On this episode of Still Poddable, Jay King and Sam "Jam" Packard break down the Celtics week that was, including a clutch shot from Jayson Tatum that masked a defensive area of concern for Boston. That, and much more!
CLNS Media is Powered by:
💰 Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!
🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!
CLNS Media is Powered by:
💰 Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!
🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill, Bustem, Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill
00:06Oh yeah!
00:09Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill, Bustem, Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill
00:15And a nine-tee!
00:18He robbed Jim Packer, Jake King
00:20Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill
00:22The Cesar on the court to get another ring
00:24Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill
00:26Everybody in the chat now sing
00:29Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill
00:33Bustem, Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill
00:36Oh yeah!
00:39Steve Harvill, Steve Harvill, Bustem, Steve Harvill
00:43And a nine-tee!
00:46Welcome back to Still Potable, the best Celtics podcast here on Al Gore's internet
00:53I am Sam Jim Packer, joined by Jake King from The Athletic
00:59This is the free show
01:02That means we are on the CLNS YouTube page
01:05If you want to get some savings on some fine products like prize picks or game time, use the promo code CLNS
01:12And if you want more Still Potable, because we are a Monday through Friday Celtics podcast
01:17Go to patreon.com slash stillpotable
01:21We'll have a podcast for you every single day of the week
01:24We are coming to you after a week
01:27The Celtics really embarrassed themselves in the cup with a loss to the Hawks
01:32But then followed it up with a very solid win in Brooklyn
01:36And then a, would you say it was a thrilling win against the Raptors last night in TD Garden?
01:42The last seven seconds were thrilling
01:48Everything else, I mean unless you love Yaka Purtle floaters
01:53I don't know if the rest of the game did it for you
01:56But if you do love Yaka Purtle floaters, that was the game for you
02:00And if you like R.J. Barrett triple doubles, also a game for you
02:05That's where I think I want to start
02:08So they lost the game to the Hawks in the cup
02:11You know, sometimes that stuff happens
02:14The Raptors have decimated by injuries and I think have one of the worst records in the year this year
02:19In both of those games, the common theme to me was the Celtics getting absolutely destroyed by points in the paint
02:27Just the other team going into the paint and outscoring them by like 40 in the paint
02:33And so the Celtics, they're going to be a team that's happy to trade threes for twos
02:38But the margins really add up if you're going to get a beat by the paint that much
02:43So what do you see as the big issue here, the common theme for those two games?
02:46So I thought the Hawks game was not so much about getting beat off the bounce
02:54As it was about the Celtics 20 turnovers and giving up 20 offensive rebounds
03:00And obviously when you're turning the ball over, you're allowing teams to get out in transition
03:04Those are points in the paint
03:06When you're giving up offensive rebounds, you're giving up second chance buckets
03:09Those are points in the paint
03:11So it wasn't like the Celtics were just getting beat off the bounce all the time
03:16And you look at the leaderboard for points in the paint
03:20And the Hawks and Raptors both rank way up there
03:23And I know you don't think that about the Raptors because they're bad, they're going to lose a ton of games
03:28But they put a lot of pressure on you, they can get to the cup
03:31The Hawks, obviously they didn't have Trey Young
03:33But it's like Dyson Daniels is a big physical young dude, he's going to get to the cup
03:39And so I think some of it was just the matchups
03:42And some of it is probably that the Celtics' superior talent are trying to limit the variance that three-point shooting can provide
03:53If you allow 53-point attempts, then if a team gets hot, you're going to lose
04:00And the Celtics, I mean the prime example of that was game two of the Miami Heat
04:05Where Celtics allowed the Heat to shoot a ton of threes
04:08And they made a ton, they got really hot
04:10And even though there was a huge, huge talent gap in that series
04:14With the injuries the Heat were dealing with
04:16They won that game
04:17Boston obviously went on to win most of the games the rest of the playoffs
04:22But that was a good example of what shooting variance can do
04:26And so if you're trying to limit that, one way is to
04:30And if you look at what the Raptors did, they hit a few threes in the fourth quarter
04:35But for the most part, the Celtics ran them off the line
04:38Like Grady Dick didn't get many opportunities
04:42They were very good about just cutting down the variance
04:48But the problem with that is, you also have to stop the paint
04:53And especially against teams like the Hawks and teams like the Raptors
04:57Who aren't going to beat you from three probably
04:59No matter how many they take, then maybe there's a shift in strategy needed
05:04To kind of just limit the paint first, pack the paint first
05:09And deal with more threes than you're used to allowing
05:14Do you think it's a noticeable difference from their defensive approach last year?
05:17Like we're just closing out way harder and letting guys kind of blow by us
05:21Or it's just kind of what has happened so far
05:25In terms of early on in the season, just a couple of random games
05:29I think part of it is, Chris Asporzingas isn't there
05:32Part of it is, every team is playing to their advantage
05:36And they're playing to their advantage
05:38And they're playing to their advantage
05:40I think part of it is, Chris Asporzingas isn't there
05:42Part of it is, every team is playing smaller and more skilled
05:45And trying to shoot more threes
05:47Like you look at the numbers, teams are just shooting more threes
05:50And I think
05:53How do you adjust to your personnel though you're playing?
05:55Like the Raptors are not a great three-point shooting team
05:58They didn't have a great offense
06:00They have a lot of assists, they clearly can move the ball
06:03At some point, at what point do you adjust to just like
06:07These guys aren't great shooters, we're going to live with this
06:10I guess that's the variance point you made earlier
06:13But it's not like the Raptors are going to kill you from three
06:17But also, it took a very bad offensive game for the Celtics
06:22To keep the Raptors around
06:25And I think if the Celtics don't have a really bad offensive game
06:29And if they have their normal efficiency throughout the game
06:34And make threes early
06:36Peyton Pritchard missed everything for a while
06:39Just some weird stuff happened in that game
06:42That probably wouldn't normally
06:45Then you look at it and you think, look
06:47Yaka Pirtle hit every single floater he took
06:50He went 16 of 19
06:52And it wasn't like, for the most part
06:54He was getting dunks
06:56He was hitting just random eight-footers
06:59But Yaka Pirtle can do that, everyone knows that's Yaka Pirtle's go-to shot
07:03Yaka Pirtle can do that, he's got the little Daniel Tice floater
07:08But also, no matter how good you are at that shot
07:11You're not going to hit it 16 out of 19 times
07:14And I don't know exactly how many times he took the floater
07:17So if that doesn't happen, and the Celtics have a normal offensive game
07:21Then they win by 10-15
07:24And you probably look at it like, you know what
07:29They gave up a lot of points in the paint
07:31But it was also a way to manage the downside
07:36Of the three-point arc for the other team
07:38And so, I don't think it's a huge issue yet
07:43Their paint protection
07:45Obviously, Chris Ashporzenga's coming back
07:47Is going to fix a lot of that
07:49But I think right now, some of it is just like
07:52The strategy they're using
07:54Because they are superior
07:56And because other teams
07:59Like a weird three-point shooting night
08:03Is one way for other teams to beat them
08:05And they're trying to take that away
08:07Yeah, it gives them a better opportunity to stay in the game
08:11If they're giving up a bunch of twos
08:13And they're not making their own threes
08:15And so on the nights when the Celtics are not shooting efficiently
08:18It's still going to be a much closer game
08:20Because they're still
08:22How many threes did they make against the Raptors?
08:24They still made 21 threes
08:26They only shot 35%
08:28So they're still close enough in the game
08:30And they're just going to let Jacoperto score that many points
08:34PrizePix is the best place to get real money sports action
08:38With over 10 million members
08:40And billions of dollars in awarded winnings
08:43PrizePix has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all
08:46You just pick more or less on at least two players
08:51For a shot to win up to 100 times your cash
08:54Run your game all season long on PrizePix
08:58I highly recommend picking Peyton Pritchard overs
09:02That is the real money maker this season
09:04And with PrizePix you can win up to 100 times your money
09:08With as little as 4 correct picks
09:10PrizePix puts their members first
09:12So all withdrawals are fast, safe and secure
09:15And so when my picks hit
09:17I can get my money in as quick as 15 minutes
09:21PrizePix now offers Venmo for quick and easy deposit
09:24And withdrawals into your account this sports season
09:27Sign up today and get $50 instantly
09:30When you play only $5
09:32You don't even need to win to get the $50 bonus
09:35It is guaranteed
09:36PrizePix also offers weekly promotions
09:39That can lead to big payouts like Taco Tuesday
09:42Each Tuesday PrizePix discounts a selected projected lineup
09:46Up to 25% to provide even more value for your lineup
09:50It's a lot of fun this NBA season
09:52Again, I'm highly recommending you go with the Peyton Pritchard overs
09:56And if you want to do that today
09:59And save a little with PrizePix
10:02Download the app, use code CLNS
10:04And you get that $50 instantly after you play your first $5
10:08That's promo code CLNS to get $50 instantly
10:12After you play your first $5
10:14PrizePix, run your game
10:17The question for me
10:19And it's hard for me to have these takes
10:22Because I've been drubbed Kada Hada
10:26But it feels like Kada has become the go-to
10:29I guess backup center at this point
10:31He's actually started some of these games
10:33And he's certainly getting more minutes than Luke Cornett
10:37You would think the extremely tall 7-footer
10:41Who can jump out the gym
10:43Might be an effective rim-deterrent, rim-protector
10:48What have you seen from Kada out there
10:51In terms of his effort on the defensive end
10:54He had a great block against R.J. Barrett
10:56Down the stretch to keep this
10:58I think that was to keep them in the game
11:01Tied in overtime
11:03He certainly has some moments
11:05But it's not like he's been the rim-deterrent, rim-protector
11:10That Chris Tapps was last season
11:13I think the bigger issue with Nemi so far
11:18Is not the rim-protection initially
11:22Because I think he is a deterrent
11:26The block he had at the end of the game
11:29In overtime to set up the Jason Tatum game-winner
11:33Was fantastic
11:35It's more what happens after he goes for the block
11:40And the on-off numbers can be unfair sometimes
11:45But I think in this case it's pretty representative
11:48They have a defensive rebound rate of close to 73%
11:52When he's out of the game
11:54And it's closer to 67% when he's in the game
11:57And I think that's because he chases blocks
11:59It's because he's sometimes out of position
12:01And the faults that you see in him
12:04And that you kind of focus on
12:07I'm just an observer
12:10I'm glad the data backs it up
12:12But I think that's where it's shown up so far
12:17With Keita
12:18And obviously if you're giving up more offensive rebounds
12:20There are put-back opportunities
12:22And it's not always his guy getting those
12:25But sometimes it's because he chased after a block
12:28That somebody else got open
12:30It's because he wasn't in the right spot
12:32That somebody else was able to get a put-back
12:36So that's the stuff he still needs to clean up
12:39And he's come a really long way on a lot of that stuff
12:42He no longer goal-tends every other possession
12:45Which is nice
12:46But that's like the next step for him
12:50Is being able to be that rim deterrent
12:53While also staying away from the out-of-position stuff
12:58That then hurts you on the defensive glass
13:00Yeah, it's about picking your spots
13:02And not just going for the cool block every single time
13:05Yeah, and I think
13:07The look with him and Al Horford
13:12Has typically been pretty stingy
13:15And obviously the Celtics right now
13:20Are kind of rolling with Nemi
13:22At the expense of Luke Cornett and Xavier Tillman
13:26Tillman hasn't played in weeks
13:28Has basically just been dropped from the rotation
13:31Which is, with Porzingis out
13:34Obviously a sign that Tillman
13:36Probably won't play too much this season
13:39But I think you're going to have to deal with
13:43Still right now
13:45Some of the learning curve that Nemi still has
13:50He hasn't played very many minutes in the NBA
13:52I know he's been around the league
13:54On a two-way contract, etc, etc
13:56For a while, for years
13:59But he really doesn't have all that much experience
14:02And he's still just kind of
14:05Getting to know a lot of this stuff
14:09And I think the progress is really important
14:12I think the progress makes it worthwhile
14:15To give him more minutes
14:17But you'll also definitely still see some times
14:20Where Joe Mizzoula will be shaking his head on the sideline
14:23Because Nemi chased after a block he wasn't going to get
14:28And allowed an offensive rebound putback attempt
14:31It feels like the type of thing to me
14:33That if the playoffs started next week
14:36They might go Luke Cornett
14:38Just because he feels like a more reliable place right now
14:41But Cornett's not playing out of his mind
14:43Where he's demanding these minutes
14:45But in terms of early on in the season
14:47Nemi clearly has higher upside
14:49Just athletically
14:51And you want to develop him
14:54And Cornett hasn't been
14:56It feels like he's been not as good defensively
14:58As he was in the past
14:59It feels like there's just been a lot of highlights
15:01Of people blowing by Cornett
15:02And so it's not like he's demanding
15:04Or commanding the minutes that maybe Nemi is getting
15:07But I do think that
15:09We all knew going into the season
15:11That this was going to be part of
15:13I guess not necessarily the struggles
15:15But one of the big adjustments that Celtics had to make
15:18Waiting for Chris Tapps coming back
15:20On that front
15:23I just want to say
15:25I just looked up the numbers with Kata and Horford
15:27They have fallen off a little bit
15:29Defensively after a very tough start with that duo
15:33After a very good start with that duo
15:35So some of that was probably allowing
15:39A lot of layups to the Raptors
15:42Yeah, you can't let Jacopo go 60-90
15:45It's something to look at
15:47Like how does Nemi's impact go
15:51And so far I think it's been a pretty good impact
15:53I think he has overall done a nice job
15:57And earned the minutes that he's gotten
15:59But you're right
16:01There are some moments
16:04When he's not as solid
16:07As the other guys in the rotation
16:10And he has some electric moments
16:12Like the putback dunk last night
16:15He had another putback opportunity
16:17Which I thought he should have dunked
16:19The two Eurosteps in traffic
16:21That he just passed out the ball
16:23That were wild
16:25I don't know where those came from
16:27It was very adventurous
16:29He's a very adventurous man
16:33Speaking of Chris Tapps
16:35I feel like we got some scuttlebutt about him
16:37Getting closer to returning
16:39He was in uniform doing some shooting
16:41What are people around the facility
16:43Talking about the Chris Tapps return
16:45How far away do we think it is at this point
16:47Are people just searching for new content
16:49To talk about
16:51He's definitely progressed some
16:53He was able to do some stuff
16:55At practice the other day
16:57Joe Mazula said that he's doing reads now
16:59Which is basically
17:01What the Celtics call it
17:03When they sort of simulate
17:05In game situations
17:07With members of the coaching staff
17:09Or whatever
17:11So you're going
17:13In his case as a big man
17:15He'd probably be setting screens
17:17Reacting to how the defense
17:19The coaches
17:21Guard him
17:23So that's a good sign that he's doing
17:25Some of that stuff
17:27I've seen him do some
17:29Light contact
17:31One on one stuff
17:33With coaches
17:37Obviously they're being
17:39Very cautious with him I think
17:41They're going to wait until
17:43He is 100% ready
17:45To come back. There's no rush
17:47They're 11-3 with a plus 10 net rating
17:49They're
17:51Right on pace
17:53To kind of
17:55Replicate what they did last season
17:57Even without him
18:01But I do think it's good
18:03That he seems to be continuing to progress
18:05And that
18:07All the reports about him are pretty optimistic
18:09So that I guess
18:11Would point to him coming back
18:13Closer to Christmas. I thought he was definitely
18:15Going to be out until 2025
18:17We'll see
18:21I forget who he told
18:23December
18:25As a potential
18:27Target for him
18:29But I do think
18:31They're just going to be
18:33As cautious as possible
18:35And I think they should be
18:37With him especially
18:39You don't want him to come back
18:41And have setbacks. You don't want him to come back
18:43And have any risk whatsoever
18:45Make sure he's good
18:47Make sure he's healthy
18:49And then from there try to build out
18:51Hopefully
18:53A healthier rest of the season
18:55He said at Media Day
18:57That one of his goals this year is to make it through
18:59The playoffs without any
19:01Injury issues
19:03Considering his
19:05Track record that's
19:07Pretty lofty goal
19:09But also that should be what he's targeting
19:11After not being available
19:13For his team for the majority of the
19:15Playoff run last year
19:17Alright sometimes
19:19This segment is a democracy
19:21But I'm just going to go ahead and make it a dictatorship
19:27This is moment of the week
19:29And it's got to be fairly obvious
19:31The game winning buzzer beater
19:33By Jason Tatum
19:35Has to be the moment of the week
19:37Jay I defy you to give me
19:39A better moment this week in Celtics
19:41Basketball than the Jason Tatum
19:43Game winner
19:45There was no better moment this week
19:47Than the Jason Tatum game winner
19:49And especially it was great
19:51Because of how badly
19:53He missed
19:55It was so bad. It was wild
19:57His defender fell down
19:59It's funny
20:01I forget which game it was
20:03It was one of the recent games
20:05And it was a similar play
20:07Where he was around the free throw line
20:09And his defender fell down
20:11And afterward in the locker room
20:13He was like it was so weird out there
20:15Because the guy fell down
20:17And I was just like
20:19You don't normally have that
20:21Where you have so much time
20:23And then
20:25It was a very similar situation
20:27With the game on the line
20:29Against Toronto
20:31And he missed
20:33Not everything because it crashed
20:35Into the backboard
20:37That thing slammed the backboard
20:39But he missed the rim
20:41It was like
20:43Far too long
20:45Far off to the left
20:47When he has that much space
20:49He's Jason Tatum
20:51It's absolutely wild
20:53And also
20:55Because of the recent history
20:57He has a ton of clutch makes
20:59In his life
21:01You can go back
21:03I just watched the clip
21:05One against the Sixers
21:07On that cool out of bounds play
21:09That they run
21:11One against the Bucks
21:13Where he banked the three
21:15One against the Knicks
21:17Over RJ Barrett
21:19I think I saw a stat
21:21That he leads the league
21:23In game winning shots
21:25He's taken the lead
21:27Since 2019-2020
21:29Here's my question
21:31How do you define a game winning shot
21:33If there's time still left on the clock
21:35Is it a game winning shot
21:37That doesn't feel right to me
21:39I know that's how it works
21:41I don't know what the parameters were
21:43For the stat you're discussing
21:45I just told you
21:47Go ahead in the final five seconds
21:49I looked back
21:51In those situations
21:53And it was great
21:55Prior to last night
21:57So the last time he had hit a shot
21:59To tie or go ahead
22:01In the final five seconds
22:03Of fourth quarter overtime
22:05Was at Philadelphia
22:07Three you were talking about
22:09Which was on February 25th
22:112023
22:13So it had been
22:15A long time
22:17Since he had
22:19Hit one in that situation
22:21I think a lot of people
22:23Misjudge that
22:25Because
22:27Everybody misses shots like that
22:29Especially in a tie game
22:31And I think a lot of people
22:33Misjudge
22:35The shot quality
22:37On end of game
22:39End of a tie game
22:41Situations
22:43They're always like
22:45Why does Tatum settle for a jumper
22:47Why does he
22:49He does not want
22:51The disaster situation where he goes
22:53Too early the other team gets the ball
22:55And the Celtics lose
22:57No matter what you want to leave yourself with
22:59Overtime or in the case of last night
23:01It would have been double overtime
23:03Automatically if he had missed
23:05Because he left no time
23:07So that's like
23:09Priority number one and then
23:11After that it's like
23:13If you have very little time left
23:15Against a set defense
23:17You're going to lose everybody
23:19And I mean nobody is going to be efficient
23:21In those opportunities
23:23And so
23:25It's not something to overreact to
23:27That he missed 11 in a row
23:29But it was
23:31A notable streak
23:33And you know the way
23:35He missed the one
23:37In regulation
23:39To then set up the play
23:41In overtime where
23:43It seemed like they were running something for Jalen Brown
23:45Tatum could have gone one-on-one
23:47He could have found
23:49Jalen
23:51They could have done different things with that play
23:53But looked like they were trying to get the ball in Jalen's hands
23:55He falls down
23:57And Tatum is like
23:59He doesn't get balled down he gets trucked by Davion Mitchell
24:01He gets Grant Williams
24:03By Davion Mitchell
24:05And Tatum is looking around like
24:07Alright my time now guys
24:09Let's do this
24:11And because he wanted to leave
24:13Time on the clock
24:15He danced around a little bit
24:17And didn't
24:19Probably try to make as hard a drive
24:21As he would have otherwise
24:23And
24:25Splashed home a 27-28 footer
24:27That was a tough shot
24:29It was a tough shot
24:31It was his 5th-3 of the game
24:33Something that feels like he's made at least 5-3
24:35In the majority of the games here
24:37Basketball is back
24:39In the TD garden folks
24:41And it is a perfect opportunity
24:43To get tickets
24:45To see the Celtics go for
24:47Banner 19
24:49I know I'm gonna miss
24:51Being in that building
24:53And so do it for me
24:55Go to TD garden
24:57Or go to a whole sort of event
24:59Going around in the Boston area
25:01Or wherever you're listening to a podcast
25:03The best way to do that
25:05Is through the game time app
25:07Game time app is the best way
25:09To get tickets on the interwebs
25:11You can get it for sports
25:13Concerts, comedy, theater
25:15It's got all in pricing
25:17And shows you the total up front
25:19With no surprise fees at checkout
25:21You can get seat views
25:23With panoramic views from where your seat will be
25:25In the app before you buy
25:27There's a lowest price guarantee
25:29Or game time will credit you
25:31Up to 110% of the difference
25:33And your purchase is covered
25:35With the most flexible customer service policy
25:37In the ticketing industry
25:39Take the guesswork out of buying tickets
25:41With game time picks
25:43Download the game time app and create an account
25:45And use code CLNS for $20
25:47Off your first purchase
25:49Terms apply, again create an account
25:51And redeem code CLNS
25:53For $20 off
25:55Download game time today
25:57What time is it? Game time
25:59If we were just talking about Jason Tatum's play
26:01Over the last week
26:03I think he's done a really good job of
26:05Distributing the basketball
26:07He's had close to 10 assists in all three of those games
26:09This is not necessarily
26:11That's something new with Jason Tatum
26:13But I think he just deserves credit
26:15Because he is Jason Tatum
26:17He's going to get a lot of the attention
26:19And it just feels like he's
26:21I'm not sure what his potential assists are
26:23But it feels like there's a lot of times where
26:25He's just doing an amazing job of still
26:27Making the right play
26:29And finding guys who are open
26:31And last night against the Raptors
26:33He did a good job of spraying the ball around
26:35But like you said, not a lot of guys
26:37Were making shots
26:39And he still ended up with I think
26:419 assists in that game
26:43Last season he set a career high
26:45With 4.9 assists per game
26:47Right now he's at 5.9 assists per game
26:49And I haven't looked at the potential assist numbers
26:51But it certainly seems like that number
26:53Could be a lot higher
26:55That the Celtics aren't shooting particularly well
26:57When he does find
26:59Shooters or guys that
27:01Could pay him off for assists
27:03So I think it's a great distribution start
27:05From Jason Tatum
27:07And he's doing that
27:09Without much of an increase
27:11In turnovers, he has a little increase in turnovers
27:13But it's not like
27:15Too too crazy
27:17But to add a whole assist a game
27:19To your average, and maybe that's not sustainable
27:21For the entire season, but it does certainly
27:23Feel like
27:25Is that on top of volume three point shooting
27:27I know his percentage is down
27:29But he's really taking a lot more threes
27:31And so he's going to get those higher point totals
27:33Plus more assists
27:35And the free throws
27:37For the first time
27:39In his career
27:41The Celtics are
27:43On pace to finish in the top half of the league
27:45In free throw attempt rate, and it's him
27:47It's Jalen Brown, those two guys have just been
27:49Really physical playing through contact
27:51It does seem like the league
27:53Is just letting guys get away with more
27:55Far more than they
27:57Did last season
27:59At least at the beginning of last season
28:01And when those guys
28:03Play through it
28:05And play with the right physicality
28:07I think that's good for them
28:09Like I really think that's good for them
28:11You watch the start of the Toronto game
28:13I thought like a really good
28:15Example of that
28:17Because Davion Mitchell
28:19Can like really get up in you
28:21That dude is quick, he's strong
28:23He's scrappy
28:25He's just a pest
28:27And he was guarding Jalen Brown
28:29And I think once upon a time
28:31That would have been a really tough matchup for Jalen Brown
28:33He would not have known what to do
28:35He would not
28:37Have had the handle to
28:39Just kind of deal with that
28:41And instead
28:43He just kind of plays bully ball
28:45And gets him to the block
28:47And drives him
28:49And picks up
28:51Six or eight free throw attempts
28:53In the first quarter
28:55And so
28:57Yeah, go ahead, be physical with those guys
28:59They can handle that
29:01Because they're bigger and stronger and more athletic than you
29:03Than basically anybody
29:05Who's going to guard them
29:07And I just think
29:09The way that Tatum
29:11We were talking about Tatum
29:13The way that he's kind of tweaked his game
29:15A little bit to take more threes
29:17To get to the free throw line
29:19It's just
29:21He's had a really sharp start to the season
29:23And I think analytically
29:25His profile is even stronger
29:27Than it's been in the past
29:29Yeah, I think it's just impressive for both of the Jays
29:33Like they're obviously just
29:35Coming off of a championship season
29:37Where they both had their best year
29:39But they both can kind of continue to add stuff to their game
29:41Whether it's just like
29:43Being physical and being able to draw free throws
29:45That's never been a strong point of either of them
29:47But like you said, analytically
29:49That's an easy way
29:51To win on the margins
29:53And if teams are going to be very, very physical
29:55You need someone who's able to take that contact
29:57And play through contact
29:59And at least at the start of the early season
30:01I think they've both done a very good job
30:03Of doing that
30:05Before we get to the final two segments
30:07We got the matchup of the year
30:09Coming up on Tuesday
30:11And Jay, the question that I've been seeing
30:13In the Still Potable chat
30:15Just a reminder for folks out there
30:17If you want to see more of us on CLNS
30:19Or listen to the free episode
30:21Go to patreon.com slash still potable
30:23Subscribe today, you can participate in chat
30:25Popping off during all the games
30:27Lots of good discussion on there
30:29But the question in chat
30:31That people are split on
30:33Is how real are these undefeated Cleveland Cavaliers?
30:37I'll give you that
30:39We'll ask you to say one caveat
30:41Nine of their wins have come against the bottom third
30:43Of the NBA this year
30:47There are two ways to look at this question
30:49Are they going to win a ton of games?
30:51The right way or the wrong way?
30:53Are they going to win a ton of games in the regular season?
30:55I think absolutely
30:57They are a cut above what they were last season
30:59And last season
31:01They were built to win a lot of regular season games
31:03The year before that
31:05They were built to win a lot of regular season games
31:07You look at their net rating over the last couple of years
31:09Everything suggests
31:11This is a really, really good regular season team
31:13Are they
31:15Equipped
31:17To be real challengers
31:19In the playoffs
31:21I think that's to be determined
31:23And I say that
31:25Without disrespecting what they've done
31:27Because
31:29Kenny Atkinson has gone in there
31:31Evan Mobley has gotten better
31:33They're cutting
31:35Like they didn't before
31:37They figured out how to use Allen and Mobley together
31:39Which they never did last season
31:41It was a disaster when those two guys were out there last season
31:43Now it's not
31:45They know how to exist
31:47Donovan Mitchell is fantastic
31:49Darius Garland has bounced back from whatever happened to him last season
31:51They are a dangerous team
31:53Karis Levert
31:55You can go on and on
31:57These guys are shooting insanely high percentages
31:59Especially from three
32:01But
32:03I look at them
32:05Just defense
32:07In the playoff wise
32:09Can Garland and Mitchell both match up
32:11Against
32:13The big wings they're going to need to guard
32:15What happens if they're playing
32:17The Celtics and Kristaps Porzingis
32:19Is in the screening action
32:21With those guys
32:23How badly are they going to struggle against that
32:25Also
32:27Jared Allen is an incredible defender
32:29He's become an incredible player
32:31But
32:33Like
32:35He's going to be
32:37To some extent
32:39In the comfort zone
32:41When he's forced to guard the arc
32:43Against some of the top teams that can really spread you out
32:45And the Celtics are one of those
32:47So I still have questions about
32:49How real
32:51They are in a playoff sense
32:53But I think it's very clear already
32:55That they're
32:57Easily the second best team in the Eastern Conference
32:59And have a chance
33:01To threaten for the number one seed
33:03And win
33:05A ton of games
33:07Yeah I mean winning 15 games in a row
33:09At any point
33:11In an NBA season is very impressive
33:13And like if you just think about
33:15What their pace has to be
33:17The rest of the way
33:19Like they're very much set themselves up to win
33:21Close to 60 games
33:23Like they could
33:25They only have to go like 45
33:27And 18 or something
33:29The rest of the way
33:31To kind of
33:33Get to that 60 win pace
33:35So I think
33:37Like obviously they're going to be a threat
33:39The thing that's interesting to me
33:41Is just I'm thinking back to
33:43The playoff series the Celtics and Cavs
33:45Played last year
33:47And obviously Donovan Mitchell
33:49Gets hurt and so he isn't there
33:51For the majority of the game
33:53But it gets back to our discussion about the Celtics
33:55And the margins
33:57They basically let Evan Mobley live at the rim
33:59In that series
34:01And pretty much
34:03Nothing with that
34:05Because they knew that the Cavs
34:07Three point shooting
34:09Especially from Darius Garland
34:11Who was their biggest outside threat
34:13Wasn't going to hurt them
34:15And so I'm curious to see what the approach
34:17Will be this year
34:19Obviously Mitchell's back
34:21And obviously it feels like Darius Garland is playing a little bit better
34:23But how much are the Celtics
34:25Okay with letting
34:27Mobley and Allen kind of get stuff in the paint
34:29And trying to kind of
34:31Outgun them on the other end
34:33And then also I would caution against
34:35Reading too much into this in terms of a
34:37Playoff matchup just because the Celtics with Chris Stapps
34:39Or Zingas with a lineup that can
34:41Spread out the Cavs
34:43And go five out is a lot
34:45Different than a Celtics
34:47Offense where
34:49They're not really playing that much five out
34:51Occasionally it seems like they're really leaning into
34:53Kind of a double big type of thing
34:55So it just feels like it's a maybe not as lethal
34:57Three point shooting but
34:59I just remember last year from that series
35:01It was just like we're going to let the ball
35:03Like we're just letting Mobley do
35:05What he wants because we're just going to try and take away three point
35:07Shooters. Is that going to be a similar
35:09Approach for how the Celtics take on the
35:11Cavs on Tuesday? So I think
35:13When they did that it was more
35:15So when Donovan Mitchell
35:17Was out and they really
35:19Trusted that the Cavaliers
35:21Didn't have enough offense to beat them
35:23Especially with twos
35:25And at
35:27That point it was like then you guard
35:29The Max Struces and
35:31Dean Wade
35:33Yeah, then you guard all those guys
35:35And take away the line and
35:37You're pretty confident that you're going to have enough
35:39Offense at the end of the day
35:41When Mitchell was in
35:43That series he gave the
35:45Celtics as many problems as anybody
35:47Did throughout the whole playoff run. I'll
35:49Include Luca in that. I'll include Kyrie in that
35:51I'll include
35:53Andrew Nembhard in that
35:55But he was
35:57He was phenomenal and they didn't have
35:59Too many answers for him
36:01So right now the Cavaliers
36:03Offense is playing at an insane level
36:05They're shooting I think it's
36:0741.8% from three
36:09Let me check. Yeah
36:1141.8% from three
36:13Which is just bonkers
36:15They have
36:17And it's probably unsustainable
36:19Like nobody shoots that
36:21For a whole season
36:23But it speaks
36:25To the rhythm they have right now
36:27And it speaks to
36:29The way that they're playing
36:31And the
36:33Style that they've bought into with
36:35Kenny Atkinson
36:37And so right now
36:39There's nobody playing better basketball
36:41Than the Cavs
36:43And I'm very excited
36:45I was glad that
36:47They
36:49You know kept winning because I think
36:51With them undefeated
36:53Against the Celtics
36:55Like this is going to be
36:57A very hyped matchup
36:59And a really fun one
37:01And I think for once
37:03It won't just be
37:05The Celtics opponent
37:07Really up for this game
37:09I think the Celtics because of the record
37:11And
37:13Because of sort of the chat
37:15About the Cleveland
37:17In the east
37:19This is going to be a game where the Celtics
37:21Are really up for it
37:23And maybe send a message
37:25Which is the wrong word but
37:27Just kind of
37:29They should want to
37:31Let Cleveland know
37:33Yeah we're still here
37:35We're still the baddest dudes out here
37:37And your
37:39Start to the regular season is cute
37:41But like we're the real boss
37:43Around here
37:45Yeah and NBA Cup standings
37:47I mean it's that on top of all
37:49The NBA Cup
37:51And on top of that they are in dire straights
37:53In the NBA Cup
37:55They need to win badly
37:57Maybe they need to win by a lot
37:59So it's going to be
38:01A very fun game on
38:03Tuesday very much looking forward to that
38:05Kind of like the first real big game of the season
38:07I would say after
38:09Opening night against the Knicks
38:11Jay I'll let you choose your own adventure
38:13Do you want to do
38:15The still potable
38:17Potable still
38:19Or talk about our good friend Joe Mazula
38:21Let's do the still potable potable
38:23Still first
38:25Alright let's hear it
38:31Alright look
38:33My first nominee for the potable still
38:35And for those
38:37For the podcast listeners I'll have to describe it
38:39But if we can zoom in here
38:41This is Drew Holiday
38:43Directing to the Jason Tatum 3
38:47Hands up in the air
38:49Three fingers stone faced
38:51Knew it was going in the whole time
38:53And that's just a great moment
38:55And so that is what some people might think is the potable
38:57Still potable potable still
38:59But really
39:01The still potable potable still
39:03Is Crazy George
39:05In area sports super fan
39:07Who is credited with inventing
39:09The wave
39:11How many times
39:13Were you tagged
39:15Crazy George
39:17Yeah
39:19I was tagged in that quite a lot on twitter
39:21And
39:23Quite honestly
39:27First of all calling yourself Crazy George
39:29Or going by the name Crazy George
39:31Crazy with a K
39:33Is insane
39:35Some would say it's crazy
39:37I am not surprised
39:39That a man named Crazy George
39:41With a K
39:43Was the one who decided that
39:45Just throwing up his hands in the air
39:47Like an idiot
39:49And convincing other people to throw their hands up in the air
39:51Like an idiot
39:53Was a good thing to do at a sporting event
39:55Let's break this down
39:57Think about the first guy
39:59If you claim
40:01That you invented the wave
40:03How did you convince people
40:05To start doing this
40:07How do you convince people
40:09He's clearly a cult
40:11You think he did it
40:13I'm not sure if I'm buying his claim
40:15It's not his claim
40:17It was the broadcast claim
40:19I know but where do you think they got that from
40:21So
40:23I was
40:25Honestly
40:27That man has done great harm
40:29To society
40:31He has done great harm
40:33To
40:35A lot of individuals
40:37That I come across at TD Garden
40:39He has led
40:41People astray
40:43He has convinced them
40:45That this is a thing to do at sporting events
40:47I've been
40:49Quietly
40:51Pleased that
40:53No wave has broken out at TD Garden lately
40:55The game's been too close
40:57No recent wave
40:59And
41:01But Crazy George
41:03It was hilarious
41:05I'm looking into the Wikipedia of it
41:07He claims to have invented it in a
41:09NHL game in
41:111979
41:13And he perfected it
41:15In the NHL before taking it over
41:17To Major League Baseball in Oakland
41:19What do you mean he perfected it
41:21It's throwing your hands in the air like an idiot
41:23There's no perfecting it
41:25I'm just reading you the source material
41:27Of what they say on Wikipedia
41:29But Rob Weller
41:31A University of Washington
41:33Cheerleader
41:35From 1968 to 1972
41:37And later a co-host of the show
41:39Entertainment Tonight
41:41In the early 70s
41:43His cheerleading squad invented a wave
41:45That went from the bottom to the top row
41:47So a north-south wave
41:49Instead of an east-west
41:51So Crazy George really didn't do anything
41:53He just took it and was like
41:55What if we go this way
41:57I hate him no matter what
41:59I can't stand the guy
42:01He's done
42:03More harm to society
42:05Than almost anybody
42:07Walking this earth
42:09Crazy George
42:11Is just an insane name
42:13I cannot imagine
42:17I guess I'm almost 40
42:19And still refer to myself as the kid
42:21Sometimes
42:23But I cannot imagine being however old
42:25Crazy George is
42:27And going by the name Crazy George
42:29That is
42:33It just speaks to the character of the man
42:35It speaks to the character
42:37Of the man
42:39So does what he claims to have created
42:41And the culture
42:43The terrible culture
42:45That he has sowed
42:47Across so many
42:49Arenas
42:51And fields and stadiums
42:53Across the country
42:55To menace to society
42:57And I think
42:59To all the people
43:01Who tag me in that
43:03And think this is a joke
43:05This is not a game
43:07This is real life
43:09And he's brought
43:11Just
43:13He's brought evil to this world
43:15And I think people should realize
43:17The gravity of that
43:19At one point
43:21When he invented the wave
43:23In the 1980s
43:25That Wayne Gretzky was like
43:27Wow, get that guy to the locker room
43:29I need to meet Crazy George
43:31And then invited Crazy George to dinner
43:33Because he was so impressed
43:35With the revolution that was taking place
43:37That part I'm not buying
43:39There's a way Wayne Gretzky
43:41Looked up at idiots in the crowd
43:43Waving their hands
43:45I need to meet the guy who started that
43:47No, you gotta understand
43:49They never even thought of cheering
43:51That's the concept of organized
43:53Fandom
43:55You see something like that
43:57I'm not buying the Wayne Gretzky claim
43:59It's on his Wikipedia page
44:01And we all know Wikipedia is a reliable source
44:03For all information
44:05If the Great One
44:07Did do that
44:09I'm stripping him of his name
44:13You have the authority to cheat?
44:15Yes
44:17That's great
44:19Alright, let's get to our final segment
44:21It feels like he's good for this every week
44:27This is Shit Joe Says
44:29Where we go over the wild
44:31World of Joe Mazzulla
44:33I think there has to be one
44:35My biggest nominee
44:37You'll have to tell me if there's more
44:39I said this in practice, I think on
44:41What was it, Thursday or Friday
44:43A clip of you standing right next to him
44:45When he said it, just describing
44:47How upset he was
44:49With Charles Lee
44:51Breaking NBA protocol
44:53To come into the assistant coach's
44:55Locker room and give him a hug
44:57Before the game
44:59He thought it psychological warfare
45:01And something he really
45:03Didn't like
45:05And he said it was not nice to hug him
45:07He was going to knock him off his game competitively
45:09He said Charles Lee knew what he was doing
45:13There's video of you reacting to this
45:15He was thoroughly amused while he was saying this
45:19This is like
45:21Other than
45:23The wave stuff
45:25That's probably the thing that was sent to me most
45:29I feel like that's become
45:31One of my roles at practice
45:33Is to just be giggling
45:35At Joe Mazzulla
45:37As he just says
45:39Totally crazy things
45:41I think there are shades
45:43Of truth in what he said
45:45I do believe that
45:47Once a guy is gone
45:49From his roster, from his coaching staff
45:51That he does not
45:53Want to give anything away
45:55And he dearly
45:57Wants to protect
45:59His trade secrets
46:01I also think he was totally
46:03Just fucking around with everybody
46:05With what he said about Charles Lee
46:07That's the biggest question where I just don't
46:09Know
46:11He's in this zone of
46:13Sometimes I think it's very perverse
46:15And sometimes I think he's just
46:17Doing it because he knows he's gone to a place
46:19Where he can say anything
46:21And people will be like
46:23That's just crazy Joe Mazzulla
46:25And it's a brilliant place to live in
46:27I could be wrong here
46:29But here were the tells that convinced me
46:31That he was very much messing around
46:33One
46:35He said that he breached NBA rules
46:37He said that Charles Lee
46:39By walking into the assistant
46:41Coach's room and saying hello
46:43To some old friends
46:45Breached NBA rules
46:47He also said
46:49That Charles
46:51Forced him
46:53To give him a hug
46:55Like
46:57I cannot
46:59Ever imagine describing
47:01Another man as forcing
47:03Me to hug him
47:05And so when you put
47:07The breaching
47:09Phrase with forced me to hug him
47:11It really
47:13Leads me to believe that Joe Mazzulla
47:15Was
47:17Turning it all the way up
47:19In an attempt to be funny
47:21In an attempt to
47:23Maybe convince
47:25People he's crazier than he actually is
47:27And so on this one
47:29I'm going to rule
47:31That he was
47:33Absolutely messing around
47:35Um
47:37Do I believe that
47:39That he does treat people differently
47:41After they're gone from the Celtics
47:43Yeah I do because I do think he's a
47:45Competitive freak
47:47And a maniacal
47:49Dude looking for any edge
47:51But
47:53The Charles Lee thing that was really
47:55That was really funny
47:57It was breaching rules had me
47:59Dying like breaching rules
48:01By going and saying hello to
48:03To his old friends and
48:05He said he forced me to hug him and knew exactly
48:07What he was doing
48:09That was incredible
48:11My thinking is that he
48:13Was just this like sicko
48:15Who had this
48:17Grand plan and who spent like
48:19Weeks plotting how
48:21To force Joe Mazzulla to hug him
48:23My
48:25Being as generous and giving Joe Mazzulla
48:27As much grace as possible I think
48:29He was annoyed that
48:31Charles Lee came into the locker room
48:33Because he's like that's not you're a competitor
48:35Now and you don't come into our space
48:37And probably had enough self awareness to be like
48:39Yes this pisses me off
48:41But I also know if I
48:43Complain about it
48:45It will be pretty funny and then can kind of
48:47Play it up that way so I think it can be both
48:49That he was like probably annoyed that
48:51It happened but knew that
48:53Like that's
48:55Him complaining about it complaining about the breach
48:57Of NBA rules would also
48:59Be funny thing to talk about
49:01In the practice day off day media scrim
49:03A breach of NBA
49:05It also like that night in
49:07Charlotte or that those two days
49:09In Charlotte it was like
49:11Campbell Walker came into their shoot around
49:13It was just like chat with guys
49:15Hanging out with guys and Campbell Walker
49:17Went into their locker room after the game and it's like
49:19Was he breaching NBA rules
49:21Was he
49:23Just plotting revenge
49:25On his former teammates
49:27I don't think so I think he was just saying hi
49:29To some guys and I think Charles Lee
49:31Was probably doing the same
49:33They won a championship
49:35With the year before
49:37Something like that
49:39Any other notable Joe Mazzulla
49:41Quotes from this week
49:43The only other thing I can think of is when he was asked
49:45About the Celtics
49:47New City Editions uniforms
49:49Last night asked what he liked about them the most
49:51He said they say Celtics on it
49:53It was also my favorite part of
49:55Those weird neon green uniforms
49:57Last night
49:59Those are bad
50:01They look like space uniforms
50:03Oregon Ducks man
50:05Peyton Pritchard might have liked them
50:07I don't think he liked them after he started
50:09Over 5 or over 6 or whatever it was
50:11That was another thing
50:13Joe said
50:15That I wasn't buying it
50:17It was kind of a LeBron
50:19He had a LeBron moment
50:21It was like I knew this was going to happen
50:23Or like I
50:25People say LeBron
50:27Or whatever
50:29Joe said I knew when
50:31Peyton Pritchard started over 6
50:33He was going to hit the next 2
50:35No he didn't
50:37You're a man of statistics
50:39You're a man of mathematics
50:41You know that if he missed 6 in a row
50:43Yes eventually he's going to make some
50:45But that might not have an impact
50:47On the next shot
50:49After that
50:51I don't believe you were the happiest man
50:53That Peyton Pritchard started over 6
50:55And I don't believe you knew
50:57That he was
50:59Going to make his next 2
51:01I'm just not buying it Joe
51:03Why didn't you challenge him in the moment
51:05In the press conference room
51:07You're the journalist
51:09You're supposed to hold truth to power
51:11You're supposed to hold people account for their lies
51:13That was a LeBron moment from Joe
51:15Anything else this week from Joe
51:17How about the Celtics
51:19Before we wrap up today's episode
51:25I enjoyed watching
51:27The Raptors
51:29They play hard
51:31Jamal Shedd plays really hard
51:33Jamal Shedd's good
51:35He plays super hard
51:37And just intense the entire game
51:39I was impressed by the Jamal Shedd
51:41Minutes in this game
51:43I was just a fan of
51:45Their approach
51:47To this tanking season
51:49And I like
51:51They have some okay
51:53They have some okay role players
51:55They're obviously not talented enough
51:57And don't have the
51:59Real creators
52:01And stuff that they need
52:03To thrive in the NBA
52:05But like
52:07I am
52:09I don't mind a lot of those players
52:11Like Grady Dick is going to be pretty good
52:13It would be a very fun landing spot for Cooper Flagg
52:15Shedd plays his butt off
52:17I don't know if
52:19Davion Mitchell is at all good at basketball
52:21But he plays really hard
52:23He's good at defense
52:25And so
52:27I'm just
52:29Someone tweeted
52:31I forget who it was
52:33Someone tweeted they're like the most ethical tankers of all time
52:35And it kind of seems right
52:37They're just
52:39They're going to lose games but they're going to play hard
52:41And they're going to stay in games
52:43And then they're just going to goof them up at the end
52:45Yeah
52:47Because they're not quite good enough
52:49No
52:51That was probably the best game they've played all season
52:53With the 36 points from
52:55Jacoberto
52:57And a 25, 15, and 10 from R.J. Barrett
52:59It was so funny
53:01The Celtics
53:03There was a group of Celtics
53:05In the locker room after the game
53:07Raving about Jacoberto
53:09Like just could not fathom
53:11All the shots that he hit
53:13And it was so funny
53:15To just watch them
53:17Be like just
53:19Absolutely in awe of
53:21Jacoberto's performance
53:23Like it was
53:2516 for 19
53:27On really like not the easiest
53:29Diet of shots
53:31He was like 15 for 15 at some point
53:33All his misses I think came in the fourth quarter
53:35He deserves the awe
53:37It was a brilliant performance
53:39From Jacoberto but the Celtics
53:41You know somehow managed to survive
53:43They're now 11-3
53:45Taking on I think the 15-0 Cleveland Cavaliers
53:47On Tuesday night
53:49That's going to do it for us here
53:51On Still Potable
53:53Again if you want more Still Potable
53:55Like a recap right after the game
53:57Of Cavs-Celtics
53:59Go to Patreon.com
54:01Subscribe today
54:03We'll be here for you every single day
54:05We got Jay King answering voicemails
54:07We got a lot of behind the scenes content
54:09We got people hanging out in chat
54:11And so we're doing a lot of fun stuff
54:13Over on the Patreon
54:15Subscribe today and we'll be back
54:17Later this week with more Still Potable
54:19Still Potable
54:21Still Potable
54:23Still Potable
54:25Still Potable
54:27Oh yeah
54:29Still Potable
54:31Still Potable
54:33Still Potable
54:35Still Potable
54:37Still Potable
54:39Still Potable
54:41Still Potable
54:43Still Potable
54:45Still Potable
54:47Still Potable
54:49Still Potable
54:51Still Potable
54:53Still Potable
54:55Still Potable
54:57Still Potable
54:59Still Potable