On this episode of the Big 3 NBA Podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn and Kwani Lunis discuss the Celtics' less-than-stellar 4-2 start in January, which came on the heels of a not-so-great stretch to end December. Could there be trouble in paradise? All that, and much more!
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!
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! Get results you can run your fingers through! For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners 10 dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code GARDEN.
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Go to https://HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE and use code CLNSFREE for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. That’s free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE with code CLNSFREE!
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.
Right now, you can get 10% off your first purchase by going to https://ArenaClub.com/HOOPS. Wow, that’s a crazy offer.10% off a $400 Slab Pack, that’s $40 right there!
#celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics
---------------------------------------------------
🍀 For More Celtics Content:
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1 🔴
🏈 For More Patriots Content
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqX7G3pEDTseNxtoDU27PEg?sub_confirmations=1 🔴
*******************************************************
Check out over 200 podcasts from CLNS Media here: https://clnsmedia.com/
*********************************************************
Come Chill With Us on Social Media:
🏀 🍀 Celtics Twitter - https://twitter.com/CelticsCLNS
🏈 Patriots Twitter- https://twitter.com/patriotsclns
🔵 Twitter Main- - https://twitter.com/clnsmedia
📸 🏀 Celtics Instagram - https://instagram.com/celticsCLNS
📸 Main Instagram - https://instagram.com/clnsmedia
🔵 Facebook- https://facebook.com/clnsmedia
🔵 LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/clnsmedia/about/
💟 Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clnsmedia
Subscribe to CLNS’ Celtics 🍀 All Access Here:
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1 🔴
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!
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! Get results you can run your fingers through! For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners 10 dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code GARDEN.
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Go to https://HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE and use code CLNSFREE for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. That’s free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE with code CLNSFREE!
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.
Right now, you can get 10% off your first purchase by going to https://ArenaClub.com/HOOPS. Wow, that’s a crazy offer.10% off a $400 Slab Pack, that’s $40 right there!
#celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics
---------------------------------------------------
🍀 For More Celtics Content:
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1 🔴
🏈 For More Patriots Content
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqX7G3pEDTseNxtoDU27PEg?sub_confirmations=1 🔴
*******************************************************
Check out over 200 podcasts from CLNS Media here: https://clnsmedia.com/
*********************************************************
Come Chill With Us on Social Media:
🏀 🍀 Celtics Twitter - https://twitter.com/CelticsCLNS
🏈 Patriots Twitter- https://twitter.com/patriotsclns
🔵 Twitter Main- - https://twitter.com/clnsmedia
📸 🏀 Celtics Instagram - https://instagram.com/celticsCLNS
📸 Main Instagram - https://instagram.com/clnsmedia
🔵 Facebook- https://facebook.com/clnsmedia
🔵 LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/company/clnsmedia/about/
💟 Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clnsmedia
Subscribe to CLNS’ Celtics 🍀 All Access Here:
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1 🔴
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00The Big 3 NBA Podcast is powered by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the
00:23CLNS Media Network.
00:25Hello everyone, welcome to this week's episode of the Big 3 NBA Podcast.
00:29Your usual crew, Kwani A. Lunis, H.R. Blakely, Gary Washburn.
00:33Gary, what's your middle name?
00:34I feel like we asked this before, like a while ago.
00:37Why?
00:39Because it's H.R. Blakely, Kwani A. Lunis, Gary A. Washburn.
00:46No, if you want to say it like that, but my middle name is Michael.
00:52Gary M. Washburn.
00:56You don't be asking a black man his government name.
00:59Because Gary's reaction was the exact same one that 99.95% of black men in America would
01:07have when you say, what's your middle name?
01:09Why?
01:10Why?
01:11Why?
01:12I should have asked you before I asked you live.
01:13Who are you asking for?
01:14Who are you asking for?
01:15Who put you up to this?
01:21You might get patted down to see if you got it.
01:24Good thing we're virtual, you can't pat me down, I have no wire.
01:27The fans are not looking for Gary.
01:29The podcast is off to a fast start.
01:31Already.
01:32That's what makes it fun though, I think.
01:35What's your middle name, Gary?
01:36No comment.
01:37I wasn't even expecting to ask that.
01:38As I said it, I was like, hmm, I don't think I've ever known his middle name.
01:46The more we know.
01:47Well, now all of our audience knows.
01:49I'm so sorry.
01:50Anyway, let's move on.
01:51It's okay, Ms. Lunis.
01:53That is Ms. Lunis to you.
01:55Celtics, let's start with them.
01:57I mean, this is what the podcast is about.
01:59They squeaked past the New Orleans 121-19 and then they had to face Toronto on Wednesday.
02:06Datum had 38-11, Porzingis with 19-11 rebounds.
02:11Three blocks, pretty big.
02:13What did you take from the Celtics side in that game, first of all?
02:16Gary, you saw it up close and personal, what did you see?
02:21I mean, I saw a team that didn't play terribly.
02:26They just botched a lot of plays in the fourth quarter that could have sealed it.
02:29They missed a lot of layups.
02:30I think Jalen missed a dunk.
02:32Jalen had another dunk blocked.
02:36Missed layup.
02:37Just missed chippies, you know, bunnies at the rim, and they just, like, New Orleans
02:44played well.
02:45I mean, we all know, like, New Orleans is a team that was picked to probably make a
02:48playoff run, and then they've been besieged by injuries.
02:52Brandon Ingram was out, but they had, for the first time all year, they had Zion, Trey
02:58Murphy, and DeJounte Murray playing.
03:01Those are three of their projected starters, along with McCollum and Ingram.
03:06So three of their five starters together for the first time all year, and Murray, who obviously
03:12kills the Celtics, he's on that list.
03:13He's on the Ishmith list, guys who killed the Celtics.
03:19He had five threes in the first quarter, and every time the Celtics tried to pull away,
03:23New Orleans would make a bucket, or the Celtics would botch an opportunity to pull away.
03:28So it was not their best game.
03:29I'm not saying they played better than they did in that clunker against Sacramento, where
03:34they just kind of let go of the rope late in the third quarter.
03:38But again, another team played really well against them, and they were barely able to
03:44hang on.
03:45And there were some weird things.
03:46There was the out-of-bounds play, where Derrick kind of moved his leg into the ball, and the
03:51ball just bounced out-of-bounds off his leg, and then the five-second call, Taylor missing
03:55two free throws that could have made it a five-pointer.
03:59All this stuff just happened, and you were like, oh boy, they're about to lose this game.
04:03But luckily for them, that shot by McCollum, bounced off the rim, the runner that's a floater
04:10that he usually makes, and they got lucky.
04:13Because to me, it was not a crisp game, but a win's a win at this point.
04:19But they've got a lot of things to work on.
04:21Yeah.
04:22Yeah, I mean, the thing that jumps out to me is, it would be one thing if this were
04:28kind of one offer, where we don't see it happen too often.
04:32But if you look back at the last six, seven weeks, we've seen a game like this every five
04:38to ten games from the Celtics, where they just, a team that they should have very little
04:43trouble with, they have just absolute fits.
04:48Because again, as Gary pointed out, this Pelican thing, he's right, they were picked to be
04:52one of the teams that will be in playoff contention when they were whole.
04:56They haven't been whole all season, and even against the Celtics, they were missing one
05:01of their key guys in Abraham.
05:02So the Celtics, there's this pattern with them of basically once every five to ten games,
05:08where they will play, I wouldn't even say play down to the competition, but they don't
05:12play up to the level they need to to be successful.
05:15That's the thing that has been a little bit somewhat disappointing with the Celtics this
05:21year is that they have these stretches where it's obvious going into every game they play
05:26that they're going to play teams that are going to get up for them because they're the
05:29defending champions.
05:31And there just seems to be games where the Celtics just don't meet that focus, that intensity,
05:36that desire to win the game to the level of their opponents.
05:39And it's hard to do when you're the champion, because again, your focus is more on the end
05:42game as opposed to the journey to get there.
05:45With that being said, if you don't handle your business on the road to getting there,
05:50you ain't going to get there, or you're going to make it much harder than it needs to be.
05:53And this was, again, as Gary pointed out, they were very fortunate to win this game
05:58because they've committed so many last minute gaffes that for most teams, it becomes the
06:05narrative of the story.
06:06That's why you lost.
06:07Tatum missing free throws, Derek White with the inbound situation.
06:13McCall missing a shot that, again, for those of us who watched him throughout his career,
06:17that shot goes in like 75, 80% of the time when he takes it.
06:21And so for that shot in that moment to not go in, it was a bit of a shocker.
06:25I don't know necessarily specifically why this is happening, but there's no doubt that
06:31there's something that's happening more so this year than a year ago with the Celtics
06:36when it comes to taking care of business against teams that they're supposed to.
06:41That's very accurate.
06:43So Boston, overall, they're 4-2 this month following that nail-biter against the Pelicans.
06:49Still number two in the East behind the Cavaliers, and they're still winning, but all of those
06:54notes put into consideration, what would you say your concern level is right now when it
06:59comes to them possibly even having the chance to repeat?
07:03I'm concerned.
07:05I'm concerned that they are going to hit one of those really dry spells where they're playing
07:12not necessarily bad basketball, they're just not playing good enough.
07:16And I think that's the thing that's concerning to me.
07:19If you have a bad night and you're just not getting it done, that's one thing.
07:22It happens to all teams.
07:24But the Celtics, a lot of these games they're losing, they're not playing bad, they're just
07:28not playing good enough.
07:29And there's a difference between those two things.
07:31The Kings game on Friday is a prime example of what you just said, too, this past Friday.
07:36Yeah.
07:37And to me, those two games, I think it's kind of ironic that they have those games back
07:42to back because they could have easily lost both of those games.
07:46And conversely, if they would have done things a little bit differently down the stretch,
07:50they could have beat the Kings and won both of those games.
07:52To me, the more I watched them play, the thinner the margin is of them being a great team.
07:58Simply because of the way they're built, simply because of the way that they play,
08:02they're going to be a very good team.
08:03I mean, for a team to win four out of six games in the month of January is a pretty
08:08good season for a pretty good stretch for most teams.
08:11But when you're the Celtics, you're the defending NBA champions, you're winning on the season
08:16at a 71 percent clip.
08:18Winning four out of six is a step down of sorts, particularly when you start looking
08:22at the way that you're losing.
08:24Again, I'm more concerned that they are not stepping their game up to the level it needs
08:29to be versus them having a bad night or an off night, because that happens.
08:33That's not what we're seeing, though.
08:34They're simply not stepping their game up to the level that they need to be.
08:38Yeah, I'm not going to pull the panic plug out here and say, the third best record in
08:47the NBA, they're 28-11, they still got plenty of time.
08:51But right now you're starting to see some cracks in the armor.
08:54You're starting to see some things not go well that went well last year.
08:59A guy like Derek White, who's struggling right now, 29.5 percent from the three-point line
09:05this month.
09:06Every month his three-point percentage has gone down progressively.
09:10He got off to a blazing start in the first five games, 47.4.
09:15November, a great month for him, 18 points a game, 40.3 from the three-point line.
09:20December, 35.1, January, 29.5.
09:24His turnovers are up, 2.1 turnovers in December per game, 1.6 this month.
09:34He's just not as efficient as you'd like him to be.
09:38He's your steady guy, and he's important.
09:42Porzingis has admittedly not played his best ball, 7-for-19 the other night.
09:48He's got to start, one, hitting threes when he takes them, and I think he's been okay
09:53with that.
09:54But also hitting those mid-range jumpers, hitting those short Js when he gets that positioning,
09:59as opposed to, in addition to, scoring at the rim.
10:02He needs to be more efficient.
10:04He's too big to be going 7-for-19, because he's not taking a whole bunch of jumpers or
10:08threes.
10:09So I just think Drew Holiday hasn't had a great year already.
10:14Al Horford's shooting's been down.
10:17So the question is, do you wait for the numbers to eventually rise and say, eventually all
10:24of them are going to hit their averages?
10:26Or is it just kind of a collective tough year that you're just going to have to respond
10:31from, right?
10:32That you're going to have to counter with other moves.
10:35So they have to kind of just, to me, play more cohesively, they're going to have to
10:44be challenged.
10:45And they're challenging that West Coast trip, they went 3-1, a really bad quarter against
10:51Oklahoma City, and they could have went 4-0, but they're about to go on another West Coast
10:55trip next week to Golden State, the L.A. teams, and then Dallas.
10:59So that's going to be a challenge for them.
11:01They got Orlando and Atlanta this weekend, and that's going to be a challenge in addition
11:04to Toronto.
11:05So they're going to be challenged.
11:08I'm not, oh, this team is terrible, they're not going to win the first round, they're
11:15not going to win the second round.
11:16They're still the third-best team in the NBA, but the inconsistency is there.
11:22Letting go of the rope, bad fourth quarters, losses to teams like Sacramento and Indiana,
11:28teams in Philadelphia who's still not gotten off the deck, who lost to New Orleans the
11:34other night.
11:35Teams that they should beat.
11:36That's the thing.
11:38They're losing to elite teams, but they're not.
11:40They're 1-1 against Cleveland, they beat the Knicks, they beat the Bucs three times, they
11:46beat Minnesota twice, they won at Houston very easily, so this team is capable of greatness.
11:54So we see it.
11:55But it's also got to be more consistent, and you've got to win the games you're supposed
11:59to win.
12:00Losing at home to Atlanta, like some of the two losses to Indiana, some of the losses
12:05are perplexing.
12:07And that Sacramento game, they literally, it was going to be a tough game, they had
12:11their chances, but they just kind of gave up, and they were down only five points, eight
12:16points in the fourth quarter, just kind of, it was like, we're not winning tonight.
12:22And that was weird.
12:24So I think that they'll be okay.
12:27I think some of the guys will return to form.
12:30But you can't turn, we're almost halfway through the season, so you can't act like, well, it's
12:35going to change.
12:36Like, you can't guarantee that.
12:37We're almost halfway at the halfway mark.
12:39They've got to make some adjustments if they don't.
12:42And one thing Joe pointed out is that, you know, as I wrote in my story, like guys like
12:49Keegan Murray, DeJounte Murray, Caleb Martin, you know, all have gone for like season highs
12:58and threes.
12:59And you're like, well, what's going on there?
13:01Because the Celtics have made a concerted effort to protect the rim, because remember,
13:05they were getting gashed at the rim that Memphis game where Jaron Jackson was having his way.
13:11And now the defense has shifted, so now teams are taking more threes, and they're hitting
13:14more threes.
13:16So the Celtics might have to make another adjustment there, because teams are hitting
13:19threes against them.
13:20They're hitting more threes than the Celtics are taking.
13:22And that's not a good sign when the Celtics want to be a three-point shooting team and
13:26want to beat you with threes.
13:27So there's a lot of little things that need to be addressed.
13:30But this is still a very high-quality team, but as I said, but as I pointed out, Joe pointed
13:36out, like Oklahoma City and Cleveland are off to record starts.
13:39Now you got to assume Cleveland's going to hit a skid somewhere.
13:43You're not, I mean, they're not going to, they're not going to go 72 and 10.
13:47So they're going to hit a skid somewhere.
13:49So the Celtics, you hope that your skid is over and you can finish this last 43 games
13:56with, you know, an impressive stretch and try to get that number one seed still.
14:03So excuse me, let's quickly play fill in the lane.
14:06The Celtics need to be better at blank specifically to get back on that championships slide.
14:12What you got, Gary?
14:15Defense, they got to improve defensively, whether it's interior defense or three-point
14:21defense.
14:22They can't be getting gashed every night.
14:24You guys can't be, you know, Russell Westbrook, like you're getting guys that are going for
14:28career nights against them or season highs.
14:31Like they've got to consistently get stops, rebound and get stops, consistently play better
14:37defense.
14:38The offense is going to be there.
14:39Like the offense is fine and score 116, 17 points a game.
14:44That's enough to win ball games.
14:46It's stopping teams, learning how to win ugly when shots aren't falling.
14:50Don't lose your focus defensively because shots are not falling.
14:55You're missing shots.
14:56Oh, you like too many times over the last couple of weeks, Taylor misses a way up, thought
15:01he was fouled.
15:02Oh, I was fouled.
15:04This is great.
15:05Like he's tripping that everybody's running back down to court.
15:09Other guy gets Sacramento.
15:10He did the whole, uh, missed the layup, got back down, covered the wrong man, Malik Monk
15:16was open at three-point line.
15:17And of course he hit the three.
15:19Derek White misses open three.
15:21He puts his head down.
15:23Oh, you know, like none of that.
15:25Your NBA players, you're going to miss shots.
15:28Get over it.
15:29Get back on D, get a steal, get a key rebound, get a deflection.
15:32Like don't let your offense impact your defense.
15:35This team has got to get better defensively, more consistently than whether that's personnel,
15:40whether you need to play more Kata and more have more rim protecting, um, whether you
15:45just got to move up, match up, stop switching as much, whatever it is, figure it out and
15:50become more cohesive defensively to become, because the offense is going to be there.
15:57See, Gary, this is, this is what we, this is where the C's part between you and I, uh,
16:02right here.
16:03Uh, and here's why Gary, you point out, you know, they, they can't let their office dictate
16:07their defense, but here's the thing.
16:08That's who they are.
16:09That this team, their offense is going to dictate their defense when they're good at
16:16knocking down shots, their defense is better.
16:18When you look at the difference between this year's team and last year's team, personnel
16:22is almost identical when you look at that from that standpoint.
16:26But the biggest difference is that they're not making as many shots.
16:30They're not as efficient offensively.
16:33And I don't think it's a matter of teams are defending them all that much better.
16:36I think it's literally, they're not taking advantage of the gimme's, you know, when you,
16:41if you're Jason Tatum and you got to lay up, you got to finish that play.
16:44If you're Derek white and the ball is swinging and rotating and it gets in your hands with
16:48five, six, seven seconds on a shot clock and you raise up and there's no one in front of
16:53you or there's light contested shot, you're taking, you've got to knock that down.
16:58That's what they did last year.
16:59That is why their defense was as good as it was last year because they were an incredibly
17:03impactful, efficient team offensively.
17:06The one thing they have to do is they have to be more efficient offensively.
17:09And if that means taking fewer threes, then you need to do that.
17:13Because I like when they're playing teams that are forcing them to put the ball on the
17:16floor because I do think they have some guys that can finish at the rim.
17:19But they've got some guys who try to do that, that frankly, they need to stay, they need
17:22to stay out in the suburbs.
17:24Peyton Pritchard comes to mind.
17:26You're not going to do much damage scoring a ball around a pay.
17:29You can get offensive rebounds like no one else.
17:31That's just size.
17:32But when you get that offensive rebound and you got the six, nine power forward that you
17:36just snatched that rebound over waiting for you to put that shot up, we all know it's
17:40probably going to happen.
17:41You're going to send it three rows back.
17:43So they need to become a more efficient offensive team so that that defense, I think, can be
17:48better because that was the blueprint for success a year ago.
17:52And frankly, I think that's going to be the blueprint for them to win another title.
17:58And the good thing, Gary, as you pointed out, there's a lot of time left in the season.
18:02And there's plenty of time for them to find that balance between being more efficient
18:06offensively while elevating their play at the defensive end of the floor.
18:11To me, they have to start making the shots that they're supposed to make, not the shots
18:15that they want to make.
18:16The ones they're supposed to open jump shots, lightly contested contests, finishing at the
18:22rim.
18:23Those are the shots that they were making at a very high clip last season.
18:26And it's just not happening this year.
18:28When you look at their efficiency, the Celtics three point shooting this year, they're like
18:3215th in the NBA.
18:35Last year, they were top five.
18:36And yes, they're taking a lot of threes, but they took a lot of threes last year and the
18:41only difference is they were making a relatively high clip and they're not this year.
18:45You look at the team that has the best record in the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers, they
18:48get a lot of credit for their big one-two punch with Jared Allen and Evan Mobley up
18:54front.
18:55But what people often fail to realize when they watch them play is how incredibly efficient
19:00they are from three point range.
19:01They're shooting as a team, as a team, better than 40% on threes.
19:06You will be lucky to have one or two guys on your roster shooting better than four.
19:10Their whole damn team average is better than 40%.
19:13And that's a big reason why they are the team with the best record in the NBA.
19:18And if you're the Celtics, regardless of having the best record in the NBA, you have to become
19:23a more efficient three point shooting team or just a more efficient scoring team.
19:27If teams are going to take away those lightly contested or wide open threes that you like
19:32to take.
19:33So before we go any further, Quani, I want to give a good quick shout out to our good
19:39friends at PrizePix.
19:40Again, it's the best place to get real money sports action.
19:44They've got more than 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings.
19:49PrizePix has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all.
19:52You just pick more or less on at least two players for a shot to win up to 1000 times
19:57your cash.
19:58Run your game all season long on PrizePix, which is America's number one daily fantasy
20:03sports app.
20:04And again, with basketball season heating up, PrizePix is the best place to get real
20:09money action while watching your favorite sports teams play.
20:13They've also got plenty of amazing offers, such as a Taco Tuesday, which is where your
20:17PrizePix discount select player projections up to 25 percent to provide even more value
20:22for your lineups.
20:23So again, just sign up today and get $50 instantly when you play $5.
20:28You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus.
20:30It's guaranteed.
20:31Again, it's the best way to win real money this basketball season.
20:36And if you want to end this, all you got to do is download the app today.
20:40Use code CLNS to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup.
20:46Again, that's code CLNS to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup.
20:53PrizePix, run your game.
20:55All right.
20:57So looking ahead to the schedule, the Celtics, the next game they have is against Toronto.
21:02They said at 13 in the East, definitely another bad team that the Celtics could easily beat.
21:09Knock on wood.
21:11But would that team better be off, you know, losing to Boston or are they going to play
21:16up to the opponent and try to get a win for one?
21:21This game makes me a little nervous from the standpoint of it looks on paper like it should
21:27be an easy win.
21:28And it feels like it should be an easy win.
21:30The Celtics should be even more motivated just because of, you know, just some of the
21:33inconsistencies we've seen from them.
21:36But it almost feels like it's too perfect a storm for them to go out there and blow
21:40them out.
21:41So I'm a little nervous about this game.
21:43To me, if you're the Celtics, you simply need to just raise your level of intensity to the
21:49level of your opponent.
21:50If you do that, you're going to win more times than not.
21:53You're going to win a lot of games.
21:55And if they do that, this game will be over quickly.
21:57But I'm not convinced that they're going to play with that type of focus and energy that
22:01they need to put this team away early.
22:03I should add that the game is in Toronto as well.
22:07It's a tricky game because the first time the Celtics won an overtime against the Raptors
22:14on Jason Tatum's three-pointer, the last time they beat him by 50, it was a blowout.
22:18But guys like RJ Barrett were not in.
22:21I think now Toronto's getting close to fully healthy with Barrett, Emmanuel Quigley, Scotty
22:26Barnes.
22:28So they'll be a formidable opponent.
22:30They just beat the Warriors the other night at home.
22:34This is a team that can play any kind of way.
22:38What I mean by that is they can look terrible or they can actually look like a quality team.
22:43It just depends on the night.
22:44So you don't know what to expect from Toronto.
22:46But the last thing you want as a Celtics is to walk in there thinking, oh, we got this.
22:51We beat this team by 50.
22:53This is going to be no problem.
22:54We're just going to slide through and get a dub and come on back home.
22:58Take this game seriously.
22:59You have two full days off.
23:04Get your rest.
23:05Get your reps in.
23:06Shoot around.
23:07And be prepared.
23:08A good game plan.
23:09And take care of these guys.
23:10And make it an easy night to where you can win by 20 or 30 points, as opposed to, who
23:17knows?
23:18Because you don't know what Raptors team you're going to get.
23:20And what you don't want is to have a team that goes in there.
23:24The crowd gets into it.
23:27And they think, oh, this is the biggest win of the season because teams are coming at
23:31Toronto.
23:32I'm sorry, the Celtics.
23:33Teams are playing their best against the Celtics.
23:38But Toronto has been terrible.
23:41If I look at, like, terrible.
23:44Terrible.
23:45They've lost 16 out of their last 18 games.
23:48So if you're the Celtics, this should be a dub.
23:52Okay?
23:53But they've had some close losses.
23:55They lost to the Bulls by one.
23:57They lost to the Knicks by five.
24:00They lost to Dallas by seven.
24:01Like, they're a team.
24:03They lost to Orlando by nine.
24:05They lost at Cleveland the other night without Donovan Mitchell by six.
24:09So and they lost at Detroit by nine.
24:12So this is a team that will play hard.
24:14Okay?
24:15Now, they might give it up.
24:16The Celtics obviously blew them out completely by 54 points.
24:20But they won the next night against Brooklyn by 17.
24:25So you can't take these guys for granted.
24:28And as much as, oh, they're terrible, the Celtics should win, well, they were supposed
24:32to breeze through New Orleans, and we saw all that win.
24:35Right?
24:36And this is a team with about the same record, nine and 31.
24:39A team, like you said, Kawani, is headed for the lottery.
24:42You don't know.
24:43You know, they want to get a top five pick and continue to rebuild.
24:47But they're also not going to turn around and lay down to the Celtics.
24:51They're not going to, just like they didn't lay down to the Warriors, they're going to
24:54play hard.
24:55And you've got to match and exceed that.
24:58On a slightly more fun note, the NBA on NBC is back.
25:05I don't know if you two got a chance to see the promo.
25:08Sorry.
25:09One, Jason Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Wiminyama.
25:14But Tatum gets to basically get a tour of 30 War Rock and show off his hardware during
25:19the commercial.
25:20But what do you guys think about, one, the NBA, other than us not hearing Hardball Rock,
25:24I don't know what's going on with that yet.
25:26But also, Jamal Crawford was announced on Tuesday to be a part of the NBA on NBC broadcast.
25:34So how do you two feel about the nostalgia?
25:36I'm a 90s baby, so I didn't get to really live it.
25:39But obviously, and I'm biased, I do work for NBC.
25:42But it is iconic to have that.
25:46I was wondering when Miss Lunas would drop that little nugget a little while away.
25:52That just so happens to be the folks who CTC me.
25:56When I saw it on X, I was like, oh my gosh, this is such a good commercial.
26:01Obviously the local factor for us is Tatum being in it, which his acting skills, I will
26:05say, have increased.
26:06He's getting better.
26:07He's getting better.
26:08He's getting better.
26:09Whoever his acting coach is, you're doing a great job.
26:10Well, he's getting lots of reps.
26:12So there's that.
26:13Yeah.
26:14Yeah.
26:15No.
26:16I like them having it back.
26:19It'd be nice if they had it back earlier, but better late than never.
26:23I particularly wanted to talk about Jamal, though.
26:26Jamal is one of my favorite players that I've dealt with.
26:30He is just, he's a genuinely good dude.
26:33One of the best dudes that you can, to me, Jamal is a throwback to a time, and Gary,
26:39I know you can understand why I'm coming for him when I say this, when you could actually
26:43be a star player and you could be a beat reporter and you could actually have a civil conversation
26:48and talk about things that don't have anything to do with basketball and the player isn't
26:53worried about this being on social media, X, Y, Z, one, two, three, and the reporter.
26:58Yeah.
26:59You can actually have conversations that actually have some substance to them.
27:03I've never covered him full time because he's never been on a team that I covered, but I've
27:08had many conversations with Jamal through the years and again, conversations that have
27:12very little to do with basketball because again, Jamal is one of those guys that he's
27:17just, he's just good people.
27:20He's one of those guys that you knew once he, once he retired, if you ran into him,
27:23you know, downtown somewhere, you could have a conversation with him and you literally
27:28would spend most of them during that conversation talking about anything but basketball.
27:32Another guy who is from around the way, actually one of, Jamal is one of his OGs, Isaiah Thomas
27:38that played for the Celtics.
27:40You know, I ran into him in an airport and we sat around and talked for about 25, 30
27:44minutes and we didn't really talk about basketball.
27:45We talked about everything but that family life, you know, and all that kind of stuff.
27:50When you, as a reporter, find guys that you can click like that with, that actually are
27:56open to having that type of engagement, you never forget them and you wish the best for
28:01them and you hope to see them get opportunities and have a platform where they can disseminate
28:05their knowledge of the game because you know, it's going to be engaging.
28:09You know, they're going to connect with the audience and so I'm super happy for Jamal
28:14getting this opportunity and you know, and again, that to me, that's the, my big takeaway
28:20from the whole situation was just Jamal getting an opportunity to really let the world know
28:25a little bit more about him and his basketball IQ.
28:28Yeah.
28:29And he should have been a Piston.
28:31Jamal and I, we've had a conversation about that.
28:34Gary, I'm going to give you guys the 30-second drive-by story and you'll understand why.
28:42Jamal was at Michigan and played like a handful of games, right, but was really good.
28:47The plan was for the Pistons, the Pistons planned to draft him but this is what happened.
28:52He went to, remember when the pre-draft camp was at Bible, the Moody camp in Chicago?
28:58Yeah.
28:59Yes.
29:00Jamal had the most amazing stretch of basketball there where he went from a guy that it might
29:06have been a stretch to take him at 14, he became a top 10 pick.
29:10And so he went to Chicago with the number eight pick.
29:12The Pistons wound up taking the second best point guard that year, which was in the team
29:16Cleaves.
29:17And that is why Jamal Crawford was not a Piston because he was absolutely going to be that
29:21dude.
29:22Not going to lie, I'm impressed.
29:24Exactly 30 seconds.
29:25You did a great job.
29:26You really have that TV background.
29:28You know, I'm not new to this.
29:29You know that, right?
29:30I would love to talk to you.
29:31You know what I mean?
29:32You better be 30 seconds with this.
29:33You know what I mean, Salunas?
29:34That was good.
29:35I'm not new to this.
29:36You're not new to this.
29:37Okay, Gary, go ahead.
29:38What are your thoughts?
29:39You know, I'm okay with the NBA coming back to NBC, you know, the music and all that.
29:51I just feel bad that it's not going to be on TNT.
29:54Like I just, I feel bad that, you know, and I know inside the NBA it's going to go to
29:58ESPN.
29:59Somehow they're going to work that out, but man, I just going to miss TNT.
30:04I just thought they did a great job covering the NBA for the last 30 years and I'm sad
30:09it didn't work out.
30:10And I know, you know, all the streaming services with Amazon and NBC wanted back in because
30:17the funny part, and this is, we'll outdate you, Kwanee, is that growing up when I was
30:26a kid.
30:27Oh God.
30:28Back in my day.
30:29Back in my day.
30:30And back in Sherrod's day too, the NBA was on CBS and don't act like you don't know.
30:37I'm just being dramatic.
30:40Don't act, don't act brand new, Sherrod.
30:43Man, that might've been before my time.
30:48The NBA was on CBS.
30:50And so all the Magic and Bird matchups, all those great matchups were all on CBS.
30:56Then, this just shows you how funny time is, 1990, CBS got the rights to do Major League
31:05Baseball.
31:06So they let go of their contract with the NBA and NBC picked it up.
31:12Well, what, who, what player-
31:14Michael Jordan.
31:16What player emerged as a Vegas star at about that time?
31:20Michael Jordan.
31:21Michael Jordan.
31:22So NBC gets all the Jordan games.
31:25I mean, they, all of Jordan's championships, all, all that.
31:30All our archives.
31:32Then what happens?
31:33Jordan retires the league, then NBC gives up their contract to ABC, who comes in the
31:42early 2000s.
31:44What, what's-
31:45LeBron James.
31:46Exactly.
31:47Isn't that something?
31:48LeBron.
31:49Now, NBC had kept the NBA if they knew LeBron was going to be this guy, the Vegas star,
31:56because a few years earlier, they had given it up, their rights to ABC.
31:59So who's going to be the star?
32:01Is it going to be Cooper Flagg?
32:03Is Cooper the next-
32:04I don't know.
32:05Who is going to be that star that carries NBC, the new NBC basketball?
32:09But I, you know, we'll see what we do.
32:11I'm a big Jamal guy.
32:12I think he's intelligent.
32:14He's one of the more thoughtful guys in the NBA.
32:17He remembers your name.
32:18Like you said, he's one of those, unfortunately now, I mean, you know, it's a testament to
32:23our business.
32:25We can't, it's hard to get close to these guys anymore.
32:30Sometimes because they're protected by their teams, in terms of interviews, and if you
32:34walk up to someone, well, do you want to talk to them?
32:36Or can we ask if it's okay to talk to them?
32:39In our day of covering the leaks, Sherrod, you could just walk up to a dude in a flock
32:43and be, what's up?
32:44Oh, what's up, man?
32:45Woo woo.
32:46If you didn't want to talk to him, you'd be like, oh, now I'm about to go shoot her.
32:48Not, not, not, you know, okay, cool.
32:51Nowadays-
32:52So maybe you play a role in that too, though, because to Sherrod's earlier point, they know
32:56you're going to go tweet it or-
32:57Exactly.
32:58Immediately, right?
32:59If you walk up to them-
33:00If you put up clouds, then they won't trust you.
33:01Then if you walk up to a guy, here comes eight other reporters, ooh, ooh, what's going on
33:06there?
33:07Yeah, yeah.
33:08It's a big crowd.
33:09And then you're just like, excuse me, back, I just want to talk to my mans here.
33:14We're talking about the days of those type of private conversations, or the player saying,
33:23telling you what's going on with the team, but between you and him.
33:28Those days have not subsided substantially because of social media, because of the horde
33:36of people who are just, will follow you or whatever, and you're like, oh, okay, this
33:42is-
33:43I thought it was just me.
33:44Yeah, I thought it was just me.
33:45Damn, I'm just talking, I'm just trying to ask him something real quick.
33:49But in those, when Jamal's days, and you know, a decade ago, more than that, because he was
33:55in the league a long time, you could build friendships and bonds with these guys, get
34:01their phone numbers, get their emails, get their information or whatever, and you could
34:06talk to them.
34:07And I think Jamal's just one of the nicest, more sincere guys in the league because he
34:11doesn't have an enemy.
34:13No one dislikes Jamal Crawford, he played a long time, unfortunately he didn't get a
34:18chip, I wish he would have gotten a chip, but he's kind of set the standard for the
34:22dude who got buckets off the bench.
34:24First it was Vinny Johnson, then back in the day, Sherrod, then it was like Jamal was like
34:28that guy, like, oh boy.
34:30And now it's kind of like a Peyton Pritchard.
34:32People might think, well what was Jamal like?
34:35Jamal was like a six foot five, six Peyton Pritchard, like he was a bucket getter.
34:40Yeah.
34:41With a sick handle.
34:42With a sick handle.
34:43With the absences of a handle and the ability to score from any spot on the court, like
34:48he was a score, a professional score.
34:51So maybe that 6'1", Peyton might not be at that level, but three times Sixth Man of the
34:57Year for Crawford, I think he should be in the Hall of Fame, just from his longevity
35:02and what he was able to do, even at an advanced age, in the buckets he was able to get.
35:07Like Sherrod said, he was a guy who came out, I remember he played like 20 games at Michigan,
35:12he didn't play that long.
35:13Yeah, like 13 or something like that.
35:15Yeah, it wasn't that long, he comes out and people were like, okay, do we barely, and
35:20that was when coming out early, especially after a freshman, you best be good.
35:26It wasn't, oh, we're going to put you on our program for three years, and they're going
35:29to tootle you, and you're going to go to G League and all.
35:31If you was coming out as a freshman, you best be good.
35:35And Jamal ended up exceeding anyone's expectations because of his talent.
35:40So good for him, good for NBC to hire a quality guy, and I'm just interested to see who else,
35:45whatever, I know Blake Griffin and Dirk Nowitzki, I think are going to the Amazon.
35:50Yeah, that's their show.
35:52Yeah, the Amazon.
35:53And obviously, Blake will get a chance to show what a sense of humor he has, I think.
35:58Yeah, he's hilarious.
35:59That dude is funny as hell.
36:00He got typecast early as just being a real serious dude, but he's kind of privately,
36:06if you don't-
36:07But he actually does comedy.
36:08Yeah, he's funny, and now I think his career is over, he did all he could, he pushed all
36:15the buttons.
36:16I wish he was able to win a chip in Boston, it didn't work out for him, but it's good
36:21to see those guys, and Dirk is also a guy who's funny and very personable.
36:25So it's good to see these new guys get an opportunity, but I'm going to miss TNT, but
36:30I'm intrigued to see what Amazon and NBC do, the graphics, what they bring, the pre-game
36:36shows, the post-game shows, the coverage, you know, it's all new and it's all going
36:39to be exciting.
36:40Yes, it will.
36:43Before we go any further, before we go any further, I want to give a shout out to our
36:46good friends at GameTime, which has you covered with great ticket prices and all types of
36:51sporting events, as well as concerts.
36:54When I am thinking about going to an event or a concert or anything like that, first
36:59place I go is GameTime.
37:00Now, and if you want to get in on the GameTime action, lots of different ways you can do
37:07that, but one of the things, before you even do that, I want to point out is that one of
37:10the really cool things that they do is they have all-in pricing that shows you the total
37:14price of the tickets you buy before you get to checkout.
37:18So you can get, you can also get a panoramic view of your seats so that you can literally
37:23see where you're going to be sitting at that event before you get to the daggone event.
37:28Isn't that lovely?
37:30Having that view of the seats that you choose before you buy is a huge benefit that GameTime
37:35brings to the table and takes a lot of the uncertainty out of getting a ticket and not
37:39really sure what the sightline is going to be like once you get there.
37:42Now all you have to do is download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code CLNS
37:48for $20 off your first purchase.
37:50Terms apply.
37:51And again, just download the app, create an account, and use the code CLNS for $20 off.
37:58Terms apply.
37:59What time is it?
38:00GameTime.
38:02Before we wrap up, let's quickly look at the Eastern Conference and all the drama that
38:06continues to exist in the Real House Husbands of the NBA.
38:10So in case you missed it, the first, second, and 23rd time Jimmy Butler still is demanding
38:16a trade for Miami, still trying to find that joy in basketball.
38:22If you want to react, we can.
38:23If not, we can move on because it's just at this point, where will he end up?
38:28That's really the question.
38:30I just love the fact that this is the kind of NBA drama that the NBA don't want.
38:36Seriously.
38:37It's like they love tension, they love keeping people on pins and needles, but this is not
38:42the kind of drama they want.
38:44Think about this.
38:45And Gary, we've all been around the NBA long enough to think, when was someone trying to
38:49leave Miami?
38:50When was someone trying to get their-
38:51And trying to find joy in Miami.
38:52I mean, I get he meant basketball, but still, how?
39:00I mean, you got to believe that there's certain guys, like a James Harden, thinking like,
39:04wait, what?
39:05Right.
39:07I remember when I was in Miami, when I go to Miami, I have a good old time, but yeah,
39:12Gary, NBA Finals, Oklahoma City, yes, I'm absolutely trolling him for that.
39:18But to me, it's mind blowing and comical at the same time, that the place that for so
39:24many NBA players was seen as basketball utopia in terms of the weather, the organization,
39:30the heat culture, you got someone who's looking around like, it really ain't all that, folks.
39:37And it's to the point now where his suspension, because they suspended him for seven games,
39:41he's coming up close to the end of that suspension.
39:44And if he isn't traded by then, what you going to do, what you going to do, Spoh, when you've
39:51got this clearly disgruntled worker, player on your roster, are you going to just tell
39:58him to stay home?
39:59You think they'll have him waste the spot?
40:03I think they'll tell him to stay home.
40:07I mean, as much as I think Jimmy does want to play, he just doesn't want to play for
40:12Miami anymore.
40:14It's an ugly situation that I think that we all know who followed Jimmy's career, and
40:21the one thing that's going to always be said about him is his endings don't end well.
40:28He has nasty divorces.
40:31And I just think the tough part about this is Jimmy brings kind of a great story.
40:39The last pick of the first round, a kid out of Marquette, I think he was homeless for
40:45a while when he was younger, a teenager, and said his mother kicked him out of the house.
40:51This is a guy who comes from nothing, and his main millions of dollars have been a great
40:55player.
40:56And the reason that he's in his position he's in in terms of being a star is that arrogance,
41:02is that I'm the best MF on the floor.
41:04But now at age 35, some NBA players just don't age well.
41:10And they still feel like they're, it's like the person at the club who's a little bit
41:17over the hill, still going there trying to be Beyonce or trying to be Rihanna, whatever.
41:23Trying to be Michael B. Jordan.
41:25Yeah, trying to be Michael B. Jordan, trying to be Denzel, Idris Elba, just like it's as
41:35your age advances in this league, some of your behavior has to change, unless you're
41:41LeBron, unless you're a guy who is still playing at a top five level at 35 years old for LeBron,
41:49which was five years ago, he was playing at a top five, top three level.
41:54He could call his shots, with Jimmy, with the injuries, not being available for the
42:00playoffs last year, just some of the stuff, he doesn't have that cachet that he thinks
42:06he has.
42:07And I think in Miami, you know, you guys both know the heat culture, playing for Spove,
42:14the structure, Pat Riley, Pat Riley was like, dude, don't talk about what would have happened
42:19if you would have been on the floor against Boston because you weren't on the floor, so
42:21be quiet.
42:22And you're like that, you know, Jimmy, and then that $52 opt-in, you know, and Jimmy's
42:30you want to get paid.
42:31$52 million.
42:32$52 million.
42:33$52 million.
42:34And let's just think like, okay, Jimmy, what contract are you looking for?
42:41If you're looking for that three-year, $100 million, you've got to show that you're not
42:47going to be a cancer in the locker room, you're going to be an unquestioned leader, and you're
42:51going to get up, be on the floor most of the time.
42:54If not, the league will push your ass out.
42:56Like, there's just too many guys, Allen Iversons, that didn't end, it didn't end the way they
43:04wanted it to end.
43:05DeMarcus Cousins, our friend, like, I like, not because of his attitude, but just like,
43:10there's so many guys in the league now, many of them on podcasts and stuff, whose career
43:15did not end the way they wanted it to because the league was like, you too much of a drama,
43:20you too much of a fever, and you too old for that stuff.
43:24And so, Jimmy is getting to that point, and the question is, okay, who wants Jimmy?
43:28Phoenix wants Jimmy, but the only person that's going to involve that's got to be traded to
43:33Miami or somewhere is Bradley Beal.
43:36Bradley Beal, like, I ain't doing nobody no favors, like, I'm not trying to hook nobody
43:42up, he has a no trade clause, so why would Bradley make it easy for anybody unless a
43:47team comes to him and says, Bradley, we really want you.
43:51Some people, we talked about this, Sharad, before, Detroit, maybe, does Detroit kind
43:55of make that move to say, listen, this is our year to not only make the playoffs, but
44:01get maybe a fifth seed or fourth seed to, like, really try to win a first round instead
44:07of doing the first round exit, but hey, we made the playoffs, oh, we got a home game,
44:13no, no, no.
44:14Detroit might be looking at the East and going, besides, like, Cleveland and Boston and maybe
44:20the Knicks, who they beat the other night, who's better than us?
44:24Milwaukee?
44:25No.
44:26Indiana?
44:27We can get them.
44:28Like, I'm sure the Pistons are like, I'm sure the Pistons management right now is doing
44:32some heavy thinking.
44:33Yeah, that's right.
44:34Yeah, thank you, Sharad, for your co-sign.
44:39I'm sure Pistons management right now is doing some heavy thinking as to kind of, okay,
44:45we went from trying to get into the play-in to trying to get to the sixth seed to now,
44:50we, oh, God.
44:51Oh, that Pistons finger always somehow pop up every episode.
44:57It's never too far away from me playing, never too far away.
45:04Maybe they want Bradley Beal, maybe they'll make a chance, but, you know, but Butler,
45:09as much as he's a talent, he hasn't played a lot of late, Miami's still yet to win a
45:14championship with him there, although they've been to two finals, and he's been this leader,
45:18but I just think he is just like, you know what?
45:20I am the culture here, and the Heat are like, no, no, no, we're the culture.
45:25Right.
45:26No, no, no, no.
45:27We are Heat culture.
45:28So even some of his teammates are like, you know, we just need to get rid of the drama.
45:31You know, Tyler Hero said the other night, we're going to play with who's here.
45:34We got enough.
45:35So even his teammates seem to be like a little bit annoyed, like in Miami, because they play
45:40so damn hard, it's going to make something of itself, right?
45:44They're going to be, they're going to be 45 and 37 or 40, like, they're going to play
45:49hard the rest of the event.
45:50They play hard for Spoh.
45:52So to me, I send Jimmy home, if you can't work out a trade, just say goodbye, or try
45:58to get some kind of assets for him if you're Miami, but, you know, it's over.
46:03Yeah.
46:04All right.
46:05All right.
46:06Finally, before we wrap up, you just mentioned Milwaukee, they had the blowout loss to New
46:12York, right?
46:13So let's play a game of pick and roll.
46:14As we close out between New York, Milwaukee, Orlando, and Indiana, at least one of them
46:19will be the lowest seed in the first round.
46:22Which one of them do you not want to see?
46:25I feel like Milwaukee just, well, New York probably eliminated themselves through that
46:30question.
46:31Milwaukee probably advanced itself through that question.
46:35So Milwaukee, Indiana, Orlando, and India, oh, and New York.
46:41I don't know which one, New York, Milwaukee, Orlando, Indiana.
46:45Yeah.
46:46Which team, don't the Celtics want to see in the first round?
46:50Yeah.
46:51In the first round?
46:52Oh, boy.
46:53I mean, obviously, I think the Knicks, because the Knicks are very talented, but I don't
46:59think they'll see the Knicks in the first round.
47:01But I'd say Orlando, they're a team that plays great defense, they're physical, they're gonna
47:07be healthy by the playoff time with Wagner, and now Ben Sherrill's already back.
47:11They're gonna get Suggs back.
47:13This is a team that can give teams some fits.
47:16Now, they're a little bit inconsistent.
47:18Sometimes you expect Orlando to win, and sometimes they don't, and you're like, okay, what's
47:23going on here?
47:24But they've been shorthanded most of the year, but they play hard for Jamal Mosley, who should
47:29be, as we talked about earlier last week, a Coach of the Year candidate.
47:34They're 23-18, so not a great record, but they play the Celtics hard.
47:42That would be a tough first-round series for the Celtics.
47:46I mean, Indiana's a team that's starting to scare people, because they won six in a row.
47:52They're playing a lot better.
47:54Andrew Nembhard has been, since he's gotten healthy, he's been great.
47:59It's hard to tell whether they're just a 500 team, or they just ain't got it right yet,
48:07because they lose by 34 at New York, like they lose at home last week to Brooklyn, and
48:14they're healthy.
48:15They're a funky team right now, and as I said, I think everybody was like, after they won
48:21the play-in tournament, there was an in-season tournament, there was just, oh, the Bucks
48:25are back.
48:26I don't think so.
48:28So I'm going to say the match.
48:30You know, for once, Gary, you and I are on the same page here, and here's why I agree
48:34with you on Orlando.
48:35They don't know better.
48:37I think when you look at those other teams, all those teams, I think, have a healthy respect
48:42for the Celtics because of what they've done and how they've built all that.
48:45Orlando ain't got none of that.
48:47Orlando, looking at them like, y'all are just another team that's standing in the way of
48:51us getting better, and all we, look, we don't know if we're going to beat you, but all we
48:56know is that we are going to play harder than you every single time we step on the floor.
49:02And, Dandre, every time you watch Orlando play, win or lose, if you walk away saying,
49:07which team played harder in this game, it's almost always Orlando.
49:09And if you're playing a team like that in the first round of the playoffs or any round
49:13of the playoffs, you don't want that because at some point, the fear is that that hard
49:19work and that effort, talent is going to somehow seep into that hard work and effort, and next
49:24thing you know, you've got a team that's playing way above its head in terms of talent
49:29and even further above its head in terms of effort and intensity.
49:34Orlando's a team I don't want any part of.
49:37To me, it's not even so much that I don't think the Celtics can beat them, I just think
49:41it's going to be a much, much harder series than any other series the Celtics face.
49:47I think the Celtics could beat any other team that they face in the Eastern Conference in
49:52six games or less.
49:54If you play Orlando, it's at least going to be six games, six or seven, because they play
49:58so well.
49:59Again, you're going to have one game where you don't show up and play well, they'll win
50:02that.
50:03They'll have at least one game where their effort is going to win them a game.
50:06And then, you know, there's like that, to me, there's a wildcard game where it could
50:10just go either way.
50:11So to me, you're looking at a six or seven game series against them, whereas the other
50:15teams, I think you could dispose of them in six or fewer games.
50:19So now I want a part of Orlando.
50:21And now they get healthy?
50:22No.
50:24No.
50:25We're good.
50:26Celtics are good.
50:28And I just want my guys to get to playing.
50:30If they can just get to playing, that's all they want.
50:33That's all that matters.
50:34That's all they want.
50:35All right.
50:36Well, as of the last few weeks promoting you guys voting, voting is now closed on the Sports
50:40Podcast Awards website.
50:42So hopefully you did do that.
50:44But I'm going to still plug that you should make sure that you're subscribed, following
50:48us, engaging, all the things.
50:52And share this episode with someone if you think they'll enjoy it.
50:55But any final words, you two?
50:58Miss Lunas.
51:00The floor is mine.
51:01All right.
51:02With the all black outfit.
51:05Gary.
51:06What does she remind you of, Gary?
51:11I was going to say Janet Jackson.
51:14Rhythm Nation.
51:16One can only wish.
51:18Janet and her crew in the Rhythm Nation tour.
51:20What if Janet just randomly listens to this podcast?
51:23That'd be nice.
51:24That'd be nice.
51:25If you do, Miss Jackson, let us know.
51:28Let us know.
51:29Call my people.
51:31I'll call her at you.
51:33Yes.
51:34We'll get either her or Michael B. Jordan or both on the same episode.
51:37Janet, don't wait a while.
51:40Get back.
51:41Don't wait a while.
51:44That was good.
51:47All right.
51:48Well, that's all for this week's episode.
51:49Gary's rolling today, boy.
51:50He got some jokes today.
51:51I can't even be mad.
51:52Thank you for listening or watching.
51:54We'll be back next week.
51:55This is the Big Three NBA podcast.