Shorthanded Lakers Embarrass Celtics + All-Star Snubs

CLNS Media Sports Network

Jeff Goodman and Gary Tanguay sit down to tackle the biggest stories in the NBA this week including the Celtics' surprising loss to the Lakers who were sitting Lebron and Anthony Davis, the TNT crew's entertainment factor, and who should have gotten into the All Star Game. That, and much more!  00:40 - Celtics suffer embarrassing loss to lakers 03:40 - C’s dependence on the 3 06:15 - Jaylen Brown struggling offensively 09:25 - Lebron and AD sit out 12:40 - The TNT crew is great 16:08 - is Minnesota for real? 18:26 - Knicks win 9 straight/ Brunson to ASG 20:40 - All Star snubs    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 https://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!    DISCLAIMER: Must be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC]

00:10 All right, it's time for the Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman,

00:24 Tag Me Along for the ride to the pod.

00:26 Bob's on assignment.

00:27 Happy Super Bowl to all those celebrate with

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00:40 Okay, let's get to the Celtics.

00:42 An embarrassing, an embarrassing loss to the Lakers, Jeff.

00:46 Are you pissed off?

00:47 >> I mean, I gotta say I really don't care.

00:52 I know it sounds probably crazy.

00:53 You're expecting me to rant and rave about this one.

00:56 And I'll say is like, if you're prepared to play a team with LeBron and

01:03 Anthony Davis and then neither one of them show up, yeah,

01:06 you're not gonna be as motivated.

01:08 Should you have beaten them by 40 without those two and

01:12 with Reeves being their best player?

01:13 Absolutely.

01:15 I'm just not worried.

01:16 I mean, you look at their overall record.

01:18 It's human nature, right?

01:20 Like, you're not gonna win every game, number one in the NBA.

01:25 There's too many.

01:28 Number two, again, I don't think they're gonna be playing any of these type of

01:32 teams in the playoffs.

01:34 They're gonna be up for the playoffs,

01:35 no matter who they go up against in the first round.

01:39 And I think that's part of what's tough for this team, Gary, is they know,

01:46 and I talked to Tatum about it before the year,

01:49 like they understand they're gonna be judged on what?

01:52 The playoffs, and that's it.

01:54 They could have won every regular season game.

01:56 It doesn't matter.

01:57 Now, they've gotta get better, and I think they have for

02:01 the most part this season, right?

02:02 Like, figure out how to play with one another.

02:05 They've done all that.

02:08 But again, I think this was one of those let down games,

02:13 whatever you wanna call it, that human nature just jumps in and it's like,

02:17 all right, yeah, we're gonna go through the motions and probably win this one.

02:21 >> All right, let's talk about some warning signs.

02:24 Now, from the three, and one of the problems I have with this team is I

02:28 understand they wanna win with the three, but in last night's game, and

02:31 this was an aberration.

02:35 But LA shot 52% from three because the Celtics didn't wanna play any defense.

02:40 >> Yeah. >> Celtics shot 33.3% from three.

02:44 So they didn't play defense last night, which goes to your point about they let

02:49 off, they said, the big guys aren't playing, we're gonna win this, no problem.

02:53 And it was a learning lesson.

02:54 >> Yeah, I mean, again- >> Go ahead.

02:58 >> You're allowing this Lakers team to score 114 points.

03:03 Obviously, you're not playing defense against a bunch of guys that,

03:08 I mean, look at it.

03:09 I mean, this team, D'Angelo Russell, Reeves, Prince, I mean, Vandermyke.

03:17 Like, it's a team full of a lot of fringe NBA players.

03:23 That's why LeBron's complaining about this team.

03:26 >> Yeah, I mean, Reeves had 32 points, it's crazy.

03:28 >> Right, right, they're just, again,

03:31 I'm just not overly concerned about this at all, at all.

03:36 >> Okay, well, let's talk about the three point shooting.

03:38 Because what I'm concerned with, and it could happen in the playoffs,

03:43 is when the three's not falling, their lack of willingness to go to the basket.

03:47 Because they can go to the basket.

03:49 How does Missoula get that point through?

03:52 >> Well, I think if you're making them, it's fine.

03:54 And the beauty of the NBA is it's not like the NCAA tournament.

03:58 It's not a one and done.

03:59 Like, if you're doing that in the NCAA tournament, and you don't make shots,

04:05 and you're not guarding at a good level, you're done, you're out.

04:08 In the NBA, it's still a series where if you're the better team,

04:12 generally, you might have a night like that or two.

04:15 And you gotta be able to win with defense.

04:17 And I think this team can win with defense.

04:19 That's kind of the beauty with them, right?

04:22 Like, Jalen Brown's playing better defense this year than he has the last

04:26 couple years.

04:26 You know Drew Holiday and Derek White can really guard.

04:30 Tatum has taken it upon himself to be better defensively.

04:33 And Porzingis is much better than he's ever been in his career on that end of

04:38 the court.

04:38 So I just, I feel like again, this team has everything.

04:43 But yes, you're right.

04:44 Like, Missoula, on a night when you're not making,

04:47 like you've gotta understand that and then kind of change what you're doing a

04:52 little bit rather than keep taking them, because there are those nights when

04:57 you're gonna go, you know, again, three for 30 from three.

05:01 Instead of going three for 30, make it three for 20 and then get to the basket

05:06 because you've got plenty of guys that can score, you know,

05:09 both in transition, in the half court, around the basket,

05:13 get the ball to Porzingis, have Tatum be a guy who can,

05:17 depending on his matchup, he could certainly post up guys.

05:20 >> I agree with you on the defense.

05:23 It's going to be there in the playoffs.

05:26 We see it with every NBA team.

05:28 I mean, that's not the issue.

05:31 My concern is with the three point shot.

05:33 And I think they'll learn their lesson.

05:36 And it's not like they can't get to the basket.

05:38 They can.

05:39 You know, or they can use Porzingis in a post up role.

05:43 So hopefully we'll see that in the postseason because we all know when you're

05:48 pressing and you're trying to make the three, the more you miss,

05:51 the more you're pressing, you start going to the basket, you make some easy layups.

05:55 Then you kick it out to somebody and they're not even thinking about it and

05:58 they knock one down.

06:00 So the defense, I agree, the defense is gonna be there.

06:03 I agree.

06:04 I just hope they, on the bad night when the three's not falling,

06:09 they go to the two game a little bit sooner than they have.

06:11 And that's that's down in Missoula.

06:13 Now, here's another thing I'll point out.

06:16 Jalen Brown, all star reserve, good for him.

06:19 >> Yeah.

06:20 >> Against the Lakers, he was four for 12 with eight points.

06:22 Against the Clippers, he was three for 13 with eight points.

06:25 Against the Nuggets, Tantum had a bad game against the Nuggets too.

06:29 He was six of 19 for 13 points.

06:32 What's going on there?

06:34 Am I nitpicking?

06:37 >> Yeah, I think you're nitpicking.

06:38 I think Jalen Brown's been much better this year.

06:41 You know why?

06:42 His defense has been back and he's actually passing the basketball.

06:47 So I'm less concerned about his scoring, Gary, than I ever have been.

06:51 I'm less concerned about his shooting than I ever have been,

06:54 because they've got other guys that can do that, that you can rely on, right?

06:58 Like, he's having an off game.

07:00 You know Tatum, Borzingas, Derek White can make his presence felt offensively now.

07:07 And Drew Holliday's capable, although that's not really his role with this team,

07:11 but he can if he needs to.

07:13 And then, you know, Hauser off the bench has proven to be a weapon.

07:18 So yeah, I just, I feel like the beauty of this team is in its balance.

07:28 And depth is probably the wrong word, cuz they're not deep, deep off the bench.

07:32 But what they are is deep among their starting five, six,

07:36 if you want to say, Horford.

07:38 And then Hauser's fine at seven.

07:40 With this group, actually Sam Hauser's great, because again, he makes shots.

07:47 They can't really guard him like they want to guard him,

07:51 because there's too many other weapons around him.

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08:30 How do you think Mazzullo handled the postgame situation last night?

08:33 He was like, "Look, no big deal," kind of laughed it off.

08:35 He had your attitude, as a matter of fact.

08:38 Yeah, I was surprised for Joe.

08:40 Like, that's not what I expected from him, because he's so all business

08:44 that I thought he would have taken it a little bit harder.

08:47 But I think he understands in the big picture, you're not going to get too upset

08:51 about the little things right now, because they have played the way he's wanted them to.

08:56 They have really done everything that we asked them and he's asked them to do this season.

09:03 So, again, it's about the process.

09:07 It's a long year.

09:08 And I think it's impossible not to have slip-ups like that during the season.

09:15 It is impossible.

09:17 They've got to conserve some energy, too.

09:19 And I think that's kind of what they were doing last night,

09:21 is pacing themselves to some degree.

09:24 Okay, load management sucks.

09:27 It just sucks.

09:28 And now it's the Lakers, it's the Garden, and I guess they wanted to play against the Knicks.

09:35 Okay, I'm sorry, LeBron and AD, why can't you play against both teams?

09:39 I mean, and I don't have a solution.

09:41 They were talking last night, and we're going to get to some thoughts

09:44 from Kenny, Charles, and Shaq, and Ernie.

09:46 They were talking about this on TNT last night, about if you play in 65 games or less,

09:53 you're no longer eligible for the All-Star game.

09:56 Shaq's point was, what if you're legitimately hurt?

09:59 Exactly.

09:59 And it's a good point, but it stinks, man.

10:03 I mean, say you laid out the money.

10:06 Gary Washburn mentioned it in the Globe.

10:08 Say you're sitting in the 300 section, you've laid out, you know,

10:11 you've budgeted to see this game, and you're watching AD and LeBron on the bench.

10:17 It's terrible.

10:20 Yeah, it sucks.

10:21 I mean, again, you pay all this money for your kid, you know, to see LeBron.

10:27 It's the last time you think you're going to see LeBron, and you fork out all this money.

10:32 But listen, these days, you know what you're doing.

10:36 You know what you're doing, and that's the hard part of it.

10:39 You know these guys aren't playing.

10:41 You know, you've got to figure with this one, it was almost like, hey,

10:45 we're not winning this game anyway.

10:47 So let's sit these guys and make sure they're healthy for games

10:50 that are winnable, which are at New York, you know, at Charlotte.

10:56 Is New York winnable now?

10:58 We'll get to that in a minute.

10:59 I don't know if it is winnable.

11:00 I don't know, but certainly they feel like that's a whole lot more

11:04 winnable than at Boston.

11:05 And you know, again, there might have been some legitimate--

11:09 listen, I'm not questioning LeBron and his health.

11:13 That dude has played enough games over his career.

11:16 You know, what is he, 39?

11:18 Did he turn 40?

11:19 I can't even remember.

11:19 39, I think.

11:22 I'm not questioning him.

11:24 I mean, Anthony Davis, you always--

11:26 you don't question whether he's hurt, but he's just hurt a lot, a lot.

11:31 So yeah, again, this Lakers team, it's going to be interesting.

11:38 I mean, there's only a few more days before the trade deadline.

11:41 Do they do something big?

11:43 And I don't know what big means.

11:45 Can they, though, with the salary cap restrictions?

11:48 I don't know what I'd do.

11:49 I mean, do you blow it up, is I guess what I'm saying,

11:52 if you're Rob Polenka, to just blow this shit up and--

11:56 You mean trade LeBron or Anthony Davis?

12:00 Where are you going with them right now?

12:01 Yeah, I know.

12:03 I know.

12:04 I know.

12:07 I don't know.

12:07 To try to get something for him at this point,

12:10 get as many picks as you can, and start over-ish.

12:15 And again, you know, Lakers are always going

12:18 to get something in free agency because they're the Lakers.

12:22 But what they're missing is any sort of plan for the future now.

12:28 Like, LeBron's going to go here in the next year or two.

12:31 And then you're going to be shitty anyway.

12:33 Yeah, you're right.

12:36 Tough, tough, tough move to make.

12:39 You have to do something.

12:41 OK, my second favorite podcast is Smartless.

12:49 I don't know if you've listened to it at all, but it's fantastic.

12:52 I've been told I need to listen to it.

12:54 Oh, it's great.

12:55 They went on a tour, OK?

12:58 And they did a special--

12:59 I think it was on-- was it Netflix or HBO?

13:01 I can't remember one or the other.

13:03 And they did live shows.

13:06 And Bruce Springsteen went on Broadway and did a live show.

13:09 They're talking about their lives.

13:11 My suggestion is that the TNT crew

13:15 needs to go on Broadway and do a live show.

13:21 I'm not kidding.

13:23 And just like-- because if you listen to Smartless,

13:25 like, you'll understand it.

13:26 It's just put those four guys in seats on a stage,

13:30 do questions and answers, talk about their lives,

13:34 talk about everything they've experienced.

13:36 They are so entertaining.

13:38 And when the Celtics are on TNT, I'm

13:40 reminded how great they are.

13:44 Awesome.

13:44 I mean, I could listen to that show all the time.

13:48 I mean, again, it's the best studio show by far on TV.

13:52 And I think it's, again, what are we told?

13:56 Like, inform and entertain, right?

13:59 Inform and entertain, in whatever order.

14:01 It might be entertain and inform these days.

14:04 But they do both.

14:06 They do both, and they have no filter doing it.

14:09 And I think that's the beauty of it,

14:10 is we know they've done so much in their lives.

14:15 And where everybody else is worried what they say

14:19 in this day and age, right?

14:20 Like on TV.

14:21 Yeah.

14:22 And we need to be.

14:24 Those guys aren't.

14:25 Especially, again, Shaq and Chuck.

14:29 And I know Chuck not well, well.

14:31 But I know him fairly well.

14:34 And the dude is like the best guy you'll ever meet.

14:36 Fantastic.

14:38 The best.

14:39 Like literally, like I said, I don't know him well.

14:43 I'll walk into the arena at the Final Four.

14:46 Even a couple of years ago, I'm walking down the street in,

14:51 I think it was Atlanta maybe.

14:53 I'm walking down the street, and all of a sudden,

14:56 somebody sticks their head out a limo and yells, hey, Goodman.

15:00 And it's Chuck.

15:01 Like literally.

15:03 He's got a way about him that he can say how he feels

15:09 and hammer people and still be well-liked for the most part.

15:15 Well, he does a great talk show with Gayle King, too.

15:19 I mean, it's fantastic.

15:21 It's a great show.

15:24 I remember Barkley.

15:26 I remember Shaq.

15:28 I think Kobe did this as well.

15:31 When Red died, and they saw Tommy when they were at the Garden

15:39 for whatever reason, and they all went up to Tommy,

15:41 and they offered their condolences.

15:43 You know, they had so much respect for the league and so forth.

15:47 So let me throw a couple of things out there that they said about this game.

15:53 Shaq said, champions stay focused, and they blow teams out by 40.

16:00 Then Chuck said, I wonder if the Celtics are mentally tough.

16:03 But here's a really good point by Chuck, I thought.

16:09 He said, you know, Minnesota beat Dallas without Kyrie and Luka by 40.

16:15 Because Chuck was like saying, I don't know about Minnesota.

16:17 And me too, I've always been kind of like, well, are the T-Royals for real?

16:21 So I'll just let you respond to those points,

16:23 because I thought those were really good takes.

16:26 They're good takes, but I'll say it's like Minnesota's accomplished nothing.

16:30 They haven't done anything yet, zero.

16:32 Like the Celtics are still, to me, playing for the playoffs.

16:37 And that's difficult to process, right?

16:39 Like again, Tatum said that to me before the season.

16:43 Like we need to not fast forward to the playoffs.

16:48 We need to get better every game, every practice.

16:52 It's easier said than done.

16:53 There's going to be some slip ups, but that's the key for this team, right?

16:58 It's like everybody knows they're going to be judged by what they do in the postseason,

17:03 because they've fallen short over the years.

17:08 So it's harder for them to get up than Minnesota that's still trying to prove people wrong,

17:13 even that they're the best team in the West, or one of the best teams in the West.

17:19 It's different.

17:20 They're just at different spaces.

17:21 All I'll say to those guys is like, really?

17:25 You're going to trust Minnesota over the Celtics when it comes to the playoffs?

17:29 Because they beat a crappy team by 40 and the Celtics didn't?

17:33 I'm not going there.

17:36 - It's also interesting when you listen to these three.

17:41 Like I don't remember them sitting out of a lot of games.

17:43 - No, nobody did.

17:45 - They must look at these guys and go, "What?"

17:49 - They played.

17:50 They played hurt.

17:51 That's the difference.

17:52 - They played hurt.

17:53 - 20, 30 years ago, you played hurt.

17:57 Now you're playing, a lot of times, a lot of guys are playing to protect a contract.

18:03 That's what they're doing.

18:04 They're protecting themselves, which I think that's just gotten to be the case.

18:08 That's why I love Tatum.

18:10 Tatum plays most games.

18:11 I mean, look at the percentage of games he plays.

18:15 It's about as high as any all-star out there.

18:18 Now, again, that may not be the case when he gets older, but for right now, he doesn't

18:22 take a lot of days off.

18:24 All right, are we getting to all-star snubs?

18:27 - Well, I want to get to the Knicks ending in the all-star.

18:31 Knicks have won nine straight, the 32 and 17.

18:34 Brunson with 40 points.

18:36 They beat Indiana, and Brunson gets on the all-star team.

18:39 I just know you're a fan of his.

18:42 I think that you've been a proponent of his.

18:43 Bob was a little suspicious.

18:45 I'll just let you have your victory parade there.

18:48 - Well, both of us.

18:49 I think both of us have been behind.

18:51 Yeah, maybe Bob early on.

18:53 - Bob was a little suspect.

18:55 - Well, we were both suspect to whether he could be a guy, the guy, on a championship-contending

19:02 team, and I'm still not sold of that yet.

19:05 And it's not so much about Jalen.

19:08 It's almost kind of like his running mate, Julius Randle, who's an all-star and has played

19:12 great this year.

19:13 - And he's heard he's out for two to three weeks now.

19:15 - Yeah, I just don't know if Randle can be trusted at that level yet in the postseason,

19:20 but listen, Jalen Brunson's been the ultimate winner.

19:23 I mean, won two national titles in college at Villanova.

19:29 It's all about the right things.

19:31 That's what I will say with Jalen Brunson.

19:32 - You gotta root for that kid.

19:34 I root for that kid.

19:36 - He's awesome.

19:37 He's awesome.

19:38 And the fun part about Jalen Brunson is, at Villanova, they're almost told to be robots

19:45 by Jay Wright when Jay Wright was there.

19:47 And I remember asking Jalen this question a couple years ago.

19:50 I'm like, "Dude, you guys all have personalities."

19:53 I saw it behind closed doors.

19:55 And he's like, "Yeah, we all did, but it was just the Villanova way.

19:59 We couldn't show it.

20:00 We just couldn't show our personalities."

20:02 Jalen's very, again, he's very mature.

20:08 He's very mature, and you're seeing that with...

20:10 He was the right guy for the Knicks because Jalen Brunson can also handle criticism.

20:16 He's not gonna lash back when things are going poorly by the New York media or anything like

20:21 that.

20:22 And there's nothing for him to lash back for right now because they're playing well.

20:24 But if they lose Steven in the first round of the playoffs, let's say, and the New York

20:29 media hammers him, Jalen Brunson's gonna be able to take it.

20:34 He's not mentally tough, Gary.

20:36 He's perfect for New York.

20:39 - I agree.

20:40 I mean, I just root for the guy.

20:42 Okay, all-star subs.

20:44 And boy, it's hard.

20:47 It's hard, Jeff.

20:48 There's a lot of talent.

20:49 We all know who the starters are.

20:51 And of course, Randle is not gonna play, so they'll need a replacement there.

20:56 So what are your thoughts on the reserves?

20:59 - I'm gonna say there's one guy overall that I feel like should have been in, and I've

21:03 got to do this for Bob Ryan as well, stick up for Demantis Sabonis.

21:08 - Oh, right, right, right, right, right.

21:11 - He's been unbelievable.

21:13 Sacramento didn't get any representation.

21:15 Darren Fox didn't make it either, but I would have went Sabonis over even Fox.

21:20 He's averaging 20 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists.

21:24 I mean, those are insane numbers, insane numbers.

21:27 And it's not like Sacramento hasn't been good.

21:29 I think they're fourth or fifth in the league right now.

21:34 Domus has been a guy that, again, I would have put him on there over Carl Anthony Towns.

21:39 - Okay.

21:40 - 'Cause it's always easy to say, "Oh, he got snubbed, he got snubbed, he got snubbed."

21:46 Yeah, but who are you taking off?

21:47 - Right, well, that's my question.

21:48 - Who are you taking off?

21:49 - Yeah.

21:50 - Right, I would have taken Towns off, and I know, again, Towns is with Minnesota, but

21:55 Anthony Edwards has been clearly their best player.

21:57 He's in the All-Star game.

21:59 I would have put Sabonis on there in place of Cat.

22:03 - Who takes Randle's spot?

22:07 - It's funny.

22:08 A lot of people who say Trae Young, his numbers are great, but the difference is there's seven

22:13 games under .500.

22:14 - Right.

22:15 - Like, I feel like Trae Young, again, you've gotta be .500 here.

22:19 Like, with that team, if you're, and he is arguably the worst defensive player in the

22:25 league.

22:26 I mean, he's bottom five of anybody who plays a lot of minutes.

22:29 So, like, as good as he is offensively, he gives up so much defensively that I'm not

22:36 sure I'd put Trae Young on there, but I think he'll get in there for Randle.

22:41 - Does White have a chance?

22:44 - I think Porzingis gets in over White, to be honest.

22:47 - Yeah, that's a good point.

22:50 - Jeff.

22:51 - Yeah.

22:52 - Always a pleasure, my friend.

22:54 Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, Tango Real Long for the Ride, Zoom, and Pod, brought to you by

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22:58 Happy Super Bowl to all who celebrate from FanDuel, America's number one sports book.

23:04 Super Bowl Sunday, it's all about scoring the best seats on the couch, grabbing your

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23:09 All right, Jeff, until next week, bud.

23:11 - You got it.

23:12 We'll talk soon.

23:13 [outro music]

23:26 (upbeat music)

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