In today's episode of The Big 3 Podcast, A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani Lunis take a close look at the Celtics' bench. Who has exceeded expectations, who should fans be concerned about, and who could surprise people in the playoffs? That, and much more!
01:20 - C’s first to 50 Wins
06:55 - Celtics Bench Standouts
14:03 - Who to be concerned about
19:45 - playing time in playoffs
23:50 - Isaiah Thomas
35:50 - Schedule Lookahead
This episode of the Big 3 NBA Podcast is brought to you by:
PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
01:20 - C’s first to 50 Wins
06:55 - Celtics Bench Standouts
14:03 - Who to be concerned about
19:45 - playing time in playoffs
23:50 - Isaiah Thomas
35:50 - Schedule Lookahead
This episode of the Big 3 NBA Podcast is brought to you by:
PrizePicks! Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy!
Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up. Whether it’s Tournament Season or the fight for playoff homecourt, there’s no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year. Quick withdrawals, easy gameplay and an enormous selection of players and stat types are what make PrizePicks the #1 daily fantasy sports app!
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [Casting]
00:18 The Big 3 NBA Podcast is powered by PrizePace, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the
00:23 CLNS Media Network.
00:25 Hello everyone, welcome to The Big 3 NBA Podcast. I'm Kwani A. Lunas, joined by H. Rob Blakely,
00:31 Gary Washburn. The gang's back together again. Sorry I had to-
00:34 Welcome back, Kwani.
00:36 Yeah, I'm sorry, but you know, things happen and we're back.
00:40 Gary, she sound like a politician.
00:43 I know, right?
00:43 Listen, listen, my constituents, I've been gone for a while, but you know, things happen.
00:49 I still care about y'all.
00:50 They're like, "Okay, but you don't cover my taxes."
00:53 Right.
00:55 "Where's my stimulus check?"
00:56 "Where's my check?"
01:01 Oh my goodness. But yes, it's good to be back. And obviously the Celtics have continued to
01:08 be on a roll since we last spoke. I can't remember exactly what game I had last talked
01:13 to you guys. Of course, the Nuggets loss wasn't the greatest, but all that being said, the Celtics
01:18 are still the first team in NBA to get to 50 wins this season. They're continuing to show that they
01:23 are maybe not the best, but one of the best teams in the NBA right now. But what do you two think
01:29 it means for them to hit that marker so early on in the season? And is it something that's
01:34 worth celebrating?
01:35 Well, for them, I mean, it means that what you've been doing all season long is not only are you
01:43 handling your business, but you're handling your business better than anyone else in the league
01:48 at this point. 50 wins is not something to sneeze about. One thing you hear coaches talk
01:53 about all the time, and they've been talking about this since the beginning of basketball times,
01:57 is it's not easy to win in the NBA. And so to rack up 50 wins with a good sizable chunk of the season
02:06 still left to play is certainly for the Celtics. It speaks to, again, their ability to handle
02:11 their business better than anyone is handling their business. But is it something to celebrate?
02:16 I don't think Joe Mazzulla is popping out the bubbly on this one.
02:22 I don't think so either.
02:23 But it does speak to, again, his ability to get as much as he can out of the group that he's
02:29 working with. And the Celtics continue to be basically the standard bearer for the rest of
02:34 the NBA.
02:34 Yeah, I think it's a good benchmark in terms of the progress. They won 57 games last year,
02:43 and they had a handful of games. They probably more than they should have won. They could have
02:47 been a 60-win team last year. So the fact that they're kind of slicing through the schedule,
02:54 winning lots of games, nothing more than a two-game losing streak this season,
03:01 yeah, that's something to be proud of and something to cherish and something not to
03:06 take for granted. Because I think, as Jason and Jalen said the other night, I mean, there's teams
03:11 just in total rebuild. And since they've been with the Celtics, there's never been a rebuild.
03:16 They've never had where they've had to. They just knew going into the season, "We have no
03:22 shot at making the playoffs. We have no shot of getting to the final. We have no shot of winning
03:27 the East." Now, they haven't won the East every year, but in all the seasons they've been here,
03:33 that's been the goal is to get to the final. So I think they understand don't take that for
03:38 granted. And you smell your roses and get your flowers right now. And then, obviously, you move
03:44 on because there's more work to be done in April, May, and June. But I think it's a good
03:48 accomplishment for this team. People didn't know how this team would work with the new lineup.
03:55 And they haven't had a lot of the pitfalls that the other teams have had, bad losses.
04:00 You can say the Cleveland loss is probably one of the worst. I would say the one in Charlotte
04:06 way back when was bad. But that Cleveland loss was probably one of the worst. But they haven't
04:12 had that many moments this year where they've had those in the past. And there's other teams.
04:16 Milwaukee loses by 35 at Sacramento in the final game of their trip. And people, "Well,
04:23 if that was the Celtics, people would be going crazy on them." Probably so. Probably so. And
04:27 I'm not saying that Milwaukee won't be there in the end, but there's some concern there.
04:31 And the Celtics took care of business after the Denver loss, won the final three games of the
04:36 trip. And I think that they should be proud of 50 now, 51 wins, and looking forward to that 60 mark.
04:45 The one thing Gary said, though, that I think is really, really important is that this team,
04:53 they understand what they're tasked with doing this year better than I think they've been in
05:01 the past. Where before it was like, "They're a good team. They might make a little noise in
05:04 the playoffs. They might." There was always this might, might, might. But this year,
05:08 there was a legitimate expectation that they're going to be the last team standing based upon
05:14 who they have coming back, who they were bringing in. There weren't as many might this, might that
05:21 with this team. It was just like, "This is who they are. This is what they should be doing.
05:24 This is why they should be that last team standing, or at least be on the very, very short
05:30 list of last team standing." And they've held up their end of the bargain, so to speak, up until
05:36 so far in a regular season. The biggest difference with this team, I think, and some of the teams
05:41 we've seen in the past, this team is just tougher mentally than I think those Celtics teams we've
05:46 seen in the past. And it manifests itself, I think, a lot when you see them have those moments
05:52 in the third quarter or fourth quarter where that 15-point lead is now down to six. And then in a
05:58 matter of minutes, that six-point lead becomes 26. They've been able to just absolutely just
06:05 snatch the soul out of teams just like that. And they've done it consistently. And to me,
06:12 you can't do that consistently unless there's a certain level of mental toughness that you're
06:16 bringing to the game. And I don't know whether it's the guys just being a little bit older and
06:22 kind of understanding the mental grind, whether that's Joe Mizzullo projecting who he is about on
06:28 this team or a combination of that. But the bottom line is this team, from a mental toughness
06:33 standpoint, is as good as we've ever seen them during this Tatum-Brown era. And that's why,
06:42 to me, and I've said this time and time again, anything short of a title is a disappointment
06:47 because this team could not be built any better and more equipped and more versatile than they
06:53 are now to win a championship, regardless of who is on the other side, on that other sideline.
06:57 - Mental stamina is important, of course, physical fitness as well, but
07:01 depth is very important when you talk about that goal for the Celtics. And right now,
07:06 their stay-ready crew, the bench, they've been producing the way that they should. So,
07:13 do you guys think they're ready for the playoffs is the first question. But
07:17 out of that group, who do you think has stood out the most so far?
07:20 - What you got, Gary? -
07:22 Well, I think Luke Cornett has. Luke Cornett has taken his responsibilities and ran with it. I've
07:31 been impressed. I was not a big Luke Cornett guy. - It was a turn.
07:35 - Gary is channeling his inner Bobby Manning right now.
07:39 - But I'll, yeah, I'm not, no, don't do that. I'm not that big of a fan like Bobby is, but
07:47 I do think he's doing well with his role. He's becoming more aggressive at the damn rim,
07:51 dunking on people. Luke, you're seven foot, like dunk on these foods, right? And he even
07:58 acknowledged he just stopped taking as many threes. He's more focused on the alley-oops,
08:04 being a rim protector. And I thought against the Utah Jazz, where the Jazz put in Walker Kessler,
08:12 and last year in that game in Utah, he was a real factor, rim protector, getting the rebounds,
08:18 getting, and they beat the Celtics. Last night in Utah, Kessler wasn't as effective, and that
08:24 was because of Cornett. Cornett battled. Cornett got a lot of offensive rebounds. He was battling
08:29 in there. Like, play seven feet. You're seven feet. You are taller than 98% of humans. Play
08:38 like it, man. And I think he has played like it. I gotta give him much credit. I think he
08:44 has taken the step forward. Maybe it's the presence of Xavier Tillman. And Tillman played
08:49 well last night. Hit a couple of quarter threes. - That's right.
08:52 - You know, I know, you know, he's a guy that I think has had a lot of play, you know,
08:58 played with a lot of great players and good young players in Memphis. And now it's like,
09:02 I think, you know, I think he's said like, you know, it's just such a professional atmosphere.
09:07 You know, obviously he's probably the grown man in the room in Memphis, but now he's got a bunch
09:12 of vets around him and they're just like, "Hey, we're trying to win." Like, do you, but just show
09:18 up to the ballpark, or ballpark, to the court, on time, ready to play, to the ball field.
09:27 Wherever we playing, show up, fool. - The turf, wherever you want to go.
09:30 - The turf, yeah. The stadium, the ice, whatever. - Just show up and perform.
09:36 - Exactly. Exactly. The dance floor, whatever you do, the concert, show up on time,
09:44 be ready to ball and contribute. And, you know, you can help us get a Quest for a Championship.
09:50 So, but I gotta say Cornette, I've been completely impressed. He's battling in paint,
09:55 getting rebounds that he probably didn't get maybe even a few months ago, because he wasn't a
10:00 high-level rebounder. I know Kata was coming in there and getting boards and I was like, "Wait a
10:05 minute, those are boards that probably Cornette could get." But Cornette has been mad aggressive,
10:10 not just think, that might be the presence of like, "Hey, they got two guys who want your minutes,
10:15 so what you gonna do?" And he has flourished. - I agree. And the very last point, Gary, is why
10:21 Cornette to me is an example of what happens when you create competition for guys to see where their
10:28 compete level is. Cornette, when there was no Kata, when there was no Tillman, he was just,
10:33 "Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo."
10:35 "I'm the third center, I'm gonna get a couple, I'm gonna do pretty much nothing. I'm just,
10:39 I'm gonna play, they're going to play me." And once Kata showed up on the scene, oh wait,
10:44 Luke getting rebounds? Luke blocking shots? And then when it got Tillman, it's like, "Oh,
10:48 I gotta do that like every night now. Oh, okay, I get it." So to me, he's a guy that has benefited
10:55 from Brad Stevens, to his credit, creating a greater competition for those minutes. Now,
11:02 the guy that on that stay ready crew that I'm most impressed with is Sam Hauser. And I'm gonna tell
11:08 you why. Sam has not had the benefit of someone pushing him, he's had to push himself to be
11:13 better. You watch Sam play now, he's not that dude sitting in the corner behind the three-point line
11:18 just waiting for Tittum to throw him the ball. He's putting it on the floor. He's hitting you
11:22 with the float game, he's hitting with your mid-range game. He has expanded his game in a way
11:27 that allows him to be more versatile, more, I think, frankly, creates another level of
11:34 concern for teams when you're preparing for the Southers. Because now you can't just worry about
11:39 Sam hitting those threes, Sam can actually put it on the floor and hit the mid-range.
11:43 Sam, defensively, he's never locking anybody up. But the one thing he does, and he's been pretty
11:48 damn good at this since he's been a Southie, stay between the rim and your man. If a guy
11:53 shoes over the top of you, okay, he can jump higher than you, he can do that. But you have
11:59 the ability to keep yourself between him and the rim and Sam does that as good as anyone on this
12:04 team based upon the minutes he plays. And so for me, he's the guy come playoff time that I think
12:10 teams, they're really gonna have to worry about him more than they probably thought they would
12:15 need to because, again, a 40-plus percent three-point shooter, a guy who can now put it on
12:20 the floor just enough to shoot the mid-range. He ain't breaking ankles, this ain't no John Morant,
12:24 this ain't no Tatum do-do-do-do-do-do, 18 dribbles. He's a three-dribble pull-up guy
12:30 and that's all they need from him. Pump fake, three dribbles, pull-up. That's all they need
12:36 for him to do. And defenses, you now have to react to that. You now have to deal with him.
12:41 That's right. That do-do-do-do-do-do, don't do that again.
12:45 That's your thing.
12:46 Don't do that again. Don't do that.
12:49 Do-do-do-do-do-do.
12:50 Yeah.
12:50 Do-do-do-do-do-do.
12:51 [Laughter]
12:53 Don't do that.
12:55 The bottom line, Sam do-do-do-do-do-do Hauser is killing it.
13:00 That's his nickname now.
13:01 Do-do-do-do-do-do Hauser.
13:03 Football season may be over, but the action on the floor is heating up.
13:08 Whether it's a tournament season or the fight for a playoff home court,
13:12 there's no shortage of high stakes basketball moments this time of year.
13:16 Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America's number one fantasy sports app,
13:22 where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash.
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13:59 - Okay, you mentioned the people that you guys think are difference makers,
14:07 but what about the opposite end of that spectrum?
14:10 Who are you concerned about and what do they need to work on?
14:14 - Gary?
14:14 - I'm on my--
14:15 - Concerned about Gary?
14:16 - No, well, no.
14:18 - Yes, no.
14:19 - No, no, no, don't do that.
14:22 - Gary's guy, Gary's guy, Luke Cornett, I am concerned about,
14:26 because Luke has been playing well up to this point.
14:27 - Wow.
14:28 - He's done a really good job.
14:29 But I'm concerned come playoff time,
14:32 because the level of aggression and intensity, particularly among bigs, it ramps up.
14:37 And I don't know, even as the third big, whether Luke is going to be able to help them.
14:42 I see certain matchups where Luke might have some problems,
14:47 not because those guys are necessarily better than him,
14:49 but because he doesn't necessarily play with that aggression
14:53 that I think they're going to need from that position.
14:55 So I would not be surprised if we see Luke's role diminish at some point in the postseason.
15:01 And one of those other two guys we're talking about,
15:03 well, specifically I'm talking about Tillman,
15:05 because this is the thing about Luke and Tillman that I keep coming back to.
15:09 Luke has basically had a year and some change to get to where he's at right now.
15:14 You look at Tillman,
15:16 think about if they had Tillman for like a year and a half where he would be right now.
15:20 It's not even close.
15:22 Tillman would be pushing out for some minutes at this point.
15:26 If he can hit those corner threes and defend the way he's able to.
15:29 And let's not forget that Tillman comes from the Tom Izzo cloth
15:34 of defensive, versatile, kind of grimy bigs.
15:38 I mean, basically he's Draymond Green-like.
15:42 He's not Draymond Green, but he's very similar
15:44 in terms of being that undersized big who's versatile defensively, can do a lot of things.
15:49 He's a better scorer than Draymond, way better scorer than Draymond,
15:52 which ain't really, that's not a huge bar to leap over.
15:54 But bottom line is he's a guy that if you gave him the same opportunities
16:00 over an extended period of time that Luke Cornett has had, there's no question about it.
16:04 He would be a significantly more integral part of the rotation.
16:08 But give Luke credit.
16:10 Luke has made the progress that he's needed to make to keep that number three spot
16:13 as far as the third big.
16:15 But I would not be surprised if they get to the postseason and there may be a little bit
16:21 of a minute switcheroo thing going on where Luke maybe doesn't play as much as a Tillman does.
16:27 It would not surprise me.
16:28 I don't expect it, but I would not be shocked to see it happen.
16:31 - And Gary's answer is Sam Hauser.
16:34 I'm kidding.
16:35 - Sam gonna play.
16:37 - Who were you most concerned about Gary?
16:39 - Sam the dude from Hauser's gonna play.
16:40 - On the team or the stay ready crew?
16:43 - On the stay ready crew.
16:44 - Stay ready crew.
16:45 Let's stay ready.
16:46 - Wow.
16:48 - Yeah.
16:49 - I'll probably say...
16:50 Wow, that's a good question.
16:56 - Your defensive player of the year, O'Shea Brissett?
16:58 - Well, he's kind of not part of the crew.
17:01 I mean, he's...
17:01 I mean, he is doing okay.
17:04 I thought he would play more this year.
17:06 I thought he would be more of a factor.
17:07 - He's more on the in case of an emergency, stay ready.
17:10 - Yeah, I think he's had...
17:11 I mean, without question, I think he's kind of had a disappointing season.
17:18 I don't think anybody would deny that.
17:20 He has not made the impact that people thought he would kind of fill in for Grant Williams
17:24 and be that Grant Williams guy.
17:26 He's had flashes here and there, but not where I think that he's gonna be a healthy part
17:33 or consistent part of the rotation in the playoffs.
17:37 I mean, I could say Peyton Pritchard, but I feel like those guys are all comfortable
17:43 on their roles.
17:43 I could say Hauser because there are times Hauser can go 0 for 6, right?
17:50 And he gets open looks.
17:52 And your question is, well, what does he do to stay on the floor besides hit threes?
17:58 And he's got to...
17:59 - He's doing more these days.
18:01 - Defend, rebound, do little things.
18:03 And I think he's trying.
18:04 I'm not saying he's not giving effort.
18:06 But can you play him long stretches, extended stretches if he's not knocking down shots?
18:15 Because he's going to get open shots.
18:17 And if he does get defended, he is going to leave someone else open for a shot or someone
18:23 with single coverage or the defense has to play him honest.
18:27 So I think he's got to hit threes to stay on the floor.
18:31 And I'm not talking about 5.
18:33 He ain't got to be Steph.
18:34 But 2 for 6, 2 for 5, just 3 for 6, that type of thing.
18:40 Hit knocking down threes to keep the defense honest.
18:45 You see how much a three-point shooter...
18:49 Like the other night, you get in Portland, the kid, the big kid, Heath, right?
18:55 I don't know if you watched that game.
18:57 He hit two threes because they left him alone because they're like, "You're 7 foot.
19:02 And you don't look like a shooter."
19:05 And he hit two threes.
19:06 Suddenly, they had to come out on him.
19:08 You see the impact that shooters have.
19:12 And you can see the impact that Hauser has.
19:15 It's just that Hauser has to respond to that attention by knocking down those threes consistently.
19:21 And I'm not talking about that stuff before.
19:23 You don't have to go 4 for 5 or 6 for 8 every night.
19:27 But just 2 for 5, 3 for 6.
19:30 Like knock down 40% of those joints and you'll be fine.
19:34 Yeah, Reef is an interesting player from the Sudan, but played at, I think, LSU.
19:41 And played at a small college before that.
19:44 Dude, 27 years old.
19:45 So he's been in the game a minute.
19:47 He's been in the game a minute.
19:48 Staying along those lines of the Stay Ready crew, you two mentioned concerns and difference-makers.
19:55 But thinking about minutes now, who do you-- and it could be overlapping answers-- but
20:01 who do you think we'll see more of in the playoffs than we do now?
20:04 And who do you think could possibly have less minutes in the playoffs that we might be seeing
20:09 more of at this moment in time?
20:11 What you got, Gary?
20:13 Or will it even change?
20:14 Is Joe Mazzuola just ramping up for the playoffs and we already know?
20:20 Yeah, I think you're going to see less, maybe Pritchard, a little slightly less, maybe Cornette.
20:30 They might go to Tillman because of his playoff experience a little bit more.
20:35 Obviously, Horford's going to be the first guy off the bench.
20:39 I don't know.
20:41 I mean, I'm not saying slash Peyton's minutes.
20:45 I just don't know.
20:46 I just think they're going to go with the starters for longer.
20:49 The Derricks and the Drews.
20:51 So I don't think you're going to see as much Peyton and Sam and Luke.
20:55 And I think that they might figure out, depending on matchups, whether to go to Tillman or whether
21:02 to go to Cornette in certain situations.
21:05 I think it's going to be kind of interchangeable depending on who's in the game.
21:10 Remember, as much as Tillman's a tough guy, he's underside.
21:14 He's 6'8".
21:15 He's not 6'11".
21:17 OK?
21:18 He's not that guy that Luke-- I stood next to him last night.
21:21 He was a 7'4".
21:22 He's a tall guy.
21:24 So that's a difference, too.
21:28 Does Tillman have-- he has the strength.
21:31 He has the grown man's strength without question.
21:34 But does he have the size in terms of height and length to help stop a yo-kick or a guy
21:41 who's 6'10", 6'11", 7 feet from getting the shot off?
21:46 You might be able to push him out the block, but if you could just turn around and shoot
21:50 over him, that might not work.
21:52 So Luke might get some minutes because of his length, because of his ability to rebound,
21:57 and because he can be a rim protector.
22:00 No, I think the guy who's going to see the drop in minutes is going to be Peyton.
22:04 When you just look at where this team's ultimate strength is, it's on a perimeter.
22:10 When you look at Drew, you look at D. White, you look at Jalen Brown, you know, Tatum is--
22:15 you know, plays, you know, initiator offensively as well.
22:19 So Peyton, I think, is going to see his minutes cut.
22:22 But-- and it has nothing to do with him playing poorly or anything, just the opposite.
22:26 He's giving them reason to think about how can we get him on the floor more, because
22:29 he's been playing really well the last month or so.
22:32 Peyton is a guy, I think, his minutes are going to fluctuate.
22:36 I think there are going to be stretches where when he's feeling it, I think Joe's going
22:39 to ride him a little bit longer and his minutes are going to be up into the high teens, low
22:43 20s.
22:43 And in those games, you might see Drew Holliday's minutes down to the mid to high 20s or maybe
22:49 low 20s.
22:50 But more times than not, he's probably going to be in that low to mid teens and be impactful
22:58 in those minutes.
22:59 That's the thing about Peyton Pritchard at this point.
23:01 He's found a way to do the one thing that he was drafted to do, and that's make shots.
23:06 Because of just, frankly, he ain't that big, there's not a lot more he can give you.
23:13 He's not going to lock people up defensively because he's not built for that.
23:16 He doesn't have this great size advantage.
23:18 In fact, just the opposite.
23:19 He's not a traditional playmaker as far as bringing the ball up and initiating offense
23:24 and getting the ball in spots where guys can knock down shots.
23:27 So the only thing he really can give them consistently that they could absolutely use
23:32 from that second unit is his scoring.
23:34 And I think more times than not, he's going to bring that into playoffs.
23:38 I just don't think they're going to lean on him to provide that for extended period of
23:42 time.
23:42 Because of that, his minute is maybe more than anyone else on that stay ready crew is
23:47 going to be cut noticeably.
23:49 Okay, okay.
23:53 So moving along, the final thing that we have on the rundown is a segment that I'm going
23:59 to now call checking in on our exes.
24:02 What?
24:05 So controversial.
24:06 Are you sure you want to do this, Quanie?
24:11 No, no, no, we're not checking on him.
24:12 This is something you really, you really need to?
24:18 I'm using the podcast for ill intentions.
24:20 No, absolutely not.
24:21 That was a joke.
24:22 We're actually talking about the Celtics exes.
24:24 We're talking about Isaiah Thomas, his return to the Utah G League team.
24:29 He actually played Tuesday night in front of a lot of Boston Celtics staffers, including,
24:34 of course, head coach Joe Mazzulla.
24:36 Gary, you actually had a chance to talk to him.
24:39 So let's just get your perspective on that conversation, and then we'll talk a little
24:44 bit more about the Celtics ex Isaiah Thomas.
24:47 Well, I mean, you know, the G League is the G League.
24:52 So it was a 1030 AM game the morning before the Celtics jazz game.
24:58 It was at the same place, the Delta Center.
25:00 And it was Isaiah just kind of like, it's hard to determine, okay, well, he looks like
25:09 he could play for the NBA.
25:10 I think if you put him in an NBA game, he'll figure out a way to contribute, okay?
25:15 Will he drop 29 and will it be, you know, fourth quarter Isaiah?
25:22 And I don't know about that, but I think if you threw him in an atmosphere where he is
25:27 in a game with pros, he is going to figure out something to do.
25:32 He knows what he's doing out there.
25:35 It was good to see him on the court.
25:38 I think that's where the sanctuary is.
25:40 I don't think he's ready to retire.
25:43 Some guys at 35, he just turned 35.
25:45 It doesn't seem like that long ago, you know, he was 26, 27, killing for the Celtics.
25:50 You know, now he's 35 and, you know, 30 somethings in the league aren't really welcomed
26:00 anymore unless, you know, you can be a good locker room guy.
26:03 And I think Isaiah can check all the boxes.
26:07 He can still score.
26:08 He was trying to be a leader.
26:10 He was talking to people.
26:11 He was talking to his teammates.
26:13 He is not there just to put up numbers and get away from me.
26:17 You're beneath me, you 19-year-old, you know, undrafted player.
26:22 Like, he's not doing that.
26:23 He's not sunning anybody.
26:25 He's not putting anybody down.
26:28 Yeah, he's not putting anybody down.
26:30 He's not doing any of that, right?
26:35 He's being a real leader out there, a real mentor for a lot of these young guys.
26:40 It's good to see.
26:41 Now, how long does he want to do this and be, you know, does he want to do it into the
26:47 summer?
26:48 Does he want to try to play?
26:49 Like, it's interesting to see what's going to, this is going to come to.
26:52 I just think it's a good opportunity for him to ball, show one team, all it takes is one
26:57 team.
26:57 We literally just saw, and I put my story, we saw Todd Gibson sign a 10-day with the
27:03 Detroit Pistons.
27:04 I mean, my goodness.
27:05 Like, it's possible for him to get back into the league.
27:09 The Celtics have an open roster spot.
27:11 I mean, I wouldn't keep my hopes up for the Celtics.
27:15 It's a great story.
27:17 It would sound good.
27:19 Do I think Isaiah would be great in the locker room?
27:24 Yep.
27:24 Do I think he would do whatever they asked?
27:27 Yep.
27:28 Do I think he would, like, be a good mentor for Peyton Pritchard?
27:31 Yep.
27:32 Do I think he would check all the boxes?
27:34 If you're clamoring to get, if the players are calling Blake Griffin to come back, and
27:41 Blake wouldn't put giving them much on the floor.
27:44 It was because he's a great locker room guy.
27:47 And if they're doing that, then why not Isaiah?
27:52 And I'm not talking about, like, somebody got something against Isaiah.
27:55 It probably won't happen.
27:56 It's something you should consider if you're not going to do anything with that roster
27:59 spot.
28:00 Now, if you're going to convert Cata to a full-time NBA deal, right?
28:05 If you're going to do that, OK.
28:06 If you're going to use that roster spot for someone, if there's someone else on the street
28:11 that you're like, someone in the G League who's a free agent, who's not tied to a team,
28:17 and you're like, that guy could potentially help us.
28:20 But if you're just going to add someone, and they're going to sit around like Blake probably
28:26 would, why not Isaiah?
28:28 So I don't think it's a terrible idea.
28:30 I think that the Celtics are kind of over it.
28:33 In all honesty, I think Brad Stevens loves Isaiah and would love to see him back in the
28:39 league.
28:39 But it's like, listen, man, we didn't move on.
28:41 So it's a tough situation.
28:44 You can see the Celtics side of it.
28:46 We don't want to mess up this chemistry.
28:47 What kind of impact would he have in the locker room?
28:52 We have a good locker room already.
28:56 Isaiah is not going to be the guy who's going to sit in the corner and be quiet.
28:59 So will that have any negative impact on anyone?
29:04 I can see the Celtics saying that.
29:07 But to me, if the Heat kept-- Udonis has them around all those years.
29:11 If all these-- I don't think it's a bad idea.
29:14 And I think he can still play.
29:16 Is he going to drop a 29?
29:21 No.
29:21 Can he come in and play mop-up minutes?
29:24 Yeah.
29:26 You know, but it all depends on-- I think it all depends on what the league thinks.
29:32 The league might be a little tired of him.
29:34 Say, hey, you know, the league might say-- want him to go, like, oh, Isaiah, he had a
29:40 great career.
29:41 Now go do something-- or go overseas, like Kemba did, right?
29:45 And Kemba's a year younger than Isaiah.
29:49 So that might have to be his next move.
29:52 But it was awesome to see him.
29:54 Awesome to talk to him.
29:55 Awesome to see his spirit.
29:56 He's still a great guy.
29:57 He was a fun guy to cover.
29:59 But I'm rooting for him.
30:01 And I think it's worth noting also, he said he still has love for the Celtics.
30:06 And with the Utah team, the Stars, he also kind of reunites with Danny Ainge as well.
30:13 But to your point, it sounds like-- Sherrod, what do you think?
30:16 Do you think there's a chance, a door that could possibly be opened for him to reemerge
30:21 in the NBA?
30:22 Well, I think that there's definitely a chance of that happening.
30:25 But I think as each day passes, that door comes closer to closer to being slammed shut.
30:30 And Gary touched on it earlier.
30:33 It's his age.
30:34 The NBA is a young man's league.
30:37 And they have artificially designated basically 30 and under is considered the type of players
30:44 that they believe--
30:44 It's agents, OK?
30:46 As a 30-something-year-old.
30:47 Yeah, yeah.
30:48 No, Quani, it's all right.
30:49 Come on over.
30:50 We got you.
30:51 We got a spot for you.
30:52 Thank you.
30:52 But the thing about Isaiah Thomas is this.
30:56 If you're the Celtics, I think there's some very fundamental questions you've got to ask
30:59 yourself.
31:00 First and foremost, do we have a roster spot available that we don't have an intention
31:04 of using?
31:05 And if the answer to that question is yes, then you have to consider, does he have enough
31:09 in the tank to potentially help you in an absolute--
31:13 in case of emergency, we got to throw somebody out there who can get a bucket or two.
31:17 Yes, he still has that in him.
31:18 And is he a guy that can blend in with your culture as it stands?
31:23 And I think he can, because this is the one thing that people, I think, kind of lose sight
31:27 of with guys like Isaiah Thomas.
31:29 It's not that he wants to play over the guys ahead of him.
31:34 It's just that in his career, most of the guys that played ahead of him, he was better
31:38 than them.
31:38 He could do more.
31:40 But if he's coming to the Celtics and he's saying, Drew Holiday, yeah, Drew's kind of
31:45 better than me.
31:46 Derek White, yeah, bigger and better than me.
31:49 Jalen Brown, no straight up-- yes, he's better than me.
31:52 And so at that point, it's like when you have three guys who play on a perimeter that you
31:58 play on, and you know in your heart of hearts that they, at this stage of their career,
32:03 are better than you, you're not tripping that they're getting minutes over you.
32:07 Because you know, realistically, they're in position to help perform.
32:11 I think at this point, he just wants to hoop.
32:14 And as crazy as that sounds, he wants to hoop at the highest level.
32:18 And for him, that is playing in the NBA.
32:22 He's shown what he can do with an opportunity.
32:24 When he was in Phoenix before he came to Boston, he was part of this weird guard rotation
32:30 where I think it was him and Bledsoe, and I think there was another guard--
32:33 - Goran Drogic.
32:34 - Goran Drogic, right.
32:35 They were all kind of basically, you know, it was like point guard roulette with those
32:40 guys.
32:41 He comes to Boston, and Danny Ainge is like, "Well, you're going to come off the bench
32:45 and give us that instant offense."
32:46 And then Marcus Smart got hurt.
32:48 He goes to the starting lineup.
32:50 And the rest, as they say, is history.
32:51 And to his credit, all he wanted in all of those instances is an opportunity.
32:58 And when he has had an opportunity to show what he can do, more times than not, he has
33:03 exceeded whatever your expectations are for him.
33:05 It would not shock me if the Celtics were to go out and add him, and he somehow finagles
33:12 his way into, you know, seeing more than just mop-up duty.
33:15 Not-- he's not going to be a starter, nothing like that.
33:17 But he could-- I could actually see a scenario where he could be someone that gives him a
33:23 little bit more than just mop-up duty.
33:24 And again, it goes back to something Gary touched on earlier about playoff experience
33:28 and why you can't dismiss the fact that Tillman has shown himself to be a little bit more
33:34 reliable in a postseason than, let's say, a Lou Cornette.
33:37 You can't pretend as if that doesn't exist.
33:39 And just like you can't pretend if you add a guy like Isaiah Thomas that his playoff
33:44 experience can't be of some benefit, whether it's on the floor or inside the locker room.
33:48 When guys were lobbying for Blake Griffin, one of the things that, you know, was really
33:54 important when Blake was here was the relationship he built up with Peyton Pritchard.
33:59 That-- those two talked a lot.
34:01 And Peyton has credited, you know, Blake for helping him get through a very tough stretch
34:07 there where he wasn't playing and he wasn't-- you know, he just wasn't in a place that a
34:13 young guy wants to be.
34:14 And then his contract was coming up.
34:15 And so he had a lot of things going on.
34:17 And Blake was that voice of reason that kind of helped him navigate through that.
34:21 Isaiah Thomas can be that for some of these guys on his team.
34:24 He could be that guy for Peyton.
34:25 Or he could be that guy, you know, when Tatum is trying to understand, like, look, I'm
34:30 getting 27-5 and 5 and folks act like I'm garbage.
34:33 Isaiah can help him understand that's part of the process because Isaiah has literally
34:38 been in those shoes before.
34:40 And so to me, it makes a lot of sense if you were to add in.
34:44 But again, if you're looking for what's the best thing from a pure talent standpoint for
34:49 your team, I-- if it were me, if I were Brad, I would convert Tatum's contract to a guaranteed
34:55 one because that's a guy that I see potentially helping us not only in the playoffs this year,
35:01 but going forward.
35:02 You know, he's-- basically, he's a longer, I think, a little-- slightly more athletic
35:07 version, less offensively skilled version of Cornette.
35:10 And Tillman is kind of, you know, that kind of undersized in-between guy.
35:16 He can defend bigs, but he's going to be undersized.
35:20 And there are going to be nights where, you know, when he's playing against, you know,
35:23 a Joel Embiid, for example, he can hang with him for a little bit.
35:26 But at some point, Joel is just going to be a look, I'm 7'1" and you're like, maybe 6'8".
35:30 I just got to get the ball to block and just shoot right over you.
35:32 Or I just got to stand on a three-point line and just bang, bang, bang away.
35:37 Because you're not going to block my shot.
35:38 You're too little.
35:39 Too little.
35:41 So that was for you, Gary.
35:44 -Amazing.
35:44 -You said bang, bang, bang.
35:46 -Bang, bang, bang.
35:47 -Oh, God, here you go.
35:49 -Here he goes again.
35:51 -You know, you're Craig's daddy now.
35:54 Anyway.
35:54 -I hate Gary.
35:56 I hate Gary so much.
35:58 -Looking ahead, the Celtics are back at home on Thursday.
36:02 They'll be playing Phoenix.
36:03 Chris Absporzing is his outlet, a right-string, hamstring, sprain.
36:07 After that, they play Washington in Washington and in Detroit on Monday.
36:12 Does anything stand out to you looking ahead to next week?
36:14 Milwaukee is next Wednesday, which I think will obviously be, hopefully, an exciting matchup.
36:20 But anything stand out before we wrap up?
36:23 -They got a couple of cream puffs in between some really meaty teams.
36:27 -Cream puffs, so don't take them lightly.
36:31 -And the thing that the Celtics do, though, they have done this consistently.
36:35 They have not allowed bad teams to just look like world beaters.
36:39 They've had a couple of exceptions, couple exceptions.
36:41 But for the most part, they've handled their business.
36:43 I mean, in Portland, that was a business trip.
36:46 Portland never-- watching that game,
36:49 I never felt Portland was going to win that game,
36:51 even though there were moments where, you know,
36:53 Scoot Henderson did a couple nice things.
36:55 You know, your boy Reefer, you know, he did a couple nice things.
36:59 And, you know, Simons is good.
37:02 Simons is really-- he's going to be a really good player.
37:04 But it never manifested itself collectively to where you felt like,
37:08 "Oh, wow, Portland might win this game."
37:09 It was more like, "Oh, wow, Portland might keep this game closer than we thought."
37:13 -Yeah.
37:13 -So, no, I just-- this is a stretch for the Celtics again.
37:18 I just think that they're going to go about handling their business,
37:21 make sure all the core guys stay healthy,
37:24 and just, you know, get a chance to evaluate some of those guys in that Stay Ready crew
37:27 to see if-- do we need to make any adjustments from the--
37:30 in case of emergency, Stay Ready crew.
37:33 That's, to me, that's the O'Shea preset.
37:35 There's two-- there's two levels.
37:37 It's almost like-- like international soccer teams,
37:41 where you've got different levels.
37:42 -Oh, yeah.
37:43 -Stay Ready is like Luke, is like Sam, is like Peyton.
37:48 In case of emergency, you need to Stay Ready.
37:50 That's right below that.
37:51 You've got O'Shea, you've got my man Tillman,
37:54 who's probably at the head of that-- that-- that food chain.
37:56 And the Celtics, I think the next couple weeks,
37:59 just need to figure out, do we need to make any changes?
38:02 Do we need to move someone up, someone down?
38:04 Do we just, you know, keep it as is?
38:06 This is an opportunity these next couple of weeks,
38:08 I think, for them to really take a closer look at guys like Tillman,
38:11 guys like O'Shea, you know, Luke,
38:13 and those guys to see what they can do.
38:15 But like the Peyton and Sam houses, they ain't going nowhere.
38:18 Those guys are going to play in a plus.
38:20 They may not play as many minutes as they're used to,
38:21 but they are definitely going to be playing.
38:23 -Great analogy.
38:26 Well, until then, Gary--
38:28 -What's going on, Gary?
38:29 Was that one OK with you, Gary?
38:31 -Yeah, Gary.
38:31 -You do too, Gary.
38:33 Was that OK?
38:33 -That-- none of that, no-- no, bang, bang, bang.
38:37 Oh, John Willis Moon.
38:40 Anyway, yeah.
38:44 I think the Phoenix game tomorrow will be a tough one.
38:48 The first game back from a road trip at home is always the toughest game.
38:52 Phoenix has had two days off in Boston.
38:54 They haven't played since Monday,
38:56 so they're going to be well-rested.
38:58 I think they get-- obviously, they're getting--
38:59 Devin Booker will be in that game.
39:01 He wasn't in the first matchup last weekend.
39:04 So I think that's going to be a game for the Celtics.
39:06 It'll be probably one of the harder games
39:08 in the last few weeks for the Celtics
39:10 because Phoenix feels like,
39:11 "Hey, we could have won it.
39:12 We could have won the last matchup.
39:14 Now we got Devin Booker.
39:15 We got some days off.
39:17 The Celts coming off that road trip.
39:19 No Porzingis in that game.
39:21 The hamstring now, I think, is his fourth straight game.
39:24 He both missed, so we'll see how that goes in terms of his health.
39:28 We were told that it doesn't seem to be a long-term injury.
39:32 So-- but obviously, they're giving him plenty of rest.
39:36 And then, obviously, Detroit and Washington are back-to-back.
39:39 You know, teams-- games you got to win.
39:42 You can't let down--
39:44 And their magic number to clinch the East is eight.
39:48 And that's not-- that means they can do that--
39:52 if they do what they're supposed to do,
39:54 they can do that maybe in a week or so.
39:57 That they can clinch, you know, in March, the Eastern Conference.
40:02 - That's crazy.
40:03 - You know, if they do, you know, Milwaukee
40:07 or whoever's in second place at all.
40:09 I think Milwaukee is kind of alternating--
40:11 - It's March left.
40:12 - But if the Celtics take care of their business,
40:16 Milwaukee or Cleveland loses, you know,
40:20 a couple of games here and there,
40:22 they can lock that in with two to three weeks almost left in the season.
40:26 So take care of your business if you're the Celtics.
40:30 Focus on Detroit and Washington.
40:32 Don't take them lightly.
40:33 Don't be that team that loses to the Pistons.
40:39 - Sherrod's-- you know, Sherrod's--
40:41 - Man, I mean, it's to the point where, man,
40:45 you got my man Troy Weaver getting into it with fans.
40:47 - Yeah, that's bad.
40:48 - And Troy, my guy, I love Troy.
40:50 Troy Weaver, that's-- that's fam.
40:53 It's rough in Detroit.
40:56 I mean, the streets of Detroit are rough.
40:57 - It's cold out there to be--
40:59 - The basketball streets of Detroit are pretty damn rough right now too.
41:02 - Right.
41:03 - The basketball streets are pretty rough too, man, so.
41:06 - It's cold out there in the D.
41:09 - It is, man.
41:11 - Man.
41:11 - Man.
41:12 - Man.
41:13 - Sending them all the love that they can possibly get.
41:16 - They're my people, man.
41:18 - Well--
41:18 - Damn, my people struggling.
41:19 - Look, you gotta go help your people out, Sherrod.
41:23 But until next week, this has been the Big Three NBA Podcast.
41:27 For H.R. Blakely and Gary Washburn, I'm Quanie Lewis.
41:31 Thank you for listening and we'll be back.
41:33 (upbeat music)