A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani Lunis recap the opening game of the Celtics' 2024-25 season, and exactly what makes them so much better than the Knicks. They also preview tonight's game against the Washington Wizards, and discuss the state of potential contenders around the rest of the league.
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SportsTranscript
00:00The big three NBA podcast is powered by prize picks and the game time app.
00:25Hello everyone.
00:26Welcome into this episode of the big three NBA podcast, the NBA season officially in
00:31full swing.
00:32The Celtics already undefeated for on the season.
00:35I love saying that when they get one win, but let's start with the Gary Sherrod.
00:40How are you doing?
00:41Let's, let's start with that.
00:42How are you?
00:43I'm good.
00:44How are you doing?
00:45I'm good.
00:46How are you doing?
00:47I'm good.
00:48Everything's good.
00:49Okay, good.
00:50We should keep moving.
00:51I know.
00:52He's like, well, I got time for the, the court.
00:59How are you?
01:00I'm good.
01:01How are you doing?
01:02Well, thank you for asking me about this weather.
01:05We could talk about this weather cause it was hot outside, but that's another story
01:09for another day.
01:10You know what I mean?
01:11Gary wasn't here.
01:12Gary is on the road.
01:13Today.
01:14I got some of it.
01:15I'm in DC now, but I flew out today, so I got, I got some of the hot weather, a little
01:21bit of it.
01:22Let's talk about the weather.
01:24Boom.
01:25Check.
01:26All right.
01:27Let's talk about the Celtics.
01:28Obviously they get the win over the Knicks.
01:29We'll get into that game in just a second, but the ceremony legends coming out, Ray Allen,
01:36notably being there with KG and Paul Pierce.
01:38I thought that was a nice little reunion to see the three of them together.
01:42But what did you two make of just the festivities beforehand?
01:46And then we can get into the actual game.
01:48You know what?
01:49They, um, a lot of times when you see these, these ring ceremonies and everything, it's,
01:55it feels as though, Oh, it is, it is a celebration.
01:57There's no doubt about that.
01:58But in Boston, it feels like it's more of a tradition because when you start looking
02:03at the people that they bring out who have contributed to that franchise's existence,
02:08you know, when you see, you know, Koozie rolled out there, you see, you know, Cedric, the,
02:13you, the former big three with Paul Ray and Kevin.
02:17And when you see other teams win championships, you don't, you don't see that connection historically.
02:22Uh, it's like we're celebrating a team that just won a chip and that's great.
02:25And that's it.
02:26You're not really, you're not getting much more than that.
02:29So I like when the Celtics, you know, are going through something like this because
02:32it reminds you of just how historically relevant that franchise, that team is, that organization
02:38is.
02:39And it kind of gives you a better sense why guys have a tendency to be a little bit emotional
02:45in that moment because they realize it.
02:47I think in those moments, it finally hits them that you are part of an exclusive club
02:52that very few people can not only win a championship or be part of a championship team, but be
02:58part of a championship family because that's kind of what it is with the Celtics.
03:05Yeah, I thought it was great.
03:06I think, you know, for them to bring Koozie out and Koozie, uh, he's 96.
03:12Okay.
03:13And Larry Bird was 96, but he can't be there.
03:17Oops.
03:18I'm sorry.
03:19I didn't mean to do that.
03:20Yeah.
03:21I mean, you know, Bird's still affiliated with the Pacers.
03:23I don't know if, you know, I don't, I give Bird his respect.
03:27He is starting to show up to more things.
03:29He was at the Hall of Fame.
03:31Uh, you know, he started to show up, I, you know, like, I don't know, I've never interviewed
03:40Larry Bird or found out, but I think it's an affiliation with, and he's been a private
03:46guy, but I think he's starting to come out to more events.
03:49Hopefully before he gets too old, you know, bring him to Boston and he'll get all the
03:53love he wants and sees how much people still adore him.
03:58But going back to Koozie, he's 96 years old.
04:00He lives in Worcester.
04:02He's still sharp as a tack.
04:05Okay.
04:06I don't, you know, I'm sure like, I don't think he's bound to a wheelchair.
04:09I just think probably just for him to be able to mobility purposes, you know, but he
04:15is still sharp as a tack.
04:17He talked to our Dan Shaughnessy, uh, who's really been close to him over the years.
04:22So I think that was awesome.
04:23Uh, we, you know, we couldn't get out, uh, Tom Sanders, he wasn't, his wife, uh, had
04:28an accident.
04:29Uh, I think she's okay, but he had to be with his wife, but he's still around.
04:33He's 85, you know, I would have, it would have been cool for them to get someone from
04:38the seventies teams like Dave Cowens, you know, I'm sure they tried, like, I'm not down
04:42to this faulting to Celtics.
04:44Some of these guys don't want to travel like they used to.
04:46That's how Bill Russell's widow was there as well.
04:49Yeah.
04:50Cause they did the bridge, uh, ceremony, uh, that morning.
04:54Uh, so I just thought it was awesome and it was awesome to see Ray, Paul and Kevin back
05:01wearing their gear and, and, and just, uh, you know, and Max representing the teams from
05:06the eighties.
05:07You know, like, could they have gotten McHale?
05:08Could they have gotten Byrd?
05:09Of course, it would have been cool to get someone cause I think they kind of be like,
05:13all right, Max, you know, you know what you gotta do to represent the eighties and as
05:18much as we love Max and Max is a great representative of the eighties.
05:23I think that's a little easy.
05:24Oh, you know, I love Max, but you know, could they get more people?
05:28But I just think the fact that they got people to celebrate and then the rings itself, the
05:34warm, the nice warmup suits, they wore the, obviously they won't wear those again.
05:38I don't know if they will, but maybe they will.
05:42But I just thought it was an all together awesome night.
05:45Uh, you know, and just the tradition, like you said, Sherrod, you learn to appreciate
05:51the tradition of this franchise.
05:52People ask me about coming here and born and raised in Los Angeles and you just see the
05:58other side, you see the tradition that, uh, the Celtics have, and that's what you have
06:05to respond.
06:06Okay.
06:07If you don't like to sell the love, so you have to respect that tradition and what they
06:10do or whatever, you know, meanwhile, like in LA, they're celebrating Bron and Bronny.
06:15The Celtics are celebrating real, you know, championships, you know what I'm saying?
06:19Uh, we're not, you know, they're not celebrating Bron and Bronny with the Griffies or whatever.
06:24And as much as, um, you know, that will be in the, in the show today, that's a cool moment.
06:32Let's be real honest.
06:33Like, you know, Bronny is not Ken Griffey Jr.
06:36Let's just make that clear anyway.
06:38So I thought it was a tremendous night in Boston and obviously for them to come back
06:43out with all the distractions and play like they played was just incredible as a testament
06:49to their preparation.
06:50And if you want to find out more about the history,
06:52Hey, unpaid spokespeople.
06:58Look at that.
06:59Look at that.
07:00Look at that.
07:01Boom.
07:02Look at that.
07:03Look at that.
07:04Look at that.
07:05I got, I'd have to walk you home.
07:06I appreciate y'all.
07:07You got your back.
07:08You want to know what Cousy exactly did to get those championships?
07:09You want to know about those games?
07:10You want to know about the 70s titles, the 80s?
07:11Boston Celtics sealed straight time with it.
07:12Perfect.
07:13Go out and get it at your local bookstore, Amazon, Target.
07:26I do appreciate you bringing up the Bill Russell bridge, just so that our listeners, if they
07:31do not know this happened on Monday, the Charlestown bridge was officially renamed the William
07:37Felton Bill Russell bridge, which is the bridge that connects the North end and Charlestown
07:42area.
07:43If you, if you are familiar with the Boston area, the greater Boston area.
07:46So it was obviously very timely right before the ring ceremony and the banner ceremony,
07:51but also just another acknowledgement of the work that he's done in the city.
07:56And I appreciate what Jalen said, the quote, he's getting really good at this public speaking
08:00thing, but saying how it would be fitting that Bill Russell, Bill Russell get a bridge
08:05because of the way that he bridged the gap society wise in Boston, but obviously greater
08:11in the United States in general.
08:12So that was a nice tribute to him.
08:14It was Quanie, it really was.
08:17And I, I just love to see that and hear about that, particularly with players like Jalen
08:22being involved in it.
08:23But for me, it's a little bittersweet because when you look at the things that Bill Russell
08:28did, when you look at the legacy that he established, why the hell are we doing this in 2024?
08:35That's real actually.
08:36Yeah.
08:37But when you really start to look at the impact that he has made from on a societal standpoint
08:41on the Celtics as an organization, on the city of Boston, and it feels like the last
08:47decade is when we decided that we want to start giving Bill his flowers and it's like.
08:51And he could have smelled them too.
08:53That's the interesting part.
08:54Luckily he was still around and alive for the statue.
08:57Luckily.
08:58Yeah, yeah, true.
08:59Luckily for that.
09:00Yeah.
09:01But there's a part of me that's, I obviously like what we're seeing, but it's a bittersweet
09:05moment for me because when I think about all that he's done and that it took this damn
09:11long for folks to give this man the proper respect that he has earned decades before
09:16now, it's, you just ask yourself why, why did it take so long for that to happen?
09:22And I mean, you know, you, you got, and again, no, no shade on, on, on this athlete, but
09:27Asia Wilson, she got a statue and she's still in the damn league.
09:30That's true.
09:31That's interesting.
09:32Yeah.
09:33It's no shade on Asia because Asia is a hell of a baller and she deserves it.
09:37Yeah.
09:38Nothing against Asia.
09:39She's great.
09:40She absolutely deserves the praise and props that she gets.
09:43But to me it's frustrating.
09:44She doesn't even have a statue at USF.
09:47You know what I'm saying?
09:49I went to campus a few years ago and like he won two national championships for the
09:53university of San Francisco and Bill Russell does not have a statue at the university of
09:58San Francisco.
09:59And you would have thought that.
10:01Unless he got some beef with it, even if he got beef with the campus or the university
10:05for some, you still give him a statue and Casey Jones, to be honest with you, both of
10:11them went and played at USF, won championships at the universe.
10:15Just think the university of San Francisco, right?
10:17We ain't talking about Duke, we ain't talking about Carroll, let's say I got going.
10:23I walked on campus.
10:24It was a few years ago when Kyrie was still south as I was like, they ain't got nothing
10:28here for Bill Russell.
10:30They ain't got no statue, no 200 foot statue.
10:36He makes this university.
10:38He's the most distinguished athlete ever in the university's history by far and it's like,
10:44I don't get it.
10:45But Sherrod wrote about this at the hall of fame is like, I don't know why we are just
10:53so late on these things like you said, Sherrod.
10:56I went to the hall of fame and they honored Dick Barnett, great New York Knicks player
11:02of the 60s and 70s.
11:04He retired in 1974.
11:08He started playing in 1960.
11:10He's 88 years old and they let him induct him to the hall.
11:14He's in a wheelchair.
11:15He could barely like, why are we, did his stats get better?
11:20Did Russell's accomplishments get better over the last five years?
11:23Why are you waiting until these dudes, like Walter Davis, and I'm sorry, I'm mad about
11:29this.
11:30Walter Davis died at 69 and a few years later, he gets in the hall, did his stats get better
11:36from the grave?
11:37Like, what are we doing?
11:39His family was there, but it's like, how come you don't let these people in?
11:45You know, even if baseball ever decides to let Pete Rose in, it's too late, he gone.
11:51He begged to get into the hall of fame and all that.
11:53I thought he should have been in the hall of fame, but no, no, no, we don't want to
11:58do that.
11:59But I'm just talking about like, when you give stuff people when they're dead, it's
12:03great.
12:04It sounds great, but it makes us feel better.
12:06It'll make them feel better.
12:07It doesn't do anything for them.
12:09I'm sure it's great for Bill's family, his wife, his children.
12:13I'm sure it's great for them to celebrate their father, but it makes it more bittersweet
12:17because they get emotional.
12:19And I'm going to say something else too.
12:21Someone pointed, the great Peter Vestey pointed this out to me, Casey Jones is not in the
12:25hall of fame as a coach.
12:27He took, he took the bullets, which is now the Wizards for you young folks, the bullets
12:35of the NBA finals in 1975.
12:37The first black coach to oppose another black coach in Adels, 1975 finals with the Warriors
12:43and the Bullets.
12:44He won two more chips with the Celtics and had two more appearances with the Celts.
12:53So five title appearances for Casey Jones, two chips, and he's not in the hall of fame
12:59as a coach.
13:00He's in the hall of fame as a player, as a coach.
13:02Tommy's in the hall of fame as a coach.
13:04Bill Russell got in the hall of fame as a coach, why isn't Casey Jones in the hall of
13:08fame as a coach?
13:09I know he's passed, he passed, uh, like in 2000 and, and I just don't understand.
13:15Like you said, Sherrod, like we got to wise up here, people, we're losing people every
13:20day.
13:21We lost my man and I'm going off on tangents.
13:24We lost my man Fernando Valenzuela yesterday and for anybody, I mean, and I, I literally
13:29teared up.
13:30They showed highlights of his no hitter that basically his last great game was a Dodger
13:35up because I was a, I was a kid in that LA and Fernando Valenzuela hit LA like a ton
13:43of bricks.
13:44Him and this, I mean, you talk about the eighties, him and magic at the same time in LA, just
13:49in Fernando, I mean, just his, the sensation bringing the, the, the, he was the first Mexican
13:57athlete or Latino athlete that LA really truly loved because the Mexican community loved
14:03them.
14:04But we loved him because he was pitching for our Dodgers and we lost him.
14:06He was like, you just see all these people who are passing away and why don't we honor
14:11them when they're alive?
14:12They don't get, their stats don't get better.
14:16And when they're 68, they just like, like did he, did Walter Davis do something in the
14:20last year?
14:21He could to the hall of fame.
14:22Like it's bittersweet.
14:24His daughters are there, but he was alive last year.
14:27How come he didn't get in five years ago?
14:29So I'm sorry to go off on this tangent.
14:31I am just tired.
14:32You know, I just, and I said, Sherrod makes a great point.
14:35I am tired of these, like, Oh, we're going to give them a bridge and an airport and all
14:39that.
14:40They've been dead 20 years.
14:41Like, what did they do?
14:42They were here.
14:43They could have appreciated it when they were here.
14:45And some of these people, you know, someone like a Kobe Bryant, if he dies suddenly, I
14:49get to understand that like, you can't do anything about sudden death, the tragedy.
14:54But Bill Russell was 88 years old.
14:56You know what I'm saying?
14:57They couldn't end his bridge after him five years ago.
15:01You know, he died in 2022 and I love the Boston is giving their flowers, you know, Bobby or
15:08some of the greats.
15:09All these people got to the statues and did a red hour back terminal and our backs like
15:14that's great.
15:15But let's take into account how old these people are.
15:18It was hard to watch Dick Barnett in a wheelchair, get his hall of fame trophy.
15:23He couldn't speak.
15:24He had to speak on a video message.
15:25Like it was hard to watch that.
15:27And the day that's the hall of fame's for him at 88 years old.
15:31So he wasn't qualified at 75 when he was probably much more able to get around and appreciate
15:37it.
15:38How we go appreciate it in a wheelchair?
15:40You can't speak at 88 years old.
15:42This is terrible.
15:43Like, so you got me all upset.
15:45No, it's your fault, Juwani.
15:49I actually appreciate that perspective, Casey Jones.
15:52So for alert for the, you know, the Casey Jones is not in the hall as a coach, two championships.
15:58Everybody's oh, Doc Rivers is going to the hall.
16:01Doc Rivers has one championship.
16:03I mean, all these people, they're in, they're in like Casey ain't in as a coach.
16:10So you're right, you know, as much as I love the appreciation for Bill Russell, I wish
16:16he had been here.
16:17You know, it was good to see him get things over the last 10 years.
16:20The statue, you know, and it was, I mean, I remember seeing Johnny Mathis there, like
16:26for you young people at the ceremony, it was 10 years ago to see Johnny and he stood alive.
16:32Like I had to tell my mom about that.
16:34Like my mom saw Johnny Mathis, I saw Bill Withers was there.
16:37I mean, look him up if you don't know who Bill Withers is.
16:40I mean, I took a picture with Bill Withers.
16:43Like that was, I mean, I was in awe, like complete awe to see Johnny Mathis and Bill
16:47Withers in the same place.
16:49Legend, legend, legend.
16:50So, you know, let's move on.
16:52I'm sorry.
16:53No, there's no apology needed.
16:54I think that rant was worthy of being had.
16:58And I, I imagine our listeners and viewers, a lot of people agree with you both as well.
17:03So thanks for bringing up that point.
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18:46Let's get into the actual game because if you didn't see the ceremony, you can probably
18:51watch it online, but let's get into the game.
18:54Was slated to be a little more competitive than it ended up being and as Gary had said,
19:00one of the things that he wanted to see from the Celtics was to focus on the game itself.
19:05The ceremony is nice.
19:07You have acknowledged that you were the champion.
19:10Now you have to do it again and I appreciated something that Tatum said right at the end
19:14of his speech.
19:15He said, let's do it again and the game that they played showed that he is hungry to do
19:20it again.
19:21What was your biggest takeaway from Tatum's performance in game one?
19:25What you got Gary?
19:27I mean the three ball looking fluid, looking wet, as Martin said, it's looking like the
19:34bomb.
19:35It's looking like the bomb.
19:37If you watch Martin, sorry.
19:40It looked comfortable.
19:41He hit eight of them.
19:43Someone said he had hit ten all through the NBA Finals.
19:47He hit eight of them last night.
19:50His comfort, he seems to have confidence in his new shot and added ten assists, got to
19:57the rack.
19:58I mean it was funny.
20:00It was like the Knicks got Mikkel Bridges and O.G.
20:05Ananobi to guard him.
20:07He was just like, who, who, y'all, what?
20:10He like waited for people to guard him.
20:12Yeah, like this chump, you think this chump won't, I mean he went in on them.
20:17O.G.
20:18Ananobi had one basket, made no impact in the game and Mikkel Bridges missed a bunch
20:23of shots then made some in the second half when the Knicks down 30.
20:27So you know, Knicks, oh, well he's getting his shot back.
20:29That's good, good, good indication.
20:32Like that was, that was, the Knicks should have been completely embarrassed, humiliated
20:37by that.
20:38The Celtics spent the whole last nine minutes trying to get that 30th three.
20:43That was embarrassing for the Knicks and I expected better.
20:46I expected better from Towns.
20:47I expected better.
20:48Brunson was good, but Brunson got beat up a lot.
20:51He took a lot of hard fouls.
20:53He was, for Tibbs' sake, I'm glad he took Brunson out the last nine minutes and didn't
21:00try to run him into the ground because it's only the opener, you'll have another game.
21:04But I thought Tatum was just tremendous.
21:06The whole team was tremendous, but just Tatum to get that swag back for that three point
21:10shot because he's got to, I mean, you watch him early in his career, he shot 43% from
21:14the three as a rookie.
21:15He got a jumper, but he was doing too much mechanical stuff, working, bringing it down
21:21to his waist and doing the slow and he just, he had to work on that.
21:26And that just shows the kind of player he is that at year eight, he is still reshaping
21:30and reforming his game.
21:32So look out for a big year from Jason Tatum, 37 points, 10 boards, sorry, 10 assists last
21:38night, almost a triple double.
21:40I was completely impressed.
21:42Gary, I tried to tell you all last week that they was going to smash New York.
21:47People thought I was crazy when I said they might win by 50.
21:49I was wrong.
21:51And then they put the brakes on, my bad, my bad, my bad.
21:56I guess you did say that, I guess you did, we remember, we'll give you credit.
22:02Two reasons why I felt that confident about that happening.
22:05One, I think the Celtics are that damn good.
22:07And two, I think the Knicks have some major flaws that they are going to be able to mask
22:12for the most part up until they see the Celtics when all the chips are on the table.
22:18They're going to do well this year.
22:19They're going to be the second best team.
22:21In the Eastern Conference, at worst, third best, no, they're not going to fall any farther
22:25than that.
22:26But this game that we saw pointed out the separation between the Boston Celtics and
22:33the New York Knicks on every single way imaginable.
22:37We talk about Tatum because Tatum was awesome.
22:38I mean, the three ball was fluid, it was wet.
22:42And the thing that I liked about Tatum was that he controlled the game in any way he
22:47wanted to.
22:48I want to make shots, check.
22:50I want to get to the cup, check.
22:52I want to get my teammates involved, check.
22:53I want to play the defense, check.
22:55He did everything he wanted to do when he wanted to do it.
22:58It was one of the most dominant games we have seen Jason Tatum ever play.
23:02And when I say that, I'm talking about his ability to dominate in every single phase
23:06of play that he wanted to dominate.
23:09That is something we rarely see from Jason Tatum.
23:12He can control things in one or two categories, but a full sweep, because that's pretty much
23:16what he did.
23:18And we're not even talking about Derrick White who drained six threes.
23:20And remember, this is the thing you got to remember about players and where they stand
23:25up as far as a pecking order.
23:26When the Celtics did their player intros, the very first player that got introduced
23:30was Derrick White.
23:31You know what that means?
23:32He's the fifth option, maybe fourth on a good night.
23:37That's the guy that just dropped 24 on you, six threes, and he wasn't even going hard,
23:42hard.
23:43He wasn't going, huh, huh, no, he wasn't going hard.
23:47You got Jaylen Brown.
23:51You got Jaylen Brown.
23:52That's right, don't do that again.
23:53Don't, don't.
23:54Listen, listen.
23:55Don't do that again.
23:56Garrett, you need to relax, man.
23:57You need to relax, all right?
23:58All right?
23:59Don't do that again, please.
24:00Bottom line is that the Celtics didn't even go full blast and they blasted the Knicks.
24:12Because if you think about it, as you pointed out, Garrett, the last eight, nine minutes,
24:16they're trying to hit one shot.
24:17If they would have ran a regular offense, they would have scored at least another 10
24:20points.
24:21Probably would have won this thing by 35, 40, 45 points easily.
24:25That is the separation that is clear and undeniable between them and the New York Knicks.
24:30And again, every time they play the Knicks, are they going to win by 30?
24:33No, but the Knicks are going to have to play one of, if not their best game, just to compete.
24:39Forget about winning.
24:40Just to compete, they're going to have to play well because the Celtics, again, they've
24:44got so many different ways that they can beat you.
24:47And I thought Jalen, and we're not going to get too deep into it, but I thought Jalen's
24:51defense was low-key, really good.
24:54I thought when you talk about Jalen Brunson being put on his ass a lot, Jalen has something
24:58to do with that.
24:59Jalen showed that extra muscle that we talked about he put on, you think about him doing
25:04that and using it to score at the rim and things like that.
25:06No, he was putting that wood to Jalen Brunson on a regular.
25:11And if you're the Knicks and you go back and you watch the film of this, obviously, that
25:15has to stand out to you that, damn, we've got to find a way to get him off of Jalen
25:19because that Jalen on Jalen crime is real, y'all.
25:22Jalen with a Y.
25:25I have to add, Jalen Brunson actually, well, he didn't say this, but actually our friend,
25:31we should have had him on the podcast.
25:32I don't know if you guys know, crap, why am I, James Edwards.
25:36Edwards III, yeah.
25:38Josh Hart, sorry, no, it wasn't Jalen.
25:40It was Josh Hart who jokes that the NBA needs to drug test them, dudes.
25:45I never seen anything like that.
25:47Of course, Knicks fans were mad about the quote, but I thought it was actually hilarious
25:50because it wasn't right.
25:52That's coming from the perspective of someone who just got their ass kicked and they, and
25:56Josh was thinking like, what can we do?
25:58What can we do?
25:59Be real.
26:00Here's the other thing, Quan, here's the other thing too, they shot 55% from the field.
26:05They only turned the ball over 11 times and a bunch of them, they didn't turn the ball
26:09over a lot.
26:10They shot the ball well from the field.
26:11They shot like, I think 37% for three point range.
26:14So when you start looking at their numbers, if someone tells you that they were in a blowout,
26:17they'd say, oh yeah, they probably won by 15, 20 points.
26:22But no, they got that ass whipped, just got absolutely decimated.
26:27And that's the scary part if you are the New York Knicks, I mean, you-
26:31Just think, Sherrod, I'm looking at the box score here.
26:34The Knicks shot twice as many free throws as the Celtics.
26:38Payton Pritchard was one for 10 or one for nine from three.
26:43If he even gets half going, if he gets three or more, I mean, you're right, Sherrod.
26:48I mean, Tillman and Pritchard combined to go two for 16 from the field, one for 12 from
26:55three.
26:56So if they even warmed up a little bit, it would have been a 40 point win.
27:02You're right.
27:03They shot 55%, 37 from three.
27:05They shot 16 free throws to the Celtics eight.
27:08So you can't complain about the officiating.
27:12So to me, just like you said, a tremendous effort.
27:17And it wasn't even, it was like they put their B performance and still was able to take care
27:22of them.
27:23And the guy that set it off was Tatum.
27:25I mean, no question.
27:26He was a guy that got it going in the first half.
27:29I mean, he had a damn good double-double in the first half.
27:31I think he had 25 in the first half, which, you know, the way he was shooting the ball,
27:36the way he was getting his teammates involved, his defense, it was, again, one of the most
27:40complete dominant performances I think we've ever seen from Jason Tatum as far as what
27:45he did at both ends of the floor and how he was able to mix up his impact at both ends
27:50of the floor, whether it was defensively keeping his guy in front of him, contesting shots,
27:55getting in passing lanes, just doing all those things.
27:57And on offense, three ball, getting to the cup, you name it, he did it.
28:02And Gary mentioned the three-point shot.
28:03It's very telling that the Celtics get a ring ceremony, the banner gets raised, they have
28:08a blowout win.
28:09And at the end of, well, towards the end of the fourth quarter, the crowd that was still
28:14there, because honestly, most of the fans had left, were just chanting one more three
28:19because the Celtics actually ended up tying the NBA record with 29 points with made threes,
28:27but they didn't get to break the record.
28:29And that's all people, like, that's what most of the people that did end up sticking around
28:32for, that's what they were saying for just to see that record being broken.
28:36But again, it's very telling that you have all these things happen and now you're just
28:40waiting around for a record to be broken because the game was not entertaining at that point.
28:46To me, that's the scary part about this Celtics team.
28:49I mean, if there was going to be a game this year where they weren't going to have their
28:52locked in focus, this was going to be it.
28:54Right.
28:55It's kind of scary that this team, you know, again, as Gary pointed out, this was not a
29:01great game that the Celtics played.
29:03They played good.
29:04They did a lot of really good things.
29:07But as we pointed out earlier, they allowed a team to shoot 55% from the field.
29:12They didn't force that many turnovers.
29:13They allowed them to get to the line way more than they did.
29:16Now, obviously, the three point shot negates a lot of that.
29:18But there are, Joe Mazzulla is not going to have an issue of getting this team focused
29:23for the next game because there's more than enough stuff that he can point to and just
29:27say, hey, we need to tighten up here.
29:29I mean, this McBride off the bench, what, you know, Jalen Brunson getting, you know,
29:34uncontested, you know, blowbys getting to the rim.
29:38So there's a lot of things that they can get even better at.
29:41And they're definitely going to be focusing on that.
29:43But the fact that you have plenty of material that you can improve upon and you still beat
29:48the snot out of a team by, you know, a significant margin, that could have been twice as big
29:54if you weren't trying to make one shot in the last eight, nine minutes.
29:59It's yeah.
30:00The Celtics are scary.
30:01Good.
30:02Scary.
30:03Good.
30:04Sherrod, you mentioned that you still think the Knicks can be at least a second or third
30:07in the East, which obviously that is attainable.
30:10But what do you think New York's takeaway is from a game like this?
30:13I think for them, it's there's a couple of things.
30:16First and foremost, they have to do a better job of balancing their offense.
30:20I think there's still too much pressure on Jalen to carry that team.
30:24They need Mikael Bridges to not wait till the damn second half.
30:27You down by 25 to all of a sudden start making some shots.
30:30They need, you know, O.G. to play like an O.G. and be being one of the elder states
30:35on that squad and play like you can get something done other than just breaking shots.
30:39He was like one for seven.
30:40He has to be better.
30:42And last but certainly not least.
30:43And this is why I'm going to consistently keep them a notch or two below the Celtics.
30:49Carl Anthony Towns, I'm sorry, 12 points, seven rebounds.
30:54Stop it.
30:55Stop it.
30:56You have to be better than that.
30:58You have to be better than that.
30:59And if you can't be a physical, menacing, intimidating guy, give me some damn stats.
31:05Give me numbers.
31:06Because at least if you do that, it's like, you know what?
31:09He's not exactly the most enforcing.
31:11He's not an enforcer or anything like that.
31:12But damn, he did give me 25 and 12.
31:14If you can't do that, Carl Anthony Towns, then what do you exactly what are you doing
31:19out here?
31:20Because I mean, and again, Al Horford, this was not a game Al Horford out there.
31:25This was like I've had one preseason game and I'm just trying to just basically crack
31:29a sweat and hope that, you know, not too much is put on my shoulders.
31:32And Al did a great job on him.
31:34And I don't think Al was playing great basketball, but it looked better than it was because Carl
31:40Anthony Towns did just look very timid out there.
31:42Like he really didn't feel the need to try to be an aggressor.
31:47This is a lot of the stuff that why folks in Minnesota are not exactly, you know, shed
31:50tears for him to leave.
31:53And Tibbs, I will say this, he has become much more open minded about allowing his guys
31:59to be a little bit more free flowing with the offense.
32:01You don't feel like they're just basically trying to beat you 75, 73 every night.
32:07And so that's that was an encouraging thing.
32:09They need guys who can make shots.
32:11And when you when you let a guy like Dante go, you know, and you let a guy like Julius
32:16Randles, who both guys can get buckets and you bring in a guy who maybe has significant
32:21upside offensively, but doesn't have the same level of toughness and doesn't have that
32:25same level of what, in my opinion, consistency to deliver night in, night out.
32:31This might happen. I think there's I still think they're going to be better than Philly
32:34because Philadelphia and that load management with Paul George and Joel Embiid is going
32:39to be a problem. They're going to lose a lot of games that are going to be because
32:43they're one or both of the top two players aren't around.
32:45That's more than anything else.
32:46Well, I think New York is probably going to be the number two.
32:50All right, looking ahead, Gary is in D.C.
32:53with the next game on Thursday, the Celtics play the Bullets and then on being funny
32:59and then the Wizards.
33:02I know. And then, oh, yeah, they should still be the Bullets.
33:07Well, anyway, they like them changing the name to the Wizards and lowered the murder
33:11rate. Right.
33:14As if the name has something to do with people getting killed.
33:17Yeah. Like, you know, I'm not going to shoot you because because it's Wizards now, not
33:23the Bullets.
33:23You're right. Oh, we don't have the name.
33:28It was not the Bullets.
33:29It was a bullet train that used to go through Baltimore.
33:33They were the Baltimore Bullets.
33:34And it was after the bullet train.
33:36It was not after the bullet.
33:38You have to write the bullet, the bullet book next.
33:41Like break yourself through like it wasn't.
33:44That wasn't why the team in Baltimore slash Washington was named the Bullets.
33:49It was not going to illustrate a timeline on the Bullets.
33:51Yes, there is a chapter.
33:54There's a little thing on the Bullets beating the Celtics in seventy five.
33:57There we go.
33:59In their in their chances to try to repeat.
34:01But yeah, they were named the Bullets over the bullet train.
34:05It was not because, you know, like shoot them up.
34:11No, the more, you know, yes, this moment, this moment in Washington Bullets history may
34:16never been right since they've been the Wizards.
34:18Let's be honest.
34:19They know Wizards, you know, Wizards in Washington, D.C.
34:21Not even Michael Jordan can revive them.
34:24No, I don't walk the streets.
34:25I see no Wizards walking around here.
34:28But you're right, Kwanee.
34:31The Wizards opener.
34:32Yeah, which is kind of the Wizards.
34:34I will say they got. OK, don't do it.
34:38They're going to be bad.
34:39No, they're going to be bad.
34:40But they got a lot of good.
34:42No, I ain't going to be good.
34:43No, I ain't that crazy.
34:45They got young talent.
34:47They got, you know, crazy Jordan Poole, Kyle Kuzma.
34:53They've got Alex Tsar, the number two overall pick.
34:57I mean, they're they're going for the Cooper flag sweepstakes.
35:00Right. Brian Keefe, who's actually from Winchester,
35:05a local guy, is their coach.
35:07They retained him.
35:09So Washington is a team that the Celtics just have to be careful
35:14of dudes playing over their head on opening night.
35:17Are we in with Brockton?
35:19Yeah, Brockton's hurt.
35:20He's out there, you know,
35:22making it making it a close game or whatever.
35:24You want to take care of them early, you know,
35:27because I said they they're, you know, Bob Carrington
35:31is going to be a good rookie.
35:32Colorby, the French kid in second year.
35:36Keyshawn George, they are painfully young, but they have talent.
35:41So you hope if you're the Celtics and I'm not saying they're going to lose.
35:45You just take care of them early.
35:46You punch those dudes going to be hype.
35:48It's opening night.
35:49It's probably going to be a sellout.
35:51It'll be a lot of Celtic fans there.
35:53But you just want to be where the next two games, Washington,
35:57and then they go to Detroit.
35:59Same kind of situation.
36:01Detroit's a little obviously a little bit more, a little better,
36:04a little bit more experienced.
36:05But Washington, painfully young, but they do have talent.
36:08So don't let one of those young guys go off.
36:12Don't have a hangover over this game.
36:15Take care of business, pound them down
36:18and then give yourself an easy, easy night.
36:20Then you see a lot of Jared Springer and, you know, maybe even J.D.
36:25Davidson and Drew Peterson and Kate out there in the fourth quarter.
36:29Give yourself a night off by punching them first in the first half.
36:33That's what that's because it's their opening night
36:36and they're going to be hype.
36:38It's the Celtics.
36:39Good young talent.
36:41But they're obviously the Wizards.
36:43Bullets are going to struggle.
36:47But Gary, here's the thing.
36:49Other than getting ringed, it's going to feel like opening night for the Celtics
36:53because, you know, and I know that that crowd is going to be significantly
36:57a lot of millions, a lot of Celtic fans in D.C.
36:59I mean, I mean, you know, when the Celtics were like a decent squad,
37:03they always have more.
37:05They've always had great support in D.C.
37:06It should be maybe half and half.
37:09Like I said, that's a testament to Washington sports,
37:14Washington basketball, that they just haven't had the success.
37:17And it's sad.
37:18And I think this is a great basketball city.
37:21A lot of amazing players have come from the Washington, D.C.
37:25area, the Kevin Durant and Lynn Biases,
37:29you know, Adrian Dantley's and those.
37:32I mean, I'm just naming a few and they are just desperate for a winner,
37:36but they are literally blowing this thing up and trying to get Cooper Flag
37:40and then, you know, and just trying to start over again.
37:44So it could be an ugly game tomorrow.
37:47And if you're the Celtics, that's which way you want it.
37:49You want to blow them out.
37:51Do not let them hang around and let them rookies get confidence.
37:56The folks who couldn't make it to Boston for the ring ceremony,
37:58this is the next thing.
38:00Yeah, they take the train now.
38:01Next best thing is going to be cheaper.
38:04And it is going to be way cheaper.
38:06A thousand dollars.
38:07Give me that.
38:10A thousand dollars for ladies.
38:12You can get your whole section for a thousand dollars in D.C.
38:15Probably bottles of marina.
38:17Cousin, your nephew.
38:19Like, who was the biggest celebrities of the game last night?
38:23OK, I actually have an embarrassing story.
38:25So I think one of the big, one of the big things might be Jordan.
38:29Don't you dare say no.
38:30OK, so I really do need to do better, though, because Kai Sanat was there
38:35and I'm not going to hold you.
38:36I know his name.
38:37I could not pick him out of a lineup.
38:40He's like five, five.
38:41Right.
38:41He's pretty short.
38:42Yes.
38:43Yeah, the dude with the shades on.
38:45Yes. Yeah.
38:46And the thing is, I've actually seen them in commercials,
38:48but it just didn't click.
38:49So I see these three very fly, fly black men walking past me.
38:53And I was like, they look really good at the game.
38:55Like, you know what?
38:56I'm going to say something. Y'all look good.
38:58So I said, I was like, y'all look really fly.
38:59Literally on like not even being weird, just like wanting to acknowledge.
39:03Y'all look good.
39:05I walk away an hour later.
39:07My coworker, he's showing me the Celtics Instagram
39:10and they do the celebrity role usually.
39:12And then he's the first picture on the top.
39:15Brim hat, jacket, the locks.
39:18It's Kai at the top of the the slideshow.
39:21And I'm like, I literally just talked to this man.
39:23I had no idea who he was.
39:24And now I'm looking back.
39:25I'm like, when I complimented them, did they just think I was a complete idiot
39:29for not knowing who they were?
39:30Like, did they think the compliment was genuine?
39:32Like, I overthink things if you can't tell.
39:34So I was like, then they probably think I'm just an idiot for at least
39:39you to take a picture and just just give them the side.
39:41You're right. That would have been worse.
39:43So like, at least I acknowledge their existence.
39:46Don't act like you haven't done that before, Kwanee.
39:51Well, let's see.
39:52The Mark Wahlberg was there.
39:54They always put Dave Portnoy on the Jumbotron.
39:57I don't really get the celebrity, but whatever.
40:00Who else? I think, honestly,
40:03the thing is, between Kai and like Dave Portnoy,
40:06those people have huge followings celebrity wise, for sure.
40:10There were some Patriots players there.
40:12And of course, the Celtics legends that we mentioned, Koozie, KG, Paul Pierce.
40:17I'm trying to think of if anyone else stood out.
40:19I don't I don't think there were any.
40:20David Dollar was there.
40:22Oh, no, I lied. A$AP Ferg was there, too.
40:25Yeah, they put him on a Jumbotron.
40:28Yeah, everybody was there for Jaylen's birthday.
40:30I think those are the biggest celebrities.
40:31Boston needs to do better with the celebrity row.
40:34And I'm not I don't know if it's just the fact that people don't want to come
40:37to Boston. That's or it has to be that because it's good basketball.
40:43It's just clearly everyone hates
40:46if you're not like a friend of a player, then you clearly hate the team,
40:50I guess, and don't want to be here.
40:52Yeah, I was hoping that we were tied at TD Garden.
40:54I was hoping that somebody like Nelly would have shown up.
40:57Oh, yeah. That's what you. Yeah.
40:58Well, Ashanti pregnant, did she have a baby yet?
41:02I'm not sure. I think she's pregnant.
41:04Yeah. A little 90s throwback love arrangement there.
41:08That's crazy.
41:10Stalker. If you love something, let it go.
41:13And it might come back to you in 2023 or 24.
41:15Max, it's a wild basketball season will be here.
41:19We're going to have a lot of fun.
41:21We're going to have a lot of fun.
41:22We're going to have a lot of fun.
41:23We're going to have a lot of fun.
41:24It's a wild basketball season will be here before you know it.
41:28And that is great news for Celtics Nation,
41:30as the Boston Celtics look to defend their league best 18th NBA title.
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43:00What time is it?
43:01Game time.
43:02But yeah, Detroit's on the list, too, looking ahead to that.
43:06Another young team, not necessarily a good team either.
43:10Sherrod, what do you think Celtics...
43:11Yeah, Sherrod, tell us about Detroit.
43:13Your favorite team.
43:16Detroit is going to be dangerous again.
43:19I'm curious to see how their new coach is going to utilize that roster.
43:23They're basically an older version of Washington.
43:26I mean, if we're being honest, they got lots of really good players who are just young.
43:31And if they continue to grow and evolve and get better, then they'll be competitive.
43:34But Detroit this year, I mean, the goal for them is to get in the play-in.
43:39I don't think they can say playoffs, because frankly, that's just...
43:43It's a goal, but realistically...
43:45It's a play-in game, and then we can talk playoffs.
43:49And if you're Boston, those are the teams that I worry more about than New York.
43:53It's easy to get up and lock in for New York, but after you beat the snot out of them,
43:57and then you got to go on the road and play Washington,
43:59which is really like a home game on the road.
44:02And then you go to Detroit, where you just,
44:04you don't really know how different they're going to be now.
44:08New coach and guys a little bit older.
44:10So that Detroit game is going to be harder than people realize.
44:14They're not going to beat Detroit by like 30, 40 points.
44:17That's probably going to be a single digit win for the Celtics.
44:20Washington might get ugly.
44:22Washington might be like Knicks opening night 2.0.
44:27So the Celtics, they got to just keep just stacking these wins and find ways to get better.
44:33And the concern after a game like the New York one is that they'll fall in love
44:39with the three-point shot more than they already love the three-point shot.
44:43And they had it going against New York so that you keep shooting it.
44:46But if you don't have it going, is Tatum going to look to attack off the dribble more?
44:51Is Jalen going to find ways to impact the game with the mid-range game?
44:57Are they going to get more contributions from guys off the bench?
45:00Can Peyton Pritchard put that one for 10, one for nine,
45:02whatever he shot from the field behind him and be more impactful?
45:07So there's a lot of things that they can clean up going forward.
45:11But my only concern about the Celtics is more about them than the opponent.
45:16Because to me, there just aren't teams that are built right now to compete with them.
45:22Their biggest competition is themselves.
45:24If they play their game and play half as good as they are capable of on most nights,
45:29that's going to win you 50-some-odd games by itself.
45:33So they got to play just a decent game and just get that dub and keep everyone healthy.
45:37That's it.
45:38All right, quickly looking around the league, before we wrap up, two things to know.
45:42Let's start with Gary's favorite subject, the Lakers in their season opener.
45:48Bronny James makes it, officially plays with his father.
45:52They beat the Minnesota Timberwolves in that game.
45:55Bronny scores a team high of zero.
45:59I'm kidding.
45:59He does not score.
46:00But-
46:01Damn, Bronny.
46:03I'm sorry.
46:03That wasn't even-
46:04That's not like you.
46:05That's not like you.
46:06You usually be lying.
46:07That's not like you.
46:08That's not like you.
46:08He was high of zero.
46:10You ain't right.
46:11I don't care.
46:11Bronny has been hanging around me too much, clearly.
46:15That's funny.
46:16That was a lie.
46:17If Bronny happened to see this, I do apologize.
46:19No, you ain't right.
46:20That is right.
46:21I don't apologize.
46:22He scored a team high of zero.
46:25Hey, LeBron folk, LeBron nation, don't look at me.
46:29I don't want no one coming for you.
46:30I'm nice.
46:31I really am nice.
46:31I was saying-
46:32They want me this time.
46:34Hey, Gary.
46:35That bullpup was nice, Gary.
46:36That bullpup Carmelo, forget it.
46:38You're going to give it to Carmelo?
46:41I'd have voted for Bronny for MVP.
46:45You know what?
46:48Do we want to even talk about this?
46:50No, let's talk about it.
46:51You brought it up.
46:53So how do y'all feel?
46:54You want to know, Kwanye?
46:55I don't want to bring it up, but I'm going to bring it up, people.
46:57No, I brought it up already.
46:58We're already in the trenches with it.
46:59I don't want to talk about how you do do-do-do.
47:02You brought it up.
47:03We just talked about it.
47:04NBA Twitter is divided.
47:07Of course, there are people that are like, oh, this is great.
47:08This is history.
47:09But then there are other people that are just plain up upset about the fact that he is playing
47:13for this team, that he's getting actual minutes.
47:16So what do you two say to that?
47:18I'm going to keep my comments brief because I'm going to let Gary go off on this for a
47:21minute.
47:22I know Gary got some feels on this.
47:23But my issue is this.
47:25I love the fact that the young fella is getting to play in the greatest league in the world.
47:31But I am very disturbed by the fact that this dream is your daddy's dream.
47:38This ain't Bronny's dream.
47:39I mean, when they played that first preseason game, LeBron went on and on afterward about
47:43how it was great to be a part of something so special.
47:47And Bronny was like, it's just good to play a game.
47:50I'm just trying to get better.
47:51And to me, that was a crystallization for me that young fella just wants to play basketball.
47:56He don't want all this other stuff.
47:57And Bronny knows, I think, in his heart of hearts that he probably shouldn't be in a
48:00league.
48:02And if we're being honest and keeping it 100, daddy put a thumb on the draft scale to make
48:08sure that he went to L.A.
48:10Absolutely.
48:10Because here's the thing.
48:11I'm not convinced he would have got drafted if he would have got past L.A.
48:16But there were threats for him to go overseas with another team, were to draft him before
48:20he went to L.A. as well.
48:22Reportedly.
48:24But it's a weak threat because teams are like, listen, let me get this straight.
48:27I don't take this.
48:29You want to punish us for not drafting with the 51st pick?
48:33Yo, this kid?
48:35Yes.
48:37The guy that I thought was going to do something like that was Danny H.
48:40I was, I was, I think if they had the pick right before, it would have been kind of funny.
48:44But I like the best that Danny might go there.
48:50But I, the thing that bothers me more than anything else about this, I'm going to pass
48:55it to Gary, is that it feels as though daddy is living the dream that daddy had through
49:00his son.
49:00And to me, at one point, very soon, LeBron is going to be in L.A.
49:05And then Bronny, he's going to get his four years in L.A., what's he going to do?
49:10Is anyone going to take him on?
49:14Are the Lakers going to keep him around?
49:15Is he going to be like a Laker for life?
49:17At some point, you know, don't make him like, you know, the younger version of Udonis Haslam,
49:24where he's on your roster.
49:25Just chilling.
49:26Just chilling.
49:27Just bromance chilling.
49:29So what kind of Laker can that be?
49:33He can be like a tattoo, Laker for life.
49:37In that script.
49:41I just can't.
49:42Come on, Saron.
49:43What is the name of that font?
49:44I'm picturing the specific font right now, like motorcycle.
49:47Yeah, the video game.
49:52Yes, yes.
49:53The clipper one on the car.
49:56The stunt car stealing font, the gangster font.
49:59Number four, L-Y-F-E, of course.
50:03OK, you know what?
50:08It is what it is.
50:08It's happened.
50:09I just hope that they do right by Bronny and send him to the G League and let him get better.
50:15He's not ready for the NBA.
50:17I think we all see that.
50:20And if I hear this one more comparison to Griffey's, let's look at the Griffey's.
50:26Ken Senior was 40, which is not too old for a baseball player.
50:31Baseball players can play until their 40s.
50:32He was still a productive.
50:34Less contact.
50:35Yes, bench player when he played in Seattle.
50:38He was ending his career.
50:40Yes, his career was coming to an end.
50:42But Ken Griffey Senior was not some terrible player.
50:47He was still productive.
50:49He just couldn't play as much.
50:5040 is not old.
50:52When Ken Griffey Junior was at, we talked about this, was at Moeller High School in Cincinnati,
50:57everybody knew he was the truth.
50:59Everybody knew, look, you can tell.
51:02When you see a high school player, you saw LeBron in 03 before he got drafted.
51:07You were like, yeah, this dude is different.
51:09You saw Derrick Rose at Simeon.
51:11When you saw these guys come out, you saw Kobe,
51:15even though he wasn't playing to get the great competition.
51:18When you saw Kobe at Lower Merion, you see these kids and you're like, yeah, he's got it.
51:25It might not happen right away, but this dude's going to be a star.
51:29No one says that about Bron.
51:30He is not Ken Griffey Junior.
51:33If he was, I wouldn't say a word.
51:35If he was a top 10 pick, if he was like, he averaged 4.5 points per game at USC
51:43and shot 27% from the three-point line, he's going to get better by natural,
51:49maturing physically, maturing mentally, and working hard.
51:52But he is not Ken Griffey Junior.
51:55Let's stop that comparison.
51:56That was kind of real.
51:58The Mariners signed his dad.
52:01Ken Griffey Junior was the number one overall pick in 1987 out of high school.
52:05Number one, Ken Griffey Junior.
52:08Everybody knew he was the freaking truth.
52:11When you see these kids, and we've all been around to see some of these kids in high school,
52:16and you're like, yeah, they're going to be good.
52:21They're the truth.
52:23To me, I just feel like I want them to do right by Bronny.
52:28Send him to the G.
52:29He's got the glamour.
52:30He's got enough cars.
52:32He's trying to live the NBA life, bro.
52:35You're an NBA player.
52:36And what do these young guys in the other Lakers, the Jalen Hood, Shafinos,
52:40and some of these guys, Max Christies, and think when he's getting minutes and they're not.
52:46What do they think about that?
52:47But you know, Gary, to your point, they're practicing with him.
52:52So they know what's happening.
52:53And it's just like, wait a minute.
52:55That's the thing.
52:56And he's 6'1".
52:58So what's his cap here?
53:02What's his max?
53:03What's his ceiling?
53:04Some people said Patrick Beverly.
53:06Like, you know, Beverly worked so hard to just be a journeyman.
53:12Bounced from the G League to the 10 days, all to become Pat Bev.
53:17It had, you know, now he's in Israel.
53:19Pat Bev had, you know, maybe his attitude kind of got him out the league.
53:22But Pat Bev turned into a solid NBA player, had a solid career.
53:28You know, pissed a lot of people off, but played good defense and all that, right?
53:33But if that's your ceiling, then I don't know what to say.
53:38Like, because eventually, like you said, LeBron's going to retire.
53:42And then he's going to be on his own.
53:44And I don't think money will ever be...
53:47He won't be out on the street or nothing like that.
53:50But like...
53:50Yeah, he ain't got to worry about encampment or anything like that.
53:53Yeah, he ain't got to worry about getting his house foreclosed on or anything like that.
53:58But to me, you got to be...
54:02You got to do what's best for him.
54:04And this young man needs to work on his game, go to the G League,
54:08be by himself, not with daddy next to him.
54:11Like, this is...
54:11Like, let's end this now.
54:13Send him to the South Bay Lakers.
54:15Let him practice.
54:16Let him get 35 minutes a game.
54:18And let's cultivate him into...
54:21By the time he's 21 or 22, he could be a capable NBA player.
54:25We don't see no all-star potential.
54:27You would have seen it by now.
54:29You saw it in Tatum.
54:31You saw it in Brown.
54:32When a dude is 19 or...
54:33He's 20, okay?
54:36Tatum was 20.
54:37The year when he dunked on LeBron, he was 20.
54:40Like, to me, when Jalen was 20, like, you know what I'm saying?
54:44Like, you see it.
54:46You see 20.
54:47Victor Vindman is 20.
54:49You see it, right?
54:52You know, like, Bronny would be lucky to make one all-star team at this point.
54:56Like, so we don't see it yet.
54:58And if you're 20 and you don't have it...
55:02Like, you know, you ain't Michael in the Jackson 5, man.
55:06You were like, you know, you ain't Michael.
55:09You are not...
55:10Michael, you saw.
55:12You were like, yeah.
55:13That dude's superstar.
55:17When you see it, you see it.
55:19We all know it.
55:19We know enough ball to know when you see it, you see it.
55:23This is not it.
55:25So let's hope that they...
55:28This is...
55:29It's over.
55:29We got...
55:30He got his minutes.
55:31He was a minus five.
55:33He missed two shots.
55:34He got a rebound.
55:35That was cute.
55:36But don't mock the game like this.
55:38This is NBA ball.
55:40You know, don't mock...
55:41There's brothers in the streets that should deserve more of a chance.
55:45Brothers in the hood.
55:46Brothers, you know, in college ball who are like, you know what?
55:50This is what we're doing.
55:51So that's all.
55:53But I want them to work on...
55:56I want Brian to go to the lab.
55:59If you got to spend two years in the lab,
56:01and by the time you're 22, 23, you're ready, then that's fine.
56:06I'm with that.
56:06Finally, before we wrap up,
56:09the Sixers, they're preparing for their opener on Wednesday night.
56:12By the time you listen, they'll probably...
56:14You know, the game would have been over.
56:16But they also will be playing without Embiid and Paul George.
56:19The NBA is actually reportedly investigating the fact that they're seeding...
56:26Okay, I can't even speak.
56:27That Joel Embiid will be benched for this game.
56:31Do you guys know anything?
56:33Should have had Pompeya.
56:34Our guy Keith on here, too.
56:37It has to do with the fact that it's a national TV game.
56:40And they usually take a closer look at when star players are missing national TV games.
56:44I call it the Popovich rule.
56:46Because Pops did not give a damn about national TV, regional TV.
56:56He just didn't care.
56:58So they didn't actually do that.
56:59But Joel, if they're saying that Joel is coming along fine, but he's not playing,
57:05the league wants to just make sure that that's in fact everything's up and up.
57:09But it speaks to a larger concern with Philly.
57:14Clearly, there's a load management plan for Joel.
57:17And there has to be one for Paul George.
57:20And this might be the only team where you've got two, not one,
57:25but your two best players are both under load management.
57:29And you haven't won a championship.
57:32It's one thing if guys just kind of age into that position where you got to manage their time.
57:37Because they've had a lot of success together.
57:39You literally went out and brought this dude, Paul George,
57:43in the mix knowing damn well that health wise,
57:45you're going to have to monitor him much closer than you normally would a superstar.
57:50And so it's raising a lot of questions, a lot of concerns.
57:54But the big thing for Philly is you can't develop the continuity
57:57that you want as a team when you've got one or both of your top two players
58:02in and out of the lineup for health slash load management.
58:05Although for fantasy league owners of Maxie,
58:08this is good because he's going to eat good every night
58:12because he's going to get every damn shot he wants.
58:14But is that going to be enough to help this team win games?
58:16Not in the East.
58:18Not, not, not as well.
58:19So like I said, they're going to be at best, I'd say, third best team in East.
58:24But I could easily see them falling down to fifth or sixth,
58:26just depending on the health of Joel and Paul George.
58:32I like it.
58:34Gary, you good?
58:36He's muted.
58:37All right.
58:37Well, that's all we have for this week's episode of the Big Three NBA podcast.
58:42The season's just beginning, guys.
58:4482, well, one down, 81 to go.
58:47Until next week, Rayshard Blakely and Gary Washburn.
58:50I'm Kwanye Lunas.
58:51And quick reminder, if you haven't done so already, please subscribe,
58:54share with a friend.
58:55Because like we said, we have a long season to go to Banner 19.
58:59I've never actually said that.
59:00Wow, we can say Banner.
59:01The road to Banner 19.
59:03And hopefully, Kwanye can score another career high one point.
59:11Thank you all for listening or watching.
59:15Kwanye started, Gary.
59:16Kwanye started.