Brian Robb and Jay King dissect Jayson Tatum's return to the rotation for Team USA, Joel Embiid getting benched and the stellar play of the Celtics guards before Sam "Jam" Packard checks in after taking the bar exam.
00:00 - Podcast introduction
03:19 - Embiid's benching explained
06:07 - Tatum's shooting concerns
10:07 - Tatum's recent slump
14:20 - White's impact on Team USA
17:36 - Injury scare for Celtics
19:13 - Steph Curry's defense
21:17 - Tatum's performance concerns
23:14 - Freedom to hunt
25:06 - Tatum's performance
*********************************************
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00:00 - Podcast introduction
03:19 - Embiid's benching explained
06:07 - Tatum's shooting concerns
10:07 - Tatum's recent slump
14:20 - White's impact on Team USA
17:36 - Injury scare for Celtics
19:13 - Steph Curry's defense
21:17 - Tatum's performance concerns
23:14 - Freedom to hunt
25:06 - Tatum's performance
*********************************************
CLNS Media is Powered by:
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.
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00:00Still Powerful, Still Powerful, Bounce and Tap, Still Powerful, Still Powerful
00:06Oh yeah!
00:09Still Powerful, Still Powerful, Bounce and Tap, Still Powerful, Still Powerful
00:15Banner 18
00:18J. King, Jayne Brackett and the B-Roll
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00:37Oh yeah!
00:43I just had to go to the bathroom
00:45What's up and welcome back to Still Powerful
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01:09We have podcasts Monday through Friday
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01:14We're coming to you today after Team USA
01:18Blasted South Sudan, not really, it wasn't really a blasting I guess
01:24They had some trouble with Carleague Jones
01:26But Jason Tatum started, didn't play well, but he started
01:31Played a number of minutes, Drew Holliday and Derek White played better
01:34I'm Jay King from The Athletic, here with Brian Robb from MassLive.com
01:38B-Robb, the Jason Tatum saga continues
01:42And Steve Kerr chose a new DNPCD candidate today
01:45And it was Joel Embiid
01:47So, kind of a dramatic summer for Team USA compared to what the usual is
01:55Yeah, just, and honestly Jay, that move is a kind of, I think maybe setting the tone in terms of like
02:04What Kerr is trying to do game to game here and saying, okay, yeah, everyone's going to have to sacrifice
02:09And I don't care who you are, I don't think the matchup's right, it's not there
02:14You know, I'm going to make this move, but with that said
02:17I don't think Tatum should have been, I think order's restored now
02:20That Tatum is back in the fold, even though he didn't play well today
02:22And I don't know, with this Embiid situation
02:25I don't know if we wanted to start off the way that, like
02:28Anthony Davidson and BM Adebayo are just better centers than him right now
02:32So I wonder how this kind of plays out going forward here
02:36Not certainly, and it's the meaningless game on Saturday against Puerto Rico
02:40But once you get into the knockout round, it'll be interesting to see how that part of it plays out
02:43How do you kind of view that from just the Embiid standpoint of this team right now?
02:47It's just really interesting
02:50He's another guy, obviously talent-wise, he should be playing
02:55They recruited him to play, he had other options to play in the Olympics
02:59He could have joined France if he wanted to, which would have been really weird
03:04With Victor Weminyama and Rudy Gobert
03:07Not sure how they would have guarded
03:11How anyone would have scored on them at the rim would have been so bizarre
03:14But sort of fun in a quirky way
03:17But obviously he chose Team USA, and now two games into the group stage
03:23He was benched like Jason Tatum was before him
03:28I tend to think, like
03:31It's been a weird dynamic for Embiid
03:37He just plays a different style than they're trying to play
03:42They want to play fast, they want to shoot a lot of threes
03:46They haven't given him the touches that he normally thrives on
03:51I tend to think, though
03:54If you can't get Joel Embiid to play well
03:57Maybe try some different stuff before just benching him
04:00He averaged 34 points a game in the NBA
04:05Obviously, there are some fit issues
04:09But just try some different stuff before benching him, to me
04:13But Anthony Davis has outplayed him
04:16And then Tatum started today
04:19Didn't play great, hit the side of the backboard
04:22On his one three-pointer, which was wild
04:25He was wide open in the corner
04:28It just seemed like he was playing unsure of himself, honestly
04:33It didn't seem like he was playing confident basketball
04:36Which is very strange to see from Jason Tatum
04:39Yeah, and you wonder just whether the effects of
04:42Getting that DNPCD prize for the first time
04:45And I'm sure maybe his whole basketball career
04:48And whether you're making your Olympic debut of 2024
04:53And that's the natural butterflies that come from that
04:57But I do think offensively, he's not in rhythm
05:00But it's tough to get into a rhythm on this team
05:03Just with the townies that's out there with him
05:06And the touches these guys get
05:09But I thought defensively, he got after it pretty well
05:12Certainly shows that's probably going to be the strength of him on this team
05:15And he had a nice block from behind
05:18And was generally in that starting five that was out there
05:21That revamped starting five
05:24Certainly is one of the top two, three guys out there from a defensive standpoint
05:28Does he have a crisis of confidence right now
05:31With his three-point shot?
05:34Because, forget the DNP
05:37Forget whatever else has been going on with Team USA
05:40None of that will matter
05:43But he just went through a playoff run
05:46Where he shot very poorly from behind the arc
05:49And now, it just seems like
05:52He's not looking for his three-point shot
05:56He's not hunting them
05:59And when he does get them, it's like
06:02He's not just taking them confidently
06:05Are you worried that this will carry over?
06:08That this will become like Chuck Knobloch
06:11Like Nick Anderson
06:14Rick and Kiel situation?
06:17Or is this just like a little blip
06:20That everybody should kind of just take a deep breath
06:24And realize Jason Tatum
06:27Despite seeing his pull-up three numbers dip a lot
06:30Over the last few seasons
06:33Has always been, and even was this season
06:36A legitimate three-point shooter, especially catching shoots
06:39Yeah, I'm not there yet
06:42As far as worrying
06:45I think over the course of his career
06:48He's been a streaky three-point shooter
06:52And he's done it over a month at times
06:55And when he turns it around, he really does turn it around
06:58Now, the fact that this time is out
07:01Maybe this is the longest stretch of his career
07:04He does not look confident in that shot
07:07And like you said, the numbers from a spot-up perspective
07:10Or a pull-up perspective
07:13Have been rough this year overall
07:16But it's a point now where I'm not going to judge
07:20I don't think that's necessarily going to translate there
07:23But it is worth watching
07:26And the fact he was able to lead this team so well
07:29Without having that shot there during their run
07:32You do wonder how much of this game he is going to adapt
07:35If there is not a crisis of confidence
07:38Or just a recognition
07:41What I was from a shooting standpoint
07:44I may not be at that level anymore
07:48The numbers for his career
07:51Have just kind of tailed off
07:54The last several seasons
07:57And obviously he was in a very different role
08:00Early in his career
08:03But I just pulled up his three
08:06He shot 43.4% as a rookie
08:09For most of that season when Kyrie was playing
08:12It was a secondary piece
08:16He became a volume shooter his third season
08:19That was his best three-point shooting season of his career
08:22He shot seven threes a game
08:2540.3%
08:28At that point it looked like his pull-up three
08:31His sidestep three
08:34All of that was going to be a huge weapon
08:37That nobody would have answers for
08:40Because he is 6'8 and can get a shot off at any time
08:44This season was actually one of his best three-point shooting seasons in a while
08:4737.6% on 8.2 threes per game
08:50But then the playoffs come
08:53And he shot 28.3%
08:56So I am with you
08:59There is no concern
09:02There is no worry yet
09:05For the fit with Team USA
09:08If he is not confidently shooting catch and shoot threes
09:12If he is not confidently looking for catch and shoot threes
09:15It just makes it more difficult for him to find minutes
09:18For him to fit next to the better lineups on the team
09:21But to me
09:24This should be his mission for the rest of the offseason
09:27Or the beginning of next season
09:30Just find that rhythm again
09:33Because when he is
09:36When his three-point shooting is going in
09:40And he is knocking down the off the dribble shots
09:43And his catch and shoot numbers this past year
09:46I think he was like 43% on catch and shoots
09:49That was fantastic until the playoffs
09:52When he is like that
09:55It is just very, very difficult to stop him
09:58But he has to get back to that
10:01And I do wonder if the playoff run and the start of this Team USA run
10:04Is just kind of messing with his mind a little bit
10:07It goes beyond the start of the Team USA play
10:10And obviously the playoffs
10:13He shot 32% from three in April as well
10:16In the five-game stretch
10:19And he has to go all the way back to March
10:22To when he had a really standout month
10:25At 45.9% from three
10:28So it is three or four months now
10:31I would say that is the longest slump in his career
10:34I think he shot 28% from three
10:37That has to be one of the worst two-month stretches of his entire career
10:40You wonder how much he can turn that around
10:43And what is going to be limited playing time for him
10:46But certainly
10:49Whether it is with that starting unit
10:52Whether it is coming off the bench
10:55That is something to watch for
10:58If he can get over the hump there
11:01He had a couple dunk-slash layups tonight
11:04That was pretty much it
11:07And is certainly not being aggressive looking for a shot right now
11:10This could be just dumb
11:13He got benched the other day
11:16He did get benched
11:19But the sample size of three-pointers by him
11:22For Team USA is so small
11:25When you add in the 130-something he shot in the playoffs
11:28It becomes a little smaller sample size
11:31But even then it is a tiny sample size compared to the rest of his career
11:34Compared to this whole past regular season
11:37When he shot 37-something percent
11:40So I don't want to overreact much
11:43But certainly the shot
11:46Right now is not what we are used to seeing
11:49From Jason Tatum
11:52Do you know what is fun?
11:55Going down to Fenway
11:58And watching the Red Sox play baseball
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13:19It was Drew Holiday and Derek White
13:22Who played the best from Team USA
13:25And especially Derek White
13:28I just think the way he played for the Celtics
13:31Has translated perfectly to this Team USA
13:34And he's making the hustle plays
13:37The tips from behind
13:40He's making the swing three-pointers
13:43And finding Anthony Davis for dunks
13:46He's just doing a little bit of everything
13:49Like he did for the Celtics
13:52And it's allowed him to
13:55I don't know if standout is the right word for Team USA
13:58Because they have a lot of guys standing out
14:01It's at least allowed him to just
14:04Allow other players around him
14:07And the lineups that he's in to flourish
14:10Throughout this whole run
14:13I mean, through two games here
14:16I think it's fair to say he's been
14:19From an all-around impact perspective
14:22Like fourth, fifth, sixth on this team
14:25Overall, I think that's a fair
14:28From a defensive perspective
14:31In the numbers today
14:34Three of three from the field
14:37And that's why he's on this team to begin with
14:40To bust his ass like you laid out there
14:43And clearly from an effort perspective
14:46Giving them much more defensively
14:49As anyone else on this team outside of Drew Holiday
14:52But when you add in how in rhythm
14:55He already looks offensively
14:58Which we saw throughout this last season
15:01And even that lob to Bam
15:04He can wear many different hats on this team
15:07And that's a very valuable thing with the amount of talent they have around him
15:10And so that ability clearly makes him
15:13An integral part of this team right now
15:16And it makes me wonder, Jay
15:19Is he just cementing himself as part of Team USA's future right now
15:22With just the type of play he's had
15:25I know he played once on the World Cup team before
15:28Five years ago
15:31He just seems to be a great player in the NBA
15:34But just a tremendous international player as well
15:37Yeah, and some of that will be dictated by his age
15:40And how he progresses deeper into his career
15:43He just turned 30
15:46And so right now
15:49Obviously he's in his prime
15:52But four years from now, next Olympics
15:55Could be a different story
15:59He's been super durable
16:02I'm not trying to rush the end of Derek White's career
16:05He might not be in his prime anymore
16:08But yeah
16:11Who knows if he'll still be at this level
16:14In four years, in 2028
16:17Especially if he takes more cheap shots
16:20From South Sudan
16:23Yeah, that was a tough screen
16:27It was almost a tough sequence for Celtics fans
16:30So watching the broadcast
16:33It was like, Derek White got hurt
16:36The screen comes
16:39And the screen just kind of put his shoulder
16:42Into the lower back of Derek White
16:45And Derek White held his back
16:48And then fell at the other end of the court
16:51And while he's laying on the ground
16:54After getting knocked down
16:57Or falling or whatever
17:00And he had just held his back
17:03They're like, oh and Drew Holliday's hurt at the other end of the court
17:06And he's reaching down toward his shoe
17:09It was like, whoa man
17:12What's going on with the Celtics backcourt right now
17:15Turned out everyone was okay
17:18But during that brief moment
17:21Just hitting the side of the backboard
17:24And just coming off a DMPCD
17:27And then the entire backcourt gets injured
17:30Within 10 seconds of each other
17:33This would be really, really poor for the Boston Celtics
17:36However, the crisis was averted
17:39Everyone seemed to be okay
17:42But really, I was like, oh man
17:45Imagine how awful it would be
17:49Yeah, that was a scary minute
17:52And I think Tatum on top of it also took on that drive
17:55When he scored in garbage time
17:58He seemed to be holding his thigh
18:01Yeah, he didn't look like he was moving great into the huddle after that
18:04That was a real physical game
18:07Which you expect at the Olympics
18:10But South Sudan, they were getting after it
18:13And they're pretty good
18:16Tatum was very good at Iowa State
18:19Carleek Jones, Louisville
18:22Obviously had a legitimate college career too
18:25Those guys can play
18:28Wenya Gabriel has played for a number of NBA teams
18:31Including, not really the Celtics
18:34But he was with the Celtics at training camp
18:37So they have some guys with pedigree
18:40And they're okay
18:43Carleek Jones was hunting Stephen Curry for a while
18:46Just kept scoring on Stephen Curry
18:49They weren't giving Curry much help
18:52At that point, obviously they had a 15 point lead
18:5520 point lead, Team USA did
18:58And I think they were just like, yeah, twos can't hurt us
19:01So let's just not provide any help
19:04And let Steph try to guard him
19:07And Steph was not guarding him particularly well
19:10There's a lot of tournament rules on here
19:13For games that matter next week
19:16Steph had a really tough shooting night tonight
19:19And was, I don't think, particularly great on Sunday
19:22He's clearly the one guy they can really pick on defensively
19:25Here in those starting five
19:28So you wonder when push comes to shove
19:31Like, Stephen Curry obviously isn't going to abandon him
19:34Or anything like that
19:38I'm just kidding, there's no way he's giving Steph that
19:41But crunch time wise, certainly you're going to go offense, defense, or Steph
19:44To get him off the floor
19:47But is Derek White or Drew Holiday going to be the guy
19:50Even though those guys have it going offensively too
19:53You're just like, yeah, this might not be Steph's night
19:56It might just be better off of one of these two Celtics on the floor
19:59For a certain matchup where Curry's being hunted
20:02Yeah, and so last game, Drew Holiday and Derek White
20:05I don't know if they played at all together
20:08Drew was with the starters, Derek White was with the bench
20:11Tonight, or this afternoon rather
20:14They both played with the bench
20:17Jason Tatum started in Drew's place
20:20And I just thought
20:23They played really well together
20:26I do wonder, if you are trying to get Tatum going
20:29And maybe that's not one of Steve Curry's concerns
20:32It's not about Jason Tatum individually, it's about what your team can do
20:35But I do wonder, if you want to get him going
20:38If playing him next to his two teammates
20:41Is a way to do that
20:44And again, I don't know if that's one of the things
20:47Steve Curry's even considering
20:50I don't know if he cares about getting Jason Tatum going at this point
20:53Maybe Jason Tatum should just get himself going
20:56And maybe not hit the side of the backboard on a three
21:00But that's clearly a great trio
21:03Or has been a great trio in the NBA
21:06Probably would be in international competition as well
21:09So that could be something that they consider
21:12But Tatum does have to play better
21:19Obviously, you're on
21:22I don't know if the chopping block is the right word
21:25You're on the fringe of the rotation
21:28It's on you to just kind of force your way in there
21:31And obviously, Jason Tatum is not used to being there
21:34I've talked about how shocked
21:37And just
21:40How I kind of disagree with the entire approach
21:43Steve Curry has taken to some of this stuff
21:46But at this point, you just have to play better
21:49You have to take advantage of the opportunities
21:52There was one play, kind of over-penetrated
21:55Got into the middle of the lane
21:58Got lucky that he drew a foul
22:01But just got to play better
22:04But Drew was great
22:07Again, Derek White has been great
22:10I thought when those guys came in in the first quarter
22:13That just kind of totally changed the game
22:16They started picking up full court
22:19Anthony Edwards did too
22:22He was just hounding somebody
22:25And picked his pocket
22:28It's also weird with the point differential
22:31Because Anthony Edwards at the end of that game
22:34Picked somebody's pocket with 25 seconds left
22:37Went in for a dunk
22:40Then South Sudan comes back
22:43And normally in an NBA situation
22:46If you're down 15, 17, whatever it was at that time
22:49Anthony Edwards drills a 3
22:52And Anthony Edwards comes back
22:55And hits a 3 of his own with less than 10 seconds left
22:58Kind of like an in-season tournament vibe there
23:01With the guys just kind of gunning for extra points
23:04I don't think point differential will probably matter to Team USA
23:07But it could
23:10Anyway, it gives you
23:13The freedom and reason
23:17To go hunt another bucket
23:20You've got to avoid that 40 point disaster against Puerto Rico on Saturday
23:23You can bet Joe Mazzullo
23:26Is loving every minute of these
23:29Late game makes
23:32Turning back the clock to the Andre Drummond
23:35Although that turned into a debacle for Joe
23:38Joe was trying to apologize to Drummond
23:41After that one and Drummond didn't want to talk to him
23:45It was really like a scene
23:48In the back hallways of TD Garden
23:51It was so funny
23:54But yeah, Joe
23:57After our rules, Joe was going to try to stretch him
24:00And take advantage of him
24:03It was interesting tonight too with Drew
24:06Tyrese Halperin also got into the game
24:09Drew seemed to be the one guy
24:13On the outside looking in for the first half
24:16To give him those minutes
24:19But that really doesn't matter right now
24:22Because joining us live here
24:25Fresh off the bar exam
24:28How'd the bar exam go, buddy?
24:31It happened
24:34I was there
24:37I answered the questions
24:40I'm pretty confident
24:43I had to be better than a third of the people in there
24:46I was looking around
24:49A third of the people looked like dummies
24:52What do you think you look like?
24:55A bucket champion
24:58I wore Celtics championship gear the entire time
25:01No one said shit in the entire tower
25:04Not one comment other than compliments
25:08Banner 18 all over their faces
25:11They didn't say anything
25:14If it was a Philly, I know
25:17They would have been giving you crap about Jason Tatum
25:20But I guess they can't
25:23Because MB got a DMPCD too
25:26The old switcheroo
25:29I was texting this today
25:32It's only the pure sweat clients
25:35Who have gotten DMPCDs so far
25:38Is there a Drew Hanlon conspiracy theory here?
25:41Is that what's going on?
25:44I don't know
25:47Are there any other pure sweat clients on the team
25:50Who are going to sit out for Puerto Rico?
25:53Jalen Brown has worked with Drew Hanlon
25:56I wouldn't call him a client
25:59But he has worked with him in the past
26:02Pure sweat
26:05Conspiracy
26:08Tam didn't have a good game
26:11He was 4 points
26:14He hit the side of the backboard on a 3
26:17But he started
26:20What's your celebratory game plan today?
26:23I just drank about 4 drinks
26:26I'm about to take a bus to New York City
26:29Congratulations
26:32You're done with your first attempt at the bar
26:35After you learned you failed it
26:38You'll have to register again
26:41And do this all again
26:44But for now, I'm happy for you
26:47You can take a little break
26:50Come back to podcasting pretty soon
26:53It'll be great to have you back
26:57That's a really good point
27:00You have to wait 2 months to figure this out?
27:03That's wild
27:06So you're telling me
27:09That if you fail the bar
27:12That not only will I have
27:15A reason to give you shit for the rest of eternity
27:18But I'll also get rid of having to speak to you
27:21On a semi-daily basis?
27:24You can have your bravado
27:27And act like that would be a bonus for you
27:30But you know it wouldn't
27:33You know in your heart that you love me and my antics
27:36So I'm just not going to accept that
27:39You would have to study for the next one
27:45I also feel like you took the wrong approach
27:48Looking around and saying you have to be better
27:51I'm better than 1 third of the people
27:54You're not competing against them
27:57You're competing against yourself
28:00And that was your first mistake
28:03I think your entire internal culture is wrong
28:06I'm better than a third of me
28:09If that makes any sense
28:12I don't think it does
28:15I'm doing totally
28:18My favorite bridge on Spring Garden Street
28:21Is East Philadelphia
28:24Walking to the bus stop
28:30Love it
28:33Also don't own a car
28:36So it's kind of my only choice
28:48I hope you pass the bar
28:51Even though I'll say otherwise
28:54Many many times I'm sure
28:57I assume you passed
29:00You're smarter than you look
29:03Thanks guys
29:06Appreciate the opportunity to check in
29:09Drunken statements and stuff like that
29:12Do you remember any of the toughest questions
29:15That you were dealt today?
29:24I just had 200 multiple choice questions
29:27So there's nothing that sticks out
29:30Is the bar a scantron?
29:33It is, the second day
29:36It's a two day test
29:39What's the first day?
29:43That's a lot of essays
29:57I think it's when you
30:00Get a steal
30:03When you foul somebody while you steal it
30:06So
30:10You're not wrong
30:13You're also not right
30:16I gotta go
30:19But I appreciate the opportunity to check in
30:22Good luck
30:25See ya
30:39Enough Team USA talk for now
30:42We'll be back again with the Friday episode
30:45And back again every week
30:48Monday through Friday
30:51Come sign up, come subscribe
30:54Patreon.com
30:57It's an awesome place
31:00We've got a chat for the people
31:03Where a bunch of Celtics fans
31:06Come hang out
31:09We'll catch you later