Chris Forsberg is a Celtics sideline reporter and in-studio host for NBC Sports Boston. Chris joins the program to chat about the Boston Celtics close loss to the Warriors, the depth of the squad, and the rest of the Eastern Conference.
0:00 - Intro
2:17 - Celtics lose to Warriors
5:12 - Tatum's fiery personality
7:51 - Tatum's third quarter
10:02 - Offensive rebounds hurt
12:02 - No panic this time
15:09 - High standards discussion
19:02 - Tatum's performance critique
21:06 - Team rebounding issues
22:51 - Trusting teammates
24:51 - Coaching staff credit
27:29 - Pritchard's growth
29:45 - Sixth-man conversation
32:01 - Defensive contributions
34:49 - Encouraging future prospects
36:51 - Team's relevant excitement
40:30 - Cavaliers' strong start
43:00 - Cavs' playoff potential
45:12 - Atkinson's coaching impact
48:01 - Eastern Conference struggles
50:29 - Celtics' confidence level
52:45 - Embracing playing time
54:40 - Celtics' upcoming games
58:36 - Celtics' current standing
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0:00 - Intro
2:17 - Celtics lose to Warriors
5:12 - Tatum's fiery personality
7:51 - Tatum's third quarter
10:02 - Offensive rebounds hurt
12:02 - No panic this time
15:09 - High standards discussion
19:02 - Tatum's performance critique
21:06 - Team rebounding issues
22:51 - Trusting teammates
24:51 - Coaching staff credit
27:29 - Pritchard's growth
29:45 - Sixth-man conversation
32:01 - Defensive contributions
34:49 - Encouraging future prospects
36:51 - Team's relevant excitement
40:30 - Cavaliers' strong start
43:00 - Cavs' playoff potential
45:12 - Atkinson's coaching impact
48:01 - Eastern Conference struggles
50:29 - Celtics' confidence level
52:45 - Embracing playing time
54:40 - Celtics' upcoming games
58:36 - Celtics' current standing
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!
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#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.
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SportsTranscript
00:00Celtics Beat is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.
00:07Hey, everyone, welcome to a brand new Celtics Beat.
00:09Again, we said it in the intro, $5.97.
00:12My God, Evan Valenti, what do we do when we get to $600?
00:16Should there be a, I don't know, a special occasion of some sort?
00:20Do we throw a party?
00:21Do we do a live broadcast at the garden?
00:24I don't know.
00:24We didn't do anything special for $500.
00:26Why would we?
00:26We tried to go with it.
00:27That's not without trying, though.
00:29We did try and we did try for $500.
00:31Yeah.
00:33Yeah.
00:33We, we, we had some grand plans.
00:35We wanted to get Grandy and Gorman and the two of us all in one room to do it.
00:40And it just, unfortunately the schedules didn't align and you know, it was what
00:44it was, but $600 is, I mean, there's nothing special about $600 other than,
00:49I guess, just the longevity of the flagship Celtics podcast.
00:54I have to say it that way because there are about 14-ish Celtics
00:58podcasts on the CLNS media network.
01:00This is the number one, at least the original.
01:04I don't know if it's the number one most listened to.
01:05We hope it is.
01:06Garden Report's kind of a big deal.
01:08So shout out to Garden Report and everybody else out there.
01:11Shout out to everyone in the Celtics podcasting space.
01:14A guy who's got one, but he used to have two.
01:15He's watered it down.
01:17Chris Forsberg is here with us from NBC Sports, Boston.
01:20Forsberg, how are you?
01:22Well, thanks for saving me for episode 597, guys.
01:24Really, really, uh, really a big number.
01:27We're ramping up to 600, so we got to start with like our big time guests.
01:31So we keep getting bigger and bigger after Forsberg.
01:33I'm not sure where we're going to go.
01:35You know what we should do?
01:36We should reach out to Perk and see if he wants to come on and, and.
01:42I'm just going to yell at Perk for an hour.
01:45No, I want him to just yell at Celtics fans for an hour.
01:48I did appreciate his, uh, commentary about, you know, basically who made
01:53like the, you know, the, the guard of the Celtics or, you know, however exactly he
01:58put it, but it was like, you know, who gave you the rights to determine whether
02:02or not I've been banished by the C's organization and I am allowed back and
02:07all that stuff we don't need to talk about.
02:08I just found it to be funny when he was on the, whichever see on the up and smoke
02:13podcast or one of those, I don't know.
02:15But, uh, Celtics are coming off a loss to the warriors.
02:18It was only their second loss of the year.
02:20One unbeaten remains in the Eastern conference, the vaunted Cleveland
02:25Cavaliers, the thunder took a loss last night as well in Denver.
02:29So it is just Cleveland as far as the undefeated sitting at nine and oh, but
02:33the C's, it was the marquee game of the night on paper, and I think in many ways
02:37lived up to the hype, not necessarily all the ways that people expected.
02:42Like, I think a lot of people going in thought, Oh, we're going to get 45 out
02:45of Tatum, we're going to get 30 plus out of Curry.
02:48This is going to be the F U Steve Kerr game in Boston and all that stuff.
02:54Forsberg tweeted out the current introduction with, uh, Eddie Palladino,
02:58which, you know, obviously that was a nice move on your part.
03:02I think people enjoyed that who are not in the building, but say what?
03:06I think that it's possible that the loss last night and Tatum having a good game,
03:12but not going off, not going nuclear.
03:16That wasn't actually the number one takeaway.
03:19In fact, I think it was the number three takeaway.
03:23Oh, I know.
03:25Here's number one that I realized as we were sort of, you know,
03:30wrapping a little bit pre-show and you guys were talking golf and, and I was
03:33focusing on something else entirely.
03:36If our last show today's a Thursday, obviously our last show
03:40was also on a Thursday, correct?
03:42It was Thursday last week because we, you know, wedged it in between the
03:44Wednesday, Friday, when the seas have, uh, that, that set up in their schedule.
03:49We don't want to do a show on Friday.
03:50And then they have a game that night.
03:51Give you a little bit of a runway.
03:53If you're out there listening, well, the Celtics lost, uh, last Wednesday
03:58at Indiana and they lost last night at home to the warriors, the only two losses.
04:03So we might have to be done recording on Wednesdays or
04:06Thursdays after Wednesday games.
04:08I think this is our fault.
04:10We need to be held accountable.
04:11We're the bad luck guys is what you're telling me.
04:13Yeah.
04:14So like the Celtics next week have a Wednesday, Saturday situation.
04:18So I think we record on Friday.
04:19We need to get off a Thursday and, uh, you know what Kaufman?
04:24I respect this.
04:25We're we gotta, we have to do our part.
04:27Everybody's got to do their part.
04:28So this is directly on a Celtic pride.
04:30Everyone needs to be aware that are you Jane Aykroyd in this situation?
04:33Or am I, or are you Marvin this situation?
04:36I'm taller.
04:36So I guess that would make me
04:39yeah.
04:39Okay.
04:41At Brooklyn.
04:42Yeah.
04:42Well, we know who's tied up, you know, with a muzzle on his face.
04:45It's the guy who's got himself looking like it on a, on a beer can.
04:49It's Forsberg.
04:50So it's, it's perfect.
04:51The three of us.
04:51Yeah.
04:52He's going to have to get it.
04:56If you're listening, forget it.
05:00I got the video on the CLNS YouTube page.
05:03Uh, the other takeaway that was number one, the other takeaway.
05:07And I'm, that one was kind of a joke.
05:09I'm being slightly more serious about this one.
05:11Uh, the, the quote from Tatum last night, guys, this is disrespectful to name
05:16is Kata, but you didn't even put it.
05:18They didn't even put them in your top two, three, not going crazy is number
05:24four K to being good at basketball is number three, here's number two.
05:28Uh, Tatum had a quote last night when asked about basically, well, why
05:32is any more, you know, fiery, angry on that, like about the 797,000th time
05:39that Tatum has been asked about his personality and why he's not a more
05:42fiery individual and all that.
05:45Tatum said, and this is part of the quote.
05:47I wish we could just play it for you.
05:49So that's what I've been dealing with my entire career.
05:51People want me to be louder.
05:52People want me to be meaner.
05:54One thing about Jason is like, I'm always going to do what the F I want to do.
05:59Is that the first time that Tatum went Ricky Henderson and third person?
06:03And I don't remember another time that's happened.
06:07I think that's a very big deal.
06:08Forsberg.
06:09Chris doesn't remember another time that Jason has gone third person.
06:12So, uh, yeah, I, I actually, when someone, someone sent me the quote,
06:16cause I wasn't in the interview room and I said, like, did someone else say this?
06:20Like I couldn't figure out that it was Jason talking in the third person.
06:23Um, you know, look, do you think he would have been a little
06:25bit more fiery if they had won?
06:27Do you, do we think that the tenor of the, you know, uh, you know,
06:31like the little questioning and everything would have been a
06:32little bit different if they won.
06:34So I don't, I get it.
06:35He's always going to be asked these questions about, uh, his
06:39sort of cool as ice demeanor.
06:41Um, and there's nothing wrong with it.
06:43I mean, everyone's a little bit different in how they approach it.
06:45And sometimes like a cooler head is a good thing.
06:48And I thought he did play pretty in check, right?
06:51Like maybe one or two, we forced early as they were sending the doubles at him.
06:55And you could tell he just wanted to kind of get a groove going.
06:58Um, but I thought he made the right playing guys weren't
07:00knocking down shots early.
07:01And so like, you live with that.
07:03Uh, but yeah, like I'll even admit like third quarter, I looked up and
07:06I was like, whoa, he's at 30.
07:08I, it happened so quietly as he kind of got going with some bench units.
07:12Uh, but to me, to me, the big storyline was it was going to be
07:16current Tatum at the onset, and then it was going to be sort of the old
07:20guard who sort of laid out this foundation of here's how you went
07:25with a three point shot versus this new spunky champion who wants to
07:28get to that level and be a dynasty.
07:30And it was interesting to me to see that, that the Warriors can
07:34still tap into it a little bit.
07:35That step is still my God, you know, no one should ever want to see him.
07:40Uh, across the court in a playoff series.
07:42And, uh, you know, look, that's what, that's what old, old teams do.
07:46They just kind of hang around and give themselves a chance.
07:48And, uh, I was a little surprised that the Celtics weren't a little bit more
07:51crisp down the stretch where they, where they've been so good.
07:54Through this championship run.
07:57Well, that was the thing.
07:57If they, you know, fall behind and have to Mount this comeback and that they do
08:02Missoula has leads them on a great turnaround.
08:05Some of those shots Tatum in particular in the third quarter, as Forsberg said,
08:08start to fall, he had like 17, 20 points, whatever it was in the third quarter,
08:12after a slow, like two, four points in the opening quarter, eight in the opening
08:18half, it was, it was not the Tatum game.
08:20People were expecting back.
08:21They saw people after white had like a dozen points in the first two, three
08:25minutes, people are tweeting it.
08:27Like what, what Steve curd do to Derek?
08:29My God.
08:30Uh, but yeah, I mean, Tatum finally got going.
08:32It thing was once you got to around the seven minute mark of that fourth quarter,
08:36it was just all warriors from there, which it's true over the last couple
08:40of years under Joe Missoula, very uncharacteristic, and you can say part
08:45of that was the Celts weren't at full strength, you know, down to starters.
08:50They've been down two for a couple of games, been down one for the entire
08:53season in no poor Zingas and obviously no Jalen Brown, but that would be excuse
08:57making the Celtics were ahead.
08:58They were well positioned to win and just kind of fell apart down the stretch there.
09:03And, uh, it, it is, I don't think there's any huge takeaway from last night's
09:08game to where you panic, like you say, Oh, like the, the warriors are coming for you.
09:14The Celtics aren't who we thought they were any, like nothing like that.
09:18It was a game and you know, the next game tomorrow will be the next game.
09:24And that's it because we're still in freaking November, but it was a little
09:27disappointing sort of the way it, it unraveled there at the end, knowing that
09:32again, just some of the narratives behind it, because I am a big narrative street
09:37guy, that that was a very winnable game and one that Tatum, you know, I, I did
09:41expect to kind of, once he got hot in the third, I expected Tatum to emphatically
09:45finish it and it didn't happen.
09:47The thing that annoyed me was at the end of the game, what gave the Celtics their
09:52lead in the third quarter and, and really gave them a chance to win this game is
09:57what cost them in the fourth quarter.
10:00And I mean, offensive rebounding.
10:01If you go back a buck 51 to go Celtics, start playing really good defense.
10:06It's one Oh four, one Oh two golden state.
10:08Uh, the Celtics make Draymond green, take a three point shot, which is
10:13always what you want to do with Draymond.
10:14If he makes it, he just tipped your cap and he walked out another way.
10:17Draymond misses it, but Kavon Looney gets the offensive rebound.
10:21Put back one Oh six, one Oh two.
10:23Uh, Kate, it comes down the other end.
10:24It's nice alley-oop from Jew holiday.
10:27And then coming back down one Oh six, one Oh four buck 22 left.
10:30Curry misses a three healed, gets the offensive rebound.
10:34Tatum blocks Curry shot.
10:36And then Kavon Looney gets the offensive rebound and gets another two point shot.
10:39One Oh eight, one Oh four with one 13 left.
10:43Can't let that happen.
10:44Boston got back in this game by crashing the offensive glass from the corner spots,
10:49from the top of the key, from everywhere.
10:51And it was collective effort.
10:52It wasn't just one or two guys doing it.
10:54You had Jordan Walsh's Kada's Sam Hauser's, you know, everybody trying to contribute
10:59on the offensive glass, got him back in the game, but it wasn't so much execution.
11:04It was more of finishing the play.
11:07And, and Boston didn't finish those two ginormous possessions and it cost them.
11:12And people want to say, Oh, Tatum missed buddy.
11:13He'll at the end of the game.
11:14Sure.
11:15That was a, that's a brain fart shouldn't happen, but they were already down a little
11:19bit.
11:19And in my opinion, a little too far away, the distance was too much by the time that
11:23shot happened.
11:24Even later in the quarter, the, what, to me, what happened, those two offensive
11:28rebounds for golden state gave them life and, and they, and they took it and they ran
11:34with it.
11:34And for me again, the last night I thought it was an awesome basketball game.
11:39I thought it was an excellent game for the Celtics in terms of, okay, here's a great
11:45defensive team, took away a bunch of things that you wanted to do.
11:47And they had to revamp their entire offensive game plan and the at halftime and they did
11:52and it worked.
11:53Um, but just not finishing it, finishing it out.
11:55And that's a little annoying, but one of the things that I'm, I'm thankful for
11:59Forsberg, and I'm sure you're thankful for this too.
12:01Guess what's not happening today.
12:03Sky's not falling.
12:04You know, every, every loss last year, if you did a postgame podcast, if you did, you
12:10know, your, your postgame show on NBC sports, Boston, and you look at what people
12:14are saying, the entire world was melting down after every single Celtics loss last
12:19year, this year, it's like, Hey, you know, you've got to execute better on the
12:23stretch would have helped, would have loved to have Jalen Brown and, or Chris
12:26taps for seeing this in this game.
12:27But you hung with a really tough team.
12:30Uh, that's, that's having a great season.
12:32I mean, can't go on state defensively last night was super impressive.
12:36Can't, can't deny that could have won that one, but tough one.
12:39Wasn't like I got blown out.
12:41Just, you know, make some, make some corrections and head on to the next one.
12:45But yeah, Forsberg, those late game offensive rebounds, they killed me.
12:49I don't know about you, but when I, in the moment, I was like, that's, that's
12:54really, you can't do that against this team because they're going to kill you
12:58with buddy healed and with Steph Curry.
13:00So I think the thing for me was that they've just been so good in those
13:03moments, especially through that playoff run, all those plays they made against
13:07the Pacers.
13:07You just never, you never felt like they were going to lose a game when it was
13:09close or maybe you did, but then they found a way.
13:12And the other thing I kept thinking was, wait, what was the last time we had one
13:15of those sort of despondent losses?
13:18You have to go back to like May 9th.
13:20I think it was, they lost a home game against Cleveland in round two.
13:23So when that series was one, one, that's as close as it got close to gotten to any
13:28playoffs pretty much.
13:29And, you know, you could be like, ah, you know, they still struggling at home.
13:33What's going on?
13:33And they dropped the one in the first round of Miami or, you know, it just, but
13:38you never, you never got to the point where it felt like they, they, they, I
13:43remember going into that, the battle post, I kept saying like, can they execute when
13:46it matters most?
13:47And boy, did they like throughout that, that, that playoff run.
13:51So I think it's just annoying to see them kind of on a big stage, sort of the first
13:55big stage of the season.
13:56Like, yeah, there was the next game, but that was opening night, the rings, the
13:59emotion, all that.
14:00This was like just the, the first sort of measuring stick game against a really good
14:04team and a team that I really thought despite the 50 point game last year, still
14:08had a little bit of real estate.
14:09You know, the beach in 22, they, they kind of get you every now and then and
14:13overtime a couple of times.
14:14So I just, I was eager to see if the Celtics could really just say, you know,
14:17they've shifted to a new gear and that team is the old dynasty that here comes the
14:21new one.
14:22Um, so I get what everyone says when they're like it, we're not melting down.
14:26No one's losing their mind over the loss.
14:28It was still kind of annoying because it was like so much of it was preventable.
14:32And some of it was like, Kate had a great game, but he was so often put in tough
14:36spots of defending curry and stuff like that, that they were out of position to get
14:40the rebound.
14:41And that you can say that Tatum healed sequence wasn't a big deal, but like Tatum
14:45misses the turnaround.
14:46And then he's like sulking a little bit and he's like looking at the official and
14:49he's frustrated, but still four point game at that point, you got to get back.
14:53And then he does, he gets back and then he just totally falls asleep.
14:56So I don't know, I just, I expect more from this team and I suspect that Joe
15:01Missoula will, we'll have some fun with that film.
15:04Uh, so yeah, like I, I agree on the notion, nothing to lose your mind about, but
15:09you know, everyone's giving me crap last night cause I was a little salty about
15:11it.
15:11I'm like, it's okay to be, to hold this team to a high standard.
15:15I'm not, I don't think they're going to go 82 and Oh, clearly.
15:17But, um, you know, I thought, I thought this was a game they should have won and
15:22they, they couldn't get out of their own way at various points.
15:26We're going to take one quick break.
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17:12Let's get back to the show.
17:13I do, you know, I hadn't really thought about it, but what I've said and what
17:17you acknowledged as well, Chris, the sort of talk radio or, or talk TV sports
17:24talking head, uh, acknowledgement of if this were last year at this time, like
17:31you would be here, I can hear it in my head.
17:32You'd be hearing like, you know, championship teams, you know, have it
17:36in their DNA to win this game that you don't lose a game like that.
17:39As I've noted, like nobody can say that right now, because this is a championship
17:43team quite clearly, you know, just one and his favorite to win this one.
17:47And despite what Cleveland's doing, you know, you put them in a playoff series.
17:51I I'd be willing to bet other than the, maybe the ESPN folks
17:56trying to generate something.
17:57I think most people would take Boston.
17:59So, you know, there, there is no panic to come out of this, obviously.
18:03Uh, but, but yeah, I'm, I'm with you.
18:04It was disappointing.
18:05It was, it was a little.
18:06I wouldn't even go so far as to say discouraging.
18:08I'll I'll, I'll put a line between disappointing and discouraging.
18:12And I will, I will lean on the former and just say, yeah, whatever.
18:16Like it, it just, it wasn't what you want it to be.
18:19But again, that was for me.
18:20And this goes back to, I guess, the Tatum explanation post game and criticism of him.
18:26And I'm not sitting here criticizing Tatum, you know, because again, he had a fine game.
18:30He just, you know, he had like a, he had a, he had a, he had a, he had a
18:35you know, he had like a regular Jason Tatum game when people thought he was
18:39going to have an explosive Jason Tatum game, like everybody was, you know, I'll
18:44tell you this from a betting standpoint, everybody was taking the 30, 32 plus
18:48points out of Tatum last night.
18:50Nobody was thinking you would have thought his player prop was at 40 plus with what
18:54the expectations were going into that game.
18:57And so did it, when it comes to takeaways, not that we don't already know that he
19:04is fully capable of taking over games, but seeing that, you know, he was a little
19:08mild mannered and like you said, forcing the occasional shot in the opening half.
19:12And, and it points definitely deferring to white because he had the hot hand as, as
19:18that game sort of got into the fourth quarter and things started to slow down
19:23for Boston, does, do you look at him any differently in not questioning who he is
19:29or his makeup or what he can do or anything like that, but just saying, man,
19:33this was really like, I hope you went home and laid in bed last night and just said,
19:39oh, I could have been, I could have done more.
19:41I could have done something different.
19:43Like, I know you've got that dog in you.
19:44I've seen it a thousand times.
19:46Where was it last night?
19:47Get him out, dude.
19:51I can't, I can't, I can't let this slide, man.
19:53Cause if you look this morning, but Tatum had 14 potential assists last night,
19:58end up with only two, like it wasn't Tatum's fault.
20:03Again, the lapse in judgment at the end of the game, not withstanding,
20:06it's not on Jason Tatum brother.
20:08Like, no way.
20:09Absolutely not.
20:09He's he, you know, I'd be willing to bet without looking it up.
20:12Most of those potential assists came in the first quarter though.
20:15Yeah.
20:15But because he was taking with the game needs like he's here, but I'm talking about the
20:19fourth quarter and the lack of really taking it over, but you can't, no, no, I'm not,
20:24I'm not doing this because if as a disciple of Joe Missoula, you got to understand it's
20:28not just about one thing.
20:30The game ebbs and flows.
20:32It goes back and forth.
20:34It's not just about one singular thing.
20:36It's about the thing that led to the thing that led to the thing that led to that thing.
20:39So I'm not going to let you sit here and be like, oh, Jason Tatum didn't show up.
20:42No, he, you know what?
20:43He did show up on the third quarter after a subpar first half where he was a little frustrated,
20:48turned the ball over a bunch of guys were hitting shots and he was not hitting shots
20:53himself.
20:53The third quarter, he righted the ship a little bit.
20:55What do you have?
20:5617 in the third quarter, 19 and third quarter, something like that to get himself back on
21:00track.
21:00Keep this up.
21:01I'm just saying you're, I'm not saying Tatum was bad last night.
21:04I, I, I think I was headline Celtics beat Tatum had a bad game against the Warriors.
21:11There's your title.
21:12You don't, you don't think, but if I said you have, because we didn't have this conversation,
21:17if I said to you, we're sitting there on our text thread, going into the game, what do
21:21you expect from Tatum tonight?
21:22You wouldn't have given me like, well, he's going to flirt with a triple double.
21:25He's going to have, you know, between 35 and 40.
21:28I bet he has at least six assists.
21:29He's definitely going to have 10 rebounds.
21:32I think if I gave you the stat line that he finished with, you would have been a little
21:37underwhelmed.
21:38Not really.
21:38Probably should have had the triple double.
21:40Not really.
21:42The only thing that made me not angry, but if you look at the box where like the lack
21:45of rebounds, but you know, rebounds a team stat, you know, everybody else is picking
21:50him up.
21:50It's not like Tatum was, you know, not, he's not a guy that doesn't rebound.
21:5447 rebounds as a team, like they didn't rebound the ball.
21:58Well, it just sucks that, you know, go and say I had 53, but it's not like they didn't
22:02rebound the basketball.
22:03Well, and again, part of the assist is to have the other guy, you know, hit the shot.
22:08The only thing that was disappointing, but again, it was more of a hats off to Golden
22:13State for defending him this way.
22:15They really made it hard.
22:16I mean, you know, they're, they're, they're doubling Tatum, you know, 30 feet away from
22:21the basket.
22:22And normally Andrew has done this and Drew and Scout both have done a good job of this
22:27of like pointing out when you double Tatum, like you're probably toast.
22:32Okay.
22:33And like, I've heard drew multiple times.
22:35I think I'm broadcast this season.
22:36Be like, oh, I just can't do that.
22:38Can't double team Tatum and leave, you know, Jalen Brown or Derek white, wide open.
22:41They had that nice play.
22:43They figured out of, you know, they would set up in the second half.
22:45It was more Tatum being the screener, which helped him get free and get going in the third
22:50quarter.
22:51Then in the other way in Kaufman, you brought this up earlier, and this is again, trusting
22:55your teammates.
22:55This is something that you want Jason Tatum to do, bring all the attention to himself.
22:59And all of a sudden there there's Derek white leaking out to the right or leaking out to
23:02the left.
23:03And in Derek white, wide open, as you saw is a, is a, is a bad, just a bad defense.
23:07You don't, you don't want to do that.
23:08You don't want to leave Derek wide open ever.
23:11So it's for me, like, I think you're being a little too harsh just because of the core
23:14of that for the game.
23:15I have no problem with Jason Tatum, not being a super fiery guy, totally fine with me.
23:20I think by, by now as a NBA champion, three-time first team, all NBA player, I think we can,
23:26we can calm down on that.
23:28Um, I think it was just, yeah, sure.
23:31It was more, it was just more frustrating.
23:33The first half that they were that, that golden state took them out of their offense so easily.
23:37But again, you have to also credit the coaching staff of the warriors and the players themselves
23:43for executing that and making it hard for the Celtics Celtics showed us some fight,
23:47bringing it back, taking the lead.
23:49Um, but I'm not giving Jason Tatum any flack for not going super nuclear.
23:53I thought he played a pretty outside of the first half.
23:55I thought he was pretty good.
23:57And even though he wasn't scoring the basketball, you know, Chris, am I taking crazy pills here?
24:01I think I just saw everything you said was if you, if you told me he got to 32 points,
24:06I would have probably been surprised.
24:07Cause I would have thought it was an, it was an under night because I just thought he would,
24:11they would send the double and he would be forced to give the ball up and the Celtics
24:14would beat them that way.
24:15And I do, I think like they, they missed an opportunity early to sort of build a lead.
24:20Like obviously they had, they, they had a pretty sizable advantage off the Derek white
24:23makes and then they still were missing shots when Tatum was setting them up.
24:27And I felt like it could have been bigger and then just a lot of uncharacteristic stuff.
24:31Celtics usually dominate the final couple of minutes of a quarter.
24:34The end of the first half was a hot mess.
24:36Like they, they could not get out of their own way.
24:38They, they, they messed up two for ones and then all of a sudden, you know, uh, forget
24:42who hit the buzzer beater going into the half, but like all of a sudden you're down
24:4511 and you're like, what happened?
24:47It, and that Celtics never put themselves in that spot.
24:49And so they caught themselves in the third, but then lost it in the fourth.
24:52And so it's just very uncharacteristic and no excuses.
24:55You know, like we, the nights they roll without stars, we don't point it out, you know,
25:01point to the depth and how good they've been.
25:03Warriors bench kicked their butt.
25:04You know, this was a night where warriors depth and Steve Kerr pretty much trolling
25:09us by playing 11 guys and being very good with those 11 guys.
25:13So I thought Kerr had a hell of a night, hell of a game plan.
25:17Uh, he can downplay like the whole notion of why people were mad about Tatum, but he
25:23coached his butt off, put his team in position to win.
25:25Thought he was just as much of a factor as anybody in that game with the way he schemed.
25:30And so, so there's just gotta be better in those instances.
25:33And, um, yeah, like if it becomes a pattern, I'll be worried about it.
25:38But yeah, it's like, it's pretty easy to just say very good, proud team on the other
25:44side.
25:44And they were ready for this matchup and they probably wanted it for their coach.
25:47And you could tell in the way they were hounding Tatum early, you just gotta be a little bit
25:51better.
25:51And there's like a thousand little things that I could nitpick down the stretch from
25:56pretty much every guy.
25:57Like, I mean, Derek White very rarely makes a, a bad play that foul on Curry.
26:01You can make case.
26:02It wasn't a foul.
26:03Still, you can't put yourself in that position, right?
26:05I'd like to be the case that wasn't filed.
26:07Please.
26:08Yeah.
26:08I mean, come on, Looney probably should have been.
26:10And, and I don't know how you, I don't know how you, with the new rule, you go to the
26:13tape and you don't see that.
26:15Um, but I also get like, referees are very rarely going to overturn their own call.
26:20And the file calls are just, they all, they get like you graze a guy it's, it's going
26:23to stand.
26:24So they roll the dice on that, that instance.
26:26I'm glad it didn't come down to another, like challengeable play that, that could have,
26:29uh, could have swung things.
26:31Yeah.
26:31Everyone, everyone just needs to be a little bit better.
26:33And, uh, as long as they're better in May and June, no harm, no file.
26:39So while celebrating depth and again, this opportunity, no Jalen Brown, obviously no
26:44Porzingis, but that just goes without saying for a couple of months, at least this is,
26:48you know, it's always the opportunity for the Celtics, other players, role players to
26:53kind of show out.
26:54And I don't want to limit, uh, Derek White in that way, because I do think he's more
26:59than depth.
27:00He's more than a role player.
27:01He's an important piece of this team that we don't spend nearly enough time on the show
27:05talking about.
27:05Obviously he got off to an incredible start.
27:08He finished with a solid game, you know, 26.7 of 16 from three, my God, like just the, and
27:15not even the, oh my God, he hit seven.
27:16It's more of the volume of the 16.
27:18I'm still not even mentally quite used to Derek White hoisting 16, three pointers in
27:23a game, but hell when they're fallen, I mean, by all means do it.
27:26Uh, we could talk about Derek, but where I was going with the depth thing is I want
27:31to talk about Pritchard a little bit here because, you know, again, solid, reliable
27:37off the bench, 32 minutes, 16 points, five of 13, three of 11 from three, few rebounds,
27:43few assists.
27:45Are we at a point, maybe we're beyond the point.
27:48And I just haven't been thinking enough about it where it's not just to OJ Lynn Brown's
27:54out thing.
27:54The shots need to come from somewhere.
27:56This has been going on all year long where we should just expect that Peyton Pritchard
28:01has grown into a guy and has the importance within this offense.
28:04And certainly the trust from Missoula and his teammates to where he is going to at minimum
28:09take 10 shots in a game like, and we should generally, and I know it's, it's, there are
28:15a couple of times it hasn't happened, but we should generally expect 10, 12 plus points
28:20out of Peyton Pritchard.
28:21He is just that guy, that sixth man for them right now, that is going to give you that
28:26kind of production.
28:26I mean, every game, every game with the exception of two, he has taken at least 10 shots.
28:32He is averaging on the year 11 or 12.
28:35He is averaging 16 points per game because he has gone over 20 a couple of times.
28:40And, and I get the three pointer is, is obviously falling with great regularity, 40%, 41%, even
28:49I just Pritchard continues to impress me is really where I'm going with this.
28:53Not just in terms of what he's capable of, but what they want him to do and trust him
28:58to do.
28:58And it doesn't take a backseat with Jalen Brown.
29:02Again, it happens when Brown's available too.
29:04I don't know if it starts to take a backseat a little bit when Porzingis comes back, but
29:08we're several weeks away from that.
29:10Chris, you, uh, you continue to bury Nimi Ishkeda in this podcast, but I will play along
29:16and, and note that.
29:17Yeah.
29:18You know, so one of the reasons I thought everyone kept asking me this summer, like
29:20how do they replace the Porzingis minutes?
29:22Do they need another big is Luke Cornett and Nimi Ishkeda enough to get by?
29:27And I would say, you can't look at it as sort of one for one, but Pritchard is just going
29:30to play more.
29:31They're going to figure it out.
29:31They're going to go small.
29:32There's going to be like opportunities.
29:34I guess they really haven't even gone small.
29:35Like, I mean, they played double big half, like most of the night last night.
29:38Uh, but you just know, Pritchard has won the trust of, of Joe and is going to get every
29:42opportunity to thrive.
29:44And so it was not a surprise to me that he's in the six man conversation now.
29:48Um, I thought with robust playing time, he would be able to, to put an imprint on.
29:55I think him and Sam were the two net rating leaders in the NBA last season.
29:58You know, good things happen when they're out there.
30:00They pair well with anybody, whether it's like bench heavy groups or running with Tatum
30:05and space in the floor and giving him room to operate.
30:07So it checks all the boxes.
30:09And I, you know, I keep telling people from like when, when the Warriors people were asking
30:12about him and I said, this was any other team in the league.
30:15He'd be a starter, but you got drew holiday and Derek white in front of you.
30:19So it's just not there.
30:20And it might never be there for poor, for poor Pritchard, but there's going to be a
30:24role and there's going to find minutes.
30:25And even in when Porzingis comes back as they try to, you know, go through the doldrums
30:30and limit minutes overall, I suspect we'll still get a heavy dose of, of Peyton Pritchard
30:35along the way.
30:36And he'll continue to be in that conversation just based on the output.
30:39Kaufman, you know, what's crazy to me is he's finishing games.
30:42Like he's not, he's, he's not only playing a lot, he's playing in the fourth quarter
30:47a lot in finishing games.
30:48There are a couple of recently, I think he either one or two in Charlotte, he finished
30:52out.
30:53Um, you know, he's, he's, he's getting a lot of opportunity to not only play big minutes,
30:58but play the most important parts of the game and run the show.
31:01Although, you know, what's interesting with that is he's also finishing blowouts, which
31:05is not typically what happens when I don't want to say a player of his caliber, a player
31:10in the role that he's in isn't usually out there on the floor and blowouts, but he is.
31:15Well, he had a point guard at some point and, you know, he's a hybrid is what I'm saying.
31:19You know, with the JD, you know, you get them both in the floor at the same time, you know,
31:22we'll see how it goes.
31:23But, you know, you and I were very pro Pritchard since the Abu Dhabi games.
31:28And, you know, we came on here after the first one, like Pritchard's going to have out of
31:31season.
31:32Look out.
31:35This wasn't even just an Abu Dhabi takeaway.
31:37Well, we, we, we cemented it with that, but he's been spectacular.
31:41I think he, at least going into last night, I think it was the favorite to win six man
31:45of the year.
31:46If he's not the favorite at this moment, he's in the contention for it.
31:49So just testament to the guy working his ass off and Joe having faith in him to, to execute
31:55down the stretch when it matters and execute when they don't have guys on the floor that,
31:59that are, you know, that he often plays with, you know, Tatum just because they like to
32:05sit the two guards at the same time, Derek and drew that a lot against the warriors where
32:10Tatum be on the floor, no Brown, obviously.
32:13So when Tatum's not on the floor, you got to have both white and holiday out there.
32:17So when they're not on the floor, it's more of Sam Hauser and, and Pritchard.
32:21And then, you know, fill in the other spots.
32:23Now, one of the things that we have to talk about Kaufman is, is Kata, because we've talked
32:29about depth and I have one other guy I'd like to talk about in a second, but what Kata did
32:33against the warriors on, on Wednesday night was spectacular.
32:38I did not think he was capable of, of a performance like this.
32:42Defensively, mostly from an offensive standpoint, you know, you're going to get, he's a, he's a,
32:47you know, a lob threat for sure.
32:50An offensive rebound guy that can, you know, put the, put it back in if, if the tips right,
32:55or, you know, he had one of those late in the game last night where it came off, popped up
32:58in the air and he was right there with a loud thunderous dunk, you know, to set the garden
33:04new frenzy.
33:05But one of the things that really impressed me last night was his defense.
33:08And as we know, I think whether it was Brad, whether it was email, whether it's Joe,
33:13a way for you to get on the floor is to defend your position.
33:17And not only did Kata defend his position last night, he was indispensable defensively last
33:21night because Cornette couldn't hang on the perimeter with the guards that golden state
33:26was thrown out there.
33:27And Kata to his credit was staying in front of guys on the perimeter.
33:31And, you know, look, so staying with Curry is a whole different animal, but when you're
33:36in the mass Kata and you're staying in front of Moses Moody and Jonathan Kaminga and buddy
33:40yield and, you know, name, whatever, any other guard they have, you know, and holding up
33:45and not, you know, falling for the shot, fake staying level, staying grounded and using
33:50your frame instead of jumping to, to alter shots.
33:53That was big for me because they really need a guy like that.
33:57Like, I don't know.
33:58I don't know if I trust Tillman completely to do stuff like that.
34:01It's been a little up and down this year.
34:02I don't trust Luke to do that.
34:05I, I hate putting Horford in those situations because of the age.
34:09We saw Chris Epps, poor thing is last year in that game against Atlanta or Deshante.
34:13Mary went after him routinely and pick and roll to hold up like that was really impressive.
34:19And the offensive stuff is a different story for me.
34:22He's got to be a little quicker as when he, when he's the guy, you know, catching the
34:26pass off the pick and trying to make a decision when he's getting going to get hounded, he's
34:31got to be quicker with, you know, getting it out to whatever shooter is going to be
34:34open in the corner.
34:35Got to be quicker with that.
34:35That's going to come with time.
34:37But the defensive stuff, man, I was blown away.
34:39Forsberg.
34:39I know you've been itching to tie up to talk about this, the entire podcast.
34:44How impressive to you was Cato last night?
34:47Cause it was revolutionary to me.
34:49Yeah, it was awesome.
34:50And, and I've been, I've been like tentative about him because I do think just as you said,
34:54there's some offensive limitations.
34:56Obviously can stretch the floor.
34:57I think Luke is great at making quick decisions.
34:59You put him in that short roll and he sees a shooter, he's going to spray it.
35:02And Cato doesn't quite have that, but Cato is different, right?
35:05He's like more of a baseline guy and he's going to finish dunks to the point where I was actually
35:09getting concerned.
35:09I'm like, they got to stop throwing him lobs because he can't have any legs left by the end
35:13of that game.
35:14And yet then he threw down like two more and blocked a Steph shot.
35:17So credit to Cato for giving him what you got.
35:19I did.
35:20I was interested, like it's tough to centers.
35:22The data is a little bit skewed.
35:24Usually it's, it's either really, it's usually really good or really bad.
35:27And, and, and so like last night I'll, I'll put it this way.
35:30The warriors were credited with 18 shots against Cato.
35:33Evan, how many do you think they made?
35:36Seven.
35:3711.
35:38Yeah.
35:38So, and again, sometimes you're the last line of defense.
35:42Someone blows past the guard, they lay up over you, you get credited with, with not doing.
35:46So it's like, it's fluky in a little ways, but I think he was one of four defending threes
35:51and step obviously hit one.
35:53I think he stepped back on him and it, that happens.
35:55It's Steph.
35:56I think the thing that bothered me was that they put Nimi in those spots repeatedly and
36:01it left them vulnerable to the, to the offensive rebound.
36:04So I don't put that on Cato.
36:05I put that on like, why were there switches happening that either, you know, Cato was
36:10late getting back to, to box somebody out or somebody else didn't box out and it led
36:14to some, some chaos.
36:16But in general, I think you would ask me what I thought we were going to get from Cato to
36:20this point of the season.
36:22And it's just so far ahead, even with knowing that Porzingis wasn't, was going to be out.
36:27I would not have thought he would have had this much opportunity.
36:29I certainly wouldn't have thought he'd have multiple starts.
36:32And it's really encouraging to see, like, he's kind of on a pathway to being, being
36:37impactful and they've got them on non-guaranteed money after the season.
36:41So like you start looking deeper down the road when you need cheaper contracts to keep
36:44some of this core together, regardless of how it looks overall, they're in a really
36:48good spot.
36:49And I think if you're a Sacramento fan, like one, you're just thrilled that your team's
36:53relevant.
36:54But two, you're like, how did, how did we let this guy slip through the cracks?
36:57You don't see this very often anymore where, you know, two way guys slip out and, and,
37:01and get to another team and kind of blossom, especially not on a championship level team.
37:06But man, Cato, you can see the benefit of his skillset.
37:12And there's still just like another level to go to.
37:15And, you know, I'm, I'm curious how they get there when the reps go down, but, um,
37:22quite the luxury to have once you are at, at full health, that if you need the rest
37:25cornet or if this cornet, if cornet hamstring becomes a thing, you know, like there's,
37:30there's Cato to, to kind of keep you afloat.
37:32Ada and Max Struess, those two way guys that just.
37:36That one's still, that one's still here.
37:37It's the Struess one.
37:41That guy is awesome.
37:42And Javante green was another one that, that, that stunk for a while because of the energy
37:46you provide, but Struess is the one that really hurts.
37:49Cause it's like, man, he would, he would, he would eat on this team.
37:54He was believable.
37:55Yeah.
37:56I mean, talking about a guy who's, who's ready for 2024 basketball.
38:00All right.
38:00We'll take a quick break.
38:01Get right back to the show.
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39:36Let's get back to the show.
39:38Uh, I'll tell you what, let's, this is a big picture show in, in practice.
39:42It is not a, uh, even though we've been doing a lot of obviously reaction to the Warriors
39:47game because it was such a big game.
39:48It's not a show that generally is a one game reaction kind of show screws his new team,
39:53even though he's been out.
39:54How about the Cleveland Cavaliers?
39:56Who again are sitting at nine and O top of the Eastern conference.
39:59This is, and I don't want to say I expected, you know, undefeated or anything like that,
40:04because again, that's not going to hold in the Celtics are going to finish ahead
40:06of Cleveland, the conference standings, unless something goes really wrong.
40:10But what I will say is, and if you probably remember this, we spent a lot of time on it
40:15on the pod, the Cavaliers, what they're doing right now and credit to Kenny Atkinson.
40:20I mean, depth is part of it, but they're playing at a faster pace and they're just,
40:23you know, more energy.
40:25Mitchell's playing great Garland LaVert, all these guys, but what Cleveland is doing this
40:30year is really what I thought they were going to do in the playoffs two years ago, when
40:37they got off to such a great start in the regular season, then they kind of melted down.
40:40Like I, we were talking all about like, who do you not want to see in the playoffs?
40:43And I was saying, man, I mean, I'm not saying I think they'd lose to the Cavaliers, but
40:47that, I think that would be a tough series.
40:49I think that would be a tough matchup.
40:51And then it never came to fruition.
40:52We never saw it.
40:53And, and Cleveland went out early last year.
40:56They were just a mess basically from start to finish between injuries and whatever else.
41:01It just, it never clicked right.
41:03So now the Cavs are bouncing back to again, what I thought they were capable of being
41:08again, they're playing it at a higher level than I think will hold, but this is a good
41:13team.
41:13And I wonder if for all of the talk in the off season, definitely on this show about
41:18who are the threats in the East and me continuously highlighting the Knicks and, you know, kind
41:25of dumping on both the bucks and Sixers that by the way is looking okay right now, but
41:30never really acknowledging the Cavs was, was I not giving them enough credit?
41:35Forsberg, is this a team?
41:37Is this just a nine and Oh, start, or is this a team that you think wins 55, 60 games and
41:43is going to be a tough out
41:45Um, 55 fields.
41:48I mean, when you're a nine and Oh, you feel pretty good about that.
41:50I do think they have positioned themselves as the best, next best team in the Eastern
41:56conference, you know, as the Knicks kind of figure out what they are and get some continuity
42:01there and the disaster in Philly and the disaster in Milwaukee, you know, I will say like everyone
42:06kept telling me the East was better.
42:07And I was like, are we sure?
42:09Are we sure we do this every year?
42:10Like on paper, everything looks better.
42:13You got to see it.
42:14And so like the patients got some stuff to figure out, but you know, they're going to
42:17be kind of in that mix.
42:19And I will say I slept on the calves a little bit.
42:21I thought they were, you know, just, I don't know, maybe because of the coaching stuff
42:24and the change.
42:26But what I, what I probably underrated was the fact that getting Mitchell back and him
42:30having that security and that not being an issue coupled with Mobley's continued development
42:35coupled with, you know, they just got a good mix of guys that I probably should have known
42:40it was going to look a little better.
42:42Um, you know, thinking back to that calf series, I know there was the whole like strews and
42:47the Florida Panther Jersey.
42:49And there was some, there was some fun, like little stuff in that series, but you never
42:53felt like the calves were a serious threat, you know?
42:57And so they've still got strides to make.
43:00I think thinking back to two years ago, when they came back crashing into earth, I think
43:04there's a little bit of, you got to prove it.
43:07Um, so I'm, I'm, I'm not ready to go kind of like all in on if they drew someone like
43:13even the Pacers or the Knicks or whatever in the playoffs that I think they're going
43:16to necessarily get through that, but it's undeniable why they give the selfish problem
43:20with their size.
43:22Mobley and Allen are quite the combo.
43:24And, um, you know, and then the backcourt's great too.
43:27And I, you know, I was watching the game the other night against the Bucs.
43:29Now the Bucs didn't have Giannis, but Lillard was going off.
43:33The Bucs kind of come back, go ahead in the fourth.
43:35And I'm thinking young team, this is where they usually kind of kick it away.
43:40And it was like Garland hit a big shot.
43:42And then, uh, Jared Allen had both of like a big play on the offensive end and a block
43:46on the other side.
43:47And I'm like, man, it's not just Mitchell kind of carrying him through those stretches
43:50anymore.
43:51It's, it's, it's the full team.
43:52And usually that's the sign that you've sort of arrived when everybody's giving you a little
43:56something.
43:57So yeah, if I could buy, if I could buy some stuff that, uh, that I didn't have preseason
44:01on the calves, um, it's been a really impressive start and credit to them for sort of figuring
44:07it out.
44:08It's a Mobley thing for me.
44:10It's, it's, it's the fact that Atkinson has gotten mobile to play at a slightly different
44:13level here so far this year, Mobley at 17, a game, uh, eight rebounds, three assists,
44:20not shooting a ton of threes, which I thought he might do by now.
44:23I'm shooting a better percentage, 38%, but he's only on to a game, which means absolutely
44:27nothing.
44:28Um, but they're, they've been very impressive.
44:31Um, they have Donovan Mitchell who, whatever you want to say about them is a post-season
44:37killer.
44:38He's an unbelievable shot maker and a really tough guy to guard in the post-season.
44:42And if you have one of those guys, you know, the Knicks with Jalen Brunson, obviously
44:47the box with Giannis and Dame, um, with Tyrese Maxey and Philadelphia, if you have a guy
44:52that can get you buckets at any time, you're going to hang around a while in this team.
44:57You know, I, I am pumped for Kenny Atkinson.
44:59He got kicked out of Brooklyn for no reason at all whatsoever.
45:01And the fact that they, you know, Kyrie and Katie didn't like the guy.
45:04Um, I'm happy that he hung around with Golden State for a while.
45:07Got to just, you know, see how a championship operation is done and has brought it to Cleveland.
45:11Cleveland's off to a great start.
45:13Um, we'll see, you know, we'll see how it goes.
45:15It's a long season, you know, uh, there's probably trades to make, um, and there's,
45:20there's injuries to be had.
45:21So just hope that everybody's healthy, but I mean, between them, I've never counted out
45:26Indiana at all.
45:27I know they got off to a bad start, obviously beat the Celtics overtime the other night,
45:30but given what we saw in the Eastern conference finals, I will never not take that team seriously.
45:36That is an impressive offense.
45:38Don't care what the hell's going on, what their record is.
45:41I don't, I just, they, those guys can score at any moment.
45:44And I just, I love watching them.
45:46Um, and like, you know, Orlando was off to a great start, then Apollo got hurt.
45:50So, you know, we'll see how it goes, but I like that there's new blood, you know, there's,
45:54it's not like the same old garden where like Miami's kind of, you know, figuring themselves
45:58out, the books are, you know, whatever the Phillies, whatever, there's a lot of new blood
46:02here.
46:03That's very exciting for me.
46:05Someone who likes a little bit of a change with as long as the Celtics stay on top, you
46:09know, it's nice to have new blood coming in.
46:12Um, but I've been very impressed with them.
46:13There's no, you can't not be impressed with them and the way they've started out.
46:17Um, I don't think Boston should fear anybody, especially the calves.
46:20And I think they're going to be fine.
46:21Um, but it's, it's, it's nice to see some teams that were, weren't as highly touted
46:27to come off to a good start.
46:28Everybody talked about the Knicks Sixers and butts to start the year.
46:33And I, you know, me coughing.
46:34I'm, I did not like to trade for New York.
46:36I just, I, whenever you acquire any talents, I'm going to be out on it.
46:41I'm just going to be out.
46:42Um, what's up?
46:45He's been very good.
46:46Yeah.
46:47That's great.
46:47When they play the Celtics, see how he dies on one, five pick and rolls.
46:50It's the best.
46:51I mean, so I saw that coming.
46:53So I saw that coming a mile away.
46:54You can't hide.
46:55You can't hide him and Brunson on the same team.
46:58Defensively.
46:58You can't do it.
46:59It's impossible.
47:01And given the quote of the off season for me outside of the, I want the target.
47:05I want the, I want to see the dot on my forehead.
47:07The other one was we have the killer whale offense and we're just hunting seals out there.
47:12Uh, the Knicks have a bunch of seals on their team.
47:14So that never really never moved the needle for me, but you know, I, I can't wait to see
47:20them in person against Boston.
47:22You know, there, there are a couple of teams.
47:23I can't wait to see calves, Orlando.
47:25I want to see what Orlando looks like against this team because Orlando said at a good start,
47:30but the thing is the East guys, the East stinks.
47:34I mean, it's really bad.
47:35I mean, I, I mean, at one point the, and let me just take a look.
47:40So we have the freshest possible look at it.
47:43Cause I didn't look at it this morning.
47:44Well, you can start with this, that the two perceived threats to the Celtics are sitting
47:49at the very bottom of the conference with Milwaukee and Philadelphia, each at one and
47:54six now and beat obviously has, you know, we haven't seen him yet.
47:58He's not even going to play for another few days as things stand right now, he got himself
48:03suspended so he wouldn't have to play, you know, and, and not, you know, just like Jesus,
48:08this guy, uh, George, you know, is still coming back from the injury.
48:11And then Milwaukee is just a mess, man.
48:13And I look, I I'll pat on my back, pat on my shoulder for questioning this thing.
48:19The second they brought in doc, and I'm not saying it's a doc thing entirely, but he's
48:24part of it.
48:25Kind of sounds like you're saying it's a doc thing.
48:26He's been saying it's a doc thing.
48:28No matter where doc goes, this has been a coffin staple the entire time on the show.
48:32They were like, what was their record?
48:35Like 31 and 10 or when they fired
48:40Griffin and just spiraled.
48:44It was never good under doc.
48:46Not for one moment last year was a good under doc.
48:49And this year they are off to a one and six start.
48:51So again, not entirely a doc thing, because I just think that what we're seeing is that
48:58Dame and Giannis can't really co-exist.
49:00They're, they're just, they're not a good fit, but this team being one and six, good
49:05Lord coffin.
49:07I don't know if you know this.
49:08I have it in front of me and it hasn't changed since I looked at it yesterday, but there
49:14are only two teams in the Eastern Conference over 500.
49:17That's Boston and Cleveland, Indiana and Brooklyn are third and fourth, respectively.
49:21There are four teams in the Eastern Conference with a plus differential Cleveland plus 12.6
49:27Boston plus 11.7.
49:29The next plus 2.6 in the Miami heat at plus 0.5.
49:35Everybody else has a negative point differential.
49:38The East is a disaster.
49:39And if you were thinking anybody could challenge us this year, wait till next year, because
49:45this is, I mean, I'm go through the teams, go through the team, but here's, here's the
49:49question for Chris.
49:50Ultimately, sure.
49:51It is the disaster or is the Easter disaster so far, you know, I would say like it's
49:58undeniably a disaster right now.
50:00And I don't think it says it's as improved as people thought it was going into the year,
50:04but I do think it'll be better by the end of the year.
50:07And there'll be more legitimate, like, Ooh, we don't want to see that team in the playoffs
50:12or whatnot.
50:13And look, that might just be, Paulo comes back and gets healthy and the magic are a
50:17playing team.
50:18And it's like, you're not ideal one eight matchup, or maybe it's Indiana kind of figure
50:23stuff out.
50:23And with Siakam and the benefit of time, they're better.
50:25Or the Knicks with the benefit of time are a little bit better, but yeah, every team
50:29still got a little bit of a glaring weakness.
50:31And when I look at the Celtics, I don't see it, you know, it's, it's, it's themselves
50:34it's health, you know, stuff, stuff that doesn't matter about sort of the makeup of
50:39the team.
50:40It's just more about going out there and being healthy and playing.
50:42Right.
50:43And so I still feel pretty confident about, I felt really confident about the Celtics
50:46going into the year.
50:47I feel even more confident based on like how I've seen from the East, but like, I do think
50:52it's, it's not going to be easy.
50:54Like it's, no one should think this is going to be a sleepwalk.
50:57But yeah, like the idea that Milwaukee and, and, and it's been New York and Philly and
51:04all this, like we probably, we all, we overplayed that based on what we've seen so far.
51:09Yeah.
51:10Can we go back to the depth for a second?
51:11Is there, we talked about it briefly and we didn't talk about one guy I'd like to shout
51:16out.
51:16And I've been shouting a couple of games in a row here.
51:21I love the Jordan Walsh.
51:23I really do.
51:25And this is a guy who look, didn't have a spectacular summer league understatement.
51:35But the one thing that I got to give the maturity of Jordan Walsh some credit, because this
51:42is a guy who comes in, doesn't shoot really at all.
51:48That's like not his job at all.
51:50Your job is to come in, defend your ass off, rebound the basketball, fill the lanes offensively.
51:57You know, if we're getting out in transition, you know, make sure you cut to the corner,
52:01crash the glass, et cetera.
52:02He knows where he's supposed to be.
52:04He knows what he's supposed to do.
52:05And he's bought in completely.
52:07And for a 20 year old to do that, again, he's on a team with a bunch of guys that are way
52:11better than him.
52:12I get it.
52:13But he's bought in and he understands that if I want more playing time, I got to do all
52:18this stuff first.
52:19And shout out, shout out Jordan Walsh, man.
52:21Like I just, it's everything you just said.
52:24I could have gone sideways in a hurry.
52:26Could have lost his confidence in a real hurry after that summer.
52:30And, you know, Joe Mozilla told him, you got, you got one F to give and then you got
52:35to move on.
52:36And he bought into it and just, okay, here's what I got to do to get on the court.
52:40And there was an opportunity with no more O'Shea and Jordan Walsh has embraced it.
52:44And I do think it's like one of the benefits of, of kind of navigating the injuries will
52:49be that you've gotten a little bit of a look here at Walsh and Nemi, and you feel good
52:52about some of the deep depth pieces.
52:55And they did, they've distinguished themselves, you know, going into their time, going into
52:58the preseason.
52:59I was like, all right, who's going to, who's going to emerge is, is Walsh or Springer or
53:03any of these guys going to put their, put their foot forward.
53:05Is Shireman going to show, he can make shots right out of the gates.
53:08And it's clear like Walsh is so far ahead of that group based on what, the way he's
53:11played.
53:12And that's credit to the, credit to him because it's not easy when you're 20 to, to, to stick
53:16with it.
53:17And especially in the bumps in the road, he deserves a lot of credit.
53:21Just, I'm in my forties and I'll tell you that I give two F's about too many things.
53:27So yeah, I mean, we should all adopt the philosophy of only having one F to give and just
53:31moving on.
53:33I'm just thrilled at how well he's held up on the perimeter against a multitude of guys.
53:37It doesn't like, there aren't a lot of guys blowing by him on the perimeter.
53:41And, you know, again, for a younger guy like that against full grown adults here, that's,
53:47that's good stuff.
53:48And it's, I've lamented, not lamented, I was surprised, I guess a little bit when the Celtics
53:55decided to not keep Lonnie Walker, let him go to Europe.
53:59Now, again, that's still pending this little situation, although Denver's lurking over
54:03here with some playing time for, for Lonnie Walker.
54:06And it's crazy.
54:07It's not a lot roster anyway, but they decided, Hey, you know, that we might be able to re,
54:12you know, revisit that.
54:13Maybe we'll see what happens with Jordan Springer, but Walsh has stepped into that spot.
54:18And again, he's not knocking down shots.
54:21Like, like Springer was, I mean, Springer is an absolute bucket, not Springer.
54:25Walker absolute bucket when he gets on the floor, not providing that, but he's providing
54:29the opposite of just absolute great defense, hustle, all this stuff.
54:33So I'm very encouraged by the Jordan Walsh minutes.
54:36And when he gets on the floor, I'm not, I'm not concerned at all.
54:41I'm just like watching him as like, you know, a father watches a child out there, just like,
54:46Oh, let's see what he can do.
54:47It's great.
54:48It's great.
54:49I've generated all my energy into just watching Jordan Walsh minutes and just literally only
54:54watching him.
54:54And he's not really lost a bunch.
54:56He's out there hustling his ass off.
54:58And as we were on the concept of death, I didn't want to bring him up because he's been
55:03a really good piece so far.
55:05And it's, he's not overwhelmed by the moment.
55:07I really appreciate that.
55:09If this were NBC sports, Boston, there would be a graphic being created by the, uh, the
55:14graphic arts department of graphic arts department in the game without sitting on a bench, just
55:22like something like that.
55:25Rooting on his guy, Jordan Walsh should be out there in a little, you know, kid sweatshirt
55:30and a backpack.
55:30We are going off first day of school.
55:33That's, that's what that would look like.
55:34And I would be here for it.
55:35So these next couple of games again, Friday, see, we, we may be the jinx for the Wednesday
55:41games, but Friday went well last week.
55:44Bounce Charlotte there, one 24, one Oh nine.
55:47And, uh, we've, we've done pretty well with these, uh, well, I guess that was the only
55:51Friday game.
55:52Uh, they got another one though on the way tomorrow, as we sit here right now at home
55:57against Brooklyn, another team that is, uh, underwhelmed thus far.
56:01And then you got the bucks on Sunday at Milwaukee.
56:04Uh, I don't want to spend a lot more time, but just to wrap up the show with this one
56:08here, these teams, they clashed once already.
56:10It was to almost close out October.
56:13It was part of the winning stretch to begin the year for the Celtics and a rather convincing
56:17win one 19, one Oh eight.
56:19You know, most people would say, all right, after what happened, the bucks, they've got
56:24this one circled on the calendar.
56:25This is a, is a bounce back.
56:27It's at their house.
56:28They still got Giannis and Dame and dah, dah, dah, dah, dah.
56:31We'll see what Jalen status is at that point in time.
56:34But, uh, are, are you expecting a Milwaukee win this time around?
56:39Nevermind a, a tighter fight and battle and all that stuff is, are the box going to take
56:44this one?
56:45Desperate team.
56:46I would expect that they will give you their best punch and you gotta be ready for it.
56:50You think that like it was, it was an extenuating circumstance going up there last season where
56:54they were, I think the Celtics were coming off that Minnesota game, that overtime win,
56:57and they had nothing left.
56:58And they went up there and they pushed the bucks pretty hard with the JV squad.
57:01They don't, it's probably unfair to call them that, but you know, a lot of backups and ended
57:06up falling.
57:06And so, you know, it just, it, it, it, I expect that they'll get a punch, but you got a chance
57:12to really make that team think about where it's at.
57:15And I hope the Celtics are, are, are braced for that.
57:19I'm fully ready for the Bobby Portis 20 point game.
57:22Fully right after he's been, he hasn't been great this year either.
57:25And he'll probably dust himself off for this one.
57:28That's the point.
57:29He's been absolutely garbage this year and it's, it's, it's going to happen this game.
57:33But the one thing I'll say about the box, and I've said this a bunch to other people,
57:38Brooke Lopez have a spectacular season, but their perimeter defense is making him do way
57:43too much work.
57:44I mean, he, it going into the game that they played against Boston, nobody had contested
57:50more shots of the rim than Brooke Lopez, which good for Brooke Lopez that he's been awesome.
57:55But that's not great for Milwaukee to have the last guy defense being just getting work
58:00every single possession.
58:02And when I watched Peyton Pritchard, just shred everybody up that, that last game,
58:06I'm good.
58:06I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm confident with, I'm just, I'm preparing myself emotionally for the Bobby
58:11Portis 20 point game.
58:13Maybe they can survive that.
58:14We'll see how it goes.
58:1620 plus out of Peyton Pritchard.
58:18Just wait, it's coming.
58:21South is coming off a rare loss against the Warriors.
58:24It's okay.
58:25It happens.
58:26The sky is not falling.
58:27The world is not, well, maybe it is, but for different reasons, not, not having anything
58:34to do with the Boston Celtics, they are champs and they will be champs until someone else
58:39is a champ.
58:40And hopefully that's not for a couple of years at this point in time, Celtics sitting at
58:43seven and two, just got to jump back into first in the Eastern conference, not a priority
58:48from Missoula, but I want it.
58:50All right.
58:50Thanks to Chris Forsberg hopping on here with us bright and early on a Thursday in this
58:55little sandwich situation in the schedule.
58:58It's back to work Friday against the nets for the seas.
59:01And next week we'll get off of the third.
59:03We'll get back to Friday after what we have done to these poor Wednesday games for Chris
59:08Forsberg.
59:08I am Adam Kaufman.
59:09Thank you for being here with us.
59:11And we'll talk again next week.