Could Celtics Be Even Better in '24-25 w/ Drew Carter | Celtics Beat - video Dailymotion

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Drew Carter is the play-by-play voice for the Boston Celtics and NBC Sports Boston.  Join him, Adam Kaufman, and Evan Valenti as they dive into the Boston Celtics' electrifying start to the 2024-25 NBA season, where they've kicked off with an impressive 2-0 record! In this episode of Celtics Beat, they analyze their heavy reliance on three-point shooting, highlighted by a record-tying 61 attempts in their opening game. With stars like Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the charge, they discuss how their offensive strategy combines intricate ball movement with elite shooting to create scoring opportunities.  They'll also reflect on the emotional Ring Night celebration and the impact of players like Payton Pritchard as the Celtics aim for a historic season. Tune in for insights, analysis, and a look ahead at what could be a championship run!  0:00 - Intro 0:25 - Road to Banner 19 2:12 - Three-point shooting record 6:56 - Beautiful basketball explained 8:29 - Knicks' perimeter issues 10:00 - Celtics' efficient offense 12:11 - Ball movement evolution 16:34 - Celtics improved roster 19:12 - Tatum's shooting improvement 24:11 - Brown's strong performance 25:55 - Jaylen's physical growth 28:12 - Tatum's MVP aspirations 30:22 - Tatum's improved play 34:30 - Losing vs. Winning 36:44 - Tatum entering prime 42:28 - Ring Night excitement 44:41 - Celtics family celebration 50:57 - Crowd's excitement 54:11 - Pritchard's work ethic 57:58 - Upcoming Celtics games   CLNS Media is Powered by:   Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!   Gametime - https://gametime.co Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!  Elevate your style game on and off the course with the PXG Spring Summer 2024 collection. Head over to https://PXG.com/GARDENREPORT and save 10% on all apparel.  Nutrafol! Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code GARDEN!   #celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics The CLNS Media Network is the leading provider for video/audio content. CLNS is a fully credentialed member of the media with access to all NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB teams & venues. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------  CLNS' rebuilt their YouTube community in less than 12 months, during a pandemic that attacked sports. Wondering how? Find out here (and support our channel) - https://www.tubebuddy.com/clnsmedia  Visit the Official Home of CLNS Sports Coverage -  https://clnsmedia.com

Transcript

00:00Celtics beat is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.

00:06We are here. The new season is underway. Celtics basketball. It

00:11exists again. All due respect to the preseason and you know,

00:15the trip to Abu Dhabi and all the build up and even Olympic

00:19basketball. Honestly, what matters most to Celtics fans is

00:23what we have going on right now. The regular season, the road

00:27to banner nineteen. We gotta get used to saying that. Another

00:30thing that we do need to admittedly still kinda get used

00:32to saying is television voice of the Celtics, Drew Carter. He

00:37comes in, joins us, good friend of the program. Drew, welcome

00:40to, do you tire of hearing that yet? Probably feels pretty

00:43good. It does, guys. Thanks for having me on. Uh it's a little

00:47weird though for me. I think it always will be because you

00:50know, the guy I'm trying to follow in that title, I feel

00:53like he has it forever just like, you know, Johnny Most

00:56before him. So, I don't know. I it it does feel kinda strange

01:00but I'm happy to be in that chair cuz it's fun and the

01:04team's really good. So, we're having a good time. Team's

01:07really good. I mean, leads the NBA and wins already. Two.

01:11Yeah. Two and oh start. Couple of blowout wins. Hopefully, if

01:14you bet him, you took the spread. The Celtics are just,

01:17you know, running amok across the league. Hot takes

01:21everywhere. Everybody hates the Celtics. The Celtics, they're

01:25winning basketball. Obviously, in game one as we saw and and

01:29I did believe this was going to be a competitive game. I

01:32really did. I didn't see Tibbs like, you know, only playing

01:34Jalen Brunson, 24 minutes, pulling starters early, waving

01:37the white flag. Hell, it's opening night. What are we

01:40gonna get? Celtics, how about a 4324 start to the game in the

01:44opening quarter on their way to a 132109 final in a game that

01:48honestly, if you watched it and obviously, the three of us

01:51did, it was not nearly that close. Boston, in that game,

01:5529 of 61 from three and that's only because they shot like

01:59crap on their what they missed the last like 1314 attempts

02:02trying for the record. So, they end up shooting 48% from

02:06three in the opening game but it's not even so much that.

02:08It's of course and it's not even the the making 29 and tying

02:12an NBA record. It's the attempting 61. So, a much more

02:16casual effort there in our nation's capital and a 122102

02:20win. The 20-point victory where Boston just say a more

02:23pedestrian. 17 of 45 from three about 38% but this is

02:28prompted just again, opinions from national people, even

02:33local people, not everyone and and I've been on record for

02:36this. Not everyone loves this style of basketball and just

02:39the three-point energy that exists in today's NBA but now

02:44and I don't wanna necessarily give him the platform here on

02:47this show at least not without having him on to really break

02:49it down but even Nick Wright, while we're talking about

02:52Syracuse people, we're all accused people. He went on this

02:54like, you know, Adam Kaufman's 10-minute monologue earlier

02:58about how this is just not even fun. The NBA anymore. It's

03:04it's now his second favorite sport compared to the NFL

03:06because it's not entertaining. This is just video game like

03:10as if this hasn't been going on for well over a decade and

03:14really began with the Warriors and was on the way to what

03:19they became and what the Celtics and the rest of the

03:21league are ultimately becoming for the 10-15 years before

03:24that. This is not new. This feeds into, in my opinion,

03:28guys, just the hatred of Boston. This is Boston bias. If

03:32this was another team doing this with more quote unquote

03:35likable stars or what have you, it would have a different

03:39perception around the NBA but because it is the Boston

03:42Celtics, the most titles in in NBA history, Boston Celtics,

03:47and just doing so in a such a, I mean, we're we're arrogant

03:54as fans and media members sometimes but honestly, they're

03:57fairly modest, all things considered, and the way that

04:00they are doing this and beating the tar out of opponents,

04:03it's kind of pissing people off and Ev, I know you're here

04:06for it. I'm here for it. What is it like to to watch it and

04:10to call it Drew at, you know, because I'm sure a lot of

04:13people in your circle are reaching out to talk about this

04:15stuff too. Well, first of all, let me just say on the Nick

04:18Wright thing, I don't think Nick Wright was saying the NFL

04:22has to change the rules to prevent passing when his boy

04:26Patrick Mahomes came into the league and started ripping it

04:29up, right? And he, you know, to his credit, admitted his bias

04:33when it comes to the NFL being his favorite sport now over

04:36the NBA as if anybody cares and look, I like Nick Wright and

04:39I'm going to say something in a second that you guys might

04:42disagree with, but I don't think anybody cares what Nick

04:45Wright's favorite sport is. Bill Simmons always does this

04:47too, or it's like, I like the NFL more than the NBA now.

04:50It's like, all right, cool, man. Good on you. Whatever you

04:53say, happy for you. But I will say this, you know, in Nick

04:57Wright's monologue, as you said, I thought he made some

05:01pretty compelling points about how if the NBA wants to

05:05maintain its position among sports fans as a whole, you

05:10know, they might have to make some changes in terms of guys

05:12playing more. I mean, I'm sure you all feel the same way that

05:16I do, or I just don't understand what's happening in Philly,

05:19which is garbage. I don't know. I don't know where or when or

05:24how he got hurt. I don't know what happened with Zion, why

05:28he's sick. I don't know what's going on with Kawhi. Like, I

05:30thought all that stuff was pretty compelling. And I

05:32thought Nick Wright, to his credit, you know, if you're

05:34going to complain about something, you should bring a

05:36solution to the table. And he did bring a couple to the

05:38table in terms of getting guys to shoot fewer threes, right?

05:41You could get rid of the corner threes and extend the arc to

05:44the sideline, or you could change the score and make it

05:47worth four and then inside the arc worth three, which of

05:49course will never happen. I just don't agree that it's not

05:53an exciting or entertaining style of basketball. I think

05:56it's fun to watch. I also think it's easy to say it's not

06:01fun to watch if you're not actually watching it. You can

06:05look at the box score and be like, oh my God, they took

06:0763s. I hate this. But if you actually pay attention, I think

06:11it's pretty entertaining. Like, did anyone think the Warriors

06:14weren't fun to watch? They might have rooted against them.

06:16They might not have liked them, but that team was super fun

06:19to watch. Even if you were a Warriors hater and even if

06:22you're a Celtics hater, how can you not enjoy the basketball

06:25they're playing? They had 33 assists in the first game and

06:28a bunch against the Wizards last night. It's not like

06:31they're all just standing around taking turns shooting

06:34threes. They're playing great offense and it's up to the

06:37defense to stop them. They're trying to maximize their

06:40chances to win in the parameters of the game. It's not

06:43their fault. I know that that's part of what he was

06:47saying. I just don't think it's as boring as he

06:50seems to think it is because I think it's beautiful

06:52basketball. Now, obviously, I'm also biased, but I think

06:55it's great.

06:59Yeah, I mean, like, look, I was trying to find very

07:02quickly, my guy, David Brandon, who is a guy that he

07:08covers the Thunder and I thought he pointed out

07:12something very interesting. Like, the way the Celtics are

07:14playing and the way they're generating their shots and

07:16shooting these threes, it's not like, this is not the

07:20Houston Rockets of past years where they're just chucking

07:24them up because that's, you know, we're threes and layups

07:28and free throws. That's it. And this is the big thing that

07:31I've been trying to, like, pound the table on for the

07:33past four days as we've watched this all unfold. If

07:37you're not, to Drew's credit, like, you're clearly not

07:39watching the game because a lot of their shots are within

07:43the structure of their offense, right? It's not like,

07:47you know, they're just early in the shot clock with

07:5120, 19, 18, whatever. They're just, like, jacking up a

07:53three just to have fun. No, this is a Tatum gets it, like,

07:57on the right side, he gets doubled. So, he swings back to

08:00the top of the key, one more, one more, and all of a sudden

08:03there's an open three for Sam Houser in the corner. Like,

08:05that's beautiful offense. That's just called moving the

08:08basketball and making the team pay for double teaming Tatum.

08:12That's just wonderful ball. It's spacing, it's cutting,

08:15it's all these other things. It's not just sitting there,

08:17dribble, dribble, dribble, shoot a three. This is not the

08:19old Celtics where a lot of people rightfully got in

08:22Boston for being too stagnant and just jumping the air out

08:25of the basketball. No, this is beautiful player and ball

08:28movement and it's just resulting in a lot of threes

08:30because the Knicks traded for our Carl Anthony Towns who

08:35can't guard in the perimeter if they run a simple one five

08:37pick and roll. Like, they just, they can't scram and scramble

08:40to get back into place. Meanwhile, you watch Boston

08:42last night against the Wizards. They're double Val and shoot

08:45us in the paint, make him give it up and watch the whole

08:48defense just pivot around that point and everybody recovers.

08:52Like, I'm sorry that that certain teams hadn't figured

08:56out how to do that yet. Second game into the season, they

08:58will have to if they plan on beating the Celtics. If you

09:01don't, you're going to get lit up like a Christmas tree.

09:04So, like, as we sit here and try and analyze what to do,

09:09recognize it's early in the year. There's not everybody

09:13can handle this onslaught but the second, like, we're also

09:16devaluing how good the Celtics are versus the rest of their

09:21opponents drew and that's what's making me frustrated.

09:23It's like, no, this is not the same as everybody else. This

09:27is different. If you want to look at something similar, like

09:30look at the way Denver moves the ball or Golden State used

09:33to move the ball when they were humming back in their dynasty

09:36quote unquote. It's way different and it's devaluing

09:40the process that Joe instilled amongst the players, the

09:44players executing out there. It's driving me nuts.

09:48I'm with you. I'm with you. I mean, at the end of the day,

09:52we're talking about numbers here. The team that wins the

09:55game. So, ultimately, the objective of the game is to

09:59score more points and that is a math equation. So, nobody

10:03should get mad at the Celtics for maximizing their chances

10:06to win. If you want to get mad at anybody, get mad at John

10:09Horst for, you know, trading Drew Holiday. Get mad at

10:13Greg Popovich and RC Buford for trading Derek White. Get

10:16mad at Brian Colangelo for letting the Celtics get Jason

10:20Tatum at third. You can get mad at a variety of people but

10:23not the Celtics because they're doing what they're supposed

10:26to do, which is create the most efficient offense to win

10:28basketball games and it's also, it's a little bit more

10:32complicated than their offense is just chuck a bunch of

10:35threes. This is a game that's 94 feet where defense leads

10:40to offense and so much more goes into it than they can

10:43shoot or they want to shoot. They generate turnovers and

10:46they push the tempo even when they're winning by thirty.

10:49Their defense leads to offense in the second best defensive

10:52rating in the NBA last year. This all goes hand in hand.

10:55They're playing the game at the highest level we've seen

10:57probably since those death lineup warriors. That's not

11:01their fault. If you don't like it because you hate the

11:04Celtics, that's fine but it's not that it's a boring brand

11:09of basketball. I think it's too easy to say that it's

11:11boring just by looking at the box score but if you actually

11:14watch, it's hard not to be entertained. Well, as you're

11:17both saying, the ball movement as opposed to again, as Evan

11:22referenced, some of those earlier days of in this rebuild

11:25never, you know, like even early days of Brad Stevens's

11:28head coach when the team was more stagnant early in in the

11:32Tatum Brown era together and and sort of it it it it began

11:37the conversation of do these guys can they coexist and are

11:40they redundant to one another? You got two guys out there

11:43playing similar positions and that and that's just obviously

11:47how they were used and we've evolved into this, you know,

11:49where we are now with positionless basketball and

11:51everything like that and and that's that's good. That's

11:54fine. I like no issues with that obviously but it was the

11:58problem back then was the just up and chucking threes before

12:03you're even at twenty on the shot clock. That kind of thing

12:06as opposed to obviously what we're seeing now with the

12:09fluidity of the ball movement, how beautiful it is and you

12:12know, the other thing that gets and you alluded to this as as

12:15well, Drew in terms of like, who do we get mad at for the

12:18people that do want to be pissed about something? The

12:21thing that separates this Celtics team, this is not new.

12:24This is true obviously last year and even as they've headed

12:27in this direction but especially last year and now

12:29this year is that I don't know, 10 years ago, their best

12:34their best shooter and and like for people out there in

12:37the YouTube comment section, forgive me. I have not looked

12:39at rosters over the last 10 years. I'm just throwing a

12:42name out at you but I mean, there was a point in time in

12:45not so long ago, Celtics history where their best shooter

12:48like pure actual shooter was like Avery Bradley and I'm not

12:52disrespecting Avery Bradley. It's just that this Celtics

12:55team, Avery Bradley catches a stray because of this.

12:59This Celtics team is just littered with elite shooters

13:04and so, yeah, if you can move the ball around seamlessly and

13:09get guys open looks, of course, you're going to take them and

13:13I I will readily admit, I'll I'll old man shake fist at

13:17cloud every once in a while when I see them pass on what

13:21looks like it could be an easy layup in the paint and kick

13:24it right back out for a three-pointer especially when

13:26that tray misses but by the same token, what they're doing

13:30is working and the roster makeup is incredible. Again,

13:35credit to to Brad, to Zarin, to Austin, to everybody involved

13:39in that front office who we don't always, you know, recite

13:42the names of. It's the way they put this together and now

13:45obviously with Missoula Ball leading the charge and just

13:48what they're able to do out there. Yeah, it's it's going

13:51to piss a lot of people off and and they're doing it by the

13:54way without, I don't know where you want to rank them,

13:58Chris Tapps, Porzingis, but obviously, one of their top

14:01five, most important five players, whatever order after

14:05two that you're going to list them in and I don't know about

14:08you guys and this is it's a small sample. I will readily

14:12admit but watching these first couple of games, this Celtics

14:16team looks better than last year which is an insane thing

14:20to say about a team that finished fourteen games clear

14:24of the rest of the league and had an effortless road to a

14:27championship in terms of not who they played because people

14:30like to pick on that but the way they played and how well

14:33they played and it just it it does it feels like if healthy

14:37which is always the giant caveat. There's almost an

14:40inevitability of this becoming a run. Well, let me just say

14:44one more thing on the our three-pointers ruining

14:47basketball. Where's the basketball I love and then we'll

14:50move on. I think objectively people are watching the NBA

14:55more than ever and maybe if they're not watching it, you

14:59know, on linear TV when it's happening, they're consuming it

15:03on social media more than ever. There's a reason players are

15:08making more money than they ever have. The TV deal is

15:11laughably huge. There's a reason why, you know, when the

15:15Celtics do sell, it'll be for five or six billion. TV money

15:18is the main reason. So, people are watching and you might not

15:24like the team in green hitting twenty-five threes a night.

15:28That's fine but the data says most people are enjoying the

15:34NBA right now and the Celtics are doing this the best of

15:37anybody. So, with that being said, I think the team is

15:42clearly better than it was last year and it's not, it's

15:45not unprecedented. Like, does it sound crazy to say the team

15:48that was eighty and twenty-one and had a net rating of almost

15:51plus twelve per 100 actually improved? It does sound kinda

15:54crazy but I don't think it is because if you look back at the

15:58year after they won in 08, they started twenty-seven and two

16:01the next season and then they dealt with some injuries and of

16:05course, KG was the big one and they still were pretty close

16:07to getting back to the finals. So, to me, with who you bring

16:11back, who you add, and another year of cohesiveness, I think

16:17it's pretty clear that this version of the Celtics is even

16:19better than last year's and you're right, Adam. I mean, if

16:22people are already pissed at how many threes they're making,

16:24just wait till Mourcingas comes back and maybe they'll make

16:28thirty-threes a game but I think there's there's no doubt

16:31that this iteration of the Celtics is is better than last

16:34year's and a big reason why is to me, Tatum is leveled up and

16:38I don't know if it's just because, you know, he's pissed

16:41off with what happened in the Olympics and maybe he, you

16:44know, wants to get back to the finals so he can win a finals

16:46MVP or wants to win a league MVP, whatever it is or if it's

16:50something a little more tangible, you know, with his his

16:53jumper being a little bit quicker with the release and

16:56he's better at finding his teammates. I think it's an

16:59amalgam of all those things. You combine them and to me,

17:04Jason Tatum has a really good chance to win MVP this year

17:07because I expect the Celtics to again be in the mid to high

17:1060s for wins, be the best team in the league and if he's

17:14averaging 28, 29 points and like six or seven assists and

17:17shooting 40% from three, he's going to have a real case and

17:21I don't know. Maybe he wants that because maybe he's tired

17:26of any discourse. It's like we won and we're still doing this.

17:30The only way to put that to bed is to just check every box and

17:33he he is the straw that stirs the drink for what I think is

17:36going to be the best team we've seen in a long time in the

17:38NBA. Yeah, to kind of stay on that for a second, you know,

17:43again, you being around the team as much as you are get

17:47access to, you know, stuff that we don't get access to. So,

17:50the question I think is more around like at what point

17:53during because we get to see like all the videos on social

17:56and all this stuff and you know, you only get a little bit

17:59of it but you know, you see the the reworked jumper during

18:02practice and I'm sitting there like coughing. I don't know

18:04about you but I was like, oh. So, at what point is Drew

18:07Carter like, oh **** This might be, this might be a legit.

18:10This this new shot that has debuted extremely well. It's

18:15two games. We're going to leave that at that. We know it's

18:17small sample size. We've been around basketball a long time

18:19but at what point during the off season, you're like, oh,

18:22this might be real. This might be real guys. This might be

18:24real folks. Look out. Or well, we don't. Eleven in game one

18:28to really hammer it home. Yeah. Right. Six, six threes in the

18:32first half of the season opener. That's an NBA record.

18:35He hits one 12 seconds into the season. Gives him the kiss of

18:38death on the first possession of the year. It's like that's

18:41an omen I think for the rest of the league. You know, we

18:44didn't know about the the change in the jumper until

18:47training camp started. Um and I think some Celtics fans were

18:52concerned about it because you know, he's 38% in the regular

18:55season last year down to twenty-eight in the playoffs.

18:58Doesn't make one in the Olympics and you're you're

19:01wondering, you know, is something wrong with this guy?

19:03It's just like a like a McKell Bridges situation. Um and

19:08clearly, it's not. He's just fine. He's just fine and it's

19:12not just a Tatum is improved as a shooter. It's Tillman. It's

19:17Jordan Walsh. I don't think Derek White has missed a shot.

19:20Like Holiday was 60% from the corner last year. They're just

19:25dialed in like I think the the historical number that

19:29interest me and I'm I'm gonna look into this but to me,

19:32there's no doubt the Celtics will set a record for threes

19:35made in a season. Last year, they were like 1350 which was

19:38second to a Warriors team. I don't think there's any doubt

19:42that that record is gonna fall this year just based on what

19:44we've seen in the first two games. I'd like to know when

19:48you're in that like top three in the NBA in terms of

19:51attempted threes, what's the record for percentage? Right.

19:54Because everybody they roll out there is probably gonna be

19:58around 40% or better and and Houser, you know, Houser for

20:03his career is above 40%. Holiday as a Celtic is plus

20:0640%. We might be looking at a historically efficient

20:10three-point shooting team in addition to of course when we

20:12know which is pissing everybody off, historically

20:16voluminous three-point shooting team. So, that's where the

20:20rest of the league should be concerned but here's the thing

20:22guys like even if you try to run them off the three-point

20:24line which I think the Wizards made a point to do in the

20:27first half last night, they'll still they'll still go to the

20:31hole. Like this is not a one-dimensional team by any

20:34means. This is not a group like you invoked Houston earlier

20:39Evan. This it's not a group that has one guy who can get

20:42to the hole and get fouled and then everybody else is just

20:44spaced around him. They have legitimately four dudes who

20:48could put the ball on the floor at all time in addition to

20:50being able to shoot. So, that's where the offensive

20:52versatility comes from. They can beat you in a lot of ways

20:54but obviously the three-pointers are the thing that

20:56catches your eye right now. Quick break from today's show

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22:33your first $5 lineup. That's PrizePix. Run your game. Yeah,

22:38look. Again, this is how they're going to play. I mean,

22:40roughly two-thirds of their shots. Not quite that but let's

22:43I don't know. 60% of their shots in game one were from

22:46three. Exactly half their shots. 45 of 90 in game two

22:50were from three. This is the style and Missoula has been

22:54telling us this. He has been foreshadowing this for a long

22:57time that this was the direction everything was going

22:59ahead and I mean, I don't I don't even just mean around the

23:02NBA. I mean, specific to Celtics basketball. It's what

23:05they're doing talking about the, you know, Drew referenced

23:07it before that it's a math equation that it's data and

23:10they are buying in which is why Nick brought up the whole

23:12change the scoring and you know, as opposed to it being a

23:1550% bump from two to three, you know, make it threes and

23:20fours and then it's a 33% bump that type of thing which again

23:24is obviously never going to happen but for the sake of

23:27throwing something out, he did. What interests me early on as

23:31well, you know, you talk about Tatum leveling up. Brown is

23:34certainly someone that we talked a lot about in the offseason

23:38for any number of reasons. You know, he's coming off the

23:41multiple MVPs Eastern Conference finals, NBA finals

23:44gets left off all defensive team. He was, you know, but

23:47heard about that especially upset with all things Nike

23:51basketball and not being on the Olympic team very recently.

23:55Just you know, what earlier this week went on with Stephen

23:58A. Smith and and they had the whole conversation airing out

24:01the state your sources and all of that people can go check

24:04out that show if if they want to but the opportunity early on

24:09two games in has been there in a different style of pardon me

24:13but you know, because again, stylistically, they're

24:15different players Tatum and Brown but the volume and the

24:20involvement has been there just the same for Brown as it has

24:24for Tatum. You know, we've seen him take of roughly 180, 190

24:29shots for the team. Brown's taken almost 40 of them. Same

24:32as Tatum. You know, these guys as a matter of fact, have each

24:35taken 38 shots. We've seen Tatum go. What 23 for 38 Brown

24:40has gone 17 for 38. He's taking, you know, the three for

24:46six from three last time out five of nine the game before

24:50that the shots are falling. He's even hitting free throws

24:53finally just missed his first. He's off to a what eight of

24:56nine or nine for 10 start points are there. He had a slow

25:00start but a really strong game in the end on his birthday

25:03last time out. Uh I I think Brown is leveling up just the

25:07same and he's just not getting quite the same headlines for

25:10it as Tatum is. It's really the story of that partnership,

25:15right? AK like Jalen being a a key piece of this team and that

25:20being more Batman and Batman than just Batman and Robin but

25:24you know, it's just the the nature of how we cover this

25:27stuff is you want there to be one superstar where you can

25:30where you can talk about and put the spotlight on but I

25:32think JB proved last year in the playoffs that you know,

25:36those two guys is not even a one A and a one B. It's just a

25:39one and one like the Celtics have two superstars on their

25:43team and Jalen to me, what's impressive about him is he was

25:50already, I think in the best shape possible and then he

25:54unlocked something else. It's like, dude, you're already

25:57operating at 100% of your body's capacity. How did you

26:00find 105 or 110? I didn't even think that was in the realm of

26:04possibility but somehow working with, you know, the Celtics

26:07trainer, you know, Drew Moore is a big guy for him, the entire

26:12staff, the Australians, like everybody that helps these guys

26:16work on their bodies. They have discovered something with

26:19Jalen where it's it's just gotta be some insane combination of

26:24physical gift and insane work ethic to get him to a place

26:27where he looks bigger this year. He's more chiseled. It

26:30hasn't affected his shot at all. That's always something I

26:32think you worry about when NBA players get super bulky. Is

26:36that gonna affect their shot? It hasn't with him. He's faster

26:39than he's ever been. He had I think four steals against the

26:42Wizards. Correct. He's just active. You know, he's active.

26:45One of my favorite moments from the first two games was they

26:49had him mic'd up for TNT and he forces an eight second

26:53violation with the Celtics up by like twenty five at this

26:56point in the third quarter. He forces Brunson into an eight

26:58second violation and you can hear him say, I told you I was

27:01gonna get one and I just think like the Celtics are so good

27:06that they're maybe they're just giving themselves side quests

27:10within this bigger main quest of winning a championship and

27:14even on a more micro level winning every night and those

27:17side quests are contributing to winning in a big way like the

27:21to me the stuff that gets the bench and the players and

27:24certainly the coach most fired up is not making a three. It's

27:28making a great defensive play or getting an offensive rebound

27:32or diving on the floor, stuff like that. I love when Joe

27:35Missoula like leaps away from the bench to help somebody up

27:39who's fallen under the basket or the on the baseline like

27:42they're just so together and Jalen is maybe the best example

27:47of that with his commitment to, you know, improving his body

27:51and improving his game and then what he does on the defense

27:53event. So, he's just, he's just a treat to watch. I do, for

27:56his sake, I kinda wish he got the day off on his birthday

27:58but he did get a great party on on Sunday downtown. To your

28:02point, by the way, about those side quests and this is

28:05something that I don't think it bothers fans in the least. I

28:08think fans like it but it doesn't annoy a lot of media

28:10people, national or local, the MVP conversation and in Tatum's

28:14defense, he's never just talking about winning an MVP.

28:18He's always prompted. He's always asked about it and then

28:21he answers the question. He answers it thoughtfully but

28:23you know, the way he spoke about it just the other day, I

28:27thought was one incredibly accurate but also just a smart

28:32way to kinda deflect as you put it, something of a side

28:35quest because it is important to him. He does, you know, it

28:38is one of the only things in his career at this point now

28:40that he's got the championship that he hasn't accomplished

28:42being in an NBA regular season MVP or obviously NBA finals

28:46MVP eventually and and he does want that on the mantle, on

28:50the resume, part of his distinction, however you wanna

28:52label it and what he said was, look, I mean, it's not most

28:58important thing is a title. Winning an MVP is something I

29:01want but it's not gonna distract from the larger goal

29:05but oh by the way like these things historically kinda go

29:09hand in hand like most MVPs if you look back through time

29:13play for contending teams doesn't mean they necessarily

29:17do win a championship but they are on it's the best players

29:20on the best teams and a lot of the time those teams do win

29:24the championship. So, the fact that Tatum takes any grief for

29:28this at all, it just, it's annoying. It's it's

29:32close-minded because he is going out there. It's evident.

29:37I mean, if you watch him and yeah, I talked about how many

29:39shots he's taking. No more than Brown so far but he also is,

29:45you know, think about like ten assists in game one, six

29:49assists in game two, only two total turnovers so far,

29:53facilitating, mistake free. We we have the conversation in

29:56the offseason Ev about the playoff Jason Tatum and I know

30:00the shooting was not there compared to now or compared to

30:03what it was during the regular season but the style, the way

30:06in which he played, your whole rant about point Tatum

30:09stylistically, that is the best Jason Tatum. That is the Jason

30:15Tatum that I wanna watch for the rest of his career and so

30:18far through two games, we're still seeing it and that guy

30:21absolutely belongs in the MVP conversation. Yeah, I mean, I

30:27thought I was foolish that he wasn't. Uh people were making

30:29the point of, you know, there's no way I wouldn't MVP. His

30:33odds surely reflected that. I even made the argument that

30:37that's probably the best value that you could have gotten

30:40before the season started was Tatum's MVP odds were I think

30:45plus 1300. I was like, how is this possible? Like, they're

30:48gonna win a ton of games. Best play the best team. It's

30:51probably gonna be alright. Uh this is the best version. I I've

30:56I've I've pounded the table for this like after the 2022

30:59finals. I was like, this is once Tatum figures out how to

31:02do that part, this team's gonna be unbelievable. I did not

31:05think that this team would also have Drew Holiday on it uh and

31:09Chris Hapsworth's on it. Um those are just luxuries this

31:13point but I did think that this was inside at some point, he

31:17would raise his game to this level. Um and you know, if you

31:21listen to Simmons this week, uh he talked about this is the

31:25Normally, twenty-six, twenty-seven where if you're of

31:30that ilk of the top five, four, three, two, whatever players

31:34in the league. Twenty-seven's normally the year where you

31:37make the oh I'm totally absolutely locking in 100% top

31:41five player in the league and I will cap that with MVP boat.

31:44We went through all of them. You know, being the most recent

31:47one but Yoka's already won three. Um he's he's amazing and

31:53for me, the the turnover stuff is like breaking my brain for

32:00lack of a better word because it's it's normally, you know,

32:03you hold another ball that much, you're gonna turn it over a

32:05lot. The Celtics right now are just absolutely killing teams

32:08with precision and it's led by him but it's it's it that's to

32:12me the best part is like the fact that he can find a way to

32:15harness this without having to turn over to their team and get

32:17guys the other way. It's the best part and as we look

32:20forward here, that's the only thing I if we look at the

32:23shooting and the assist turnover ratio, that's all I

32:25really care about and at the end of the day, if he's

32:28protecting the basketball, shooting a bunch of threes. So,

32:31he's gonna win a lot of games and he's gonna be again, first

32:34team all NBA. He's gonna be in the MVP conversation and you

32:39know, we'll we'll have to wait for Tim Bontemps's little

32:41straw poll to come out uh later on and like I think the first

32:45quarter of the year, first third of the year, we'll have our

32:47first one and see where the chips are but you know, you

32:50know who all the names are. It's not like it's gonna be uh

32:53it's gonna be him and Shea and Luca and and and we'll see

32:57with Embiid. Maybe I don't know. Probably not but uh we

33:00won't. I mean, I don't know. I don't know. I I know. Look, I

33:05I honestly, he won't hit the games played requirement.

33:08Someone who like never sweats the Sixers and II say that all

33:11the time on here. I do like I do love watching Embiid. I

33:15don't want to make that like it's not. I do enjoy it. It's

33:18all the time. I want to throw this to you as we real quick.

33:21I just want to add Tatum is 26 turns 27 in March and all due

33:25respect to Simmons who I'm sure is an avid listener of this

33:28program. We've been saying for 3 years. Wait till Tatum is

33:33262728. Like I was saying that all all last year. I didn't

33:37know if it was hubris because it was my first year around the

33:40team or if and I didn't have the requisite scar tissue that

33:43Celtics fans had for the past 5 years or ever since Tatum

33:47came into the league but I was like when people would ask me

33:50like why haven't they gotten over the hump already and can

33:53they do it this year? Is this team any different? I'm like

33:55yeah, this is when they're supposed to do it like look at

33:59I'm I'm watching the starting dude. I'm watching starting

34:01five right now. Anthony Edwards was 22 last year. Of course,

34:04they ran out of gas and then he and Carl Anthony Towns

34:07bristled at the idea that they have to lose more. It's like

34:09well, I mean, you kind of have to build up to it and our guys

34:13built up to it and you saw what happened last year. They

34:15rolled as much as we all lament the finals against the Warriors

34:21in 22 as a missed opportunity. There is value in that. It sure

34:29as hell a lot more valuable than not getting there. Yes,

34:32rather get there and lose than not be there at all. You know

34:35like that for all the people and this is a whole other thing

34:38like the like God love him like Mike Frances is one of my

34:42favorite people on the planet. The number of times that I have

34:45argued with him about you know, his claim that Joe Montana is

34:48the best quarterback in NFL history because he went to four

34:51Super Bowls and never lost one. So going is and losing is bad

34:56like it's I don't know. I play four seasons because what

34:59happened to the other exactly like I you know, I think

35:03there's value in getting to that final stage, which obviously

35:07again, they did and they you know, they fell short. I

35:11wouldn't go so far as to say they blew it. Some people do

35:13view it that way, but again missed opportunity. No doubt

35:16about it. I mean that was a very winnable series and and

35:19they just they didn't get over the hump, but some of that in

35:22it, you know was inexperience. They've got all the experience

35:25now. No one will ever talk about these Boston Celtics and

35:29use the word inexperience ever people will and and now Tatum

35:33and Brown are old enough that people will not ever make

35:36reference to the other young there to know they're exactly

35:40now where they need to be and where they should be and

35:44entering in Tatum's case because you know, I like to

35:47meet 26 isn't even there. It's 2728 29 in terms of your prime

35:51NBA years Tatum obviously will get there midway through the

35:55year, but he is like he's entering his prime for all that

35:59you feel watching Jason Tatum. He's going to continue to

36:02level up. He's going to continue to ascend and it's I

36:05mean, thank God the dudes under contract and hopefully the

36:08new owners whoever they are whenever they come in want to

36:11keep putting this bill because this is a team and yeah, like

36:14injuries are going to happen. Unfortunately to some of the

36:16best players and we saw it as Celtics fans year after year

36:19after year like it was always somebody whether it's Hayward

36:22or Kyrie or Kemba or smart or Rob or you know, whoever that

36:26I'm not even naming right now it like there were all these

36:29playoff significant players getting hurt and it would just

36:33Brown like it would stifle the run and they were all healthy

36:37last year and look what happened and if they can be

36:40healthy as a unit come April May June. Who's got like truly

36:46who's going to stop him and and this and I'm sorry. I know you

36:50want to throw something back at me, but I was just thinking

36:52about this when Drew was talking about Tatum and Brown

36:54and the whole Batman and Batman or however we want to label it

36:57like I've got this thing on my wall over here that a lot of

36:59people probably have which is a it's like a Celtics history

37:03thing and it's two pictures and it's like the big threes right

37:06and it's you know, Bird and McHale and Parrish at the top

37:09and it's the the dudes that were just all hanging out

37:12together heel in the heart over at the garden the other night

37:15of Garnett and and Pierce and yes, Ray Allen the three of

37:18them taking pictures and just oh what feud what hatred they

37:21have mended fences sometimes winning does that and and and

37:25bringing everyone together. You couldn't do that with this

37:28group or even this era. They don't have like people tried to

37:31kind of force it with Marcus Smart. There was the SI, you

37:34know article that Manix did and and he wasn't responsible for

37:38the cover, but it was smart in the middle and Tatum and Brown

37:40flanking him like this team doesn't it. It doesn't have a

37:44big three. It's a big two, but really it's a big five and I

37:47don't want to disrespect Al Horford, but like it's but you

37:50know like Horford's at the end. He's you know he's he's a

37:53role player at this point. He owns that like he knows who he

37:56is at this stage of his career and we hope he plays forever,

37:58but this is a big five and and that's that's what all those

38:02pictures would look like. It's and I kind of appreciate in

38:04this era of like teams wanting these big threes, you know and

38:09and fighting and and dealing for these big threes not

38:12unlike the Thunder by the way who are younger and

38:15inexperienced as compared to the Celtics and sort of early

38:18on and where the Celtics were a few years ago. They are also a

38:22unit like they've got their clear most important couple of

38:24players, but they are a unit like the Celtics and it's God.

38:29It's effing fun to watch man. It's it's beautiful and let me

38:34just say one more thing on Tatum. If you think about

38:37basketball, a lot of the time teams will take on the

38:40personality of their star player, right and so if if

38:43Tatum is going to be you know 789 assists per game,

38:48typically when guys are averaging that many assists,

38:50they're either a point guard or there's somebody who pounds

38:52the ball a lot right like Harden led the league and

38:55assists a couple times heliocentric Trae Young Luca

38:59not to say this to discredit those guys, but they just are

39:02dribbling the ball a lot. You watch the Celtics team play.

39:06Nobody holds on to the ball for more than like five seconds.

39:09It is not a sticky offense. Even when Tatum and Brown get

39:13to the post and when Porzingis is playing and he's super

39:16efficient in the post even then I don't feel like it's a

39:19sticky offense. They move the ball so well and so compare

39:22that to when Tatum and Brown were younger and there were so

39:25many questions about can that can you build a really

39:28hyper efficient offense around these two guys? There's a lot

39:31of dribbling. There's a lot of redundancy. They play the same

39:34position. They both like to do the same thing get in their

39:36bag. Whatever just look at them now and how much they have

39:40developed and they've done it next to each other and

39:43specifically with Tatum the way that he's been moving the

39:47ball early in the season. Like to me, that's the most

39:50impressive thing because he's always been a great scorer. I

39:52mean he averaged 30 a couple of years ago. His scoring

39:55declined last season, but he was more efficient and he

39:57averaged a career high in assists and I think it's only

39:59going to get better. Alright, we'll take a quick break. Get

40:02right back to the show. What we got to tell you today's show.

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41:33download game time today. What time is it game time? Let's

41:38get back to the show. Yeah, I'll make my first point quick.

41:44The my favorite part about Tatum and he said it. I don't

41:46remember exactly when he said it, but it was after everything

41:49was done. They asked him what would what was the difference

41:52because we didn't skip any steps this year and that's the

41:55big difference. I think with me and listen to a guy like like

41:59it's the Edwards talk after starting five. He goes. Yeah,

42:01you know, we'll be right back here next year about a lot. I'm

42:04like he's mean I he's at some point gonna have to learn like

42:07some certain things that you can only learn by losing and I

42:11think Tatum and Brown had that perspective, but I'll hold

42:13another take just to ask you this because I feel bad. You

42:16guys didn't have the game obviously for ring night. But

42:19what was because we brought up KG Pearson Allen being back in

42:22the garden as a unit. I thought it was awesome that Ray was

42:26brought into this thing to be a part of this because we've

42:30shunned him for a decade plus here. What was it like being in

42:34the building? I mean the juice. I mean all day all of us are

42:38grinning like idiots because it's just is it is it seven

42:42o'clock yet? Is it seven o'clock yet seven o'clock yet? We're

42:44sitting there waiting for all things to start. I got home. I

42:48threw the TV on I have like a Paul Pierce cigar infomercial

42:51happening. I can't get my head around it. You get the TNT

42:56guys there. They do the whole ring ceremony again. Just the

43:00biggest smile you could possibly have the game was amazing. The

43:03environment must have been something else. But what was

43:05ring night like being there first hand room? The whole

43:09thing was beautiful. I was the same way. I have in my my face

43:12hurt after ring night. So I was smiling the whole time and

43:17what I think one of many amazing moments was when koozie came

43:21out and he's 96 years old and you know, Jeff twist has him in

43:24the wheelchair. Jeff twist for those who don't know is Celtics

43:27communications czar who just started his 44th season with

43:31the team. He got there when Mike Gorman did. Yeah. So Jeff is

43:36just he's a legend, you know, rolling out another legend

43:39obviously in coups who had said, you know, about a year

43:42prior. I just want to see one more, right? Pulling them out.

43:46I just yeah, right. Like I got one foot in the effing grave

43:48and I just want to see one more, right? So that was really

43:51that was really neat. Having those guys out there, you know,

43:54I'm glad you brought it up Evan because I saw Ray and I was

43:57like, first of all, where's scowl? I mean, we have what

43:59everyone knows the big four. Everyone talks about that with

44:02Paul KG and Scott. Oh, we got to knock scaled out a couple

44:05pegs here. Come on now, but I'm not doing that. I mean, in

44:08fairness to scale, he choreographed this in 08 during

44:12his postgame presser. He did, you know, he said like in X

44:16number of years people, I'm going to be telling people on

44:20and all that. Scales been building to this moment now and

44:24now he gets to enjoy it. He hosted their podcast at Big

44:27Night before the banner ceremony. But the other thing

44:30was like, I thought Ray Allen wasn't cool with the other

44:33two because he went to Miami. But I guess like you said, I've

44:35been winning heels all and they're all good. And it was

44:38just a celebration of the Celtics family. And I was

44:41thinking of the red quote where he said, you know, the Celtics

44:44aren't a basketball team. They're a way of life kind of

44:47felt like that in the building. So it was a different

44:50emotional feeling. I would say then when they won on game

44:55five when you know, not to sound soft or dramatic, but I

44:59got a little emotional with Jalen one finals MVP because

45:03you know how much that meant to him and how much he's felt

45:07maybe underappreciated in the past and how hard he's worked

45:09to reach that point. And then the parade, which was pure

45:13elation for two straight hours. This was more of like

45:16satisfaction and almost like being at Thanksgiving when

45:21everyone in your family had a really good year like

45:23personally and professionally. That's kind of what it felt

45:26like. So it was a great night. And then to be honest with

45:29you guys, I wasn't worried at all about the team losing

45:32focus one split second when Tatum took the mic and you

45:37know, he was all smiles and talking and then he said,

45:40Let's do it again. And I'm like, oh, yeah, I got no

45:43concern about this team being distracted or losing focus

45:46because of the guys on the team because of the coach really

45:49is the number one reason and what they built and then all

45:52of a sudden they're up by 30 and here we go. Let's do it

45:56again. Yeah, and to come out the way they did right away

46:00to like I was because I don't know. I think I think my

46:05wife loves me, but sometimes I question it because she said

46:08to me at like like six o'clock on on that day on on banner

46:14night, if you will, and she's like, hey, you know, you want

46:17to meet some friends out for dinner. No, like what? Of

46:23course not. She's like, come on. Let's let's go like what

46:26we like. You can get home in time for the game. We're just

46:28going to go down the street. But you know, how so I so I

46:32did and I but I mean we went to a bar all day. I know. So I

46:37like I watched the ring ceremony and everything like

46:39on mute. I recorded it. I recorded this to yourself

46:43brother. Yeah, I recorded it. So I could just you didn't do

46:46Liz like this, man. It's not that's not fair. I mean, I I

46:49record it. I had it, you know, so so I could watch it and I

46:52again like home home by tip off and all that stuff, but I'm

46:55you know, I've got the radio on as I'm driving home and and

46:59like Grandy says to Max, he's like, so how do you like how

47:03do you follow all of that up all of the emotion of that

47:06ceremony and coming out one by one and getting the rings and

47:09and taking the big group photo in front of the banner raising

47:12the thing like you said, Koozie being there in the big three

47:14and all of it and Max is just like, I don't like this is the

47:17most difficult part. I don't know like you got to kind of

47:20figure it out and to figure it out again to the tune of a

47:234324 first quarter advantage. That was when I said I was

47:28like, all right, like they're fine like this and this is this

47:32is not a a Knicks problem. This is a like this is just how

47:36good the Celtics are and and and you know, like I I did

47:40believe the Celtics, you know, I didn't have any doubt in my

47:43mind. The Celtics were going to win opening night. I'm not

47:45saying I thought they were going to dominate and be a

47:47blowout. I just thought they were going to win. I thought

47:49the if nothing else the emotion would carry the mix with the

47:52it takes a little time to work in new pieces. Not that I

47:55guess the Celtics ever really experienced that last year, but

47:58figured the Knicks might have a couple of hiccups along the

48:01way, but to again lead by 20 in the opening quarter was like

48:04my God. And so, you know, and then as you know, that paid

48:08Pritchard stonewalling OG at Anobia to drive to the basket.

48:11That was like it was superhuman that day. I was jacked up. I

48:15could have I watched Sam Hauser and then and then paid

48:19Pritchard stonewall OG at Anobia drives the basket like

48:22two straight possessions and I was like, oh, I didn't think

48:25they'd be a little too juiced up. Like I was like, there's

48:28like again, how the hell do you play this game after like all

48:30the fanfare, the parades and all this stuff? How do you play

48:32this game? And I'm like, nope, these guys and it to drew as

48:35you said, surprise your head coach and her coach is an

48:38absolute psychopath and the best reasons human. I mean like

48:42if we talk about Missoula all the time to he's the best the

48:45postgame. The postgame is what does it right? It's you know,

48:48he's talked all about like the whole turning the page and

48:50we're not defending. We're not repeating. It's a new year all

48:53the Belichick Ian stuff. Obviously, I want to see the

48:56dot on my forehead. Yeah, but but like what he what he goes

49:00down on when he does the whole like the the Wayne's world.

49:03We're not worthy post when he drops down to all fours to

49:05kiss the court when he comes out to shake everyone's hand

49:08get his rings at what the court tastes like blood like this

49:12dude. I wish it did or I wish it did exactly. This dude is

49:16just so I mean he's different. You want to like the Celtics

49:21whatever like phrase used to be like different here.

49:24You're built different. It's always different right? This

49:27dude is different. There is no doubt about it. We've we've

49:30known that but he compared just continues to hammer at home on

49:34a daily basis every time he opens his mouth to the media

49:37and and I love it. I just I can't get enough of it. Is he

49:42the same way to you drew like off camera and stuff? Yeah,

49:46he's a little more I would say low-key than you would see

49:52like in a press conference. He will talk to you about stuff

49:56other than basketball, but he with that being said he is the

50:00same guy all the time in terms of what he believes and the

50:04fact that he won't back down from anything and that he is

50:08just true to himself. I mean to me Joe Missoula is a

50:12beautiful lesson in being yourself at all times. Even

50:17when even when other people think you're a weirdo think

50:23about it guys think about and I've actually tried to learn

50:26from from him as as I step into this role when your step

50:30like Joe Missoula takes over a team that was in the finals

50:33and nobody knows anything about him and he didn't try to fit

50:38in at all. He just was Joe right? So for me trying to

50:42follow Mike and like calling games for the best team in the

50:45NBA trying to do the same things trying to be myself and

50:49I think what Joe did where he didn't change who he was

50:54because people had never seen anybody like him and it makes

50:57people uncomfortable. Sometimes he's okay with that and I

51:01think it's just great and they put the faith in the right

51:04guy. There's no doubt. I totally agree. I love you. I

51:10live for Missoula postgames. They're like my favorite thing

51:13Also, isn't it great how the crowd was chanting one more

51:17three and this is a guy who had to answer questions about why

51:22are we shooting so many threes for like a year and a half

51:25right? You pass forward and it's never thought of that. I

51:28did not think about that. That's that's just wonderful.

51:30We're all the top lies when you're scoring 150 points

51:34again, right? Listen, people people want records. Everyone

51:36wants to see records and and you know, say they were in the

51:39building for it. So, of course, uh alright, real quick

51:42because II don't want to go much longer. We've we've uh

51:45eaten up enough at Drew's time pre show as well but uh the

51:48the other thing that that I'm sure you want to sound off on

51:52a little bit and we spent, you know, we dedicated entire shows

51:56to this conversation in the off season but now we're sort of

51:59seeing it in practice. You know, I've I feel like we have

52:02been leading the charge honestly for a couple of years

52:04now about, you know, especially the moment Malcolm Brogdon was

52:08traded away. Just you wait. You're going to see a bigger

52:11role for Peyton Pritchard and he is going to be more important

52:15for this team and so obviously, the minutes are there. You

52:19know, twenty-five and twenty-eight in the two games so

52:22far. He is your your leading minutes guy off the bench. He

52:26is at least right now, your sixth man. I know there's no

52:29Porzingis shot volume. Now, granted, he shot like **** in

52:33the first game but ten shots, eleven the next time out. So,

52:37he's getting the shots up. He's naturally, most of them are

52:41from three. He even had the one that didn't count the heave,

52:44you know, from three quarters court against the the Wizards

52:47that you know, unfortunate. I I even heard, I I think the guy

52:51on the call, I I saw this floating around on social

52:53media and he made the comment like, you know, well, no

52:57coincidence. That was about a split second too late on that

53:00shot like you have no idea who you're talking about. If

53:03anyone doesn't give a **** about his field goal percentage

53:05wants to take that shot. Yeah. It's Peyton Pritchard. But

53:08what what have you thought so far in terms of again, the

53:12Pritchard impact through a couple of games and and sort of

53:16sizing up that larger role? I just love watching that guy. I

53:21mean, he is such a hooper. It actually is a bit of a dilemma

53:26in my head because as a basketball fan, I actually wanna

53:30see Peyton Pritchard start somewhere and like run his own

53:34to see what he could do. Um but as a Celtics fan, I'm so

53:38glad we have him. Uh because he's another, he's just another

53:43great story guys. Like, how can you not be happy for that guy

53:46who is unhappy, wanted to be traded a couple years ago,

53:50signs a deal which now looks like the best bargain in the

53:52NBA and here he is as a real contributor last year to an

53:57NBA championship team who I think his role will only grow

54:00this year. I mean, he's really, you know, without Porzingis, I

54:03think Peyton is probably the first guy off the bench. He's

54:06probably our sixth man right now. So, I'm just, I'm stoked

54:10for him. I think he does a fantastic job making up for his

54:13size with A, what he does in the gym and B, playing angles. Um

54:18I mean, think about like the guy we played opening night,

54:21Jalen Brunson, not the biggest dude but he's special at foot

54:25work and angles and shooting and finishing and Pritchard to an

54:30extent has a lot of those same characteristics and I also just

54:34appreciate somebody who loves the craft and loves what they

54:38do enough to show up no matter what. So, like Peyton,

54:42everybody could rest and Peyton Pritchard would wanna play one

54:45on five. We could have one dude and Peyton Pritchard be like,

54:48yeah, let's do it. Sign me up cuz he just loves to hoop and

54:52in a league where it's easy to get frustrated, you know, we

54:54talked about some of the guys who missed their openers. It's

54:58easy to get frustrated looking around at guys who don't play.

55:01Peyton Pritchard just loves to play basketball and because of

55:04that, I think he he wants to work as hard as he does and to

55:09me, I've never seen anybody as a professional athlete work as

55:12hard as he does. So, I'm just, I'm thrilled for his success

55:15and I think he'll only continue to get better. I mean, we've

55:18talked about age a lot on the show which I guess is what we

55:20always do as Celtics fans talking about our team. We've

55:22talked about age like he's only gonna get better. Um so, I'm

55:26excited to see, you know, what the future holds for him. I

55:29will say, I don't think he's the best football player on the

55:32team. I will have to disagree with him on that. I don't, if

55:35I were an NFL. Shireman like was legit quarterback. Yeah. I

55:39love the confidence from Peyton but if I were an NFL GM, he

55:42wouldn't be my first pick. Not even remotely close. I I told

55:46you, Kaufman, I texted you. I'm like, I'm already taking

55:48victory laps on my my Peyton Pritchard takes from the off

55:51season. Like. Dude, you should. He's good, man. He's really

55:54good. You talked, I think Drew mentioned earlier in the show

55:57about, you know, pushing pace up twenty-five. Like, that's

56:00the guy doing it. Like, they're up twenty-five and he's like,

56:02running, he sprinted on the floor to start the next set.

56:04He's, he's, and and this is what like kind of stinks like

56:08Tommy would have loved him and that's the problem. Is that

56:11you didn't have the Tommy Hines cuz like that used to drive

56:14Tommy Hines and nuts. Why are you walking the ball at the

56:16floor? Let's go, let's push pace. Peyton's always pushing

56:19pace. I don't care what the score is. I don't care how

56:21much time's left. He's pushing pace. Guys, I again, the the

56:26the drive, the the the fact that he's just a motor,

56:32everything about him. I love him and now there's more of an

56:34opportunity coffin. I'd I'd said this the offseason. He's

56:36gonna he's gonna up everything. He might be not as efficient

56:39cuz he's gonna take way more shots but he's gonna be better

56:42at everything across the board and the thing that I love the

56:44most is a sneaky offensive rebounding. The guy for six

56:47foot one maybe is one of it's one of the best like small

56:51guard offensive rebounders out there. He doesn't mind getting

56:53the middle of it and just ripping it out, pulling it out,

56:56starting the offense again. Guy's awesome. Um I just wish

56:59that one counted. I just wish that one counted cuz we're all

57:02waiting for it now. It's like must see TV. What like we all

57:06learned in the playoffs. Now, every game, if he's on the

57:09floor with a chance of the buzzer beater, you know it's

57:11you know he's getting it. You know what's going on. I love

57:14it. I love it. I love it. He didn't even have enough time to

57:17catch and shoot. It was point, it was point two but if anyone's

57:22gonna be like, actually, I can do this. It's paid and it

57:26wasn't that far off. He's like a tent and two tents up. That's

57:28pretty close. I know. I know. Well, listen, if uh if if Tommy

57:32loved Walter, he uh he would've been trying to adopt Peyton

57:36Britt. Good god with the the love for this dude. There's no

57:39doubt about it. Alright. Well, uh unfortunately, I I feel like

57:42I need to do the Jimmy Kimmel thing. Like, I'm sorry, Derek

57:45White. We ran out of time but lord knows, I'd like to

57:49appreciate you on this show a little bit too with what we've

57:51seen through a couple of games but again, it's just another

57:53dude with a carryover from last year. So, Derek Richard, we

57:56will get to you uh next week. I promise. We're we're gonna

57:59have another fun show on the horizon but uh Celtics

58:02basketball. Uh it continues obviously two games in the

58:06books and uh you know like like we may or may not have

58:10mentioned. Honestly, I'm not sure uh we got Drew joining us

58:13from Detroit in his hotel room uh for people that are

58:16listening not watching and so uh it's it's back at it this

58:20weekend, Saturday night and then back home against Giannis

58:23Dame and the Bucks on Monday. You gotta contest Wednesday in

58:26Indiana to start off a four-game trip and probably I

58:30know we've been getting in the habit of releasing shows on

58:33Fridays but the Celtics play next on Friday next week uh

58:37November 1st. So, might have uh a Halloween Thursday

58:40edition for you here on the show to uh you know, make make

58:45sure we get one last October celebration of the Celtics who

58:48at that point in time may quite possibly still be undefeated.

58:51So, for Evan, Evan Valenti, uh Drew, thanks so much for

58:55hopping on again. The television voice of the Boston

58:57Celtics, Drew Carter over at NBC Sports Boston. I'm Adam

59:01Kaufman, everybody. Enjoy your weekend. Enjoy the Celtics.

59:04Live in the moment and enjoy this path because the playoffs

59:08are a ways away and this is gonna be a whole hell of a lot

59:10of fun before we get there.

59:34you

Could Celtics Be Even Better in '24-25 w/ Drew Carter | Celtics Beat

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