Drew Carter is the new play-by-play voice for the Boston Celtics and NBC Sports Boston. Drew joins Adam to talk about the interview/audition process, Mike Gorman's advice to him, and how special this Celtics team can really be. Twitter: @Drewdle25
0:00 Getting the job with the Celtics
21:06 Reactions from the audience
25:39 Advice from Gorman
32:35 …the Celtics are going to be really good
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0:00 Getting the job with the Celtics
21:06 Reactions from the audience
25:39 Advice from Gorman
32:35 …the Celtics are going to be really good
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
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00:00 And that's why there are some nerves, you know, and it's, it's, it's because,
00:04 like I said earlier, I know how important the team is to people.
00:07 And I know how important the broadcast is specifically.
00:10 So that's, I mean, that's why I want to do a really good job.
00:14 Frankly, it doesn't matter to me as much what people think about me
00:18 personally, as long as I have a good time watching the game.
00:20 Um, and so that's the important thing, but I sort of was braced for people
00:26 to be caught off guard and not receptive off the bat.
00:31 Um, but so far, I mean, people have been pretty nice.
00:35 Like I, I think I'm terminally online.
00:38 I probably spent too much time on Twitter and Instagram, but most of the
00:40 stuff I've seen has been pretty nice.
00:43 You know, there, there are occasionally some people who say like, I remember
00:46 one of them because my friends sent it to me, thanks, great friends.
00:50 One of them was Skippy.
00:51 Drew Carter has to lay off the cliches.
00:53 Mike Gorbin never needed them.
00:55 Like Skippy Drew.
00:56 That's a good dude.
00:57 Nick Dave.
00:57 I haven't heard that one before.
00:59 Celtics beat is brought to you by FanDuel, the exclusive wagering
01:04 partner of the CLNX Media Network.
01:07 What's up everybody.
01:10 Welcome into Celtics beat fresh off the preseason, which the Celtics were very
01:14 nearly unbeaten four and one and look damn near perfect, especially in that
01:19 latest effort where they could do absolutely no wrong should have won by 75
01:23 points or whatever it could have been, but they took their foot off the gas, took
01:26 all the stars out as you would expect and keep everybody in bubble wrap for the next
01:31 few days.
01:31 Regular season begins this week.
01:34 That means by the time we have the next show, we will have real games, meaningful
01:38 games, actual moments in time concerning this team to talk about very excited about
01:43 it, but right now excited for this too, because there is a new voice on the
01:47 broadcast who you may have noticed doing the road game so far and will continue
01:52 to throughout the regular season.
01:53 We saw the hire.
01:55 We said, we've got to have him on the show, get to know him a little bit better.
01:58 Drew Carter also of Syracuse fame, not unlike, uh, well, I don't know about
02:02 fame, but me, I went there.
02:04 Evan Valenti is not with us at this very moment.
02:06 He went there as well.
02:07 Drew, welcome to the show.
02:09 Welcome to the Boston Celtics.
02:10 Thanks Adam.
02:12 You're very generous.
02:12 I think what you meant to say and what probably happened was you saw the hire
02:16 and you said, who the hell is this guy?
02:18 Uh, let's, let's try to bring him on the guy from the toy story broadcast.
02:22 I've never seen him not animated before.
02:24 Uh, yeah, it's great to be here.
02:27 Uh, great to be with another Syracuse guy, of course.
02:29 And this is the part of the pod where everyone rolls their eyes and
02:32 hopefully doesn't turn it off.
02:34 I promise everyone.
02:34 We're not going to talk about Syracuse again for the rest of the show.
02:37 We'll just talk about the Celtics until we dissect this weekend's football game.
02:40 Let's do that for, no, we won't do that.
02:42 Nobody cares about that.
02:43 I understand they're costing me money, not covering the spread lately as well.
02:46 So that's a whole other thing.
02:48 But, um, the, so as you mentioned, obviously I think the higher, you know,
02:54 nevermind, like the who, like the Drew Carter of it didn't really matter.
02:57 It was the announcement of, you know, there's a new guy coming into the
03:01 broadcast that I think took a lot of people by surprise, obviously we knew
03:05 this was going to be Mike Gorman's final year and, you know, Sean Grandy, a good
03:10 friend of this program who's been on the radio broadcast for a long time.
03:13 You know, he's filled in on the TV side quite a bit.
03:16 A lot of people wondered if, you know, Sean eventually would slide into that role.
03:19 But I think a lot of people just in terms of fans, maybe even some in the media,
03:24 we're just thinking that, you know, this year is going to be this year.
03:28 It's going to be all about Mike.
03:30 Not that it isn't, you know, with you aboard, but it was, you know, Mike
03:33 is going to be the complete focus.
03:34 Sean will do some games as well.
03:36 And, you know, maybe John Wallach slides in, I don't know, TV will look like
03:40 whatever it looks like this year.
03:41 And then next year when Mike has gone, that's when the new voice comes in.
03:46 Did the timeline of this surprise you at all?
03:48 Well, I mean, I was kind of on the outside looking in, to be honest with you, AK.
03:53 I mean, to give you an idea of where my timeline was personally, you know, I
03:58 started talking with the guys from NBC Sports Boston.
04:00 So Kevin Miller is, he kind of runs the show over there and, you know, he's been
04:05 my main point of contact the entire time.
04:06 Paul Lucy is the producer of the shows.
04:08 Jim Edmonds is the director.
04:10 I started talking to the, to the, to those guys, really Kevin and Paul in, I
04:14 think it was the spring, April, probably I went in for an audition with scale.
04:18 Mid-May we did a Celtic Sixers game six where James Harden disappeared and I got
04:25 to take a shot at him during the preseason.
04:27 So that was always fun.
04:28 Jason Tatum exploded in the fourth quarter.
04:30 It was a fun game to do the audition for.
04:32 And then throughout the summer, just kind of stayed in touch.
04:35 You know, I had a couple more interviews as we got toward the fall
04:39 and then they made the offer.
04:40 So it was kind of a long drawn out process.
04:44 And that that's really all I know about it.
04:46 Although I will say, you know, you hit on something there with that, I think
04:49 is really important, which is that this year is about Mike, you know, it's, it's
04:54 not about who's the new guy.
04:56 It's really about let's celebrate the guy who's been doing this for 40 plus years.
05:00 And he's been doing it at an incredibly high level and is beloved for a reason.
05:03 And so the last thing I want to do is, you know, take any of that
05:08 spotlight away because Mike has earned it.
05:10 Sure.
05:10 Absolutely.
05:11 And we'll obviously talk more about Mike Gorman as we go forward a little bit,
05:14 but, you know, I want to give the listeners who haven't heard you elsewhere.
05:17 I know you've done other shows.
05:18 I'm just going to assume this is your favorite podcast appearance,
05:21 if for no other reason than because we're connecting Syracuse dots here.
05:24 But you've obviously like you did the in-house show with Chris Forsberg.
05:27 You popped on to, you know, some other programs as well.
05:30 You've been very much in demand.
05:32 Nevertheless, if people have not heard you, I want to give them a chance
05:34 to get to know you a little bit.
05:36 Well, let's let's kind of go in a funky order.
05:39 Let's let's talk about the audition because you brought it up.
05:42 What was that process like of I assume because it was a playoff game,
05:47 but it wasn't, you know, it was a national broadcast.
05:48 It wasn't a local broadcast.
05:50 You you handled it live, right?
05:51 Do you go in, you do it in studio with scow full game?
05:54 How does that work?
05:55 Yeah. So the reason we did it for game six is because it kind of had to be
05:59 a road game because for the home games at that, this is going to be super
06:04 inside baseball, inside broadcasting here.
06:06 But just bear with me.
06:07 And I know you understand this, Anna, but maybe for the people
06:09 who aren't like Syracuse dweebs like we are in terms of broadcasting
06:12 for once you reach that point of the playoff.
06:15 So that was the second round, obviously the second round,
06:17 because the Sixers never get past the second round, but it was the second round.
06:20 The local well here. Good.
06:22 Keep it up. There you go.
06:23 So the local broadcasts do the first round games,
06:26 even though most of them are also national broadcasts.
06:28 I mean, they all are, but some of them more easily accessible than others.
06:31 You know, ESPN, TNT, some of them are on NBA TV,
06:34 but they're also on the local channels in the first round.
06:37 Once you get to the second round, the local broadcasts stop doing the games
06:41 and it's all Nash, all national.
06:42 But the thing is, NBC Sports Boston still does pregame
06:46 halftime and postgame coverage. Right.
06:48 So it's the idea is, hey, you watch the game on this national show,
06:52 but you can get some local coverage anyway with our stuff
06:55 kind of between the whistles.
06:57 So anyway, all that to say, when the games were at home,
07:01 those shows would be on site at the garden.
07:03 So Scout would be there at the desk in the arena
07:07 when the shows when the games were on the road,
07:09 the shows would be done in house in the studio.
07:11 So we had to do a road game.
07:13 And so we did game six and scale.
07:15 And I basically went into what they call the podcast room.
07:18 Yeah, it's a little bit bigger than a closet.
07:20 I mean, if you've you know, if you've been to NBC Sports Boston,
07:22 you know what I'm talking about.
07:23 It's it's where they do their podcast.
07:24 But Scott and I were basically sitting next to each other
07:27 in a very static environment.
07:28 We threw the headset on, got some crowd noise,
07:30 and we could sort of feel like we were there.
07:32 Well, it's probably where they do the games
07:34 during the height of the pandemic, right?
07:35 When they weren't traveling.
07:37 Oh, yeah. I mean, trust me.
07:38 And even post pandemic, because, you know,
07:40 a lot of networks realize they could save some moolah
07:43 by keeping their announcers at home.
07:45 So I've done plenty of remote broadcasts from my living room,
07:48 which is why my neighbors hate me.
07:51 But I have some experience doing stuff like that.
07:54 And so scale and I were in this room together.
07:56 We called the first quarter together about the six minutes
07:59 of the second quarter, got to a time out.
08:01 Then he had to go get ready for his halftime responsibilities.
08:03 Third quarter, we did some as well.
08:05 And then we all got to watch the fourth quarter together
08:07 in that newsroom area, which, you know, if you remember that game,
08:10 that was a pretty exciting fourth quarter to watch
08:12 as the Celtics staved off elimination, ultimately won that series.
08:15 So, yeah, the audition was really cool, man.
08:18 I mean, my biggest memory of that day
08:21 is how comfortable I felt with scale from the jump.
08:24 And this is a guy like Brian Scalabrini is kind of an icon,
08:29 especially for guys like myself who, you know,
08:32 how can I put this in a nice way?
08:34 Had to rely on things other than athleticism to be successful on basketball court.
08:38 And scale is like way more athletic than people give him credit for.
08:42 I mean, you've probably seen the videos of him playing one on one
08:44 and just clowning guys like the guys who shit Hooper.
08:47 But for a guy like me, I mean, seeing Brian Scalabrini play in the NBA
08:52 was kind of inspiring.
08:53 So I've always been a huge fan of his.
08:55 And we hit it off right from the jump.
08:57 And he was super supportive and really cool.
08:59 And I think, you know, he could have been like, who the F is this guy?
09:03 You know, I'm working with a legend and now this kid comes in.
09:07 Like, why would I even bother?
09:08 But he was totally the opposite and he was very supportive.
09:11 And it's been the same way ever since.
09:14 I think he's he's given me the welcome like he's he's taking care of me.
09:18 At some point, he'll probably be like, all right, you're on your own now.
09:20 But but so far, scale has been incredible.
09:23 You know, let the bird fly.
09:25 Let it leave the nest, basically.
09:26 Yeah, I want to ask you to name names, but do you have any sense of,
09:30 you know, how many people were called in to do game auditions like that?
09:33 Like yourself?
09:34 I have no idea.
09:36 I least sought after job, obviously.
09:38 Yeah, I think it's a pretty high number, to be honest with you,
09:40 because because Cal has mentioned that he called that same game
09:43 as an audition like a bunch of times.
09:45 You probably knew every play that was coming by the end of it.
09:49 But you're right. It is a it's a very prestigious job.
09:52 And that's not lost on me.
09:53 You know, like I know the guys who have sat in that chair before.
09:57 And that's part of the reason.
09:59 And I've said this, I've been open about this.
10:00 Like, I do feel some pressure.
10:03 I think I can I can do the job at a at a good level.
10:05 And I know I'm going to work really hard to do it.
10:07 But I also know how much the team means to people
10:10 and how much the announcer can affect someone's enjoyment of a game.
10:14 And so that's why I feel like it's really important for us
10:17 to do a really good job.
10:18 And the guys who have done it before certainly have and have become
10:20 kind of institutions with the team.
10:23 So, yeah, I think they probably brought a lot of people in.
10:26 And throughout the entire process, Adam, I was kind of like, this is fine,
10:30 but there's no way I'm going to get this right.
10:31 Like, come on, that'd be insane.
10:34 But it kind of became real when I I talked with Rich Gotham,
10:37 the president of the team.
10:38 At that point, I was like, there can't be that many people
10:41 chatting with this guy.
10:43 He's obviously a busy dude and he's in high demand.
10:45 So at that point, it became like maybe this is a possibility.
10:49 And then, you know, a few weeks later, they offered me the job.
10:51 What's that chat like with Rich Gotham when you, you know, evolve,
10:55 obviously, to the point where you're talking with.
10:58 High levels of ownership management, just that that top brass
11:03 in the organization, is it just kind of a get to know your conversation
11:07 or are you getting quizzed on Celtics history?
11:09 Because I know like not I've obviously I haven't been in that exact position.
11:13 But, you know, you go into interview for a high level position
11:16 and you sort of in your own mind, you want to be prepared for everything.
11:20 Like, I don't know this guy.
11:21 Is he going to, you know, give me a ten question list
11:25 on the history of the organization?
11:26 If I fail this thing, I'm out the door.
11:28 And, you know, what was your preparation going into it
11:30 versus the realities of the conversation?
11:32 He asked me Glenn Davis's player efficiency rating during his time
11:36 as a Celtic, and I had to nail it within two point nine.
11:38 It was a lot.
11:40 Yeah, it was it was more of a it was more of a get to know type thing.
11:44 It was very casual.
11:44 You know, you get a chance to meet Rich.
11:47 Like, have you have you met Rich? Yeah. Great guy.
11:49 So he's you know, you'd have no idea that he's one of the most powerful people
11:53 in in the NBA if you just met him.
11:55 I mean, he's very down to earth and super cool, easy to talk to.
11:59 And so we had a great conversation.
12:01 And I think the way it works and, you know, full transparency,
12:04 I don't know exactly what it was like behind the scenes, but my understanding
12:07 of it is it's really an NBC Sports Boston decision that kind of needs
12:12 a green light from the Celtics. Yeah, right.
12:14 You need like a top line signature from the people, you know,
12:18 at the top of the organization.
12:19 And so I think that's that was kind of the idea behind that chat.
12:23 And I think that's the reason why I'm so excited about the game.
12:26 And thankfully, Rich didn't think I'm a total moron.
12:29 So the Celtics were cool with me coming on.
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13:05 So when for you, I don't know what it's like when
13:15 when you get that call from Kevin Miller or text or email,
13:18 whatever, and you get the offer and and just sort of what the emotions are like
13:22 or even what it was like for you going into the process, because,
13:26 you know, obviously we're just getting to know each other and you're a younger guy.
13:29 You're what, 26 years old.
13:30 You're not specifically from Boston.
13:33 I know you have family on Cape Cod, so you're not foreign to the area
13:36 or anything like that.
13:37 But you, you know, you've done at a very young age.
13:41 You're very accomplished. You've achieved a lot.
13:43 You're at ESPN. You're doing football.
13:45 You've done hockey.
13:46 You know, we joked you did the Toy Story games, an NFL game.
13:50 You know, that's that's significant.
13:52 You know, is over the last couple of years, have you thought about like what?
13:57 What is my dream job?
13:58 You know, is is like, has basketball always been number one?
14:01 Is it was it I want to be a network NFL voice?
14:05 I mean, I realize it's a weird question to ask because this is the job you just got.
14:08 And obviously you're very excited about it.
14:10 But what was you know, sort of what was the how did the goals evolve over time
14:14 for you in terms of the play by play?
14:16 Well, the dream, Adam, was always to be the voice of the Auburn Doubledays.
14:19 You and I hit it big.
14:22 But that's that's where do you go?
14:25 The viewers at all?
14:26 You just did that job.
14:28 Yeah, I know. It's all downhill from there.
14:30 No, you know, it's a good question.
14:32 And you're right that it would be tough to answer if this weren't my dream job.
14:37 Considering I just started, you know, I'd probably have to lie.
14:40 But the beauty of it, A.K., is this really is the dream.
14:43 Like I people would ask me, like I tell them, hey, I work for ESPN.
14:47 And they'd say, oh, interesting.
14:49 I've never seen you before.
14:50 Like, I'll look out for you.
14:51 I'm like, well, that's because, you know, I do, you know, back football
14:55 and, you know, college basketball on ESPN, you or ESPN News and post on ACC Network.
15:00 And I'm grateful for all that stuff.
15:02 But people will ask me, hey, like, do you want to call NBA on ESPN or what is it?
15:07 And I always say the dream scenario for me would be to do the national stuff
15:12 kind of on the side and then be the voice of a team as my main gig.
15:15 Because, you know, we joke about Auburn, but it was pretty cool
15:19 to be with the team for an entire summer.
15:21 I mean, we talked about it.
15:22 It's 70 plus games with minimal off days and you're traveling.
15:27 You get to know the guys.
15:29 You get to know the fan base, even if, you know, the fan base
15:31 at the level of minor league baseball is like my mom, the players, moms
15:35 and maybe some diehards from the area.
15:38 You get it's just more of an intimate relationship.
15:40 And you just get to know the team really well.
15:43 You kind of miss that when you're traveling around and doing national shows,
15:47 you sort of parachute in and try to learn as much as you can about the history
15:50 and tradition and the roster.
15:51 But it's just different being the voice of a team.
15:54 And so I always wanted to do that.
15:56 And I always thought doing it in the NBA would be the coolest possible outcome.
16:01 Basketball is the first sport I fell in love with.
16:03 It was a sport I wanted to play professionally
16:05 until I realized I tapped out in like middle school.
16:08 And I think doing it with an NBA team like any NBA team would be sick.
16:13 But to do it with the Celtics is ridiculous and surreal.
16:16 I mean, it's the most prestigious franchise in the league,
16:18 which happens to be, I think, the best team in the league right now
16:22 in an amazing city, the best sports town in the country.
16:25 And it's also not that far from from where I've been living in Connecticut.
16:29 And it's close to my parents.
16:30 As you said, they live in Dennis on the Cape year round.
16:32 My grandma's there, too.
16:34 My aunts and Quincy, my sister used to live in Cambridge.
16:37 I lived in Norwell for a couple of years when I was really young.
16:39 So when people saw the Boston Roots thing in the press release,
16:42 that's what we're talking about.
16:44 So like you said, I'm not totally foreign to the area,
16:46 and I know what sports mean to that city.
16:50 So to do it with the Celtics is just totally insane.
16:53 And I'm extremely grateful.
16:55 Does there become a point where this is even a bigger deal to that,
16:59 you know, long list of family that's local than it even is to you like you?
17:04 And again.
17:05 Amazing job, you've you've
17:08 put yourself in a position where you're with a contending team,
17:12 like you could have a championship ring in a matter of months.
17:15 Like, well, how incredible would that be?
17:17 Don't give me one.
17:18 I'm just doing the road games.
17:19 Oh, yeah, no, you get one.
17:20 Yeah, you're you're part of the broadcast family.
17:22 You'd absolutely get one.
17:23 But if you're don't get too excited, but you would get one.
17:27 Just unfortunately, there hasn't been one in 15 years.
17:29 So don't, you know, pace yourself.
17:31 But you like you would have been sort of to your point,
17:35 like you would have been
17:36 ecstatic about becoming the play by play voice of any NBA team.
17:40 I'm not saying the Celtics aren't more special than another, but, you know,
17:43 it it would have, you know, still fallen into that dream job category.
17:47 But when you have so many members of your family
17:50 that are local specifically to this area, you know, it's not just
17:54 they can easily watch you or come see you go to games,
17:57 but but also just see you locally, you're around, you're here,
18:02 you're not moving like you didn't become the voice of the I don't know, trail shot.
18:07 They're right.
18:08 At some team.
18:09 Like, yeah, like you're you're you're moving out,
18:11 you know, the thousands of miles away, like you're you're right here.
18:14 Like baby's coming home, so to speak.
18:16 Does it become a bigger deal even to your family than it is to you at a certain point?
18:20 Yeah, it's funny, Adam.
18:22 I didn't tell my parents about the job until like a few days
18:26 after it was official, I had actually taken photos of media day before I told them.
18:31 How was that?
18:33 Well, I wanted so I wanted to tell them in person
18:36 because it's I mean, it's life changing news, man.
18:40 And in a variety of ways, number one, it's a dream come true job.
18:43 And number two, like you said, I mean, I'm closer to home and it's
18:47 it's the ideal setup and not to get like philosophical or anything,
18:50 but whatever you believe, like things happen for a reason or maybe there's,
18:54 you know, someone pulling the strings on all this stuff.
18:56 It does kind of feel like this is just right.
18:59 And maybe it's all random, maybe it's all coincidence.
19:02 But, you know, my parents were in Minnesota for 20 years,
19:05 and that's where I grew up and they moved to the Cape about a year and a half ago.
19:08 And then this comes around pretty soon after.
19:11 So it does feel right.
19:14 And when I got to tell them in person, obviously, they freaked out.
19:18 My mom went straight to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought like three or four
19:21 Celtics T-shirts.
19:22 That was the first thing she did.
19:23 Also got an Entenmann's cake.
19:25 And, you know, I grew up Entenmann's is like my favorite bakery.
19:28 And they have this devil's food cake marshmallow flavor,
19:31 which is absolutely incredible.
19:33 My mom went and got an Entenmann's cake.
19:35 It was just like a white cake with chocolate frosting
19:38 and got some green frosting and tried to draw a basketball
19:42 and wrote Celtics on there.
19:43 And I have a photo that I can send you
19:45 with us and our corgi and the chocolate cake.
19:47 It's like, don't get too close or you can't have this.
19:49 But like, let's take a photo together.
19:51 Popped a little champagne.
19:53 It was a it was a really cool moment.
19:56 But yeah, man, it does kind of feel like everything's come together.
19:58 And what I told Kevin Miller, who again, hired me at NBC Sports
20:02 Boston is, you know, I do feel like I'm ready for this.
20:07 And I actually heard I heard Matthew McConaughey, of all people,
20:11 he was on a podcast I listened to pretty recently.
20:13 He was talking about his book Green Lights,
20:14 which is kind of about his philosophy on life.
20:16 OK. And he says he says his his least favorite word
20:20 that he hears all the time is unbelievable.
20:22 How can you call something unbelievable if it's happening?
20:24 Like if you just saw it and getting the Celtics job
20:29 is pretty unbelievable.
20:31 But then I stop myself and I think, you know, it actually feels right.
20:34 And I do think I'm ready for this.
20:36 And, you know, the people who made the decision, I trust them
20:40 and they know what they're doing.
20:41 And I think it's go time.
20:43 So, yeah, it's a long way to answer the question.
20:46 And I'm sorry to get like deep there, but, you know, it is really it's
20:49 it's a dream come true and it's totally life changing, man.
20:52 Is there a.
20:55 In terms of I don't think enough conversation could be had
20:59 about stepping in and, you know, not even attempting
21:03 to fill the shoes of Mike Gorman, like Mike's Mike, you're you and,
21:06 you know, you will never be one in the same.
21:08 Even if you're here for 40 years yourself, you're still going to be you,
21:12 you know, and like Mike is just an entity is a Hall of Famer.
21:16 He's unbelievable, as you said before. He's an institution.
21:19 But obviously in this transitionary year, attempting to step into that seat,
21:24 you know, one that obviously he had to when it was Johnny Most, you know,
21:27 legends, as you noted, have have come through Boston broadcast.
21:31 Not just the Celtics.
21:32 What's early on, because you've only been on the mic a couple of times.
21:36 But what's the reception been like from fans?
21:38 You know, because I could see a lot of people.
21:40 And to be perfectly candid, I was one of them who sat in.
21:43 This is obviously before the hire where I said, you know, I just
21:48 it's it's going to be hard if the if the if NBC Sports Boston brings in.
21:53 You know, it's a kid for for all intents and purposes, you know what I mean?
21:58 Like you have Mike Gorman, who's been in the broadcast for 40 years,
22:02 like to to not have, you know, whether it's specifically
22:05 Grandy or someone else who's, you know, been in the NBA for for a decade or more
22:09 has just kind of been around versus someone who comes in in their mid 20s.
22:12 That's going to be doesn't mean it's going to be bad, but it's going to be jarring.
22:16 It's going to be very different.
22:18 Obviously, than what we've had.
22:19 So what what have you heard from people early on?
22:21 Well, trust me, I that I know exactly what you're talking about,
22:26 and I've thought about it, and and that's why there are some nerves, you know,
22:29 and it's it's it's because, like I said earlier,
22:32 I know how important the the team is to people and I know how important
22:36 the broadcast is specifically.
22:39 So that's I mean, that's why I want to do a really good job.
22:42 Frankly, it doesn't matter to me as much what people think about me personally,
22:46 as long as I have a good time watching the game.
22:48 And so that's the important thing.
22:51 But I sort of was braced for people to be caught off guard
22:56 and not receptive off the bat.
22:59 But so far, I mean, people have been pretty nice.
23:03 Like, I think I'm terminally online.
23:05 I probably spent too much time on Twitter and Instagram,
23:08 but most of the stuff I've seen has been pretty nice.
23:11 You know, there are occasionally some people who say, like, I remember one of them
23:15 because my friend sent it to me. Thanks. Great friends.
23:17 One of them was Skippy Drew.
23:19 Carter has to lay off the cliches.
23:21 Mike Gorman never needed them.
23:23 Like Skippy Drew. That's a good nickname.
23:25 I haven't heard that one before,
23:27 but I'm OK with that because like you said, there's no one's going to be Mike.
23:31 Like, I just have to be myself.
23:33 And I'm lucky to have a lot of great mentors,
23:36 like obviously some Syracuse guys.
23:39 And sorry for another reference to Syracuse.
23:40 But basically the biggest thing I've heard is I just have to be myself.
23:45 And I knew that, you know, there's one Mike Gorman
23:48 that no one will ever replace Mike and be Mike.
23:52 No one can.
23:53 So all I can do is just be me and hope people like it.
23:57 Like, I'll just be honest, I'm way goofier and way nerdier than Mike is on the air.
24:02 Like, I will say puns that might go over 90 percent of people's heads.
24:07 And I will reference Marvel movies.
24:09 We did that last night.
24:10 And Scott might be like, you're ridiculous, dude.
24:12 Like, why? Why would you even bring that up?
24:14 But that's just that's who I am, you know.
24:17 And so I think that's kind of what I'm going to lean on through this process.
24:21 And thankfully, people have been really nice.
24:22 Now, I will say I owe that to Peyton Pritchard for going radioactive
24:27 in the preseason and giving us chances to say stuff like say stuff
24:30 like the preaching hour and preseason peak.
24:33 That seems to be like what people have enjoyed the most.
24:36 So thank you to Peyton Pritchard for that.
24:38 Well, you'll come to find quickly that there's nothing self expands.
24:42 This is probably an overstatement.
24:43 There's nothing self expands like more than sort of the
24:46 the origin process of trying to come up with a good nickname, like to a fault.
24:51 You know, like Kyle Draper when he was here, of course,
24:54 I don't know if you've come across him, but he's out in Sacramento now.
24:56 He's you know, like he was trying to make things stick left and right.
25:00 And like maybe it would happen. Maybe it wouldn't.
25:02 But like there was, you know, when when Tatum and Brown were
25:06 were much younger players coming into the league,
25:09 people were trying to make this double of seven thing because it was,
25:12 you know, their jersey numbers.
25:14 And obviously that then it was I don't know, it sort of just became the Jays.
25:18 But you all NBJs.
25:21 Yeah, I mean, there's there have been it's sort of almost it makes me think back.
25:25 It's not at all related, I guess, but it makes me think back to that ESPN
25:28 commercial with the, you know, as we call them, the new big three
25:31 when it was KG Pierce and now they did the the the three amigos
25:35 or the Boston three party and yeah, that that this is SportsCenter commercial.
25:39 That's what fans some fans like to do.
25:42 Like they're just desperate to come up with, you know, what like what pun
25:46 can we turn into a nickname?
25:47 You know, Time Lord, obviously the origin of Time Lord, which which,
25:52 you know, goes out to one of the Celtics, you know, Twitter personalities.
25:56 They're weird. Celtics Twitter is certainly a place.
26:00 If you've heard about that or will come to find Max Letterman over at your shop,
26:03 we'll we'll tell you all about that for sure.
26:05 But it's it is interesting.
26:07 I mean, it's as passionate a fan base as as you'll come across in sports,
26:13 never mind the NBA and and the fact that, you know, you've walked into it
26:17 and obviously been received early.
26:19 It's you know, I think that can only be considered a good thing.
26:22 But I know what's, you know, listening to you elsewhere.
26:25 I know what's really important to you is is, you know, getting the approval
26:29 to some degree anyway from Mike Gorman, the guy, obviously, that,
26:33 you know, is going to be leaving in a year, unfortunately.
26:36 But, you know, he's he deserves it.
26:38 He's earned it.
26:38 You can go, you know, sort of go off into the
26:42 into the shadows to the degree that he wants to be around
26:46 however much he wants to and live his life with his wife
26:49 and grandkids and everything else.
26:50 But what you know, what is he sort of bestowed upon you?
26:54 What sort of wisdom has he shared?
26:56 I'm sure he's been nothing but kind.
26:57 He's an incredible guy.
26:58 But what have what have you learned from him along the way early on?
27:01 Well, it's good timing that you asked me this today, A.K.,
27:03 because on Wednesday, Mike texted me pretty late at night, by the way.
27:08 I mean, I think the guy might be a night owl.
27:09 He texted me, Drew in Charlotte, just to keep you on track.
27:13 The action on the court is going left to right.
27:15 The action on the big scoreboard is going right to left.
27:17 Takes a little getting used to.
27:19 He's given me like very specific advice for how to for how to do this job.
27:25 Also stuff like, you know, really important to be watching the monitor.
27:29 And his wife, Terry, actually told me some stuff about psychology
27:33 and how are the neurons of our brain work.
27:36 And, you know, when when you acknowledge what's happening on the monitor,
27:39 it's a signal to the viewer.
27:41 I'm watching the same thing you are.
27:42 And it kind of bonds you.
27:45 And so and I never really thought about it that way.
27:47 But it makes a lot of sense.
27:49 Mike has been really awesome from the start.
27:52 And I mean, the guy's a legend.
27:54 And, you know, like I said with Scal earlier,
27:56 this would be the case even more for Mike.
27:58 I think it would have been easy for him to be like, who the hell is this guy?
28:02 Like I've been calling these games longer than he's been alive.
28:04 Like, how dare you?
28:06 How dare you fill in for me on the road and eventually take over full time?
28:10 Like, how dare you?
28:10 But he's been the opposite of that.
28:12 And the reason is, you know, anyone who knows Mike will attest to this.
28:15 He's an incredibly cool guy
28:17 who cares about others more than he cares about himself.
28:20 And I think that's part of the reason he's so good.
28:22 And he has no ego.
28:24 You know, I think that comes through on the broadcast.
28:27 One of the reasons Mike is Mike is because it does.
28:31 It's never been about Mike.
28:32 And it's to the extent that I actually think this year might make him
28:36 even uncomfortable because there's going to be a lot of like Mike's
28:39 farewell season stuff.
28:41 And rightfully so. He's earned that.
28:42 But he never makes it about himself.
28:44 And so he's been incredibly welcoming, you know, walking around TD
28:48 Garden during the pre or before the preseason opener against the Knicks
28:52 was really, really neat because, you know,
28:55 that was really the first time we had a chance to have an extended conversation.
28:58 And he's just been incredibly, incredibly welcoming
29:02 and making me feel at home, you know, because like I said, I have the nerves.
29:06 I feel the pressure replacing a guy like him.
29:08 So to have his approval is really the most important thing.
29:11 And I hope to earn that over the course of this season and beyond.
29:14 Something you hit on earlier, and it definitely resonates with me.
29:18 I mean, I haven't done what you're doing, but I spent many seasons
29:21 working in minor league sports, you know, almost a decade
29:25 across different teams and everything.
29:26 And far and away, my favorite part, more so than even
29:30 calling the games, was just getting to know the players, the coaches,
29:34 the people behind the scenes that were involved with and related to the team.
29:39 You mentioned, obviously, traveling with Celtics and, you know,
29:42 starting the process of getting to know these guys.
29:44 Something that sticks out to me from conversations that I've had with.
29:48 With Mike in the past on this show and off the show, for that matter, is,
29:53 you know, obviously doing the the games as long as he did.
29:57 You know, he got to know a million incredible Celtics players,
30:01 but less so maybe in the last, let's call it.
30:05 Decade or so, you know, part of that was the
30:08 COVID pandemic separation, not traveling, part of it was just,
30:12 you know, I think there's you know, you lose a bond over time
30:17 just as as you age and the players stay the same age.
30:20 You know, you're coming in in in your mid 20s.
30:22 You're the same age as as most of these guys that are on the team.
30:26 So is is there an early bonding that happens there
30:30 or is there sort of a separation of church and state?
30:33 Let's make our second McConaughey reference of the pot.
30:36 It's like I get older. They stay the same age.
30:39 I don't know if that's that's how Mike's feeling about the players.
30:42 Yeah. So I'm actually I'm going to move into Jalen Brown's guest house
30:46 at his new place now that he's got that five year, three or three
30:49 or four million dollar contract.
30:51 Now, I haven't asked him about that yet, but I'm sure he's got room for me.
30:54 This factory will be great. Yeah, exactly.
30:57 No, I mean, there's been a little bit of that.
30:59 You know, I think there is separation of church and state is a good way to put it,
31:03 because, you know, I'm not on the team, obviously.
31:08 But being with the team traveling, you know, it can sort of feel
31:13 like you're part of the family at certain points.
31:16 And, you know, I experienced that with minor league baseball, like you mentioned.
31:19 But I think one of the one of the problems I ran into in minor league
31:23 baseball is I think I tried to force it a little bit, like I wanted to be
31:27 best friends with everybody, as you know, at that level.
31:29 A lot of the guys are in college age or just graduated from college.
31:32 And so I wanted to be like boys with everybody on the team.
31:36 And it's just not like that.
31:38 Like there has there's a little bit of a of a difference there
31:40 between broadcaster and player.
31:43 But with that being said, the guys I've spoken to have been awesome.
31:46 Like O'Shea Bursette was at Syracuse when I was.
31:48 And so we sort of knew each other from then a little bit,
31:51 like I'd be in scrums with him in the Syracuse locker room.
31:55 And I got a chance to see him at the hotel in Philly.
31:58 And we talked for a little bit.
31:59 Sweetie, Hi Luke was super cool, too.
32:01 And I talked with him.
32:03 Christoph Porzingis, like is awesome.
32:05 Get a fist bump from him on the bus, go into the arena.
32:07 So, yeah, the guys have been super cool.
32:10 I think it might be a little bit different from how it used to be with
32:13 how big of celebrities these players are now.
32:17 Like if you think about when Mike started, you know,
32:20 he might have been making more than the players.
32:21 I really don't know.
32:22 Yeah, I mean, these guys had side jobs outside of the season.
32:25 Yeah, right.
32:26 Like you could talk to Cedric Maxwell about that one day.
32:28 And he'll tell you how different it is now.
32:31 Well, Tommy Heinze was like selling insurance.
32:33 So I don't think Jalen Brown is selling insurance anymore.
32:37 He's making 60 mil a year.
32:39 So it is a little bit different.
32:40 But with that being said, even though the guys are like huge
32:43 celebrities and making a ton of money, I haven't really noticed,
32:46 you know, any difference in how they treat people compared to normal people.
32:51 You know, and maybe that's because, you know, we're on the inside,
32:54 quote unquote, like on the plane and on the bus.
32:56 But, yeah, the interactions have been good.
32:58 But I don't expect to be like grabbing drinks with Jason Tatum anytime soon.
33:03 Maybe one day, maybe we can play golf together.
33:05 I hear he's a big golfer.
33:07 Maybe he can babysit his kid.
33:08 Yeah, maybe.
33:10 I think I need more trust for that.
33:12 Maybe give it a couple of years.
33:14 So removing sort of everything we've already talked about, like the
33:17 Mike Gorman effect, the oh, my God, I'm in the NBA now, the like all of that stuff.
33:23 The fact that you're now in this position with a team that is contending,
33:28 that is, you know, instantly in the championship conversation.
33:31 What is that like?
33:32 And I don't even mean from like pressure of the broadcast
33:35 and who's listening and more years and all of eyeballs, all that stuff.
33:38 I just mean the fact that, you know, on a night to night basis,
33:41 you are going to see some of the best basketball,
33:44 you know, not only in the world, because that would be true of any team,
33:46 but in, you know, that much better.
33:49 It's going to be the best basketball in the world and a team that might finally
33:53 be hoisting banner 18 come the end of the year.
33:56 Dude, watching them in Charlotte the other night.
33:59 Holy smokes.
34:00 I mean, this is going to be so freaking good.
34:03 I got a text from someone who is in Spectrum Center who said, holy blank,
34:07 you're going to have fun this year.
34:08 You guys are so good.
34:10 And I'm like, you're right, man.
34:12 I mean, I think this is probably going to be hyperbolic,
34:16 but I do think there's a chance the Celtics could lead the NBA
34:19 in offensive and defensive rating.
34:21 I mean, just from what we've seen in the preseason
34:23 and how the roster is made up, obviously you need health.
34:26 And maybe the the starters won't play enough minutes to attain that.
34:32 There might be other teams who put more emphasis on the regular season.
34:35 The Celtics know that, like, if everything goes well and they stay healthy,
34:38 they should be in the Eastern Conference finals
34:40 because that's the standard they've set.
34:41 Right. And that that's when that's when it will be time to shift it
34:45 into the highest gear.
34:47 But I think the team makes a ton of sense construction wise on paper
34:50 and also from what we've seen.
34:53 And to me, what I've been most excited about in the preseason is, look,
34:57 we know who Jalen Brown is.
34:59 We know who Jason Tatum is.
35:00 We know we're going to get from those guys.
35:02 But seeing how poor Zingis and Holiday have meshed
35:05 so seamlessly has been a lot of fun to watch.
35:08 And it actually makes a lot of sense.
35:09 It's not like you're trying to fold in a ball dominant guy.
35:12 It's not like Luca has joined the team and everything has been torpedoed.
35:16 Those guys, even though they have the talent level of superstars,
35:21 don't need the ball at all times in order to make it work.
35:25 I mean, I kind of compare it to like when Durant joined Golden State.
35:29 You know, Katie is one of the best scoring forwards
35:31 who's ever walked this earth, but he didn't change everything
35:35 about their system because he's kind of a malleable player.
35:38 And so I think Drew and poor Zingis are pretty similar to that.
35:41 Same thing goes for, you know, Derek White and Al Horford.
35:45 And then the guys from the bench who I think are going to contribute
35:49 majorly in the regular season, who have been pleasant surprises.
35:52 Obviously, Peyton Pritchard has been insanely good.
35:54 Namiah's Kata has been the most pleasant surprise of the preseason for me.
35:59 Um, he mentioned Time Lord Rob Williams no longer with the team.
36:02 And I'm not saying Kata is Williams yet, but I think he can do
36:07 a pretty good imitation of him rolling hard to the rim, protecting the rim,
36:11 rebounding, blocking shots.
36:13 He's been super impressive.
36:14 And the fact that he's on a two way is a complete steal.
36:16 Like, I don't know how the Kings let him go because he's been awesome.
36:20 And then the guy likes to be me.
36:22 Hi, Luke O'Shea Bressett, I mentioned.
36:24 I just think the team looks really good from top to bottom.
36:27 And so despite the fact that I do bleed green now,
36:30 I am going to be a bit of a homer for the Celtics.
36:32 I think objectively, they should be the title favorites.
36:35 Anything that has surprised you as you've watched more tape
36:40 and watch games in person and just, you know, really immersed yourself
36:43 in all things Celtics like, you know, man, I've watched a lot of Jason Tatum
36:48 over the years.
36:48 I've seen a lot of big moments, but holy crap, this guy's even better than I thought.
36:51 Or Chris Tapps, Porzingis is a, you know, a better defender than I realized.
36:56 Or Drew Holiday, like, good God, people talked about it, but this guy is strong.
37:01 Like anything that that has really sort of taken you aback as you've watched closer?
37:05 Yeah, something on all those guys, two on Tatum.
37:08 Number one, I mean, it's been well documented how much weight
37:10 he's put on this offseason, 12 pounds of muscle, setting records in the weight room.
37:14 I think he's going to be very effective in the post this year.
37:17 And that's something you've seen from superstars in the past.
37:20 When they add a really effective post up game,
37:22 it kind of opens everything up for other guys.
37:25 Like I think about when when LeBron became a really effective post player,
37:28 he came into the league, he was he was kind of skinny.
37:30 And as he bulked up, even though he claimed he never lifted weights once,
37:34 I think like no chance that's true.
37:36 But he added that post game and all of a sudden his teams
37:39 kind of hit a new level offensively.
37:41 I think we'll see that from Tatum this year.
37:43 And also with him, I think his defense is underrated and his his instincts
37:48 and his ability to read the play one or two passes ahead.
37:51 He's always in passing lanes like he gets two or three deflections every game.
37:55 So for Tatum, I've been pleasantly surprised by those things.
37:58 Holiday, you mentioned the strength.
38:00 I mean, he went right through Nick Richards the other night
38:03 and Pritchard did the same thing like Nick Richards has 60 to 70 pounds
38:08 on these guys and they're I mean, they're putting him in the weight room.
38:11 Poor Zingas.
38:13 Obviously, you understand reading his height, how tall he is.
38:17 But when you see him in person, it is kind of different.
38:20 You know, like no one's going to be able to defend him.
38:23 He's going to get open looks on the pick and pop just because there's
38:25 so many other weapons on the floor.
38:27 But he really doesn't even have to be open to be open
38:30 because he can just shoot over the top of everybody.
38:32 And I like seeing the freedom he has on defense.
38:35 And he's he's talked about this after the Knicks game earlier this week.
38:39 Missoula is kind of giving him the option to trap when he sees fit,
38:44 at least if I'm understanding correctly what Porzingis was saying.
38:47 So there were a couple of times in that Knicks game where you saw Porzingis
38:50 instead of dropping, which is what he typically does in a pick and roll.
38:53 He goes out and kind of ambushes the ball handler.
38:55 It's like, good luck.
38:57 Here's seven, six wingspan, seven, four guy with huge hands.
39:01 Good luck trying to get around that guy.
39:03 They're also bringing the full court press sometimes.
39:05 I just think the defense is going to be insane.
39:08 And then on offense, you got five guys who can shoot
39:11 really no matter who's on the floor.
39:13 It's just a really exciting roster.
39:15 I think Brad Stevens and Mike Zarin and everyone in that front office
39:19 have done an amazing job constructing it.
39:21 Do you have a favorite player early on?
39:22 And I I asked that in like, I mean, some people in the organization
39:26 might be listening.
39:27 None of the players are. I can guarantee you that.
39:29 But I mean, Mike Gorman was very open, like Paul Pierce was his guy.
39:33 Is is there an early favorite for you putting the maybe sentimental
39:37 O'Shea Breset Syracuse connection aside?
39:39 Well, just in the preseason, I mean, I've got a couple of favorites.
39:43 Number one, Drew Holiday has legit always been one of my favorite players
39:47 when he was at UCLA.
39:49 I thought about changing my name to J.R.
39:52 U.E.
39:53 Because they're pronounced the same.
39:55 And I've always been a huge fan of that guy.
39:57 Also, this is going to be really obscure and really esoteric.
40:00 So I'm hoping there's at least one person who gets this reference.
40:03 But in NBA two K-12, his dribble package,
40:07 specifically his crossover, was nasty.
40:10 And so I would always have my my player with the Drew Holiday crossover,
40:14 because even if he wasn't quick, something about how he snapped the ball across,
40:18 you would always beat your guy.
40:19 Yeah. So I've always been a big fan of Drew Holiday Pritchard
40:23 because of what he's done in the preseason and frankly, the opportunities
40:26 it's given us to have fun on the broadcast.
40:28 Pritchard's one of my favorites.
40:30 You mentioned O'Shea because of the Syracuse connection.
40:32 Kata to me is a fascinating one.
40:34 First Portuguese player ever in the NBA
40:37 goes to Utah State of all places.
40:40 Surprised that he wasn't more heavily recruited.
40:43 I'm wondering what our guy Jim Boeheim was doing.
40:46 I feel like he could have been pretty good in the middle of the two, three.
40:49 But I guess to answer your question, it's it's too hard.
40:52 I need like a I need to be able to pick three or four
40:56 because there are too many guys
40:57 that have kind of fallen in love with their games in the preseason.
40:59 No, I mean, I like that.
41:00 Like it would have been it's too easy to say like, oh, well, the Jays.
41:04 I love Tatum. I love Brett.
41:05 Like, of course you do. Why wouldn't you?
41:07 I mean, even during the the new big three era that that, you know, was
41:12 most people obviously were obsessed with Garnett and rightfully so.
41:16 But like Eddie House, and I don't just say this as as one of your colleagues now,
41:20 but I mean, truly, like I was a season ticket holder at that time, like Eddie,
41:24 just microwave instant bucket off the bench.
41:26 Like I fell in love with Eddie House, you know, not following him
41:30 too closely before he came to Boston those couple of years that he was here.
41:33 It was like, oh, my God, I'm I'm obsessed with this guy.
41:36 So it's sometimes it's more fun when it's like one of the guys
41:40 that you had mentioned, the Peyton Pritchard or obviously any of those,
41:43 you know, other reserves where it's, you know, these guys that maybe have
41:47 a more limited skill set, but do whatever it is, that one thing really, really well
41:53 that you just genuinely get excited when they check into the game.
41:56 And not a lot of people can have that effect on you.
41:58 Yeah, I've always been I always try to be
42:02 unique in terms of who my favorite players are.
42:05 So probably my favorite basketball player of all time is white chocolate.
42:09 Jason Williams.
42:10 Same. Yeah, well, he's he's in my top three.
42:13 It was it was him, Jason Kidd and Penny Hardaway.
42:16 Those. Yeah. And these.
42:18 I mean, it's just because, like you said, they make you feel something
42:21 when you're watching them.
42:22 And Jason Williams is not even close to like the best point guard of all time.
42:27 But he's my favorite to watch because you never knew what you were going to see.
42:30 The behind the back elbow pass.
42:32 Come on. The elbow pass is insane.
42:34 You know, like he's the best highlight player of all time.
42:38 If you watched him, you know, over the course of an 82 game season,
42:41 you might waste a lot of time waiting for a highlight.
42:43 But when you see it, it's like seeing a lightning strike.
42:46 Like in baseball.
42:48 I always loved Sean Figgins for some reason.
42:50 C.H.O.N.E.
42:52 Because he would always steal a bunch of bases.
42:53 And I thought those guys were cool.
42:55 Like I've always kind of gone off the map for my favorite players.
42:59 So, yeah, I don't I don't think I would even choose a starter
43:01 as my favorite Celtic right now.
43:04 So it won't keep you much longer here.
43:05 But as we ramp up to opening night, which, of course, is, you know,
43:10 Wednesday and just pull up the schedule here.
43:12 And so, I mean, are you doing this first game or this must be I mean,
43:16 it's an ESPN game. So is there going to be a local feat as well?
43:18 There is. But Mike's doing that one.
43:20 That's since it's the opener and not that far away.
43:24 Mike's going to do that one.
43:25 So will you start the following Monday in Washington?
43:27 Will that be your start?
43:28 Yes, sir. And that'll be a nice little half preseason game
43:32 because the Washington Wizards are expected to not be very good this year.
43:37 But now that I say that, of course, you know, someone from from the Wizards
43:40 will hear this and bulletin board material.
43:42 I mean, the Celtics lost multiple games to the Magic last year, didn't they?
43:46 So these things happen, obviously.
43:48 But what I don't know, I know you've done games, you've worked with scale,
43:52 but like preseason or regular season are different.
43:55 And I'm sure just the the early season or even if it's just game one for you,
44:00 the early season jitters have to be a real thing, right?
44:03 No doubt. And the job is,
44:07 to be candid, a little bit different preseason to regular season,
44:11 like if you watch the preseason broadcast, it's
44:14 a little bit less play by play and a little bit more big picture conversation
44:19 because ultimately the result doesn't really matter. Right.
44:22 You still call it because you want to see what the players are doing
44:26 individually and how everybody's meshing.
44:28 But it obviously with the results not going in the final columns
44:33 doesn't matter quite as much the outcome of the game.
44:35 So the job changes a little bit preseason to regular season.
44:39 But I am grateful, Adam, that I've been able to do three preseason games
44:43 because, you know, for the same reason that players play in the preseason,
44:47 I feel like it's good for a new announcer to work with a partner and,
44:51 you know, a new sideline reporter and producer director for the first time
44:55 and get a couple under your belt before a quote unquote doing it for real.
44:59 So, yeah, I think the preseason has helped us gear up
45:02 maybe just as much as the team.
45:04 So and for people that I mentioned earlier, you do ESPN.
45:08 Is it just ESPN? Anything else on the side?
45:11 ESPN is kind of all encompassing anyway. Yeah.
45:13 That's that's for now.
45:15 Yeah. Yeah.
45:16 Until until Nickelodeon comes after you, we need to do more of these
45:20 broadcasts. Yeah.
45:22 So, I mean, you got ESPN, you obviously have the Celtics,
45:25 the Celtics we were talking off air.
45:26 That's that is your number one.
45:28 But, you know, people are you must have kind of a
45:31 I don't know if it's just football, if it goes beyond football,
45:34 but I'm assuming a pretty grueling schedule, balancing Celtics games,
45:37 road games with other college football or maybe college
45:41 basketball across whatever else you have going on.
45:43 That's why I look like this.
45:45 I look like a zombie.
45:48 Yeah, it is.
45:48 But, you know, you mentioned our conversation off the air.
45:51 The Celtics have a priority.
45:53 And that's not just me saying that that is like legalese mumbo jumbo.
45:57 And my contracts with with both the Celtics and the ESPN,
46:01 that is my my top priority.
46:05 And I think I'm learning how to budget time a little bit better, like,
46:09 you know, every college football coach will give you the same cliches about,
46:14 you know, being where your feet are or staying present or all that junk.
46:19 But it actually is important, I think, when you're trying to juggle
46:22 a variety of different things like I'm doing a college football game this weekend.
46:26 Toledo is at Miami of Ohio.
46:28 It's actually a really good game Saturday.
46:30 ESPN, you for Eastern, if you're going to check it out.
46:32 There you go. But but I can't let that, you know, distract from the main thing,
46:37 which, you know, is the Celtics.
46:39 And and when I'm calling the game tomorrow afternoon, that's the main thing.
46:43 You know, I'm probably not going to be thinking about when will the Mias
46:45 K to get, you know, upgraded from his two way contract as it's like third down
46:50 and four in the third quarter of Toledo, Miami.
46:52 And so keeping the main thing, the main thing
46:55 and focusing on what I'm doing in the moment is is really important.
46:59 But with that being said, like the Celtics are basically my life at this point.
47:04 That that's the top thing.
47:06 Well, welcome to the broadcast.
47:08 NBC Sports, Boston, the Boston Celtics family, obviously the Celtics beat family.
47:12 I know we'll we'll reach out to have you on again as the season gets going.
47:15 Hopefully you become a good friend of the program, not unlike Sean and Mike as well.
47:19 But really cool to just get to know you a little bit better.
47:22 Hopefully fans, listeners feel the same way.
47:25 It's you know, it's it's good to have, obviously, not only a qualified
47:29 individual, but a good person getting ready to fill this seat.
47:33 Thanks, Adam. Great to be here.
47:35 And tell tell Evan he's allowed to show up next time if he wants.
47:39 Yeah, it's unbelievable, right?
47:41 Just totally coasting on us today.
47:43 He is he is a reason we'll see him soon enough for Evan Valenti in spirit.
47:47 Plus, he's producing behind the scenes as well as, of course, Drew Carter.
47:51 I'm Adam Kaufman.
47:52 This is Celtics beat rate review.
47:53 Most importantly, subscribe.
47:54 We greatly appreciate it.
47:55 We'll talk to you again next week
47:57 when there's actually a game or two under the Celtics belts.