• 2 months ago
Celtics reporter Noa Dalzell goes LIVE with Jack Simone to answer all your questions from the first weeks of the season. We'll dive into what's allowed the Celtics to jump out to an early 4-0 record, the biggest surprises, and what we've learned about this team over the past few weeks. Tune in to get your questions answered as we debrief the early play of Payton Pritchard, how Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have fared through four games, Jordan Walsh's emergence in the rotation, and more.
Transcript
00:00What's up, everyone?
00:28This is Noah Dalzell, and I'm here with Jack Simone of Harden Houdini of How About Them
00:34Celtics.
00:35What's your preferred introduction, Jack?
00:36You're about to say Celtics blog.
00:37I can tell you're about to say Celtics blog.
00:38I was going to say Celtics blog.
00:39Jack is a former colleague.
00:40A former colleague.
00:41A former.
00:42It says on former.
00:43I know.
00:44That's the funny thing about this field is that you don't really, it doesn't really matter
00:50where people work.
00:51They're still your co-workers if they cover the team, you know?
00:52It's the same.
00:53It's still the same people.
00:54Noah versus Jack.
00:55But we're here.
00:56We're going to do a live episode of you at Boston today.
01:02Haven't done one of these since Banner Night, so just an opportunity to answer questions
01:06and just chat about everything that we learned over the last few games here.
01:10Obviously Celtics start 4-0, just beat the Bucs last night.
01:14I thought it was a pretty encouraging win, Jack.
01:16We haven't really discussed it, so we can talk about kind of what you took away from
01:19that one.
01:20But overall, it just felt like one of those wins where it just kind of shows you that
01:23you don't need everything to go right for this team to win.
01:26And I think we've seen that for a couple of consecutive games here.
01:28I also think this early going here this season has shown a couple of good things for different
01:34guys.
01:35Tatum's had his moment, obviously won Easter Conference Player of the Week.
01:38Jalen Brown, I thought, had a tremendous second half yesterday and kind of secured that game.
01:42And then we've seen really good standout performances from the bench, whether that's Peyton Pritchard,
01:47Sam Houser before he got hurt, looked good in preseason.
01:49Jordan Walsh has emerged here, where that's the last thing I would have predicted, honestly.
01:54At this point in the year, the Jordan Walsh was going to be playing good rotation minutes.
01:57So we have a lot to get into, but maybe Jack, we'll start with just your initial take on
02:01how this team has looked through four games here.
02:04Yeah, I mean, 4-0 is hard to complain about, really.
02:07The offense has looked incredible when it's been on.
02:09A little bit of rough patches in the Pistons and Bucks games.
02:13The first half of last night was really rough.
02:16Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown just kind of were fumbling around, playing isolation ball, sort
02:20of matching the style that the Bucks decided to play, where it's just Giannis' turn one
02:24time and Dame's turn another time.
02:27But they turned it around in the second half.
02:28Tatum kind of realized it wasn't his night, sort of deferred until the very, very end
02:33when he was just like, all right, we're up by 10.
02:34Let me try to find something, even though it was unnecessary.
02:37Jalen Brown had a monster second half.
02:38He was like 8 of 11, which was pretty fun to see.
02:41The Pistons game was a bit weird because I think that was the first time they got guarded
02:44in a different way.
02:47But I think the Celtics have looked good.
02:48The only real criticism I would say is I think their defense inside the arc has been
02:53a bit questionable.
02:55I think they've struggled to keep guys off of the, I don't want to say offensive glass,
03:01but they are one of the best three-point defensive teams.
03:06Teams are shooting 29% against them from three, but they're shooting 60% against them inside
03:12the arc.
03:13So that's the only real thing that I think could be improved.
03:16But the offense has been great.
03:18Tatum, despite his bad game last night, he's looked good.
03:20Jalen Brown put it together in the second half last night.
03:23And like you said, all of the complimentary pieces have looked real good in the moments
03:27they've had to step up too.
03:28Yeah.
03:29And how much, I think the point to the pain has been a topic of conversation because we
03:33have to find something that they can improve on.
03:35And I definitely feel like it's a weakness right now, but I mean, how much of that is
03:38just fixed or substantially fixed when Prisingas comes back?
03:43Do you think that's kind of the way that they're thinking about this or how much of
03:47it is also just like the new combinations of bigs and there's just like miscommunications
03:51on that front?
03:53I think a part of it is just math and it's like, all right, we're, we're going to give
03:57up some, some points in the paint here.
03:59But if you guys are shooting terrible from three, because we're closing out and sort
04:03of bailing out and, you know, trying to recover in worst case, you get an open look in the
04:07paint.
04:08We'll take that because it's a two versus a three and they know that they're going to
04:10make more threes in the other team.
04:11So I think part of it is that.
04:12I think having Porzingis back will definitely help.
04:16I think Luke Cornett is useful in that regard a little bit, but he's just not even close
04:21to the same level as Porzingis.
04:22So I just think in general, it is, we would like to focus on limiting threes rather than
04:29limiting twos because I mean, they know they can win that way.
04:32So yeah, definitely.
04:33So I'm just going to, I'm just going through some of these comments.
04:37I do think that the fact that these last two games weren't just like outright blowouts
04:42is better in the longterm.
04:43Like you want to have those experiences and it's fun.
04:46I thought for a second, we were going to watch them just blow out like seven consecutive
04:48teams to start the season.
04:49I was starting to get that feeling after the first two and obviously that hasn't happened
04:54with the Detroit, you know, comeback and then, you know, last night was, it was pretty close
04:58for the first three quarters, but it's more fun to watch and there's more to talk about
05:01it and there's more kind of high stakes decision-making and then you have real Jordan Walsh minutes
05:05instead of like fake Jordan Walsh minutes, which is what we saw last year when he played.
05:10And so yeah, 4-0, I think there's three teams that remain undefeated in the NBA right now,
05:14the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder being the other two.
05:19And you know, kind of what I expected, honestly, I don't think any of us expected them to have
05:23a slow start.
05:24So I have a question here about Porzingis and I'll just say like, we haven't heard anything
05:29new about Porzingis unless you have Jack, but nothing on the record, you know, from
05:33Joe or Brad or anybody like that.
05:35But we did see him warm up yesterday and look pretty normal.
05:40That's the first time I've seen him warm up or do anything on the floor besides for
05:44us on some clips in Abu Dhabi that he was doing some stuff.
05:47Did you catch any of that?
05:49No, I mean, there was just, I just remember him working on the summer in Latvia with like
05:53DJ McClay and stuff.
05:54I don't really know if there is like, like you mentioned, we haven't heard much since
05:59media day and when he said like, yeah, I've done a little bit of running, a little bit
06:02of stuff, but I'm pretty much on track.
06:04We did have the Shamshirani update today of like, December is still the date, maybe sooner,
06:09but they, he talked about like, they have a plan for him and he has to meet certain
06:12metrics based on how his calf looks, his leg looks stuck, stuff like that.
06:16And it just kind of seems like they're in a space of, we don't need him.
06:20Why rush him back?
06:22Because I still like, I think they're the best team in basketball without Kristaps Porzingis.
06:25It's kind of scary having him there.
06:28It is wild.
06:29Like I think Kristaps Porzingis coming back will make them even better.
06:33I know Sam brought it up once because he saw a tweet.
06:36It's like, it's kind of having like a part-time worker hanging out on the sidelines waiting
06:40to play when he needs to.
06:42And it's just like a two-way defensive monster who's an all-star, just working part-time
06:48for the best team in the NBA.
06:49It's kind of a ridiculous luxury that they have just waiting.
06:51Yeah.
06:52It's kind of weird.
06:53So I'm working on this story right now for SB Nation.
06:56It's going to be one of those stories that I get killed for.
06:58I can already feel it in advance, but basically it's about how we're, people are just so upset
07:04at guys that are injury prone and like the kind of vitriol that Kawhi Leonard has faced
07:08and Joel Embiid now and all that.
07:10And basically the premise is like, nobody wants to be injured.
07:13But I do think that there's something to be said about the fact that you can't really
07:17build around players that every season miss considerable time.
07:21And Kristaps Porzingis is one of those players and they are not building around him.
07:24Like he is a piece of this team and he's important, but as we saw last year, like they can win
07:29without him.
07:30As we're seeing right now, they can win without him.
07:31And I think that's the challenge with guys like Kawhi and Embiid is like those teams
07:35are structured around those stars and they really can't sustain winning without those
07:39players.
07:40And so it ends up being like, everybody's mad at those players.
07:42Whereas, you know, we have indicators to tell us that, you know, this upcoming year Porzingis
07:47is probably going to miss time again next season and Kawhi is going to miss time because
07:50these things aren't random for the most part, knock on wood, but they, you know, usually
07:54the best indicator of future injuries is past injuries.
07:57And so with the Porzingis thing, like, you know, I believe the December report, but I
08:01also think they're going to take it even easier on him than they did last year.
08:04And I already remember last year, like every time he tweaked something, it was seven games.
08:07And he talked about being frustrated that when I was in Atlanta, he was like, you know,
08:11I've wanted to come back from all of these things.
08:12And every time they're telling me to be careful, but in the playoffs, I'm going to just go
08:15for it.
08:16And obviously that he actually got hurt.
08:17But do you, could you see him like just after this initial thing, when he comes back, like,
08:23do you think, how do you think they're going to treat his minutes?
08:25And how do you think they're going to just view him, his role?
08:27Like, is it going to be a six man type thing?
08:29Or do you think they're going to bring him back to what the initial vision was, which
08:32is, you know, being the starting guy?
08:35I think they're probably going to use him like they use him in the finals.
08:38Like, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he's just coming off the bench playing like spot
08:42minutes, like to get a little bit warm.
08:43So he doesn't have to bang down low with like the biggest bodies in the starting lineups.
08:47It just like, it doesn't make sense to you because they, they don't need him.
08:51Like as crazy, crazy as that sounds as, as much as, you know, the Celtics did deal with
08:56injuries in the playoffs because Kristaps Porzingis was out for almost all of it.
08:59And like, they, they don't need them.
09:01They are better than most teams without Kristaps Porzingis.
09:04He is nothing more than a luxury and you would like to have that luxury for the playoff.
09:07So why try to push him in the regular season?
09:11I think they limit his minutes.
09:12I think they bring him off the bench.
09:13And if not, I think they'd be very, very careful with him because Al Horford has proven more
09:18than capable of filling in the gaps as have Cornette and Tillman and Kada for stretches.
09:23Like you really don't need to run that risk.
09:26So why bother?
09:27Yeah, I feel that.
09:28Yeah, I feel that.
09:29And I feel like at the end of the day, you know, things change and circumstances change.
09:32I don't know that anybody could have expected that Al Horford was still going to be playing
09:35at this level at this point.
09:38My favorite thing to be right about is saying that Al Horford is not washed pretty much
09:42because I feel like every time he has a couple of these bad games, there's a natural conversation
09:46of like, he's 38 years old, you know, he's, you know, he's not going to be able to sustain
09:50this forever.
09:51Like, are we seeing the beginning of the end here?
09:53And every time people start saying that it's almost like, he and I'm sure he's not paying
09:58attention to it.
09:59But it's like, every time it starts to pick up traction again, he goes and has a series
10:02of really good games.
10:03And you know, he was big in Detroit, get 17 points than last night, obviously, defensively,
10:07I was watching some of his defensive pilots this morning, and I was like, how is this
10:10still happening?
10:11That the allies is still able to do this on both ends?
10:14What were your kind of what's your perspective on him at this point right now?
10:17Like, do you think that they can count on him to replicate this all season?
10:21And just like, is it a yawning thing?
10:23I don't know.
10:24I feel like when he sees Giannis, and there's a couple guys in the league that just bring
10:26out that playoff competitiveness in him almost.
10:30It is unbelievable.
10:31Like, he is 38 years old, and he looks 25.
10:35Just the way he plays.
10:36Like, if you told somebody who had no concept of how old any of these guys were, they just
10:40like, they spent their entire life just watching like high school basketball, whatever, they'd
10:44never touched the NBA.
10:45And they watched it, they'd be like, all right, well, I think it's probably 27, maybe like
10:4820, maybe 30.
10:49Like, he's 38 years old.
10:51And he's moving like he is in the prime of his career because the Celtics have done such
10:54a good job of putting him in a role where he has to do three things he has to space
10:58the floor and shoot threes.
10:59He has to set screens, and he has to guard bigs.
11:02And when that big is Giannis, the role expands, and maybe he doesn't do as much on offense
11:05because he's taking on a larger, you know, front on the defensive end, but he's fine
11:10with that.
11:11And he's proven capable of doing that.
11:12If it's a bead, he can bang down low for a game, but they have done such a good job.
11:16Like, he's been sitting on the second half of back to backs for three years now.
11:19They are limiting him as much as they need to.
11:21And he looks like rejuvenated because of that.
11:25And they've done a good such a good job of putting him in such a niche role where he
11:28only has to do the things he's best at.
11:30And they've really done that for everybody on the team outside of JB and JT and even
11:34them have been put in better spots because the talent around them, that it just makes
11:37him look like I don't like calling him a better player than he is isn't the right words.
11:41But it makes him look like he is 10 years younger because he doesn't have to do stuff
11:47that a normal all-star normal role player would have to do whose roles, you know, bounce
11:52around from this that on different nights.
11:53He knows his role.
11:54He knows how to play it and he plays it well.
11:56And he's kept himself in ridiculous shape at 38 years old.
12:00So it's it's both surprising and not surprising because we have had no indicators in the past
12:06X amount of years that Horford is going to slow down other than that, you know, run where
12:10he couldn't shoot from three, but like that that had nothing to do with how bad or good
12:15he is as a player.
12:16He's got a slump clearly.
12:17So there's nothing that is yeah, and I think because he's older it's like when he has a
12:21shooting slump people are like, okay, he's he's washed now, but I always say this like
12:27shooting is inherently streaky.
12:28Even the most consistent shooters like everybody is going to have stretches and the question
12:31is how infrequent are those stretches if they're not very frequent, then you're a really good
12:35shooter and if they're every other day like me, then you're not.
12:37And so I feel like, you know, Al Horford so far through four games 62.5 percent from three
12:43like that's not sustainable, but also that's pretty remarkable that that's his percentage
12:46right now, considering the fact that a couple weeks ago, people were saying, you know, preseason
12:50he's had the first few games, you know, he played just in Toronto, he didn't look exceptionally
12:53good.
12:54And now he really hasn't missed a beat.
12:55So the plan worked.
12:56It is yeah, he didn't make 38 is forever going to be the most shocking thing, even just staying
13:00next to him like nothing about him appears to be 38.
13:03So it's just one of those things.
13:05But I'm just going to scroll through these here because I sometimes people get mad when
13:08I miss a lot of these comments.
13:10So I'm just going to make sure I don't miss any.
13:13Jordan Walsh, Tommy here, one of the most loyal, loyal UI Boston listeners, I'm wondering
13:18about whether Walsh will get the shape or set energy role going forward, was pretty
13:23impactful yesterday.
13:24And again, like these are minutes without Hauser, which is all good and fine.
13:27And I'm glad that this stretch happened because it did give us the opportunity to see Jordan
13:32in a more extended role.
13:34My perspective is that his ceiling is definitely higher than O'Shea's.
13:36And that's the hope, at least because O'Shea's not in the league right now.
13:39So you want that to be the ceiling.
13:41Do you feel like there's ways where he's not as ready as O'Shea was last season?
13:46Or kind of how do you compare those two?
13:48I think he's pretty much on par where O'Shea was last season.
13:52And that's not like a shot at O'Shea.
13:54I think Jordan has just made strides.
13:56I think he is a lot better in the right spots and doing what he needs to do and sort of
14:03accepting that he's not going to be, you know, a primary scorer.
14:07Obviously, he needs to hit those corner shots that he wasn't able to hit last night.
14:11I mean, I wrote about it this morning.
14:13He was a part of them winning the game in that third quarter.
14:16That house of play to keep the possession, and that kept momentum for them going into
14:20the third.
14:21And it took it from they were down one to up eight in the span of three minutes.
14:25And then they just won the game in the fourth, and the Bucs didn't really have an answer.
14:29So I think Jordan Walsh is fully capable of playing minutes when they need him to.
14:33Obviously, the offense is still a little raw.
14:35And so you're not going to see him get regular minutes until he is ready to contribute regularly
14:39on that side of the ball.
14:41But I still do think he is fully capable of playing the O'Shea minutes, maybe a bit more
14:46than that, even.
14:47Yeah.
14:48And I'm curious, because I honestly thought after summer league, and I mean, we were both
14:51in Vegas.
14:52That was a really rough showing.
14:54I hate like, I hate overreacting to things like that's my I would say that's one of my
14:59hallmarks as someone covering this team, and I really don't like overreacting to the negative.
15:03That was tough to keep his performance in perspective, because there wasn't really anything
15:08positive to draw.
15:09I wasn't like just the shot wasn't falling.
15:11It was kind of just a mess across the board.
15:14And now that he has come out and said it was unacceptable.
15:17I feel like we can just, you know, there was really nothing to nothing good there.
15:20And even DJ McClay, like talking to him after games, you could tell that he didn't even
15:24really know what to say.
15:26The fact that that's the same player that now is coming in and in a big fourth quarter
15:31minutes, you know, putback stocks on Yana, it's like, I did not see this coming.
15:35And it is a good reminder that everything is, you know, things that seem really huge
15:39or seems like, you know, this is who you are right now, it's just like a confidence thing
15:43a lot of times, and you find a good rhythm all of a sudden, and now things are great.
15:46And, you know, surely he got better.
15:48And like, I'm sure he's worked really hard on his game.
15:50He's talked about drew holiday talking to him about slowing down.
15:53But there's also an element of like, clearly, he's just in a better mental space.
15:57And I think that he's also more comfortable being in this role where he has to come in
16:00and not do anything super dramatic, like he just to come in and not make mistakes and
16:04play hard.
16:05Whereas in Vegas, he was thinking about like, I'm going to go over 15 points.
16:08And that's a different, a whole different mindset and a whole different perspective
16:11to have.
16:12But that's, he's been my biggest positive takeaway so far, as as insignificant as he
16:17is in the scheme of like a championship run, just because I did not see it coming and everything
16:21else that we're seeing so far is not a huge shock.
16:24Like I thought Tatum was going to be good.
16:25I wasn't worried about a shooting.
16:27Yeah, I wasn't worried about john Brown, like, Al, I'm the biggest proponent of like, he's
16:31going to keep doing this forever until proven otherwise.
16:34So the Jordan thing, I just really didn't see coming.
16:36And so it's encouraging that a guy who was looking to be maybe like, he's not ready or
16:39he's a few years away from being a few years away to all of a sudden, I'm like, he's going
16:42to be in Boston all year like, are we even going to see him in Maine?
16:45I don't know.
16:46Yeah.
16:47No, I mean, there were murmurs like there was an actual talk, but you could hear some
16:51whispers on Twitter, whether it was whatever it's really like, do they need to wave and
16:55stretch this guy?
16:56Like it was that bad.
16:57They were freaking out on Twitter.
17:02He was like, completely lost.
17:03So to see him turn it around, I think what you said makes the most sense.
17:06Like, it is completely different, different roles.
17:09Thanks, Sam.
17:10I appreciate you.
17:11It's completely different roles.
17:12It's like, you go from trying to be the guy trying to like, focus on Okay, I have to impress
17:17these people just like, Alright, I know, I know, I just have to, you know, play my role
17:22next to Tatum and Brown, I just have to, you know, get to my spot that I just have to hit
17:25threes.
17:26I just have to focus on staying open and hustling on defense.
17:29Like, it's much easier to focus.
17:30And I think that's why the Celtics in general, are so successful.
17:34And it goes to kind of top guns here said in the chat, like, why aren't they using cornet
17:37from three?
17:38I think realistically, because like, cornet is so effective, because he has so few things
17:41to focus on.
17:42And not that he's incapable of spacing the floor and maybe popping up from three and
17:46taking a couple.
17:47But like, when you define these guys roll to for cornet example, like, set good screens
17:51roll to the rim and be a pass on the offensive glass, like if that is all he has to focus
17:55on, he can really focus and really, you know, attack those skills.
17:59And that is such a luxury the Celtics have because how much talent they have.
18:02And I think that applies to Jordan that applies to cornet applies to everyone.
18:05And so when you have such a deep roster with so many good, good players on it, you allow
18:10them to sort of focus on those things.
18:12And I think your holidays and even more perfect example because like, take him out of Milwaukee
18:16where he has to be like secondary shot creator where he has to step up when when Chris Middleton's
18:21out and all this stuff and then put him in a role where he is spacing the corner from
18:24three taking the occasional three and transition, excuse me, and then just being a menace on
18:28defense, like, you really just define what all these guys have to do.
18:32And Ben, that's not very nice.
18:33I think you got to be a bit more nice to me in the chat, but I'm trying my best out here.
18:37The problem for me in the chat is that I, I like stay at the top and then I realized
18:42I'm like 15 minutes behind where the call.
18:44Yeah, you gotta scroll all the way down.
18:45I know.
18:46That's like, I'm learning.
18:47I'm working on that.
18:48I don't want to miss anything, you know, coming in and I'm still at like 531 and that's not
18:53where people are talking about anymore.
18:55Not sure about this jack.
18:56Yeah, you know, we'll see if we'll renew his contract after today.
19:00It is really nice.
19:01Oh, he doesn't.
19:02Oh, you?
19:03Yeah.
19:04I think I still have like rib damage from the 30 times that I've run into one of your
19:12screens.
19:13Like I actually, I'll take that.
19:16I'll take it as a compliment.
19:17Yeah.
19:18Jack and I, we are going to play 1v1.
19:19For those of you that don't know, we, you know, there was a video out there that didn't
19:23make Jack look the best, you know, he's still kind of rehabilitating his public image.
19:27It wasn't my fault and the video didn't capture that it wasn't my fault.
19:34He's in a two way.
19:35So we'll see.
19:36You know, if I feel like the one on one won't be good enough, maybe some footage will be
19:39released again.
19:40So we'll see.
19:42It is a tough matchup for me, I'm not going to lie.
19:45It's got to be released.
19:46It's a tough matchup for me.
19:47There will be a camera there.
19:49That is the only way I'm playing is if there's a camera there.
19:52I don't do well with the physicality.
19:54So we'll see.
19:55A couple of questions here about just like tough matchups.
20:00I think people are already talking about OKC and OKC, I feel like it was the most popular
20:05analyst pick going into the season.
20:07So many people have OKC Celtics in the finals.
20:11Obviously, they were the number one seed in the West last year, and I think they had the
20:14best offseason of anybody, except maybe the Celtics brought everybody back.
20:17But just bringing Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein, I love those moves.
20:20I feel like they didn't really lose much.
20:21No offense to Josh Giddey, but I don't think he was a great fit there.
20:25And then also some questions.
20:27I can't find the question now.
20:28But oh, yeah, just about what the Celtics record is is going to be.
20:31And I hate predicting records because I feel like I just whatever I say is going to be
20:35wrong.
20:36So let's hear your take on just what the worst case scenario would be for the Celtics
20:40as a finals matchup.
20:41Like who right now would be the most difficult opponent?
20:44And then also just how you forecast the overall record being.
20:48I don't know if you have a preseason record prediction.
20:55I said 59, but I think I underestimated how good they would be on the repeat year.
21:00And so I think 59 is way too low.
21:03I think they can win a lot more than 59 games.
21:05I put that.
21:06I forget when I guess that I predicted every single game of the Celtics season.
21:10So I can look back.
21:11Let me see.
21:12Predicting every game of Celtics season.
21:16So I might already be wrong because I think I predicted a loss within the first four games
21:20of the year.
21:21So I yeah, I had them.
21:23No, I said four.
21:24No, my first loss was actually the Pacers.
21:26So I could still be right.
21:28My first loss prediction was tomorrow night in Indiana.
21:32I think I wildly underestimated how good this team will be.
21:36I also don't like predictions, but I do think they could win even more than they won last
21:40year.
21:41Like, I don't know how many it will be, but I think they are an even better team than
21:44they were last year, regardless of Porzingis being out.
21:46Just because I think a lot of people underestimated.
21:48Like last year was the first time that group played together ever.
21:52It was Joe Missoula's first, you know, full season as the head head coach, not being thrown
21:56into the fire and forced to adapt on the fly.
21:58It was the first season Drew Holiday ever played in the Celtics uniform.
22:01It was the first season Christoph Porzingis ever played in the Celtics uniform.
22:06You know, roles were shifted.
22:07Peyton Pritchard was thrust back into the rotation after a year of being out of it effectively.
22:11And now you have a new year, a new, you know, chance for these guys to develop even more
22:17chemistry to show off how much they've grown together.
22:20I think they're a better team than they were last year somehow.
22:23And so I think they could win more games than they won last year, which was what, 64.
22:27So I think 65 plus.
22:29Okay.
22:30I haven't been for like 60.
22:32I don't know if I put it that officially, but I think there's going to be some stretches
22:35there where they just inevitably are going to lose some games.
22:40It's so hard to see that right now.
22:42But I think it's inevitable.
22:44I don't know.
22:45They have a interesting couple coming up here, you know, a couple of a couple of road games
22:49in Indiana to Charlotte games, which I'll be at and then Atlanta.
22:53So all four, I mean, all these games are winnable, obviously, but all four could see them coming
22:58away with all four wins.
22:59The Pacers were due for one, they haven't looked great this season, and they've always
23:02given the public a tough matchup.
23:04So we'll see how that one goes tomorrow.
23:07Before we talk about I still want to hear your finals, your finals pick for kind of
23:10what the worst case would be.
23:11Just a quick message from our friends over at Game Time.
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24:05What time is it?
24:06Game Time.
24:07So let's hear it, Jack.
24:10Who is the worst case scenario as far as who has a real chance?
24:13Celtics coming out of the East.
24:14I'm going to just say that for now because nobody on the East has, I think we're too
24:18early to really figure out who are the formidable contenders here because the ones that we were
24:21talking about in the offseason haven't looked great so far.
24:25Who out of the West do you think is the biggest challenge for this team?
24:29I do think it is OKC.
24:31I was coming into the season still saying it was the Nuggets, but they've looked really,
24:34really bad through the first few games of the season.
24:36So I've got some actual concerns about their ability to get that far.
24:40So I think OKC is probably the safe bet.
24:43I just think they have the best all around.
24:47I don't think they have like the, like I think Jokic is the best player.
24:50I think Luka and Kyrie is probably the best duo, but I think there are the fewest holes
24:55in the OKC roster top to bottom, and so I think that's sort of the reason why they'd
24:59be the best.
25:00I think they have a great defense.
25:01Chats look amazing through the first few games.
25:03I think Cruz has a perfect fit.
25:05I think Hartenstein will be awesome.
25:07Excuse me when he comes back from his injury.
25:11I think there are some other teams like I think Minnesota could be OK, but they're looking
25:15a little wonky, just like the Randall Fitz doesn't seem amazing to me, even though I
25:19do think he gets too much of a bad rep.
25:21The Lakers have looked really good to start the season, as have the Suns, and the Mavs
25:24I think are always a threat too, but I think OKC is just the easiest pick because they've
25:29looked pretty dominant so far.
25:30Yeah, they do seem like the easiest pick, and it's so hard to analyze teams like a week
25:37in.
25:38I feel like I go back to previous seasons and people would get so high about like the
25:40Pelicans and then they ended up not even making the playoffs or what, you know, there's always
25:43those early successes that a lot of it is based on schedule or early chemistry or injuries
25:48or things.
25:49So it's hard to tell.
25:50But I think OKC is a good guess, a good prediction.
25:53Suns, we'll see.
25:56I'm still not sure about the Suns, but on paper, they should be a lot better than what
26:00we saw last year.
26:01Yeah, I feel like the Lakers, if you know, I know it's early on, but if if Anthony Davis
26:08has like an MVP season, and yeah, I don't know, I don't want to get ahead of myself
26:13here.
26:14There's another like sneaky contender team that I think could could pose a challenge
26:18and we're talking about a team that didn't even make didn't do anything last year.
26:21So oh, there we go.
26:22Okay, I feel us.
26:23Yeah, and I was thinking like, you know, the really physical type teams that you know,
26:30they might really have a big frontcourt player that does a lot of damage.
26:34Like, that's where I feel like the hellies can have weaknesses.
26:39But I understand there's also just a level of confidence, it's not going to be shaken
26:42by any of these names, at least right now when we're talking about a fully healthy
26:45Celtics team, and all these teams that really haven't shown that they can do all that much.
26:50I do feel like the Mavericks have been a little disrespected, just like nationally, like nobody's
26:54talking about them, like they're the final team.
26:58But you could you see them making another finals run this season?
27:03Definitely.
27:04I think clay's a better fit than people give him credit for too, because like, everyone
27:08took that all of 10 shooting game at the end of last season said like, Oh, this guy sucks
27:11now, like, like bad shooting games happen.
27:13I still think clay is a fine NBA player.
27:15He's not all star clay Thompson, but I still think he's a very high level role player at
27:20the very least.
27:21And he is a better shooter than anybody that was on that Mavericks team in the finals last
27:26season.
27:27Like, I mean, I was I was parading it all throughout the finals, I thought it was embarrassing
27:30that last year's version of the Mavericks made it to the finals because of how little
27:36shooting they had around Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, like just key in on those guys,
27:40you kick it out and you live with PJ Washington and Derek Jones chucking a million threes.
27:44And it didn't work at points during the first three rounds, because those guys got hot.
27:47But now that you have clay Thompson there, now that you have a little bit more reliable
27:51spacing at the very least, even if it's just one guy, like that makes all the difference
27:55sometimes.
27:56So I think they're a good team.
27:58I think Luka is one of the best players in the league.
28:00I think Kyrie is one of the best players in the league.
28:03I think they have a shot.
28:04I think the Mavericks are a bit more well equipped to beat them this year in terms of
28:07experience in terms of talent.
28:09I think there are other teams who could take them out, but I don't think it's impossible
28:12that they make it back for sure.
28:14Yeah, I like I'm, I'm a rare Boston person who really likes clay Thompson.
28:20So I'm rooting for a great season for him.
28:22I feel like he's not a popular character in my life.
28:25Like everybody does not like him.
28:26People.
28:27I don't know my roommates don't like him.
28:29My brother hates him.
28:30I mean, not hate, but like, they don't, I guess he's not rooting for him.
28:33So I feel like I live in this bubble where people are not not big clay Thompson fans.
28:37But I was just scrolling through the chat because I wanted to go through this question.
28:40Because naturally, we have to talk about being Pritchard.
28:43And I saw this sentiment floating around on Twitter today.
28:46And I'm not sure what my answer is.
28:48And you know, I'm very high in Pritchard.
28:49But the question here from Birkin is, can we see PP as the ultimate Drew replacement
28:54as he slowly moves towards retirement in a couple of years?
28:57Or is Pritchard size ultimately a concern?
29:01So I have to do a hard pivot here.
29:03But I do think we should talk about how Pritchard has been exceptional here these last few games
29:08He's averaging 20.7 points with these last three games.
29:11He's hit like 18 of his last 26 threes.
29:13Nobody on the team has had more threes than him this season.
29:16And so he's not going to keep this production up.
29:19But obviously, what we've seen so far is super encouraging.
29:22But is there a world where because I've always thought like, I can see him eventually becoming a starting guard.
29:27But it's never been in my head in green.
29:29Like, I don't see it in Boston.
29:31And I guess my question to you is, is there a world where it is in Boston, and we're just I'm just I don't have a vision
29:37yet. And I need to just I need to just get there.
29:39I think maybe I think maybe like, realistically, you talk about just the financial situation
29:45this roster is in with, you know, maybe not wanting to keep this top five together
29:51past next season or the season, whatever.
29:52Like, you're going to inevitably have to make some financial decisions.
29:56You have Pritchard on an amazing contract.
29:57It's probably going to make you're definitely going to make more on his next deal at this rate.
30:02There's no reason, in my opinion, that he can't start next to Derek White or Jalen Brown or whoever.
30:07At the very least, be a spot starter.
30:10I think he's a phenomenal player.
30:11I think he is wildly underrated in general.
30:14I know you share the same sentiment, but he is small.
30:19He is never going to be like an elite defender, nowhere close to like Derek White or Drew Holiday.
30:23But he's not a bad defender by any means.
30:25Like he hustles. He's in the right spots.
30:27He knows how to use his size to his advantage or at least mitigate some of the potential downfalls that come with being just a shorter guard.
30:35I think you would probably ideally like him most in that six-man role,
30:39but there's no reason that he can't be a starter on a great Celtics team, in my opinion.
30:45Okay, that's the ultimate belief, because I feel like that's been the hang-up for a lot of people who even believe in him.
30:51It's like, can you do this on a championship team?
30:54And I do think we have to...
30:56What I want to look into is like, what comparisons are there of guys his size with his physical limitations
31:04actually being on a championship team?
31:08And that is the question.
31:10And I think he acknowledged it yesterday, wasn't he?
31:12That he said, I know that there's limitations, like I can't bang down low.
31:16He's never going to be able to do that the same way that other guys can't.
31:18And it's unfair. It's in his control.
31:20But yeah, this is a good point.
31:24He wasn't really playing against Dallas.
31:26In game five, he only played four seconds.
31:28We talk about that all the time, but he was not in the rotation.
31:32And so I guess I don't know what the answer is.
31:35I would love to see it happen, because I would hate that physical limitation
31:38being the reason why somebody can't be a role that they're talented enough to be in.
31:42But I also think like a lot of these comments about how he struggled last season,
31:46like my expectation is that he's a lot better,
31:48and he's going to be better this year than he was last year.
31:50Maybe that's not the case, but we'll see.
31:54I also just need to acknowledge this comment.
31:56I hate to do this, but every time I get excited about a player,
32:00this is about Klay Thompson.
32:01I get accused of having a crush on them, and I always let it go.
32:04So this is not to throw this person under the bus.
32:07But I can only have positive takes on people,
32:09and they're always going to be mad because I cover the Celtics and I cover the NBA.
32:12I know.
32:13So I have to acknowledge it.
32:14I don't have a crush on Klay Thompson.
32:16I do love three-point shooters, and I did love the Warriors when I was in high school.
32:20So I'm always going to be drawn to three-point shooters.
32:23My dad was a three-point shooter.
32:25I, on a good day, am a three-point shooter.
32:26So if I have a bias, that's what it is.
32:29But I can't let these comments go on any longer.
32:31I was getting them in the finals last year every single day about Jalen Brown.
32:36Yeah, you can see my WNBA coverage too,
32:37and you can see that I have players that I like.
32:39So anyways, I had to just say that because I always let these comments go.
32:44And you guys can keep saying them,
32:46but it's only fair that I defend myself once in a while.
32:48And I probably wouldn't do it if Jack wasn't here, but he gave me the confidence.
32:53So okay, let's quick message from our friends over at Price Picks.
32:57And then I just want to talk about
32:59if you do have any concerns about this team before we wrap up here.
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34:52I'm going to say.
34:56Okay, so any concerns Jack for you about this team
34:59from what we've seen through four games here?
35:01Anything that you didn't foresee that it maybe is a little bit of a challenge?
35:08I think the defense hasn't been quite as locked in as maybe you wanted to see.
35:12Obviously, the offense has been amazing.
35:14Defense hasn't necessarily been bad,
35:16but they are giving up a ton of points in the paint.
35:18I think the three-point defense has been good.
35:19It's kind of like what I talked about at the very start of the show,
35:21but it just seems like they are.
35:24It seems like they're selling out almost too much to three-point line.
35:28Like I remember the first the Pistons game or the box game,
35:32but there was a game where Jason Tatum was just kind of like
35:34waltzing through coverages.
35:35It seems like they're selling out for the three is almost too much.
35:38And that is like leading to open shots inside.
35:41I mean, Jalen Duran and Isaiah Stewart and even Brooke Lopez at times
35:45were just like murdering the offensive glass and sort of killing them inside.
35:49I don't think that's because the Celtics don't have the size or the personnel.
35:52Like I don't think it's a like,
35:54oh, I'll Horford's old and they don't have another big like,
35:56but like, I don't think that's the problem.
35:57I think they're just focusing so much on,
36:01you know, taking away the three-point shot and it's working.
36:04And the math tells you that's great, right?
36:06Like the math tells you that that'll win games.
36:08But like to your point, when you get in a team or playing a team,
36:11like they play Anthony Davis,
36:13or if Joel and beat is magically healthy in the playoffs,
36:15like you need to be able to adjust your defense a little
36:18and maybe focus some more on the post guys.
36:21So I do think it is a little bit like,
36:24you know, not concerning, maybe isn't the right word,
36:26but just like, I would like to see the defense lock in a bit more
36:30because they have been, I don't know where they rank in terms of like,
36:34how many points per game they're giving up so far.
36:38Like, I don't know where they rank in that retrospect.
36:41They currently are giving up only 109 points per game,
36:46which I say only, but that is still top 10 in the league.
36:48So it's not bad, but there's room for improvement.
36:52Like, I don't think there is any one spot where the Celtics are like,
36:54oh my God, they're really bad.
36:55Like they're just too good at the basketball team.
36:57But if there is one room for improvement,
36:58I would say like focus a bit more on protecting the pay
37:01because I think that's been pretty meh.
37:02Yeah. And honestly,
37:06like it is hard to look at team-wide stats this early on,
37:10because then you talk about like the fourth quarter of the Knicks game,
37:13the fourth quarter of the Wizards game,
37:16like these are, it skews all of these statistics
37:18because those units didn't look great also,
37:20like those late game units.
37:22Whereas last year, I feel like all the stats were padded
37:24when you had the end of bench guys,
37:25because Pritchard was out there kind of running the show.
37:28I feel like this last, you know,
37:30these last few games where there were blowouts,
37:31like those probably didn't help the numbers,
37:33but we'll see as we get more games under our belt here,
37:36like what things look like
37:37and where there are some limitations.
37:39Certainly defense, like you don't want there to be any drop-off
37:42because it was such a strength last season.
37:44I still think that with the Celtics team,
37:46it's maybe the most underrated component of their success
37:49is just how consistent they were defensively,
37:52how little things they had to exploit.
37:54Everybody talks about the offense and the shooting
37:56and all, you know, the many all-stars and everything.
37:58But there was a point last season
38:00where I was actually like,
38:00this is what's really setting them apart from these other teams
38:03is this just lack of mistakes across the board.
38:06And so there's going to be changes this year
38:08because the rotations are a little bit different.
38:10Even Tillman playing more minutes or, you know, things like that,
38:13there's going to be some adjustments being made there.
38:16But overall, I would agree.
38:18I would agree with you.
38:18It's a little too hard to say where things are at.
38:22And if there is something to be worried about,
38:24Joe, I know, talked pregame or postgame yesterday.
38:26He started his postgame by kind of disputing a transition stat
38:29that Bobby Manning asked him about.
38:30I think like kind of just pointing to the fact
38:33that it's hard to draw a lot out of this right now.
38:36But from a personnel standpoint,
38:37I thought the Tatum has looked good defensively.
38:40I thought that Jalen Brown opening night
38:42kind of set the tone with Jalen Brunson
38:45and forcing him into that eight seconds violation
38:47and just, you know, showcasing that he's not going to miss a beat here
38:50with all the intensity that he approached last season with.
38:53And then Derek White truly had, I think,
38:56some of the most impressive defensive plays
38:57that I've ever seen in these last few games.
38:59Like the block where he recovered from guarding Dame
39:03to then switching on to Giannis,
39:05like I don't even know how he got off of him in time.
39:08And then to get that block on Giannis,
39:12I feel like we should be talking more about that play.
39:14But that was, to me, just incredible.
39:17And I rewatched it this morning
39:18because I took a look at the video of the Dumbotron
39:20because I missed it in real time.
39:20And I was like, that is one of the best blocks I've ever seen, I think,
39:23just because of the difficulty of it.
39:27So I'm just going to answer this one last question
39:29because I've skipped a few of these questions
39:30about Davidson and Springer.
39:33And I know Jackie said,
39:34you're planning on being in Maine a little bit more this year too.
39:36So maybe we'll get to check out one or both of these guys.
39:39Although I don't expect too much Springer in Maine at this point.
39:43Do you see a world where either of these guys break through in Boston?
39:50Do you think that Davidson, Springer, Drew Peterson even,
39:55who's somebody who looked good in preseason,
39:56but it's a two-way,
39:57is there a pathway forward for them here?
39:59Because Jordan Walsh clearly has separated himself from the pack.
40:04Um, also Pete, I don't think anybody for us, I think it was you.
40:07But I, uh, I don't know.
40:10I don't think so.
40:11Like as much as I'd love to say, like JD can get in there
40:15and the shot has looked better.
40:16It definitely has.
40:17And, um, I like Springer's defense.
40:20Like it just doesn't seem like either of them are NBA caliber players, right?
40:26Like, like, and that's not fair to Springer.
40:28Cause he has played in the NBA.
40:29He's shown he can be a defensive guy.
40:31He showed he can, he can attack guys at point of attack.
40:34Um, he guarded Curry.
40:35I remember that was a whole thing when he got traded to Celtics.
40:37Like, oh, he just guarded Curry last game.
40:38He'll do something here.
40:39Like, and Luca, he just guards everybody.
40:43But he just looks so spacey when he's on the floor.
40:47Like he, he just looks lost.
40:48Like he looks like he's panicking at all times.
40:50And it just, I don't think either of them will ever play real minutes
40:55like regularly for the Celtics.
40:57I should say, um, I would love to be proven wrong.
41:01I would love for them to, you know,
41:03magically turn into this amazing shooter, this amazing, you know,
41:07defensive IQ guys.
41:08Like I just, I just don't really see it.
41:11I think Drew Peterson has a better case.
41:13I think Anton Watson has a pretty good case, even though he's a rookie.
41:16I think Shireman, despite the fact that he has been Rocky when he has played,
41:20I think you can see the outline of a good, you know, high IQ player there.
41:25The other two, I just, I don't see it all coming together with the Celtics.
41:29I think they could do with an opportunity at another team.
41:32I just don't see it happening in Boston.
41:35Yeah.
41:36Yeah.
41:36You, you've gotten quietly like high on Drew Peterson recently.
41:39I remember at the beginning, cause I'd seen him in Maine.
41:42Yeah.
41:42And it was just like, I'll think some things I liked about his game.
41:45And I came back to Boston.
41:46I was like, you guys got to lock in on Drew Peterson.
41:48And I didn't have a lot of suitors at that point, but I feel like preseason,
41:51he showed the game kind of slowed down for him and he looked comfortable.
41:55Um, and again, so much of it is mental.
41:57The same way that Jordan looked so rattled in Vegas,
42:00Springer looks rattled right now.
42:02Like even yesterday he played for a few minutes.
42:04He didn't catch the ball once when someone passed to him.
42:07Like, he just seems like he's really in his head.
42:09And to me, that doesn't mean that that's who he is.
42:12Um, it's where he is right now.
42:15And I don't know why exactly, I don't know what's going on behind the scenes
42:18or if he doesn't feel like, you know, he he's things are going well for him.
42:21I'm not exactly sure, but he looked really, I mean, in, in summer league,
42:25he looked way ahead of Jordan.
42:26And so it's just, it's pretty stunning how this stuff changes so quickly
42:29with a little bit of a different environment
42:31and a little bit of different expectations.
42:33Um, so, and I agree with this comment.
42:36I think not part of this comment, I think with JD,
42:38like it really is going to come down to his three point shot.
42:41Um, if he can shoot, I think that he has a spot in the NBA.
42:44And if he can't, then he doesn't.
42:46And that's, it's kind of as simple as that.
42:49Um, and then with Springer and Peterson and these guys, like again,
42:53yeah, you can't draw too much from just a couple minutes here.
42:55So like if Springer got 15 minutes last night,
42:58like the same rotation that Jordan got first quarter,
43:00third quarter, like real minutes.
43:02Like, I'm curious how he would have looked because you just,
43:04you're getting a completely different opportunity at that point,
43:06but he's just been fouling a lot too.
43:08That's something else that I've noticed is like,
43:09he gets these matchups, he's almost overly excited to show
43:12that he's ready to play good defense.
43:14Um, so people know, no, go ahead.
43:17I was just gonna say Birkin, the, the Peterson handle issues,
43:20things like I couldn't disagree more.
43:21I thought every single time Peterson got put under pressure in the preseason,
43:24like he made a play at the end of every shot clock.
43:27When those Celtics lineups with Peterson in,
43:29or we're getting lost at the end of the end of the clock,
43:31like he was the one to get a bucket.
43:32He was the one to drive to the mid range, pull up, find a spot.
43:35So I think Peterson is the most NBA ready of the two way guys right now,
43:40maybe outside of Watson, but even Watson,
43:41the preseason looked a little bit jumpy.
43:43Um, I don't know.
43:45I think he's impressed me just with the way he has handled, um, everything.
43:50Obviously he needs to put a little bit more weight.
43:52That's always going to be the thing until he does it.
43:54Um, but I don't know.
43:56Yeah, I will just say, um, to Birkin's point,
44:00summer league, he really couldn't dribble.
44:01There was moments where they didn't have a lead guard out there.
44:04Um, and it was really difficult.
44:07He was doing that thing that I do when I'm in trouble.
44:09He was like turning his back and just dribbling down the court.
44:11And I was like, you don't love seeing that on an NBA court.
44:15Um, and so I get that, that thing.
44:18It's weird because a lot of the observations that we saw in Vegas
44:21are almost completely inverted for what we saw in preseason.
44:24Um, and it's like, preseason is more closely resembles
44:27what a role on the Celtics will be.
44:29It's, you're on the Boston Celtics, you're playing NBA competition.
44:32Summer league is a little bit of a free for all.
44:33Like there's a lot of guys really have had,
44:36yeah, like Sam Hauser did not have a good summer league.
44:38Like there's a lot of guys that go out to be really good.
44:40And so, um, that's why it's a good reminder.
44:43Cause people were, people were freaking out at summer league.
44:45It's a reminder that it's not always the best indicator for things.
44:48Um, but in any case, I think all of these end of bench guys,
44:51we're probably not going to see a lot of them in Boston,
44:53outside of Jordan.
44:54Um, even Jordan, I think he's playing more minutes
44:57and he's going to play most of the season.
44:58So people should probably expect to be a little disappointed
45:01if they're hoping to see these minutes continue.
45:03Um, and then the Springer trade rumors,
45:07I know Jake Fisher had a report about it.
45:09I haven't seen anything beyond that.
45:10So I don't want to speculate, but, um,
45:13he certainly seems like if there's a very limited season trade,
45:15I wouldn't be shocked if they traded him.
45:17Like it doesn't seem like he's, you know,
45:19actively involved in the plans right now,
45:20but I haven't heard that from anybody.
45:21So I don't want to ever say, put that out there.
45:23Like I have a reason to speculate that someone's going to get shipped out
45:26because, you know, we don't know that.
45:28Um, for sure.
45:29Yeah.
45:30And there's a reason they brought him in.
45:32Like there's something that they did like about him,
45:33but I don't know that he is shown that that thing is not true yet,
45:36if that makes sense, but we'll see.
45:38Um, one thing I'll just comment on is Lonnie Walker is not on the main roster
45:42and it is kind of funny because just a few weeks ago,
45:44we were doing these lives
45:45and I feel like every other comment was about Lonnie Walker.
45:48So Lonnie Walker is over.
45:50Um, he was fun to watch.
45:51It was, he gave us a minute to talk about in September
45:53where we probably wouldn't have had much to talk about.
45:56Um, and you were ready to bet your life on Lonnie Walker when they saw you,
46:01I was Lonnie Walker and, and Noah, or I, maybe I texted you like,
46:05Oh, what do you think?
46:06And you were like, I think this, this, this,
46:07and I go, I don't know if I'll make the team.
46:09And you texted me something along the lines of like,
46:11I will bet you anything.
46:12I know it was bad.
46:14It was bad.
46:15I knew not to put it online.
46:17You know, I knew not to put it online
46:19because I knew it was a little bit of an erratic thing.
46:21You know, you do have that.
46:22Um, I, I just, I, okay.
46:25What I will maintain this though,
46:26is he is going to be a good NBA player.
46:29I don't know.
46:30I don't think it's going to be in Boston.
46:31You were right.
46:32I just don't think I was wrong.
46:34You're not going to get this many more times.
46:35So relish in the moment.
46:37Um, rare, rare W for you.
46:40So we'll see.
46:41We'll see if he finds another opportunity elsewhere.
46:43Bobby's little sister.
46:44I can't let you are talking about you.
46:48Yeah.
46:48I think they're talking about me.
46:49That's what, it's a common, that's a common comment
46:51that Bobby and I get on, on our YouTube.
46:54So, um, his little sister is so funny.
46:56Also funny.
46:57We're the same age, but I'll, you know, I'll take a little sister.
47:00Is he older than you or are you older than him?
47:02No, I think we're literally the same age.
47:03Like we might be, I don't remember when his birthday is,
47:05but we're both 26.
47:06So, um, I'm Jack's older sister.
47:11Don't do that.
47:14So, okay.
47:15Um, in any case, we appreciate Jack for being here.
47:20Um, we'll see if we'll, we'll have him back or not.
47:22It's going to depend on how the one-on-one game goes.
47:24If my ego's bruised, which it probably will be,
47:26then I might need a break.
47:28But thank you, Jack, for tuning in.
47:30I'm going to be in Charlotte from Thursday to Saturday.
47:34So we'll have practice on Thursday
47:36and then we'll have games Friday, Saturday, back to back
47:38against the former Celtics assistant, Charles Lee,
47:42former Celtics grand Williams.
47:43So there's a whole lot, whole lot of former Celtics in there.
47:46Our favorite Jermaine Buckner, one of the assistant coaches
47:48who was always very kind to us
47:49as we were getting started last year.
47:51So a lot of, a lot of former Boston faces in Charlotte,
47:54I'll be on the ground.
47:55I'll do a couple of these shows from there
47:57just to give you guys the whole point of this
47:58is to go behind the scenes,
47:59especially when I'm on the road,
48:00which I plan on doing as much as possible this year.
48:03So in the meantime, subscribe to You Got Boston.
48:05You can do so on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, all that.
48:09And then just Jack, anything you want to plug
48:12of anything you're working on, anything that is.
48:17Uh, I mean, just watch.
48:19How About Them Celtics podcast.
48:20You can follow Spotify, Apple, the YouTube as well.
48:23Make sure to subscribe there.
48:24My written works at hardwoodhoudini.com
48:27and my Twitter's on the screen, jacksmoniba.
48:29So yeah, thanks for having me on the show.
48:31Can you foreshadow a story that you're working on
48:32that maybe the viewers will be interested in?
48:35Yes, I'm working on an Xavier Tillman story
48:38and it should be out.
48:39It should have been out sooner,
48:40but I'm waiting for the right moment now at this point.
48:43And last night was not the right moment.
48:46So we're going to keep on the brakes and keep pushing
48:50because I love X.
48:51X is one of my favorite people.
48:53So I'm going to drop that in the next week or so, hopefully.
48:58Okay, great.
48:58I look forward to reading that Jack on for a while.
49:00And I think that he, I do think he's probably the best
49:02interview or one of the best interviews on the team.
49:04Wow.
49:05Jack just left.
49:06That's crazy.
49:07Okay, well, thanks everybody so much for joining.
49:09Enjoy the rest of your day.
49:11We'll be back post-game with the Garden Report tomorrow.
49:14I didn't kick you out.
49:15You left.
49:16Everything is turned off.
49:17My mic and camera all just turned off at once.
49:19I was like, what is happening?
49:21It wasn't me.
49:21It wasn't me.
49:22I wouldn't.
49:22I believe you.
49:23I know, I know.
49:24It was me.
49:25So Jack will be on pre-game tomorrow on How About Them Celtics.
49:27We'll have the Garden Report post-game after Celtics Pacers.
49:31Enjoy the rest of your night.
49:33And thanks so much, everybody, for tuning in.
49:35Thanks, Jack, for joining.
49:39Bye.

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