid-

00:53:41 - I hate when they hunt mismatches.

00:53:45 I hate the mismatch game.

00:53:46 - You hate everything.

00:53:49 - No, I like to play fast.

00:53:52 - And then of course-

00:53:53 - Play fast, defend well.

00:53:54 - Sure, if that's simple, you just do that every game.

00:53:58 Why not?

00:53:59 - Yeah.

00:53:59 - Why not work that way?

00:54:01 - As Jimmy said-

00:54:01 - And the Pacers play faster than you.

00:54:03 - If this becomes-

00:54:04 - And they've scored 140 plus points

00:54:05 the last three out of the last four games.

00:54:08 Re-curgitate my big stat from earlier in the show.

00:54:11 - If this becomes a track meet, Jimmy,

00:54:12 it plays into their favor.

00:54:14 And different guys have talked about

00:54:16 playing to the opponent's style.

00:54:18 And that's what they did in Oklahoma City, I felt like.

00:54:20 And that's the fastest team in the NBA statistically.

00:54:22 So that didn't work well there.

00:54:25 It looked like it went better when they slowed down late

00:54:27 and executed in the half court,

00:54:29 particularly getting the ball to Porzingis.

00:54:31 And I don't know if he's gonna play tomorrow.

00:54:33 I'd have to guess no.

00:54:35 But they're gonna miss him if they don't,

00:54:36 because when they play slow,

00:54:38 they need that ultimate mismatch, John,

00:54:40 because you're gonna have the Tatums and Browns

00:54:43 against smaller guys,

00:54:44 and that might go one way or another.

00:54:46 But this year statistically-

00:54:47 - Okay, look, the last bunch of games-

00:54:48 - Porzingis has five bucks, by the way.

00:54:49 That's my five bucks, I'm not sharing that.

00:54:51 - The last bunch of games the Pacers have lost,

00:54:53 teams have scored 117, 116, 151, 127, 137, 140.

00:54:58 Okay?

00:55:01 So they're not doing that by walking the ball up the floor.

00:55:04 - But you're taking that point and you're making,

00:55:08 wait, who, the Celtics?

00:55:10 - No, the Pacers.

00:55:12 - Yeah, they're not, no.

00:55:13 - They're coming to slow down for a crawl, John.

00:55:16 - When they lose, it's when other teams just frigging,

00:55:20 "Okay, and I'm just gonna do it to you,

00:55:22 "but I'm gonna do it better, and I'm gonna slow you down.

00:55:24 "I'm gonna stop you,

00:55:25 "or I'm gonna keep you from doing what you're doing,

00:55:27 "but I'm coming at you."

00:55:29 - So you wanna run with them.

00:55:31 - You're not gonna play slow on offense

00:55:35 and allow them to play fast.

00:55:36 It just doesn't make sense.

00:55:38 Like, you're gonna have to play with some pace there.

00:55:41 You're gonna completely change your game around

00:55:43 just because the Pacers score a lot of points.

00:55:46 I don't fully understand that.

00:55:48 I think you're going to play how you're gonna play,

00:55:50 but you're not gonna sit here

00:55:53 and try to slow the game to a crawl.

00:55:55 - You're not gonna take 30 less shots than them.

00:55:57 That's not what we're saying.

00:55:59 I think on the defensive end

00:56:01 is where this game is going on the Celtics side.

00:56:04 On the defensive end is where they're going to have to

00:56:06 slow the Pacers down.

00:56:08 I'm not saying on the offensive end

00:56:09 they should slow things down

00:56:10 to see if the Pacers will mimic them.

00:56:12 That's not what's gonna happen.

00:56:13 But on the defensive end,

00:56:14 they need to, whether that means more press,

00:56:17 which we've seen them do this year,

00:56:18 and they've had some success doing it,

00:56:20 but whatever it is, they need to slow the Pacers down.

00:56:23 They can't get into a track meet, John.

00:56:25 It's not gonna end well for them.

00:56:27 It hasn't ended well for a majority of the teams

00:56:29 who have tried to get into a track meet

00:56:30 with this Pacer team.

00:56:31 Here's the thing.

00:56:33 The Pacers don't want to play defense.

00:56:34 They don't want to play tough.

00:56:35 They're not a tough team.

00:56:37 They want to dance.

00:56:38 They want to dance and prance, Bobby.

00:56:40 And Halliburton has got the dance floor

00:56:42 and everyone's just watching them.

00:56:44 - Look at how the Lakers beat them in that tournament.

00:56:45 - It's not here, it's also tomorrow, Shiraz.

00:56:48 - And you've got no poor Zingas tomorrow.

00:56:51 - That sucks.

00:56:52 So that's gonna change things.

00:56:54 - But you gotta remember something, guys, though.

00:56:56 I mean, and Jimmy, you touched on it,

00:56:58 and I think it speaks to why you have to play

00:57:00 with a certain amount of pace.

00:57:02 That's probably gonna be a little bit faster

00:57:03 than you normally do,

00:57:04 but certainly not at the breakneck speed that they play at.

00:57:07 They don't defend.

00:57:08 And not only do they not defend,

00:57:10 they foul the hell out of you all the time.

00:57:13 They're second in the league

00:57:14 in opponent free throw attempts per game.

00:57:17 So you're going to get a chance to play with tempo

00:57:20 and you're gonna be able to slow it down

00:57:21 because you're gonna keep your ass on the free throw line.

00:57:23 - Well, just make shots and get to the free throw line.

00:57:26 - That's why you gotta slow them down.

00:57:28 - Yeah, that's why you gotta-

00:57:29 - They didn't get to the line last game.

00:57:32 - No, they didn't.

00:57:32 - Last time they played, the Celtics didn't get to the line.

00:57:34 That was very frustrating.

00:57:35 - And unexpected.

00:57:36 I thought they'd get there a little bit more than they did.

00:57:39 Yeah.

00:57:40 - No, poor Zingas is not gonna play tomorrow.

00:57:42 - Why are you so sure?

00:57:45 - Because he hasn't been playing back to backs.

00:57:47 - But that's now you're assuming he's just out Horford?

00:57:50 - He's missed the last three.

00:57:51 I think they sat Horford tonight to have a big tomorrow.

00:57:54 They finally did it right.

00:57:55 They finally sat a big on the front end of a back to back

00:57:58 instead of going into tomorrow

00:57:59 with neither poor Zingas or Horford.

00:58:02 - They could have arrested them both tonight.

00:58:04 - They could have arrested them both.

00:58:05 I also find it curious that you wouldn't want poor Zingas

00:58:08 for both Pacers games,

00:58:09 but you are gonna have Horford for both Pacers games.

00:58:12 Why do you think that is?

00:58:15 - Because it's a Sunday game.

00:58:17 The Monday game you'll have everybody back.

00:58:19 But in the back to back here, Horford sat tonight.

00:58:21 Poor Zingas is probably sitting tomorrow.

00:58:24 Maybe he doesn't because of the reduced minutes tonight,

00:58:27 but I think that was the plan when they sat Horford

00:58:29 on the front end of a back to back.

00:58:31 Because for two years,

00:58:32 he sat the second of a back to back the whole way through.

00:58:35 So this felt, and he was out with rest tonight,

00:58:38 not an injury.

00:58:38 This was a decision.

00:58:39 - I have no idea why you wouldn't see poor Zingas

00:58:41 for the Pacers.

00:58:43 - Yeah.

00:58:44 - Because you gotta get him to the finish line healthy,

00:58:46 Jimmy.

00:58:46 That's the most important thing.

00:58:47 If they lose this game, it's Sunday night.

00:58:48 - I mean, instead of tonight.

00:58:50 - Oh, the timing.

00:58:51 I mean, it might be a medical reason.

00:58:52 - But do you wanna go small?

00:58:53 You think Al runs better?

00:58:54 You wanna go small a little?

00:58:56 You wanna play a little more small ball against the Pacers?

00:58:58 And again, that's the opposite of playing big

00:59:01 and half court setting them up and posting up KP

00:59:04 and this and that and trying to beat them in the half court

00:59:06 at their own game.

00:59:07 They made a decision that they don't want that style

00:59:09 because they're gonna sit poor Zingas tomorrow

00:59:11 and play both the bigs on Monday.

00:59:13 So I wonder why that is.

00:59:15 - It could be part of what Jimmy was saying earlier

00:59:17 about just Jimmy wants more physicality

00:59:20 and Al, let's just be honest,

00:59:22 is a more physical player than Brazil is.

00:59:24 So he gives you that dynamic

00:59:27 and you get a two game set

00:59:29 where you've got your more physical big available

00:59:31 and then you've got your more finesse big available.

00:59:33 So you get to see which works better against them.

00:59:37 And you do it in a regular season when the game,

00:59:39 yeah, it matters,

00:59:40 but it doesn't matter like a playoff game would matter.

00:59:42 So it kind of makes sense why you wanna split them up

00:59:45 a little bit.

00:59:46 - I think tomorrow's gonna be a feisty game.

00:59:49 That's my- - Oh, I hope so.

00:59:50 Both teams will be rested, coming up big wins.

00:59:53 It's gonna be spark.

00:59:54 - It's gonna be a rest. - It's gonna be sparky.

00:59:55 I like that.

00:59:56 - Yeah, it's gonna be sparky.

00:59:58 - We might see some text. - Saturday night.

01:00:00 - We might see some text. - Saturday night fireworks.

01:00:03 Yeah, some text.

01:00:04 - Couple of players with four or five fouls.

01:00:06 - Maybe a flagrant. - Going to fourth quarter.

01:00:07 - Maybe a flagrant, nothing too fancy.

01:00:08 - A little F1, a little flagrant win action.

01:00:10 - Yeah, flagrant one.

01:00:11 - Okay. - You know?

01:00:12 - I'm down, I'm down.

01:00:13 - This is a tough matchup, certainly.

01:00:14 I think these are the kind of teams

01:00:16 that have given this Celtics team the most trouble so far.

01:00:19 But the biggest thing, as I started off, John, the defense.

01:00:22 Get back, avoid those transition buckets by the Pacers.

01:00:27 And in the half court,

01:00:28 I thought the Lakers had enormous success

01:00:30 trapping Halbert and forcing him off the ball.

01:00:34 I think that's something you're gonna have to do here.

01:00:35 And it goes back to the aggression of this defensive scheme.

01:00:38 We don't see the Celtics do that a ton.

01:00:39 They didn't wanna do that in that last game.

01:00:41 And I think it cost them.

01:00:43 - Right, tomorrow, 98-92, old school, 90s style game.

01:00:50 - I'd love to be the inning tomorrow.

01:00:51 - Grind it to a halt, grind it to a halt and play physical.

01:00:55 That's what we're looking for tomorrow.

01:00:57 - I will come on this show tomorrow

01:00:59 with the biggest horn tooting it the whole show.

01:01:02 I'll just be tooting it the whole show.

01:01:06 92-87, couple of foul outs, yeah.

01:01:10 But I will make a point to come on if that happens.

01:01:13 Couple of guys getting at it.

01:01:15 - Yeah, I love it.

01:01:16 - The field house is, Indy's a tough place to win.

01:01:21 - It is, it's a good environment for a basketball game.

01:01:24 It really is.

01:01:24 - This would be one of their best wins of the year tomorrow

01:01:28 if they can pull it off.

01:01:29 It would be a tough one, but it'd be one of the best ones.

01:01:31 - Well, you gotta fact, you may not have a poor zingus,

01:01:36 so I'm not sure.

01:01:37 That might make it better, yeah, it depends.

01:01:40 - Well, the lost and--

01:01:42 - Yeah, Ahmet, you got anything for us sound wise?

01:01:45 - The lost and O'Kisty.

01:01:47 Ahmet, he's asleep at the wheel, I think.

01:01:53 - What happened?

01:01:54 - He's asleep at the wheel.

01:01:56 - No, no, no, are you kidding?

01:01:57 He's doing like seven jobs right now.

01:01:58 - I'm just never asleep at the wheel.

01:02:00 - We got video here.

01:02:01 Why don't you play the Stevens one?

01:02:03 Let's talk about that.

01:02:05 - Well, we can talk about it briefly.

01:02:07 There's not much there,

01:02:08 but a lot of people talking about

01:02:09 what we think can happen at the trade deadline.

01:02:14 Here's Brad Stevens talking about,

01:02:16 he taught, Bobby was down,

01:02:19 I always wanna say Waltham.

01:02:20 Bobby was down at our back center for practice

01:02:24 on Thursday, right, Thursday?

01:02:26 Brighton, in Brighton.

01:02:29 And Brad Stevens kinda did a,

01:02:32 hey, I haven't talked to you in a while,

01:02:34 I'll talk to you sort of thing.

01:02:35 And talked a little bit about what the Celtics

01:02:39 may or may not be able to do at the trade deadline.

01:02:43 We're gonna talk a little bit about that.

01:02:45 We'll hear from Brad and then Bobby's gonna explain

01:02:47 everything that the Celtics can and can't do.

01:02:50 - To do whatever we need to do for sure in that TBE.

01:02:54 That's really the number one tool we have, right,

01:02:56 is the ability to add somebody,

01:02:58 but that's 6.1 or 6.2 million, right?

01:03:01 So it's a small number of people.

01:03:03 A lot of the people that are in that

01:03:05 were assigned to minimums or smaller contracts

01:03:09 or are on their rookie scale deals

01:03:10 that teams aren't exactly excited to move on from yet.

01:03:13 So it's a very small group of people.

01:03:16 But we're gonna exhaust it, we're gonna look at it.

01:03:21 And again, I think it's about, okay,

01:03:22 who can come in, have the self-awareness

01:03:26 to add to the group and the talent to add to the group?

01:03:30 I think that one of the strengths of our team

01:03:32 is guys like Derrick White, guys like Drew Holliday,

01:03:37 they just are so comfortable in who they are.

01:03:41 They don't always use a ton of possessions,

01:03:44 but the ones they use are unbelievable.

01:03:47 Every day they're positive

01:03:48 and every day they lift the group.

01:03:50 I just think that when you start talking about

01:03:54 finding guys that complement all of our best players,

01:03:57 it's a small group.

01:04:00 We just gotta keep on the lookout for them.

01:04:02 - Hey, hey.

01:04:07 - Hey.

01:04:08 - Hey.

01:04:09 - Hey.

01:04:10 - Also wanna add that Brad,

01:04:13 also wanna add Brad Stevens said

01:04:16 among their biggest needs are a wing,

01:04:19 which we thought has been a big need for this team

01:04:22 for a couple of years now,

01:04:24 but they keep finding talent at the guard positions

01:04:27 and obviously they bring in Porzingis,

01:04:28 no one's gonna be like,

01:04:29 "No, wait a second, I wanted a wing."

01:04:32 But they still need to kind of address that.

01:04:34 You have Hauser coming in.

01:04:36 Stevens said that that guy still could be in house.

01:04:38 So it still looks like a game of survivor

01:04:41 between Stevens and Brissette.

01:04:45 - The stay ready crew.

01:04:46 - The stay ready crew for that kind of those wing minutes.

01:04:50 And Brissette was the first guy off the bench tonight.

01:04:52 And again, someone who, because of his energy

01:04:55 and rebounding and some defense might be,

01:04:59 I don't know if he's got an inside track,

01:05:01 but he might be somebody considered.

01:05:03 But Joe Sway, we were gonna talk a little bit

01:05:06 about the Stevens stuff,

01:05:07 but you're coming out of the locker room.

01:05:08 You got anything to add to the party?

01:05:12 - Just a lot of the common theme,

01:05:14 which I think will be something we'll be discussing

01:05:16 tomorrow night after this Pacers game.

01:05:17 It's a common theme about correcting the mistakes

01:05:21 against the same opponent.

01:05:23 And I feel like a lot of the questions today

01:05:25 were about what happened against the Utah Jazz,

01:05:27 and particularly with Jason Tatum.

01:05:28 And Jason Tatum, of course, asked about

01:05:30 what changed between the last time

01:05:32 when he was limited to poor shooting night,

01:05:35 couldn't get to the free throw line,

01:05:36 just all kinds of distractions.

01:05:38 And a lot of it had to do with just reimposing defenses,

01:05:43 knowing how to make changes in a nutshell,

01:05:46 just continuing to improve.

01:05:48 And that's something I've always considered,

01:05:51 something that we forget about when it comes to Jason Tatum.

01:05:53 I feel like we forget that Tatum,

01:05:55 he's that kind of player who has that memory

01:05:59 as to what happened last time.

01:06:00 It's very rare you'll see him make the same mistake twice

01:06:03 against the same team.

01:06:04 And of course, with the way the schedule's been lately,

01:06:07 you're having a lot of these back-to-backs,

01:06:09 even though there's a day between,

01:06:11 you're staying in Indiana later on,

01:06:13 they have a similar back-to-back

01:06:15 against the Atlanta Hawks down the season.

01:06:17 I feel like that's great for this team

01:06:18 because they're able to correct their mistakes.

01:06:19 So a lot of that was brought up.

01:06:21 Joe Mazzuolo, I don't know if you guys talked about it,

01:06:23 but talked about coach of the year.

01:06:25 He feels like it should be changed to staff of the year

01:06:27 or just get rid of the award altogether.

01:06:29 And I just think it's all goes into

01:06:33 what the theme has been all season.

01:06:35 We all play for each other.

01:06:36 Yeah, personal accolades are great.

01:06:38 And addressing the all-star situation,

01:06:42 saying all five of these guys deserve to make it.

01:06:44 Jason Tatum asked about how Chris Dasporzingas

01:06:46 is, I believe, eighth in the front court in voting.

01:06:49 And he thought that, obviously he doesn't agree with that,

01:06:51 so he endorsed him as well.

01:06:52 So I just think that's a common theme with these guys.

01:06:54 So I can't wait to see what they look like,

01:06:56 what their approach would be against the Indiana Patriots,

01:06:57 'cause you're wondering how they're going to,

01:07:00 well, at least not wondering,

01:07:01 but you wanna see them correct those mistakes

01:07:02 that we saw last time.

01:07:03 The reason why they didn't--

01:07:04 And slow it down, right?

01:07:05 You're right.

01:07:06 Slow it down and--

01:07:07 (laughing)

01:07:09 Slow it down, let the guys play hard.

01:07:12 Yeah, like remember--

01:07:13 Yeah, we're debating that.

01:07:14 Remember why they didn't go to Vegas.

01:07:16 I think that's something--

01:07:17 I wanna go.

01:07:18 That's something--

01:07:19 We remember.

01:07:20 Why they didn't go to Vegas.

01:07:21 Yeah, I mean--

01:07:22 They didn't go to Vegas because Porzingis

01:07:23 didn't play in that game,

01:07:24 and he's not gonna play tomorrow either.

01:07:26 We'll see.

01:07:27 I like that for this team though,

01:07:28 because they can beat the Pacers without Porzingis,

01:07:31 you know, and it's another challenge for these guys.

01:07:32 Not to say that they're gonna get bored out there,

01:07:34 but I mean, this schedule right now, it's not easy.

01:07:37 The stretch that they're on right now,

01:07:40 you know, four games in five days or something like that.

01:07:42 And I just think--

01:07:44 I love the two games also.

01:07:46 Me too, me too.

01:07:47 I love that they played twice.

01:07:47 And I love this type of win,

01:07:50 because obviously the Stars are on the bench

01:07:52 for most of the fourth quarter.

01:07:53 You know, that's what you're supposed to do

01:07:54 when you're the, as Tatum said today,

01:07:57 the best team in the NBA.

01:07:58 So they have to carry that.

01:08:00 They gotta carry that mentality into Indiana.

01:08:02 To build on that team dynamic, Josue,

01:08:05 you know, translate, pivoting to Brad's comments yesterday.

01:08:09 One of the big things Brad stressed

01:08:11 beyond their limitations money-wise,

01:08:13 and the TPs total at six million,

01:08:16 he narrowed the field of guys that they could acquire here

01:08:19 even further by saying it has to be someone

01:08:22 who's over themselves,

01:08:23 who doesn't have that expectation that they're gonna play.

01:08:27 He said this in the past too, John.

01:08:29 Someone who adds to the team,

01:08:33 but doesn't take away from it.

01:08:34 It can be a talented player either way,

01:08:37 but if it's someone coming in looking for a contract,

01:08:41 or trying to get shots, or trying to get minutes,

01:08:43 even if that player's available and talented,

01:08:46 it might mess with the dynamic they already have here.

01:08:50 Even on the bench,

01:08:51 where it might not be the most talented group of players,

01:08:53 but they're playing roles

01:08:55 and complimenting the best players on the team.

01:08:57 So that's something he's looking for.

01:08:58 He's not sure it will necessarily be out there.

01:09:01 And I do think-

01:09:02 - Yeah.

01:09:03 Kelly Olynyk, anybody?

01:09:05 - I do think it's probably gonna be

01:09:07 a smaller addition than that.

01:09:09 Although we did talk to him this morning,

01:09:11 he did sound interested in a return.

01:09:13 - Kelly, listen, I talked to Kelly before the game.

01:09:16 Of course he's interested.

01:09:18 Go ahead, Shroff, sorry.

01:09:20 - I mean, it makes sense.

01:09:21 I mean, Kelly went out the way we all would wanna go out.

01:09:25 His last game as a Celtic,

01:09:26 he dropped like 27, 28 against Washington.

01:09:29 - When you call it the Kelly Olynyk game,

01:09:32 you know, like there's-

01:09:34 - For real.

01:09:34 - The other thing-

01:09:35 - 70 years later.

01:09:36 - Right, but the other thing too,

01:09:37 he's having a career year.

01:09:39 When you look at his shooting,

01:09:40 you look at his passing,

01:09:41 you look at a lot of the metrics

01:09:42 that we determine whether a guy's having a good season.

01:09:46 He's having the best season that he's ever had.

01:09:48 And then I asked him about that.

01:09:50 And he said that basically,

01:09:51 when you've been in the league for a while,

01:09:53 you kind of figure out what you need to do

01:09:54 and the role that you need to play.

01:09:55 And he was like, if I'm coming off the bench,

01:09:57 I'm gonna do this.

01:09:58 If I'm starting, I'm gonna do that.

01:10:00 And just getting where I fit in basically.

01:10:02 And then that's what he's doing in Utah.

01:10:03 So Kelly would, yeah, I mean,

01:10:06 he'd be good with coming back to Boston.

01:10:09 - That should be very obvious.

01:10:09 - Can I tell you guys exactly,

01:10:12 can I tell you exactly how Olynyk would play out

01:10:14 if he came back here?

01:10:15 It would be on a different scale.

01:10:19 It would be the exact Ennis Cantor

01:10:22 versus Tristan Thompson conversation we had back then,

01:10:26 which is one can only--

01:10:28 - You can only have one.

01:10:30 - Between Kelly and Al.

01:10:32 One can only play offense

01:10:33 and the other one's really good defensively.

01:10:36 And like Kelly would go in there and he'd have games

01:10:39 and he'd score a bunch of points,

01:10:41 but then the other team would score

01:10:42 and Bobby would be like, you can't play this guy.

01:10:46 You can't play him.

01:10:46 You can't play this guy.

01:10:48 - Look how many points he's given up.

01:10:50 - Yeah, you can't play this guy.

01:10:52 - He gave up during the rest of the season.

01:10:55 - Bobby, we--

01:10:55 - That's how the rest of the season went.

01:10:56 - We should grab some of the best clips

01:10:58 from that season, man.

01:10:58 That was fun.

01:11:00 That was great.

01:11:00 - Would you trade for Olynyk?

01:11:04 - The freedom years, Ennis, freedom years.

01:11:05 - No, I don't think you can.

01:11:07 You'd have to give up Pritchard.

01:11:08 You'd have to give up one of the,

01:11:10 or multiple of the bench guys

01:11:12 who are central to the rotation here.

01:11:13 So it'd have to be a guy that would change

01:11:16 the rotation substantially.

01:11:17 And I don't think that's who Olynyk is,

01:11:19 even though I like his game.

01:11:20 - That's a lot of pressure for Kelly, yeah.

01:11:22 - Yeah, Ennis, an expiring contract.

01:11:24 You'd have to sign him after the year.

01:11:26 He's at 12.2, so he's not a TP guy.

01:11:29 You could get him on a buyout.

01:11:31 He does come in under the number, barely, that the folks--

01:11:34 - It's the buyout.

01:11:35 - That's the only way.

01:11:36 - It's not the trade. - That's the only way

01:11:36 it'll happen. - Yeah.

01:11:37 - You'd have to think this would be at the top.

01:11:39 - You don't have, you can't trade it.

01:11:40 - You'd have to think this would be at the top of his list.

01:11:42 - So he said this morning, he's heard the rumors.

01:11:44 I'm sure he's thought about the possibility

01:11:46 that he could be moved here.

01:11:47 There's another bottoming out season for Utah here.

01:11:51 And you know, we'll--

01:11:52 - He's got a one-way-tour notification.

01:11:53 Sorry, go ahead.

01:11:54 - We'll have to continue to describe as a rebuild here.

01:11:56 So he might not fit into that.

01:11:58 He's coming off the bench tonight, of course, as well.

01:12:00 They have Walker Kessler in front of him.

01:12:02 So it's intriguing.

01:12:04 I was intrigued by it last year, too.

01:12:05 And now you're down another big

01:12:07 after losing Grant Williams here.

01:12:09 So he would fit that role to some degree.

01:12:12 But I wouldn't give up Pritchard for him.

01:12:15 I think it'd have to be that buyout route.

01:12:18 - What about Luke?

01:12:19 - The question everyone's wanting to ask.

01:12:22 - Come on, Bob.

01:12:23 And that's specifically for you, Bobby.

01:12:24 That's for you, Bobby.

01:12:25 - It's just you're not--

01:12:26 - If you're right, it'd be Luke plus Brissette plus--

01:12:28 - I know, Bobby, I know you'd have to add

01:12:31 some other pieces to the pie.

01:12:32 I get that, but--

01:12:33 - He's trying to make it easy on himself, sir.

01:12:34 - If one of those pieces had to be Luke,

01:12:36 would you be okay with that?

01:12:37 If he had to be part of the package to get Kelly?

01:12:40 - No, I don't think you overturned this bench.

01:12:42 It's been a really good bench this year.

01:12:43 It really has.

01:12:44 - Tangway him.

01:12:46 (all laughing)

01:12:49 - You got Joe.

01:12:50 - I get it, Bobby.

01:12:51 I get it.

01:12:52 - You'd have to trade the whole bench.

01:12:54 - Yeah, you'd have to get--

01:12:54 - I don't think you have to do that.

01:12:55 - Which is fine.

01:12:56 - No, this is a team.

01:12:57 - Which is fine because what you're looking for is your,

01:12:59 all you're looking for is your number eight guy.

01:13:02 You know what I mean?

01:13:03 That's it.

01:13:04 You're not looking for anything else.

01:13:05 - But you'd probably be down to eight players.

01:13:06 - You're looking for a guy.

01:13:08 Right, but then, I mean, look,

01:13:10 aren't all of these guys the same guy?

01:13:12 Have you ever seen Brissette and Bantin

01:13:15 in a room together?

01:13:15 I haven't.

01:13:16 I think they might be the same dude.

01:13:18 Like, you know, they just switch jerseys

01:13:22 and do the hair, you know?

01:13:24 Like, might be the same guy.

01:13:25 They're all interchangeable.

01:13:27 - But is this the guy, John?

01:13:29 - It's a stay ready group.

01:13:30 It's a stay ready crew.

01:13:31 - No, no, no.

01:13:32 - I just don't see,

01:13:33 but I don't see a team saying,

01:13:34 okay, give me all those pieces.

01:13:35 Screw it.

01:13:36 Yeah, yeah, take this guy.

01:13:37 - Does Danny really want this?

01:13:38 - Who do you buy 'em all out?

01:13:39 - Yeah.

01:13:40 - You buy 'em all out and they all leave.

01:13:42 - Especially Danny.

01:13:43 - But, yeah.

01:13:44 - It really only works if you wanna get a,

01:13:47 if you wanna get a contract off the books for next year.

01:13:50 But like, the buyout is more likely where it comes.

01:13:54 But really, whether it's Olynyk or someone else,

01:13:56 you're really just trying to get your number eight guy.

01:13:58 That's about it.

01:13:59 'Cause right now you feel pretty good

01:14:01 about your rotation at six,

01:14:03 and then you feel okay with Pritchard and Hauser.

01:14:05 So you're talking about your eight or your nine.

01:14:08 And really, where you want it in there

01:14:10 is probably at the wing, you know?

01:14:13 Because you're comfortable with Luke as a third center.

01:14:15 - No, Olynyk's not a wing.

01:14:16 - And you're pretty comfortable.

01:14:18 Yeah, he's not, he's not.

01:14:19 So, I mean, I know Brad talked about that,

01:14:22 but I think people hoping that there's gonna be

01:14:25 some magic in there might be a little disappointed.

01:14:28 I wanna wrap before we go and talk quickly again,

01:14:31 back to the Pacers thing.

01:14:33 You know, I know the Pacers are like super impressive,

01:14:37 and their fun is hell to watch.

01:14:39 And they're establishing some good rivalries out there

01:14:43 with like the Bucs and their beat.

01:14:45 They put up another 150 tonight.

01:14:47 Does this at all feel to you guys

01:14:49 a little bit like Orlando?

01:14:52 Where, okay, guys, you got us,

01:14:56 and you think you're something,

01:14:58 we're gonna show you a thing or two.

01:15:00 'Cause that's what they did to Orlando

01:15:01 when they played the back-to-backs with them

01:15:03 coming off a win where they weren't too happy

01:15:05 and there was a little bit of chirping.

01:15:07 I think there's a lot of Pacers buzz right now

01:15:09 that if I'm the Celtics or I'm the people

01:15:11 in that room right now, I wanna shut it up.

01:15:13 - Exactly.

01:15:14 - And the Pacers and Orlando hasn't been the same since.

01:15:17 - Right.

01:15:17 And especially because, again,

01:15:20 and I think this is the characteristic of this team,

01:15:22 you're taking that last loss personally.

01:15:24 You know, it's not just about Vegas.

01:15:26 You know, obviously it's just a competitive thing.

01:15:27 And I think that's something I've noticed a lot from Tatum,

01:15:30 you know, especially when he has those bounce back games

01:15:33 against that same team, that same opponent.

01:15:34 You know, he has that memory, that knack to show them that,

01:15:38 hey, yeah, you got me last time,

01:15:39 but it's not gonna happen again.

01:15:41 And I think that that stuff is contagious.

01:15:43 I think that travels through the locker room.

01:15:45 - It goes back to what I was saying, John.

01:15:48 I agree with you.

01:15:49 I do think the Pacers are a better team than Orlando.

01:15:52 So that's the difference is they're gonna be a harder team

01:15:54 to sort of shut up or take down a peg or two.

01:15:58 But the Pacers are the bell of the ball right now.

01:16:00 And that's why they've been dancing all around.

01:16:03 And it's time for the South to shut the music off.

01:16:06 It's time.

01:16:07 Now it's gonna be hard going into,

01:16:09 it's gonna be hard for Indiana to do that in Indiana.

01:16:13 But again, it's all about, I think to me,

01:16:16 it's all about taking pride in playing tough

01:16:20 on that defensive side of things and playing hard,

01:16:22 play physical.

01:16:23 They don't wanna play defense.

01:16:25 They don't.

01:16:26 Make them play defense.

01:16:28 Make it a defensive game.

01:16:29 - Bell of the ball, play hard defense.

01:16:31 - Bell of the ball.

01:16:33 - Jimmy's in full bloom.

01:16:34 - John, you ever heard that line before?

01:16:35 - Jimmy's in full bloom.

01:16:37 - Yeah, I'm a hundred years old though.

01:16:39 I've-

01:16:39 - Well, I'm trying to say something

01:16:42 that you guys will understand, John.

01:16:44 I'm sure.

01:16:45 - Wow.

01:16:46 - Yeah.

01:16:47 - Wow.

01:16:48 I was about to give you a compliment.

01:16:50 - Oh man.

01:16:51 - No, he doesn't handle it without a logic.

01:16:53 - Not today.

01:16:54 - Anyway, they have taken down the Bucks three times.

01:16:59 - Four, I think, right? - They have defeated

01:17:00 the Celtics all four?

01:17:03 - No.

01:17:04 - I thought they had four wins.

01:17:05 - They didn't play the Bucks four times.

01:17:06 - I think three times.

01:17:07 - It's the Bucks.

01:17:08 - Three, they've taken down the Bucks three times.

01:17:11 - I'm saying four.

01:17:12 - They've taken down the Celtics.

01:17:14 They lost to the Bucks once.

01:17:16 They played them four times already.

01:17:18 - They played them four times.

01:17:19 - They beat them twice now.

01:17:20 Yeah, they beat them.

01:17:22 They beat them twice back to back.

01:17:23 They beat the Celtics.

01:17:24 They split with the Sixers.

01:17:26 So they have some, you know,

01:17:27 some big wins on their resume.

01:17:29 - That's interesting, John.

01:17:30 - Yeah, especially 'cause those two,

01:17:32 oh, sorry, real quick, Bobby.

01:17:32 Those two wins against the Bucks,

01:17:33 not only did they come after the end season tournament,

01:17:35 but it was that two game series that we were talking about

01:17:38 where they were able to pull that off.

01:17:39 And one in Milwaukee and one in Indianapolis.

01:17:41 It's impressive.

01:17:42 - Yeah, what were you saying?

01:17:44 - Yeah, sorry, go.

01:17:45 - Bobby?

01:17:46 - It's an interesting comparison.

01:17:47 I obviously like the match this year,

01:17:48 but it's to be offensive limitations.

01:17:51 Celtics, obviously an offensive team

01:17:52 and the Pacers can execute right there

01:17:56 with them and control the pace of the game.

01:17:59 So I think that makes them a lot more talenting,

01:18:01 especially if Porzingis is out

01:18:02 as he was in the last game there.

01:18:04 So I do think that this is gonna be

01:18:07 a highly contested mini series here.

01:18:10 But as you mentioned, John,

01:18:11 if they come in with a level of focus

01:18:12 and respect for them based on how last game went,

01:18:16 when the Celtics have played with that level of focus

01:18:19 and execution, they've been unstoppable.

01:18:22 And then now ripping off game after game after game

01:18:25 of scoring 120 themselves.

01:18:27 And some of that's turning defense and offense.

01:18:29 Some of that's great offensive execution here.

01:18:31 And as you mentioned, Shiraj,

01:18:33 just no defense on that Indian aside.

01:18:35 I thought that would matter last time.

01:18:37 It didn't.

01:18:38 The game just got way too sped up

01:18:39 and Celtics didn't have that post finishing option

01:18:42 to consistently beat the mismatches out there.

01:18:45 So this is gonna be a split series, I think.

01:18:48 I think one team will take each

01:18:50 and the Pacers will stay in that mix.

01:18:53 I mean, it feels like these two teams

01:18:55 could be on a collision course

01:18:57 for a playoff matchup later down the line,

01:18:59 but that Pacer team continues to be

01:19:01 extremely reliant on Halliburton.

01:19:03 So he's gotta stay healthy.

01:19:05 - It's fun.

01:19:06 And it is, yeah.

01:19:07 - He's got a stake.

01:19:08 - It is four and one against the Bucs.

01:19:11 They've corrected me in the chat here, but yes.

01:19:13 - What was that, John?

01:19:14 - What are we sorry?

01:19:15 What are we sorry about?

01:19:16 - John's like, this isn't gonna go over well.

01:19:18 - What are you sorry about?

01:19:20 - Oh, Jimmy, don't overplay your hand.

01:19:24 Don't overplay your hand, Jimmy.

01:19:25 - And it's four losses.

01:19:27 You guys just refuse to believe me on that.

01:19:31 - John, I'm guessing, but I think Jimmy put it on.

01:19:33 I think that was true.

01:19:35 - Was that the one thing Jimmy listened to this show?

01:19:37 (laughing)

01:19:38 He said three wins?

01:19:39 - He's been thinking about that for a while.

01:19:41 - That's my dog.

01:19:42 - This is me all show.

01:19:43 - Facts, my dog.

01:19:43 - You all show.

01:19:44 - Facts, my dog.

01:19:45 - I'm just, I'm coming at you all show.

01:19:48 (laughing)

01:19:52 - I'm so happy Jimmy was actually paying attention.

01:19:54 That was awesome.

01:19:55 - Yeah, get used to it, I'm back.

01:19:57 - I'm back and I'm focused, but I hope you're on tomorrow.

01:20:02 See you guys later.

01:20:03 - Woo!

01:20:04 - Please tip your waitress.

01:20:05 Facts dog.

01:20:08 Anyway, thank you guys for hanging out.

01:20:09 We're back tomorrow.

01:20:11 Some of the crew, serious people will be here tomorrow.

01:20:14 - Facts, my dog.

01:20:16 - And then back on Monday, which is great.

01:20:18 - Facts, this is my dog.

01:20:19 - Monday.

01:20:20 - Welcome.

01:20:21 - Jimmy's.

01:20:22 - Monday could be one of the most interesting days

01:20:25 in Boston sports, in recent Boston sports history.

01:20:28 When we're talking about, you know,

01:20:30 doing that Pacers game,

01:20:32 that could be the final day of Bill Belichick,

01:20:35 which will be really interesting.

01:20:36 We'll see what happens there.

01:20:37 - You think he's gonna get,

01:20:38 you think he's gonna get,

01:20:39 you think he's gonna get a blue and beardy on Black Monday?

01:20:41 I don't think he gets Black Monday treatment.

01:20:44 - I'll put it this way.

01:20:45 It would not be shocking to me

01:20:46 if Bill doesn't even go to the craft meeting

01:20:48 and just says, I'm out.

01:20:50 Just gives him the, I quit as HC of the NEP,

01:20:53 like he did with the Jets and that's it.

01:20:56 - Damn.

01:20:56 - You don't think he'd give a quick speech though?

01:20:58 - No.

01:20:59 - No.

01:21:00 - You know, but.

01:21:00 - I did.

01:21:01 - So like, you're cool, you're cool,

01:21:02 you know, that kind of thing.

01:21:03 Just address everyone.

01:21:04 - F you, F you.

01:21:06 - Today, Bill Belichick canceled his,

01:21:09 canceled his press conference and he did a Zoom.

01:21:11 And two reasons to do that.

01:21:17 One, you can troll it and you can pick and choose

01:21:21 and you never have to let Bobby ask a question, you know.

01:21:24 - Yeah, I see your hand up, Bobby,

01:21:25 but no, I'm not gonna do that.

01:21:26 - Yeah, yeah.

01:21:27 - Yeah.

01:21:27 - No, you don't have to do follow-ups.

01:21:31 Oh, Abby Chin, seventh question for you, go.

01:21:33 You know, like meaning like,

01:21:34 you can pick and choose who you send it to.

01:21:37 But number two, I actually think

01:21:38 Bill might've gotten emotional

01:21:40 'cause Friday's normally his like fireside chat

01:21:42 with reporters.

01:21:44 - That was Trag's big day.

01:21:45 - I think there would've been like,

01:21:47 there would've been some softness

01:21:49 and some sensitivity there.

01:21:50 And I think a lot of people,

01:21:52 a lot of reporters were probably going down there like,

01:21:54 I actually kind of want to soak in like nice, happy,

01:21:58 calm Friday Bill for the last time maybe ever.

01:22:01 And then they pulled the plug, you know,

01:22:02 on it and didn't do the presser.

01:22:06 So I'm wondering why that was.

01:22:07 - Well, Bill wasn't gonna entertain those questions

01:22:09 probably and he didn't want to deal with them.

01:22:11 - He didn't want to deal with them.

01:22:12 - But I think he might've gotten emotional.

01:22:14 I think there's part of him,

01:22:15 he's like, this might be the last.

01:22:17 - You think Bill got emotional?

01:22:18 - Wait, no, no, no, wait.

01:22:19 You're saying you think he was afraid

01:22:20 to get emotional on camera?

01:22:22 Or you're saying like, he just, it already hit him?

01:22:24 - Yes, I do.

01:22:25 Yes, I do.

01:22:26 Yes, I do.

01:22:27 - We need Taylor.

01:22:28 - That's the last thing Bill would ever want.

01:22:31 Like to be, man, to have that clip out there

01:22:33 and like play it over and over.

01:22:35 - I don't know what's gonna happen.

01:22:37 - Can you imagine Bill?

01:22:39 - I don't know.

01:22:40 - He's probably just walking away.

01:22:41 - There's been a lot of like whispers now that,

01:22:44 oh, maybe he will come back for one more.

01:22:47 Maybe they will let him do this or do that.

01:22:49 - Yeah.

01:22:50 - So really-

01:22:51 - I'm definitely gonna power down.

01:22:53 - What does that mean?

01:22:56 - I'm just gonna blink out in a minute.

01:22:59 - That's fine.

01:23:01 - I'm not plugged in, yeah.

01:23:02 - Peace out to you.

01:23:04 (laughing)

01:23:06 I don't really-

01:23:07 - Jerry's on some ish today.

01:23:09 - Yeah, right?

01:23:10 - I thought it was just me.

01:23:11 - Is that a promise?

01:23:12 Is that a promise or are you just threatening us?

01:23:14 - He's feeling himself today.

01:23:16 - I'm staying here and I'm not blinking.

01:23:19 - Should we start an update as always?

01:23:21 - When you freeze, we'll just stop with that.

01:23:23 - Yeah, we'll do the Joe Sway freeze.

01:23:25 - That hasn't happened in months, stop.

01:23:30 Oh no, that was the time.

01:23:31 - What are you talking about?

01:23:32 - Oh man, see?

01:23:33 - You and Taylor-

01:23:34 - I should have, that's exactly what I, back then,

01:23:35 I should have said, you know what guys?

01:23:36 This thing's about to turn off soon.

01:23:38 - Well done, you and Taylor will be live, I'm sure,

01:23:40 on Monday if something big goes down.

01:23:42 - Oh yeah, all day, all day.

01:23:44 - I might have to pop off.

01:23:45 - All day.

01:23:46 Oh yeah, give a little eulogy?

01:23:48 - No.

01:23:49 - Oh, if Belichick's done, Jimmy's definitely hopping on.

01:23:51 - No, I've said my piece.

01:23:52 I've already said my piece.

01:23:53 I think it's time.

01:23:54 I do think it's time.

01:23:55 This team is in complete shambles and I just-

01:23:58 - Joe Sway's, yeah, Joe Sway's wifi

01:24:00 is like those Midwestern tornado towns, you know,

01:24:03 with the sign, like four days without wifi.

01:24:06 And then, you know, you go by one day later

01:24:08 and it's zero days, you know, without a wifi meltdown.

01:24:13 - I'm thinking about maybe going to the game on Sunday.

01:24:16 I might go to the game Sunday.

01:24:18 - I'm going Sunday.

01:24:19 Yeah, I'll be there.

01:24:19 All right, we are gonna wrap though,

01:24:21 'cause I'm gonna power down.

01:24:22 We're at the hour 30 mark almost.

01:24:24 - It'll be 11 o'clock.

01:24:25 Love those seven o'clock games.

01:24:28 - We love 'em, we love 'em.

01:24:29 We'll see you guys tomorrow.

01:24:30 It should be a ton of fun.

01:24:31 We're excited to watch this one.

01:24:33 So after tonight, this was a brutal game.

01:24:35 So I'm thrilled to watch what goes down tomorrow.

01:24:38 We'll be back here for another Garden Report.

01:24:40 We hope you guys join us as well.

01:24:42 Thank you guys for hanging out.

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