Who could surprise the Celtics in the East? | Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast
On this episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman Podcast, Bob Ryan and Gary Tanguay discuss the outlook of the East this upcoming season, and break down who they think could give the Celtics some trouble. That, and much more!
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00:00It's time for Bob Ryan Gary Taggart podcast here on CLN News Media, brought to you by
00:23PrizePix, the exclusive Daily Fantasy partner of the CLN News Media Network.
00:27Pick more, pick less with PrizePix.
00:29Bob, any, as we bake for the beginning of the season, we know who the favorites are.
00:38Any surprises?
00:39Who is going to come out and make a name for themselves?
00:43Well, I don't know.
00:44I have to give this some thought.
00:45I really haven't.
00:46I don't have anyone really jumping out at me because I just see some teams that you
00:50know are on the verge of doing something, you know, like OKC and of course in our division.
00:59I keep coming back to the Knicks.
01:00They're not surprising.
01:01There's expectation now.
01:02There hasn't been expectation in a long time.
01:06You know, Minnesota is lurking out there again, I think.
01:09Does Houston get better?
01:11Houston, they do get better.
01:12Yes.
01:13Do they get better?
01:15Yeah, they rise to legitimate competitiveness at the end last year.
01:21And I think that that will continue for them.
01:24Absolutely.
01:25I think that's a good thing.
01:27Yeah.
01:28But I really don't have any, you know.
01:32I think Houston won.
01:33Like, when I look at it because of the coach, we know the coach.
01:37And we know Webinyama and how he played well last year.
01:43And, you know, I don't know if they, you know, I don't know if they hang around the
01:49eighth spot or the ninth spot or the tenth spot, but I think you're going to see an improvement.
01:54I just think, and it's unfortunate with what happened here in Boston, as we all know, but
01:58I just think the coach is damn good.
02:00And I think he's very good with players.
02:01And I think that they're going to turn some heads.
02:04He proved that last year.
02:06If anybody needed to be reminded that he can coach.
02:09You know, and so that, you know, Emeigh is a damn good coach.
02:13Damn good coach.
02:14Yeah.
02:15They were, you know, they made a good choice to start with.
02:18Yeah.
02:19I, I'm trying to, you know, that's a good choice.
02:21That's a real good choice.
02:22I got one for you, Bob.
02:24Sure.
02:25Yes.
02:26And I never thought of it until the Olympics.
02:31If they can stay healthy, meaning the brow, the Lakers may improve.
02:37Yes.
02:39I think Davis could stay healthy.
02:40I'm not going to win it.
02:41They're not going to win the division.
02:42I don't know if they'll even be in the top four, but if that guy stays healthy, there
02:49may be a bit of a renaissance.
02:51Bingo.
02:52You're right.
02:53And what they've done, they've tried to address the shooting situation and not Hachimura is,
03:00I think it could have a very good year for them.
03:02And I know they added another shooter and, but you're totally right.
03:06What Anthony Davis did was remind the world how good he is.
03:10And he had kind of fallen off the radar because of this inactivity, you know, and the LeBron
03:18phenomenon continues, you know, if he even loses 10%, he's still very good.
03:23Yeah.
03:24I mean, look, we've all seen, no matter how much we point to the individual star player,
03:29we've all seen the supporting cast is very important.
03:31Even if you want to go back to Michael and the Bulls, we all know that story, that all
03:35those guys were very important to him, winning a title, LeBron.
03:38No one can do it alone.
03:39We think they can, but they can't.
03:42We think they can, but they can't.
03:44So when you really look into it, I'm rooting for the Lakers because I think it's better
03:48TV when the Lakers are better.
03:50I want the Lakers to be good.
03:52Do I hate, I mean, hate the Lakers, whatever, but I want them to be in the mix.
03:55You know, I don't want it to just be Dallas and Denver.
03:58I want the Lakers to be in the mix when LeBron and LeBron come to Boston.
04:03I want the Knicks and the Lakers to mean something.
04:05I want the Celtics and the Lakers to mean something.
04:07That's what I want.
04:08Right.
04:09And I've been saying for years, it's very important in all sports, in NBA in particular,
04:14for the Knicks to be good, to give people a target.
04:18It's both ways, you know, but when the Knicks are there, you got a built-in villain because
04:25they were in New York.
04:26I have been saying the two teams I'm happy are better are Philly and New York because
04:33of our nature, our ancient rivalry with Philly, which now will be gone, how many decades,
04:38you know, it wasn't viable in the 50s because they weren't good together at the same time,
04:44but it got to be good the moment that Wilt showed up in 59, 69, 60.
04:48And they finally had a series against each other in 62.
04:51And that was the start of, you know, 60, almost 60 years of rivalry, which is kind of dormant.
04:57Well, that's kind of come about.
05:00I tell you what, the two things that I most remember about the building, the old garden
05:05buzz, was the Knicks in the early 70s, the buzz for those games and the fun of those
05:11games.
05:13And the idea, of course, one of the dynamics was the Celtics weren't yet to the point where
05:16they were selling out all the time.
05:18This was the beginning of the Cowens era.
05:21And on those Sunday afternoon games in New York, the crowd was about one third, one quarter
05:26or one third New York, college kids.
05:30All those BU kids, Northeastern kids, BC kids that were from New York.
05:33And so it was like a college game.
05:35You know, it was great atmosphere.
05:37Then we had the great atmosphere in the early 80s with the Dr. J, Daryl Dawkins, Andrew
05:44Tony, Mo Cheeks, Bobby Jones, that group.
05:47And we had that nice run right through in 85.
05:51And those were special games too.
05:53And we have some very special moments for those games.
05:56So I'm welcoming back the Philadelphia robbery.
05:59And you're totally right about L.A.
06:01These two teams, you know, histories are intertwined now ever since 1962 with that first series,
06:06which was the Selby game, RIP Frank.
06:10And yeah, it's great.
06:12I think it's good for the league.
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07:40And let's face it, Bob, I mean, look, OK, so the Celtics in Dallas, awesome.
07:45You know, I mean, I just want to, you know, I want to see LeBron again.
07:52I want LeBron.
07:53I want LeBron.
07:54I wish I could see LeBron more.
07:55I mean, listen, with all due respect to what we've seen from Denver and Dallas and their
08:00players in the European, that's fine.
08:04But it is not as entertaining as LeBron James in the final two minutes of a game that matters.
08:09It's just not.
08:10You're right.
08:11And LeBron is, and this year, you might have stuck on the calendar.
08:16You don't know if it's this last year.
08:17He'll play.
08:18He'll be coy about that, of course.
08:20But it could be.
08:22And so if you haven't taken the kid or the grandkid or the nephew or the grandnephew
08:28or grandniece to the game, you better circle the calendar and get your ticket because you
08:34don't know.
08:35And you want to be able to say, do you saw LeBron James?
08:40He's one of the all-time greats.
08:42So yeah, absolutely.
08:44So there's a lot.
08:45It's Houston and the Lakers for me.
08:47It's like old and new, old and new.
08:50That's who I'm kind of talking about.
08:52The great thing about the Knicks is the Knicks are legit now.
08:56I mean, the Knicks, before we've said, OK, they had a little engine.
08:59They could.
09:00You love Tibbs.
09:01You love the story, you know, the guys that they brought in.
09:04But now people expect them to contend.
09:07Oh, they do.
09:08I mean, I'm a faithful reader of the New York Papers and the Post particularly, and I've
09:12been keeping on top of it.
09:13And the anticipation is very, very high.
09:17One other little aspect, I don't know that it'll materialize.
09:20I'm just throwing it out there.
09:21So if it does, we can point out to our questions and pointing this out back in August 30th.
09:26And that is, it's really people who really believe in Tyler Kolek that he can play right
09:33away.
09:34And now that would, you know, I don't know, I mean, if we give him if if he can, if something
09:40happens to Brunson temporarily, they may have a legitimate point guard that to back him
09:45up.
09:47But keep your eye on this.
09:48There's a hype.
09:49There's a growing hype on Tyler Kolek, Kolek, Rhode Island's own, by the way, another one.
09:56And so that's all brought it out there.
09:58I mean, I've seen him and I saw him at Big East Tournament a couple of times.
10:03Oh, he's good.
10:04But still not a big fuss when they drafted him.
10:06Nobody was paying attention outside of New York.
10:08But I'm telling you, now that people have seen him out down there, they're hyping him.
10:14Now, they got a deep roster right now.
10:16I think there is deep, legitimately on paper, second only to the Celtics.
10:21Right, right, right.
10:22It's a deep record.
10:23They got a lot.
10:24And one of the questions is, where's Randall going to fit in this year compared to, I mean,
10:30I'm just saying.
10:31Oh, yeah, I know.
10:32It's an issue that they created.
10:33Look, we in the media, that's what we do for a living.
10:36That's what we do.
10:37Where are they going to play?
10:38So we can talk about them.
10:39And in New York, they're creating an issue.
10:41I'm telling you about where Randall, who, you know, was idle since January when they
10:45were 12 and 2 with him in the lineup after they acquired Ananobi.
10:49With the two of them in the lineup, they were 12 and 2 until Randall got hurt.
10:52And now they've added Mikkel Bridges and he can play.
10:56They got some players.
10:57I'm going to tell you, they got some players.
11:00And we know they have a coach and apparently they swear they want to play for this guy.
11:04So for Tommy Tibbs.
11:06So, yeah, you know what?
11:07There's a lot to look forward to.
11:08A lot of new stuff.
11:09I mean, there's a lot.
11:10There's new and old.
11:11New and old.
11:12And one other thing.
11:14I was confronted this morning at my breakfast, my morning coffee, no, by an acquaintance,
11:20a nice guy, a very, very good sports guy.
11:23And he was pointing out now his thesis was that the Celtics this year had the easiest
11:32road in the history of the NBA Finals to get there because of all the teams that were missing
11:37players.
11:38Right.
11:39Right.
11:40Easiest.
11:41I said, well, I haven't done the research.
11:42OK.
11:43And I want to just say this.
11:45I see.
11:46I know that that's going to be thrown in their face, which is a good thing because it's a
11:50possible motivational thing, tool that Joe can and can use.
11:54Joe Missoula with these guys.
11:55Hey, you know what they're saying?
11:56They're saying you guys didn't really earn it.
11:58And I said, but let's have one thing, a reminder of people.
12:04They had a very important player, missed 37 days and they kept winning regardless.
12:09Right.
12:10Yeah.
12:11OK.
12:12I want to remind you.
12:13And I want to say this.
12:15History has taught us that the playoffs, it's who's healthy that matters more than anything,
12:22including home.
12:23I'll give you seven road games if you're a best player, you know, if you're playing their
12:28best player is hurt and you're playing seven road games, you know, you're probably better
12:32off.
12:33Anyway.
12:34I go back to 1968 and how it come back three to one, the first team ever in the NBA history
12:39of those days.
12:40I mean, I was only 22 years old then, OK, that came back from three to one with 68 Celtics
12:46against the 76ers.
12:47He's conference finals.
12:48Well, all good.
12:49All well and good.
12:50And it was very noble.
12:52And, you know, my room system by Billy Cunningham didn't play.
12:55He was hurt.
12:56Right.
12:57All right.
12:58And he was very important to the 76ers.
13:01So who's to say about three to one?
13:03They only got.
13:04Anyway.
13:05Well, have a check.
13:06I got hurt in 73.
13:07I'm going to get there.
13:09And then in sixty nine.
13:11They talk about, well, the big three, you know, when they beat the big three, you know,
13:15because they will Russell Baylor and West.
13:17Well, Baylor was by that point limping around and B.
13:21Wilt had missed a great portion of the season because he was hurt.
13:25He wasn't 100 percent.
13:26He wasn't 100 percent because he was never 100 percent mentally against Russell.
13:29But he wasn't.
13:30He wasn't 100 percent.
13:31And in that series, which goes down to the last, you know, sec, 10 seconds.
13:36So.
13:37OK.
13:38So the Celtics have been a beneficiary of that before.
13:41So I'm saying even in the Howard Russell days, you know, I've had the chance to see the Patriots
13:46win the big game five times.
13:48There's nothing like it.
13:50There's nothing like being there live.
13:51Right.
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15:07Here's the one thing, Bob.
15:09This is the one thing that scares the hell out of me next year because I think the Celtics
15:13as a team, I think they can beat Philly and I know Philly's improved.
15:17I understand.
15:18I think they have more talent than the Knicks, though the Knicks will be a, if they face
15:22the Knicks, it'll be a knock down, drag out series.
15:27Miami still scares the bejesus out of me.
15:30Freaking Jimmy Butler is like, haunts me.
15:33He haunts me and he didn't play last year, but like Jimmy Butler haunts me because he's
15:39one of those guys that we've seen it.
15:43No, he's a he's a ballsy guy.
15:45We know that he's and he's cocky, but he backs it up.
15:48He walks the walk.
15:49He talks.
15:50No, no question.
15:51Yeah.
15:52I respect them.
15:53And of course, they got a Hall of Fame bound coach and they know they they're so they're
15:58all the scares the bejesus out of me.
16:00I think they can handle Philly.
16:02I think they can handle the Knicks.
16:03I mean, by no, I look who knows, like you mentioned the health, but I mean, if the Celtics
16:07play to their capability, there's still what we see, but the Miami thing scares the hell
16:13out of me.
16:14It's just I'm just that's just well, it's going to be, I think, a season of great interest
16:20worthwhile.
16:22Because, you know, when you've seen this, because you've covered all these teams, you
16:25know, as you have talked about a number of times, you know, Larry, Kevin and Max or Walton,
16:31whoever was, you know, they not they love having a target on their back.
16:35Oh, God.
16:36Yeah.
16:37They loved it.
16:38They love road games.
16:39They like that.
16:40Let's see what happens with this crew.
16:41Yeah, no.
16:42Well, you know, the different I see Jason Tatum gave a lengthy interview out the other
16:45day.
16:46Right now, you know, talking about how he really did feel about the Olympics thing and
16:51everything.
16:52And, you know, and the whole progress was interesting.
16:54We're seeking out.
16:55Yeah, I know.
16:56But those guys have their personalities, you know, you're all who you are.
17:00And we know there's no doubt Brown's going to be smart.
17:03Brown will be fine.
17:04Brown's their guy.
17:05And and and Holiday and White are just professionals.
17:09You know, they're they're professional.
17:11And they'll be fine.
17:12And I think Porzingis, you know, he's he's going to be.
17:15He's going to be healthy.
17:16They have to manage.
17:17I'm not.
17:18We still have we, quote unquote, still have the best roster.
17:21And we've got to go.
17:23But I think.
17:24But you know something?
17:25I just think it's what I I look upon them and I think that for the first quarter of
17:32the first half of the season, I think the Celtics, their knees may buckle a little bit.
17:37That's all because it's the first time I think they'll be fine.
17:41But I think, you know, some teams are going to come after them like never before.
17:44And I think they're going to have to take a few punches.
17:46That's right.
17:47And Porzingis won't be there to start.
17:49We don't think.
17:50Right.
17:51You know, we'll see what's left in the tank, you know.
17:53But I still point out I don't even feel that worried about that because Luke Luke Cornett
17:59is not a stiff.
18:00He said it'd be fine.
18:01In the end, they'll be fine.
18:02I think they'll be fine.
18:05So we'll see.
18:06We'll see what happens.
18:07The first time like Bird could take a point.
18:09We just know, you know, we talk about all these players being nice guys.
18:13I mean, Larry wasn't always a nice guy.
18:16One of my favorite Larry moments, he doesn't get talked about enough, was 85 at Cleveland.
18:20And he was hurt in the first game and out there.
18:24And the crowd is going, we want Bird.
18:26We want Bird.
18:27And Larry goes, yeah, they're going to get Bird and they're going to get him in both
18:31barrels.
18:32And he went out and got 34.
18:33You know, that's the guy.
18:36That was classic.
18:37It was classic Bird.
18:38I mean, it was, you know, like I cross sports.
18:42I don't know how it was.
18:43You mentioned that there was a fraternity amongst players, but in the airport, but like
18:46on the floor, like Bob Gibson, remember Bob Gibson?
18:50I don't know.
18:51I'm not friends with anybody.
18:52You know, now it's a different story.
18:54He wouldn't be a friend of his own catcher if he told him, get out of here.
18:57Get back there.
18:58You wouldn't meet up with McCarver or whomever.
19:00Oh, yeah.
19:01What do you want?
19:02Yeah, Gibson was not friends with anybody at all.
19:05Gibson wouldn't be drinking with the opposition in the airport.
19:09Bob Gibson, a freshman basketball player at Creighton, coached by Bill Fitch.
19:13There you go.
19:14That's why Bob Bryant's here.
19:15Bob, tell us the story about how the time you were traveling with the Celtics and you
19:18jumped off a connection.
19:20Speaks.
19:21OK.
19:22The Celtics are embarking.
19:23And I know this one.
19:24This is the seventy five, seventy six season.
19:27And yeah, all right.
19:31And they're going on a embark on a West Coast trip that was going to start.
19:38I think it was all Phoenix.
19:39I think.
19:40OK, so we have to we're not going direct.
19:44Right.
19:45And we're getting off the plane.
19:46And I think they're going to ask French.
19:48I discovered that the Knicks are playing the Bulls that night.
19:53Our next.
19:54Yeah.
19:55That night we're on an afternoon flight and the Knicks are playing the Bulls that night
19:58in the Chicago Stadium.
20:00And they're not playing the next game until the next day.
20:05And so I asked Frank Challet, the trainer, to get my bag off the off the train, off the
20:11plane, take my bag to the airport, to the hotel.
20:14And I'm going to go into and I go.
20:16I know the Knicks are staying, I think, at the airport.
20:18They're staying.
20:19I knew where they're staying.
20:20I go and I because I'm kind of a quaint ship, decent quaint ship with with Red Holtzman
20:25and definitely with the trainer, Mike Saunders.
20:28And I go and present myself and say, hey, you guys are going.
20:31Can I come ride with you guys into town to play the Bulls?
20:34Sure.
20:35Sure.
20:36So I go into the Chicago Stadium with the Knicks, watch the game, which I think they
20:40lost, and ride back and have a drink at the end with Red Holtzman.
20:44And the next day, get on the plane and rejoin the Celtics in Phoenix.
20:50I don't think any other writer today is going to be able to do a thing like that.
20:53Yeah, it's not going to happen.
20:54That's the world.
20:55No, because he'd be tweeting about it.
20:57He'd be tweeting about it the whole time.
20:59Oh, yeah, you're right.
21:01He'd be like, take a picture.
21:02He'd be taking selfies.
21:03Hey, Clyde Frazier, take a selfie.
21:05And while I'm here, I have to sell one Red Holtzman quote.
21:10And once he said, people talk about how even my equal, you know, casual going he was, how
21:16he even keeled he was.
21:18And he said, if we win, I get a steak and a scotch.
21:22If we lose, I get a steak and a scotch.
21:24There you go.
21:26Red Holtzman.
21:27Were Red, was that Red and our Red friends?
21:31No, they weren't.
21:33I don't know if they were ready to put up the dukes, but they were not friends.
21:37So, yeah.
21:38And both New Yorkers, I'm not sure Holtzman's borough, but I know Red's from Brooklyn.
21:42We know that.
21:43I'm not sure.
21:44But no, the two Reds were not buddy, buddy.
21:48But Red was friendly, very much so with Holtzman's boss at the time, Eddie Donovan.
21:54Oh, OK.
21:56Yeah.
21:57They were, they used to go scouting together sometimes.
21:59They were, Red was friendly with him, but not with Holtzman.
22:03And Holtzman was a little more mellow than Red Auerbach?
22:06Yeah, to say the least.
22:10Although with Red, it was the same thing, but it was a different reason.
22:15Win or lose, Red's going to, for Chinese.
22:18Oh yeah, so it doesn't matter.
22:20So that's that.
22:21Yeah, there you go.
22:22Bob, always a pleasure.
22:23This has been my friend, Bob Ryan, Gary Tanguy, brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive
22:26daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network.
22:28Pick more, pick less with PrizePix.
22:30Bob, I'll talk to you next week.
22:32We'll also be joined by Jeff Goodman, folks, so be on the lookout.