The Boston Celtics let their fans down with a mediocre effort against the Miami Heat in Game 2 of their first round series, the level of urgency reminiscent of a mid-December tilt of little consequence.
Attacking the Celtics with a relentless assault from deep on one end, and denying the use of Kristaps Porzingis as a 'safety valve' on the other, Boston has given Miami life by not understanding the gravity of the moment yet again. But rather than dwell (too much) on the loss, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast convened postgame to talk through what Boston can do better in Game 3.
From specific adjustments to the overall approach to the game, we shared our thoughts on what we want to see from the Celtics in the first home game for the Heat of the series.
The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
Attacking the Celtics with a relentless assault from deep on one end, and denying the use of Kristaps Porzingis as a 'safety valve' on the other, Boston has given Miami life by not understanding the gravity of the moment yet again. But rather than dwell (too much) on the loss, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast convened postgame to talk through what Boston can do better in Game 3.
From specific adjustments to the overall approach to the game, we shared our thoughts on what we want to see from the Celtics in the first home game for the Heat of the series.
The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
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SportsTranscript
00:00 [Music]
00:09 Alrighty, welcome to the Celtics Love Podcast brought to you by PrizePix,
00:12 the exclusive fantasy basketball partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:15 If you enjoyed this podcast, check out the How 'Bout Them Celtics podcast,
00:17 the First to the Floor podcast, and the many other New England sports podcasts
00:20 available on the CLNS Media Network. I'm your host Cameron Tepspi,
00:24 I'm joined by Alex Goldberg and Dr. Justin Quinn,
00:27 and we're recording, I don't know, like a half an hour
00:30 after Boston dropped game two to the Miami Heat, 111-101
00:34 at home. Fellas, we got a series and what we would like to do today is talk
00:39 about what happens next. So, um, Alex, I know that you're
00:44 not happy with how the Celtics played. Justin, I know you're disappointed with
00:47 how the Celtics played, so let's chew the fat about game two
00:50 very quickly and then identify what Boston needs to do to
00:53 win game three and beyond. Justin, you're disappointed. Tell us.
00:58 Yeah, so I do believe on a prior episode I made a point of saying I
01:05 don't want to see a certain type of old habits,
01:09 iso ball, lack of defensive focus, defensive lapses, etc., etc. We don't need
01:14 to rehash all that good stuff. Everyone
01:17 literally knows what I'm talking about. Or the series will be longer than it
01:22 needs to be because they will lose a game if they
01:24 do that and they did that. Yeah, they got punked. Alex, you're angry
01:29 or sad. I guess I don't know. Um, I mean, I think what it comes down
01:34 to is this. I have a lot of takes that I can fire off
01:36 about this loss, including some pretty inept performances
01:40 by some big acquisitions from the offseason who were much ballyhooed and
01:44 failed quite significantly some incredibly poor choices by our
01:49 supposed two-star players who were supposed to carry them to a win
01:53 and Blewett, our much improved head coach who failed to make adjustments.
01:58 I am happy to go into all of that but instead I am simply
02:01 going to say this. Celtics did not play with the urgency or physicality of a
02:07 team that is going to be sniffing a finals appearance,
02:10 much less a title win. It was a pathetic loss.
02:15 If they don't win this series in five, I would fully expect them to have another
02:19 disappointing postseason exit. Uh, it's there's there's not a whole lot
02:24 more to say. It was about as stupid a loss as possible and
02:28 the one thing I'm going to just throw out there because I've been seeing this
02:31 take flying around a lot. Um, we cannot just chalk this loss up to
02:36 bad shooting variants. Celtics did not play with any sort of
02:39 urgency or force on the defensive end. They jogged around thinking that they
02:44 could just walk into a win against a team that was better coached,
02:47 better prepared, and executed better. They were punished for it and now we
02:52 have a series that really should not be a series.
02:55 So, feeling good, feeling great, happy to be here.
02:59 Yeah, but Alex, you're referring to as Miami had 23 three-pointers which is a
03:03 franchise best and fourth best in NBA postseason history.
03:07 Um, last time we talked I said that I don't have the same like
03:12 fear or anger towards Miami that I guess other people do.
03:16 And let me say this really clearly like I have financial stake
03:19 in Celtics doing well. Like my professional life is materially worse
03:24 if Boston loses. Like with respect to Celtics fans like I might have more on
03:28 the line than that person here. That being said, um, I want to take a
03:32 different tack. This is a master class from Miami.
03:34 This is an unbelievable great game from Miami.
03:37 Um, early on they were hitting open threes. Boston's defense was pretty poor
03:42 but in the second quarter anyways Boston was much more physical and they were
03:45 still hitting threes. I want to give credit to Bam Adebayo. Um,
03:48 that's a huge shift in this series I don't think we anticipated. No one can
03:51 guard him on the Celtics. And I think part of why Boston was so
03:55 open was because Bam was creating so much gravity on the
03:59 defensive end. I mean, Horford had a few stops, Porzingis did not.
04:04 I'm really interested in how good Bam can be for this heat team.
04:08 I don't know if Tyler Hero is going to grab whatever he had 14 rebounds again
04:11 but um that was a brilliant really great execution from what I
04:16 think was a daring uh game design from Miami.
04:21 So I don't disagree either. The way that they
04:24 disrupted uh the so-called safety valve of Chris Stoppes.
04:28 Uh, I mean yeah sure we can point to the lack of urgency is not really like
04:35 effort is kind of that word I'm looking for but just
04:40 the easiest way to say it is what the heat
04:43 did to the Celtics once again capitalized on
04:47 their really only glaring weakness which is
04:51 if you get them out of the rhythm if you make them play grimy
04:54 physical ball they forget everything that got them where they are and
05:00 they're we're going to talk about adjustments shortly but I mean like
05:04 that's just something they have to figure out. We can't tell them how to do
05:08 it. There is no magical way to do it. There is no
05:11 schema. It's an effort and focus thing and
05:15 they need to play like they need to come down from 20.
05:18 The whole damn game right because this level of effort like it's being
05:24 generated by what Miami's doing we need to give them credit
05:27 but on the other side of it it's an eminently solvable problem for them.
05:32 I just want to jump in here really quick to say
05:35 Eric Spolstra is an excellent coach. Miami is a team full of guys who try
05:40 really hard and execute basketball at a high level. We
05:43 knew that heading into this series. Everybody knew that heading into the
05:48 series except for apparently the Boston Celtics
05:50 who thought they could just jog into this with talent
05:53 overwhelming and win and that is not a sign of a mature team that is ready to
05:59 win a title. I'm sorry it's just not like sure give all the credit to Eric
06:04 Spolstra give all the credit to Miami in the world.
06:07 They played well. They deserve to win but Boston is the more talented team.
06:12 They should have won this game if they give even slightly better than maybe a
06:16 40 percent level of effort they do win this game.
06:20 This is a pathetic loss. They need to get it together or else this series is going
06:24 to drag out and they are not going to make the finals.
06:28 Wow the Celtics have eight blocks and nine steals. I mean
06:31 I agree like it is reductive to say it was the shooting.
06:36 Like to riff on Bill Clinton it's the shooting stupid
06:40 but first of all it is one of the strongest predictive stats we have in
06:43 modern basketball and secondly Boston really did play
06:47 Miami statistically even on the glass turnovers. They got to the
06:52 free throw line more although they missed a number of kind of important
06:55 free throws. Boston did not shoot well from three. I
06:58 think that's important. They were 12 from 32.
07:00 So interesting parody in game one Boston sets a franchise record with
07:04 22 three-pointers and then in game two Miami sets a franchise record with
07:09 23 three-pointers. So yeah Alex you're right. It is too
07:16 simple to say like oh it's the three-pointers but
07:19 it also like the data is really loud that maybe it is the three-pointers
07:23 but we can talk about like how Boston avoids that. So
07:28 let's set the table and I'm at home with COVID so
07:32 my thoughts just like trail off it's because my brain doesn't work.
07:36 So let's try this. The next game is Saturday
07:39 in Miami and then the game after that would be Monday in Miami and then
07:46 game five would be back in Boston on Wednesday. Dr. Quinn
07:49 does that sound right? I think so.
07:53 I have thoughts. Sure. So let's you could be as laser focused on this
07:59 game three or just like for the series real large go.
08:02 I mean this is going to apply but they have to do this every game
08:06 right so it's going to apply for future games beyond game three
08:09 but if I can't remember exactly what it was near the end of the season which
08:14 game it was but they gamified the end of the season an end of season
08:18 game to give it meaning right and it seems to be yeah and they
08:23 need to do this evidently to motivate themselves
08:28 against this team which once again we are dealing with the same stuff right so
08:33 if they can't find it in just a normal mental approach to the
08:37 game they need to figure out an approach mentally to the game that
08:41 will give them the requisite level of energy they need to be bringing to
08:46 defense the level of focus they need the level of physicality
08:49 they need like it was there in this game but it was not consistent
08:53 and it was easily broken up anytime the Celtics started
08:56 getting a rhythm it was easy to break them up so
09:00 they need to utterly avoid iso play I do not want to see
09:04 any goddamn Kobe fadeaways in the next game I don't want to see any
09:08 they should not even be at the end of the game needing a Kobe fadeaway because
09:12 they should be up by 20. That's really the sum of it.
09:17 Even on those iso plays like they're frustrating in the postseason but this
09:21 was also kind of like there is an element that it just
09:24 wasn't their night like in short order Porzingis caught
09:28 Caleb Martin alone in the post shot over him which has
09:31 been like an absolute aces shot the season didn't fall later on the
09:35 fast break Tatum caught Duncan Robinson put him in the post
09:38 we've been praising Tatum for doing that couldn't get the shot to fall so
09:41 I totally agree I not for a second agitated for more
09:45 Celtics iso but there were elements where like they got the isos that you
09:48 would have wanted them to get and they yeah I agree
09:52 but let's let's also not pretend that what the Heat is doing
09:56 or we're doing wasn't affecting their level of confidence and the fluidity of
10:01 their play they need to find a way to just power
10:04 through that if they need to slap each other
10:06 in in the the the dressing room before they come out
10:10 so they all get really pissed do it I don't know what they need to do
10:14 to maintain the focus but if they don't this is not the last time we're going to
10:19 see this and it's going to end the way it has ended
10:22 in the past all right let's pause the action talk
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11:14 I have a suggestion how about they figure out whether they're going to be
11:19 switching on screens or sticking on screens
11:22 yeah something that for whatever reason they can't seem to get right against
11:27 this Miami team and it has resulted in now Miami Heat
11:31 shooting in their last five in in four of their
11:35 last five games against the Boston Celtics Miami
11:38 Heat have shot franchise records from the three-point
11:43 line Joe Mazzullo we've heard a lot about you
11:46 being a vaunted defensive coach and about the Celtics ironclad defensive
11:49 system pumping out great numbers every year defending a three
11:52 every year where was it oh you were so responsible for
11:55 this big run in 2022 behind the seeds implementing this roving switching
12:00 defense that was so effective at running people
12:03 off the three-point line why is it that it continuously falters
12:07 against this Miami team that's the thing that stood out to me so
12:11 Bam Etta Bio is the best illegal screener in the game and I mean that as
12:15 a compliment yeah he's dragging his feet he's
12:17 spreading his arms super wide he's getting in people's faces he's
12:21 getting in the way and he's knocking dudes down the Celtics
12:24 response to that cannot be throwing up your hands and
12:29 begging the refs to call it because they're not
12:32 going to they've never called it they will never call it
12:35 that's not going to happen what they could do is figure out whether
12:39 they're going to switch which would make reasonable
12:42 amount of sense and force Miami to actually drive the ball and score at the
12:46 rim something they haven't had to do all series or they could stick with
12:51 screens using two of the best screen
12:53 navigators in the NBA supposedly in Derek White and Drew Holiday or
12:58 trying to blow up those screens and go under them something like that
13:01 really anything other than what they're currently doing
13:04 which is getting smushed and throwing up their hands begging for illegal screen
13:08 calls again that is not going to happen
13:12 so the same thing keeps happening against this Miami team
13:18 they get open for threes because they drag the Celtics around on defense and
13:22 Bam sets a million illegal screens a game and
13:25 dares the refs to call it they're not going to
13:28 Boston needs to adjust and get that right and if they don't get that right
13:33 this series is going to drag out to seven games somebody is going to get
13:36 hurt and they are going to lose in the
13:38 conference finals
13:41 okay um the whole run into this podcast
13:45 I was in our dm saying like we need to podcast well like we need to think about
13:50 seo we need to think about like the fan experience over the next few days
13:53 and now i'm going to explain an instagram post that Jimmy Butler did
13:57 um Alex and Justin and YouTube I don't know if you can see my screen it's Jimmy
14:01 Butler photoshopped his face on Jalen Brown
14:04 uh using the quote from last year don't let us get one
14:08 um the heat so there is an element here where like for
14:13 years we've been wondering if you know the Celtics are
14:16 either too young or too soft or something something something
14:20 and maybe it's a tired beat but like when you look at the heat it's just it's
14:23 so clear you could it's not just punch them in
14:26 the jaw like punch them in their face a hunch a hundred times and they don't
14:29 care they get up they kind of like it um same with bam like you could call him
14:34 for five consecutive illegal screens he's gonna set a sixth right another one
14:38 um not even blink there is something unbelievably rock steady about this team
14:43 that last game they played zone this game
14:45 they played man and with light switching they stuck with it
14:48 um Boston went on a run Tatum scored 12 in the first quarter Jalen Brown scored
14:52 13 the final three minutes of the second quarter
14:55 Miami doesn't blink I don't want to do the like radio guy
14:59 or Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum soft but like if they get pushed they don't push
15:04 back in the same way and that is really the
15:08 the the thing that is driving me the craziest about that because
15:12 they don't need to be out there like Kurt Rambo sing uh
15:15 the opponent but they do need to make them feel them on
15:19 the defensive end particularly when they're getting hit like this on the
15:22 other end and they're not one of the things that
15:26 let me put on my teacher hat here um well I think teachers are meant to
15:32 develop potential not identify and it's Joe Mazzulla's job
15:35 I mean how many great uh post I mean um sports documentaries are there where
15:40 it's like and then in the postseason they like hit a new gear and they like
15:43 learned this about themselves and they came together just friends or like
15:46 something like that like there isn't like the Celtics did
15:50 need to get better in order to if they're gonna go win a
15:53 title right like they couldn't just moonwalk their way
15:55 to Denver and then beat Denver like they're the postseason is long it is a
16:00 second season in and of itself they need to get better throughout this
16:03 postseason so it's the worst case scenario of a
16:07 learning opportunity for the Celtics but it also like if you want to put on a
16:14 silver lining here like what a safe opportunity for the Celtics
16:18 it's game two of the first round no hear me out
16:22 for the you for the people listening and not watching on youtube Alex and Justin
16:26 did not like that take let me put it this way
16:29 Alex you identified this is a worst case scenario right
16:33 Joe didn't do it the Jays descended into J Madness the
16:37 other stars weren't there etc etc a worst case scenario the second game of
16:42 the playoffs when you need 16 wins feels a lot better
16:45 than like if this happened game two of the conference finals you
16:48 know what I mean like if the Celtics just steamrolled
16:50 their way and then suddenly they got punked by the Knicks in the conference
16:53 finals like there is a silver lining where it's like
16:56 actually you do kind of need to get pushed around a little bit
17:02 counterpoint they should know these goddamn lessons at this point they have
17:05 been to the conference finals how many times now
17:07 they should know these lessons the fact that they haven't learned these lessons
17:11 is deeply concerning and I'm looking forward to game three
17:14 where they make me eat crow in game four when they make me eat crow and then game
17:18 five when they make me eat crow and then I will feel better again the reality is
17:23 that they haven't earned it they act like they have but they haven't
17:27 and uh they need to prove that they are actually
17:31 worthy of what they think they are as a team
17:34 I mean as Walt said how do you teach that though right like
17:38 you don't no you crucible do it you crucible
17:42 and until they earn it we have no reason to believe that they
17:46 will do it we just don't it doesn't matter whether they've won
17:50 64 games in the regular season as you said none of us
17:54 the playoffs are a new season in and of itself
17:58 and Boston with Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum and this core
18:01 and you know these players at at no point
18:05 has it proven that it is worthy of being a title team
18:08 during this run the last time they proved that they were worthy of being a
18:11 title team they had Kevin Garnett on the team we
18:14 we can't have faith in this team until they show us
18:17 yeah I have absolutely no argument against that was basically where I was
18:21 going I'm not there yet I mean like I
18:25 fundamentally understand that but I believe that the like the
18:31 tenor and the fabric of the team is different enough
18:35 that like Justin to your point you're like not mad you're just disappointed
18:38 like everyone expected one of these games but
18:41 I don't know like there was enough evidence in the regular
18:45 season to suggest that they had turned a corner but not like fully like the
18:50 warts of the past were still there so like last podcast I was the one
18:54 saying I think Miami is going to get one I think Miami is going to get one
18:57 so I'm fundamentally not surprised but I also I don't think it's an indictment
19:01 of the Celtics it's not the loss it's the way they lost
19:04 right but I completely agree and to be clear
19:08 I thought Miami was going to get one as well
19:11 it's it's the way that yeah I mean 40 points in the second half is pretty tough
19:16 I just 23 for 43 from 3 is a miracle like that's never going to
19:21 happen again like maybe in our lifetime like that
19:23 might be the best three-point shooting performance we've ever seen
19:26 and it's the food we not see a historic three-point shooting percentage from the
19:32 Miami Heat in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals
19:36 they got that tells me that tells me it's not just them being hot
19:43 I mean yeah there's a stat it's something like Miami has shot over 50
19:47 percent from three four times it's the Celtics in the past
19:50 two postseasons um yeah that feels friggin preposterous I
19:54 don't understand that one but I guess I don't know that's
19:59 also like not statistically significant data
20:01 like that could still be a crazy fluke doesn't matter
20:04 doesn't matter if it's statistically significant if you're uh down to one if
20:08 you're down three one yeah there's there's not 200 games in
20:11 your postseason yeah unfortunately definitely or
20:14 actually no very fortunately I just mean like like I think game seven
20:19 last year felt fluky this could be fluky too and like just
20:22 because it's the same teams they're not necessarily like
20:25 causal yeah yeah science says yes but uh sports fan brain says fuck that
20:33 this is okay we're in yeah we can swear now
20:36 this is the last podcast we're supposed to think about science
20:40 yeah yeah well science science uh science is nice and science is great but
20:46 even the best players will say that science is a way to
20:49 measure what you do and it's what they do that matters and what has been
20:53 happening when they do it is the same outcome so even if it's
20:58 not statistically significant in terms of what actually matters at the end of
21:01 the day is they aren't getting the wins
21:03 against a team that seems to do the same thing over and over and over and over
21:06 again and like we probably aren't going to get
21:09 anywhere productive uh discussing what they can do because
21:13 it's a nebulous thing right at least we didn't swear yet until just
21:18 now you did you did okay well um I I'm gonna push back on that let's pick
21:22 let's each pick one specific thing that they could do and I have one um I'm
21:26 borrowing this from the celts of the round table the other
21:30 youtube series that sometimes I do um I'd like to see more Xavier Tilleman
21:36 he's fast he's physical he could foul um well you guys shouldn't be cheering you
21:40 should be thinking if you're a specific thing that he can do
21:42 um I just I said this before I'm fearful
21:46 that Al Horford had 23 minutes again tonight so that's
21:50 an average of 24 minutes a game it's just a lot to front load
21:53 the postseason um Tillman gives you a little more versatility I think I
22:00 don't know if it solves the bam problem I
22:02 I think sincerely that's a huge problem for the Celtics and
22:05 I think it's a huge problem because if Spoh is as smart as we fear him to be
22:09 he'll go away from it the next game uh lull the Celtics into
22:13 the state of calm and then like bring it back when it matters more
22:16 um but regardless I think Tillman can play I mean he was a contributor for
22:20 a real Grizzlies team in the postseason he's not like a nice
22:24 story he's like a bona fide postseason player in the NBA yeah
22:27 he's got skills he's got skills he's also got zero minutes played
22:30 this postseason so far and I don't really understand that so
22:34 that's my specific adjustment I'd like to see
22:37 I like it you got one I got one yeah I got one um it's a pretty pretty
22:44 no-brainer adjustment but uh how about we fucking cut
22:49 how about we do any cutting at all on the offensive end
22:53 Tatum cut great yeah Tatum cut and place you got a layup
23:00 um I watch in this game Christophs Porzingis uh go down to the
23:07 low post and beg for the ball about 13 times
23:11 and he got shoved he got pushed he turned the ball over
23:14 I watched Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown go down in the post and take stupid
23:18 contested fadeaways I watched a bunch of dumb pull-up
23:22 threes early in the shot clock uh you know what I didn't watch was any
23:27 off ball movement at all at least on the Celtics end on
23:31 Miami's end I watched quite a bit of off ball movement and lo and behold
23:35 they got a ton of open threes that they made and it worked
23:39 so how about for the best offense in NBA history
23:44 we get any fucking cutting at all please corollary genius adjustment
23:51 my not so genius adjustment is a perfect corollary to that which is
23:56 actually something that was thought up of a man named Tommy Heinsohn
24:00 many many years ago and you probably know where I'm going with this after
24:03 watching the pace of the game fucking run yeah that was so annoying
24:08 because the well so that's the thing is like
24:11 Miami was the second slowest team in the league
24:13 and a top five defense like all they want you to do is play
24:16 half-court defense and so many times Boston got a game breaker just like
24:21 pushing the pace and there were a few like kind of fluky
24:23 weird plays but yeah I don't understand why Boston wouldn't
24:28 I mean I guess that's just into your specific adjustment like put the ball
24:32 in Drew Holliday and Dark White's hands more
24:34 like unless the Jays are actually pushing the pace I would really like to
24:37 see the ball handlers you know handle the ball I think that that was a big
24:40 problem that they aren't good at it the Jays they
24:42 should stop now I think they're good at being a
24:46 quarterback or a midfielder for a fast burp uh fast once it's across the
24:51 court yes but they should not they just get
24:53 they're so I hate saying they're so slow getting into directions because we've
24:56 been saying it for how long now yeah no I mean Boston
25:01 smoked Miami um what is it 46 to 26 points in the paint like they were
25:06 getting to the cup with so much ease at the beginning of
25:08 the game and that yeah they just they really sat
25:12 back and that's curious like I don't know if
25:15 it's Missoula's job I don't know if it's Al Horford's job I don't know if
25:17 it's Sam Cassell's job but we had this question last year I don't
25:20 know if it's Marcus Smart's job like it it doesn't seem like it's in
25:26 the Jays collective toolkit to calm things down or to like reset the
25:31 tenor or the vibe and I don't know whose job it is but
25:34 like it doesn't seem like they can do it and I don't think
25:36 I think Missoula we learned last year was shocked that his guys wouldn't
25:40 figure things out on the fly and he came to training camp being like
25:43 yeah I kind of like gave him a little too much runway there I should have
25:48 interjected a little more and you know Joe I'm sure I'm not at the
25:52 game right now I'm sure he's given postgame comments like oh what a great
25:55 battle what a great like experience and I know I was kind of
25:58 saying as such but it's not my job to like literally pause the game and
26:03 change how things are happening okay let's settle a bet
26:09 in game three does Miami play more zone or more man
26:14 yes I'll go right down the line even split
26:19 roughly even split I thought tonight it was like almost all man
26:22 is that square yeah mostly I saw some zone from them but not very much
26:26 a little bit of switching here and there yeah
26:31 here's one thing like like what I'm curious about is like maybe Boston like
26:35 has fundamentally beaten the Miami zone but like supposedly by way of Chris
26:39 Tapps Porzingis in which case they'd never go back to it but I think
26:42 they haven't yeah there's such chess masters down there in Miami that
26:47 now they're gonna go to like a new type of zone
26:50 it's so fascinating I again like the Celtics
26:54 really flushed the mouse I thought this was like such a stellar performance from
26:59 Miami I mean Caleb Martin I'm sorry this is gonna piss a lot of people off
27:05 what a performance from him he was getting the Kyrie Irving
27:08 treatment people were booing him left and right that dude was
27:12 that dude was stellar he was hitting threes he was cut into the basket he
27:16 played great defense he made me very angry and that means he
27:19 was doing good and you know who else is a stud Hamey
27:22 Hawkins Jr. love that kid he can play I mean he didn't have a very
27:26 efficient game but he's not fearful of the moment I'll tell
27:28 you that much they don't have a a counter punch to slow
27:32 bam down yet they need one because they tried to
27:37 shut Tyler down the whole damn game and that wasn't the game plan
27:42 it didn't not only did they try to shut Tyler down they failed
27:46 to do that yeah like let's be clear they they tried to do what oh
27:51 here are 14 assists sorry sorry sorry to cut you off but before I give
27:55 bad news he had 14 assists not 14 rebounds yeah they tried to shut Tyler
28:00 here down but that didn't work because nothing
28:02 just Jason Tatum did yep but nothing that Celtics did worked on
28:05 defense because they were lazy and pathetic
28:08 I mean it was a real it looked a lot like game one
28:12 it just with the jerseys reversed one team
28:15 shot the ball really well and passed the ball really well and one team
28:19 was too slow on defense or unbothered on defense to make a difference
28:23 they thought that they thought that they could just keep it close and win that
28:27 game late in the fourth quarter well that's not how that works in
28:29 playoffs I guess I guess I have a more and forgive me because I know I was
28:35 saying let's look to game three not only talk about game two but I actually
28:39 disagree Alex because in the first quarter Tatum put like
28:44 forced the issue in the second quarter Jason Jalen Brown like
28:47 fundamentally got Boston a lead at halftime I actually think that they
28:52 they looked like a team that understood like oh we can't
28:54 let this moment slip by we need to like change the register of what we're doing
28:59 squirrel yeah but then in the third quarter I mean
29:03 they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn
29:05 and then the fourth quarter the fourth quarter looks like three years ago's
29:08 team like the last year the Brad Stevens era
29:10 were like no one knew what was happening or cared to know what was happening
29:13 you know what would be good um for taking matters seriously and really
29:18 forcing the issue and making sure to keep you know the urgency of the moment
29:22 and not losing that momentum how about not benching Jason Tatum when
29:27 he's on an absolute heater five minutes into the game I get
29:30 sticking to your rotations I get trying to you know manage people's
29:35 minutes blah blah blah I get that if the dude has 10 points in
29:41 four minutes let him cook let him throw the knockout blow
29:46 before this even becomes a problem Joe Mazzuola
29:49 I have defended you all year I think you have largely done a very good job
29:54 with this team and I really have like I am the biggest Joe Mazzuola defender out
29:58 there I consistently been that for about two years read the fucking
30:03 moment
30:05 all right um any other thoughts on what to look for in game three or game four
30:11 oh when oh when oh when just when yeah apparently easier said than done
30:18 um oh yeah that is the problem elsewhere in the NBA um I don't know
30:24 pick your favorite series that you've got your eye on and we'll talk about it
30:27 um I'll set the example um
30:32 I I think that Pacers thing is legit um I think they got the lights were too
30:37 bright in game one but like unless Giannis comes back it's
30:42 not gonna happen like I just think the Pacers are too good and Halliburton
30:46 hasn't really even found his footing um so I really a big believer in these
30:51 Indiana Pacers I think that they're about to
30:54 send the Bucks home in a pretty sad way um which is spectacular and also like it
31:00 goes without saying it um like if you're a fan shut the fuck up
31:04 and don't use a racial slur like how stupid are you
31:08 um bigoted idiot but anyways um Pascal Siakam I'm sure a lot of people
31:13 owe him an apology that's fascinating I'm really interested in that series
31:16 okay um Alex Justin what's the series you're looking at then we'll get out of
31:19 here uh Minnesota Phoenix um I've been a big
31:23 believer in this Minnesota team all year I think
31:26 that they are really good a lot of people thought that they would be
31:29 too young for the playoffs or that this would be a bad matchup for
31:32 them they look terrific they look like they are pound for pound
31:36 one of the best teams in the league I think they can give Denver a real
31:40 fight in round two and Denver will be in round two let's be clear
31:44 um they've looked excellent Rudy Gobert uh listen I owe you an apology
31:52 I wasn't familiar with your game this is the best Rudy Gobert season I've ever
31:55 seen he's looked terrific um defensively he's been astonishing
32:00 uh and his offense has really developed he's developed into a very nice passer
32:04 and a very nice cutter um Anthony Edwards please stop taking
32:08 that many pull-up threes because you are the most physically
32:11 overwhelming athlete in the NBA you should just attack the rim every
32:15 possession shout out to Mike Conley uh friend of the
32:18 pod he's been terrific um he's you know really settled down uh
32:23 this Minnesota team when they've needed it uh
32:26 they have KD we have Jalen McDaniels he's been awesome
32:30 Kale Alexander Walker newly minted six man of the year Matt
32:33 Nods Reed this Timberwolves team is extremely for real
32:37 I think they have a very very good shot to give Denver
32:41 their hardest series of the postseason dig it
32:46 so let me leave us with a little bit of perspective it's not
32:51 going to be much comfort but maybe it'll be a tiny bit
32:55 the Celtics and the Nuggets are the two teams we
32:58 all pretty much expect to see in the finals one way or another that might not
33:02 happen based on things we have seen but
33:06 there's another series going on right now which the Denver Nuggets are in
33:10 and if not for a friendly whistle the shot going in when it didn't
33:18 the Denver Nuggets might also be in a 1-1 series they were
33:23 as close once again as you can be against a team that's probably on par or
33:30 about the same as the Heat and the outcome was different right so
33:36 there's not tons of comfort there but a team as good as the Denver Nuggets
33:41 can find themselves in a postseason series as challenged by
33:45 a team roughly as talented as the Celtics find
33:48 themselves now so for everything that we just said the
33:52 playoffs are really freaking hard to win in
33:56 so let's just hope that they take that seriously moving forward
34:00 yeah I mean that Jamal Murray shot was beautiful that was so cool
34:05 uh yeah I can dig that okay well that's
34:09 shout out to Jamal Murray that's a great place for the Celtics Live podcast to
34:12 end this episode of the Celtics Live podcast
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34:17 the CLNS Media Network if you enjoyed this podcast check out
34:20 the How About The Celtics podcast the first of the four podcasts and the many
34:23 other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media Network
34:27 Justin what percentage of listeners make it to like the 95%
34:32 mark?
34:34 You know I have absolutely no idea but for this particular episode
34:39 I'm pretty sure most of our listeners have dropped off and I don't blame you
34:43 What I was going to say maybe I'll do this at the beginning of next episode was
34:47 we're gonna have an irregular schedule because we're gonna try to
34:51 podcast more often during the postseason so make sure that you are
34:55 subscribed and liking and downloading so you never miss an episode because it's
35:00 not we're coming at you and you don't want
35:03 to miss an episode so I like the Celtics defense anyway
35:07 just one game right right I don't know um well how about this uh if the Celtics
35:13 lose we probably emergency podcast Saturday night if they
35:16 win we can podcast on Sunday we'll see on Tuesday or whenever yeah
35:20 I'm not going to be able to podcast Saturday night I'm just telling you that
35:23 now is that when you're in New Hampshire
35:26 uh that's next weekend but I have other stuff
35:29 okay well uh Alex plays bass for a band called Divine Sweater check it out
35:34 until then uh good luck with with it's it's ugly out there on NBA
35:40 Twitter right now so good luck go have a beer
35:43 get off social media you'll be all right Riley is killing me slowly
35:47 all right adios y'all peace out
35:51 ciao