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00:00But it is a Celtics Wednesday. We're joined now by Justin Turpin of WEEI.
00:03He runs Twitch here on Jones & Keefe, covers the Celtics.
00:07And, well, Terp, do you think we're... let's just start with this.
00:10You come in every Wednesday, we're like,
00:11ah, Celtics are struggling, they stink, what's wrong with them, blah, blah, blah.
00:14Do you think we overstate their struggles?
00:17I think a little bit, just come with the expectations.
00:20Like, this team, you guys keep talking about it, right?
00:22They had 60 win expectations.
00:24Right now, they're not meeting those expectations.
00:26And when you're looking at the last month, so we keep talking about it,
00:30that the line that we're using is that Memphis Grizzlies game.
00:33And since then, they're 11-9.
00:34Like, that feels like the old Celtics, right, playing 500 ball.
00:38And it's just not what you're used to seeing from a championship-caliber team.
00:42But it is kind of the deal with the expectations.
00:44All these championship teams, and Steve Kerr alluded to it,
00:47this is natural that they're going through it.
00:48It's just, it's weird when it's happening.
00:50And I guess my concern with being 500 for that long of a stretch,
00:54like you said, 11-9 over 20 games, going back to the Grizzlies game.
00:59There's one example that I can think of
01:01where the team really sleptwalked through the regular season,
01:04turned it on in the playoffs, and flipped that switch.
01:07It was the Celtics when they went back to the finals in 2010.
01:09They were terrible that second half, 500-ish.
01:12That whole second half, playoffs started, they went on a tear.
01:15I can't think of a lot of examples of that.
01:16The reason I harp on them being so pedestrian for so long
01:20is because I don't believe, come the playoffs,
01:22you can just wake up and snap out of it and be a totally different team.
01:25Do you think they need to figure it out before playoff time,
01:29or do you think they can just coast and then turn it on, come playoffs?
01:31Oh, for sure. Regular season's all about building habits.
01:34And right now, the habits they built last year,
01:36those really staying focused for an entire 48 minutes,
01:40locking down defensively, all that was last year.
01:42And they did it in the beginning of the season as well.
01:44Obviously, they started 19-4.
01:46But there's just as much as a sample now
01:48is when they started 19-4 as they've been playing 500 balls.
01:51So yeah, they have to figure this out.
01:53And I think Jason Tatum alluded to that the other day,
01:56saying we've skipped steps in the past, and now it's burned us.
02:00And after the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals,
02:04they made it a point to really come back and stay focused.
02:06And they prided themselves on the idea of mindset.
02:09And that was playing for an entire 48 minutes on both ends of the floor.
02:14And they just haven't done that this year.
02:16And it's to be expected, right?
02:17They were the reigning champions. It happens.
02:19You're just not going to get that level of focus and execution
02:22throughout an 82-game slate.
02:24But now as we move halfway point now past,
02:27it's going to happen. We got to get going.
02:29There was a spirited debate this morning about Jalen Brown
02:33and what is going on with him.
02:35Is he upset? Is he not upset?
02:39He himself has talked about his new role.
02:42I think last week when you were in, or maybe it was off the air,
02:44we were talking about how for four straight games,
02:46he didn't speak to the media.
02:47Twice he was requested and said, no, no, no.
02:49Now he has since spoken to the media.
02:51So it's not like he's on this like holdout or anything.
02:53But what do you make of just everything that's around Jalen Brown right now?
02:57I think there's a couple things that play into it.
02:59First of all, with them playing 500,
03:01he always wears the losses tough.
03:03Like that's always been his thing.
03:04And clearly it hasn't changed even after a championship.
03:07I also think just his play and how on both ends of the floor,
03:11how he's been playing is getting frustrating to him.
03:13Shooting career lows from three and the field.
03:16And I think a lot of that has to do with,
03:19he doesn't think he's getting the same opportunity at going
03:21because they mess with that sub pattern.
03:23Because it's messing with his rhythm.
03:25And basketball players are just, they're creatures of habit.
03:27So when you mess with that rhythm, on top of this,
03:30he's missed games in and out of the lineup with injuries.
03:32So when you mess with that rhythm, I think it's really,
03:35he thinks this is impacting his play throughout the year
03:37because he is shooting career lows.
03:39So I think that's part of it.
03:41He's averaging compared to last season.
03:44So it was two years ago where he was all NBA second team,
03:47which triggered the Supermax.
03:48Last year, not an all NBA player, but he like just missed
03:52and he was an all-star and all that.
03:54He's playing more minutes this year.
03:56He's taking more shots and he's taking more threes.
04:00And his assists are up because, you know,
04:01talking about being a playmaker.
04:02So he's distributing the ball a little bit more.
04:04And his points per game is pretty much identical
04:07to what it was a year ago.
04:08So like maybe it is the losses that he's kind of wearing hard.
04:12I feel like his overall play kind of on board with what it
04:16was last year.
04:17And yeah, he sounds different.
04:18Part of it as well.
04:19And this just like a speculation is he really takes pride in
04:23setting the tone.
04:24And I think that's because that is his time to insert himself
04:27into the game, right?
04:28You know, Jason's going to be the guy down the stretch.
04:30Tatum, but Tatum won't do that.
04:31Yeah.
04:32And that's not Tatum's strong suit either.
04:33That's one thing I like about Jalen is he can do it.
04:36Tatum won't.
04:36He can do it.
04:37Yeah.
04:37But now that they're getting back to that, like that's Jalen's
04:40time to shine.
04:41That's his time to set the table.
04:42Whereas come the end of the game, right?
04:44You know, it's going to be Jason down the stretch.
04:46So I think that's part of it because like he takes pride.
04:49He's a prideful individual.
04:50Like, and I think he takes pride in that kind of sense of the
04:53game where he gets to dominate that and set the table.
04:56So I think that's also part of it.
04:57But I really think it ties back to just the frustration surrounding
05:00the 500 play and his play personally.
05:03If you have questions for Terp or thoughts on the Celtics, now
05:06is a good time to jump in.
05:07617-779-7937.
05:10What's wrong with the Celtics?
05:11Is there anything wrong with the Celtics?
05:12Do we overstate that things are wrong with the Celtics?
05:15And your thoughts on Jalen Brown, which I want to pick up with
05:17here, along with your phone calls.
05:19Why'd they make the switch?
05:21Why'd they make the sub-pattern switch?
05:23Why even go away from what worked a year ago where you were the
05:27champions, you ran away from the rest of the league.
05:29We thought you were going to start at a high point this year,
05:31defend the title, win more games.
05:33I'm speaking for myself now, not you Terp, but defend the title,
05:36win more games, most talented team in the league.
05:38They started 19-4.
05:39Why even bother messing with that substitution pattern of Tatum
05:44checking out around the six-minute mark, immediate timeout there,
05:47and Jalen Brown playing most of, if not all, of that first quarter.
05:51Tatum starting with the second unit to start the second quarter.
05:54Why even screw with that?
05:55What was the motivation for that?
05:56Joe said it's just to give teams a different look, but there's
05:59really hasn't been much clarity around it.
06:01And to me, it's like, why wasn't anyone talking about it when
06:04they were 19-4, right?
06:05Because they were winning.
06:06And now because they're losing, all of a sudden Jalen's unhappy
06:09again, and we're going to blow the sub portions out of proportion,
06:12and Jason and Jalen, oh, there's a problem there.
06:14It's just like every time they're losing, it reverts back to the
06:16same stuff.
06:17It's like, it's just a natural lull.
06:19But the way you're saying, you make that sound like you think
06:21that's unique to the, isn't that how we talk about the NBA?
06:23Like when teams are going well, we look at the stars, right?
06:26Oh, yeah.
06:26That's every sport.
06:29You're always going to look at the stars, especially more so in
06:31the NBA, like that's the star-driven league.
06:33So that's always going to be a thing.
06:34But when they were 19-4 and everything was rolling, nobody was
06:37talking about the sub patterns or everything, and I get it because
06:39they didn't have stretches like this last year.
06:41And again, it's just not normal for this team.
06:44But I mean, it's a 20-game sample size, and it's not like they've
06:49been terrible over that stretch.
06:51Part of it has been inconsistency. Part of why we didn't talk about
06:53it when they were 19-4, they didn't have their full lineup.
06:54I wonder how many of us, I mean, I'll be honest, I didn't notice
06:57it, but they also didn't have a full lineup. Jalen was out for a
07:00stretch.
07:00Porzingis wasn't in the lineup.
07:01So that might have been part of it, too.
07:03Now you do have your full team back, and it looks different, and
07:06they're not playing well.
07:07Yeah, and part of that, well, now that they're integrating the
07:10lineup again, like you saw, they were force-feeding Christoph
07:12Porzingis for the first couple games when he was coming back.
07:15And after the Denver win, the end of the road trip a couple weeks
07:18ago, and he said, like, he was close to getting to a full strength
07:21to where he wanted to be, and he's been playing much better.
07:23So I think that's going to help them, too, now that he's really
07:25picked it up, that they're not going to have to really force him
07:27and try to get him going because they know how important he is to
07:31what they want to do, and they need to get him in rhythm.
07:33But now that he's in rhythm, they won't have to force-feed him
07:36anymore.
07:37So I think part of that plays into it.
07:39I think guys are also just acclimating, finally, to where they're
07:42at. We're more than halfway through the year.
07:44The more time they play together.
07:45I know they played a ton last year together, but it's a new season.
07:49Teams are guarding them differently, and obviously the sub-patterns
07:51were different.
07:52So there was a lot to work through, and I think they're finally
07:54starting to get through that. And not to dwell on the three-point
07:57shot, because I think it does get a little bit tiresome.
07:59They're going to shoot a lot of threes, right?
08:02But year-to-year, almost everybody is worse than they were a year
08:07ago. Peyton Pritchard is probably one guy that is up, but just
08:10about across the board, all those little percentages kind of add
08:13up, right?
08:13So even though you're taking a few more, but now your percentage
08:15is going down because with the exception of maybe Sam Houser,
08:19I don't really look at any guy on the team, and you're like,
08:21wow, that's that guy's thing.
08:23They're all more well-rounded players that also shoot threes,
08:27and when they're not falling at the same kind of clip,
08:30that's what's leading to some of these losses, too.
08:33I mean, part of that, a lot of averages are going to figure it
08:36out eventually, because they were, percentage-wise,
08:38they were one of the best three-point shooting teams at the beginning
08:40of the season, and now they're shot under 30% eight times since
08:44that. So it's like 36% as a team this year. Down like two
08:48percentage points. I was going to say, it was like 38-39 last year.
08:51So that's a big difference.
08:52Yes, when you're looking like, that's probably what, nine points
08:55a game if that was checking out, too.
08:57So that's a pretty big difference.
08:59But I mean, that's what happens.
09:00Like they haven't been able to hit a shot consistently for six
09:03weeks. It's incredible.
09:04Derek White's been a big part of that.
09:05And I know in the last game, they didn't need to play a bunch,
09:08hit a couple threes, but he's been in a big slump. Usually
09:11he's much more consistent, right?
09:12He'll flash the big-point game, but doesn't really kill you.
09:14He's had some horrible shooting games recently.
09:16I don't think it's any coincidence that they're having their
09:19worst stretch when Derek White isn't shooting the ball well
09:21and playing well.
09:22Like that's absolutely no coincidence.
09:23Like he is so important to what they do, and sometimes it's
09:27just taken for granted about what he does night in and night
09:29out. And now he's going through his first slump as a Celtic.
09:33I mean, you said it last month that this was the worst stretch
09:35he's had as a Celtic.
09:36So this is just not normal for the team.
09:39Like, just weird to see a team of all these great shooters go
09:42cold collectively for a six-week span.
09:45It's incredible.
09:46But eventually, like, the numbers are going to even out.
09:49Like that just has to happen eventually.
09:50Any takeaway from the Warriors' win on Monday, whether that
09:55is on the floor the way they played?
09:56I know Golden State was shorthanded, or even Tatum and Jalen
09:59after the game with Kerr.
10:00Any takeaways from that?
10:01I think the first one, pregame, would be what Steve Kerr said
10:05about how this is a natural lull.
10:06I mean, if anyone, if you're going to take advice from anybody,
10:09I think Steve Kerr would be the guy. He's done it as a player
10:11and a coach.
10:12He's seen the best of the best, dude. He played with Jordan
10:15Coach Curry. Like, that guy knows what he's talking about.
10:17So when he says it's a natural lull, I think, like, you take
10:20that away, you believe that a little bit.
10:22I also, as far as the game, though, like, they were without
10:25the four rotation players.
10:26I think that's more so. The Celtics came in.
10:29They've been vulnerable in some of those games.
10:31So they came in, took care of business, and didn't really mess
10:34around. They played intense defense, were intentional what
10:37they're trying to do.
10:38So they showed what their winning recipe is, and I think that's
10:41important because that's what it's going to take, no matter
10:44who's in or who's out.
10:44I think we talked about it last week, that Golden State team,
10:46though, I know Kerr saying, like, oh, there's, like, a letdown
10:49after winning a title.
10:49They won more regular season games the next year.
10:51They went out and set the record.
10:53Now, they lost in the finals, and, like, that's more important,
10:56and that's the big takeaway from that year, more so than the
11:0073 wins.
11:01But they found a way to really not have too many lulls the next
11:04year, and they brought back most of the same team.
11:06Part of that, too, would be, like, the injuries.
11:07I'd be curious to see what those look like, and it's weird
11:10because the Celtics were rolling when they were missing
11:13players, now that they're integrating them back.
11:15And I think that's also part of it, though, like, the rhythm
11:18and all that.
11:18So, you know, because we're talking about Jalen Brown, it made
11:21me think of this.
11:22Yesterday, they announced two of the participants in the dunk
11:25contest.
11:25I don't know where you stand on the dunk contest, but Jalen
11:27Brown was in it last year.
11:29What was your favorite dunk contest?
11:31You're so young.
11:33What was your favorite dunk contest?
11:34I liked the Zach Levine one.
11:35He did, but doesn't that date you?
11:39Like, all of the people our age were, like, Vince Carter,
11:41Kenny Skywalker.
11:42People older than us are, like, MJ and Dominique.
11:45Yeah, yeah.
11:45He thinks of the dunk contest, and he thinks of Zach Levine.
11:47Yeah, that's fine.
11:48But Jalen Brown.
11:50It was a good dunk contest.
11:51That's true.
11:52But Jalen Brown being in it last year, I wasn't sure how he
11:54was going to do, and it ended up being not great, but it was
11:57at least an all-star, a top 15 player in the league participating
12:01in the dunk contest.
12:02That was great.
12:03So there's going to be four dudes in it this year.
12:05They announced two of them, two rookies.
12:07Any word yet on if Brown wants to be back in it? Because I think
12:11in the immediate aftermath, even though we lost to that G-Leaguer,
12:13I think he was like, yeah, this was fun.
12:15Like, I'd do it again.
12:16Any word out of this?
12:18Nothing yet.
12:18Nothing yet.
12:19Peyton Pritchard was asked about if he'd participate in the
12:22three-point contest, and he was not sure yet either.
12:24I do think Jalen will get into the all-star game.
12:26I feel like that's a no-brainer.
12:27Wait, he was unsure, like he didn't want to do it, or unsure
12:29he would get the call?
12:30That's a good question.
12:32I didn't really elaborate on it, but he wasn't sure if he was
12:34going to do it, participate in general.
12:36So I would imagine he gets the call.
12:39I would think so.
12:39He's not even, like, looking at the benches, like, just looking
12:42at three-point makes in total across the NBA.
12:45Like, this guy's in the top 15, so I'd imagine at least he
12:48gets a call and he gets a shot.
12:49Well, my guess is they would probably offer to one Celtic.
12:53So if Tatum turns it down, wouldn't they maybe go to Pritchard?
12:55Maybe.
12:56There's a year Tatum and Brown did it together, though, right?
12:58But that probably is an outlier where you get multiple guys
13:00from the same team.
13:02617-779-7937.
13:04We hear this all the time.
13:04You guys talk Patriots.
13:05You never talk any of the other teams.
13:07It's a regularly scheduled, weekly scheduled time with Terp.
13:10For all your Celtics thoughts, if you want to jump in, 617-779-7937.
13:14We can get to you.
13:15Bob and Londonderry have been waiting very patiently on a
13:16separate debate.
13:17I want to get him.
13:17Oh, shit.
13:18Go ahead, Bob.
13:18What do you got, Bob?
13:20Hey guys, I heard you mentioning about, you know, what do you
13:23do with your cars being all salty?
13:25Yeah, and I thought I'd give it a little advice.
13:27Okay, during once you pass winter when we get towards after
13:30St.
13:30Patrick's Day, depending on what kind of house you have, hire
13:34a basic plumber, have him come in and in your garage, put a
13:38hot water spigot.
13:40So you can then get a 20-foot hose, hook it up, pail of water
13:44and you can actually wash your car after no matter how cold
13:47it is and you can just actually... I don't have a garage money
13:51bags.
13:51What am I supposed to... I don't have any of that stuff, Bob.
13:54And even if I did, I got to wash my own car.
13:56Isn't hot water bad for your car?
13:58Pretty sure it's bad for the paint.
13:59Bob says it's fine. Hot water is bad for your car.
14:01Isn't it?
14:01I don't know.
14:03That doesn't sound right.
14:04You sure? You don't want to dump a soup on that? It's bad for
14:06your car?
14:06I don't think it's good for the paint.
14:08I don't... I don't know. Not an automotive specialist. It can't
14:10be good... Now you need to get a hot water spigot? It can't be
14:12good leaving bird crap and road salt all over it like I do
14:15with my car.
14:17That's not an issue if you had a garage though.
14:19Yeah, it's true.
14:19You'd think of it less.
14:21There would be a little bit less but you're still driving and
14:23that's where you get it all on there.
14:24Plus Jones and I both have black cars, which just... it stands
14:28out. I do as well.
14:29I noticed Terp's car yesterday actually when I was like, man,
14:31my car looks like crap.
14:32I had salt all over it.
14:33I'm like, his truck has got a lot all over it too.
14:35I had a silver one at one point, the silver bullet.
14:37Yeah, and it would disguise how dirty it really was in the
14:42winter time.
14:43It was just as dirty but like you'd have to really get close
14:45Oh, yeah, that is covered in salt.
14:47Yeah, kind of blend in nice.
14:48So this is more for Terp on a Celtics Wednesday.
14:51Do you think they're going to turn a corner here and do you
14:54think they will right the ship?
14:55Have they already started to do it?
14:56They always had adjusting their sub patterns by checking Tatum
15:00out, leaving Jalen in there, see if things just align better.
15:04Do you think they are going to work their way out of this?
15:06We've already seen signs of them working their way out of
15:08this. I think this road trip is the best opportunity for them
15:10to do it.
15:11Like they've been fantastic on the road this year.
15:13And I think part of that is because there's limited distractions
15:16when you're on the road.
15:16It's just you guys in these road of road arenas and doing, you
15:20know, you're focusing on the game.
15:21So I think this is a good opportunity for them to do it, especially
15:24tonight against the Clippers who might have absolutely nobody
15:27playing tonight.
15:28They have a loaded injury report.
15:29So it's an opportunity.
15:31No Zubats.
15:31He's out.
15:32No, Kawhi.
15:33Kawhi is officially.
15:33Yep.
15:34Hard is questionable as well.
15:35Classic NBA.
15:36They might just turn the corner.
15:38It's so hard.
15:38I mean, we all the three of us love the NBA.
15:40It is hard to get excited for a lot of these matchups because
15:43you have to check who's in who's out there.
15:45They either rescue or they like fake rest guys or guys are really
15:48dealing with injuries.
15:50It's hard to get one full squad versus another full squad ever.
15:53It is in the NBA.
15:53It's true.
15:54Yeah.
15:54People are saying don't put hot water on your car.
15:56Told you not supposed to.
15:58Yeah.
15:58One guy said it can explode your windows.
16:00Get out of here.
16:01Well, I mean, it's gonna be pretty hot.
16:02I mean, look, I think the contrast if the car is freezing and
16:05then you dump hot water.
16:06Actually, you know what?
16:06I saw a video of some lunatic trying to clear off his car.
16:10It was like, you know, parked in like a snowbank.
16:11Uh-huh.
16:12And rather than just scraping the car off, he was taking like
16:15hot, hot water.
16:16And I think it did like implode the windshield.
16:18Yeah, it expands too fast.
16:19It cracks the windshield.
16:20Yeah, it's bad news.
16:21Okay, when you want to take a dent out, I think you do it.
16:23Look, I don't.
16:24I'm not going to wash my own car.
16:25Just going to plunge it and pull on it.
16:26I'm going to tell you right now.
16:27You've never done that?
16:27I'm not going to.
16:28You don't pop the top and suds it up a little bit?
16:30I will not be doing that.
16:31I don't want to say I've never done that.
16:32Press them up against the glass?
16:33No.
16:33You've never done that?
16:34A little bikini car wash or the Joneses?
16:36With the sign out front.
16:38No, I'm not.
16:39I'm not going to be washing my own car.
16:40I'd rather have it be dirty.
16:41I've hosed down the car before.
16:43I've washed it.
16:43But I'm not doing it in the middle of the winter.
16:45You can't.
16:45I'm not doing it, period.
16:46I got AAA for that.
16:48Well, if you guys come clean my AAA, my car's dirty.
16:51Could you come clean it?
16:52That's not what we do.
16:52That's not what we do there, sir.
16:54I don't know if this is fair to Terp.
16:56617-779-7937.
16:58Shot a Terp?
16:59The nerds always fall back on eventually, meaning that the,
17:04well, their shooting should just correct.
17:05Law of averages.
17:06First of all, I don't know if you want to address being called
17:08a nerd Terp, but secondarily,
17:10yeah, should we be as satisfied with that answer from Terp?
17:13But just the law of averages will even out.
17:14I don't know.
17:15Yeah, absolutely.
17:16Yeah, they will.
17:18It's true.
17:18Will they?
17:19Yes.
17:19Don't some teams just have bad years and some people just
17:21have down years and like it doesn't always level out?
17:23What do you mean?
17:23Not to an extent of like seven percentage points.
17:26Like that's a lot.
17:27And I think when you have a bunch of players, like it's
17:29one thing for one guy to kind of yo-yo, but like the chances
17:32of all six guys having a career good year and then all six
17:35guys having a career bad year.
17:36Like I think that's kind of time.
17:37Doesn't the volume screw that though?
17:39Like if you're if you're shooting more, doesn't that invite?
17:44I don't know a change of variance in your numbers from the
17:46year, but I don't think if you just change the overall volume
17:49all of a sudden you guarantee you'll be as efficient.
17:50I don't think that's a volume absolutely plays a role.
17:52But I mean, we talked about it like two weeks ago.
17:54I think all the guys that are shooting at the career lows
17:58have been in and out of the lineup with injuries.
18:00So it's all about a rhythm thing.
18:01So once they start getting healthier and start getting guys
18:04in the lineup, those percentages are going to go up because
18:06they get back into the rhythm.
18:07Like they that's that's why it's an issue right now is because
18:11they've just been dealing with so many different injuries
18:13and the guys that have been in the lineup are the ones that
18:16have been okay for the most part with the exception of like
18:18Derek White.
18:19Okay.
18:19I mean they got to get him going.
18:21They got to solve whatever it is with Jalen even just talking
18:23talking it through with him.
18:24Like they shouldn't have to do this.
18:25It's a party.
18:26It's annoying that Jalen's moody.
18:28We did have the number two in the pizza party, right?
18:30You could make an argument for a good pizza in California.
18:32Anyone know?
18:34Couldn't speak to that.
18:34California Pizza Kitchen.
18:35Well, I think that is CBK.
18:37I think that's obviously a very good a good slice to go grab
18:41if you're in a mall somewhere.
18:42Okay.
18:43Yeah, we we had the Celtics slightly ahead of WEEI in our
18:45pizza party rankings yesterday.
18:46Terp, as always, we appreciate it.
18:48Good stuff, Terp.
18:48Make sure you follow him on Twitter at Justin M.
18:51Terpen.
18:51Good stuff from Celtics practices.
18:53Good numbers on the Celtics because he's an accused nerd by
18:57the text line, but also all kinds of postgame reaction videos,
19:01shoot arounds, etc.
19:02If you want your Celtics info, Terp is a great follow there.
19:05He joins us every Wednesday on a Celtics Wednesday.