Is Porzingis Pushing Celtics in Right Direction? w/ Chris Forsberg | Celtics Beat - video Dailymotion

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Chris Forsberg is a Boston Celtics reporter for NBC Sports Boston. Chris joins the program to chat about the Boston Celtics up-and-down play the last month-plus, why KP is bringing the best out of everyone, and how much rest should some of the older players get?  0:00 - Intro 1:23 - January Recap 5:02 - Celtics Are Moving in Right Direction 5:50 - Kristaps Porzingis Impact 11:42 - Resting Guys Starting Soon? 14:36 - PrizePicks 16:44 - Tatum's Game Winner 27:03 - Yabusele Return? 32:22 - Gametime 35:24 - Boston Needs to Ramp Up Defensively 43:52 - OKC, Cleveland, Boston Similarities   CLNS Media is Powered by:  💰 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!  🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!  💳Start earning points on rent you’re already paying by going to joinbilt.com/GARDEN. Make sure to use our URL so they know we sent you: joinbilt.com/GARDEN, to start earning points on your rent payments today!  Elevate your style game on and off the course with the PXG Spring Summer 2024 collection. Head over to https://PXG.com/GARDENREPORT and save 10% on all apparel.  Nutrafol! Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off any purchase and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code GARDENGIFT!   #celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics The CLNS Media Network is the leading provider for video/audio content. CLNS is a fully credentialed member of the media with access to all NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB teams & venues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  CLNS' rebuilt their YouTube community in less than 12 months, during a pandemic that attacked sports. Wondering how? Find out here (and support our channel) - https://www.tubebuddy.com/clnsmedia  Visit the Official Home of CLNS Sports Coverage -  https://clnsmedia.com  Twitter - https://twitter.com/CLNSMedia Celtics - https://twitter.com/celticsclns Patriots - https://twitter.com/patriotsclns Bruins - https://twitter.com/bruinsclns Red Sox - https://twitter.com/redsoxclns Non-Sports - https://twitter.com/northstation Facebook - http://facebook.com/clnsmedia INSTA - http://Instagram.com/clnsmedia INSTA Celtics - http://Instagram.com/celticsclns INSTA History - http://Instagram.com/nbahistoryclns

Transcript

00:00Celtics beat is brought to you by price picks and the game time app.

00:07What's up, everyone?

00:08Welcome in.

00:08Welcome to February.

00:10Welcome to Super Bowl month.

00:11Welcome to the stretch where soon enough

00:14we say goodbye to football and it is all eyes on basketball and hockey.

00:19I don't want to dismiss hockey, but basketball really takes center stage

00:23come the middle of this month and beyond because we have March Madness.

00:26Obviously, the college ranks will crown a national champ there.

00:30And then, boom, right around the corner, NBA playoffs.

00:33And perhaps in these parts, the pursuit of Banner 19.

00:38Still get used to saying that with Evan Valenti.

00:40I'm Adam Kaufman.

00:41Of course, this week's guest, Chris Forsberg, NBC Sports, Boston.

00:45Pretty much any time you turn on your television to NBC Sports,

00:49whether it is one of the studio shows, obviously pre half post with game

00:54broadcast, maybe it's Celtics post up.

00:56I mean, the man is there.

00:57He's available to you.

00:58And today he's available to us.

00:59Chris, how are you?

01:00What's going on?

01:01And I got to correct you.

01:03The big game in New Orleans was last night.

01:05Yeah, yeah.

01:06So everyone go home now.

01:08No, no reason to stick around till the end of next week.

01:10You know, you saw the nail biter that we were looking for.

01:13They recovered. Did they hit Bourbon Street?

01:15Yeah. Well, that'll be that'll be interesting.

01:17We'll know tomorrow when they play the Sixers how what the activities were.

01:21But yeah, they've had I mean, it's been a good month

01:23for the be on the road for them, LA and, you know, Texas stops.

01:27Like, yeah, it's a it's a

01:30I'm not going to say it's contributed to their issues,

01:33but it's part of the part of the equation as you're navigating an NBA season.

01:36Yeah. With these trips, Drew hasn't needed the, you know, the gloves

01:40and hat and scarf and all this stuff.

01:42He's been rocking in these car commercials.

01:43That's for sure.

01:45Look, good for good for him.

01:47I like Abby was was was flaunting that it was 70 degrees in New Orleans yesterday.

01:51And I was a little bit of me was crying as I stared at my golf clubs.

01:55I think the most notable thing as we enter February, obviously,

01:59is that this team is now starting to maybe find a little bit more consistency.

02:06I mean, if nothing else, you could look at January and it wasn't a

02:10quote unquote bad month.

02:11It was just a super inconsistent month.

02:14You know, it was basically every other game.

02:18Win, loss, win, loss, win, loss.

02:20With very rare exception.

02:21We saw that little two game win streak in the early part of that

02:25West Coast trip against the Warriors, who are mediocre and the JV Clippers.

02:30They didn't play anybody that night, had to survive them in overtime.

02:33And then it was kind of back to the pattern for a little bit.

02:36And now, as we sit here and have this conversation,

02:38you know, to start off that road trip and on the heels of a visit

02:42Sunday to Philadelphia, it is now two straight wins.

02:46And I believe Lou Brown, manager Lou Brown of the Cleveland

02:50Indians and Major League, would tell us that three makes a winning streak.

02:53So we're not quite there yet.

02:55Not quite there yet.

02:56But how are we feeling about what we've seen so far?

02:58Just in this recent little stretch against, you know, the Bulls,

03:03who granted were shorthanded, no Zach Levine.

03:06But in fairness, Boston wasn't at full strength either.

03:09And New Orleans, the survival against injury ravaged team

03:14when you did have all your guys.

03:15Imagine telling us coming out of that championship

03:18where they steamroll 16 and three in the postseason and all that.

03:21And we're like, you guys are going to be celebrating a two game win streak

03:24in January, like probably probably would be unclear what what went wrong.

03:29But so, you know, like you said, a super inconsistent month.

03:34It's been it's been a tough watch.

03:36I'm not going to lie, right?

03:37Like for some of the lapses, some of the late game execution

03:41has fallen off the cliff, which I guess why it made it a little bit refreshing

03:44to see them come through against the Pelicans, where, you know,

03:48Jason and Jalen both hit big shots in the final 30 seconds

03:51where you do just enough, even if you're looking at that roster

03:54and saying, how is this a game?

03:57You know, beggars can't be choosers when you're kind of going through it.

03:59So I do think there's been little incremental strides made.

04:03Like the starters have been so much better.

04:04Their first 10 games together, super low in net rating

04:07past five games, past six games now up over plus 20.

04:11Porzingis has been fantastic.

04:12And like, look, if all you're going to do is find one thing to hit your wagon

04:17to, like if that if Porzingis is that healthy and playing to this level,

04:21like the game that we saw the other night, he was just fantastic.

04:24The 26 first half points and 34 overall.

04:27Like, I mean, if you get that Porzingis in April, May or June,

04:31just send the Larry O'Brien trophy.

04:32But yeah, like still some strides to clean up three pointers,

04:36including some logo heat checks.

04:38I mean, that was the one from the logo or what step inside the logo was

04:43was was was something that I will say, like, you know,

04:47his shot just looks smoother.

04:49I think he said it in the walk off with Abby that it just it just feels crisp

04:52and that he's still like, well, I'm still at ninety six point something percent

04:56healthy, like give him three more percent.

04:59It's it's it's encouraging here.

05:01Like, again, a lot to clean up.

05:02But yeah, right now, you just kind of if you're going to go through it,

05:05if you're going to ride the roller coaster, at least find some positives,

05:07at least make it look like where you're moving in the right direction.

05:11And I'm certainly maybe it's probably recency bias.

05:14If they lose to the Sixers tomorrow, I'll just go back to being despondent.

05:17But right now, I'm OK with where they're at.

05:20Yeah, the KP edition has been a nice, a nice welcome site

05:24just because of how big of a deal he is in terms of like a matchup problem.

05:29I mean, he's posting up everybody he possibly can.

05:32The three point shot, you know, drawing guys all the way out to 30, 31 feet,

05:3532 feet from the basket.

05:37I mean, Vucic isn't the greatest guy in terms of covering the perimeter.

05:40But if he's got to go 31 feet out there, you just see the play right off the floor.

05:44He got benched.

05:45Look at the court.

05:46Like people have taken stills of what the court looks like

05:50when KP's really got at home in it, and it just makes life

05:53so much easier for literally everybody else.

05:56I mean, a lot of the people are, you know, and it's it's been

06:00a good topic is, you know, how Jason's handling all these traps

06:04and blitzes and things that are being sent his way

06:06and how Boston's dealing with that.

06:08When you have a guy like Porzingis, like he's just just makes life super easy.

06:12If you run the Tatum KP pick and roll or pick and pop,

06:16mostly pick and pop, you know, you're going to have a nice advantage

06:19for either guy because either you get like a Nikola Vucic on Jason Tatum

06:23where that's just fun or you have, you know, Colby White

06:27or somebody of Patrick Williams like that and Chris Abts Porzingis

06:30and he's been feasting on it.

06:31So, you know, you look at some of the numbers, Chris,

06:33you look at what KP has been able to do as a post-up guy.

06:36I think he's one point two points per possession.

06:38Most efficient post-up score in the league right now.

06:42How much easier

06:46is this for Boston when they have a seven foot three Chico?

06:49It's like watching it from where we're sitting, obviously, is something else.

06:53But you look at you talk to some people that that work for the team

06:56or talk to the guys like they must eyes must get big when he's out there.

06:59This is just a luxury right now.

07:01When he is earning with meat, this team is just a whole nother level.

07:06Maybe my favorite quote of the year when he was describing 100 percent,

07:10some Latvian expression that did not translate.

07:12And I love that he just could not even kind of get through the rest of the quote

07:15because he realized how ridiculous it sounded.

07:17So when the starters were going through it and those first ten games together

07:21where they were minus 11.4 net rating, I think a lot of us sat there and said,

07:25like, why isn't this working?

07:26And further confounding was that like Porzingis was pretty good for some of it.

07:30And I think what they realized in that moment was it would've been easy for them

07:34to say, hey, the numbers are off the charts with Al in that role.

07:37For whatever reason, this group doesn't have the mojo.

07:39Let's just use that and like figure it out down the road or whatever.

07:44But I think they recognize, right?

07:45Like if you're going to go through the bumps, do it now.

07:48The ultimate of the highest level of this Celtics

07:51team is with Porzingis on the floor, making the offense just another level.

07:56And I know going into last night, I think that group last five games

07:59was at like 128 net rating.

08:00I suspect it's still pretty robust

08:03considering the points they put up last night.

08:07Like, again, if Porzingis is playing like this, it takes some stress off the Jays.

08:12You just get the sense that they know this is this is the pathway

08:15to sort of having that that that championship mojo they had last year

08:19and gives them the best possibility.

08:20So they just navigated the bumps.

08:22Now, like they're still figuring some stuff out, especially defensively,

08:25like and how to balance it all.

08:27You know, everyone still wants their touches.

08:29It's a lot easier to get everybody multiple shots when Kristaps isn't out there

08:32and it's just out in the corner.

08:34So they'll smooth that out over the second half of the season.

08:39But like probably the prime reason it is, you know, sort of interlocked, right?

08:42That the starters are better.

08:43And Kristaps has just been fantastic in the stretch.

08:46Like that's the biggest reason for optimism right now is that for whatever reason

08:49that was super clunky, you know, Kristaps comes back when they're 21 and five

08:53or, you know, as right before they got to that mark.

08:55And you're thinking, man, this could be this could get ugly for the league.

08:59And then it went the other way and they've been super inconsistent.

09:01And there's a lot of layers to that.

09:03But ultimately, if I'm going to if I'm going to hinge on one thing, it's going to be,

09:07OK, if Kristaps playing like this, I'm maybe it's like.

09:11Anecdote, but like I'm I'm doing the cringe less during the game

09:15when he comes down, like goes up for a rebound, like he just looks more fluid

09:18and safe, but I don't know if like the right word is there.

09:22But yeah, like the more they can play them, the more the one thing

09:25is his second half splits or have dropped off like his first half.

09:28Numbers are amazing.

09:29Even that other night when he had the 26 points, 24 points, whatever it was,

09:32and then kind of acquired a second half.

09:35Yes, there was one of his better second halves in terms of efficiency.

09:37They just got to figure that out.

09:38And I think that could just be conditioning and getting back to playing

09:42so many minutes when, you know, for the better part of nine months,

09:45he hasn't he hasn't had to exert that much.

09:48This team is 34 and 15, third best record in the NBA.

09:52You wouldn't know it based on the way most people talk about them,

09:55but that's the reality.

09:57Now, you look at a lot of what you guys just talked about

10:00and what we've been dissecting so far and what we've seen over the last month

10:04and whether or not there's room for optimism, all this stuff

10:06is you kind of expanded upon.

10:07You can't ignore at the same time that.

10:13Last year was a in all the best ways, a really long year,

10:17and then obviously it was a really long off season for or short off season,

10:21I should say, but a busy off season for for some of these guys, you know,

10:25for Tatum and and White and Holiday in particular.

10:29And I think you can really drill down on.

10:34Each guy kind of has their own thing, I guess, but but you can look at those

10:37three rolling right from winning a championship in and all the

10:42especially for Tatum, all the celebrity that comes along with it

10:44and then going into the Olympics and, you know, even though he wasn't gassed out

10:49there and then into a new season and you now look at what we've seen

10:54in recent months, like it's it's been a down year for Holiday.

10:59Maybe some of that is the lack of layoff.

11:01Maybe some of that is age.

11:02It's been a down season for White after an incredible first 20 game

11:06or whatever it was, start Tatum.

11:08Like you said, is it a little bit of a downturn?

11:12Is it just the way he's being defended?

11:14Brown, I think, has mostly been pretty consistent.

11:17Porzingis three point shot.

11:19That's a ball.

11:19Yeah, that's true.

11:20You know, Porzingis started off unavailable.

11:23Now he's come back and he's starting to get into a little bit of a rhythm.

11:25Al is just, you know, I mean, say what you will about the man.

11:29I mean, he's he's he's not ageless.

11:31He's going to get a little bit older.

11:32I know you want him to, you know, the the royal you want him to be here

11:35for all eternity, but eventually he's going to slow down.

11:39And we're seeing at times some of that as well.

11:42I just I bring all of this up, I guess, as a build up to.

11:47Is a lot of this just kind of expected

11:50it physically, mentally, emotionally, psychologically

11:53with what they did last year on through to where they are now

11:56and what the goal is, obviously, the the carrot that's in front of them

11:59that they're chasing to where.

12:02Records fine, you know, like you're not worried about falling out

12:05of a top four, losing home court, they don't care.

12:07I don't think really about chasing the ones and having, you know,

12:11home court advantage all the way through the playoffs.

12:13Nice as it would be.

12:14I don't think it's a priority.

12:16Like if it's going to be Cleveland, it's going to be Cleveland.

12:18Do you have to start to build in some more

12:22forced rest days and whatever else?

12:25A great example.

12:26You know, when Tatum popped up on question on the injury report

12:29before the Chicago game, I was certain he was not going to play,

12:33not because he couldn't or didn't want to.

12:35I just thought I know he's a hard guy to take off the floor.

12:37I thought this is a day they're going to make him just sit.

12:40This is Tatum.

12:41This is this is a rest day.

12:43Sorry. Like, you got to do it.

12:44You know, I appreciate that he's not a Kawhi and Embiid

12:47and all like all these guys that just really embrace load management.

12:50He wants to be out there every single game.

12:52That's great.

12:53But I think physically

12:55we're going to have to start to slow some of these dudes down,

12:59you know, in in the lead up to April.

13:01So does does that have to kind of start now?

13:05Well, I think you're you're looking at the schedule

13:06and you're thinking probably like if you just navigate to the deadline

13:09into the to the the all star break, you get like a little bit of a of a break

13:14like where not only do they get and it's not going to be a huge break for Tatum

13:17because you got to fly cross country to Golden State and do all that

13:20and all that comes with the all star game.

13:22But then you come back and you play that one game against Philly

13:25to start the second half.

13:26And then I think they get that weekend off.

13:27So there's going to be baked in like a really quiet ten day span

13:31where I think you can kind of hit the recharge button.

13:34Derek Whitewell, as much as it was fun while he was in that all star conversation,

13:37I hope when he went to join the Olympic team, he missed out.

13:41They were all his family was in like Cabo for his 30th birthday

13:45and he didn't get to go.

13:46And they brought a cardboard cut out of him

13:48and like texted him while he was in Abu Dhabi and and all that.

13:51And so I hope he gets to go sit on a beach and just relax.

13:55I hope Drew Holiday, whatever they got to do, him and Al can can can like rent

14:00an Airbnb with multiple cryo chambers or whatever to to be feeling better.

14:06But we'll see.

14:07I would I think there's a there's a potential here

14:11for navigating the second half season back to backs, whatever

14:15that that needs to be.

14:16But I feel like they're in a good spot.

14:18I feel like they're they're they're they're they're navigating it.

14:21Well, I do agree.

14:22Like they need they need to find Tatum a day or two along the way,

14:26although making game winners.

14:28So let's not sure not sure we need to nitpick too much.

14:32All right, let's take a quick break.

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16:44All right, back here with Chris.

16:45So, Ed, you know, just to keep going with what we were talking about with

16:48with Chris there, I think the the Tatum game winner is a good thing to bring up.

16:52You know, it was.

16:53How good was the camera from the guy on the ball?

16:58I mean, that's that's a lifetime memory right there.

17:00That's a commercial.

17:01That's going to be a commercial.

17:02So I'm just going to cut that out and turn that into a commercial overnight.

17:06It's common for sure.

17:07That's common.

17:08Absolutely.

17:10You know, back in the anything is possible days.

17:12But yeah, I mean, I I don't worry about Tatum, I think.

17:17Well, for one, I think we can finally, if people haven't put the whole

17:21like Tatum isn't clutch narrative to bed, like I think he's hit enough

17:24of these big shots late in games, even when he's, you know, struggling.

17:27Not that he was struggling last night, but even in a specific game,

17:31he's struggling, can't find a shot, whatever.

17:33Like he still does generally show up in these moments.

17:36It was it was a nice thing to see.

17:38I'm sure it was a confidence building thing to see.

17:40But, you know, there's just so much in front of this team again

17:44that I really think, you know, again, building on what we were just saying

17:47with Chris, I think they need to find a way to sort of slow this thing

17:51down a little bit after a crazy month.

17:54Yeah. And it's and it's

17:56I am the prize in terms of what you really need to build for.

17:58You need to build for, you know, somewhere between 16 and.

18:03Let's call it like 20,

18:04whatever games coming up at the end of the season here,

18:07you got to you got to build up for that, and however you do that,

18:10you know, it's going to be on everybody to sort of be honest here.

18:12I think I think, you know, Tatum

18:15the Celtics have like three guys that are Ironmen.

18:17They have Tatum, White and my guy, Sam Houser,

18:20who also, for the most part, is in this time.

18:22So, you know, the one thing I'll and I'll throw Jalen there to Jalen,

18:26you know, unless he's really hurt plays.

18:28So this team over the past seven, eight years,

18:32when the guys that are really important to play, they play.

18:35But when you look at a true holiday, you look at Al Horford

18:38and there's just the injury history of the Chris Hapsburg,

18:41I guess you're going to have to be careful here.

18:43I mean, Al, I say it all the time.

18:45Like, I just want him to have fresh legs.

18:48So that three point shot's good for the playoffs, right?

18:50Yeah. You when the three isn't falling, it's surprisingly

18:55frustrating to watch something, you know,

18:56rhyming on offense, because Al is such just like that's

18:59like just a safety valve over in the corner somewhere.

19:02And that shot being there all the time and him hitting that

19:05every single clip makes them so much harder to guard.

19:08Like, yeah, KP's awesome.

19:09And and so is Tatum and Brown and all that stuff.

19:12But like that leak out shots important like that.

19:14If you go back to the first half of that New Orleans game on Friday night,

19:18like Sam Houser hit a couple of threes and it's like, you know how big that is

19:22to have that consistently going through the net for Boston?

19:25Because like they already have so many guys that are hard to guard anyway.

19:28But if those that the secondary or tertiary guys are talking six,

19:32seven, eight guys in the bench are knocking down 40 percent,

19:35they're three point shot.

19:36You're going to be you're in for a tough sliding from a series.

19:40So look at that.

19:41I look at Drew Holiday.

19:43Another guy that I have to get right.

19:44You know, those 60 percent from the corners, threes aren't going in

19:48nearly as much this year.

19:49That's a little bit of an issue.

19:50And Derek White, like Derek,

19:53I always measure Derek's shot by like the floater game,

19:57not necessarily the three point shot.

19:59But if he's put on the deck, getting in the lane or just like pulling up

20:03from ten or eight or twelve with that little runner,

20:06like if that's going in, then you're in a you're in a world of trouble

20:10because he doesn't need a lot of room for the three point shot to get off.

20:12But if he's pumping from the left or right wing and put the ball on the floor

20:16and getting into the middle of everybody and making decisions there,

20:19that's when they're really the most difficult.

20:21So as you look at, I'm not worried about I'm not worried about Brown.

20:25It's the K.P.

20:26Horford, Drew White combination of like, are those guys well rested?

20:29Are they, you know, in terms of injury, are they healthy?

20:32If those guys are like that, then, yeah, we talked to Chris mentioned earlier,

20:36like just send the Larry O'Brien trophy right back to TD Garden.

20:40But if they're not, life gets a little bit more difficult.

20:43And I don't know, Forsberg of those four guys.

20:46And I'll eliminate forcing us just because I think he carries a little more weight.

20:51Of those three guys, the white holiday and the Horford, like which is

20:54if you had to pick one guy to be 100 percent healthy, which one would you have?

20:58Because I would argue last year

21:00that holiday was the third best player in the playoffs.

21:03He was unbelievably good for them.

21:05I would put Derek a little higher this year.

21:07But like those three guys, what is the way

21:11the importance of which guy needs? Yeah, this is we go forward here.

21:14It's funny, right?

21:14Because you would expect Derek would probably be the most healthy of the bunch,

21:17you know, not like besides getting teeth knocked out or whatever that happened.

21:20And in last year's playoffs, like he's going to be out there.

21:23I think he's the most vital of that group to their success.

21:26I think we've seen like when Derek is a positive,

21:28the numbers are over 90 percent winning percentage.

21:30It's like all you need is a good game from Derek.

21:33And typically good things are going to happen.

21:34And that's also reflective that the use of the starters

21:36or as a whole are in the positive.

21:39I have confidence that drew like I don't think he's going to be back at 60 percent.

21:43But like he showed last year, he knows how to pace himself.

21:47He knows when to turn it up a little bit.

21:50When you've won two gold medals and two NBA titles,

21:53it's probably a little bit tougher to get ramped up for New Orleans

21:56on a Friday night in January.

21:58So I'll give him a little bit of a pass.

22:00I think Al's the same way, like while he's been steadier

22:03and I don't think he has as much of a reason for for a downturn, he is 38.

22:06And I think we know that when it matters most,

22:10he's typically going to knock down those shots.

22:11So as as uncharacteristic as those guys missing has been,

22:15like if you're telling me they're going to make that against Cleveland

22:17in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, I'm probably a little bit more confident.

22:21So I do think it's one of the things I was thinking about

22:23as you guys were running through it is is I haven't really given this much thought

22:27is they are playing the starters a lot right now in terms of everybody's healthy.

22:31Finally, they haven't had a lot of opportunities to run the top nine together

22:35and figure out that, you know, maybe it makes more sense to do it in this stretch

22:39where, OK, like let's try some stuff.

22:41Let's see the starters together.

22:43Let's take some bumps

22:45because the second half of the year and by second half,

22:48I mean, whatever, the final 24 games sprint to the finish line.

22:52If you do have to turn some of those guys down like, OK, now you can build back up.

22:56How's there's confidence, purchase confidence.

22:58Those guys will play more.

22:59You're you have enough depth where that shouldn't be an issue.

23:01But I guess this is the sort of figure it out stage.

23:05And they probably have to figure it out a little bit more

23:06than we thought they would based on some of their struggles.

23:09So I keep saying it right.

23:12Like, I'm not trying to explain away why it's been a rough patch.

23:15But as long as they're learning, as long as they're moving in the right direction,

23:19I'll I can look back in three months from now and say, OK, I get

23:23like why it was a little unsightly at times and why I had to launch my remote

23:27through a TV because they're fumbling away games as long as they're better

23:30when it matters.

23:31So hopefully like hopefully that not to give them an out,

23:35but hopefully that's it.

23:37There is some of that going on and we'll see how much the rest

23:39in the second half of the year figures into it.

23:42But I think they're going to be fine

23:43because their depth is what sort of differentiates them.

23:46Is there a general concern or is it just the physicality of it all?

23:50You know what I mean?

23:51Like the ability to just stay out there, be healthy.

23:54Water is going to kind of find its level, that type of thing.

23:57Or is there something that you're specifically worried about

24:00that maybe is a little, I don't know, less mechanical, a little more.

24:08This just doesn't fit compared to what we saw last year.

24:11I mean, ironically, the starter struggles, the first 10 games together

24:14in their minus 11.4, it didn't it.

24:16One, it's just like it's so jarring when there's so much talent in that group.

24:19How are they so bad in that stretch?

24:21And even like I think there were six and four overall in those games.

24:23So like, good, not great.

24:25I was worried about that.

24:26It's turned the last six games.

24:28Well, like I said, up over, I think, plus 20 something at this point.

24:31The offensive rating has been great.

24:32So they're kind of figuring that out.

24:34I was worried about the clutch stuff.

24:35I was worried about the clutch stuff last year.

24:37And then they steamrolled in the playoffs six and oh in clutch games.

24:40Like it's a reminder that it's the data does not usually transfer.

24:44But I did think like I needed to see them be better.

24:47So even in that, I think that's why you watched the New Orleans game

24:50and you're maybe not like super warm and fuzzy.

24:53But when JB and Jason are each knocking down big shots when you need them,

24:57you know, it makes you it's OK.

24:59Good. Like they're definitely growing in that.

25:01Dick Leip sent me a stat after the game and I was blown away like

25:04to tie or take the lead last five seconds.

25:08Tatum now has as many made shots as Paul Pierce, 13 in their career.

25:13And I mean, guys, not even 27 yet. Right.

25:15So it's it's it blows away because we just became so conditioned

25:19to Paul Pierce making that shot all the time.

25:22And now Tatum's doing that.

25:24And he's certainly gotten better at it that he's even, you know, he was

25:27he was off the board and clutch player of the year on the start to see

25:30as I know what a thought based on his struggles in that situation

25:33that he would be in that conversation.

25:35But I think at least three of those shots this year now.

25:38The winner against Toronto, he had won against Houston,

25:40even though they losing in overtime.

25:42And now this and you just feel like game slowing down a little bit

25:45for him in that moment, which sounds crazy because he's like so good.

25:48But, you know, I keep thinking back to that Denver game a couple of years ago

25:51and and like rushed at the finish line, didn't get a great shot.

25:54You know, there's obviously been multiple instances

25:56where some of us haven't gotten the best look in that situation.

25:59So there's progress.

26:00And if the starters are good and they're good in the clutch, I go back to it.

26:05They're going to win a title.

26:06It's just a matter of they sometimes lose their mind

26:09and it's super maddening in those moments.

26:11And they just got to

26:12paint that up.

26:14We'll let you go in just a couple of minutes.

26:16And, you know, before we do, I got to mention, obviously,

26:21the next game of this road trip is at Philadelphia.

26:24And this team is not what people expected it to be.

26:28You want to talk about the big man, the caliber big man on their team?

26:32I can't. I mean, of the I brought this up.

26:35Have you know this?

26:35Like I brought this up yesterday or the day before on our text thread.

26:39Of all the things I could not have anticipated when it comes to,

26:43you know, guys that like Ainge drafted that kind of floated through here

26:46and they were gone, like, you know, like Max Struess turning into a player.

26:51Doesn't shock me.

26:52I wanted them to keep him at the time when they chose

26:54Javante Green or whoever it was, you know, like Nismith becoming a player.

26:59Doesn't shock me.

27:00He just didn't really get the run, didn't get the opportunity here.

27:03Yabu Selly becoming a player I did not see coming.

27:08Like that was not on my bingo bingo board.

27:10Yabu becoming like a legitimate

27:13like 2010 threat on any given night.

27:16Can we see what Ante Zizek is up to now?

27:19Yeah, right.

27:20Like I'm going to get RJ Hunter back in here.

27:22Yeah, right.

27:23Maybe that machine.

27:25So like to me, Yabu always had potential.

27:27It just was clear, you know, needed to probably get out of the NBA

27:31spotlight a little bit, which was weird because he like crashed the draft that year.

27:34No one's really heard of him, but he always had the potential.

27:37The one thing that I guess kind of gave me belief that he would be great

27:40is like every time he popped up in international play and more so lately

27:43with the Olympics and how good he was for France.

27:45But like every time I would watch him in the international game, it was like, wow,

27:49he's made a ton of strides.

27:50He got his body in better shape and just became like a legitimately

27:54good basketball player.

27:55And I think we're seeing that now, like just even beyond the base stat line,

27:59you know, he's going to really help a team.

28:00And he fits the modern NBA really well.

28:02And he shoots it well from distance now and can give you defensive versatility.

28:07It would be a as we look ahead to the trade deadline,

28:11there's not a lot of deals that make sense.

28:13And I don't suspect Philly because of the fact that they'd have to get down

28:16to the bottom six or get a top six pick on the lottery.

28:20You'd be running.

28:20You'd be really rolling the dice to tank and try to just like better your odds there.

28:25So I don't think they're going to move off of players

28:28like who knows how much you will play at the finish line.

28:30I think they're more like you cross your fingers.

28:32You hope that you catch lightning in a bottle with those with that trio.

28:35And by true, I mean, Gershon,

28:36you have to sell a Tyrese Maxey and whoever else you want to throw in there

28:40because Paul George and and then beat are just too much of a wild card.

28:45But I would love I wish, you know,

28:46I think there's an opportunity for the Celtics to examine some

28:49opportunities like guys like that minimum salary.

28:51You don't necessarily even have to trade out a player to bring something back.

28:54You just trade draft picks to take on a minimum guy.

28:57So the Javante Greens of the world, the, uh, the Abu Sally's like every,

29:02every reunion that I could daydream about because I like,

29:05those are the ones that I, that most excite me. Uh,

29:08I know shapers that's still out there. Like this,

29:09there's plenty of opportunities that they just want to kind of tinker on the

29:13fringes and get one more guy in here. But Yahoo might just,

29:16Yahoo might be playing himself out of the conversation. He's just too good.

29:19And, uh, I guess if I'm the six or you maybe roll it through to next year and

29:23hope he wants to be back and, uh, try to sell them on the same thing.

29:26He probably thought this year was like, man,

29:28bead and Paul George just seems going to be so good.

29:31And he's now he's probably looking at like,

29:31what the hell did I sign up for guys going to get himself a contract?

29:35I hope so. It's crazy.

29:39And I don't know what I was, I was joking with someone else. I said,

29:41I don't know what the number is, but like, he's not a minimum guy. You know,

29:44if I, if I was a team that had capped space next off season and I was just

29:48looking, I mean, still 27, I think 28. Um, you know, there's,

29:52there's an opportunity for him to grow and be, be something. Uh,

29:56I wish, cause like, I remember one of the years he was dominating in the

29:58Olympics. I think he was maybe to a washburn on the globe. He was like,

30:01I can't keep waiting for the South to call me.

30:03Like I'd be open to an NBA return. And he was kind of just begging a team to,

30:06to, to give him a number, another chance. And, uh,

30:09what's the minimum salary now?

30:11Two and a half, like 2 million, two, like depending on your years of service.

30:14I will not be surprised if Yabu gets 10 mil a year.

30:18Yeah. And I think that's probably on the high side. Like,

30:20but I think put it this way, like Luke Cornette came back on a minimum and

30:24mostly because he was really comfortable here and he knew he would be

30:27accentuated. He'd have a no trade. So they like to kind of move them.

30:29And which is crazy that Luke Cornette is one of the few people in the league

30:32with a no trade. Uh, but like, you know,

30:35sometimes you just have to bet on yourself and that you'll have a good year.

30:38And like Luke will have opportunities next summer to decide,

30:41does he want to just be part of whatever the core looks like?

30:43Or does he want to go cash in somewhere?

30:45Does Yabu want to just run it back with Philly or,

30:48or find a team that can pay them? Uh, what, what should happen is Utah,

30:52uh, Danny inches should take some of that cap space they got and, uh,

30:55reunite with Yabu and, uh, you know, figure out whatever,

30:59if he's a piece of their core,

31:01he's already trying to make good with it right now, they're only so jealous.

31:06He can, he can fix this time of year. Like I, and I, like, I, I, like,

31:09I love Isaiah and I've been kind of against the idea because I don't love the

31:12idea of he's someone who needs to play. And you know, people,

31:16I love the idea of him being here.

31:17I would love if he was like an assistant coach or something,

31:19but if he's trying to do the comeback thing,

31:21it's just not enough reps here to, to, to maximize what he needs to do. Um,

31:25that being said, like, yeah, I, I, the idea every time,

31:27like when Kemba Walker before he did decide the next phase of his career.

31:31And I'm always like, man, if we can just get these guys, their positivity,

31:34their vibes, if we can just get up, get them and be part of this,

31:37all that would be great. But you know,

31:39that's not how it always works out in the NBA, but good on Yabu. Uh, Yabu,

31:43please, as, as every, uh,

31:44role player in the league torches the Celtics in the last, uh, last month,

31:48if you could not go for 30 plus, uh, and just, uh, that'd be nice.

31:53Chris Foresberg, NBC sports, Boston. We are going to, uh, let him go.

31:58And, uh, we thank you obviously for your time, Chris, always. We'll, uh,

32:02we'll do it again real soon here. Uh, see how the next month goes.

32:05Certainly a calmer month for, uh,

32:07the Celtics and the rest of the NBA for that matter with the all-star break.

32:10Can't wait for that Mack McClung led dunk contest.

32:13That's going to be a ton of fun, but Foresberg thanks, buddy.

32:19All right. We'll let Chris go. We'll, uh, we'll take a quick break here.

32:22You know, there is nothing better than going to a live game. Truly.

32:26I mean, at any level pro college in between with the

32:30minors, so many core memories that I have as a kid revolve around going to some

32:34sporting event. Heck, I know you don't have to pay to get into these,

32:37but even Cape Cod baseball league, just going to sporting events.

32:41It's an absolute blast. It's the kind of thing that stays with you forever.

32:45But if you do go to a level like a pro game that you need to pay,

32:49go into a game, it's even easier than ever before.

32:52Thanks to our friends over at game time.

32:54Yeah. Coffman,

32:55the best part of game time is how easy it is to tell how much money you are

32:58saving with game time picks. When you log onto the app,

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33:09Trust me, they're all spectacular, but you're looking for the super deal,

33:13which means the tickets you're looking at are the top 1% of prices based on the

33:18value of the ticket. And again,

33:20you'll see that probably right in front of your face. As soon as you, uh,

33:24you bring the app up on your phone and with the Celtics going forward here,

33:28February Coffman, big month, bud, uh,

33:32NBA finals rematch in the garden, February 6th against the Mavs,

33:36Victor Wembenyama comes to Boston, February 12th.

33:40It's going to be a hot ticket there. I look,

33:43I think whenever Boston York and together, it's always a good time. Sunday,

33:47February 23rd, Knicks are in town and the last game against the Cavs

33:51at home comes February 28th, the end of the month.

33:54So look at those dates just for the Celtics.

33:57There's more obviously going on in the world of Boston in probably whatever neck

34:01of the woods that you're in in terms of sports,

34:03but just keep it to a Celtics thing here, buddy,

34:06four games that should all be on your list to go to.

34:10And make sure you get there with game time because they have all in pricing.

34:13You get a panoramic view from your seat. They have the lowest price guaranteed.

34:18And if you somehow find tickets that are less expensive,

34:22game time will credit you 110% of the difference in your

34:26purchase from game time is covered with the most flexible customer

34:31service policy in the ticketing industry bar none.

34:35And if I took my middle son,

34:37who is starting a little jersey collection here, went to the Mavs game,

34:42went to the Spurs game, is he allowed to wear his Luka or Wembley jerseys?

34:47I'll allow the Wembley. I'll allow Wembley. He's amazing.

34:51Luka. Yeah.

34:52When you get Tatum and Brown in the closet, though, it feels like sacrilege.

34:56You got to do that. You got to. Yeah, it is.

34:58It's a monster schedule coming up at the garden this month here.

35:01As I've mentioned, stick the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time,

35:04download the game time app, create an account,

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35:24Our thanks once again to Chris.

35:25Always great stuff from him.

35:26And make sure you check out the Celtics talk pod as well.

35:30You know, we're not afraid to promote other podcasts of the zillion

35:34in Celtic space.

35:36Look, you've people that I assume have their favorites.

35:39So we appreciate people always being here with us.

35:41Of course.

35:43So with a lot of the stuff that we talked about with Chris and just this,

35:47again, painfully up and down stretch this team has been on.

35:52I mean, you see them as a heavy, heavy favorite against Chicago, for instance.

35:59You know, someone who immerses himself in the betting space,

36:02obviously a 14 and a half point favorite.

36:04I really didn't think they were going to cover in part

36:07because I didn't think Tatum was going to play.

36:08Instead, they win the thing by, you know, 20 plus points.

36:12New Orleans, again, a situation where not as much,

36:15but a considerable favorite and almost lost outright.

36:19I mean, they had to really squeak that one out.

36:21Never mind cover the number.

36:22Now you're going to have Philadelphia, a team that obviously everyone

36:26is going to just assume roll out the balls.

36:29Boston is going to win this thing.

36:30At least that's maybe not the Celtic fan mentality

36:33who watches this team on a daily basis, but the national mentality

36:37of what Boston should do against an inferior opponent.

36:40What do you feel like you need to see?

36:42Not specific to that game, but just in the next couple of weeks

36:45here off of the January that we had, you know, sort of leading into the

36:49the All-Star breaks, the all the last game before the All-Star break is February 12th

36:53gives us basically two weeks of basketball.

36:55It's one, two, three, four, five, six games before then.

36:59What do you need to see in these next six games from this team in general?

37:03I don't mean a record per se, but just

37:07on the floor,

37:09just take more activity defensively.

37:10I think if you're going to get on the Celtics or anything,

37:13I think it's just their defense.

37:15I just think they're kind of walking through the motions right now.

37:19I mean, I love Trey Murphy, so it was fun for me.

37:22But Trey Murphy going off for 40 plus is not great.

37:26You know, I was in fairness, though.

37:29Who else was it going to be like?

37:30Zion didn't play Murray.

37:31I don't know. He's in now, apparently.

37:34So it was Murray and and or Murphy, pardon me, and McCollum.

37:38Like that was it. Yeah.

37:39Yeah. That's and, you know, obviously, you know, kids, an unbelievable

37:43basketball player, and he just got paid this offseason.

37:45And he's a guy that I really like.

37:47I mean, he's just fun to watch.

37:48But, you know, having him go for 40 plus is not great.

37:51I just think defensively,

37:52I think they just need to tighten the screws a little bit.

37:55I think they're just they're kind of sleepwalking through it.

37:57I mean, their possessions, I can't go,

37:59you know, pull specific ones, but you'll know what I'm talking about.

38:02The guy's just not giving it their all on defensive side.

38:05Like they're one on one, somebody, and they just get blown right by.

38:09And it's like Derek White's getting blown by on defense.

38:12Like this is not what I normally am accustomed to.

38:15Like Jalen, who has spent more time guarding number ones

38:18than anybody else in the league this year.

38:20That was a great stat that we saw the other day.

38:22You know, he's not as good defensively as he was last year.

38:25I took a lot of pride in that last year and made it a point to tell everybody

38:28that he was taking.

38:30He was disappointed not being all the all defensive team and

38:35how he puts that effort in.

38:36Like we're not seeing it this year.

38:37Now, is that on purpose?

38:39I think maybe so.

38:40I think they're just trying to, you know, look, man,

38:41this is this is a marathon, not a sprint.

38:43We have to get to the end of this thing.

38:45But if you're looking for things to get better,

38:48that's number one thing with a bullet for me.

38:50There's still a top, you know, five team, top 10 team on offense and defense

38:54is where you want to be.

38:55But they can certainly be better on that.

38:57And they've been better defensively, you know, pretty much

39:00ever since Brad Stevens got here, they've been a really good defensive team.

39:04And I think it's just more guys just lock in a little bit better,

39:08like lock in a little bit more and taking more pride in it,

39:10because I just think that's the problem.

39:12The only you know, the exception is Jayden Springer, who's

39:16all 92 feet.

39:17It just seems like the biggest is doing.

39:19He's the biggest pain in the ass.

39:20I'd want as a live with a live dribble.

39:23Like, I don't want any near me, but it's because I suck at dribbling.

39:26But like, it's just one of these things where,

39:29you know, just getting on guys tighter, not letting them go blow by you.

39:32Like certain guy like a Zach Levine, like he's on a heater right now.

39:35And if he gets by, sure.

39:37But like some other guys are like, OK, what is this?

39:39You know, Derek White and Drew Holiday, these guys are both first team

39:43all defensive guys.

39:44Like you have Jason Tatum, who's namely the most versatile

39:47defensive player in the league with the way he can guard point

39:49guards and centers.

39:50But at the same time, like they're still getting wins.

39:53I think at the end of the day, the W is what means the most,

39:57because as you look at the rest of the landscape, you're trying to keep

40:00certain teams at bay and try and stay at number two in the standing.

40:04So you at least have home court until the Eastern Conference Finals.

40:07But, you know, I would like to see better

40:11defensive rotations out of guys as we talk in Forsberg.

40:14You know, getting more reps together again

40:18as they reintegrate Chris Epps, I think this is going to be huge.

40:20I know. But what are you looking for?

40:21Like, are you looking for, you know, better shot selection?

40:25Guys getting hot like a Hauser or or Jalen Brown from three?

40:28Like, what are you looking for the next couple of weeks?

40:31I would like to see.

40:32And this probably won't happen the next couple of weeks specifically.

40:35But over the stretch run anyway of the regular season,

40:39I want to see White look a little more like he did in the first few weeks

40:43of the season.

40:43I want to see Pritchard, you know, who is like no doubt about it.

40:47Six man turned back into that guy who was a consistent scoring threat

40:52off the bench. It's, you know, Hauser, that'd be nice.

40:54But those two guys in particular, and it's not even like

40:58I feel like I should include holiday in the mix.

41:00But I there's a part of me that, you know, a la Travis Kelsey.

41:04It's not a perfect comp, but I just sort of feel like he's

41:07he's saving himself for the postseason.

41:09You know what I mean?

41:10Like we're going to see a different holiday when we get to

41:13April, May, June,

41:14if the Celtics are lucky enough to still be playing at that point

41:16than we're seeing right now.

41:17I just think there's there's a a conservation of the body

41:21and energy that is happening right now.

41:23Not that I would the competitor that he is ever expect him to admit to that.

41:28But I just sort of feel like that's what's happening with him right now.

41:31I'm hopeful that's what's happening with him right now.

41:34So I guess it's it's, you know, and you'd like to see Brown's

41:39three start to fall with a little more consistency.

41:42You'd like to see Tatum, who's been I know he had the good night

41:46against the Pelicans, but he's been super up and down

41:49over the last couple of weeks in terms of, you know, not even

41:53just whether or not he hits his shots, but, you know, shot volume.

41:57You know, he's been more deferential.

41:58I'd like to see him, you know, take over some more of these games.

42:01I'd like to in these next six games.

42:03I'd like to see a couple of, you know, I'm not getting greedy,

42:06like I don't need to drop 50.

42:07I'd like to see a couple of 30 point games out of Tatum.

42:10He averaged 30 points last year.

42:12I'd like, you know, a couple of those, like just a little bit of a

42:17well, nudge reminder of kind of who they were last year,

42:21who we've seen them be at points this year, who they hope to be

42:25going forward, obviously, just just a couple of those performances.

42:28Because, you know, in the stretch that you've got, like Philly

42:31should not be a problem.

42:32Cleveland is going to be a competitive game.

42:35Dallas probably will be, too.

42:37You know, Kyrie tends to

42:40rise to the occasion for games like that.

42:42I know there's no Luka, the Knicks, especially in New York.

42:44That's going to be tough.

42:46Miami, I mean, well, they have dealt with the Butler thing by then.

42:49Who knows? That team is is sort of floundering.

42:51And and then Wemby, who I like, I really did not think that,

42:58you know, Wemby was not just him, but that team, that Spurs team

43:02was going to knock off the Bucs as we sit here last night.

43:05I didn't think that was going to happen, let alone blow doors.

43:08And Wemby, huge part of that.

43:10So he is just getting better by the day before our eyes, obviously,

43:13and get more consistent than he was as a rookie.

43:16And here he is the first time all star.

43:18So, you know, these six games coming up, you got to at least two, three in there

43:22that on paper are pretty tough.

43:25We'll see how they all bear out in reality.

43:27You'd like to see Boston at least go four and two on this stretch.

43:31I mean, that that would be, I think, something that would satisfy

43:35most people going into the break if if we are going to throw a record on it.

43:39But those are some of the things that I want to see.

43:42And then, you know, once we get into the, you know, quote, fingers second half,

43:47because I know we're way more than halfway through the year at this point in time.

43:52I don't know about you.

43:53Before we wrap up the show, I'm just I'm a little bit surprised

43:58and not in a bad way.

44:00I think it's actually a good thing.

44:03I'm a little surprised that the Cavs have sustained this.

44:07You know, I not I'm not even necessarily that they're still leading the east

44:11or leading the entire NBA for that matter. But.

44:15Thirty nine and nine, just because of the single digit

44:18just looks different than, you know, call it.

44:22Thirty six and twelve.

44:23You know what I mean?

44:24Like it just thirty nine and nine is is really impressive.

44:29And obviously there's no way to know right now

44:32what it's going to look like when we get to the playoffs.

44:34Everybody going to be healthy.

44:35Is this for real or is it a mirage?

44:39Is it like people have made the comparison?

44:41Is it like, you know, Al Horford's Atlanta Hawks

44:43winning 60 games in the regular season and the playoffs, you know, come in

44:46and they turn to a pumpkin, that kind of thing.

44:48Like I think the Cavs, I've said this for a couple of years.

44:51Last year, they sort of went on hiatus.

44:53But going back a couple of years ago, I thought that

44:56they were going to be really tough out in the playoffs.

44:58Obviously, I still feel that way, but I'm I'm sort of.

45:03Happily surprised that that this is still working

45:06and that they are still night to night,

45:10making life difficult for their opponents and and doing

45:14what they're doing with a deep roster, but maybe not the most household names.

45:20Well, they're not household names because they haven't gone deep

45:22in the playoffs yet, you know, but they're they're six and five.

45:24Their last 11 games.

45:25It's not like they haven't hit the skids, too.

45:27And this is something you got to acknowledge here.

45:29Sure. I mean, if you look at the roster and

45:33look at the way they play offensively, I mean, they are.

45:39One of the best team

45:42at sharing the ball and cutting in the league, if not like number one,

45:45what they can do with the two guards with Mitchell and Garland is tremendous.

45:49I mean, they have two bigs between Jared Allen and Evan Mobley,

45:52and Mobley's gotten way better this year.

45:54Who stepped stepped up in terms of his defensive game,

45:57like they become much better defensively under Kenny Atkinson.

46:01But they grind you out, man.

46:02They grind you out.

46:03They're not they're not going away anywhere.

46:04And, you know, we'll see if, you know, it comes back to the norm

46:07and they progress the mean a little bit.

46:09But I mean, they play outrageously well together.

46:13You know, they get a lot of great shots.

46:15They kind of remind me of Boston a little bit last year.

46:17I think what's funny is the three teams at the top between OKC, Boston

46:21and Cleveland, like they have a lot of similarities.

46:23I think if you take Boston's team last year

46:26and you look at what they were able to do in this team,

46:28this year, obviously a little up and down,

46:29but they all kind of look similar in terms of they play great defensively

46:35and they have some matchup problems for a lot of people.

46:38And at the end of the shot clock or the end of the game,

46:40they all have guys that you can go to and get a bucket.

46:42Now, you know, we'll see with OKC.

46:45It's very shea heavy.

46:47We'll see if J-Dub can help him out

46:50later on in the season and in the postseason to be that second guy.

46:53You know, we'll see what Darius Garland is.

46:54It was smaller guy was going to get picked on whether he can carry that load

46:58as you go to the playoffs.

46:59And we know with Boston that they can because they've done it right.

47:02That's that's the one thing with this team that they can they have the proof

47:06they can have a little bit more confidence.

47:08Hey, look, we won the title.

47:10We've been to two finals.

47:11We're in the Eastern Conference finals every single year.

47:14You know, and we're a tainted

47:15rolled ankle away from going to like three straight finals,

47:18which is pretty impressive.

47:19But, you know, it'll be it'll be interesting to watch them down the stretch.

47:23I think their their way of playing basketball

47:26is going to keep them in the first overall seed.

47:29I think they're super talented,

47:32but it'll just come down to matchups at the end of the day

47:34when it comes down to playoff stuff.

47:36They're definitely going to be a real problem for teams.

47:39And you want to avoid playing them until, you know, you know,

47:41you don't physically have to.

47:43But I mean, look, it's nice to have the carrot.

47:47And we talked about this earlier in the year.

47:48It's nice to have something to chase.

47:51Boston isn't the best team in the league.

47:53They have a ways to go to get to that time, that that particular.

47:58Part of the league,

47:59but I do think that having Cleveland out in front by so much

48:03will keep this team focused because, you know, look,

48:06I think it's all been a little bit tougher

48:09than I think people expected to run this back.

48:11I think a lot of people like, oh, this will be easy last year.

48:14Look at last year. They were so great.

48:15This is going to be cake.

48:17No, this is hard.

48:18This is really hard.

48:19And going through it, you're seeing it night to night, like New Orleans,

48:24like Trey Murphy goes off.

48:26They're getting the best of everybody every single night.

48:28And you can't have down performances.

48:31And I think that's going to be good for them as they get ready for the blast.

48:33I'm not sure if you can say that if you're Cleveland,

48:36if you can say that, if you're OK, so you can say this if you're Boston

48:38and, you know, trying to find silver linings here as we try to talk about

48:42this skid that Boston's on other teams have skids, too.

48:44But I think Cleveland is as legit as it gets.

48:47I think it'll be fun matchup if they get to play each other in the playoffs for sure.

48:51Our thanks to Chris Forsberg once again.

48:53NBC Sports Boston to, you know, and before we get out of here,

48:58can we have a little debate here if it's a quick one?

49:02Do you think Jalen Brown should be an all star? No. No.

49:07But we're a team in second place with two two guys.

49:11It's it's not it's just God, I you know what?

49:14I'm glad you brought this up.

49:15I do have thoughts on the all star.

49:17And let's let's do it next show so we can really expand upon it.

49:21I guess not, you know, a little less timely at that point.

49:25But but still a good conversation to have.

49:28Although the the biggest snub of all was Sabonis.

49:30Sabonis not being an all star is bananas to me.

49:33But that's that's I know Western Conference.

49:36But even still, that's that kind of bugs me.

49:38But yeah, I mean, we've we've run about an hour for for the people out there.

49:42Short attention spans and whatnot.

49:44But we want to thank Forsberg.

49:45We'll get to the all star conversation.

49:46I promise we should have probably done it earlier in this show.

49:49Thanks to Ahmed hanging out with us behind the scenes as well.

49:52For Ev, I'm Adam.

49:53Everybody, thanks for watching Self Defeat.

49:55We'll talk again next week.

Is Porzingis Pushing Celtics in Right Direction? w/ Chris Forsberg | Celtics Beat

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