The Celtics squeaked out a thriller against the Toronto Raptors in overtime, 126-123. Jayson Tatum played hero and sunk the deep three-pointer to beat the buzzer after missing at the end of regulation. Al Horford shined with a season-high 18 points.
Join Sherrod Blakely, Bobby Manning, and Noa Dalzell as they react to the Celtics vs Raptors game! Tune in for immediate postgame analysis, player reactions, and more!
0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Celtics beat Raptors
3:40 - Celtics' paint defense issues
9:54 - Tatum's game-winning shot
12:06 - Brown's impactful performance
19:01 - Celtics dodge a bullet
29:20 - Al's three-point shooting
32:12 - Al's shooting impact
36:27 - Queta's growth potential
38:26 - Queta's defensive struggles
40:57 - Joe's defensive analysis
47:58 - Defensive consistency issues
49:49 - Need for Porzingis
54:00 - Execution lacking tonight
57:14 - Creating options
1:00:01 - Celtics' physicality issues
1:07:21 - Raptors' competitive play
1:09:12 - Celtics' execution issues
1:12:02 - Upcoming Cavs matchup
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Join Sherrod Blakely, Bobby Manning, and Noa Dalzell as they react to the Celtics vs Raptors game! Tune in for immediate postgame analysis, player reactions, and more!
0:00 - Intro
0:35 - Celtics beat Raptors
3:40 - Celtics' paint defense issues
9:54 - Tatum's game-winning shot
12:06 - Brown's impactful performance
19:01 - Celtics dodge a bullet
29:20 - Al's three-point shooting
32:12 - Al's shooting impact
36:27 - Queta's growth potential
38:26 - Queta's defensive struggles
40:57 - Joe's defensive analysis
47:58 - Defensive consistency issues
49:49 - Need for Porzingis
54:00 - Execution lacking tonight
57:14 - Creating options
1:00:01 - Celtics' physicality issues
1:07:21 - Raptors' competitive play
1:09:12 - Celtics' execution issues
1:12:02 - Upcoming Cavs matchup
CLNS Media is Powered by:
š° Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!
š« Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying MLB 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.
Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first monthās subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.comand enter the promo code GARDEN!
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00Can you say hard hats folks? Hard hats, lunch pails, steel tool, boots.
00:00:07Anything short of a championship this year is a failure.
00:00:09Look at this boomer right here.
00:00:11You've just got so much talent here.
00:00:14Somebody said we need to apologize for Jalen.
00:00:16Can I pull the John? What are we apologizing for? What did we say? What did we do?
00:00:20Hey, Bobby Manning here from TD Garden, a Shroud Blakely alongside.
00:00:32I know Adele's out joining us soon from the garden after the Celtics beat the Raptors 126-123 in overtime here.
00:00:39An unexpectedly thrilling game given that everyone on the Raptors is out.
00:00:44Drew Holliday sits for the Celtics and ends up being a back and forth game.
00:00:48At one point, Shroud, I had how many lead changes? Ridiculous amount in this one.
00:00:54Ridiculous amount of tie games.
00:00:58Jakob Perthel scored, what are we talking about, 35 in 37 minutes for Toronto.
00:01:05And then Jason Tatum after missing as good of a look as you'll get at a game winner at the end of regulation.
00:01:11I think Mitchell or someone fell in front of him.
00:01:13He hits a three. Was it a three to end the game there?
00:01:17Yeah, a deep three.
00:01:19Deep three said he got distracted by Brown getting knocked over to his side there.
00:01:24And again, I was getting nervous, Shroud. They were taking a little bit.
00:01:27The clock was going under a second.
00:01:29He tosses up a really tough shot and this time it goes in.
00:01:33And so much needed game winner for Tatum after a couple of misses to start this year.
00:01:39I can't even remember the last one he had.
00:01:41It's been a tough shot for him going back a little while here, especially in tie game situations like it was there.
00:01:46But huge shot, huge moment, and maybe something that gets him going on a tear here.
00:01:52I mean, it was a great game for him with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists.
00:01:56Once again, one stat point short of a triple-double.
00:02:00Yeah, I mean, definitely there's a lot to like about what Tatum was able to do,
00:02:05particularly at the end of the game there, obviously.
00:02:08But, Bobby, this is a game that it really, I think, amplified some of the concerns that are present and dangerous for the Celtics team,
00:02:18particularly second-chance points.
00:02:21Toronto, we know coming into the game, they're one of the best, if not the best team,
00:02:24in terms of generating second-chance points and second-chance opportunities.
00:02:28But the Celtics, they have to be better than this.
00:02:31I mean, this was a team that the Celtics really ā literally, this is the worst team record-wise in NBA.
00:02:38And if you didn't know better, you'd think that this was a playoff-caliber team,
00:02:43a team that the Celtics might be having to look over their shoulders about.
00:02:46To me, this game is a reminder that there are certain matchups that when you look at the guys that the Celtics have been able to kind of navigate successfully
00:02:56without having it a mix, at some point it's going to bite them in the ass.
00:02:59And, again, this was another one of those games where having someone that could basically force Purtle to be ā
00:03:08actually have to defend away from the basket, maybe make him work a little bit harder, they needed someone like that.
00:03:14This was another game where poor Zingis really could have helped you a lot.
00:03:17Not so much in terms of his scoring and rebounding, but just his presence on the floor.
00:03:21That's really, I think, at this point, when you're watching games where their frontcourt isn't as impactful as they need to be,
00:03:28they're lacking a presence in that frontcourt that can just really change the way that teams are calculating how to defend the Celtics
00:03:36and force those teams to recalibrate a little bit.
00:03:38And that's just not happening.
00:03:40And it's probably not going to happen until poor Zingis comes back to the mix.
00:03:44Yeah, and they need it.
00:03:47They tried Cato to start the game.
00:03:49They didn't like it.
00:03:50Second half, he got a quick pull too.
00:03:52Cornette wasn't much better.
00:03:53So both of them with rough games defensively here, although Cato with the big block on Barrett to end overtime there.
00:03:59They went with Cornette and Hauser to start overtime for about three and a half minutes.
00:04:03And then they went back to the starting duo there.
00:04:05So a big game for Horford.
00:04:07He had a ton of threes in this one.
00:04:09Five of ten finishes with his biggest offensive game of the year.
00:04:12A great driving baseline and one as well through the course of this game.
00:04:18And again, the shot, the lead was going back and forth throughout this game.
00:04:21Toronto runs, Celtics runs.
00:04:23Pritchard had a great first half run off the bench that got them going after another slow start here.
00:04:28But, you know, to your point on the inside play shot, I've been talking about it all year so far.
00:04:32They are struggling immensely to protect the paint.
00:04:35I know Perl is a unique challenge with his physicality, and he's got that shot put floater going.
00:04:40And he just had everything going here tonight.
00:04:42So this is a ridiculous game from him.
00:04:44But this wasn't a rare or off occurrence to start the year for the Celtics.
00:04:48I think the Raptors shot 9 of 11 in the paint area, restricted area, in the third quarter.
00:04:54Kept pummeling the paint with Barrett throughout.
00:04:56Barrett shot 10 of 27 for this one.
00:04:5915 assists, 10 rebounds, and 25 points.
00:05:02So he was just driving and scoring at will for a lot of this one.
00:05:05And the Celtics just couldn't keep Toronto out of the paint.
00:05:08I mean, this is a game shred where the Celtics hit 21 threes.
00:05:11The Raptors hit 9 threes.
00:05:13And it was a tie game with one second left in overtime.
00:05:17So they just pummeled the Celtics in the paint.
00:05:20And I really don't know what they can do at this point.
00:05:22They're not going to go to Tillman.
00:05:23He's not much of a rim protector anyway.
00:05:25Cornette and Keita are struggling to get the job done.
00:05:27Horford at center by himself is struggling to get the job done.
00:05:30So they just don't have rim protection right now until Porzingis comes back.
00:05:34Yeah, yeah.
00:05:35And your point about the three-point shooting, Bobby, that wasāit should have been expected.
00:05:40I mean, Toronto is the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA in terms of percentage.
00:05:46They're bottom five there in terms of three points made, three points attempted.
00:05:49They are very much looking up at everyone else.
00:05:53And so that's not that surprising.
00:05:55But the calculus that the Celtics and Joe Mizzoula and most NBA coaches have made is that, you know,
00:06:02threes over the long haul are going to outperform and outpace teams that lean on twos.
00:06:08And this was a game where, again, there'sāI think they'll look at this as a bit of an anomaly
00:06:14in terms of the struggles that they have putting this team away despite them not being a three-point shooting team.
00:06:20And obviously the Celtics are on a torrid pace when it comes to three-point shooting.
00:06:24But, again, it's a reminder of how the Celtics, in terms of their vulnerability to losing to teams that they shouldn't,
00:06:33is at its, I think, peak right now because of the fact that they've got so many guysānot a lot of guys.
00:06:39They've got key guys who are not healthy or part of the load management crew.
00:06:44And that'sāyou know, they're going to have to find ways to win these games.
00:06:50They're going toāthat's the only way they're going to be able to really make this all work out in the end,
00:06:56which, to them, working out in the end means getting back to the NBA Finals.
00:07:02Yeah, and our producer Jackson here, Jackson Toliver, letting us know the last Celticsāor last Tatum buzzer-beater
00:07:09was the Brooklyn finish in Game 1 in 2022, which was a great moment, too, here.
00:07:13But especially in those tie game situations, it's been a struggle.
00:07:16And Iālet me pull a Jon here, Sharad, since I'm in the host seat, since I'm in the Jon chair.
00:07:21Oh, boy.
00:07:22I don't like the shot. I don't.
00:07:25No. It was a horrible shot.
00:07:27I mean, itābut I will say this.
00:07:29If you areāif the score is tied, it's the kind of shot that you can live with, whether it goes in or not,
00:07:36because you know that if it doesn't go in, you're just going to another overtime.
00:07:39But I wish there would have been something that looked like legitimate action being run,
00:07:44whether it's, you know, just two-man game with Jalen, some high pick-and-roll action,
00:07:49just something that doesn't look like, here's the ball, Jason, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble,
00:07:54take a contested or fadeaway three from 35 feet away.
00:07:58And he was right about Jalen Brown stumbling.
00:08:02That was kind of distracting.
00:08:03He came around the screen, yeah.
00:08:04So I don't know if that was a diversion or they're actually going to look to get Jalen the ball there,
00:08:08but he fell, so Tatum had to fire it up.
00:08:10So maybe they had a different play going there and it just got blown up.
00:08:13Right.
00:08:14And I think thatāI don't know what the play was, obviously,
00:08:16but I do think that they did have something set up.
00:08:18And to me, the logical thing to do in that situation was just really create two-man game
00:08:23with Tatum and Brown and just have Brown either set the screen for Tatum
00:08:29or just roll to the basket or roll to the elbow or something like that,
00:08:34but just force Toronto to have to make some really tough late-game decisions
00:08:41and not just allow them to just kind of set up their defense and just play off of that.
00:08:45But, again, you can't really defend Tatum much better than how he was defended on that final shot
00:08:51because from where he shot and based on how he'd been shooting up to that point,
00:08:55you'll live with that shot if you're Toronto or any other team.
00:08:58You absolutely will be comfortable with Jason Tatum taking the 30-plus-foot jumper with the score tied.
00:09:04And especially if you're lightly contesting it and the clock is winding down,
00:09:09there are so many elements of that final play that conventional wisdom tells you
00:09:15this is not going to work out for the Celtics.
00:09:17But give Jason Tatum credit.
00:09:19He hadāthat was his moment to deliver for his team, and he did exactly that.
00:09:24Yeah, and he's a tough shot maker.
00:09:26That's what it comes down to.
00:09:27And we've said it a million times because we've discussed this particular moment,
00:09:31this particular play a million times.
00:09:33In a tie game, they're just not going to go to the basket.
00:09:35They don't want to turn it over.
00:09:36They don't want to give it to the other team to have a shot the other way.
00:09:39I don'tāthe Raptors did have a timeout, I think, because they won that challenge,
00:09:43which was a risky one.
00:09:44They only had one timeout left when Pearl originally got called tipping out of bounds
00:09:48and ended up off-kata.
00:09:49So they did have a timeout if the Celtics lost the ball somehow there
00:09:52or missed with time left on the clock.
00:09:54So that's why they tossed up a three in those situations,
00:09:57and it hasn't worked a lot of the time.
00:09:59It didn't work at the end of regulation, but it worked here for Tatum,
00:10:02who had a really tough shot to end this game.
00:10:04And it's in the Celtics' 2-11-3 on the season.
00:10:07We've talked about the inside troubles.
00:10:09It's only going to get more difficult for the Celtics' defense going up
00:10:12against Cleveland, who could be undefeated coming here on Tuesday.
00:10:16And whether it's that game, probably the biggest game of the early season here
00:10:20at TD Garden, or any game going on, Pat's in action at Gillette tomorrow
00:10:25at 1 o'clock against the Rams.
00:10:27You've got all kinds of Bruins action going on here.
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00:12:00That's prize picks.
00:12:01Run your game.
00:12:03So, Sherrod, who do you want to talk about next here?
00:12:06We're going to have Noah Dalzell joining us after Joe Mizzoula,
00:12:09who should be speaking shortly here.
00:12:11I'll hold it down even as the garden starts to come apart out here.
00:12:15So I'll jump on mute every once in a while.
00:12:18But what else stood out to you from this one, Sherrod?
00:12:20Well, I thought Jalen Brown,
00:12:22the way he handled himself with five files there late in the game in NLT,
00:12:25I thought that was really important.
00:12:27The shot making too.
00:12:29Yeah.
00:12:30I thought he really had an impactful game in a very difficult portion of the game
00:12:36in terms of needing to step up defensively,
00:12:39but doing so with being in foul trouble.
00:12:42I thought he was really, really good.
00:12:44And from the free throw line, he was great.
00:12:46One of his better games.
00:12:47I thought his aggressiveness and consistently getting himself in position
00:12:51to knock down free throws,
00:12:52that was another one of those low-key important dynamics for the Celtics
00:12:58to get this win.
00:12:59They needed this.
00:13:01They needed to get a win like this in the worst way.
00:13:04Because as much as we look at the Celtics as just being able to just run rough
00:13:10shot over anyone and everyone in their path,
00:13:12their ability to win games on nights when they're not playing great is just as
00:13:17important to the development as a team,
00:13:20as a championship golfer team who can do it again.
00:13:22This is a game that, again, with Toronto,
00:13:25I think people have to remember that Toronto's greatest strength is Boston's
00:13:29biggest weakness.
00:13:30And so in theory,
00:13:31it makes a lot of sense that this game should have been close.
00:13:34But the Celtics,
00:13:36that's no excuse for them to allow Toronto just absolutely kick their ass on
00:13:41the glass the way they did.
00:13:43The final numbers are not a reflection of how this game was played under the
00:13:47boards.
00:13:48I think the Celtics were like minus two or something like that on the boards.
00:13:51And it was not that close.
00:13:53I mean, anyone who watched this game will come away thinking that the Celtics
00:13:58just absolutely got pounded on the glass, particularly when you look at Pirtle.
00:14:02Most of his shots were within five, six feet of the basket,
00:14:05getting incredibly deep post position.
00:14:08And it really didn't matter who was guarding him.
00:14:11He was able to kind of have anything and everything he wanted.
00:14:14And that's a little bit disturbing because we'll talk about it maybe later when
00:14:18Noah comes on.
00:14:19But Cleveland is the kind of team that the way they're built,
00:14:23they're built to counter whatever the Celtics want to do.
00:14:27The Celtics love threes.
00:14:29If the threes aren't falling and you play in a team that has a significantly
00:14:33powerful inside presence the way Cleveland does, you know,
00:14:36with Mobley and also with Allen,
00:14:38you're going to have a hard time putting that team away.
00:14:42So that's going to be a great game.
00:14:44But the Celtics between now and then, you know,
00:14:46they really need to just figure out just ways to get by until Porzingis comes
00:14:50back and find ways to be better on the interior.
00:14:53Because they were able to dodge a bullet in this one.
00:14:57I don't have a good feeling that they'll continue to be able to do that if they
00:15:02play like this and they have to really overcome three-point shooting struggles
00:15:06the way they had to tonight.
00:15:08Yeah. And speaking of Brown,
00:15:09Missoula wouldn't say whether the shot was for Brown.
00:15:11Jackson Toliver tells us in the press room, but said it was a routine play.
00:15:15They got blown up partially because they only had 20 seconds and not 20.
00:15:20I don't know what that has to do with it,
00:15:22but Celtics trying to run down that clock maybe have to move a little quicker
00:15:26there. And the play got blown up one way or another.
00:15:29Clearly there was some action on the left side there.
00:15:32Brown coming around a Horford off ball screen.
00:15:35I don't know if he would have shot a three or maybe they would have gone
00:15:38on going downhill there again.
00:15:39I think they want to get a jump shot off in those situations.
00:15:42So Missoula with a little bit of an explanation there,
00:15:45Noah Dalzell is in on that press conference right now.
00:15:47She'll be joining us here shortly, but a big place from Brown.
00:15:50He had a block on RJ Barrett, I believe late in the quarter,
00:15:56right before a hurdle,
00:15:57tried posting up Tatum and try to draw a foul there,
00:16:00but they weren't giving it to him.
00:16:01And then you add a great driving dump off to Kate again,
00:16:06as you mentioned,
00:16:07tried him playing with five fouls, still put his head down,
00:16:10still attack the basket and found cater for the game time,
00:16:13lay up the force overtime and prevented the Raptors from winning on the other
00:16:17side with a big block there. So he was awesome in this game.
00:16:20Just looks a little more comfortable each night coming back from that hip
00:16:23injury.
00:16:24Yeah.
00:16:25And it's going to take him a minute to just get back to being exactly where
00:16:28he was a pretty close to where he was before,
00:16:30but certainly this was another step in the right direction to Jalen,
00:16:34you know,
00:16:35just reinvigorating this roster with his energy,
00:16:39his effort, his, you know,
00:16:40his game and they're going to need him to keep inching slowly,
00:16:45but surely back to being, you know, an all NBA,
00:16:48certainly all star caliber player that,
00:16:50that he has shown himself to be the last couple of years.
00:16:53But again,
00:16:55there's just a part of you when you watch this game and you look back on it,
00:16:58you just feel that this was yet another one of those games where it shouldn't
00:17:03have been this close.
00:17:04I know Toronto did a lot of good things and,
00:17:06and certainly the Celtics you give them credit for, you know,
00:17:09weathering the storm,
00:17:10but you want to see them in these types of games really put teams away sooner
00:17:15rather than later,
00:17:16just for the simple fact that they play a style that you aren't necessarily
00:17:23strong in.
00:17:24And that is that they're a very physical team.
00:17:25They want to make it a two point shooting contest because they feel that's the
00:17:30best shot that they have to compete based on their personnel.
00:17:33And the Celtics were not able to make them pay for their inability to shoot
00:17:37threes the way we've seen them do make other teams pay.
00:17:40You know that,
00:17:41like I said,
00:17:42the Toronto came in here taking fewer threes than any team in NBA and thus
00:17:45making,
00:17:46as you can imagine,
00:17:47making fewer threes than anyone in NBA.
00:17:49And I never got the sense that the Celtics were really making that distinction
00:17:54between these two teams,
00:17:56a priority from the standpoint of making them pay for not being a three point
00:18:02shooting team.
00:18:05Yeah.
00:18:06And that was where this one got a little fluky Raptor shot,
00:18:08ton of free throws.
00:18:09And I want to throw that in there too.
00:18:11Barrett missed two free throws down the stretch.
00:18:13He missed the,
00:18:14and one free throw that would have put them on three total or something like
00:18:17that.
00:18:18Yeah.
00:18:19And the Raptors ended up,
00:18:20I've heard almost a big one that would have given them the lead.
00:18:23I believe late there,
00:18:25I just a bunch of missed free throws from the Raptors down the stretch.
00:18:28Yeah.
00:18:29That would have tied the game with three minutes left hurdles.
00:18:31So all kinds of crunch time,
00:18:32free throw misses for the Raptors in this one.
00:18:34And they ended the game 14 to 21,
00:18:37just 66% from the free throw line there.
00:18:40Celtics go 17 and 19.
00:18:42So pretty fair in terms of the total number there,
00:18:45but that one,
00:18:46a big reason the Celtics were able to escape to overtime.
00:18:48If the Raptors took care of business at the line,
00:18:50they're going to win this game.
00:18:52Yeah.
00:18:53Yeah.
00:18:54And,
00:18:55and that for the Celtics,
00:18:56again,
00:18:57you have to feel as though you dodged a bullet with this one,
00:18:59because again,
00:19:00Toronto play a great game and Toronto,
00:19:03you know,
00:19:04reminded us why they have the worst record in the NBA.
00:19:06They just don't seem to make the necessary plays to get over the hump,
00:19:10to give themselves,
00:19:11you know,
00:19:12a great opportunity to win.
00:19:14They had a good one,
00:19:15but the mistakes that they made,
00:19:17the missed free throws,
00:19:18the just the poor decision-making at times they collectively took,
00:19:22you know,
00:19:23away from what was an otherwise pretty strong effort on Toronto's part.
00:19:27Yep.
00:19:29And no,
00:19:30it does.
00:19:31I just saw her walk into the media room.
00:19:32So she's going to join us in just a few seconds here.
00:19:34Continue to talk about another,
00:19:36the mesh Kata start.
00:19:37I found interesting there.
00:19:39We can talk about him for a few minutes here before Noah jumps on,
00:19:42but not a great first half for him.
00:19:44Some stellar plays down the stretch.
00:19:46So a big block and overtime,
00:19:48I believe was when his came and put backs alley.
00:19:52Oops.
00:19:53They,
00:19:54they shot so many threes in this game.
00:19:56Sure.
00:19:57I think that's another part of why this ended up being so competitive is
00:19:59they just weren't taking great quality threes for a lot of this game.
00:20:02The moments where Kata could give them some running downhill looks at the
00:20:06rim,
00:20:07offensive rebounds.
00:20:08He had that great one on the baseline.
00:20:10They got followed on toward the stretch run of this game.
00:20:13So he's still trying to gain that trust defensively.
00:20:16He's still trying to figure out where to be on that end of the floor,
00:20:19but offensively he's given them a dynamic that they really need right now.
00:20:22Yeah.
00:20:23Yeah.
00:20:24Especially his ability to finish at the rim and just really force defenses to
00:20:29really get into that,
00:20:30that that state of uncertainty,
00:20:32you know,
00:20:33when Jalen Brown or Tatum penetrates and you've got Kato kind of roaming along
00:20:37that baseline.
00:20:38Is Tatum going to shoot?
00:20:40Is he going to throw the lob?
00:20:41It creates a level of uncertainty for defenses that I think is a major plus
00:20:46for the South is going forward because Kata,
00:20:49as we saw in this game and we've seen in plenty of games can play well above
00:20:53the rim.
00:20:54He's a, you know,
00:20:55he's that type of player and,
00:20:57and frankly they needed someone like that,
00:21:00but there,
00:21:01but there is defense.
00:21:02I think at times just fluctuates in terms of its impact.
00:21:06He's a really good free throw shooter.
00:21:08And again,
00:21:10I,
00:21:11he's a good player who I think can be really good,
00:21:14but it's going to take a minute.
00:21:16It's not going to be as impactful now as I think he'll be,
00:21:20you know,
00:21:21in a very near future.
00:21:22And I think,
00:21:23you know,
00:21:24for the South,
00:21:25you're just going to try to get all you can out of him while you can.
00:21:27And then just try to put him in positions where,
00:21:29you know,
00:21:30his strengths are played to.
00:21:31So.
00:21:32Yeah.
00:21:33And I'm,
00:21:34I'm working on a story about him right now.
00:21:36So I'm obviously talking to a lot of people have been around him.
00:21:39There was development in college and everything else like that.
00:21:41And what stands out is he,
00:21:43he started basketball pretty late in his life.
00:21:45So we're talking about a 25 year old guy here who obviously in NBA terms is a
00:21:50little bit older for being four years into his career,
00:21:52but we're only talking about a guy who's 10 or so years into his basketball
00:21:57career period,
00:21:58you know,
00:21:5910,
00:22:0015 years here since he started around,
00:22:01I think he started like 10,
00:22:0211 in Portugal.
00:22:03So he's still developing this still upside here that I think,
00:22:07you know,
00:22:08you look at a guy who's 25 and you're normally not like all this big upside
00:22:11here.
00:22:12There's a lot of room for growth.
00:22:13I think with him,
00:22:14there is you look at his defensive positioning just seems to be in the right
00:22:18spot more often than he was a year ago.
00:22:20He's not following charade.
00:22:21I think that's something I noticed every game when he picks up that first
00:22:24file or that second file late in the game.
00:22:26I'm like,
00:22:27Oh,
00:22:28you know,
00:22:29if he played this much last year,
00:22:30he'd have five,
00:22:31six files by now and be out of this game.
00:22:32And then offensively,
00:22:33like just much more smooth or getting out of his box.
00:22:35I think,
00:22:36um,
00:22:37scale said it at one point,
00:22:38they're coming out of the screen and getting downhill fast.
00:22:40So he can catch those labs as an area where he's grown as well.
00:22:43And I think they're putting them in more actions as a,
00:22:46you know,
00:22:47handoff high post creator.
00:22:49There's just so many ways you can use him on both ends.
00:22:52And I love that.
00:22:53They continue to empower him here.
00:22:54He didn't have a great start to this game,
00:22:56but there he is in crunch time to finish overtime and to finish the fourth
00:23:00quarter out there with some big plays.
00:23:01And even on a night where you can nitpick them,
00:23:03we said this a million times,
00:23:04fraud.
00:23:05There's so many more moments that he gives you.
00:23:07That's a plus.
00:23:08I know he ends a minus in this game,
00:23:09but I feel like his performance overall gave you more good than bad.
00:23:13Yeah,
00:23:14I would agree.
00:23:15I would absolutely agree with that because,
00:23:17you know,
00:23:18you look at some of the things that he's able to do even in a less than
00:23:22full strength state.
00:23:23And there's no question.
00:23:25He helps you win games.
00:23:27The things that he's able to do are major bonuses for the Celtics.
00:23:31And certainly,
00:23:32you know,
00:23:33it'll be important for them to continue to recognize that and build off of
00:23:35those moments.
00:23:36So no,
00:23:38it does.
00:23:39Oh,
00:23:40joins us here from TD garden.
00:23:41The gardens quickly falling apart around me here.
00:23:44So Sherrod,
00:23:45I'll put you in the host chair for about a 10,
00:23:4720 minutes here and I'll come back to close it up.
00:23:49Oh,
00:23:50right.
00:23:51Bye Bobby.
00:23:52Let the adults take over.
00:23:53Yes,
00:23:54we got this Noah.
00:23:55Hey,
00:23:56Noah,
00:23:57just really,
00:23:58there's a lot to,
00:23:59to unpack with,
00:24:00with this one,
00:24:01but I was curious about just what was Joe saying about that last play?
00:24:06You know,
00:24:07with Tatum.
00:24:08I mean,
00:24:09clearly it was a broken,
00:24:10the play broke down.
00:24:11I mean,
00:24:12when Jalen Brown is on the ground,
00:24:13you've got one shot that you're trying to take.
00:24:15You probably want Jalen in some way,
00:24:16shape or form involved in a play.
00:24:18What did Joe say about that final play that the Tatum game winner?
00:24:22Yeah.
00:24:23What he said was that they,
00:24:25they're just trying to get the defense moving.
00:24:27Like they don't want to set defense for that entire last play.
00:24:29So I think it wasn't necessarily that he was looking for Jalen or there was
00:24:32a specific action that he called.
00:24:34Maybe there was,
00:24:35but that's not what he told us.
00:24:36He said effectively,
00:24:37like he just wanted to make sure that there was movement and that there
00:24:40was multiple options and that they got a shot at it.
00:24:43But it obviously wasn't,
00:24:44I don't think it was necessarily what they drew up,
00:24:46but yeah,
00:24:47that was the main thing he said that it's just really hard at the end of the
00:24:49game is because you don't want,
00:24:50you're not going to have two eyes on the ball.
00:24:51Like it's just really hard to get any sort of advantage.
00:24:53And so I think just that,
00:24:55that action,
00:24:56that motion is,
00:24:57is what he was going for.
00:24:58In that particular moment.
00:25:00No,
00:25:01we we've seen Jason in that moment a lot.
00:25:03And typically the result is not what we saw tonight.
00:25:07But the shot he took kind of is that dribble,
00:25:11dribble,
00:25:12dribble out the shot clock,
00:25:13raise up for a three.
00:25:16I hate when he does that personally,
00:25:20it just feels that,
00:25:21you know,
00:25:22there's a whole,
00:25:23there's a reason why,
00:25:24you know,
00:25:25coaches call plays.
00:25:26And even though this one broke down and,
00:25:28and I think that was a reason why,
00:25:30you know,
00:25:31we didn't see a play executed.
00:25:32It's even when that's the case,
00:25:35Jason still winds up taking these kinds of shots.
00:25:37Anyway.
00:25:38What's your,
00:25:39what's your sense of,
00:25:40of that,
00:25:41that particular shot?
00:25:42Like the,
00:25:43the basically the,
00:25:44the dribble down a shot clock,
00:25:45raise up for the three and maybe a wind shot.
00:25:48Yeah.
00:25:49So I think first of all,
00:25:51it's not a Tatum thing and it's not a Celtics thing.
00:25:54It's really an NBA thing where this is how last,
00:25:57you know,
00:25:58possessions are played out.
00:25:59And once in a while you see them not even get a good look.
00:26:02And like the other day when Tatum didn't catch the holiday pass.
00:26:05And that's frustrating when you don't get a good look.
00:26:07So I think the reality is you just want to see a shot at the
00:26:11end of the game and you want it to be a decent look.
00:26:13And it's never,
00:26:14it's very rarely like a layup or something,
00:26:17you know,
00:26:18wide open three.
00:26:19Like it's just,
00:26:20that's just league wide.
00:26:21And I think sometimes fans are so used to watching their team.
00:26:23And so you get frustrated with your star player missing that shot.
00:26:26But if you go around the league and watch Luca end of games,
00:26:29you know,
00:26:30this is the shot that teams are getting.
00:26:31And so some years I think certain guys have a better time with that
00:26:36look.
00:26:37Like I think Tatum earlier in his career was a little bit more efficient
00:26:40from it.
00:26:41I know last season was a tough season for him as far as that goes.
00:26:43But at the end of the day,
00:26:46like it is just kind of how coaches approach that moment,
00:26:48because I think they're so worried about turning the ball over.
00:26:50They're so worried about,
00:26:51you know,
00:26:52getting a shot up too soon into the possession that their mindset,
00:26:55when it's tied,
00:26:56which is both times that a regulation end of overtime,
00:26:58both times it was tied.
00:26:59Like that's the way that it goes.
00:27:00And so I think he was due for one.
00:27:02And so he hit,
00:27:03it was ironic that he missed the open,
00:27:05more open one and then hit the,
00:27:06yeah,
00:27:07hit the,
00:27:08you know,
00:27:09the more contested one,
00:27:10but he was due for one.
00:27:11And he's actually been,
00:27:12I think he's been underrated clutch this season.
00:27:13Like people,
00:27:14you know,
00:27:15I'm so glad that he hit this later one because that shot at the end of
00:27:18regulation would have become the big story and just way overplayed.
00:27:21But he's hit some big shots.
00:27:23He hit,
00:27:24you know,
00:27:25Detroit down the stretch.
00:27:26He was clutch.
00:27:27I'm trying to remember now the top of my head,
00:27:28but just the close games,
00:27:29he has actually been engaged and he's been hitting,
00:27:32hitting,
00:27:33hitting them.
00:27:34So I think the people are just last season.
00:27:35He really wasn't,
00:27:36you know,
00:27:37he wasn't hitting those.
00:27:38It was game winners.
00:27:39And so it became a big story,
00:27:40but it's not really,
00:27:41I don't think it's really needs to be a big story.
00:27:42Yeah.
00:27:43I mean,
00:27:44it's,
00:27:45it's definitely,
00:27:46you know,
00:27:47people,
00:27:48you know,
00:27:49a little bit of PTSD when you see Jason taking that shot.
00:27:50I think,
00:27:51Oh my God,
00:27:52last year,
00:27:53that was,
00:27:54you know,
00:27:55that was a problem this year.
00:27:56Yeah.
00:27:57I mean,
00:27:58I,
00:27:59I,
00:28:00I,
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00:46:12to what you knew Purtle wanted to do.
00:46:14He wants to take those shots.
00:46:16He wants to get in a position where the minute he catches the ball,
00:46:18he just got to toss it off their little floater.
00:46:20That's his game.
00:46:22And there's a reason why this was a career game for
00:46:25him because he did it at a level that he doesn't normally do.
00:46:28Most teams don't allow him to get this comfortable.
00:46:32I mean, I think he came into the game averaging maybe what, 15,
00:46:3416 points a game, something like that.
00:46:37And he had 35 and I believe it was a career high or
00:46:41damn near close to one if it wasn't.
00:46:43That's coach, I understand it, 76 may not be
00:46:48indicative of how they dominate the paint, but you still have a problem.
00:46:53And it's a problem that I don't know if you have figured out how to address it.
00:46:58Forget about fixing it.
00:46:59How are you going to address it and at least give yourself a chance to combat
00:47:04that, and to your point, no, I think you're right.
00:47:07I mean, I didn't think Al played great defense.
00:47:10I didn't think Luke played great defense.
00:47:11I didn't think any of their bigs played great defense.
00:47:14And we're not expecting that.
00:47:16But can we have good defense?
00:47:18Can we have eye defense?
00:47:20If we can get some of that, Turtle instead of 35, maybe he only has 26 or
00:47:2527 and instead of it going to overtime, you win it by five in regulation.
00:47:31It just seems that defensively, they are not quite where they need to be.
00:47:37And it's not so much a personnel issue.
00:47:41It just seems that there's some other issues or
00:47:44dynamics that are leading to this team not being as consistent defensively as
00:47:48they've been in the past or no, forget the past last year.
00:47:52Let's just forget about the past and just limit it to last season.
00:47:56It's kind of what you expect from a defensive consistency standpoint.
00:48:00When you bring the whole band back together, you think that that will be
00:48:04the one thing that you can kind of bank on and being solid defensively.
00:48:09Yeah, and I'm seeing some people in the chat.
00:48:11I do think Drew's absence was felt tonight.
00:48:14I think they would have thrown him,
00:48:15they would have involved him a little bit in the action at points.
00:48:18But one of the things that Joe said post game was, we've been competing.
00:48:23We're just not executing.
00:48:25And I think sometimes those things are hard to discern from watching,
00:48:29especially watching when you're watching a guy get burned and there's a handoff and
00:48:33there's an open layup and looks back his turn and it's like, are they competing?
00:48:38But I think Joe's synopsis of this game and of the last few days here,
00:48:41he says, the effort is there.
00:48:43We're just not, we're not executing coverages.
00:48:45And so part of that is like you do have a guy on the floor that didn't play last year
00:48:49in Qaeda.
00:48:50And so that changes everybody's role.
00:48:52Another part of it is I do think Drew, and Drew's just missed tonight.
00:48:56But I think Drew does clean up a lot of mistakes that maybe go unnoticed.
00:49:00And so that is an element of it as well.
00:49:04But I will say I didn't feel at all during the playoffs last year that they
00:49:07were missing Porzingis.
00:49:08Like every time we talked about it, I said,
00:49:10I maintained this stretch of like the stance of like, they don't need him.
00:49:13He's a plus, it'd be great if they had him back.
00:49:15But ultimately, I think they can win the championship and
00:49:17beat any of these teams without him.
00:49:19And it mostly came true because they didn't really play much.
00:49:22I don't really feel that way anymore.
00:49:24I feel like they need him and they need him back and his absence is felt.
00:49:27And so maybe it's like at a certain point,
00:49:29this team wasn't constructed to like not have him.
00:49:31Like there's a reason why he's on the roster.
00:49:33But during these last few weeks, I've been thinking like, okay,
00:49:36I do have this feeling that I didn't have during the playoffs last year.
00:49:39And so maybe at a certain point, they were gonna run out of like fumes of being able
00:49:43to play Al Horford 40 minutes a night and everybody covering up for one another.
00:49:47And it's like they need one of their best players back.
00:49:49And so there's an element of that too.
00:49:51And I think the other stuff's gonna get better.
00:49:52Like the Cato stuff's gonna get better.
00:49:54But yeah, I will say there was a moment like just looking at the final score,
00:49:58they scored 123 points in overtime.
00:50:00So as frustrating as it is, like I watched them play and
00:50:03I thought to myself, it feels like they have way more points than they do.
00:50:06Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
00:50:08And I think our good friend Bobby Manning is about to rejoin the team.
00:50:12Bobby, there you go.
00:50:14Welcome back.
00:50:16Hello, hello.
00:50:17Welcome back.
00:50:18I'm gonna hop, right?
00:50:20Yep.
00:50:20Yeah, Tatum will be talking to you in a little bit on the Celtics side.
00:50:23Okay, good to catch up, Sherrod.
00:50:26You too, Noah, tagging out.
00:50:27Okay, bye.
00:50:30Hey, Bobby, we're just actually talking about Cato.
00:50:34Bobby, can you hear?
00:50:35Okay, there we go.
00:50:36We're just talking about Cato and just kind of-
00:50:38Yeah, you got me?
00:50:39Yeah, I got you.
00:50:42Your thoughts on Cato's game tonight?
00:50:46Can you hear me?
00:50:47Yeah, again, I thought first half he had some moments where you get lost a little
00:50:53bit defense.
00:50:53I'm gonna have to go back and watch a lot of it because I don't know how much of it
00:50:55was his fault.
00:50:56But it did seem again, he's in there at center.
00:50:59I think they were mixing matchups and stuff.
00:51:01So not all of it's his fault there, but he starts that game.
00:51:04They're getting a lot of dribble penetration in there.
00:51:06And again, I think they're using him in help position a lot of the time more than just
00:51:10being that pick and roll defender or drop back guy.
00:51:14So I think a lot of times teams are gonna try to put him in actions and they're doing
00:51:17that so teams can't put him in actions.
00:51:20But when he's out there, teams are gonna go at him, Sherrod.
00:51:22I mean, he's not the weak link necessarily, but if you're gonna go at anybody in that
00:51:26defense, that's the guy that they're gonna try to challenge there.
00:51:30So that's gonna be an ongoing process for him to continue to try to figure out there.
00:51:34And then second half, that put back on the Tatum miss when he was posting up and just
00:51:41kind of tossed it up there and Kaded threw it down with one hand.
00:51:43I mean, I feel like we're seeing one special thing like that a night from him at this point.
00:51:48So that was awesome.
00:51:50A couple other plays, I get the block in overtime was huge.
00:51:53There were just a baseline offensive rebound where he got fouled.
00:51:58He can just count the plays.
00:51:59And again, I said it in our opening segment, Sherrod, you're getting more positive plays
00:52:03than negative plays from him.
00:52:05So given the ceiling here, given the upside, I've said it multiple times early this season,
00:52:11I'm willing to live with a little more Kada and a little less Luke to be able to develop
00:52:17Kada in that upside.
00:52:19Absolutely.
00:52:21That is sacrilegious, Bobby.
00:52:23What you just said.
00:52:24Wow.
00:52:26And you know, Luke has moments in this game to the run ahead way up and a couple offensive
00:52:32rebounds that were key.
00:52:34You have some good, you've been to some things.
00:52:36I think they're actually tied at one point.
00:52:38I was telling up the offensive rebounds for the season.
00:52:41Kada might actually finish with more because he had four in this game.
00:52:44But at one point tonight, they were tied for the season for offensive rebounds, total offensive
00:52:48rebounds, most on the Celtics this year.
00:52:51That's the one thing you're getting from both of those guys.
00:52:53And they need it again.
00:52:54Tonight was a night, Sherrod, where the three really wasn't falling for this team early.
00:52:58And so you need Kada on the offensive glass to be able to grab those.
00:53:01You need Cornette on the offensive glass to be able to get those.
00:53:04And I think Joe has said this at times, and I feel that way too.
00:53:07They're not quite killing it on the offensive glass to the degree that they should be, where
00:53:11it's so important.
00:53:12It's such a big part of their offensive game.
00:53:15Yeah, especially when you're trying to work the double big lineup.
00:53:18That should be, at worst, you're breaking even in terms of working on the boards when
00:53:23you got the two bigs in there.
00:53:25But that's not really happening.
00:53:30It's been quite the adventure for them when it comes to rebounding the ball.
00:53:34It's not been great.
00:53:35And the thing Noah and I were talking a little bit about this was just that, when you bring
00:53:41a band back together like this, there's certain things that you expect that will be transferable.
00:53:46And one of those things I would think is just your defense overall.
00:53:50But it really does look like, and it's still early, I get that.
00:53:54But it really does look like defensively, there's a gear that they haven't been able
00:53:58to quite shift into that we're accustomed to seeing.
00:54:01Is it as simple as just Kada adjusting to being with that group?
00:54:04Or is there something else that's kind of really holding this group back from being
00:54:09that great defensive team that we know they have the potential and the pieces to be?
00:54:15Well, I keep, you threw out Porzingis' name earlier, Shura.
00:54:17And that was one thing we talked about coming into the year is, how would you play without
00:54:23him?
00:54:23Because he missed some games here and there during the year last year.
00:54:26But he didn't miss extended stretches until the playoffs, where you're playing Horford
00:54:3035, 40 minutes at that point.
00:54:33So it's not quite the same here.
00:54:35And in this game, Shura, you saw it.
00:54:36They were really trying to limit Horford again.
00:54:38And he's had so many great moments this year in spots.
00:54:41But the emphasis on trying to minimize how much they lean on Horford, how many minutes
00:54:46he plays, how much load they put on him, especially early this regular season after the long run
00:54:51is pretty concerted.
00:54:52I mean, how often do you see a second unit in overtime in a five minute overtime like
00:54:57we did tonight?
00:54:58So they're mixing and matching centers and center combinations constantly here.
00:55:03Kada, I mean, he only had a few spot appearances last year when multiple guys were out.
00:55:09So it's a new dynamic playing with Horford and him to start games.
00:55:13And certainly when Kada is out there alone, that's a whole new dynamic.
00:55:16So it's just a different team, different team this year.
00:55:20I think we're seeing that the defense has taken a slight step back.
00:55:23And, you know, I don't know.
00:55:24I don't know how much you and Noah got into it, Shura.
00:55:26But how much do you feel like tonight was execution, different lineup, that sort of
00:55:32thing, or Toronto just catching them off guard and outplaying them, out hustling them?
00:55:37Yeah, we talked a little bit about that for just from the standpoint of, you know, Joe
00:55:41saying, you know, basically that, you know, this team, the effort has been great, but
00:55:45the execution has been lacking at times.
00:55:48And I thought tonight was one of those type of games.
00:55:51I thought that their execution at both ends of the floor wasn't quite where it needed
00:55:56to be.
00:55:57I thought they had, you know, I felt this was one of those games like Derek White, for
00:56:01example.
00:56:01I thought he took more bad threes than normal.
00:56:05It looks like one guy who I thought did a lot of good things, and we talked about him
00:56:10earlier, Jalen Brown.
00:56:11I think he's ready to speak.
00:56:13Do you see that, Bobby?
00:56:15Yeah, we got Jalen Brown here.
00:56:17I asked him about the last play.
00:56:18I popped into the locker room for a sec to see what was supposed to happen on that play.
00:56:22So here's Jalen talking about that.
00:56:26Trying to set up initially.
00:56:29We just wanted to get the last shot.
00:56:31We got some good action out of us, bro.
00:56:34So that play was similar to the play that we ran where I dumped it off to Nemi, which
00:56:40tied the game.
00:56:41It was the same play as that.
00:56:46Wow.
00:56:46So yeah, I didn't get too deep into it, but it does feel like it was for Jalen there.
00:56:52Yeah, well, but I like the idea that Joe is running action that at least gives the appearance
00:56:59and forces teams to think about it being for Jalen.
00:57:02I mean, think back to when you think about Brad Stevens when he was coaching a team.
00:57:07One of the great things that Brad did consistently was create misdirection plays where you're
00:57:11thinking one thing is going to happen and Brad is looking to do something else.
00:57:15Creating options so that his players can figure out what's the best basketball play in that
00:57:20moment and not necessarily have them kind of tied to a very specific player getting
00:57:26it in a specific spot for looking to create a very specific moment.
00:57:32And it seems like Joe is doing some of that as well.
00:57:35But the execution really, I thought for the most part, just wasn't great in this game.
00:57:42And Toronto, when you're as bad as they've been this year, a broken clock is right twice
00:57:48a day.
00:57:48They're going to have a game where they're going to beat someone when they're clearly
00:57:54not the better team.
00:57:55But I thought Toronto, they did enough things to give themselves a chance to win.
00:57:59And the Celtics did enough things to keep Toronto from just not getting blown out.
00:58:04And the end result is you get a game that's tighter than I think the records would indicate
00:58:09it should be.
00:58:10Yeah, a little more from Jalen here because he did have some interesting comments.
00:58:13I think he talked a little bit about his injury here and how he's feeling coming back from
00:58:17it and the physicality and the just effort that Toronto threw at them taking their opponent's
00:58:22best shots and all that sort of thing.
00:58:23So some good stuff from Jalen here in the locker room after the game.
00:58:26But any pain that I have right now, it's manageable.
00:58:33Before, it was kind of like limited me, but now I feel a lot better.
00:58:37Were you surprised you didn't get a foul call in that last play?
00:58:40What was your...
00:58:42I guess, you know, our game, like the level of physicality, which I'm cool with to a certain
00:58:48extent, but like, you know, if you're going to allow them to just put two hands and try
00:58:53to, you know, try to stop me, allow me to use my physical gifts as well.
00:58:58And I feel like all night they were just doing that, just trying to knock you off balance
00:59:02using two hands.
00:59:03And I shot a decent amount of free throws tonight, so I'm not really upset about it.
00:59:07But that last play I thought was a foul for sure.
00:59:11But I'm just glad we got the win.
00:59:14And you know what, Bobby?
00:59:17The physicality that Jalen alluded to in this game, it's been like that most of the season.
00:59:22You look at the teams that the Celtics have had problems with, the one common thread in
00:59:28all of those teams was that they played a super physical game.
00:59:31You go back and look at this game and you look at something as simple as Peyton Pritchard
00:59:35bringing a ball up and how physical they were.
00:59:37Jason Tatum moving without the ball and how he was getting, you know, getting popped consistently
00:59:43when he had the ball and when he didn't have the ball.
00:59:45This is what teams in the NBA, as they go about looking at the Celtics, believe is their
00:59:51greatest weakness, that you can beat them if you beat them, if you literally and physically
00:59:57beat them up.
00:59:58And it's something the Celtics aren't used to.
01:00:02They're not used to the level of physicality that I think they're seeing with a certain
01:00:06amount of consistency.
01:00:07The good thing is that it's happening early in the season and they're getting a chance
01:00:12to get to, frankly, adjust and adapt to that style of play and still find ways to win.
01:00:19That's the one positive thing.
01:00:21And as we talked about earlier with Jalen, you know, the fact that he was able to play
01:00:25as effectively as he did in this game with foul trouble down a stretch, it says a lot
01:00:30about his own, I think, growth in terms of figuring out how to make the most of a not
01:00:36so great situation in terms of foul trouble and in terms of scoreboard, being at home
01:00:42against a team that, in theory, you should be beating easily, but because of the way
01:00:46they played and the way they're playing you, it's now a much closer game than anyone
01:00:52anticipated it being.
01:00:53So I actually like the fact that teams are being so physical with the Celtics because
01:00:58I do think it's going to make them better over the long haul.
01:01:01Yeah, and this is definitely a game you don't win without Jalen's impact.
01:01:04And that block late, I mentioned it earlier, huge play.
01:01:07Tied game, 36 seconds.
01:01:09Barrett's been going to the rim and scoring all game and he puts his hand in there and
01:01:14gets a big block.
01:01:14And a lot of guys with five fouls in that spot are just going to get out of the way.
01:01:18But I guess going for the win in that spot, you got to be able to get in there and make
01:01:23a play and make it clean.
01:01:25And he did.
01:01:25That was one of the biggest plays in this game, I thought.
01:01:28Yeah, yeah, I would agree.
01:01:29I would agree.
01:01:30And again, it's big not only in terms of, obviously, its impact on the final outcome,
01:01:34but also, as you alluded to, Bobby, the fact that it came at a moment where most players
01:01:39would have shied away from trying to make that play because they want to be on the floor.
01:01:43And literally, if the whistle's blown, you're done.
01:01:45That's it.
01:01:46It's a wrap for you.
01:01:48So.
01:01:49Yeah, so Tatum will be talking shortly.
01:01:52Noah's over there waiting on him.
01:01:53He had a big game tonight, of course, with the game winner, 7-19.
01:01:5811 rebounds, 9 assists, falls just short of the triple-double.
01:02:01And I want to get into his game a little bit and look ahead to Cleveland on Tuesday, which
01:02:06is a game everyone's thinking about.
01:02:08Maybe the Celtics were even thinking a little bit about tonight, overlooking the Serrano
01:02:11team.
01:02:12But Cleveland's going to play tomorrow.
01:02:15They have a 14-0 record as it stands.
01:02:18I think they have the Hornets on a back-to-back for Charlotte.
01:02:21So good position.
01:02:22Injured Hornets team.
01:02:24Team that hasn't been great to start this year at all.
01:02:26So I think it's more than likely the Hornets are going toāI mean, the Cavs are going
01:02:29to come in here at 15-0 on Tuesday, a couple days off for the Celtics.
01:02:35Badly needed days off through the weekend here, through Sunday and Monday.
01:02:39And I want to give a shout-out to HelloFresh before we wrap this show.
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01:03:01you want quick and easy, which, you know, HelloFresh with their prepackaged ingredients,
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01:04:09Absolutely, and I mean, the big thing for me at the end of the day, does it taste good?
01:04:14And it does.
01:04:15I mean, and that's really important when you're trying to put together these type
01:04:18of meals and, you know, you're trying to save some time in the process.
01:04:22Is this something that's healthy for me?
01:04:24Is this something that's tasty?
01:04:25And does this take a ton of time?
01:04:27And HelloFresh does a great job of just checking off all those boxes for its customers.
01:04:33So HelloFresh is awesome.
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01:05:06Here's Al Horford talking about Tatum's game winner in the game tonight.
01:05:11Taking that shot, that's a shot that, you know, that I constantly see him working on,
01:05:17and it's something that he's confident in, and we're confident in him, and for him to
01:05:25knock it down tonight was big.
01:05:27It was big for our group.
01:05:29You know, going into a second overtime there, that wouldn't have been it,
01:05:34but for me, the most impressed I was with that was just, you know, him continuing to put in that
01:05:42work, and I've seen, especially this year, I've seen him work on those same types moves
01:05:49and shooting that shot quite a bit in practice, so it paid off big for us tonight.
01:05:56As a really good floater, he's always had that.
01:06:01I'm sure when we play him next, we'll do some different things there, but yeah,
01:06:05just give him a lot of credit, hit a lot of tough shots.
01:06:07Those were the shots that we were willing to live with, and he really hurt us with them.
01:06:13He was really good tonight.
01:06:14The game continues to change, I feel like year by year, and even from last year,
01:06:19I think it's different.
01:06:21I mean, I don't know if that's supported or anything, but I feel like
01:06:25people are shooting more threes now.
01:06:27People are playing more of a style like we play, and it's more and more teams,
01:06:32so I think that's an adjustment.
01:06:35I think it is, and for us, it's figuring out how to win with this new style of play,
01:06:42how people are playing now, and we're having success, and we're probably not winning like
01:06:46we're expected to, but the biggest thing is that we're finding ways to get it done,
01:06:52and we know that we still have a lot of room to grow as a group, so that, to me, it's encouraging.
01:07:00Yeah.
01:07:01Yeah, good stuff from Al there.
01:07:02I love double overtime, Wendell Bennett.
01:07:04I don't even know if we would have seen Al in double overtime.
01:07:06Oh, gosh.
01:07:08Maybe at the very end of it.
01:07:09I don't even want to think about it.
01:07:12Celtics avoid that.
01:07:13Fortunately, a ton of off days ahead here.
01:07:15I think they only played three over 10 games after playing nonstop to start this season.
01:07:20They won't be back at it until Tuesday against the Cavs.
01:07:22The last word I got on this game, Shradd, he mentioned at the end there.
01:07:26The Hawks game, I feel like that was a bigger terrible performance, let down,
01:07:33overlooking their opponent, kind of night than this was.
01:07:36I thought the Raptors played well tonight.
01:07:38Hurdle's a good NBA player, good NBA star at center.
01:07:43RJ Barrett's a top pick, one of the better young players in the league.
01:07:47I mean, these weren't bums hurting you in this game,
01:07:50Agbaje made a couple of big shots here and there.
01:07:53Grady Dick didn't have a great game.
01:07:55There were some guys off their bench that didn't hurt you too much.
01:07:57These were Toronto's good players just making physical tough plays against you.
01:08:02You pull out a win, but it's not going to be easy against these groups.
01:08:04Their starting lineup, Shradd, that they played tonight had a positive net rating this season.
01:08:09They've been competitive with that group.
01:08:10I said it to one of the other reporters here in the locker room at halftime.
01:08:13I was like, every team pretty much in the league has been pretty competitive this year.
01:08:18The Celtics, Horford's mentioned it, Joe's mentioned it.
01:08:21They're noticing a greater level of physicality that teams are starting to take advantage of.
01:08:24They see that they can play the Celtics more physical and get away with it.
01:08:28It wasn't the Raptors tonight, obviously, right?
01:08:30They didn't shoot any threes here, but some teams are trying to play that
01:08:34three-point game with them a little more now.
01:08:36Pacer's a good example of that.
01:08:38I thought the Bucs did a good job with that in their couple games that they played against them.
01:08:42I think what he said there was true.
01:08:44There might have been some games earlier this season where the Celtics fell asleep
01:08:47or just weren't super motivated against lesser opponents.
01:08:50I think the bigger story from some of these games against the Toronto's of the world is that
01:08:54it's a different style.
01:08:55It's a different league to start this year.
01:08:57It's been really competitive across the boards.
01:08:59This was a fun game to watch, I felt like, Sherrod.
01:09:01This wasn't one where you're like, oh man, the Celtics are playing awful and they're
01:09:05just not trying tonight.
01:09:06This is a competitive game for both teams.
01:09:09Yeah, and really, this was a game where the little things really became a big deal.
01:09:16When I talk about little things, I'm talking about things like free throws,
01:09:19the fact that RJ missed five.
01:09:21If he makes two or three of those free throws that he missed, we're having a very different
01:09:25conversation right about now.
01:09:29Those are the things that really separate teams that are trying to figure out how to just win
01:09:33from those who absolutely know what it takes to win, even on nights when their overall play isn't
01:09:38necessarily good or even average.
01:09:42The Celtics, again, I agree with Joe Mazzulla from the standpoint that the effort, I think,
01:09:48was good.
01:09:49But if the execution is off, part of your responsibility as a coach is to figure out
01:09:54why that is and address that.
01:09:57Figure out why are we not executing as well as we should.
01:10:01And yeah, you can easily say that it's the opponent and what they're doing.
01:10:05But for example, Tatum missing that open three late in regulation.
01:10:12That has nothing to do with anything Toronto did to limit him missing.
01:10:18That's on him.
01:10:18That's a lack of execution.
01:10:20They have to gradually get back to where they were a year ago when they were executing at
01:10:26a really high level.
01:10:27The good news is they don't have to get there today.
01:10:29They've got plenty of time to get there, but there needs to be signs that they're moving
01:10:35in the right direction as far as execution is concerned.
01:10:39Because if you're not good at that, you're not going to win a championship.
01:10:45It's that simple.
01:10:46Teams that are mediocre to below average when it comes to execution are not going to win.
01:10:50They'll win a lot of games, but they're not going to win in the playoffs.
01:10:53Not to the level that their talent should allow them to.
01:10:56And the Celtics, they have to get better at that.
01:10:59They just have to.
01:11:02Yeah, I don't know if Tatum started talking it over there, but we'll get into Cavs-Celtics
01:11:06before we get out of here.
01:11:07Tuesday night.
01:11:09Biggest game in the NBA early this season.
01:11:11It's an NBA Cup game, so if the Celtics lose this game, they're effectively out of this
01:11:14NBA Cup.
01:11:15So a chance to knock off the undefeated Cavs, who have been incredible.
01:11:19The best story in the league to start this year.
01:11:21And Celtics have played one of the best teams in the league, but have dropped a couple games
01:11:25here or there.
01:11:27Mobley missed their last game with an illness, so I think he'll be good to go for this one.
01:11:30But remember, Shradd, these teams played in the second round.
01:11:33It was super competitive through the first two games.
01:11:36And then Mitchell got hurt.
01:11:37Allen missed the entire series, and Mobley didn't get going until later in it.
01:11:43So I think they're missing Max Strews, as they have been for most of this year.
01:11:46But they're pretty fully loaded.
01:11:48Celtics will be almost fully loaded, aside from poor Zingas for this game.
01:11:51So a real measuring stick game for both teams to start this year.
01:11:54What do you expect then?
01:11:55Oh, I expect it to be a very, very good game.
01:11:58I expect the Celtics to execute better.
01:12:03I think this is one of those games where, because of the caliber opponent,
01:12:07I think there's going to be a different level of focus on the Celtics' part.
01:12:11I think they're going to be much more locked into the details, because they know that anything
01:12:16less than a good execution game, not just effort, but execution game, they're not going to win.
01:12:24And they've shown, obviously, the greatness that you expect from a championship team.
01:12:30And this, to me, is just another chapter in running it back and winning another title,
01:12:36being able to snap the winning streak of the Cavaliers.
01:12:41Yeah.
01:12:42And biggest thing to watch for, it is the fourth most efficient team in scoring in the paint,
01:12:46in the rim area.
01:12:48And Celtics have obviously struggled with that.
01:12:50They struggled with it again tonight.
01:12:51I don't have the numbers right in front of me this second, but with a quick toggle here,
01:12:58Celtics gave up, let's see, at the rim tonight,
01:13:0523 of 32 shooting at the rim of the Raptors in this one, for a 72%.
01:13:11That's where the Cavs are going to try to hurt you.
01:13:14Yeah.
01:13:15Yep.
01:13:15And that's, you just, I mean, it's going to be a tough game for the Celtics.
01:13:21There's no doubt about it.
01:13:22And I fully expect it to be one of those, a game that's going to come down to the last
01:13:2610, 15 seconds to decide the winner.
01:13:29Whether someone steps up, makes a big shot, or someone gets a big block,
01:13:32steal, deflection, something.
01:13:35It's going to be a game that will not be decided early on.
01:13:39There's no, I just don't see a path that leads this game to being
01:13:43anything other than a nail biter.
01:13:46Yeah.
01:13:46And all of it will come down to how does Hayden play against Mitchell,
01:13:49who's been incredible, incredible against the Celtics too, in his career.
01:13:51I think he almost has 30 points a game against the Celtics throughout his career.
01:13:55One of the highest all-time totals against Boston for a player.
01:13:58And Garland's looking much better.
01:14:00They're getting a lot more corner threes.
01:14:02It's an interesting team.
01:14:02And I actually wrote about it over at Boston Sports Journal.
01:14:05I'd start the year, today, to start the year,
01:14:08Kenny Atkinson's been making some big changes there for their offense.
01:14:12They're the number one offense in the league, Shrod,
01:14:13which I don't think people would expect over Boston by just a couple points.
01:14:17They're the best shooting team in the league
01:14:19by four points over New York to start this league, start this year.
01:14:23Mitchell, Garland, other guys are just giving them great productivity there.
01:14:27So it's going to be an incredible game.
01:14:29Tatum's talking over on the Celtics side right now.
01:14:32So Noah and I are going to do a report here on what he had to say,
01:14:35and his night, and the game winner, and all of that.
01:14:36But we're going to wrap it up over here live.
01:14:39I'll be back on Tuesday for this big game here between the Celtics and the Cavs.
01:14:43Of course, show some love to our sponsors, PrizePix.
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01:15:11Last thing before we sign off here, Shrod, did you like the jerseys or not seeing them up close?
01:15:16I did.
01:15:16I did.
01:15:17I liked them better than I thought I would, to be honest with you.
01:15:20And so that was definitely coming in thinking like, I don't know how this is going to work.
01:15:25But seeing them up close and personal, yeah, I'm cool with the jerseys.
01:15:30They're not horrendous, but I don't like them.
01:15:32Actually, I liked the gray ones from years back more than these actually.
01:15:37And that was the worst Celtics jersey ever at the time.
01:15:40So I'm going to put these at worst.
01:15:41Yeah, I'm not a fan of the gray ones.
01:15:42Yeah, I didn't like the gray ones.
01:15:45I'm going to put these at worst.
01:15:46And they haven't had many jerseys in Celtics history.
01:15:48But this one, to me, is the worst.
01:15:51So Raptors have a great one.
01:15:53I wish they wore theirs tonight.
01:15:54But those are some of my favorite uniforms in the NBA.
01:15:56Not a lot of Raptors fans in here, Shrod, though, like the old days.
01:16:00No.
01:16:01I guess we'll do that to you.
01:16:02But a great game tonight.
01:16:03Fun to watch.
01:16:04Thanks to Shrod for hanging out for over an hour here.
01:16:06Thanks to Noah, who's finishing up Tatum's interview over there.
01:16:10And we're going to do a hit on his night, his game winner.
01:16:14And a big night for the Celtics here at TD Garden.
01:16:17They're back here on Tuesday.
01:16:18Celtics, Cavs, the main event.
01:16:23We'll have coverage and the full crew, I'm sure, for that one.
01:16:25So thanks again for watching.
01:16:28Subscribe, Celtics All Access, CLNS Media, all our channels.
01:16:31Check out Shrod's Big 3 podcast, which just came out today, right?
01:16:34Or yesterday?
01:16:36Yesterday, yep.
01:16:37So a new episode of that out right now with Gary Washburn.
01:16:40And we will talk to you on Tuesday.
01:16:42Good night.
01:16:44Wait, Ahmed's got an outro for us, I think.
01:16:46No, he doesn't.
01:16:47He said he was going to work on an outro.
01:16:50He had a phenomenal game.
01:16:52Phenomenal!
01:16:55Forfeit's out.
01:16:55I think it's an option.
01:17:00That did not sound like a chair.
01:17:02It was a freaking chair.
01:17:03It does sound like a chair.