The Boston Celtics will start their first West Coast swing of the NBA's 2024-25 regular season, with the pinnacle of that trip coming in the first meeting between the other of the two teams widely seen as most likely to meet in the 2025 NBA Finals, the Oklahoma City Thunder. The trip will test Boston's mettle as they face tougher teams than most of the mostly Eastern Conference foes they have played thus far, just as they have shown some of the first signs of mortality since winning the title.
To get a bead on that matchup and the other West teams Boston will face after their home tilt with the Toronto Raptors this Tuesday night, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast sat down with OKC Thunder Wire editor and Thunder beat writer Clemente Almanza.
The crew also gets caught up on news and even share some New Year's resolutions for themselves, the league, and the teams we cover. Check it out below!
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#celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics
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To get a bead on that matchup and the other West teams Boston will face after their home tilt with the Toronto Raptors this Tuesday night, the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast sat down with OKC Thunder Wire editor and Thunder beat writer Clemente Almanza.
The crew also gets caught up on news and even share some New Year's resolutions for themselves, the league, and the teams we cover. Check it out below!
CLNS Media is Powered by:
💰 Prize Picks - https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
Download the app today and use Code CLNS when you sign up & Get $50 instantly when you play $5!
🎫 Gametime - https://gametime.co
Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Gametime today. Terms apply. What time is it? Gametime!
Elevate your style game on and off the course with the PXG Spring Summer 2024 collection. Head over to https://PXG.com/GARDENREPORT and save 10% on all apparel.
Nutrafol! Get results you can run your fingers through! For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners 10 dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code GARDEN.
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Go to https://HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE and use code CLNSFREE for FREE breakfast for life! One breakfast item per box while subscription is active. That’s free breakfast for life at HelloFresh.com/CLNSFREE with code CLNSFREE!
Visit https://factormeals.com/NEWSFEED50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.
Right now, you can get 10% off your first purchase by going to https://ArenaClub.com/HOOPS. Wow, that’s a crazy offer.10% off a $400 Slab Pack, that’s $40 right there!
#celtics #NBA #BostonCeltics
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SportsTranscript
00:00Celtics Lab is brought to you by PrizePix and the GameTime app.
00:06Alrighty, welcome to the Celtics Lab podcast brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive fantasy basketball partner of the CNS Media Network.
00:12Run your game and buy GameTime tickets. Last-minute tickets. Lowest price guaranteed. What time is it? It's GameTime.
00:17I'm Cameron Tibbets-Dubai. I'm your host. I'm joined by Dr. Justin Quinn in Mexico City. I'm joined by Alex Goldberg in Brooklyn.
00:23And from OKC Thunderwire, I'm joined by Clement Almanza in Oklahoma City.
00:31Yes, sir.
00:33As I was going, I was like, I guess I don't know the answer to this. Clement is our dude over at Thunderwire.
00:41And he's having a fun season because the Thunder rock. Clement, how are you?
00:46I'm doing good, man. Like you said, Thunder just started a five game home stand the other night.
00:50They've been on the road for like the last month or so. So kind of nice just being able to like go to games in person now.
00:56Yeah, we'll get into it. Basically, the theme of this episode is New Year's resolutions and the Celtics are about to play 10 of 16 games on the road, mostly out west.
01:07So we figured we'd hit you up to talk about that. So we'll start with the Boston side of the street and do the news and Clemente the news.
01:15And OKC is good and the news in Boston is iffy. So bear with us if you don't mind.
01:20Since we last potted the Celtics lost to the Magic, they lost to the Sixers and they lost to the Pacers.
01:26They did have a huge win over the Pacers, but by and large, they've been playing bad.
01:30They're five and five in their last 10. It's worth noting that Drew Holliday has been out with a shoulder injury.
01:36Impingement. Impingement. Thank you. And Porzingis hurt his foot and now they're calling it an ankle sprain.
01:42So, Justin, I guess I'll start there before we tie ourselves into knots trying to analyze this. How much of this is just bad health?
01:50I mean, when the guy who solves most of the interior problems is out and the guy who's basically the linchpin for the exterior problem is out,
01:58you're going to need to defend better. And that hasn't been happening. They've been defending OK.
02:04They've slid down to the eighth defense in the league at present. So they're not terrible.
02:10But when you're facing a very motivated, opposing ball club that can translate into losses some nights, as we have been seeing.
02:17Yeah. Alex, what's your level of concern for the Celtics? Muted.
02:26I'm really doing well today, guys. It happens. Yeah, it's not. So my concern level is not tremendously high.
02:34I think it's December and the team has been missing key players and other key players that have been playing have not been fully healthy.
02:42So I think ultimately, I think we all came into this season thinking that it was going to be very hard to replicate last year's dominant run.
02:51And we're seeing that I think there's little things that you can pick at. And I think there kind of always will be.
02:58But, you know, if this team is healthy in April, that's what matters.
03:04So for the time being, I'm not that concerned, more just kind of like noticing some small stuff that that they might need to work on.
03:15Yeah, it's I think Jason Tatum's MVP case, if he has one at all right now, he's plus twelve hundred.
03:23And actually, Clementa, did you see Shea is now the batting favorite?
03:27Yeah, it kind of feels like the tides are kind of shifting there.
03:30I know Jokic was the favorite for most of the year coming off his third MVP last year.
03:35But ever since the NBA Cup, a lot of people kind of forgotten about that, that kind of performance.
03:40Ever since then, like Shea's just been putting up monster numbers for OKC.
03:44The Thunder have been historically one of the best teams in the league.
03:49So it does kind of feel like, you know, momentum is heading towards Shea.
03:52Still a long ways to go, but I mean, if he continues to average 30 plus on this superb efficiency,
03:57and if OKC wins 60 plus games, I don't see why he wouldn't be the favorite.
04:01Yeah, well, we'll get into that more later.
04:03But really what I wanted to say is I think Jason and Jalen have a little bit descended into the your turn, my turn.
04:09And this stretch here, Justin, you hit it.
04:12I mean, defense has been the biggest problem is being average on defense just like isn't good enough,
04:18especially if you sometimes don't hit your threes.
04:20I mean, that's the thing.
04:22So, like, if you take 53 as a game and you play really good defense, it doesn't really matter.
04:28You can like right at the variance of missing your threes.
04:31If you take 53 as a game and you're an average defensive team, those nights where you only hit 25 percent of your threes,
04:37there's just it seems impossible for you to win to like against the Pacers the other night.
04:42They kept to the Celtics, kept teasing a comeback in the fourth.
04:45It looked like they were taking control of the game.
04:48And for my money, Jason and Jalen put their heads down a little too much there.
04:52And then also, like the team just couldn't make stops across the board.
04:57So. I don't know, it's interesting that they're like.
05:02Going losing four out of six was not on my bingo card, quite frankly,
05:06I kind of thought they were going to roll the season.
05:09So it gives us like a little bit to consider and think about, especially with this stretch of games coming up.
05:15But I don't think any real concern is worth blowing oxygen on.
05:23Justin, I think. Yeah, their responses have been very aware of what the problems have been.
05:28So if they were like just another game in December or whatever and kind of blew it off,
05:34then I would be concerned, but they seem concerned. So I am not concerned.
05:39So I guess just to close it out, if you could snap your fingers and fix one problem for the Celtics right now, what would you pick?
05:47Alex, I'll go to you first. Sure. Yeah, I think I would pick specifically guard defense,
05:52which is going to be relevant in our discussion regarding the Thunder lately.
05:57But I feel like the area of concern for me that's been the biggest is that the Celtics are letting attacking guards get into the paint
06:05and those guards are able to create offense out of that either passing or scoring individually.
06:10You saw it with Tyrese Halliburton. You saw Tyrese Maxey, you know,
06:15multiple instances where the perimeter defense without Drew just kind of gets shredded by guards who can handle and shoot and pass.
06:25Going up against the Thunder, where SGA is arguably the best player in the league doing that right now,
06:33that's going to be something to watch. And that's definitely the area that I would want to,
06:37if I could snap my fingers and fix immediately, that that's the number one priority for me.
06:42Good tease. Clemente, what would you fix? I don't know how much Celtics basketball you're watching, but you're smart.
06:47You can fake it. Yeah, I'm assuming probably just health.
06:52I know you guys talked about it a little bit, but it does kind of sound like they've been missing some guys here and there throughout the season.
06:57Nothing serious yet, but that's really the number one thing.
07:00Like the Thunder have also kind of been dealing with some injuries as well that hasn't slowed them down either.
07:05So it kind of seems like both of those teams are kind of like in similar situations a little bit.
07:10Justin, what about you? Well, it would be easy to say focus because there hasn't been a lot of it,
07:16but there's been reasons, not great ones, but reasons for that.
07:20So I'll get a little bit outside of the box and say Joe Mazzola playing Drew Peterson and or Jordan Walsh more because that would help.
07:30Yeah. So what I was going to say before is with this West Coast swing that we're about to talk about coming up,
07:34if Jason is going to get an MVP conversation right now, he's like a plus twelve hundred.
07:39It's because he's going to play like a monster in January here.
07:43And the thing that I would fix for the Celtics is what I said before,
07:45which is what I said before, that Jason and Jalen continue to try to average like six or seven assists a game and not try to get a scoring title or something like that,
07:53which is not a major concern of mine, but I think it's a little bit creeping back.
07:57All right. Let me pause the action, talk about our friends over at prize picks because basketball is heating up.
08:03And I'm fired to be playing prize picks because, look, the people on this call are absolute sickos.
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08:43Plus, prize picks has features like flex play where you can cash out even if one of your picks doesn't hit.
08:47Not that I would know anything about that.
08:49So if you're feeling confident about how the Celtics are going to fare in the Western Conference trip that we keep alluding to,
08:55if you think Jason Tatum is indeed going to go play like an MVP, why not turn that knowledge and that moxie into some real winnings?
09:01Download the Prize Picks app today and use the code CLNS to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup.
09:09That's CLNS for $50. That's Prize Picks. Run your game. Back to the show.
09:16OK, a little bit more news and then we'll talk about this game coming up between the Thunder and the Celtics.
09:22And then also, Clemente, you're here to kind of talk to us because the Celtics can see like all the good teams in the West in a row.
09:28So maybe you can help us with that.
09:30There's a little bit more Celtics news. Jalen Brown was named Sports Illustrated NBA Athlete of the Year.
09:36Shout out to Mannix for that one. I can't imagine why anyone would say otherwise.
09:41I mean, he was an all-star. He was in the dunk contest. He won finals MVP.
09:45And he is initiating all sorts of stuff off the court that or what you'd like to see out of your athletes.
09:51I don't know who would take umbrage with that. Justin, any surprises there?
09:59That Chris Mannix, who grew up as a Boston Celtics ball boy before he was ever a reporter, would pick Jalen Brown.
10:07You know, there might be a little extra sauce on the reasoning behind that.
10:10But the case that you made is, in my opinion, a very solid one.
10:16Yeah, Mannix is a nice guy. So go check out. You can just go read the damn thing.
10:22Yeah, maybe he's working a story. Who knows?
10:26Clemente, the Thunder and the Celtics are in a similar position in that they kind of did their their trades last season in the summer.
10:33I mean, there's not that much wiggle room there. The Celtics, according to Mark Stein, are interested in bringing back Lonnie Walker.
10:39So not really a trade so much as a roster addition. Other teams are interested, too, namely Philly, Miami.
10:45He's playing over in Latvia and he's looking like a stud, but it's a very different game.
10:51Alex, can you see Lonnie Walker actually ending up back on the Celtics and making a difference?
10:57Muted again. I'm sorry, Alex, we're sending you to Latvia, dude.
11:03Maybe so. I would be surprised if they signed Lonnie Walker, both because I think that would potentially at least marginally
11:12compromise their ability to make other moves around the deadline that might be more pressing.
11:17And because, frankly, you know, Peyton Pritchard has been so good off the bench as a secondary scorer that I kind of feel like Lonnie Walker,
11:29Lonnie Walker, the main thing he brings to the table is instant offense, you know, being able to come in and score in bunches.
11:36He wouldn't really have a whole lot of opportunity to do that on the seas. Peyton Pritchard is kind of already in that role.
11:42The Celtics really need defense more than anything, I think, for whatever acquisition they're going to make, if anything.
11:48And Lonnie Walker is just he's really just never been a good point of attack defender or really defender of any kind.
11:55He doesn't really make sense for this team in my mind. Yeah.
11:59Unless there's a trade coming where there's a lot of playing time in the back end of the roster.
12:05Suddenly I don't really see it, but there's no harm in the Celtics saying, yeah, we're interested because it helps Lonnie's case.
12:11And why not? We didn't talk about it in the lab, but Jordan Walsh continues to be kind of up and down.
12:17And if they think we actually need a 10th guy to play real minutes and, you know, our young guys aren't it.
12:24Maybe. But, yeah, I don't really see it. All right.
12:28Let's do this. Let's pause the action one more time for an and read and then we'll hop into the lab.
12:33So let me go ahead and talk about our friends over at game time, which is the best ticket platform to go see live sports concerts and everything else.
12:43It's the middle of the winter. The weather is lousy and basketball and hockey are heating up.
12:47It's a perfect time to catch a game. And that means you need game time.
12:51They have all sorts of features that make it really easy to buy tickets.
12:55I should go off script here. And during the holiday season, a bunch of friends.
12:59Clementine, I'm sure you have this, too, where people like, hey, how can you get Thunder tickets?
13:04As in, like, can I provide free tickets? And like, I don't think you can.
13:09I certainly can't provide Celtics tickets. But I would tell people like, hey, use game time.
13:14You can use the promo code CLNS to get $20 off. And it is indeed a really easy product to use.
13:19And I think a lot of people end up using it and happily so.
13:22So I have friends who are taking their dads and their brothers and whomever.
13:25And it's not just the promo code, which will save you $20.
13:28But they have all sorts of features that let you find the best deals, flex deals.
13:32You can find super deals. You can see your seats ahead of time.
13:36I had a funny string of introducing people to the game time app.
13:40And I'm really happy that it panned out for those people.
13:43So if you want to be happy like all the friends in my life and you want to go see your favorite teams,
13:48your favorite concert, whatever, and you want to save $20 on your first purchase,
13:52download game time and use the code CLNS for your first purchase.
13:57Terms apply. It's game time app. Create an account. Redeem the code CLNS to save $20.
14:02What time is it? It's game time.
14:04OK. We're hopping in the lab.
14:07Oh, also, Taco Fall is playing in New Zealand and wants to play in the NBA.
14:12And Taco Fall continues to seem like a nice guy. So we're hoping he does.
14:16I left that off the news segment.
14:18OK, now we can hop into the lab. So put on your safety goggles, put on your lab coats.
14:22And let's start with this. So let's assume that our listeners are just...
14:26Alex, good way to redeem yourself, buddy.
14:30Our listeners, Clemente, are just Celtics fans through and through.
14:34They haven't picked their head up once. They say Oklahoma City, who?
14:38So tell us about this Thunder season. 30 seconds, I don't know, 60 seconds.
14:42What's been happening?
14:44Yeah, I mean, Shea just has played like the best player in the league so far.
14:48I mean, he's averaging over 30 points on super efficiency.
14:53The type of efficiency you see usually from centers.
14:55But she's doing it as a six foot six guard.
14:58And then really it's been the defensive side of the ball where the Thunder really kind of dominated.
15:03I mean, they lead the league in defensive rating.
15:05Any really defensive stats you use, the Thunder probably gonna be number one.
15:09And they have one of the best defenses of all time right now already.
15:14And they've kind of been leaning on that for most of their season success.
15:18So a combination of Shea just kind of like really bringing out one of the best players.
15:22And a lot of other guys, like this is a super young roster as well,
15:25just kind of taking a next step in their development along with guys like Hardenstein and Caruso
15:29really fitting into this team.
15:31It's all been a recipe into having the second best record in the league right now.
15:36And what's the latest on chat?
15:38So they're doing this all with, I mean, on paper, their second best player,
15:43their second and a half best player on the shelf.
15:45So what's the latest with chat?
15:47Yeah, I mean, we're doing update here in a couple of weeks soon about his return to play protocol.
15:52That's not necessarily when he'll come back.
15:54That's just when the team is going to update us, like what his next step in his recovery is.
15:58But I mean, the Thunder center statement when never checked, you know, they go down that.
16:02They expected to come back this season.
16:05I'm assuming that's still the case until told otherwise.
16:08So just kind of playing, I guess, doctor or whatever.
16:10I would assume he'd be back after the All-Star break, probably around the March-April range.
16:15And that way you can get a handful of games underneath him, knock off any rust,
16:18and get ready for the playoffs.
16:21Do you think there's any concern he misses the playoffs?
16:24No, I don't think so.
16:25Like I said, the Thunder are pretty confident in their initial statement,
16:28saying that he'll be back this season.
16:30You know, from who I've talked to and all that, medically wise,
16:34like they told me that this injury shouldn't really linger after he comes back.
16:38Obviously, he's going to, you know, need a little bit of a ramp up period after, you know,
16:41not playing basketball for two free months.
16:44But, you know, from everything that they've said and, you know,
16:48from what I've been able to see Chet do, like it does kind of feel like, you know,
16:52he'll be back before the season ends to kind of end it and get ready for the playoffs.
16:58They did not ask for a disabled player exception for him.
17:02Am I correct on that?
17:04No, they haven't.
17:05Yeah, because that would signal that they don't,
17:08because for the people who don't know in the audience,
17:11if you ask for one of those,
17:12there has to be the expectation that the player isn't coming back this season.
17:17No, yeah.
17:19Yeah, like I said, he'll be back this year.
17:22It's just a matter of, I guess, kind of when, not if.
17:26And like I said, we'll find out more here in a couple weeks whenever they do update us
17:30and his, I guess, return to play protocol
17:32and what the next step of his recovery process is going to be.
17:36But, I mean, he looked good.
17:37Like he's only using one crutch now.
17:40He's been with the team more often.
17:42Like he even went to Las Vegas for the NBA Cups.
17:44So the fact that he's traveling with the team and all that must be a positive sign.
17:49So we'll definitely get a clearer picture here soon.
17:52But like I said, I would expect a post-lost ball break.
17:56So in the event that Chet does come back, let's say shortly after the All-Star break,
18:02I mean, OKC has been in such a good groove with Isaiah Hartenstein as the starting center.
18:07I almost kind of wonder if it's worth disrupting that
18:12or if maybe at least to start just to kind of get his legs back,
18:16it might be worth bringing Chet off the bench with reduced minutes
18:20just to let him kind of get his legs under him.
18:23Do you or Thunder World generally have any thoughts on that?
18:28Yeah, I think the general expectation is that once Chet comes back,
18:32he'll be inserted back in the starting lineup.
18:34And I know it was a while ago, but those first couple of weeks,
18:37like Chet was playing like arguably one of the best players in the league.
18:40Like you can make a serious argument that he was the Thunder's best player
18:43those first two weeks that he played.
18:45And like he just really took a lot of like offensive strides on that side of the ball.
18:49Obviously, we all know what he does defensively, especially inside the paint.
18:53So I think he'll be back in the starting lineup just because, I mean,
18:59even before he got hurt, like they were still rolling.
19:01I think they started off the season 8-0 with him before he got hurt.
19:06So I would expect him to get back in the starting lineup in terms of like minutes.
19:09I could definitely see them kind of like slow playing it and letting him kind of like,
19:13you know, get a knock off any potential rust he might have from not playing
19:17the last three months.
19:19But yeah, like you mentioned, like they've really kind of found a groove here
19:22with Hardenstein.
19:23I could see scenarios where he's probably a starter along with Chet,
19:26where they're doing like a double big lineup with those two guys.
19:28Like they did some of that in the preseason, specifically against the Nuggets.
19:33So I could definitely see a scenario where, you know,
19:35Hardenstein's kind of a spot starter and he starts against some of these larger
19:39front courts.
19:41But yeah, I mean, they've just been rolling, like you said.
19:45So the Celtics play in Oklahoma City on January 5th.
19:52Now, like we said at the top, we have no idea if Porzingis or Holiday will be
19:57available because between then, the Celtics play the Raptors at home on New
20:02Year's Eve, and then they play in Minnesota and in Houston.
20:05We'll talk about those games later, but let's say for the sake of argument
20:09that both teams are healthy and we have no way of knowing if they are or if,
20:14you know, the teams want them to be.
20:17Let's look at this matchup because it could very well be a finals matchup,
20:22not to put too much pressure on a very young Thunder team.
20:25Youngest team in the league, right?
20:27Yeah, they are still.
20:29They're the youngest we're going to see last year.
20:32Yeah.
20:33And I think the Celtics are like fifth oldest or something now.
20:36So putting that pressure on the Thunder to make the finals is unfair,
20:41but also sexy and perhaps accurate.
20:44So let's just look at this upcoming game.
20:46So Clemente, I'll go to you first.
20:48Between the backcourt, which team do you think has the advantage and why
20:51between the Celtics and the Thunder?
20:53I mean, I think I have to go with Thunder just because of Shea.
20:56Like I said, he's been playing, like, you know,
20:58arguably the leading MVP candidate right now, especially the last couple weeks.
21:02I mean, he just had back-to-back 40-plus point games for OKC.
21:07Hit, like, a huge, I guess, dagger against the Pacers last week.
21:12He's just on the hot streak right now, averaging over 30 points,
21:16really strong efficiency.
21:18I mean, that second backcourt spot has been kind of a, I guess,
21:21a little bit of a rotating door because they've been, you know,
21:25trying to see who best fits with the starters.
21:28And it does kind of feel like Cason Wallace is getting a hold of that
21:31second starting backcourt spot.
21:33Like, he's a good free and D guy as well.
21:35His three-point shooting has been kind of down recently,
21:37but the Thunder kind of assume they're going to eventually, you know,
21:41see some positive regression.
21:43So I think I would pick OKC just mostly just because of Shea.
21:47Sure.
21:48Justin, between the Thunder and the Celtics, who do you think has the,
21:51when healthy?
21:53When healthy this time around means no Chet.
21:57So it's a, it's a, when healthy with like all sorts of asterisks,
22:01asterisks, asterisks, asterisks,
22:04who has the front court advantage this coming Sunday?
22:08Who boy, in terms of everyone being healthy,
22:12I think it's pretty clearly the Celtics,
22:14but we definitely can't depend on that.
22:17Right.
22:18That's kind of the big thing right now, because even when they are healthy,
22:22We see sometimes KP resting,
22:25usually Al Horford resting on back-to-backs.
22:28There are other built-in things going on as well.
22:32Al has been great for his age and even in general as a power forward,
22:38but he's starting to slow down.
22:40We're seeing some collateral impact of all of those miles,
22:44particularly helping cover up for Chris steps being out for so much.
22:48So with all of those things in context,
22:51I wouldn't say it's closer than we would like to think,
22:53but I think the advantage is ever so slightly,
22:56if healthy towards Boston.
22:59Honestly, it kind of has to be like, if you're right about your concerns.
23:03No, we'll talk about that later.
23:05Alex,
23:06which team do you think has the biggest advantage when it comes to the bench
23:09at present and why?
23:11So this is a really tough question because I think you could make the
23:15argument that one of the biggest reasons that Boston won the title last year
23:19was because they had outstanding play from their bench throughout the
23:22post-season.
23:23And a number of players on the Celtics bench have gotten better.
23:28Like Peyton Pritchard is better at basketball.
23:30Luke Cornette is better at basketball.
23:32Nimi Ishkeda for all of the flaws that, you know,
23:35he has as a defender is a better player than he was last year.
23:38Jordan Walsh is a better player.
23:40The Sam Hauser X-Factor, little tricky.
23:43We'll see what's going on with his back.
23:45That being said, the Thunders bench has been rolling this year.
23:49I mean, they've got so much depth and they, you know,
23:53Clemente alluded to it earlier,
23:55the fact that you can shift back and forth between Hart and Stein off the
24:00bench or Caruso off the bench, the fact that you can, you know,
24:04plug Lou Dordan there,
24:05or that you have Aaron Wiggins or you have Case on Wallace,
24:08or you have Isaiah Joe, these are all really good players.
24:11So to me, at least this year,
24:15it's, this is really tough.
24:17I think with, with a healthy roster,
24:20I would lean ever so slightly Boston just because of the continuity of
24:24Horford, Pritchard, Cornette, et cetera.
24:27The fact that like,
24:28we know that's a battle tested group that has won in the post season,
24:32not to say that the Thunder haven't, but Boston won the title, but man,
24:36this Thunder, the Thunder's bench is excellent.
24:40And it's been excellent all year.
24:42So it's a hard, hard question.
24:45I really, I only lean Celtics because of recency bias,
24:49if I'm being honest.
24:51Yeah. And part of that,
24:52we're assuming full health is Sam Hauser's back is working that night.
24:57He's been missing time with an ongoing back problem.
25:01Even when it's working, it hasn't really been working.
25:04Like his defense has not been what it was previously.
25:07He's very clearly a worst offender so far.
25:10Yeah.
25:11It feels like the Celtics as individuals haven't been as good as defenders.
25:16And then that's really becoming apparent when, you know,
25:19they rather than try to do a team defense,
25:22they try to like put guys on islands to hope for the best.
25:24Anyways, Clemente, a couple of important factors for the Thunder.
25:29First of all, SGA is like the best mid range player.
25:35It's so annoying that the NBA is being pinged because they shoot too many
25:41threes.
25:42When the two of the three best MVP candidates don't even like shoot threes
25:47anymore. Like the honest,
25:48like straight up does not shoot threes and SGA is lighting it up from the
25:52mid range.
25:53So talk to us about SGA is a game away from the three point line and away
25:58from the room.
26:01Yeah. I mean, like you said,
26:02like he's one of the best mid range shooters in the league. Like, I mean,
26:05to kind of like show just how ridiculous it is.
26:08Like one of his signature shots is kind of like a fading baseline jumper
26:11where he's like kind of behind the backcourt. And it's like,
26:14that's just a ridiculously tough shot to make. So like I mentioned,
26:18Shane's been one is arguably the best married shooter in the league.
26:21He reminds me a lot of like prime Kauai when he was with the Spurs in that,
26:25in that area.
26:26And then obviously the drive set of basket is like where he gets most of his
26:29points.
26:30Like he's led the league in drives by pretty wide margin the last five
26:33seasons getting to the line at a pretty decent rate as well.
26:37And then you mentioned the three point shooting,
26:39like he's taking a little bit more this year than before.
26:41Like he made that kind of a huge point of emphasis in the,
26:45in training camp about kind of expanding his range to outside.
26:48And I think he's averaging like six attempts on pretty, 34% shooting.
26:52So now defenses are having to respect his outside shot, which, you know,
26:56Helps him create more open lanes to the basket that he could like go to and
27:00on his drives and make it all this combines to him being one of the most,
27:04one of the more unguardable guys in the entire league.
27:07Yeah.
27:08No, I think everyone wants there to be another Kobe.
27:12And I think SJ is as close to the lead, what the league has.
27:17Talks about J Dub, Jay Williams, Jalen Williams.
27:22Yeah. I mean, he kind of, it's funny.
27:24Cause ever since he got to OKC, he's been kind of,
27:27Shay's kind of taking him under his wing and you definitely see it on the court
27:31because both of those guys have like similar, I guess, scoring profiles,
27:35where they're drive heavy guys who attack the basket a lot and who are also,
27:40you know, super reliant on the mid range shot.
27:42I think J Dub is a more willing three point shooter.
27:44And you've definitely seen that a lot this year.
27:46But like both of those guys have like carbon copies in terms of how to kind of,
27:51you know, score the basketball and attack defenses.
27:54So he's been doing a really good job attacking the rim.
27:57And like an under the radar story this season has been the fact that, you know,
28:01he can't buy a Wilson for whatever reason.
28:03So he's been kind of struggling to get to the free throw line.
28:07And he's been like pretty frustrated with that all year long.
28:10So that's like getting under the radar storyline for the team, specifically him.
28:16But like I said, like he's another guy,
28:18he's like another super efficient scorer averaging over 20 plus points.
28:22And ever since Chad went down, like he's really stepped up as OKC's second best player.
28:30I have a weird question.
28:31It's definitely not in the rundown.
28:33You could have been talking about Jason Tatum when you were talking about the lack of whistle respect,
28:39shall we say.
28:40Do you think that there is a movement afoot among NBA officials, the league office,
28:46to get rid of the concept of superstar calls altogether?
28:51Because it doesn't really seem like people are getting the superstar whistle anymore,
28:55unless your name is Giannis or maybe Draymond.
29:00Yeah, I mean, that was a big like storyline after the offset break last year,
29:04from what I remember.
29:05And like, you know, it seemed like the refs did like a complete 180 in terms of how the officiated games.
29:11And at the start of this year, it seems like they've kind of carried that forward.
29:15And that's kind of resulted in guys, you know, like you mentioned,
29:18not shooting the free throw numbers that historically they have.
29:21I mean, Shea's averaging his worst free throw numbers in three or four seasons,
29:25just because of that a little bit.
29:26And, you know, obviously, J-Dub as well, like he's really struggled getting to the line.
29:31And he's still kind of trying to figure out how he can, I guess, fix that.
29:35But, yeah, I've definitely noticed since last year's offset break,
29:39they've been less lenient with calling shooting fouls.
29:46Yeah, I mean, that's right.
29:47So, sorry, but really quickly, just for context, though,
29:51SGA is still the second leading free throw attempter in the game right now,
29:57if I'm reading that correctly.
29:58Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I feel, no, he's third.
30:03He's still the third leading free throw attempt guy in the league.
30:07So, yeah, it's down from last year, but SGA is still getting plenty of calls.
30:11Jason Tatum, for context, is seventh.
30:13Like, it's not like they're not getting calls anymore.
30:16I think it's just, it is true, like the Halcyon days of, like,
30:22LeBron superstar whistle every single possession is probably not there.
30:28But we are talking-
30:29For being honest.
30:31Yeah, but, you know, just for listener context, for what it's worth,
30:35we are talking about two of the top 10 free throw guys in the league right now.
30:40I think the LeBron whistle is still there.
30:42The Lakers still have-
30:44Oh, no, like Draymond, for example, Draymond still has it.
30:47Like, I think it's being grandfathered out in what I was trying to say originally.
30:52All right, so let's widen our scope.
30:55So, the Thunder are just one of the many good teams the Celtics will face
30:59in the month of January.
31:01Let me pull this.
31:02I had this open on my phone.
31:03Now I don't.
31:04Basically, Boston is going to play 13 of their next 20 games on the road
31:08with two pretty serious Western Conference road trips.
31:12So, first, it's the Timberwolves, the Rockets, the Thunder, and the Nuggets,
31:17which is like basically a path to the finals of Western Conference playoff team.
31:21Then they come home for a little bit, and then they go back out west
31:23to play the Warriors, the Clippers, the Lakers, and then the Mavericks,
31:28but probably without Luka.
31:29So, Clemente, that first chunk I think is the harder one.
31:35I'm going to ask you to give us like a quick scouting report
31:37on some of these teams.
31:39First, let's start with the Timberwolves.
31:41Alex, actually, no, I'll go to Clemente first.
31:44He's the expert.
31:45But, Alex, I know you have takes on the Timberwolves, but Clemente,
31:49like what's good with the Timberwolves?
31:51Are they as formidable as last year or not so much?
31:57Yeah, I mean, the Thunder are going to play the Wolves for the first time tomorrow
32:00on New Year's Eve, actually, so that's going to be a good matchup.
32:02But from what I've seen, it seems like it's basically the Ant show
32:05where he's kind of their engine on the offense,
32:08and you get a little bit of Julius Randall as well on the side.
32:11But, I mean, Ant's averaging career highs across the board.
32:15He's really up his three-point volume as well.
32:18So, if he can kind of – I know it's probably easier said than done,
32:22but if he can kind of like I guess make him earn his points,
32:24then I really – like the rest of the Wolves roster kind of struggles to score.
32:29So, like I said, it's really the Ant show for Minnesota.
32:34Yeah, Alex, you can do 30 seconds on the Wolves.
32:37Sure.
32:38So, you know, I was a big doubter on the cat trade from the Wolves perspective early on.
32:44I don't love the Julius Randall fit, and it's apparent that, you know,
32:48even though Julius Randall is putting up decent numbers
32:50and, you know, still has games where he looks very good, the fit is awkward.
32:54The pain is clogged.
32:55It's harder to get to the rim.
32:56It's harder to get the drive and kick going.
32:59That made the Wolves offense somewhat successful last year.
33:04But the big thing for me with this Wolves team is Mike Conley has hit the age curve in a real way,
33:11and this team does not have a playmaking answer outside of him.
33:15Rob Dillingham is a good player, but he is short.
33:17He is too young.
33:18He is also not a good defender.
33:20Anthony Edwards is an excellent scorer,
33:23but the one area of his game that he really needs to develop is playmaking.
33:27He doesn't have a natural instinct for it, which makes sense.
33:31He has a massive scoring load.
33:33But this team is severely lacking in playmakers, and without that
33:38and with the fact that Randall does need to dominate the ball to be effective,
33:42with the fact that, you know, Dante DiVincenzo can't really get in a rhythm
33:46without being in the context of a kind of movement-based offense,
33:50this is starting to look a little ugly for the T Wolves.
33:54And Ant is an amazing player.
33:57Their defense is still good with Rudy Gobert,
34:00but I just don't know without Cat, without Conley playing well,
34:05and without that kind of ball movement aspect that was huge for them last year,
34:09I just don't really see a path for this team to get back to a finals contender status
34:15without making some significant personnel changes.
34:18Which, of course, means when the Celtics play them, the Celtics will lose by 15 now.
34:23Clemente, are the Rockets as good as their record would suggest,
34:27or are they young and scrappy and overachieving?
34:32I think their defense is legit for sure.
34:34Like, I mean, they've been the second-best defense all year behind OKC.
34:39But, I mean, besides that, I mean, their offense kind of leaves a lot to desire.
34:43I mean, they don't really have a true number-one scorer.
34:45I mean, they kind of hope Jalen Green will be that guy.
34:48But, I mean, we're in year four, and he kind of looks the same as he did his rookie year.
34:52So I don't really think you can really rely on him being your top-scoring option.
34:56Shane Goon is good, but, I mean, he can't really shoot the ball.
34:59And on defense, he kind of struggles there as well.
35:02So he's kind of an unreliable top option.
35:05And, you know, Fred VanVleet and Dylan Brooks are more like veteran presidents.
35:08You can't really rely on them to, like, give you 20-plus points every night.
35:12So, really, like, they hang their hat on defense.
35:15But if you can, like, you know, score 100 points or a little over,
35:20then I think the Celtics should be pretty good because, I mean, you know, down the stretch,
35:24they kind of struggle to, like, really generate baskets when, you know,
35:27those clutches situations kind of boil down to, like, whether or not you can have someone
35:32who can go out and get you a bucket.
35:35You can rely on Ahmed and Thompson to throw your opponent's best scorer out the club, though.
35:40So they do have that going for them.
35:43Yeah. Well, sometimes you need that.
35:45All right.
35:46So we haven't even done the New York – the New Year's resolution.
35:49So, Clemente, let me ask you this, just one last, what is a surprising trend in the West
35:54that people who watch mostly the East might not know about?
36:03I don't know.
36:04I just think how dominant the Thunder have been this year has kind of gone under the radar.
36:08If you look at their point differential, their net rating, you know, their SRS on basketball reference,
36:14like, this is, like, a historical team that's just been blowing teams out left and right.
36:20They haven't really played a ton of clutch games this year just because of that.
36:24And, I mean, they're doing all this about their second-best player, like you mentioned,
36:27for most of it in chat.
36:29So, I mean, I know we talked about it in Ausium about, you know, how Shea is probably the MVP
36:34and all that, but, like, on a national perspective, it does kind of feel like, you know,
36:38the national media is kind of, you know, still kind of catching up to conventional wisdom
36:42as to just how good this team is and how they're just in their second year of this, you know,
36:46title window and just how many draft assets they're kind of, you know, sleeping on,
36:51where if they want, they can go out and overpay for anybody and get anybody.
36:55So, I mean, this team is, like, ridiculously set up to compete both right now and the long term.
37:00Yeah.
37:01I just have two quick West takes to offer, which is nobody is really talking about the fact
37:07that the Memphis Grizzlies are 22-11 and just sitting right there at number two
37:13in the Western Conference standings despite having weird injury luck all year
37:18because they are the Memphis Grizzlies.
37:21John Morant playing great basketball.
37:23They have a really deep rotation, just like eight, nine, ten guys who can play
37:31The Grizzlies are looking pretty good here, folks.
37:33And I think it might be worth chatting about them at some point in the future.
37:37The other West story, and this one I think most people know by now,
37:41but we should be very thankful that Victor Wemben-Yama does not have any All-Star teammates
37:48as fans of teams who are not the Spurs.
37:52Because, holy moly, the San Antonio Spurs look scary
37:57despite having a really bad roster outside of Wemben-Yama.
38:03Yeah.
38:04Now, both of those things are true.
38:06The West is so fascinating.
38:10Even the bad teams are interesting to watch.
38:12Like, the Trailblazers are bad, but they're scrappy.
38:16Anyways, that's way off.
38:19Jack, let's do this as New Year's Eve Eve as we're recording.
38:25So we thought we'd go around the horn and do resolutions for the teams that we cover,
38:29for the league, and for ourselves.
38:32And let's all resolve to move quickly because some of us have to go see Nosferatu.
38:37Clemente, you are our guest, so you can do your team-specific one first or last.
38:42Which would you prefer?
38:44Yeah, I'll do team-specific.
38:47For the fun of it, just to get healthy and stay healthy.
38:50Like, all year they've been having guys come in and out of the injury report.
38:53I mean, Hardenstein missed the first month of the season with a broken hand.
38:56Chet's been out most of the year.
38:58Caruso's kind of had a nagging hip injury as well.
39:02So, you know, get healthy after the All-Star break.
39:06Stay healthy in the playoffs where that really matters the most.
39:10And then just kind of see what you have with this group of guys.
39:14All right.
39:15Justin, what is your Celtics New Year's resolution?
39:19Because, you know, they've solved all the major problems.
39:21I'm just going to go with the most critical and pressing problem left for the Celtics to solve,
39:25which is shortening the amount of time between the end of the game
39:28and the players getting to the podium.
39:31Because we are the important part of this relationship right here, you know, us, the media.
39:37That's so funny you said that.
39:39I was thinking about that as mine.
39:41What Justin is alluding to is Jason Tatum, who is now quite good.
39:45I didn't say any names. That's all you.
39:47I'm saying names.
39:49It takes like an hour to get to the podium.
39:51It's like, Jason, you talk for five minutes and you're really good at it.
39:53Just go, dude.
39:55Alex, what is your resolution?
39:57For which one? Celtics, personal, basketball?
40:00For the Celtics.
40:01Okay, for the Boston Celtics.
40:03I think my resolution for the Celtics is can we get this team sale over with, guys?
40:09I would really love to be done with that and to not have to think about that story
40:14or what the future looks like anymore.
40:17Let's get it done, guys.
40:19What are we doing here?