On the latest episode of Talkin' C's, Bobby Krivitsky, Jack Simone, and Sam LaFrance discussed their takeaways from the Celtics' controversial loss to the Pacers and previewed Boston's back-to-back against the Timberwolves and Bucks.
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00:00 And we are back with another edition of how about themselves?
00:11 Next talk and sees Bobby Kravitzky of SI media group.
00:14 Bobby, how are you doing today?
00:16 Doing fantastic.
00:17 Very excited for what we'll be diving into today.
00:19 And that is a pretty big back to back against first, the top team in the West, Minnesota
00:24 Timberwolves, who beat them in Minnesota earlier this season in overtime tilt.
00:29 And then, of course, Giannis in the box round two for this season in Milwaukee this time.
00:35 So it's two measuring tests for the Celtics and as challenging a back to back as you're
00:41 going to come up against.
00:43 Yeah, big back to back coming up.
00:46 Timberwolves box, two top teams in the NBA.
00:49 Before we get there, though, the last game still stinging in the minds of some Celtics
00:54 fans.
00:55 Lost to the Pacers.
00:56 No Jason Tatum, no Sam Houser.
00:58 Pacers lost Halliburton at halftime.
01:00 Got weird in the second half.
01:03 Pacers blitzed them.
01:04 Celtics couldn't keep up on offense, but the ending with the referees, with the calls
01:08 last two minute report came out.
01:10 We did a video on it this morning that got people pretty fired up.
01:14 And the result is they doubled down on the Jalen Brown overturned call, said, Nope, buddy,
01:19 you didn't foul him.
01:20 Heading on the head is actually legal now, which I mean, I complained about plenty.
01:23 We'll get your thoughts to Bobby.
01:25 But then the real one that got, you know, scrambled up in that two minute report, they
01:30 said the foul call on Porzingis.
01:31 Incorrect.
01:32 Sorry, our bad.
01:33 Shouldn't have been a foul call.
01:34 We messed up the same exact way two times in a row, which again, I can complain about
01:39 all day.
01:40 But Bobby, what are your thoughts on that last minute report?
01:41 Well, you knew, because this is the key distinction here, that it was the replay review that overturned
01:48 the call on the court.
01:50 It wasn't for as much smoke as, and now I can't remember his name, James Williams, the
01:55 lead official, whatever it is that Jalen Brown had the conversation with.
02:00 And people have found out that he went to high school and college in Indiana.
02:03 And I didn't fact check it.
02:04 But according to Celtics Twitter, the Pacers are like 35 and three when he does their games.
02:10 So the lead official, I think it was James Williams.
02:11 I might have the last name wrong.
02:13 My apologies.
02:14 But nonetheless, he's not the one who overturned the call.
02:18 So the league office, you know, Joe Mazzullo can say all he wants.
02:21 Four o'clock, four o'clock.
02:22 Can't wait for this to come out.
02:24 The league office was, I would have been shocked if they said, you know what, that was our
02:29 bad.
02:30 And it's not the same people handing out the last two minute report as in the replay review
02:34 center.
02:35 But I would have been surprised if that came down.
02:38 And so instead, what do they give you?
02:40 No, no, no.
02:41 OK, we're not going to acknowledge this, but here's how we did mess up.
02:44 And, you know, Porzingis, that to me, you guys tell me that looked like a foul.
02:49 He makes contact with his arm.
02:50 I think that's undeniable.
02:51 And then the end, you know, Jack, you can disagree.
02:54 That's OK.
02:55 And then the end, that just seemed almost like they're not going to call that either.
03:01 So, yeah, I'm sure that that one was a legitimate mess up, but that rarely gets called on a
03:06 lob play like that at the end.
03:08 So I think that they danced around the real issue was it was so close.
03:13 What happened with Jalen Brown?
03:16 I think that he undeniably, and it's just physics, he hits him in the head and then
03:20 his arm goes up and he gets the ball and that's a foul.
03:24 And I think that to one, get it wrong and to overturn it, what the ruling on the court
03:29 was when it's so close, that's where they messed up.
03:33 I think this whole last two minutes makes for an interesting outlook for the Celtics.
03:39 What are you going to do about it, buddy?
03:40 Is this an.
03:41 Have to ask themselves.
03:45 They could.
03:47 Continue to complain, or are we going to see them take it into their own hands and start
03:53 flopping because you can say, and I don't like flopping, but if you're Jalen Brown,
03:59 right, like put yourself in his shoes.
04:01 He thinks he got whacked.
04:03 League says no, but he healed, says yes.
04:07 And he's like, well, what do I have to do to make this go in my favor?
04:14 If Jalen Brown gets whacked in the back of the head and then flails, I think that's a
04:19 little bit harder of a call to overturn.
04:22 I never quite thought I would see myself sitting here being like, maybe they should flop more.
04:28 But this is the reason why you see players flop is to get calls to get attention.
04:35 I don't really know if it's going to be their calling card going forward, but it's something
04:40 that I would at least look for tonight.
04:43 As they play Minnesota, kind of curious to see if they're like, we're going to make a
04:46 big stink out of this.
04:48 Here we go, because they haven't exactly been calling the flopping technicals that they
04:53 said they were going to call.
04:55 They've been dishing out fines, which I think has just been a thing for years.
04:59 Tough week to be an official.
05:02 I feel a certain way about the last two minute report.
05:04 I think what they said on the report is fair and true, but that's my own outlook on what
05:09 I think fouls should be and what they shouldn't be.
05:12 I don't think jump shooters should be a rewarded group as they take contested looks.
05:20 And I also don't think you should call fouls like that when the game is on the line.
05:23 That's just my take, but people are really mad about it.
05:26 People were mad in our comments.
05:27 We put up the last two minute report video this morning and they were like, how can you
05:32 compare this to like pickup?
05:34 It's like, cause I don't know.
05:35 It's the same game.
05:36 Like if you get, if you call a jump shot foul and pickup, you have to get whacked.
05:40 I just, that's the way I look at it.
05:42 It's the NBA.
05:43 It's not pickup, but I just look at it as the same.
05:46 It's not exactly the same.
05:47 There's a, there's a difference.
05:49 You call stuff in the NBA that are fouls that you don't call and pick up.
05:51 But I understand the premise and it's my thing is well, the integrity of the game, Jack,
05:59 my thing is, so the Jalen Brown thing was a foul.
06:03 They doubled down because you can't really like you, you can't say, yeah, our refs got
06:08 it wrong when we reviewed it in real time.
06:10 Like that would be a bad look.
06:11 They doubled down.
06:12 So what they're essentially saying is we messed up on that call, but then Rick Carlisle helped
06:16 us get it right.
06:17 But then we messed up in the exact same way on the next call.
06:22 We called two, what's the incidental contact fouls in a row in the last 30 seconds of the
06:28 game.
06:29 Both of which were wrong are bad.
06:30 Sorry.
06:31 You can't do that.
06:32 Like that.
06:33 That's not like that's, that's such poor fishing and Sam and I, and I'm sure you're the same
06:37 way Bobby are, are the last blame the officials, people.
06:40 And to be clear, the Celtics lost themselves that game by a bad third quarter and bad free
06:45 throw shooting.
06:46 It doesn't change the fact that the officials messed up in the exact same way on two game
06:52 deciding calls in a row in the last 30 seconds.
06:54 That can't happen.
06:56 That just cannot happen.
06:57 That is terrible.
06:58 And like Sam likes to say in the last 30 seconds, take the whistle out your mouth, throw it
07:03 away.
07:04 Stop.
07:05 Somebody should have to get murdered.
07:06 Raymond has to be out.
07:07 If Draymond's out there, maybe you can keep the whistle in your mouth.
07:09 Everybody might get murdered.
07:11 Yeah.
07:12 Unless there is blood on the ground.
07:14 Keep the whistle in your mouth.
07:15 Stop.
07:16 And Bobby, you mentioned the Porzingis thing, my thing on that play.
07:19 And Sam and I looked at it, if anything, that's an offensive foul.
07:24 Matthew jumps into him, jumps into him.
07:26 You can like, that is literally, they changed the rule to make it so you cannot do that.
07:31 And then they called the foul on Porzingis.
07:33 Anyways, it was, it was a terrible end of the game.
07:34 Again, not the reason the Celtics lost the game.
07:37 We had a guy in our comments today saying it's embarrassing.
07:39 The Pacers won fair and square.
07:40 The Pacers won the game because the Celtics failed in the third quarter.
07:43 That doesn't change the fact that the referees absolutely fumbled the bag in the last 30
07:48 seconds.
07:49 That Brown call was, I'm sorry, I don't care.
07:52 They overturned it.
07:53 That is the textbook definition of a foul.
07:54 He got hit in the head.
07:56 I don't care if you block the shot.
07:57 If I tip the ball and then wind up punching in the back of the head, that's still a foul
08:01 just because I got the ball first.
08:02 Doesn't matter.
08:03 Like that's not how fouls work.
08:06 And then the Porzingis thing, they admitted wasn't a foul.
08:08 And I didn't think it was a foul at the time.
08:10 It was just an egregious couple of missed calls.
08:13 First up is Porzingis and Jason Tatum took to Twitter.
08:15 Porzingis just said, "On to the next whatever.
08:17 I'll note it."
08:18 Tatum was like, "That's some crap."
08:19 I think they'll move on.
08:20 I don't think they'll let it affect them as they've done with every mishap all season.
08:24 But that's an unacceptable end to the game.
08:26 I complained about it in the video, but that was tragic the way that game ended with the
08:30 foul calls.
08:31 Yeah, it all goes on the ledger.
08:32 The officials need to be better.
08:35 And also, I think that the Pacers were surprisingly more composed than the Celtics coming out
08:41 of halftime after they were the team that lost their start during the game.
08:46 And I don't think not having Tatum, yeah, it's easy to say if he's there, the Celtics
08:51 win, they sweep this mini series.
08:53 But I think that's a weak excuse to indulge in for, there's plenty of talent on the court
08:58 for Boston on Monday night to win that game.
09:01 Then Indiana loses Halliburton.
09:04 You should have been able to close it out.
09:05 But instead, I think the Pacers did a better job of keeping their composure.
09:10 And they did it again.
09:11 Once the Celtics regrouped and they go on a run late in the third quarter, they go on,
09:17 I think it was a 7-0 burst in the fourth to take the lead.
09:20 And Indiana, again, regathered itself and was able to bounce back and ultimately prevail
09:27 thanks to some officiating luck.
09:28 Again, it all goes on the books.
09:31 But that's why I don't want to see Sam, at least for Wednesday's game.
09:36 I don't want to see the Celtics lean into the flopping thing because that kind of seems
09:42 like immaturity to me.
09:43 I want to see them, right?
09:46 And so indulge in your emotions, be pissed off that you got hosed, but be a championship
09:52 contender and look the part, play the role.
09:55 And that means you flush this and focus more now on internally what we need to solve.
10:02 It is funny that you mentioned that.
10:05 The Celtics of old have let the referees impact them greatly.
10:10 Grant Williams when he was here, Jason Tatum, they love, love, love, love to complain.
10:15 This was a big complaining spot.
10:16 They all went on Twitter and were like talking about Buffalo Wild Wings, saw the last two
10:20 minute report.
10:21 They had something to say, so they didn't let it go.
10:24 But what rules about this loss is it happened on January 8th.
10:29 And in probably at least three months or at most three months, at least three months,
10:36 it won't matter anymore.
10:38 It could end up mattering if you like is like, you can be like, well, they didn't come in
10:41 first and had to play this team or whatever because they lost this one game if you really
10:45 want to nitpick.
10:46 But it's a regular season game.
10:49 It doesn't really matter.
10:51 And like you said, they put themselves in position to lose the game.
10:56 Somebody in the comments got mad at me for saying that on the last two minutes report
11:01 video.
11:02 They were like, you have to play better basketball.
11:03 It shouldn't have been this close.
11:04 Piss poor take.
11:05 What do you like?
11:06 You said Bobby Halliburton goes down and they play worse.
11:09 That's when you collapse and all of a sudden can't get any stops.
11:13 The guy that is the driving force behind Indiana's high powered offense is no longer in the game.
11:18 And then you can't get them to have an empty trip.
11:21 Unbelievable stuff from the Celtics to even get to this position.
11:24 I don't care who was out.
11:26 The only you can point to Tatum being out thing is that they had to have the double
11:30 bigs in there in the fourth quarter, which wasn't the greatest defensive thing.
11:33 They were getting targeted, blown by in the perimeter, or they had to give up extra space
11:37 for three so they wouldn't get blown by.
11:40 But besides that, you have most of your stars out there.
11:43 Be serious.
11:44 Win games.
11:45 It's that simple.
11:46 Yeah, I mean, I think we've been pretty sound on that standpoint.
11:52 I'm again, I'm usually not a play the ref guy.
11:54 That was that was Sam can attest.
11:56 That was the most angry.
11:57 I've been at some referee stuff in a long time.
12:00 I usually try to keep a level head and keep it to the game, but that was that was some
12:04 buffoonery.
12:05 Anyways, let's move forward.
12:07 Tough pastor's game.
12:08 Celtics have to move forward like y'all mentioned.
12:11 Keep a level head.
12:12 Take on the Timberwolves and the Bucks two in a row.
12:14 Got the Timberwolves tonight as we're recording this.
12:16 And as you're hearing this, it'll probably go around four thirty five and then the Bucks
12:20 tomorrow on a back to back in Milwaukee have to travel in between Timberwolves dealing
12:24 with some travel issues of their own coming up from Orlando where there was a storm.
12:28 They couldn't get in last night, so they got in this morning.
12:30 And are they on a back to back or are they?
12:33 They are in a back to back.
12:34 They play the magic.
12:35 Yeah, one of them.
12:36 They will be on.
12:37 We know that they got in.
12:39 I believe so.
12:40 I haven't heard it otherwise, so I assume they got it.
12:44 OK.
12:45 Timberwolves beat the Celtics last time, one of their eight losses on the season.
12:49 I'm personally intrigued to see how they handle the Drew Holliday if he plays guarding towns
12:55 thing because that was a big issue for the Timberwolves that they eventually overcame.
12:58 Also curious to see how the Celtics handle Anthony Edwards because he gave him the business
13:01 last time.
13:02 Bobby, what are you looking for in this game?
13:04 Yeah, that right there.
13:05 Who guards Anthony?
13:06 I was checking no update, at least from John Krasinski of the Athletic on the Timberwolves
13:12 and whether or not they have already arrived in Boston.
13:16 And when it comes to the matchup, who guards Anthony Edwards is going to be fascinating.
13:22 I would like to see Jalen Brown take that responsibility.
13:25 I love when he initiates that and says, hey, I'm going to go guard this guy and take him
13:30 out of the picture.
13:31 And he's got the tools to do that against pretty much anyone on the court.
13:36 And so that's what I'd like to see.
13:38 I think that positions the Celtics well across the board.
13:41 But if it's Tatum, you get that to Drew Holliday.
13:45 I think at least at times they're going to put him on Towns again and say, let's see
13:48 what happens here.
13:49 And then secondly, someone who flipped the game, I thought the Celtics got off to a good
13:54 start in Minnesota was Nas Reid.
13:56 So how do they handle once it becomes pattern matching and all that, especially because
14:01 we don't anticipate that Al Horford is going to play tonight, save him for Milwaukee on
14:05 Thursday.
14:06 So it's going to be really interesting to see how the battle of the second units and
14:11 all of that starts to unfold.
14:12 Well, you know what this is calling for is a big O'Shea, at least minutes night, probably
14:18 going to see a lot of him.
14:20 We've seen a lot of O'Shea Bressett over the last week, really since the new year.
14:24 I think he's played like real minutes in five of the last six or something like that.
14:29 He's become a staple of the rotation, has a little bit to do with like Porzingis getting
14:33 hit in the eye, guys being in on the lineup.
14:36 Sure.
14:37 So you're going to see that again with Horford being out, but he's been mostly okay.
14:40 The shooting hasn't been there, but the hustle has.
14:42 And against Minnesota, I think you're really going to need him to be the strong defender,
14:46 athletic guy on the boards that he's been.
14:49 So that's going to help you if Horford's out.
14:52 Minnesota has not been playing great basketball.
14:54 They're six and four in their last 10.
14:56 They did wamp the magic yesterday, but they've really been on a skid.
15:01 This is a time to get some revenge.
15:03 You had a winnable game in Minnesota, despite Derek White not being in it.
15:06 I think he missed that one.
15:08 And Derek White missing games has been a big deal this year for the Celtics.
15:11 When he plays, they are much better.
15:15 Just you're at home still undefeated.
15:19 Gotta keep it going.
15:20 Gotta keep it going.
15:21 Tatum should be back.
15:22 I think drew holidays also questionable with injury management.
15:26 Just every, everybody's just on the injury management.
15:28 Most injury management I've ever seen from the Celtics means they're being careful.
15:33 That's what I was going to say.
15:34 I'd rather see the management than the injury.
15:36 So I'm okay with that.
15:37 I'd rather see right elbow sprain management than right elbow sprain.
15:42 Yeah.
15:43 It's a good one.
15:44 Learn from the spurs.
15:45 That's a good word in that context.
15:47 But yeah.
15:48 Interesting to see Mike Conley too, because I think they use Mike Conley a good amount,
15:53 but he is on the older side.
15:54 So he hasn't been super consistent for them.
15:56 And for what I've heard, that's been a big part of their shortcomings in the last 10
16:01 games.
16:02 Also Rudy Gobert just randomly punched Dwight Powell in the face when they played Dallas.
16:06 Not that long ago.
16:07 I don't know if you guys saw that clip, but they were at in the box outs of a free throw.
16:10 They just like whacked them.
16:12 I mean, he'll, he'll do some shenanigans every now and then.
16:16 He got like humbled by Draymond.
16:18 And then he's like, well now it's my turn.
16:20 Like I have to pass it on.
16:22 It's like, it follows.
16:24 He hit Dwight Powell.
16:25 I want to find the video.
16:27 Now you got me in anger and maybe a little embarrassment about what happened with Draymond
16:32 for Dwight.
16:33 How became just an innocent victim.
16:35 Keep your eyes on Dwight Powell now to see if he will be an assault man.
16:41 Wham!
16:42 He just gives him a body shot.
16:47 Former Celtic Dwight Powell.
16:49 Celtics legend Dwight Powell.
16:50 Right.
16:51 And he did it where the ref didn't have the best of angles to it.
16:54 No, the ref saw it.
16:55 Look at the ref laugh.
16:57 It was like, I don't see the ref laughing.
16:59 It was fueled by their bodies.
17:01 I think there's enough of a, see, cause it's to the inside.
17:05 He goes, yeah, my bad.
17:06 I didn't see that.
17:07 Respect to Dwight Powell who did not even like, I don't think the ref next to him.
17:10 I think the only thing the ref saw was Dwight Powell's head jerk back.
17:13 Oh, I don't think he saw the shot.
17:17 This guy, does he look away?
17:19 No, he got blocked off.
17:21 Rudy hit it.
17:22 Well, he, he did hide it.
17:23 Well, this was premeditated.
17:24 Yeah.
17:25 Rudy go there.
17:26 This Timberwolves team is bowling last 10 games like sandbag and they're only six and
17:34 four, which isn't great compared to the record, but Anthony Edwards yesterday.
17:37 Okay.
17:38 There you go.
17:39 That's also true.
17:40 I'm looking at a MBA.com.
17:41 Um, Anthony Edwards has been bowling though.
17:44 30 points a night on 48 39 and a half splits, four and a half turnovers a game.
17:48 Maybe the Celtics prey on that.
17:49 Catsman efficient is a all heck all season long.
17:52 Where do you go?
17:53 You could say that this is town's best season.
17:55 I think there's a strong case for that.
17:56 I think so.
17:57 They're using them.
17:58 Well, it's going to be interesting to see how the Celtics guard him.
18:01 If holiday is out, you have to assume that one of the J's gets the ant matchup.
18:07 I wonder if they would go to Derek White and then just sort of double.
18:11 Like I do wonder if you can apply this sort of the same tactic that they use drew holiday
18:18 in the post with Anthony Edwards and Derek White.
18:20 Like is Anthony Edwards strong enough to post Derek White up so fast that the Celtics can't
18:27 send help?
18:28 Like when you have to holiday guarding Joel Embiid, it's him in the post and sometimes
18:33 he's strong enough to keep him out.
18:34 But usually it is Joel Embiid gets there.
18:36 The Celtics send help or show help and make Joel Embiid make a pass.
18:40 Can you do the same thing with Derek White?
18:41 Like Derek White is quick enough to keep up with Edwards on the perimeter, right?
18:44 Like he can guard him on the perimeter.
18:46 It's just when he's driving and putting a shoulder into him.
18:50 That's the problem.
18:51 I wonder if they could utilize Derek White in a way where they put them on him, show
18:55 help and Edwards drives and make Edwards be a passer and he's a fine passer, but it's
19:00 definitely not where he thrives.
19:03 I think if Drew's in, you should definitely just put one of him or Jalen on on Ant and
19:08 let them work.
19:09 But I think you could apply a similar thing with Derek White on some of these stronger
19:13 guys and just showing help because they're quite a good perimeter defender.
19:16 But I don't know.
19:17 I'm going to be very intrigued by that ant matchup and how the Celtics deal with a temporal
19:23 defense that shut them down pretty heavily.
19:26 Last time these two teams played, they closed the lane really well.
19:28 Jade McDaniels did a phenomenal job, maybe the best job guarding Tatum out of anybody
19:33 this season.
19:34 He's definitely up there.
19:36 What's the key to stopping that defense or getting past it, Bobby?
19:39 Is it just ball movement?
19:40 Yeah, it's a great question.
19:41 So I think the Celtics, and I'm glad that this was topic.
19:45 We're still here, is that they got in trouble and it's not the only instance of it targeting
19:51 the wrong matchup.
19:52 And whether it was trying to foul out Anthony Edwards and becoming fixated on that to the
19:58 point it became detrimental, whether it was challenging Jade McDaniels, like they didn't
20:02 know who he was.
20:03 He's a terrific perimeter defender.
20:05 And so more than anything, I think, and this is kind of like saying, you know, that turnovers
20:11 are a key in a football game.
20:13 So forgive me, but I think so much is going to have to do with setting effective screens
20:19 and getting guys off the body, creating separation, forcing switches, allowing your guys room
20:25 to build some momentum, whether that's to get downhill, whether it's to come further
20:29 out to get a three off the dribble.
20:32 Those screens, I think, set the tone for offensive success in most possessions.
20:38 And so for Christoph Sporzingis, this is one of the challenges that they are constantly
20:43 working with him on, hey, we need you, you know, unless the play calls for otherwise,
20:48 when we're asking you to set a screen, we're asking you to hold it and utilize your seven
20:52 foot three frame to be able to effectively use some force and get us in a favorable position
20:59 and try to create a numbers advantage.
21:01 And so it's less about, hey, can you beat Anthony Edwards when he's engaged or Jalen
21:05 McDaniels defensively in a one-on-one type of matchup and setting?
21:10 It's more about team basketball, which calls for tempo to start and then being able to
21:16 set these effective screens to put yourself in a numbers advantage or give someone space
21:21 to get a shot off.
21:22 Yeah, I'm very curious to see how Porzingis in particular fares against Rudy Gobert again,
21:30 because we've seen Porzingis be able to be a huge force for the Celtics offense just
21:35 by throwing him the ball at the free throw line and letting him turn over whoever's defending
21:39 him even when he's matched up against big guys at times, right?
21:43 I think the screening is going to be important because like you said, Bobby, he's going to
21:47 be able to get mismatches and take advantage of those like he has all season.
21:51 But from a team standpoint, you're still going to have Gobert down low waiting for you.
21:55 The three point shooting of the Celtics will help kind of make him have to leave the paint,
22:02 but still Minnesota's prepared for that.
22:05 And we've seen how teams playing the Celtics have been affected by the rim protection presence
22:10 of Kristaps.
22:11 So you're going to need a good three point shooting out of the Celtics tonight for sure.
22:15 Hopefully they've got it.
22:16 Hopefully Derek White is able to break the JJ Redick curse.
22:21 Has not been great since appearing on the podcast since they were like, hey, you're
22:24 shooting really good.
22:25 He was like, I know.
22:26 And now he knows not good anymore.
22:30 Tough tough look for Tommy Alter needs to needs to correct himself there.
22:34 JJ had it right.
22:35 But anyways, after the Timberwolves, Celtics traveled in Milwaukee for back to back against
22:40 the Bucks in Fiserv Forum.
22:43 Last time they took on the Bucks went pretty well.
22:46 Got close at the end, but the Celtics jumped out to a huge lead and ended up taking home
22:50 the win.
22:51 I part of me wonders if they are managing holiday for this game so we can guard Giannis
22:55 in that one because that's what they did for most of that game.
22:59 Interesting to see.
23:01 But Bucks have been not very I was about to say not very Bucky, but I don't think that
23:07 plays as well as I thought I was going to.
23:08 Celtics haven't been amazing in their last 10 games, five and five.
23:12 Defense has been pretty bad, as you say.
23:16 Celtics have a three and a half game lead above them right now.
23:18 Obviously, they have the Timberwolves before that game, but a big chance to extend their
23:23 lead atop the conference.
23:24 Bobby, what are you looking for against Milwaukee?
23:26 I don't think that this is changing for the Bucks because they don't really have the flexibility
23:32 to get someone who's going to enter their closing lineup and help defensively, in particular,
23:38 in the backcourt.
23:39 So they just need to hope that this two man combination of Giannis and Dame carries them
23:45 home, that they keep it close enough that Chris Middleton, he looks better of late after
23:49 a really concerning start to the season, but major injuries in recent years.
23:53 So you don't know what he's going to look like when we get to the playoffs.
23:57 And the same goes for tomorrow night in terms of those defensive vulnerabilities.
24:01 There's only so much they can do to mask it and they have to hope that it's enough and
24:05 they get the offensive firepower needed to be able to beat, especially a team like the
24:10 Celtics.
24:11 So it is a fun matchup and there's so many different components to it.
24:16 But yeah, I just, I look at it and think that against Minnesota, it's a little bit like
24:21 Orlando where it's, let's use the speed advantage and let's try to run on this team, especially
24:27 when they go double big, which is most of the time.
24:29 And then against Milwaukee, the mismatch to target is in the backcourt, especially Damian
24:35 Lillard.
24:36 That should be lunch meat, get that switch and be able to go at him.
24:40 And it could be an opportunity, especially because of the team they're playing to say
24:44 Drew Holiday, this is your time.
24:46 They're always encouraging him, be aggressive.
24:48 Our offense is better when you're assertive against the Bucs.
24:52 That's a nice bone to throw someone who has sacrificed the most on the team.
24:56 Unfortunately, Drew Holiday cared a little too much the first time they played Milwaukee
24:59 and he was non-existent for three quarters.
25:02 He made his first basket in the fourth, I think, but Milwaukee bad over the last 10
25:09 games, oddly enough, still good on the season.
25:11 Like they're only three and a half games behind the best Celtics.
25:16 Like Jack said, they, they have been struggling.
25:19 Giannis calling out the equipment manager, going through ripping everybody saying everybody
25:23 needs to be more accountable after they lose to Houston.
25:26 Then they come out and get stomped by the jazz for most of the game.
25:29 They try and come back, but they didn't have enough to finish it off.
25:33 This could go one of two ways.
25:36 The Celtics could get a discouraged Bucs team that is spiraling, or they could get a Bucs
25:42 team that is ready for a wake up call at home against the Celtics who beat them early this
25:47 year.
25:48 And like, even though it was close at the end, it was mostly a laugher.
25:52 They're going to be ready for this game tomorrow.
25:54 The Celtics also need to be ready.
25:56 I think there is value in resting the guys tonight, even though I'm a big, big proponent
26:00 for this home undefeated streak needs to continue.
26:04 It is a must, but you want to be prepared for Milwaukee's best punch.
26:08 I'm not positive you will get that, but there is for sure a possibility that that will happen.
26:14 As for Dame, I think he missed Monday's game against Utah due to personal reasons.
26:19 I know he has stuff going on with his own life.
26:22 So that's also like a little wrinkle to keep your eyes on with them.
26:26 Like he hasn't been the best.
26:28 Maybe it's like all of this stuff on the outside bothering him.
26:32 I don't know if that's going to get resolved by the time the playoffs roll around, but
26:35 his defense certainly is not going to be.
26:38 Doc Rivers talked to Bill Simmons about this Bucs team.
26:40 I think they dropped an episode yesterday and Doc was saying, comparing Dame to Jamal
26:46 Crawford when he had the Clippers team and he knew he knew Crawford was never going to
26:50 be a great defender, but he did expect him to be able to rotate and be in the right spots.
26:54 And he said Milwaukee is just not getting that from Dame right now.
26:57 So in order for them to be the best they can be, that's going to have to happen.
27:01 I don't know if it's going to happen overnight, but I do think Milwaukee will have a chip
27:04 on their shoulder when the Celtics come to town.
27:07 The defense has just been horrible.
27:11 Like I remember there was a stretch where they like sort of picked it up defensively.
27:14 And I don't know if it was you, Sam, who brought up the sat or Bobby, maybe somebody I talked
27:18 to because I definitely didn't find it myself, was like they're getting really lucky with
27:23 shooting nights.
27:24 Like guys are just having either really rough shooting nights against them.
27:26 They're not actually rotating well.
27:28 It's just the teams they're playing are having bad nights when they play the Bucs.
27:33 And in my head, I was like, maybe that's part of it.
27:36 But like now that it's come a little bit full circle, it's definitely part of it because
27:41 the defense looks terrible still.
27:43 That said, the Celtics can't fall into that trap.
27:45 They did a good job of picking apart the Bucs defense last time they played them.
27:50 It doesn't feel like they fall into the trap of playing poorly against good teams too often,
27:54 which I suppose is a good thing, even though it's frustrating when they lose to the bad
27:58 ones, which has been a lot better this year, I will say.
28:00 But I'm interested to see how the Guardian is interested to see how they slow down Dame
28:05 because as bad as he is defensively, he is elite offensively, as you've seen.
28:11 That should be a good one.
28:12 That should be a good game.
28:13 I'm very excited for it.
28:15 If we covered it all, do you guys want to do a card?
28:16 You guys want to do a trivia card?
28:17 Oh yeah, let's crank it out.
28:18 Yeah.
28:19 I always forget because we haven't like- I forgot last time.
28:23 ... done this as routine.
28:24 I forgot last time.
28:25 We didn't get to it last time.
28:28 We all forgot.
28:29 And I'm going to put all my money on sale.
28:33 Yeah, that's a fair bet.
28:36 We should give Bobby a head start.
28:37 He should get the first two guesses.
28:40 First two guesses.
28:41 Okay.
28:42 We're going to keep going.
28:43 I'm going to be like Jersey Jerry here where on my 2000 plus try, I'll finally get a win.
28:49 You know what?
28:50 No.
28:51 You know what I'm going to do?
28:52 You know what I'm going to do today?
28:53 So the best part about these cards is they have a Boston against the world.
28:57 So there's a Boston side and there's a world side.
29:00 So we're going to nerf Sam today and do an NBA trivia question.
29:05 That's no fun.
29:06 Sam's getting nerfed today.
29:08 Sam still has a chance.
29:09 Does that mean Celtics answers are not counted then?
29:11 No, no.
29:12 There could be Celtics people on here, but it is just a general NBA trivia question.
29:17 Most of them are Celtics, but there are some here.
29:19 Don't say Mickey Mouse's if you haven't just like destroyed every other thing, Sam.
29:25 There's a part of me that wants to stick with Celtics trivia to try and beat the globe.
29:30 Do you want me to find a Celtics one instead?
29:32 Yeah, let's give it to Sam.
29:34 He's earned this.
29:35 Those two convincing wins, unless it's too much of a pain.
29:38 If it's too much of a pain, if we're too late.
29:41 Not pain.
29:42 Let's open it back up.
29:43 Let's go Celtics trivia.
29:44 Let's find a Celtics one.
29:45 Let's see what I can find.
29:46 Breaking news.
29:47 Next time, win or lose, Sam can have some time to study up around the association.
29:52 That's right.
29:53 We'll do that.
29:54 Breaking news, Celtics wearing the home jerseys tonight.
29:57 Guaranteed.
29:58 Big for Sam's.
30:00 Big for Sam's.
30:01 It does feel like they've been wearing the correct uniforms more frequently.
30:07 I will say that.
30:08 I don't know why this has changed.
30:11 Maybe it was all the hate that they got from the dumb city jerseys that came out this year.
30:17 Across the league.
30:18 Across the league.
30:19 But I love what I'm seeing.
30:21 Yeah, those city jerseys across the league, just such a swig in abyss.
30:25 It's a force.
30:27 Very tough.
30:28 Very tough.
30:29 All right.
30:30 I have a...
30:31 Yeah, there's a handful of good ones.
30:32 I have a card.
30:33 Let me put up the better look of that and we can get going here.
30:39 All right.
30:40 Question.
30:41 Through the 2021-22 season, as is the case with all these cards, the Celtics have scored
30:45 2,000 or more...
30:47 Seven different Celtics, I should say, have scored 2,000 or more points in a single season.
30:52 Who are those seven players?
30:54 Paul Pierce.
30:55 Bingo.
30:56 Bobby, on the board to start.
30:58 Hot start for Bobby.
30:59 If that didn't happen, I was leaving.
31:01 I was out.
31:02 Love that.
31:03 All right, Sam, to you.
31:04 Jason Tatum.
31:06 Also on the board, correct.
31:08 Larry Bird.
31:10 Bobby, two for two.
31:13 He's coming through swinging.
31:15 Sam.
31:16 Isaiah.
31:17 Yes.
31:18 Oh, this is a juggernaut battle.
31:19 I said Isaiah Jackson.
31:20 The pacer's on my mind.
31:21 Isaiah Thomas.
31:22 Isaiah Jackson, unfortunately, not yet.
31:23 Not yet.
31:24 Bobby, back to you.
31:25 We're going to start taking chances here.
31:30 Antoine Walker.
31:31 No Antoine Walker on the board.
31:34 Tough.
31:35 That could be my demise right there.
31:36 Y'all got the easy ones out of the way, I will say.
31:39 John Havlicek.
31:40 Oh, that's a good one.
31:42 Yeah, John Havlicek on the board.
31:45 He's always on those like when Isaiah was doing all his crazy scoring, it was him.
31:49 Well, even when Tatum broke the single season average, it was like him, Isaiah, Bird, Havlicek.
31:57 Sam Jones.
31:58 Yes.
31:59 Wow.
32:00 Great pull.
32:01 There's one more.
32:02 Great guess.
32:03 Yes.
32:04 One more.
32:05 And for what it's worth, Bobby Antoine Walker capped out at 1892.
32:08 We got close to that mark, but I can't blame him for it.
32:11 Wasn't a bad guess.
32:12 It wasn't a bad guess.
32:13 Sam, if you get this, you win.
32:16 There's one name left on the board.
32:17 So this is a big one.
32:20 It's a big time right here.
32:22 I know the answer.
32:23 Oh, shoot.
32:24 I may lose.
32:25 I love that.
32:26 I think I think I'm going to say Jalen.
32:32 No Jalen.
32:33 Jalen capped out.
32:34 I can tell you what Jalen capped out at before Bobby guess is to build a special work.
32:37 The most he's gotten in a single season.
32:39 Jalen got to 1784 last year.
32:42 OK, Bobby, that was Kevin McHale.
32:46 It is Kevin.
32:47 Let's go.
32:48 And for what it's worth, Kevin McHale got 2008 points.
32:54 So it was not get it.
32:57 He just got it.
32:59 Bobby, he made two threes and got an extra trip to the line.
33:03 Love that.
33:05 Love that.
33:06 I mean, the NBA question, which we do eventually, I mean, even Ken Jennings didn't go undefeated.
33:13 The NBA question was going to be nine players have gotten 10000 or more rebounds in their
33:17 career.
33:18 Who are they?
33:19 So we can do it another time.
33:20 But keep that in the back of the head and don't cheat.
33:22 But anyways, don't come to it next time.
33:25 Oh, we'll keep it in the pocket for a little while.
33:28 Put that one out like the back of the deck to it around the playoffs.
33:31 All right.
33:32 Anything we miss, Bobby, we get everything today.
33:34 Yeah, I think we covered it all.
33:36 Awesome.
33:37 Awesome.
33:38 Great run to trivia.
33:39 Great talk about everything Celtics right now.
33:41 Thank you for watching.
33:42 Make sure to check out Bobby's work inside the Celtics.
33:44 Subscribe to have out them Celtics and I'll take it out.
33:47 Yes.
33:48 Thank you very much for watching.
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34:14 He's doing a ton of work.
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35:02 That's it for us.
35:03 Bye.
35:03 These guys are ridiculous.
35:04 These guys are ridiculous.
35:04 [music]
35:24 (upbeat music)