Celtics Season Review and Player AWARDS | Big 3 NBA Podcast - video Dailymotion

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A. Sherrod Blakely and Gary Washburn discuss what worked, what didn’t work, and some of the standout performers not named Tatum or Brown for the Celtics during the championship 2024 season.  0:00 - Celtics Championship Celebration 1:06 - National Media's Perception 5:30 - Dominating Wins over Miami and Golden State 7:20 - Elite Defense, Improving Offense 10:57 - Turning Point: Nine Straight Wins 12:59 - Responding to Adversity 16:10 - Low Point Against Clippers 18:02 - Nervous After Hawks Loss 20:11 - Championship Team Response 23:44 - Luke Kornet's Contribution 25:24 - Sam's Pleasant Surprise 26:55 - Kornet's Shooting Mystery 30:07 - Kornet's Three-Point Dilemma 31:46 - Embracing the Three-Point Trend 33:20 - Unsung Contributions on Celtics 34:55 - Pritchard's Valuable Role 37:24 - Al Horford's Resilience 39:07 - Al's Remarkable Three-Point Shooting 41:24 - Porzingis' Recovery Concerns    CLNS Media is Powered by:   Prize Picks - PrizePicks.com/CLNS  Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100!   Gametime - https://gametime.co  Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Last minute tickets. Lowest Price. Guaranteed. Terms apply.  Elevate your style game on and off the course with the PXG Spring Summer 2024 collection. Head over to https://PXG.com/GARDENREPORT and save 10% on all apparel.  Nutrafol Men! Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com/MEN and enter the promo code GARDEN!   #celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics The CLNS Media Network is the leading provider for video/audio content. CLNS is a fully credentialed member of the media with access to all NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB teams & venues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  CLNS' rebuilt their YouTube community in less than 12 months, during a pandemic that attacked sports. Wondering how? Find out here (and support our channel) - https://www.tubebuddy.com/clnsmedia  Visit the Official Home of CLNS Sports Coverage -  https://clnsmedia.com  Twitter - https://twitter.com/CLNSMedia Celtics - https://twitter.com/celticsclns Patriots - https://twitter.com/patriotsclns Bruins - https://twitter.com/bruinsclns Red Sox - https://twitter.com/redsoxclns Non-Sports - https://twitter.com/northstation Facebook - http://facebook.com/clnsmedia INSTA - http://Instagram.com/clnsmedia INSTA Celtics - http://Instagram.com/celticsclns INSTA History - http://Instagram.com/nbahistoryclns

Transcript

00:00The Big 3 NBA Podcast is powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the

00:23GLNS Media Network.

00:25Welcome to another edition of The Big 3 NBA Podcast.

00:30Here is A'shara Blakely, joined by Gary Washburn.

00:33Our good friend and colleague, Kwanye A. Luna, is feeling a little under the weather today.

00:39So maybe she had a little too much celebrating this Banner 18.

00:44Who knows?

00:45Who knows?

00:46But yes, I'm going to throw shade at Kwanye when she ain't here, Gary.

00:48You're damn right I'm going to do it.

00:50Yes.

00:51Yes.

00:52I am him.

00:53Speaking of the Celtics, I know I ain't right.

00:56I ain't right.

00:57The world ain't right, though, as Dale Davis told us many, many times, the world ain't

01:02right.

01:03The world ain't right.

01:05I know.

01:06But the Celtics, I mean, obviously, since they won a championship, they've been, you

01:09know, globetrotting out of this world sometime in Florida, had the big parade here in Boston.

01:16And in the course of them celebrating, we've seen a little bit of a 180 on the national

01:21media, many of whom thought Dallas was going to win in five, six, sometimes seven games.

01:27And it's been interesting to see how they've kind of flipped the script a little bit on

01:30explaining why the Celtics were just a better team and why the Celtics are this great team

01:36now.

01:37But I want to before we start looking too far into the future, Gary, I wanted us to

01:41take a minute just kind of really just kind of look back and reflect on this Celtics team

01:45this past year.

01:47And one of the things I want to just kind of get your take on was, you know, there was

01:51a lot of big moments for this team, I thought, this year.

01:54But when you think about just the most memorable moment or just a couple of memorable moments,

01:58what comes to mind right away for you?

02:00Oh, it's a good question.

02:08I just think I think the first game when they just blew up Miami on the road during the

02:14regular season, and you went out there in January and just put it on them.

02:21And it was like, they just they just completely blew them out.

02:27And I just thought that was a sign that they were kind of getting over some of their past

02:30issues.

02:31And then on that same road trip, they won at Dallas.

02:35And I just thought that was that was kind of a signature moment for this team.

02:46Always winning at LA, beating the Lakers, you know, blowing out the Clippers on the

02:52road during that Christmas road trip.

02:54And then just honestly, just the consistency, never really, never losing more than two games

03:03in a row, you know, beating all their rivals, you know, pretty much that home win against

03:10Milwaukee.

03:11And I think, you know, when Dame and those guys came in, it was like the first time they

03:15faced Dame.

03:19Just overall, like excellence, right?

03:24And if you look at, you know, and if you look at the overtime win, when they were really

03:31kind of exhausted, beating Minnesota at home in overtime, I thought, putting it on Phoenix

03:37on the road during that late, late season road trip, when they went out to Phoenix and

03:43really hammered the Suns or put it on them late, and then beating, and then some of their

03:50rounding home, beating Dallas again in the regular season by 30 points at home.

03:57Just the overall dominance, when a team never loses more than two games in a row, I mean,

04:03it's just amazing if you look at it, if you look at the wins they had and able to beat

04:09the Phillies and the Indianas and the Miamis and, you know, beating the Knicks four times.

04:18Those are the regular season moments that I remember, and it was just a team effort,

04:24you know, Porzingis doing great things, Drew Holiday, of course, Jason and Jalen, Derek

04:29White, just having, you know, just having, just seeing those guys play together as a

04:34team.

04:35I think it's a one thing, like they didn't have a guy, you know, oh, he scored 53 points

04:40tonight or 60 points, they didn't have one of those nights.

04:44Everybody would get in on it, and they didn't have, you know, I don't know if their high

04:48score, I think Jalen, everybody had 41 or 43 in a game.

04:54I don't think they had, like, these incredibly high scores because they were so balanced.

04:59So what stands out to me, honestly, is just the consistency and the balance of just taking

05:04on, oh, and one of those moments really blowing out Golden State, I mean, just simply, like

05:10the Warriors, that game was over at halftime, and I think the Warriors kind of gave up,

05:16you know, rested Steph and those guys after halftime, like, exercising some of those demons

05:22of the past, some of those teams that had given them trouble, putting them down and

05:27making a statement.

05:28That's what stood out to me.

05:29Yeah, I mean, that was the point that I was going to make, because it really, I looked

05:32at the Miami win and the Golden State win as really the two memorable moments for me

05:37with this team, because those were two teams that when you look at the hurdles that have

05:41kept this Celtics team from just being one of the greatest teams in this five, six-year

05:47window, those are the two teams that really, I thought, stood out.

05:51And for them to not just beat them this year, well, beat the crap out of them, I mean, it

05:56felt very personal, the way they went about dismantling those teams, like, we're not just,

06:01we know we're better than you, but we're not just going to beat you, we are going to annihilate

06:06you and just absolutely, you know, decimate you in every way imaginable to the point where

06:13you're going to be calling for mercy by halftime.

06:16And to me, that was a sign for me that this team is a little bit different, that this

06:21team is a little bit more locked into not just winning games, but winning games in a

06:27fashion that stands out from any other team in the league.

06:31Because the Golden State win, they won that one by 52.

06:34That was the third time this season that they beat someone by 50 or more points, something

06:39that no NBA team has ever done in a single regular season.

06:43And when you're able to do, you know, when you're making history along the lines of how

06:49badly you're absolutely stomping teams, that says a lot about your team, especially when

06:55you are a team that isn't necessarily built around being an elite, top-tier offense.

07:01I mean, they've got guys who can score, but the bread and butter, the foundation of this

07:05team is what they do defensively.

07:06When you look at Drew Holiday, you look at Derek White, you look at the growth that we've

07:10seen from Jalen Brown and Tatum along those lines.

07:13You got Al Horford, who's a guy who has been an all-NBA defender before.

07:18So defense is what this team does well, but they were able to marry top-shelf defense

07:23with a steadily but consistently improving offense to where they were, just frankly,

07:30a team that could beat you by 52 points and then not score, and they won't need to score

07:34180 points to do it.

07:36And to me, again, those are the kind of moments that, as I look back on this team in their

07:42season, really stand out to me.

07:45But as far as like the most memorable game, I can't even limit it to the regular season.

07:51I got to go to the postseason because those are the games that mattered most.

07:54You said the regular season, man, you can't be breaking rules and changing the rules.

07:58I'm changing the game.

07:59I'm changing the game.

08:00You said the regular season.

08:01I'm like, oh man, I can't think of nothing now.

08:02Oh, well, those are changing the playoffs.

08:03Hey, we gonna change it up.

08:04What's your regular season game, G-Money?

08:05What's your regular season?

08:06What's the one regular season game that you want to talk about?

08:07I say the home win over the Warriors.

08:08Like, just sending them home, you know, reeling.

08:09Yeah, that was my regular season.

08:10Like, man, maybe this team is different.

08:11Like, we're not messing around with you.

08:12They lost to them in Golden State.

08:13In December, they came and put a can on us.

08:14Like, we're not messing around with you.

08:15Like, we're not messing around with you.

08:16They lost to them in Golden State.

08:18For me, it was them beating the Bucs.

08:19And then, because to me, that was a game of,

08:20that was a team that, you know,

08:21that was a team that, you know,

08:22that was a team that, you know,

08:23that was a team that, you know,

08:24that was a team that, you know,

08:25that was a team that, you know,

08:26that was a team that, you know,

08:27that was a team that, you know,

08:28that was a team that, you know,

08:29that was a team that, you know,

08:30that was a team that, you know,

08:31that was a team that, you know,

08:32that was a team that, you know,

08:33that was a team that, you know,

08:34that was a team that, you know,

08:35that was a team that, you know,

08:36that was a team that, you know,

08:37that was a team that, you know,

08:38that was a team that, you know,

08:39that was a team that, you know,

08:40that was a team that, you know,

08:41that was a team that, you know,

08:42that was a team that, you know,

08:43that was a team that, you know,

08:44that was a team that, you know,

08:45that was a team that, you know,

08:46that was a team that, you know,

08:47that was a team that, you know,

08:48that was a team that, you know,

08:49that was a team that, you know,

08:50that was a team that, you know,

08:51that was a team that, you know,

08:52that was a team that, you know,

08:53that was a team that, you know,

08:54that was a team that, you know,

08:55that was a team that, you know,

08:56that was a team that, you know,

08:57that was a team that, you know,

08:58that was a team that, you know,

08:59that was a team that, you know,

09:00that was a team that, you know,

09:01that was a team that, you know,

09:02that was a team that, you know,

09:03that was a team that, you know,

09:04that was a team that, you know,

09:05that was a team that, you know,

09:06that was a team that, you know,

09:07that was a team that, you know,

09:08that was a team that, you know,

09:09that was a team that, you know,

09:10that was a team that, you know,

09:11that was a team that, you know,

09:12that was a team that, you know,

09:13that was a team that, you know,

09:14that was a team that, you know,

09:15that was a team that, you know,

09:16that was a team that, you know,

09:17that was a team that, you know,

09:18that was a team that, you know,

09:19that was a team that, you know,

09:20that was a team that, you know,

09:21that was a team that, you know,

09:22that was a team that, you know,

09:23that was a team that, you know,

09:24that was a team that, you know,

09:25that was a team that, you know,

09:26that was a team that, you know,

09:27that was a team that, you know,

09:28that was a team that, you know,

09:29that was a team that, you know,

09:30that was a team that, you know,

09:31that was a team that, you know,

09:32that was a team that, you know,

09:33that was a team that, you know,

09:34that was a team that, you know,

09:35that was a team that, you know,

09:36that was a team that, you know,

09:37that was a team that, you know,

09:38that was a team that, you know,

09:39that was a team that, you know,

09:40that was a team that, you know,

09:41that was a team that, you know,

09:42that was a team that, you know,

09:43that was a team that, you know,

09:44that was a team that, you know,

09:45that was a team that, you know,

09:46that was a team that, you know,

09:47that was a team that, you know,

09:48that was a team that, you know,

09:49that was a team that, you know,

09:50that was a team that, you know,

09:51that was a team that, you know,

09:52that was a team that, you know,

09:53that was a team that, you know,

09:54that was a team that, you know,

09:55that was a team that, you know,

09:56that was a team that, you know,

09:57I can't I can't argue with that

09:58I can't I can't argue with that

09:59I can't I can't argue with that

10:00one because I mean that did not

10:01one because I mean that did not

10:02see that coming I mean you you

10:03see that coming I mean you you

10:04can kind of anticipate that that

10:05can kind of anticipate that that

10:06they were going to win that game

10:07they were going to win that game

10:08but a 52 point spanking I mean

10:09but a 52 point spanking I mean

10:10because even when the Celtics

10:11because even when the Celtics

10:12empty the bench they were still

10:13empty the bench they were still

10:14getting buckets they were and

10:15getting buckets they were and

10:16that that's just that's not

10:17normal particularly for a

10:18Celtics team that when you look

10:19at that that's just that's not

10:20normal particularly for a

10:21Celtics team that when you look

10:23can turn to on that on that

10:24can turn to on that on that

10:25bench they didn't have that all

10:26bench they didn't have that all

10:27season and certainly they had

10:28season and certainly they had

10:29moments here and there but that

10:30moments here and there but that

10:31was not something that you were

10:32going to get a steady diet of

10:33was not something that you were

10:34going to get a steady diet of

10:35from this team so the Celtics

10:36from this team so the Celtics

10:37they definitely had I think

10:38they definitely had I think

10:39Golden State Milwaukee Miami

10:40Golden State Milwaukee Miami

10:41Golden State Milwaukee Miami

10:42those are the ones that I

10:43those are the ones that I

10:44thought were really important

10:45thought were really important

10:46but you know in any time you

10:47but you know in any time you

10:48win a championship there's

10:49win a championship there's

10:50usually that one moment where

10:51usually that one moment where

10:52you realize that you're

10:53you realize that you're

10:54different which to play off

10:55different which to play off

10:56that we're different here

10:57that we're different here

10:58little little in season you

10:59little little in season you

11:00know mantra was there a game

11:01know mantra was there a game

11:02or was there a moment where you

11:03or was there a moment where you

11:04thought that the season was

11:05thought that the season was

11:06was pivoting in a way that you

11:07was pivoting in a way that you

11:08can kind of see that this team

11:09can kind of see that this team

11:10maybe was going to be good

11:11maybe was going to be good

11:12enough to win a championship

11:13enough to win a championship

11:14I probably would say

11:20from that I think they lost

11:21from that I think they lost

11:22I'm gonna say the how to look

11:23I'm gonna say the how to look

11:25the West Coast

11:26there was a West Coast road

11:27trip there was a West Coast road

11:28trip there was a

11:30that was late Mark that they

11:31had lost a couple of games and

11:33I think they had lost

11:34two in a row

11:39to Denver and

11:42they had lost you know

11:45were probably

11:47the most disappointing loss of

11:48the season was that

11:49was at Denver when it was kind of a hyped up game

11:52and Jason just didn't play well,

11:55just was not quite himself,

11:57and they just kind of slept walked.

11:59Jalen was good, he had 41,

12:03and it was just like, yeah,

12:05they lost that back-to-back games,

12:10that Cleveland, that Dean Wade game,

12:14and two nights later they lost at Denver,

12:17and Jalen went for 41 and 14,

12:19but Tatum just did not show up offensively,

12:23and they went and ran off nine straight wins after that.

12:26I thought that was different.

12:28They won at Phoenix and Portland,

12:29they won at Utah, they beat the Suns again,

12:34they beat Milwaukee, they handled your Pistons,

12:38they beat the Bulls.

12:39You know, like they came back and said,

12:42okay, like, we're not the old Celtics,

12:46we're not gonna let this turn

12:47into a five-game losing streak,

12:48we're gonna take care of business,

12:50and they won the next nine games.

12:53And then the rest of the season,

12:54they lost those two against Atlanta,

12:56and I also thought, you know, they came back,

12:59they won at New Orleans, they beat the Thunder,

13:03after that they won five straight, you know,

13:04so this team was always ready to respond from adversity,

13:09and I just thought those two losses,

13:11it was a crippling loss against Cleveland,

13:14and that was after that 52-point win over Golden State,

13:18and then they come back and lose against Denver,

13:21and everybody was saying,

13:22well, Denver is gonna be the favorite,

13:25the Celtics can't beat Denver in the playoffs,

13:27obviously we never know,

13:29because Denver didn't make it there,

13:30but the Celtics after that responding

13:32with nine straight wins,

13:34I thought that's what made them different than years past,

13:38you know, and they went on to win

13:40like 14 to 16 after that,

13:42and I just thought that's a championship caliber team.

13:45I thought for me,

13:47I gotta go back a little bit earlier in the season,

13:50when they lost their first set of back-to-back losses,

13:53which was a loss at Minnesota, they lost at Philadelphia,

13:57and then they won, I think it was like five or six

13:59in a row after that,

13:59but for me, that was a turning point,

14:02because they lost to two teams that were considered,

14:05you know, Minnesota even then

14:08was one of the better teams out West,

14:10and Philadelphia, you know,

14:12as long as you got Joel Embiid on your roster,

14:14you are going to be a threat in the playoffs,

14:17because he's that damn good and that dominant,

14:18and they ran off like,

14:20not only did they win like five or six in a row,

14:22but they were hammering teams,

14:24I mean, I'm looking at it now,

14:26you know, they beat Brooklyn by 14,

14:28they beat the Raptors,

14:31they beat them by 20 and some change,

14:34they beat the Knicks by about 16,

14:36they beat Philly, again, double digits,

14:39they had the close one against Toronto,

14:41but that was, I believe it was a back,

14:43no, it was one close game and they beat Memphis,

14:46and so they started to start racking up those wins

14:49that showed that, yeah, we lost to two really good teams,

14:51but we're not going to let this snowball,

14:54we're not going to be that team that you've seen before,

14:57where you lose a couple games,

14:58and then you might get a win,

15:00and then you might lose a couple more games,

15:01and then it becomes one of those four out of five games,

15:03they lose type situation.

15:05They showed early on that I thought that they were built

15:08in a way to withstand the ups and downs

15:11that come with the NBA season,

15:13and proved that, you know,

15:15this team was a little bit more mentally tough

15:17than I think we thought,

15:19and that to me, when I think about

15:20just some of the season turning points,

15:22that was when for me,

15:23I really started to believe that this team could go far,

15:26because they were able to take a very tough

15:29back-to-back set of losses,

15:31and not allow it to snowball,

15:34and we saw that throughout the season,

15:36whenever they lost a game here,

15:37or a couple games there,

15:39it never got to the point where it was able to snowball,

15:42and when you look at their season trajectory,

15:44it began early on with those back-to-back losses

15:47to Minnesota and Philly.

15:49Now, obviously, we're talking about

15:51a lot of the great things that happened with this team,

15:53but for what, Gary, was a low point for you,

15:57like where you were just like,

15:58damn, I don't know about these cats right about now.

16:02Did you have a moment like that?

16:04Um, that's a good question.

16:11I'm gonna say there was two, late January,

16:17they lost it, they got blown out at home by the Clippers,

16:21and then a few nights later,

16:23they lost at home to the Lakers,

16:26without LeBron and AD,

16:29and I just thought, come on, guys,

16:31that's not a championship team right there.

16:35And they responded, obviously, after that Lakers loss.

16:40They won, let me see here, 11 in a row.

16:43So, they were, you know, they always bounce back,

16:48but I just thought that February 1st game against the Lakers

16:51where Austin Reeves went nuts,

16:54and they just didn't play well,

16:56and it was like, come on, guys,

16:57this is not a good Laker team,

17:00even with LeBron and AD, they're a good team,

17:03but without Hall of Famer and the top two player all time,

17:09top 75 guys, you can't beat these team at home,

17:13and that was when I thought mentally

17:14maybe they weren't quite there,

17:16and they just slipped, it was just a slippage,

17:21you know, and that's what they did,

17:22but they came back, couple nights later,

17:24they beat Memphis by 40,

17:26and then they beat Atlanta and Washington,

17:29and won again at Miami,

17:31and then beat Brooklyn a couple times

17:33in an All-Star break game,

17:35and they won five more in a row.

17:37So, you know, they always bounce back,

17:39but I thought that Laker game at home

17:42was one of their probably more disappointing games

17:44of the season.

17:45Yeah, yeah, I mean, that definitely, you know,

17:48stacked up pretty high in my eyes, too.

17:50It was really just inexcusable that they lost that game.

17:55You should never lose a game to a team

17:58that mediocre, but for me,

18:02the point where I was a little bit nervous about this team

18:04was when they lost those back-to-back games to the Hawks,

18:07because remember, you know, the Celtics,

18:09they had been flying high all season long,

18:12and had shown, like, no signs of crumbling,

18:15or weakness, or mental fatigue,

18:18or just mental struggles, or anything like that,

18:20and then you go to Atlanta for, you know,

18:23a couple games, and you get your ass kicked by a bad team,

18:26and it was a close game.

18:28They were both close games, but that's, to me,

18:30that's besides the point.

18:31It should have never been close.

18:32That was a trash Atlanta team

18:35that you lost to back-to-back,

18:37and then, to me, Gary, what made me nervous

18:39was that after you lost to those two games,

18:42then you had to go to New Orleans

18:44and deal with Zion Williamson and the Pelicans,

18:46and again, a healthy Zion, relatively healthy Zion,

18:49New Orleans has shown time and time again,

18:52they're a really good team

18:54when he and the rest of their core guys are healthy.

18:57They're one of the better teams in the Western Conference,

18:59and so I'm thinking, like, here we go,

19:01the first three-game losing streak

19:02that the Celtics are gonna have, and they showed up.

19:05They won that game by double digits.

19:07Zion, you know, he did what Zion is always gonna do,

19:11and it's just put up big numbers,

19:12but I'm looking back at that game,

19:14and, you know, the Celtics, their core guys were good.

19:17I mean, Tatum had 23, they got 19 for Prazingis.

19:22It was a very balanced effort,

19:23but the key to that game for the Celtics,

19:25you know, just looking back at the numbers

19:26was their defense.

19:28They did not allow, they kept the Pelicans as a team,

19:31shooting below 40% from the field,

19:32below 40% from three-point range.

19:35They handled their business on the glass,

19:37and so it was a reminder that this team,

19:40when their backs were to the wall,

19:41which I think they felt that their backs

19:43were against the wall going into that game

19:46because they'd lost two in a row to a bad team,

19:48they respond, and that, to me,

19:51is one of the signs of a great championship-caliber team,

19:53the ability to respond when you absolutely

19:56have to get it done, and that is, to me,

20:00it became not only was it one of those moments

20:03in that particular stretch of the season,

20:05but it became almost like an unspoken anthem

20:08for them all season long, respond when called upon, so.

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21:57Now, one of the things that we probably should have done

22:02is, and I think we'll probably do that

22:03at the beginning of the season, Gary,

22:04because we didn't do it this year,

22:05but I think we'll do it next year,

22:07is we need to give out some preseason awards,

22:10like make some prognostications out here

22:14about what, yes, it's a word today, Gary, it's a word.

22:18See, Cal Cubbies, Cal Berkeley Cats,

22:22y'all think y'all better than everyone, y'all not.

22:26That Syracuse education at work, yes, yes, sir, yes, sir.

22:30Anyway, what I wanted us to do was just kind of look

22:34at just the Celtics roster, give out some awards.

22:37And for me, one of the first awards

22:39I want to talk to you about

22:40is the biggest surprise performer.

22:42Who was the one guy that you saw this season

22:46that exceeded your expectations significantly

22:50compared to what you thought

22:51you were going to be seeing from them?

22:53I'm going to say Luke Cornett.

22:54Ah, damn it.

22:57I didn't think much of him

22:58in terms of him really contributing,

23:00but he did everything he was supposed to do,

23:03came off the bench, provided good minutes.

23:06He contributed to a championship team.

23:08You can't ask me more than that.

23:10I thought maybe Cato would come in there

23:13and maybe take some of his minutes.

23:15Even our man Xavier Tillman, when he got acquired,

23:19it was like, okay,

23:21maybe Cornett's playing time will decrease,

23:24but Cornett did exactly what he was asked to do.

23:28He stepped in, he took a step forward,

23:31he made plays, he played decent defense.

23:34He was not a mess out there at all.

23:38He did exactly what he was supposed to do,

23:40took a major step forward

23:41and helped them win the championship.

23:43So I got to say Luke Cornett,

23:45because I was not sure of his role this year.

23:48I just thought they needed another big,

23:50they needed somebody else to step in

23:52and impose themselves as a real force in the paint.

23:57But Luke Cornett did good enough,

24:00kept his role,

24:03got his contract guaranteed

24:05and stayed through the season

24:07and now is an NBA champion.

24:10Yeah, Luke, that's a good one.

24:11That's a good one.

24:12The guy that I'm going to go with is Sam Houser,

24:15because I honestly thought

24:16that his one dimension ability to knock down shots

24:19wasn't going to be enough to keep him in a rotation.

24:22I thought at some point he would fall off

24:25and be a borderline rotation guy,

24:28but that never happened.

24:29And the reason why was because Sam showed himself

24:32to be a much better defender

24:34than I think most people thought.

24:36I mean, even though last season,

24:37he had that, I thought fluky stat

24:39where his defensive rating was just ridiculous,

24:41but that had more to do with the guys around him

24:43than anything else.

24:44But if you watched him play this year,

24:46I mean, particularly in a playoffs,

24:48the job that he did on Luka,

24:49I mean, Luka still got shots,

24:51but damn, Luka had to work way harder on Sam Houser

24:55than I think Luka thought that he would have to.

24:58It's one thing when Jalen Brown and Derek Wyatt

25:02and those cats are defending you,

25:03but this is supposed to be their shooter,

25:05their offensive sniper,

25:07and he's forcing you to turn the ball over

25:10and shoot more fadeaways

25:11than you thought you'd be able to shoot

25:13and force you to not go and just bully ball him

25:17because you can't do it the way you thought you could.

25:19Sam Houser was the biggest surprise performer

25:22because he was able to be relatively consistent.

25:25He had a couple of stretches there for four or five games

25:28where he was just out of it.

25:29And we saw, obviously, in the Indiana Pierson series,

25:31there was just a bad series.

25:32And we talked about that before,

25:34and that might be a rough one for him.

25:36But overall, I thought Sam

25:38was a really pleasant surprise for this team

25:41and gave them, I thought, a lot of juice

25:43that, frankly, I just didn't anticipate

25:47he would be able to do,

25:48particularly at both ends of the floor.

25:50Now, I'm gonna take this next one right off the bat,

25:53the super sub.

25:54I'm gonna go first here.

25:54I'm gonna call my number.

25:56Get in the game, Shirai.

25:57You got this one.

25:59I'm calling my number.

26:00My super sub is your boy, Luke Cornett.

26:06And I had to go with Luke

26:09because he was the one guy that, come hell or high water,

26:12he found a way to get on the floor.

26:14And the thing that I really liked about Luke

26:18was he understood his role,

26:20and he never tried to step outside of that.

26:23Luke was like, I'm going to screen.

26:25I'm going to jump and pretend to defend from the paint,

26:28even though you shoot behind a three-point line

26:31or you shoot from the free throw line,

26:32I'm gonna do that little, that fake,

26:34whatever defensive thing that he does.

26:36I'm gonna get a rebound here and there.

26:38And I thought the one thing

26:39that I really appreciate about Luke,

26:42and I don't think most people saw this,

26:44was when they got Tillman,

26:46you go back and look at how he was playing,

26:48he became a little bit better of a rebounder.

26:51He became a little bit better,

26:53more aggressive around the basket.

26:55He wasn't just setting screens

26:56like I think he was doing for the most part

26:58before Tillman got here.

27:00And the reason was very simple.

27:01He wanted to show that there was more to his game

27:04because he knew that this was a guy

27:05that was coming for his spot.

27:07There was absolutely, there was no doubt in my mind

27:10that if Luke Cornett would have continued to play

27:13before Tillman got there,

27:15the way he did before that,

27:17and he continued to do that once Tillman arrived,

27:19he would have been at some point

27:21knocked out of the rotation

27:22because Tillman would have been doing things

27:24that they needed.

27:24And I thought Luke started doing more of the things

27:27that were required of a seven-foot big man

27:31than he was doing previously.

27:33The one thing about Luke Cornett

27:34that I'm never gonna understand, Gary,

27:36and maybe you can help me understand this

27:38because I don't get it.

27:40I watched a little bit of him

27:42when he was at Vanderbilt,

27:43just every now and then would catch it.

27:44And I remember going back after the Celtics acquired him

27:47and just kind of looking at what's the scouting report

27:50on him coming into the NBA.

27:51And I talked to a couple of scouts about him

27:53and the scouting report on him

27:56was not what we see in Boston.

27:59He was a seven-footer who could stretch the floor.

28:01He could shoot threes.

28:03He could shoot from the perimeter.

28:05And you don't see that at all.

28:07And it feels like the Celtics,

28:09they got a guy that's helped them,

28:11obviously, win a championship.

28:13But the package that you thought you were getting,

28:17you never got.

28:18And I don't know whether it was one of those things

28:20where Luke decided,

28:21I'm just not going to fit in with these guys

28:24shooting the ball.

28:25Or is it something they told him?

28:28Or is it more of him just saying,

28:29you know what, guys, I'm not gonna shoot,

28:32so don't even pass me the rock.

28:33I'm just gonna set screens.

28:35But it's baffling to me that you could have

28:37such a clear and definitive role in this league,

28:40a role that teams want.

28:42They want a big who can stretch the floor,

28:44who can space the floor.

28:45And Luke Cornett, for whatever reason,

28:48doesn't seem to take advantage of that.

28:50And I mean, what are your thoughts about that?

28:52I mean, am I crazy to think that Luke Cornett

28:56should have been a better shooter than he was?

28:58And I don't even know if he's a bad shooter.

28:59He just doesn't take shots.

29:01Yeah, I believe when he came first,

29:05I think the first game he came to Boston,

29:07I covered, it was a game against Oklahoma City

29:10in Oklahoma City.

29:12And he came off the bench and hit like three threes.

29:15He just was a savior for them in that game.

29:17It might've been right after the bubble,

29:21maybe the 21-22 season,

29:23wherever his first,

29:24he had just gotten acquired from,

29:26I think it was the Knicks or whatever,

29:27wherever his last team was,

29:30or the Bulls.

29:31I wanna say it was the Bulls.

29:32And he had hit like three threes.

29:36And then I knew him to be a stretch kind of guy,

29:42but he just never, after that,

29:45it wasn't part of his game.

29:46And I think he took some threes,

29:48but he just, that part of his game

29:51has been completely shut down.

29:53And I don't understand it.

29:55You'd like to think that,

29:59you know, he could maybe shoot one or two per game,

30:03because I think he's capable,

30:05but for whatever reason, the Celtics just,

30:08this is like, no, man, you're not doing that.

30:11I mean, I'm just looking at-

30:13And he's got a coach who loves to take threes.

30:15He's got a coach who loves to take threes.

30:18I don't get it.

30:20Yeah, I wanna say he was,

30:24let me see, he's taken,

30:27he took 193 threes in his second year.

30:31He took 108 in his third year.

30:33So, but since then, you know,

30:36he's just not been a three-point shooter.

30:40And it's weird.

30:42When a guy takes 193, and then this year he took one,

30:48obviously someone's telling him to not shoot.

30:52And he shot- Damn.

30:54The year he shot 193,

30:57he made 36%.

30:58So he made 73s.

31:02But for whatever reason,

31:05it just, I don't know.

31:10I really don't know.

31:11Yeah, I mean, he's definitely a guy who,

31:13you know, you look at his skillset

31:15and you look at what he brings to the table,

31:17you feel like, oh, there is more to his game than we saw.

31:20And I'm just, I'd be very curious to see

31:23if he were to, you know, sign with another team,

31:26whether we would see him become more of a stretch big.

31:29Because I got to believe that any team,

31:31the outside of Boston that he plays for,

31:33they're going to look for him to be a little bit more

31:35of a factor on the offensive end,

31:36particularly if he's a seven-footer who can shoot threes.

31:39I mean, if you're shooting threes at a 36% clip

31:42and you're a seven-footer,

31:44yeah, you damn well better be taking some threes.

31:47Because that's, I mean, that fits in very much

31:49with the analytics movement now,

31:53taking threes versus twos.

31:55But, you know, the thing about Cornette,

31:56I will say this is that he's a guy

31:58that certainly his numbers don't necessarily equate

32:02to the value that he has for this team.

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33:19Which brings me to our next question.

33:22When you look at the Celtics roster, Gary,

33:23I mean, there are lots of guys who contributed,

33:26did a lot of great things for them,

33:27but who was that one guy that you thought

33:29contributed more to the team

33:31and maybe didn't have the numbers to back it up,

33:33but their contributions were significant?

33:39I'm gonna say Peyton Pritchard.

33:41Not putting up the big numbers,

33:42but obviously the king of the half court shot,

33:46giving him a spark, getting offensive rebounds,

33:49playing well defensively,

33:52getting those put backs,

33:55muscling up against guys who are six, seven,

33:57eight inches taller and getting that ball up into the hoop

34:00and for the layup, just being a tough guy

34:04and showing his worth.

34:05And obviously, Peyton's never gonna be

34:10probably an all-star and a guy who's gonna

34:14average 25 points a game or 20 points a game,

34:17but he has a role in this league

34:19and it's about finding that role

34:23and being consistent and knowing you're gonna get minutes

34:26and you're gonna get an opportunity.

34:27And I just think this year, he found his niche

34:33and even in the playoffs where he got kind of,

34:36at times, unplayable, he didn't have great minutes

34:39in the NBA Finals against Dallas.

34:42There was some times he slipped on defense,

34:45he wasn't hitting open shots.

34:47Besides the half quarters, he really wasn't hitting

34:51open shots in the Finals.

34:52He did not have a great NBA Finals,

34:54but I just thought he found a role to like,

34:57listen, I'm gonna do whatever I can

35:01to contribute to a championship team.

35:03And that took a lot of unselfishness.

35:05And he also got paid for it.

35:06He also got a contract extension.

35:09And for me, I think sometimes guys have to be realistic.

35:15Like, if you're Peyton, your goal is to have a long career.

35:20Your goal is to play 10 years in the league,

35:22get your pension, play 10 years in the league.

35:25However, you gotta get to that year 10.

35:28And it's gonna be where it's like, you know what?

35:32It ain't gonna be a superstar.

35:33That's not my path.

35:34My path is, we look at a guy like a TJ McConnell

35:38who's been around six, seven years, right?

35:40A guy who does his job, does it right,

35:45can do little things, hustles.

35:47And that's what makes you last in the league for 10 years.

35:50And I think Peyton is starting to follow that path

35:53of like, okay, I think I can be a superstar in this league.

35:57I think I can be a guy who can average 15, 18 points

36:02to like, you know what?

36:04I'm just gonna be the guy who could do the roles

36:07that I need to help a team win.

36:10And those are valuable players.

36:11Run point guard, play defense.

36:15He's got to do a better job of hitting open shots.

36:16He got off to a really slow start this season,

36:19picked it up, but then had kind of a slow ending.

36:22That's what's gonna keep Peyton in the league

36:24and keep Peyton in the league for 10 years

36:27because there's guys in the league,

36:30you know, I look at a guy way back in the day,

36:31like a Scott Brooks, you know?

36:33Guys who played Jose Barea, like guys who weren't stars,

36:38but were stars in their role and played 10 or 12 years

36:42because they do exactly what they're supposed to do.

36:45They didn't ask, they didn't complain about minutes.

36:47They didn't complain about roles.

36:49This is what you want me to do.

36:50I'm gonna be the best at it.

36:51And I think that's what the role Peyton Pritchard

36:54has to play in order to remain in the league 10 years.

36:57Cause that's the goal.

36:59Like, you know, you can talk about,

37:00well, I want to make all-star teams and MVPs,

37:03but if you look, if you're Peyton, you say, listen,

37:06I just want to be a contributor

37:08on a championship caliber team every year

37:10and get to 10 years and say,

37:12I had a good, solid, admirable NBA career.

37:16And that's what he's, he's on that path.

37:18And I think this year put him on that path.

37:21Yeah. Yeah. I would agree.

37:23That's a good pick.

37:24But the guy that I'm going to go with is Al Horford.

37:27Al, when you look at his numbers, you know,

37:30most of the key stats were down, not just down,

37:33but like career lows.

37:34And when you're 38 years old, you know,

37:37you're clearly near the end of your NBA career.

37:39You're having a season where your numbers

37:41across the board are down.

37:43And the conventional wisdom says

37:45that you're not able to give this team what it needs.

37:48But Al, to his credit,

37:49when they needed him to step up in the playoffs,

37:51he was that guy.

37:53When they needed him to really, really come through

37:56in the regular season,

37:57I thought he had a number of games

37:59where he was a major difference maker.

38:02And his, you know, the bottom line,

38:03his numbers are not that impressive this year.

38:06I mean, 8.6 points per game.

38:08He played, I think, about 26 or so minutes a game,

38:10which was a career low for him as well.

38:12But to his credit,

38:14he maximized the time he was on the floor

38:18and gave them something.

38:19Even if it wasn't something that showed up in the stat sheet,

38:22his impact, his presence was major,

38:25major for this team to win a championship.

38:28And so, you know, Al, you know,

38:30people are going to really, I think,

38:32lock in on what he was able to do in the playoffs

38:34and give him his flowers for that.

38:36And he deserves it.

38:37But if you really start to break down

38:39what he did during the regular season,

38:41the playoffs were just icing on the cake

38:42because Al Horford was a man among, you know,

38:46boys on this team.

38:47And from the standpoint of leadership,

38:49from the standpoint of accountability,

38:51from the standpoint of just really

38:53making those necessary plays needed in order to win.

38:56And the other thing too about Al,

38:57we were talking about Luke Cornett and not shooting.

39:00Al does not have that problem.

39:02And the thing that people, you know,

39:04I don't know if they really embrace this,

39:07but Al has shot better than 40%

39:09for three-point range the last two years.

39:11I mean, how many guys get the amount

39:14of three-point shots that Al gets?

39:16He usually gets four or five a game

39:17and shoots at a low to mid 40% clip.

39:21That's just not normal.

39:23And a lot of that, again,

39:24is Al getting to the spot he wants to get to,

39:26Tatum and Brown being able to suck in the defense

39:29and leave him open for catch and shoot threes.

39:31I was glad to see Al, once we got to the playoffs,

39:34remind folks that you do realize

39:36that I used to get buckets on the block.

39:39I used to take kids downtown and, you know,

39:42and just go to work.

39:43And it was good to see him get back

39:44to doing that kind of stuff.

39:45Because again, I think the Celtics had a couple of guys

39:49that could certainly play that inside,

39:52outside game at a high level.

39:54And one of those guys is our good friend,

39:57Chris D'Asprazengas, who we recently learned

40:00is going to have surgery and it's unclear

40:03when he will be back up and at him for the Celtics,

40:07whether it'll be before training camp,

40:10during training camp, once the season starts, who knows.

40:12But Gary, you know, the Celtics really don't have

40:15a lot of off-season concerns,

40:17but certainly D'Asprazengas' health,

40:18I would imagine is one of them.

40:21How concerned are you about him returning from this injury,

40:25which, you know, all indications are,

40:27I know you, you know, some of your globe colleagues

40:30have written about this extremely rare injury

40:33that he suffered.

40:34How concerned are you about his comeback from that?

40:37Yeah.

40:41I'm not concerned.

40:42I just think you gotta give him plenty of time to recover

40:47and you're not gonna rush him back at all.

40:54You're gonna let him, and if that means you have to sign

40:59another backup bid to, you know, supplement those minutes,

41:05you're gonna have to do that

41:06because you don't wanna put too much pressure on Al.

41:09But if this bleeds into the season,

41:12that's what it might have to be

41:13because you don't wanna bring him back too early.

41:16I'm not concerned.

41:17It sounds like something that they just have to

41:20kind of put the tendon back in place,

41:22put the sleeve that holds the tendon back in place,

41:25and it's gonna be some mobility issues,

41:28maybe two to three months.

41:29But three months is the start of training camp.

41:32Remember, Shiraz, you know, like something start the year

41:36in Dubai against the Nuggets,

41:38which I think they get an extra week of preparation time.

41:43So I think training camp for them might start

41:45literally like September 20th.

41:48So, you know, three months from now is camp.

41:53And, you know, if Porzingis gets the surgery,

41:56let's say in two weeks or 10 days,

41:59and he's still gonna be in recovery, right?

42:01I don't think they're gonna be like,

42:02okay, you're gonna be 100% in two months.

42:05He's gonna have to figure out how to walk,

42:07then start jogging, run,

42:09then start doing basketball stuff, all of that.

42:12So I think, I'm not concerned about long-term.

42:15I'm just concerned about who's gonna take those minutes

42:19when he's gone and then bringing him back slowly

42:22so when he's ready, he's ready,

42:25as opposed to bringing him back then,

42:28okay, well, he got hurt again, or he's laboring.

42:32No, you don't want that.

42:34So if I'm the Celtics, I think,

42:38obviously, I think you take your time with that.

42:40You take your time and bring him back when he's ready.

42:45And then you gotta have reinforcements.

42:47You gotta have bigs in there that can take those minutes,

42:50whether it's Keita, whether it's Al Horford,

42:53whether it's you bring back Cornette, whatever.

42:57You definitely have to have some reinforcements

43:01because you're gonna miss them.

43:02Yeah, absolutely.

43:03And you don't know where those reinforcements

43:05are gonna come from, as Gary alluded to.

43:07I mean, it could be the players that we've talked about.

43:09It could be whoever they take with that 30th pick.

43:12May very well be called into duty

43:14to give them five, 10, 15 minutes of spot duty

43:16to help get them through that period of time.

43:20But it's a good problem to have when you're the champions,

43:23when you've got a guy that you know

43:26will literally give anything he can

43:29to get out there and help you win.

43:30Because when you look at the note,

43:34just announcing that he's gonna have surgery,

43:36it's pretty clear that if it wasn't for the NBA finals,

43:39I don't think you'd have been out there playing.

43:42And to his credit, he was able to give them

43:45just enough that they needed.

43:47And that is certainly admirable

43:49and certainly speaks to his mental toughness

43:52and his desire to win a championship.

43:54And to the Celtics credit,

43:55they were able to make it through relatively unscathed

43:58as far as post-injury for him,

44:01where there's nothing that looks like

44:03it's gonna be career-threatening or anything like that.

44:05So, well, look, that is it for this week's NBA Big Three,

44:10the Big Three NBA podcast.

44:12Before we go, just one more shout out to PrizePix,

44:15the exclusive Daily Fantasy partner of CLNS Media Network.

44:17Also, our good friends at GameTime,

44:21which takes the guesswork out of buying last-minute tickets

44:24to your favorite sporting events.

44:26Just download the GameTime app,

44:28create an account, and use code CLNS

44:30for $20 off your first purchase.

44:32Terms apply.

44:33For Gary Washburn, this is H-Rob Blakely,

44:36and this is the Big Three NBA podcast.

44:40We out.

44:41♪♪

Celtics Season Review and Player AWARDS | Big 3 NBA Podcast

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