Is This Celtics Roster the BEST Since Kevin Garnett Era? | Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast - video Dailymotion

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In the latest episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast featuring Gary Tanguay, the guys discuss the Celtics win over the Knicks, how the new stars played, Jaylen Brown's struggles, NBA officiating, and more!  0:00 Teaser 0:44 Intro 1:19 Celtics season opening win against the Knicks 2:24 Kristaps Porzingis looks phenomenal, Jrue Holiday still needs to be acclimated 4:15 Do Celtics need to worry about their bench? 5:32 Jaylen Brown struggles in season opener, will Celtics regret the supermax contract? 8:43 Would you trust Jaylen Brown in a big game situation? 13:11 Is this Celtics team the best since the Kevin Garnett era? 14:06 FanDuel Sportsbook 14:48 Does the NBA still have an officiating problem with their referees? 18:00 James Harden drama continues to unfold in Philadelphia 22:21 Victor Wembanyama makes his NBA debut 29:34 Bob Ryan All-Star Game story time 31:21 Outro  This episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast is brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5  and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5  and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything from spreads to player props and more! So, visit https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won’t wanna miss. 21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.  ODDS-R! Ever wished you could navigate the betting field with the confidence of a pro? Enter OddsR. They're not a sportsbook, but they're the sports betting advisor you've always needed. It's like having a playbook for smarter bets right in your pocket. Especially since CLNS Media listeners get a 30-day free trial! Elevate your game day and join the smart betting revolution! Go get it at https://oddsr.com/celtics  Visit https://factormeals.com/NEWSFEED50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.

Transcript

00:00 Even though we had some negative comments, optimistic is my feeling after last night's game.

00:05 I think that this is the best team that they've had in the post-Kevin Garnett era.

00:10 I think that this is a legitimate NBA title contending team, even though they stubbed their

00:16 foot. Knicks are still a good team. Knicks are well coached. Knicks have some good players.

00:20 I think, you know, they were up by 12. They ended up winning by by four last night.

00:26 This team can win the championship. Well, because, yeah, they're in. I guess they can.

00:31 They're in the mix. They're in the mix. And people say, you want predictions. I hate predictions

00:35 because, you know, for various reasons. But but I certainly will go and say there's at least a

00:41 half a dozen contenders and they're one of them. The Ryan Goodman and Tanguy podcast is brought to

00:46 you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNX Media Network. Hey, everybody,

00:53 we got some real basketball to talk about. It's not. Yay. Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, Tanguy,

00:59 along for the ride. Zoom and podcast are sponsored by FanDuel, the official partner of the CLNX Media

01:05 Network. Snap into action this NFL season with FanDuel, America's number one sports book.

01:11 Right now, new customers get two hundred dollars in bonus bets guaranteed when you place a five

01:15 dollar bet. That's two hundred dollars in bonus bets. Win or lose. OK, guys, we're going to be

01:20 talking about the season opener for the Celtics. We are recording this the morning after. So let's

01:26 just get some opening thoughts on what we saw from this club. Bob, I'll let you go first. Obviously,

01:31 it was a win over the New York Knicks on the road. I'll start by accentuating the positive. I'll

01:37 channel my inner Johnny Mercer. The biggest positive was I'll take anyone more of those

01:41 from Pusingas. I knew you were going to say that. Well, good. I have to. He was. I'll take that.

01:48 I'll take no more. I'll be any better. No, I'll take any one of those. Right. It's everything.

01:53 Both sides, both ends of the floor. Number two. They are so freaking lucky the Knicks

02:00 shot free throws to where they did. I guess they lose. To me, that was the difference in the game.

02:05 That was the most important of all the things we can say with a difference in the game.

02:08 That's number one in my mind. They're lucky they won. I don't feel real good about what I saw.

02:14 In general, they won. Hooray. Nice. They escaped. Survival. Blah, blah, blah.

02:19 I don't want any more and more of those total team performances, but I'll take anyone more Pusingas.

02:23 I mean, here's what I'll say is Pusingas look phenomenal coming out of the gates.

02:30 Drew Holiday looks like he's going to need some time to figure out his role. Obviously,

02:36 the difference here is they got Drew, what, three weeks ago? Yeah. They had all summer to prepare,

02:43 to be able to figure out how Pusingas fits into this offense. Drew just got thrown into it. So,

02:49 I think it's going to take some time for him to look comfortable. Pusingas was awesome. Again,

02:56 I think what we see here, the biggest takeaway for me on Pusingas isn't that he can shoot the

03:02 ball from three. We know that. It's defensively. It's defensively. How he can move. He's much

03:09 better than we remember him being when he was relevant, a relevant player, right? He's matured

03:15 as a player into a much more well-rounded player. I know it's one game, but you can see it.

03:22 And last year, there was an improvement with Washington's, as Bob stated. Not a lot of us

03:27 were checking out the Wizards, but last year he played well for the Wizards.

03:31 Well, this is what I was told he was on defense. I said, "Oh, that sounds good."

03:36 But we wanted to see it. We saw it. He has much more lateral mobility than you think. And then

03:41 after all, start with the fact he is seven feet three. And he's smart, I think. So, yeah, that

03:47 was encouraging. And that was a big bonus. As Jeff said, his stock and trade is shooting threes.

03:54 But he played a nice game of big man basketball last night, as well as shooting the threes. So,

04:00 that was very encouraging. Well, I mean, look, last year, that's a game they lose.

04:05 Yeah, well, and they're lucky. They're lost anyway if the Knicks shot free throws. That's

04:08 what bothers me. Well, that too. But the Knicks also, Bob, were lights out from three,

04:11 too, which isn't usually the case. But they have to play better perimeter defense for the South.

04:15 Now, here's something. Here's a number I'm going to give you. Twelve.

04:19 Twelve. How many bench points they had. Twelve. Yeah, that's going to be an issue.

04:25 The fewest. By the way, was it the fewest in the league? The answer is yes.

04:30 Really? The next fewest was Toronto with 16. The next fewest after that was Minnesota with 21.

04:41 Well, we had an abnormal peak. The Nets had 65 because Cam Thomas had 36 himself in 25 minutes.

04:50 But, you know, Hauser, and I'm a believer in Pritchard. I'm a fan of his. He was 0 for 3

04:56 on threes. And Hauser was over 4. And I do think they're going to be better. But that was,

05:01 we've got to have better. You can't live with 96 from the starters and 12 from the bench. I'm sorry.

05:07 Jeff, do you feel it is now consistent throughout the NBA that every team has a four or five minute

05:15 span where they look like they forgot how to play? Because that's my frustrating thing with the

05:19 Celtics. And that's what happened last night. You just said it, though. You just said it.

05:23 Even the really good teams. And sometimes it's, you know, you take one superstar off the floor.

05:29 Obviously, they're a different team without Tatum. We know that. My biggest concern still,

05:35 man, you look at Jalen Brown at the end of that game and you're just like,

05:40 does this dude even know how to play basketball at times? Like, he just plays like he's never,

05:47 ever played basketball. I mean, that pass, two of them, two bonehead passes, one in an inbounds

05:54 and the one previously where he literally threw it right to somebody. I mean, it's like a free safety,

06:00 you know, like stepping in and making the easiest pick ever. And then on the close out, like,

06:06 again, I've said it. I've tried to be nice in saying it. I don't believe this guy is a top 25

06:14 player in the NBA. I really don't. I don't. And I don't know if I can come up with 25 today.

06:19 I think I could. Once like Brad Beal's healthy, I still would take Brad Beal over him. You guys

06:26 know that? Because Brad Beal, no, listen, again, as much as it is about the fact that Jalen Brown

06:34 can't dribble with his left hand, which we know, he can't pass. He doesn't make people better.

06:41 He doesn't. And I'm tired of people saying, well, Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum or somebody said last

06:47 year, the same player or do the same thing. No, they don't. Jason Tatum makes people better

06:52 consistently. Jalen Brown does not do that on any sort of a consistent basis. In fact, last night,

06:59 you just look at it and you're like, man, like his basketball IQ sometimes just bewilders me.

07:07 300 million dollars plus whatever the number is.

07:12 I don't want to get into that. I mean, again, it was just stupid. I get they had to max him out,

07:17 right? You had to max him out. But why did you have to give him the full max?

07:20 Well, I wondered about that.

07:22 Because it felt bad? Because Brad Stevens didn't want to offend him? That's what it was. Ultimately,

07:28 it was about not offending Jalen Brown instead of again, I know it wasn't his money. It's well,

07:34 we don't want to offend him. So we're going to give him the full max to a guy that again,

07:38 didn't really warrant getting the full max.

07:41 I agree. And to me, what Jalen Brown should be is if Tatum's not scoring, then he is.

07:47 But that's not the case. And the fact is they took him off the floor last night

07:53 because late in the game, they couldn't afford a turnover.

07:56 You're paying a guy over 300 million dollars.

08:00 And he's your third best offensive player. He's your third best offensive player.

08:04 I will say that now Porzingis is better.

08:07 Oh yeah. I was trying to think of somebody ahead of him and make him the fourth.

08:13 Well, now Drew isn't there, obviously.

08:15 Yeah, yeah. Oh no, Porzingis is a better offensive player than him. I mean, that's in this room.

08:19 He's a better offensive player.

08:20 Of course. I mean, we knew that coming in. Bob, the money paid to Jalen Brown was all on potential.

08:26 It hasn't been what he's accomplished.

08:28 I'm kind of, I'm not saying I'm in the middle here, but I'm kind of...

08:33 You're torn. You're torn on it though, aren't you?

08:35 I am torn on it, yes. But I'm more like, I don't know. He did have his 20...

08:40 You trust him, Bob. Here's my take with Jalen Brown. Do you trust him in a big spot and you

08:47 say, "Hey, let's put the ball in his hand. Jason Tatum is hurt," or whatever. "Let's put the ball

08:53 in his hand to go make a play with a game on the line in the NBA finals." Are you feeling good about

09:00 giving Jalen Brown the ball to go make a play, whether it's for himself or for somebody else

09:05 in his team?

09:06 Well, if he sees a lane to get to the basket, maybe.

09:08 A right-handed lane.

09:11 A right-handed lane.

09:12 A right-handed lane to get to the basket. He's very good.

09:18 They don't hand you 25 points a game. You say you got them somehow.

09:22 So that's why I'm hesitant to completely trust him.

09:25 So this is a bad game. This is a bad game by him. And again, it's one game. So I do want to make

09:31 that clear. He's going to have some really good games.

09:33 This is the thing, okay? And maybe I'm just an old... Maybe I'm just a grumpy member of the

09:38 media. When you get paid that kind of money, you're going to get people on your butt.

09:44 And you don't get double teamed. You don't get double... You're the wealthiest player in the

09:49 NBA next year, and you're never going to see a double team because of Jason Tatum.

09:52 Right. Right.

09:55 You better be pretty damn good if you're not facing double teams and you are

09:59 the richest player in the NBA next year. Like, I don't know. Again, maybe I'm too hard on him.

10:05 I just feel like he has not progressed enough. And in shooting, again, his three-point shooting

10:11 was pretty good early because nobody thought he was a three-point shooter.

10:14 Now he's kind of come down to earth. And I think what he is is a 35, 36 percent,

10:21 somewhere around 35, probably, three points.

10:24 I mean, he's got a little bit of the Antoine Walker disease. He makes the first two and

10:28 everybody thinks, "Oh, he's got better. He is a three-point shooter." Then he can miss the next

10:32 eight.

10:32 I'm just going to be a bit of a contrarian and dig in. He's averaged 27 points a

10:41 game last year. They didn't come from the score graciously cheating him, for him.

10:46 But your question, Jeff, your proposal is correct. I would not want to trust him.

10:53 That's all I'm saying.

10:55 I agree with that. But it's not like he's not an asset.

11:01 He shot 34 percent from three last year. That was the lowest of his career.

11:06 What did he average against Miami last year in the playoffs? That, to me...

11:10 That's the thing. If you know how to play him right, if you have the personnel and you know

11:14 how to play him correctly, it's going to be very difficult for him to beat.

11:19 The great thing for him is now he's got Porzingis. So to be honest, over the course of time here,

11:27 he's going to get even more uncontested shots.

11:30 Or he may have to make the most of his opportunity because Porzingis may get the ball more than him.

11:38 I'm going to say it tonight and we'll be saying it all year. He's going to need a thick skin

11:43 because this is only game one. And every night he has a good night like that,

11:47 the number on his back is not going to be seven. It's going to be 300,000, 300 million.

11:52 300 million. Not 300,000, Bob. That was 30 years ago.

11:58 He has to live with that.

11:59 Anything else? Any other nuggets you saw from the season opener, gentlemen?

12:07 No, I think we were all very happy about Porzingis. Tatum was Tatum for the most part.

12:12 White. I hadn't seen him to look white, by the way, not having paid much attention to

12:18 the exhibitions. I don't know where his hair all went, but I haven't seen him.

12:23 But I still like him as a ballplayer very much.

12:24 They're not going to miss Marcus Smart.

12:28 Yeah. No, but he's not. He's who he is. And Holiday, Jeff, we're going to need to wow him.

12:36 There was nothing special there last night. The other thing I kept thinking about

12:39 this morning was, OK, we know you can look at a box score and see what the points say.

12:44 It's hard on television. You're not watching guys guard guys. I don't know what his

12:50 defensive value specifically was last night. And we know that's a big part of the deal.

12:56 That's a major part of the deal with him is he brings that to the table. And he may have

13:00 brought that to the table in a way I wasn't paying attention to last night. So I just want to say

13:04 that even though we had some negative comments, optimistic is my feeling after last night's game.

13:10 I think that this is the best team that they've had in the post Kevin Garnett era.

13:15 I think that this is a legitimate NBA title contending team, even though they stubbed

13:22 their foot. Knicks are still a good team. Knicks are well coached. Knicks have some good players.

13:26 I think, you know, they were up by 12. They ended up winning by by four last night.

13:31 This team can win the championship. Well, because, yeah, they're in. I guess they can.

13:37 They're in the mix. They're in the mix. And people say, you want predictions. I hate predictions

13:41 because, you know, for various reasons. But but I certainly will go and say there's at least a

13:46 half a dozen contenders and they're one of them. I got one of them. There's no doubt. I just got

13:50 what's got three or four in the minimum. You know, and then we've got we've got Milwaukee

13:54 and Boston here. And, you know, Miami will be a tough out as always. There's no doubt in my mind.

14:00 And so but they're in that mix. And that's all I'm happy with that. I'm very pleased with that.

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14:45 All right, guys, let's move along. Something from last night's game, though. What did you

14:51 think about the officiating? And we always know there's a market correction when it comes to the

14:55 flops. Yeah. And it was obviously they were obviously sending a message last night.

15:00 Yeah, they were opening night. Apparently that must have been a point of emphasis for the

15:05 referees, obviously. Don't you think, Jeff? There must be. Of course, they've amended the flop and

15:10 the flop, you know, and I still don't think it's that hard. I still don't think the referees,

15:17 they can I they know who the actors are. They should. I just I just don't think it is as hard

15:22 as it's been made out to be for referees to to know what to do. I just don't. And that's just me.

15:28 Well, I think the NBA, you just said it, Bob, is they want to they want to maintain their jobs.

15:32 They want to get good grades, the officials and they're doing as they're told. I generally don't

15:36 have a problem with the officials when it comes to things like this, because they're just doing

15:40 their job. And as they're told, Jeff, that's all they're trying to keep their jobs. They're

15:44 trying to keep their value in every game. So if they don't call it the way they're told to call

15:48 it. Oh, yeah. No, they have to answer to a supervisor. There's no doubt. One of my biggest

15:52 things always about a business has not been things. It's temperament. It's I want guys

15:56 to know how to avoid to walk away from trouble. Guys, don't overreact. Guys, didn't know. Hey,

16:01 you know, I mean, if I'm going to make a controversial call one way or the other,

16:05 you know, you've been around. If you're a referee, certain calls are going to be materialized and you

16:09 see them come in and say, well, and you know, inherently, whatever I make, some do. Someone's

16:12 going to be very unhappy. And then don't overreact and don't tease somebody up when you know the call

16:19 is inherently controversial. That is stupid refereeing in it. And that's always been what's

16:23 pissed me off more about certain referees than anything else. OK, Jeff, what do you think about

16:30 that? Do you think it'll come back to the middle as it always does? Yeah, I mean, it will. It's

16:35 just about time. I thought the other thing from last night's game that. I was impressed with was

16:41 the Knicks, honestly. They're not that talented. They're not. I mean, they're just you know,

16:48 they got Brunson. We love R.J. Barrett. Good, solid player. Julius Randle is a good player.

16:54 So I think the one thing they do is their body and now they play hard. And I think Brunson has kind

17:01 of changed that a little bit. And some of those Villanova guys have changed that.

17:04 Wait, wait a minute. Quickly, it's an interesting little. He's like a mini Maxie.

17:11 Correct. That's exactly. He's a poor man's Maxie. Right. That's what he is.

17:15 Yeah. You hate to say it, but he's a poor man's Tyrese Maxie.

17:19 That's that's that's a long career in this league. Yeah, you can be like a Lou Williams type.

17:25 Oh, well, who, by the way, belongs in the Hall of Fame. Yes, he's again. But the Knicks are the

17:31 Knicks are fun to watch. Now they're fun to watch. They're a star away from being an actual contender.

17:37 Yeah. And even today in a post, they had one of those endless stories about what it would

17:42 take to get him beat. I mean, it never goes away in New York. I love it.

17:47 No, but it makes sense. I mean, it's going to want to be traded at some point this year,

17:51 I would think. So why not? If you're New York, you are positioning yourself

17:56 in every way imaginable to be able to get you on beat.

18:00 And there's a good segue for us, gentlemen. I was just going to say, speaking of

18:06 James Harden showed up at the team flight and they said, no, go kid. No, you're not making the trip.

18:13 And then he left. So, Jeff, your thoughts on what's going on with Mr. Harden? He has showed up.

18:19 He's out of shape. He has a monitor on him. And they said, no, you're not coming with us.

18:24 And it seems to what are you hearing? I mean, you know, more about it. I mean, you know, this guy,

18:29 is he not getting the offers? Do people not want James Harden or is he just

18:34 truly being unreasonable when it comes to negotiating?

18:37 Well, I think they don't want him and they certainly don't want him at 35 million.

18:41 Right. A lot of people don't want him, period. But they take him if it was, you know,

18:45 a mid level type contract. They've rolled the dice on him at 35 million. You just can't. You can't.

18:52 And again, too many people have seen him quit over and over and over. And I'm glad, you know,

18:58 like to me, if I was and again, we've been through this. I have such a hard time because

19:04 I'm not a Darrell. I'm not in the Darrell Murray camp at all, at all. But here I think I'm siding

19:10 with Darrell Murray. Get the hell out of here. Get the hell out of here. But the problem is,

19:16 again, if you do that, how do you get his trade value to a point where you might be able to deal

19:22 him? It's like, what do you do here? To me, the biggest if I'm Joel Embiid and James Harden tries

19:28 to come to practice, I'm a punch him right in the face. I'm going to punch him right in the face.

19:33 Seriously, like how pissed off does Joel have to be at this guy right now? Because he is the worst

19:40 teammate you could possibly be. I I'm so tired of this guy. But I mean, what? But there's such a

19:46 financial ramification here that towers over everything. If you're the Sixers, you know,

19:53 he's still drawing paychecks as far as we know. Right. So now it's not to play. I mean, this is

19:59 preposterous. And, you know, but who would want a guy, you know, the speed of third team that he

20:03 walked away from, right? Did he walk? So come on. I mean, it's on quits on. Doesn't just walk away

20:08 from quits. I totally got suckered in. I thought he was going to be the guy for the nets. I did.

20:13 Hey, did you guys hear Dan Patrick had Doc Rivers on, I think yesterday. And he asked them about,

20:20 you know, everything like that. And what Doc said, which I thought was interesting,

20:24 he said, you know, James was great first half of last year. He was a point guard. He bought into

20:30 being a point guard. He was leading the league in assists. He was great. And then he said it all

20:35 changed. He felt like when Harden did not get voted by the coaches to the All-Star Game,

20:40 everything flipped. Really interesting. Now, very, very well, I believe it. I mean, we all know

20:46 we've heard players talk about it. And I'm not saying that this is how he feels, but I felt the

20:51 impression that Jason Tatum gave me for a while that the All-Star Game was more important than

20:56 winning a championship. I mean, that's how these guys at least. I'm not saying that's the case.

21:01 I'm not saying that's the case. I think as a kid, I think as a kid, it's a big thing to get your

21:06 first ball. But James Harden, how many of you have been to? You just want to party wherever

21:12 the All-Star Game is. That's all. That's all it is. You think you want to go to Vegas and not go

21:16 to the All-Star Game and party in Vegas instead? Well, that's the frustrating thing is he can dish

21:22 the ball. He can run the offense. And if he's in shape, he can be a real asset. That's what's so

21:28 frustrating because when James Harden was playing well with the Nets or when he buys in with the

21:32 Sixers, I enjoy watching that James Harden. I like watching him. You see, I never do.

21:38 Well, you don't buy the assists. Bob says he doesn't buy the assists. I'm so far gone on him

21:44 that I'm not rational anymore. I'll be admitted that I probably have to recuse myself in many

21:49 discussions because I just want him to go away. I don't want to watch him play. I never liked him

21:53 when he was good. He may have dribbled more per second than anyone in the history of the league

21:58 to get sometimes to get nothing done, but oftentimes to get something done. But I never

22:03 liked this game ever. And plus, I hate the beard. I've hated the beard from day one.

22:11 I just love Bob. Not all beards. His beard. The assists aren't real. The assists are coming out

22:17 of thin air. He's paying off the scorekeeper. He's paying the scorers off, I think.

22:20 All right, let's get on to a positive story. Webanyama, what a great debut. What, 23 minutes,

22:28 six of nine, and 15 points for the Spurs. What do you think, Bob? You've been following this guy.

22:35 You have high hopes. Oh, I have high hopes. And I'm just curious. I know he had a little

22:39 foul trouble, but 23 minutes, I don't know. That isn't going to be the norm, I would think.

22:47 Oh, God, no.

22:48 But we saw a glimpse of the things. The skill set is extraordinary at 7'4". Really, truly,

22:53 we haven't seen anything like this at that size. We got a 7'3" guy that could do nice things, but

23:00 he's not doing the stuff. He's not playing the game the way Webanyama does. Actually,

23:05 they could play together. Wouldn't that be something? But I still will stick with my

23:10 current characterization. He's a bigger Giannis. He's got-- Giannis has a very similar skill set.

23:17 Hey, but Bob, he shot three for five from three last night. He's a more skilled Giannis.

23:23 Oh, OK. Yeah, and five inches taller. And Giannis is 6'11". I mean, this is a new phenomenon. I'm

23:29 going to enjoy watching it. I mean, he's appointed-- the Spurs are appointment TV.

23:34 We're not even in the middle of the road team. Or are they? I don't know. We don't know what

23:39 they're going to be.

23:40 But the best thing that could happen to the Spurs is if they finish in the lottery. That's the best

23:45 thing this year, honestly. Because maybe people will want to go there as free agents to play with

23:51 Wemby. I don't think they're there yet. And I'm saying San Antonio is not a destination, we know.

23:56 So even with Wemby Nyama, are you ever going to get another superstar? I mean, you could. You could.

24:03 It's going to be awfully difficult. So you've got to build through the draft. I think you've got to

24:07 stink again this year. I think you need to stink for one more year and then make a big jump.

24:12 Meanwhile, I'd say the over/under on wow plays that we're going to get from him in each of the

24:18 '82 games is two. That's pretty good. I mean, oh my god, what did I just see plays? Because of

24:26 who he is at 7'4". I think that's going to be, over/under is going to be two.

24:31 Well, I mean, do you think he can play well, Jeff, and they can still remain in the lottery?

24:35 Yeah, of course. Of course. They just don't have enough around them. I mean,

24:40 you look at what they're starting. Devin Vassell, good player. You know, Kelvin Johnson,

24:45 solid player. Zach Collins, he's always hurt. And Jeremy Sohan. They're all young,

24:52 for the most part, other than Zach Collins isn't that young, but he's been hurt his whole career.

24:56 And yeah, they just don't have enough. So no matter what, I think they're a lottery team.

25:02 There's a big difference between, although this year there may not be, guys, you don't want to

25:07 tank because this year's draft class stinks, the top. So really, the difference between

25:14 drafting one, two, or three, and nine, 10, or 11 is not going to be that big this year.

25:23 I think you can get, you know, again, you're not getting a superstar probably out of this year's

25:27 draft, but what they need is another really good, like, number two guy. Could they somehow get that

25:33 with Wembley or get, you know, a good starter that's an upgrade over what they have? Absolutely.

25:38 All right, guys, to wrap it up, Bob, did you have a comment?

25:42 Well, I'll just take a couple of random things. There's a guy that had a big night last night

25:46 that was a kind of a forgotten entity, and I bet Jeff would have something to say about it,

25:50 and that's Kate Cunningham.

25:51 Yeah, yes. You know how much I loved him.

25:55 Yeah, and you saw what he did last night.

25:57 Yeah, high school, college, was hurt all last year. He's just such a good player. I hope

26:04 they can put enough around him, Bob. Like, that's my biggest worry with him. Kind of like Wembley,

26:11 you know, like, are they going to be able to put enough around them that in their current

26:15 franchises they can taste the postseason more than just, like, sneaking in and then being,

26:22 you know, a playing team or getting knocked out?

26:25 Now, one more thing we alluded to. We mentioned the All-Star Game. The All-Star Game, once again,

26:30 going under tinkling. They're going back to the future, in a sense, going back to conference

26:35 versus conference, no more of this picking the team stuff. They want to make the All-Star Game

26:40 into something more of a game, which I, of course, I'm old enough to remember when I saw plenty of

26:44 really entertainingly good basketball games played by the best players in the world who played for

26:49 pride only. How about that? They just wanted to win the damn game. It was just like being on the

26:53 playground, except it was the best players possible. And what happened to that mentality? I

26:57 don't know. And this embarrassingly nonsensical joke of a farce of a, you know, I'm feeling like

27:03 I'm telling my Woody Allen here, but I just wouldn't watch it. I wouldn't watch it. But

27:09 now Adam Silver's got some religion in this thing. See how the players react to it.

27:14 You've got to try something, right? You had to try something because it was just,

27:18 it had become a complete-

27:20 But I blame them on, this shouldn't be. Where is the pride? Isn't enough to say,

27:25 I got 12 great players, 11 great players with me, and there's 12 over there. We just want to go out

27:30 and show, kick some ass and play. What's wrong with that?

27:33 Well, Bob, I'm glad you brought it up. I also think it behooves the league to do it because

27:38 now the conferences are more balanced. And I think, you know, they're more balanced, but,

27:43 and it's definitely better basketball. But we talked about Jason Tatum and Jeff was right as a

27:47 kid, you know, meaning, you know, playing in the all-star game was a big deal. I'll rephrase that,

27:52 making the all-star team just being named as a big deal.

27:56 Well, I didn't realize that rookies, I didn't realize that the plaucity of rookies just making

28:01 the teams, that's been common in the past, in the last 20 years. I didn't realize that,

28:07 you know, so it's just an honor for a rookie to just get in the damn game. And that's 24 guys.

28:14 I'm surprised, but that's the way it's been. So that's a goal for him.

28:18 Yeah. And it doesn't matter how the game, it doesn't matter how the game's played. It's just,

28:22 they want to be there for the weekend and post the pictures. But you're right. I mean,

28:26 I think I'm trying to remember like the last, was it Magic Johnson? Was it in early nineties?

28:32 Bob, you have a great memory.

28:34 Oh man, well Magic, after Magic was diagnosed with the HIV, he played in that all-star game

28:39 in subsequent July and January. I went to that game, it was in Orlando. And he played,

28:44 did he get MVP? He played very well. I know that.

28:46 What was that like? Do you remember the feel of that game, Bob?

28:49 Oh yeah. It was cool. I mean, people, Magic's back, he's playing and oh my God. And because

28:56 that's when we, you know, we thought HIV meant a death sentence. We all figured that Magic would

29:01 be dead in five years. That was the world of HIV. We all assumed he'd be dead in five years because

29:06 that's what happened to people. And now it's 32 years later, he's been on this cocktail and he's

29:12 quite, you know, and he, and thank God that they found out that medical science did its wonders.

29:18 But no, we, it was kind of spooky, you know, we watching Magic's, you know, we better enjoy him

29:24 while he's on this earth kind of thing. Oh God, it was weird. Yeah.

29:29 But I mean, I think that was the last era where we saw all-star games that were fun to watch.

29:33 Well, there was, yeah, yeah, that was, you know, I covered a couple, I covered a couple of

29:37 overtime ones that, you know, I remember when the Tom Chambers game, we call it, was a,

29:41 it was a great game in Seattle. And, and, and, and Byrd's first game, by the way,

29:48 that was a very good game in Washington in 1980. And Larry Byrd became the, made the,

29:53 the first three-pointer in all-star game history, Larry made from the left corner. I remember it.

29:58 But more than that, I think who the coach was, who it would have been, well, 79 East anyway,

30:03 that, no, it was Philly Cunningham. It could have been, yeah, Philly.

30:07 Larry made an inbounds pass to Moses for a bullet delivery for an alley-oop from out of bounds

30:15 that Cunningham raved about. And, and, and so, yeah, that's all I can tell you. And then,

30:21 and another all-star game Larry played.

30:22 Bob with his random, his absolutely random things that go through his head, Gary.

30:28 Yeah. But when I've been thinking about all-star games lately, you know, and because of this today,

30:33 I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about all-star games.

30:35 I'm excited to see you tomorrow night, Bob.

30:38 Yeah, thank you. That's always good to be here. My, you know, as I start my 60th year of going to

30:44 the South.

30:45 This is 60?

30:46 Well, 1964, October 17 was my first one.

30:49 Yeah.

30:49 So it's a good season.

30:51 I'm getting a picture of you tomorrow night before the game, and I'm tweeting that out.

30:54 Your 60th season covering the NBA.

30:56 As everybody knows, we're recording this on Thursday. There are statues of legends

31:00 throughout Boston. There has to be a statue of Bob Ryan somewhere. Who knows? Maybe it'll be

31:05 at his breakfast joint in Hingham. But, you know, with stories like that, Bob, you never cease to

31:11 amaze us. Unbelievable. And the thing that I think about is, is Larry assists with Moses. Was it a

31:16 year later he said Moses eats bleep?

31:18 Yes, one year later.

31:19 And on that note, that'll do it, gentlemen. And Bob says, keep an eye on Indiana. We'll get into

31:27 that next week. Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, Tangway along for the ride podcast and zoom brought to

31:32 you by FanDuel, the official partner of the CLNS Media Network, snap in action the center of all

31:37 season with FanDuel, America's number one sports book. Gentlemen, until next week.

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31:55 [Music]

Is This Celtics Roster the BEST Since Kevin Garnett Era? | Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast

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