On this episode of the Big 3 NBA Podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn and Kwani Lunis discuss the biggest stories around the Boston Celtics, and the rest of the NBA. Gary gives his take on what to expect from Jayson Tatum coming off a championship season, Sherrod talks about how scary this new version of Jaylen Brown is, and much more!
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SportsTranscript
00:00The Big 3 NBA Podcast is powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the
00:23CLNS Media Network.
00:25Hello everyone, welcome to the Big 3 NBA Podcast.
00:28I'm Kwanye Lunas, joined by A'Shad Blakely and Gary Washburn.
00:31And I have to start by saying, Happy New Year, guys.
00:36It is officially...
00:37What the hell is she talking about?
00:38NBA season.
00:39NBA season.
00:40Yes.
00:41Thank you, Mr. Washburn.
00:42Man.
00:43That's Syracuse education, like you said.
00:44That's what the education's kicking in.
00:45God forbid we actually, you know, a new year, we actually think about a new year being the
00:54beginning of the new year.
00:56I know, but I want a new season.
00:59Then say new season, fool.
01:01New season.
01:02New season.
01:04Goodness gracious.
01:05All that just to say that Celtics Media Network...
01:06You're giving me a headache already.
01:07Why are you giving me a headache?
01:08I actually just took an Advil, no joke, but that was unrelated.
01:09No, it wasn't.
01:10Don't do that.
01:11It was related.
01:12Related.
01:13But for those who didn't know, a new season has officially begun.
01:14The Celtics had their media day on Tuesday of this week.
01:15Gary Washburn, we'll just start with you.
01:16What are the biggest thing, I think, that comes...
01:17Well, not the biggest thing.
01:18The biggest thing I think that comes...
01:19Well, not the biggest thing.
01:20The biggest thing I think that comes...
01:21The biggest thing I think that comes...
01:22The biggest thing I think that comes...
01:23Well, no.
01:24Let's not even get there.
01:25Let's start with media day itself.
01:26What was something that stood out to you the most?
01:27Just more of a vibe of like they have to turn the page and close the book on 23-24.
01:28They're champions, but as soon as the ball tips off on October 22nd, they're no longer
01:29champions.
01:30It's 30 teams going for the same crown.
01:31They got to ramp up.
01:32They got to ramp up.
01:33They got to ramp up.
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05:50That was really impressive.
05:51I don't think we really paid enough attention to or gave enough credit for it.
05:54It's just the cohesion and the chemistry that they had on and off the court.
06:00That was maybe one of the most boring championship runs we've ever seen because they didn't really
06:04have drama.
06:05You didn't have Bickering, Tatum, and Brown.
06:11There's always been this artificial, one of the guys coming off the bench for the most
06:19part.
06:20You're not playing those major minutes.
06:21Al never made an issue about that.
06:23You start going down the line.
06:25That, to me, was one of the keys to their success.
06:28The fact that they embraced the roles that they were in and weren't grumbling about it
06:32even if they wanted a more prominent role.
06:34You think back to the Terry Rozier days.
06:36I love T. Rose.
06:38He wanted more burn.
06:39He wanted more shine.
06:40He made it very clear that's what he wanted.
06:43You could see situations in certain games where it was a problem.
06:47Tatum was trying to really figure out, am I him or am I just a really good role player?
06:53When you talk about playing with Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving and all those guys, he was
06:57trying to figure out where he fit in.
06:59Same thing with Jalen.
07:00Jalen wanted to be more of a score.
07:03Then he realized that, I guess I got to bring that bullpen to the floor if I'm going to
07:07be the player that I think I am.
07:09They didn't have any of those type of issues at all last season.
07:14Again, by bringing all the guys back.
07:16Brad talked a little bit about this during Media Day about how when you have a certain
07:22culture and you know you can win with that culture at the highest of levels, you want
07:27to keep that intact.
07:29Obviously, we may talk about it in this episode.
07:32We may talk about it later.
07:33At some point, somebody got to cut that check.
07:36It ain't going to be Wick.
07:39It's pretty damn clear that he's getting out while the getting is good.
07:43All these players, you're going to have to make some tough decisions down the road.
07:47Brad knows this.
07:48Until then, you keep the group together, compete at the highest level, and hopefully bring
07:52home at one, maybe two more championships in the process.
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09:24All right.
09:25Let's talk about Chris Asprzingas.
09:26He had that offseason surgery.
09:28Do you guys think he's going to be back on schedule in time?
09:32What are you looking forward to from him potentially this season?
09:37I don't think he'll be back till January.
09:39And I'm not saying that because he's not telling us the truth about his progress.
09:43I think the Celtics don't need him until the second half to ramp up.
09:48And with a guy with a history of leg injuries, you do not want him rushing back.
09:53So if he's going to be ready in December, you give him two, three extra weeks.
09:56Strengthen the area.
09:58He said he's running.
10:00He said he's taking shots.
10:02He said the area feels good.
10:04He walked normally yesterday.
10:07So it wasn't like he had a brace on or some kind of boot or anything like that.
10:11So he is, what, almost three months from surgery, about two and a half months.
10:17So, you know, he's working.
10:20But I think the Celtics will play it safe because, one, you want him healthy.
10:25Two, you want him fresh.
10:27Three, you don't need him for the first 35 games of the season.
10:31You could use him, of course.
10:33But you want him to be healthy and fresh and ready for the playoffs.
10:37Remember, he did not play most of the playoffs.
10:40You know what I'm saying?
10:41Like, he did not play in the Cleveland series.
10:44He did not play in the Indiana series.
10:46So, you know, in the Dallas series, obviously, he had the injury.
10:52So, you know, because, one, he was coming off another injury.
10:56So if I'm the Celtics, you want him, you want a full arsenal,
11:01full team for the postseason because it's going to be a competitive.
11:05It's going to be much tougher.
11:07They're not going to probably go 16-3 in this postseason, right?
11:10They're going to face tougher opponents.
11:12They're going to go deep, have deep playoff series.
11:14So they need a fresh, healthy Chris Stapps.
11:18So 40 games in the regular season, that's perfect.
11:21That's half the season.
11:23Then he's ready, ramped up, in shape, ready to go for the playoffs.
11:27That's the vision.
11:29So as much as he said he's doing well,
11:31and that's good news to hear that he's doing well,
11:33if I'm the Celtics and I know the Celtics before I do this,
11:36they're on deaf ears with that.
11:39Oh, I have to be ready for November.
11:41Oh, that's great, Chris Stapps.
11:43We'll bring you back January 1st.
11:46Okay.
11:47Oh, that's great.
11:48You're going to be back November 5th.
11:49Oh, that's great.
11:50You feel good.
11:51Oh, that's fantastic.
11:52You feel healthy.
11:53Oh, wonderful, wonderful.
11:55Six more weeks, fool.
11:56And that's what they're going to do.
11:58And they'll bring him back because they do not need him.
12:01Not to say they don't need him, but they do not need him.
12:04They have enough depth in the four position,
12:06the five position with Al Horford, Xavier Tillman,
12:11Nunez Keita, and Luke Cornett to get by,
12:16along with a lot of other talent, other positions,
12:18to beat a competitive ball club.
12:20And as we saw, they carried the torch in the playoffs.
12:24They won with Al Horford against Cleveland's bigs,
12:27with Evan Mobley.
12:28They won that series in five games.
12:32They beat Miami up, so, you know, with Porzingis, you know,
12:36playing half the series in Miami.
12:38So they can get it done, but I think they give him as much rest
12:42as he needs and even more.
12:44Yeah.
12:45I mean, the thing that, and Gary,
12:46you touched on this a little bit earlier.
12:48When you look at Indiana, you look at Cleveland,
12:52and you look at Miami, the one thing that the Celtics,
12:55and when people talk about the Celtics just got the perfect draw,
12:58they got the perfect draw to not have a healthy Porzingis.
13:01That's what they got the perfect draw for.
13:03Those teams did not have an elite or above average stretch big.
13:07And so the absence of Porzingis did not sting the Celtics as much as it would
13:12have been if, let's say,
13:14they found themselves playing a team like Minnesota in the finals,
13:17who, you know, when you look at, you know, you look at the Reed kids,
13:20you look at Daniels, they had guys that could give you some product.
13:24You look at Karl-Anthony Towns.
13:26That would have been a much more problematic series for them
13:29if they did not have, you know, Porzingis available.
13:32So in many respects,
13:33the Celtics got the perfect draw to not have an available,
13:36which is why to your point, Gary,
13:38you want to keep him on ice as long as you possibly can,
13:42because you know that for you to repeat,
13:44you're probably not going to have the same order of operations for teams you got
13:48to go through to get there.
13:49You're probably going to have some teams that are going to force you to play a
13:52slightly different brand of basketball than you did to win a championship.
13:56And when you look at the way this roster is constructed, to me,
13:59the biggest distinction between how you want a title and how you'll likely have
14:03to win a title to repeat is Porzingis.
14:06He's the one X factor that we said from the beginning of the season was going
14:10to be an integral part of you winning a championship.
14:13And in the games that he played, he was, he was a factor,
14:17but you didn't need him to play in that many games.
14:20You're going to need him to win a second championship.
14:23You're going to need much more from him than you got in this first go round
14:27because it's just,
14:28it's highly unlikely that things are going to align themselves in a way where
14:32you can have a player that important to your success and not need him.
14:36It's, it's, I just, I can't see it playing out that way again.
14:41And that's why it's so important that with him,
14:44you keep him on ice as long as possible.
14:48You give him enough time to get himself in basketball shape,
14:51to get a nice rhythm with his shot.
14:53And even after he comes back in January,
14:55I'm still going to go with the load management program.
14:58I'm not going to have him play back to back games.
15:00You're not going to play back to back games in the playoffs.
15:02Why the hell do I want you to play him in a regular season?
15:04If you're, if you are that fragile,
15:07a guy that's had a lot of injuries and the injuries that he's had,
15:11some of them have been just real, just fluky freakish type things.
15:14Not that he's trying to do anything that's outside his skillset.
15:17So I'm trying to minimize his play throughout the regular season,
15:22balancing that with getting him enough court time to get himself in basketball
15:26shape, get into a rhythm and be someone that we can rely.
15:29If we're playing, if we're playing a best of seven,
15:32I want to be able to play him every single game.
15:34I want to be able,
15:35and knowing that none of those games are going to be back to back.
15:37He should be able to ramp up to where he can play every other day if needed.
15:41And even when he's doing that,
15:43because you play so many games with so many other guys playing those positions,
15:46you have a different kind of confidence.
15:48If let's say you need to limit him to 28 minutes,
15:51you know,
15:52you can go to Luke or one of these other guys to help you out and give you
15:55some good play if needed.
15:56So I think the Celtics are going to be in really good shape.
15:59If they can keep him on the shelf as long as possible,
16:03knowing that any type of title run as a repeat champion is got to go through
16:07porzingis.
16:10Going back to Tatum.
16:11We mentioned briefly his shot that was fixed,
16:15but also just going back to the Olympics,
16:17clearly that is still a sore conversation.
16:20Oh, he's still salty.
16:22We talked about it already,
16:23but like how,
16:24how does this become a good thing for the Celtics this season now that we
16:28we've officially gotten here?
16:30I know we've talked about it before,
16:31but the only way this is a good thing for them is if Tatum plays like a
16:35basketball assassin,
16:37like if Tatum can get his level of steady aggression at the same level as his
16:42skillset,
16:43he becomes the best player in the NBA because at that point you can't guard
16:47him.
16:48He can shoot the three.
16:49He can put it on the floor.
16:50He can post.
16:51He's got a post game.
16:52He can shoot the mid range and he can defend.
16:54He becomes damn near unstoppable night in,
16:57night out.
16:58If his level of aggression can get to the level of where his talent is.
17:02And it's never been there.
17:03And frankly,
17:04I don't know if it ever will get to that level.
17:06I think he's always going to be someone whose talent is going to be much more
17:09significant and much more impactful than his actual level of aggression.
17:13But this,
17:14the fact that he is not willing to let this Olympic thing go,
17:18I'm,
17:19I'm surprised by it because Tatum has always been like Mr.
17:21Cool,
17:22easy breezy.
17:23Like,
17:24you know,
17:25it is what it is.
17:26Just move on,
17:27blah,
17:28blah,
17:29blah.
17:30He ain't trying to move on.
17:31He ain't trying to let bygones be bygones.
17:32He trying to,
17:33I mean,
17:34and I've said this before and I'm gonna repeat it.
17:35Tatum is going,
17:36this is going to be the best version of Jason Tatum we will ever see.
17:37This is as close as he is going to become to being that player that so many
17:40fans have been craving him to be because he has a different,
17:44there's a different level of motivation that he has now beyond just winning a
17:48championship.
17:49Tatum was embarrassed on the global stage,
17:52not because he played poorly,
17:54but because he did not get a chance to play nearly as much as he thought it
17:57would.
17:58And Gary,
17:59I know before you point out how Tatum did not shoot the ball.
18:01Well,
18:02you're right.
18:03You're absolutely right about that.
18:04But you go back and look,
18:05Steph Curry wasn't exactly setting the world on fire either,
18:08but he was able to get enough reps,
18:10get into a flow,
18:11get into rhythm.
18:12And next thing you know,
18:13he's playing like Steph Curry.
18:14Tatum never got that chance to play through some of those early struggles to
18:17be the guy who just four years earlier was a second leading scorer on the
18:21team.
18:22Now,
18:23Steve Kerr obviously has a much closer and tighter bond with Steph than he
18:27does with Tatum.
18:28And we get,
18:29we all get that,
18:30but make no mistake about it though.
18:32Everything we do,
18:33there are consequences.
18:34Some are good.
18:35Some are bad for team USA.
18:37It was good for Steve Kerr and his Golden State Warriors when they played
18:40Tatum in the,
18:41in the Celtics,
18:42the consequences of benching him and,
18:45and leaving Jalen at the crib.
18:49It's going to get ugly.
18:51Ugly.
18:52Not ugly.
18:53Ugly.
18:54Holy word.
18:55Ugly.
18:57Put that,
18:58put that in that cow,
18:59cow cubby.
19:00Yeah.
19:01Let's not,
19:02no,
19:03let's not,
19:04let's not do that.
19:05Sure.
19:06Yeah.
19:07Yeah.
19:09Yeah.
19:10I mean,
19:11I don't think Jason is much thinking about,
19:14the Olympics as he's thinking about being better overall and taking his game
19:21to another level as he would have in any other season.
19:24But I think obviously there's more motivation,
19:27but also more doubt about his ability to lead a team and to be that top five,
19:33top two,
19:34top three player,
19:35MVP candidate.
19:37I looked it up.
19:38He enters this season.
19:41Ninth overall in MVP voting in terms of the odds,
19:45right?
19:46He's ninth,
19:47you know,
19:48guys,
19:49obviously the Lucas and the Rokic's and the Giannis's are all ahead of him.
19:54Anthony Edwards are all ahead with Devin Booker are all ahead of him in terms of
20:01the odds.
20:02So not even Vegas believes that Taylor was like a top five MVP candidate.
20:08So he has got to take his game to another level.
20:12And I think he will watching him shoot today.
20:15You know,
20:16he had a little glitch in his,
20:17his get up in terms of his,
20:18his jump shot.
20:19It looks like he's been working on that mechanically because,
20:22you know,
20:23like I looked it up and he shot 30% in the playoffs the last two seasons from
20:29three,
20:30right.
20:31Including 29%.
20:34And this just concluded playoff run.
20:37That's just not good enough.
20:38He shot 43% from three as a rookie.
20:41This is a guy who has a career 37,
20:4438% three point shooter.
20:46So something is going wrong and it's not just he's choking or,
20:50you know,
20:51he ain't what he was.
20:53He's 26.
20:54It's some probably mechanical glitch and that he's been working on.
20:59And I think that that's something that he's paid attention to in the
21:03Olympics.
21:04You know,
21:05he only took 21 shots.
21:06He made eight of them.
21:08He missed all four of his three point attempts.
21:11So,
21:12you know,
21:13he hasn't hit a three since the playoff,
21:15the NBA playoffs.
21:16And the thing was,
21:17you know,
21:18yes,
21:19sure.
21:20I did not play well.
21:21He didn't get a chance to really break out and play well,
21:23but it's also,
21:24I don't think he had the greatest confidence in his shot.
21:27And I think that that's war on him throughout the Olympic tournament that he
21:31was kind of hesitant to unleash.
21:34And so just watching him today and just taking a various amount of threes
21:39in terms of different places on the court variety amount of,
21:43you know,
21:44just all over the circle,
21:46you could just see that he's concentrating like,
21:48Hey,
21:49I got to knock this shot down.
21:50And,
21:51you know,
21:52we all know like pull up threes.
21:54He's not really good at,
21:55he's more good of a,
21:56of a spot up three point shooter.
21:59But if he can just get to close to 40%,
22:04like he doesn't need to be Steph neighborhood,
22:0643%,
22:0744%.
22:09He needs to be in that 37,
22:1038,
22:1139.
22:12If he can get up there consistently throughout the regular season and playoffs,
22:16this team is so much better because it unlocks so many different things.
22:20And so I think it's good for Jason to lock in on that.
22:24And I think he's not going to throw Steve Kerr under the bus.
22:27He didn't make a statement.
22:28He still doesn't understand why he didn't play.
22:31I don't think a lot of people understand why he didn't play because,
22:34you know,
22:35well,
22:36I know everybody can play,
22:37but especially in the second Serbia game,
22:39when they trailed most of the way and they were about to lose that damn
22:42game,
22:43you could have found a place for defense and a spot,
22:47some spot minutes for Jason to try something because it wasn't like anybody
22:51else was lightened up until Steph went off.
22:53Right.
22:54So,
22:55um,
22:56to me,
22:57I think he's in the right frame of mind.
22:59It was good to see him just work on that aspect of his game and admit,
23:03Hey,
23:04I'm not the shooter that I used to be.
23:05I got to get back there.
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24:28Jalen Brown.
24:29We briefly mentioned him.
24:31Let's close out with him as well.
24:33Looking stronger.
24:34Horford said,
24:35Jalen added 10 pounds of muscle.
24:36We've seen him working out on underwater over the summer.
24:40He's definitely been busy as well,
24:41but what do you think his Olympic snub will have with that impact?
24:46It will have on his,
24:47not only just psyche,
24:48but for the Celtics overall and the way that they perform this year.
24:54He's been like real cool about everything.
24:57And yeah,
24:59exactly.
25:00That's my point.
25:01And his new sneaker,
25:02by the way.
25:03What's that?
25:04I would be remiss if I didn't mention he did drop his own sneaker.
25:08I was working on his own sneaker reportedly.
25:10Yeah.
25:11Right.
25:12But back to the basketball court.
25:13He's been real cool about everything.
25:16And, you know,
25:17after that,
25:18that little early,
25:19like,
25:20you know,
25:21this is Nike's role and da,
25:22da,
25:23da.
25:24Exactly.
25:25Listen to him at media day.
25:26I'm almost afraid of how good he's going to be this year.
25:29Because he's physically in better shape than he was last year.
25:34And he's in pretty damn good shape last year.
25:36What do you mean?
25:37You afraid?
25:38Like you scared?
25:39Like you don't want to post them up.
25:40Is that that's what you heard?
25:42Like Debo,
25:43you scared?
25:44First of all,
25:45you're three feet.
25:46Cal covey.
25:47Your face is all in my screen.
25:48So three feet back up.
25:49First.
25:50No.
25:51Number one.
25:52Number two.
25:53You'll go to jail.
25:54I am speaking.
25:57The bike is like both the ours.
26:04I'll finish what never Gary Gary's.
26:06At all.
26:08But he took a break on the chain.
26:10What?
26:11What?
26:11Like, what are you saying?
26:12Oh, my gosh.
26:13I'm going to take his lunch money next time I see you guys.
26:16I'm going to get with him.
26:17Yeah, yeah, he's getting it.
26:18You're going to go to jail.
26:19Listen, listen, listen.
26:21It's like both the Rs. You just be at my house.
26:25I get it.
26:27What is this, dude?
26:28What is this?
26:29All right.
26:29Anyway, Seraj, you were saying.
26:30You said you were scared.
26:32You left and you were scared.
26:35Again, let me finish the sentence.
26:38It's called a sentence, not a sentence fragment.
26:40I don't know if y'all know about that account.
26:41There is a difference between a sentence and a sentence
26:43fragment.
26:43I would be scared if I were a team having
26:47to deal with a bulked up Jalen Brown, an extra motivated Jalen
26:52Brown, a dude who was really good last year
26:55without those things into play, who, by the way,
26:57went on to be NBA Finals MVP and Easter Conference Final MVP.
27:01You should be scared if you got to play the Celtics
27:04and deal with Jalen Brown now because he
27:06is better in almost every facet of the game,
27:10physically and mentally.
27:12That is what you be afraid of.
27:14That is what you need to be afraid of.
27:17Do I need to say that in Spanish or another language, Gary?
27:21Do you understand English, Gary?
27:23That was so profound.
27:25I just want you to be OK.
27:26You said you were very scared.
27:28No, I had a sentence fragment that you would not
27:31let me put together in a sentence, Gary.
27:34Wash, burn.
27:35Don't be scared.
27:38Don't be scared.
27:39On a lighter note, what do you guys look forward to?
27:42Get your boy, Kony.
27:43Get your boy.
27:44Just saying.
27:45You said you would be scared.
27:46Like, damn.
27:47Are you scared now?
27:48I'm sorry.
27:49You know where he was coming from.
27:50Go get your boy.
27:51Come on.
27:52Go get your boy, Kony.
27:53What are you looking forward to from the Celtics this season?
27:55It could be on and off the court.
27:57Again, they've been busy throughout the offseason.
27:59But obviously, finally here.
28:01What are you looking forward to?
28:03Other than Joe Mazzullo and Gary Washburn
28:05going back at each other, I'm looking forward to that.
28:07I'm looking forward to the sequel of that.
28:09But other than that, no, I'm curious to see
28:12how are they going to come out and deal with the extra force
28:15that teams are going to be coming at them with.
28:17Are they going to be able to just beat teams
28:19down the way they did last year?
28:21I mean, three games, they've won by 50 and some change.
28:23Are they going to be that dominant this year?
28:25Or will they be pretty good, but not great
28:29during the regular season?
28:30Are they going to be like a lot of defending champions,
28:33where it takes you a little bit of time
28:34to kind of calibrate what you've got to deal with on a night-in,
28:37night-out basis?
28:38I don't know how they're going to come out.
28:40There is such a thing as a championship hangover,
28:43where you know that the journey you're about to begin,
28:46you know how to end it.
28:47You know how to be the last team standing.
28:49Are they going to lean too much in that experience?
28:52Or are they going to treat this the way
28:53they say they're treating it, as if it's a different season,
28:56and that we start from ground zero?
28:58That's what they're saying.
29:00But I got to see it to believe it.
29:02Because teams say that every single year.
29:04And the next thing you know, after they get off
29:06to a four-and-three start, or a seven-and-five start,
29:09then they're like, yeah, we came out a little bit
29:11lackadaisical because we thought we could just
29:13roll through teams.
29:14But now we're ready now.
29:15We're ready now.
29:16We got hit in the face, and now we're ready.
29:19I'm not buying they're going to come out smoking teams.
29:21I'm just not.
29:22Should they?
29:23Absolutely.
29:24But I don't expect it to happen.
29:29I'm expecting.
29:30I'm looking forward to seeing what
29:32Missoula's approach is with the team,
29:34in terms of getting them motivated, and getting them
29:37ready, and getting them ready every night.
29:39Because it's going to start from the opening night.
29:42Remember, I don't know, what was it?
29:45What team?
29:47Was it the Heat?
29:49Was it like the 07 Heat played Chicago on ring night
29:54and got lost by 40?
29:56With Shack and all those guys, and Alonzo Mourning,
29:59and they were high fiving, oh, we're champions, and we did it.
30:03That would be awkward.
30:04Yeah.
30:05And they got blown out.
30:06The league said, yeah, that was really cool.
30:09That was really, congratulations.
30:11Pat on the back.
30:13Much kudos.
30:14All right.
30:15Thumbs up.
30:16And we're going to whoop your ass.
30:19And that's what they're going to have to prepare for.
30:22So I'm fascinated to see what happens on the night.
30:25I'm also fascinated to see how Missoula approaches
30:28how to prepare every night.
30:30Because teams are going to come at them, like Sherrod said.
30:32They're going to be right Super Bowl.
30:34And they're going to have to win in different ways.
30:37And like Sherrod said, they were fifth overall all time
30:41in point differential last season.
30:4313.64 points per game they won.
30:46That is fifth all time.
30:48They're probably not going to reach that this year.
30:50They're not going to blow teams out.
30:52They're going to have to win the hard way, especially
30:54without Porzingis.
30:55And they're going to have to find ways to win.
30:57They're going to have to grind out wins.
30:59And I'm fascinated to see how this version of the Celtics,
31:03which is practically the same as last year, but not entirely.
31:08But they're going to be different.
31:09Things are going to be different.
31:11Maybe some of the chemistry is going to be different.
31:13It's just going to be different.
31:15Guys are coming back on new contracts.
31:17Guys have more security.
31:19You've got a full year of Xavier Tillman.
31:22Nemeus Keita is now a major part of the team in terms
31:26of just being on a full NBA contract.
31:29So let's see how this all goes.
31:32And we haven't even talked about Lonnie Walker.
31:34We talked to him today.
31:35And he's on that exhibit, Tyndale.
31:37But I guarantee, I think, no, I ain't going
31:39to guarantee like Charles.
31:40You just said it.
31:41No, no, no, no, no, no.
31:42He just said it.
31:43I guarantee.
31:45I guarantee.
31:47I'm scared how good he will be.
31:50But no, I think Lonnie Walker.
31:52He should be.
31:53Yeah, he should be.
31:54I should be.
31:55Lonnie Walker has a real chance.
31:58That's what I was going to say.
31:59Yeah, Lonnie Walker has a real chance
32:03to really make an impact on this team if everything works out.
32:05So I'm looking forward to that too.
32:07But I'm just looking forward to the newness.
32:09Because as much as everybody's back and the gang's all here,
32:12there's going to be some differences.
32:15And I'm interested to see how that goes.
32:18Thank you for bringing up Lonnie Walker.
32:20But what are you guys least looking forward to?
32:24Got to keep it spicy.
32:26The usual nonsense about how this.
32:30The Jays can't play together?
32:32Just the artificial storylines that National Media
32:35is going to generate based on this team.
32:37The Jalen Jason stuff that never was real.
32:41We felt like we were having to talk about it all the time.
32:44That kind of stuff that when you're the NBA champion,
32:46you deal with a lot of that nonsense.
32:48I'm not looking forward to that stuff.
32:50Yeah, that's real.
32:50Yeah.
32:52Gary?
32:55Not really.
32:56I mean, it's not that I'm just dreading.
33:02Honestly, it'll just be interesting to see
33:04how this team comes out.
33:05You probably dread them having a championship hangover,
33:10having that situation where they feel like, like Sherrod said,
33:15we got this.
33:16We can take care of this.
33:17We'll win regardless.
33:19You wouldn't want to see that type of attitude.
33:21But I don't know if I'm going to see that.
33:23I don't know if that's going to happen.
33:24Well, there's not anything I'm looking forward to.
33:27I don't think the narratives about Jason and Jalen
33:29are going to exist anymore.
33:31They won a championship together.
33:32They got the monkey off their back.
33:34They are champions.
33:35It took seven years for Jason, eight years for Jalen.
33:38But now they're back.
33:39And now they're strong.
33:41And now they're re-signed.
33:43So if I'm the Celtics, you got to feel good about everything.
33:48Health is pretty good so far.
33:50Xavier Tillman's coming off a knee procedure.
33:52He said he wants to stay healthy the entire season.
33:55Guys are just ramped up.
33:57Guys seem motivated.
33:59And we'll see how some of the lower guys, the J.D. Davidson's,
34:03Drew Peterson's, and the two rookies with Watson and Shireman,
34:06how they contribute, whether they'll play any type of role
34:09or whether they just kind of sit and watch.
34:11So I'm kind of looking forward to, as I talked about before,
34:15the newness.
34:16But also, there's nothing that I can say like, oh,
34:19I just dread with this team.
34:21I think they have the right approach.
34:23I said the only thing would be a championship hangover.
34:25But right now, I don't sense it's going to happen.
34:28I'm loving the positivity.
34:29That's even more exciting for, I'm sure, Celtics fans.
34:33But of course, just basketball fans in general.
34:35The Celtics are back.
34:36We have been here all year long, of course, though.
34:39So make sure you're subscribed to the Big 3 NBA podcast.
34:43You're going to want to hear us and them two arguing
34:45every week for this upcoming game.
34:47Oh, I'm scared of Gary.
34:49Oh my god.
34:49I'm scared.
34:52It'd be like both are ours.
34:54Exactly.
34:55So stick with us.
34:57If you haven't done so already, please subscribe.
34:59Share with a friend.
35:00And we appreciate you all listening, sticking around
35:03during the offseason.
35:04Like we said, we're back in action.
35:06We're ramping it up.
35:07For A'shad Blakey and Gary Washburn, I'm Quanie Lunas.
35:10This is the Big 3 NBA podcast.
35:12We'll see you next time on the Big 3 NBA podcast.