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- [00:00]
Adam Kaufman
My dad taught me a lot, including how easy it is to forget to cancel things. So I downloaded Experian, my bff. Big financial friend. Experian could help me cancel my unused subscriptions and lower my bills, saving me hundreds a year. Get started with the Experian app today. Your big financial friends here to help you save smarter.
- [00:18]
Justin Turpin
Results will vary.
- [00:19]
Adam Kaufman
Not all bills or subscriptions eligible.
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Justin Turpin
Savings not guaranteed.
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Adam Kaufman
$631 a year average savings with one plus negotiations and OnePlus cancellations paid.
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Justin Turpin
Membership with connected payment account required.
- [00:27]
Adam Kaufman
See experian.com for details.
- [00:28]
Justin Turpin
Experian they say you should learn something new every day. Like how you should only drink Jagermeister at 0 degrees Fahrenheit, ice cold, like those frozen cavemen they find. Which makes you wonder, what would a caveman think of Jagermeister? Well, if you served it warm, he'd probably throw it in your face, say unga bunga and storm off. And nobody wants that. So drink it cold or not at all.
- [00:49]
Evan Valenti
Jagermeister.
- [00:50]
Justin Turpin
Damn, that's cold. Drink responsibly. Jagermeister Liqueur, 35% alcohol by volume, imported by Mast. Jagermeister U.S. white Plains, New York.
- [00:59]
Adam Kaufman
You said you were over him, but his hoodie's still in your rotation. It's time.
- [01:03]
Evan Valenti
Grab your phone, snap a few pics
- [01:05]
Adam Kaufman
and sell it on Depop. Listed in minutes with no selling fees. And just like that, a guy 500
- [01:12]
Justin Turpin
miles away just paid full price for your closure. And right on cue. Hey, still got my hoodie? Nope.
- [01:17]
Adam Kaufman
But I've got tonight's dinner paid for. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste list.
- [01:23]
Justin Turpin
Now with no selling fees, payment processing
- [01:25]
Adam Kaufman
fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details. Today is Saturday, March 28, and this is Celtics beat on CLNS Media, the leading online provider of audio video coverage of the Boston Celtics. I'm Adam Kaufman. Episode 669 features WEI's Justin Turpin.
- [01:42]
Evan Valenti
And I'm Evan Valenti. And today's show is powered by Prize Picks. Prize Picks is the official daily fantasy partner of CLNS Media. Download the app today, use the promo code CLNS and get $50 in lineups when you play. $5.
- [02:06]
Justin Turpin
Hey everybody.
- [02:07]
Adam Kaufman
Welcome in this is Celtics Beat, of course on clns. We always like to remind you check out the show both video and audio. For the audio, wherever you get your podcast rate review. Most importantly, subscribe and the video. You can find us in a collection of other great Celtics podcast available to you where you can see our smiling faces on the clns media page, specifically the all access page. You will see us there. We love to see you in the YouTube comments section respond to some of your thoughts. Maybe we'll mix in some throughout this particular show here today with Evan Valenti, Adam Kaufman. We're always here. Today's special guest from Wei, Justin Turpin does a great job covering the Celtics. And boy guys, as we get down the stretch run of of the regular season do we have a lot to talk about. Ter, how are you?
- [02:52]
Justin Turpin
I'm great guys. Thanks for having me on.669 Nice. Nice episode.
- [02:56]
Adam Kaufman
Not bad.
- [02:57]
Evan Valenti
Pretty great episode.
- [02:58]
Adam Kaufman
I, I, I say this only because I I just happened to see it on Twitter before we started. Courtesy of a Julian edelman tweet. But happy 328day to those who celebrate.
- [03:07]
Justin Turpin
That's right. That's a big one in Boston.
- [03:11]
Evan Valenti
Epic day. One of the best days we've ever had.
- [03:14]
Adam Kaufman
No kidding. So let's talk about the Celtics here. And guys, I want to I realize this team has won six of seven under. Yeah, I want to go back to March 8th though actually. And that was the win in Cleveland as part of that trip that featured of course the Cavaliers, the Spurs, the Thunder. Boston won that game as we know and then the next couple of games they were narrow losses but they didn't look quite right for Boston. What I mean by that is you had a full strength Celtics team team against the spurs for a minute until Brown lost his temper and got himself tossed from that game. And then the next game, obviously you're not complete against the Thunder in terms of the roster. Jason Tatum doesn't play. You still only lose by two points and then the role starts where again six of seven. Really if I'm the nitpick, if I'm going to quibble here and I do that, I mean it should be seven straight wins. There was no reason to lose that game to Minnesota with no Anthony Edwards and depleted Timberwolves team. But I digress. You can't quite literally win them all. 6 of 7 still great. 49, 24, 4 games out of that top seed in the east, which I realize is becoming something of a pipe dream right now the focus is on hanging onto the two seed and we'll get to that as well. But most recently Zootopia 2 has come home to Disney. Plus let's go get ready for a new case. We're the greatest partners of all time.
- [04:37]
Justin Turpin
New friends, Gary the Snake and your
- [04:39]
Evan Valenti
last name the Snake Dream Team.
- [04:41]
Justin Turpin
New habitats.
- [04:42]
Adam Kaufman
Zootopia has a secret reptile population. You can watch the record breaking phenomenon at home. Zootopia 2 now available on Disney Plus. Rated PG.
- [04:51]
Evan Valenti
Right now you can get Disney plus
- [04:52]
Adam Kaufman
and Hulu for just 4.99amonth for three
- [04:54]
Justin Turpin
months with a special limited time offer.
- [04:56]
Adam Kaufman
Ends March 24th. After three months, Plan Auto renews at $12.99 a month.
- [05:00]
Justin Turpin
Terms apply.
- [05:01]
Adam Kaufman
Beat a red hot Hawks team. Beat a scorching hot Oklahoma City team that had won a dozen in a row. You know, obviously competing with some of the best of the best. And I know another one of those is on tap in front of us, not necessarily in terms of its, you know, total record, but the way it has played in recent months. The Charlotte Hornets under Charles Lee, the former Celtics assistant coach. This is not a team to be taken lightly as it has played. And then you have the Hawks again, the Heater playing better and so on. I, I bring all of this up. I remind everybody of all of this because this is kind of a mea culpa for me. I like to think ev that Celtics beat is ahead of the curve when it comes to most of the Celtics conversation.
- [05:46]
Evan Valenti
Celtics beat.
- [05:47]
Adam Kaufman
Always first, baby, always first. Definitely nationally and a lot of the times locally too. Going all the way back to the off season when a lot of people, oh, should they be tanking? They're gonna suck. You know, go get AJ DeVonts, all this stuff. We were the ones sitting here telling you this is going to be a playoff team. Like have you looked around the Eastern Conference? This is going to be a playoff team. And certainly leading the march of Jason Tatum is not only going to return, but be impactful and all of those things. But as the conversation escalated right it, it continued and it went to wait a minute, this team should represent the East. This should be the best team in the Eastern Conference. We were ahead of that. I mean weeks ago we were talking about that well ahead of everybody else. Here's the mea culpa part. Here's where at least I have been slow on the uptick. It was always, yeah, they can beat the Cavs, they can beat the Pistons, they can beat the Knicks, they can beat the Hawks, they can beat the Hornets, they can win the east, they could be back in the NBA Finals. But I kind of always presented it as, but whoever that is just going to get their ass kicked in the finals by whether it's the Thunder, the Spurs, the Nuggets, the best of the west. The west is going to win this thing. And that may still be true, but man, you have to at Least consider now as a lot of other people are, again, I'm slow on this one. This Celtics team can actually win a championship this year. This team can beat the best teams in the west over the course of a seven game series, I now believe. And turf. I kind of can't believe that I finally come around to this.
- [07:26]
Justin Turpin
Yeah, I mean, I'm with you. I think going back to the games that you talked about before, when they go, obviously they beat the brakes off of Cleveland. That game wasn't even competitive. Then they played San Antonio tough. And people forget, like everyone kind of gravitates towards the Jalen Brown ejection. Jason Tatum scored seven straight points to begin the fourth quarter and had to come out because of his minutes restriction. So that was another aspect of that. And then you play Oklahoma City down to the wire without Tatum and Derrick White and it takes literally until the final second for them to beat you. And I know Oklahoma City was missing players as well, but I think everyone would agree that team is much deeper than the Celtics. That is the deepest team in the NBA by far. And then you fast forward to this week where they beat Oklahoma City at home. A game where they trailed by double digits at one point. And I know that's not a big deal in today's NBA, right? Like a double digit lead means nothing, just with the pace, the tempo, the three point volume, all that, it really doesn't mean anything. But for them to win that game in the way that they did it with Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the charge, that's what speaks volumes to this team. Because we know, you know, people were kind of hesitant how good they were going to be because one people didn't necessarily think that Jaylen Brown could lead the team the way that he asked. There was plenty of question marks of whether or not he can step up and be that true one a. Well, he's answered that by being an MVP candidate. So that is a resounding yes. Well, Jason Tatum, how is he going to look when he comes back? He's played 10 games and it hasn't been perfect, but I think everyone would agree looking at him now, he's far more impactful than we thought he was going to be coming back from a torn Achilles in less than 300 days. So when it's those two guys leading the charge, that's what makes you feel like this team can win a championship. Because every time that they've been on the floor together, they've been NBA Finals contenders. They've been to what, five Eastern Conference finals, like, together, like, they. They've done this for years. Every time that they've been together, they've given the Celtics a chance to compete not only to win the east, but to win the NBA Finals. And this year is no different.
- [09:19]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, I mean, the. The Oklahoma City game is very interesting because in playoffs all the time, you look at matchups and, you know, sometimes the matchup's not there. You know, sometimes it's just, hey, man, Mitchell Robinson is just going to be a huge problem for you, and he's just going to dominate so many things and nothing you can do about it. Right. There's just sometimes you don't have answers. When you watch them play Oklahoma City and when you watch them play San Antonio specifically, I, you know, cough. We. We talked about this in our little text group. They clearly have a plan of, like, how to beat those teams. With San Antonio, it's like, okay, well, Wemby, if Wemby is going to shoot above 50% on 15 three point attempts in a game, you're gonna lose. Like, you're just gonna lose. And you know what? Boston is very cool and comfortable saying, what, dude? All right, fine. No problem. You go to the Oklahoma City game, specifically the second one, Boston was like, Shay. And Shay was unbelievable in that game. 10 of 12, he was insane. Shay, we're gonna guard you like crazy. But if we lose because Dort and Caruso knocked down threes, then I'm going to tell you all right now, I'm going to look right in the camera. If Dort and Caruso are hitting threes, nobody's beating that team. Nobody's beating Oklahoma City. Not going to be possible. So that's what they did. They said, look, knock yourselves out, guys. Have a blast. We're going to try and make life hard for SGA as hard as we can. We'll rebound the hell out of it or at least we'll crash as much as we possibly can. But we're going to have a ton of attention in sga, not going to worry about the other guys. And if those other guys hit shots, so be it. Those. Those I think are at least formulas that could prove out to be a winning formula if they were to meet either of those teams in the finals. And the fact that you can say that Terp, after. I mean, in May when we were all, Tatum's gone for the year, you know, they're going to reset because they're going to get rid of Holiday. They got to get rid of Porzingis. We'll See what happens with Horford. I don't think any of us thought that Cornette was truly gone, but it was on the table. Like, if you had told us. Told us that, that they would be not only an east, you know, Finals candidate, a Finals candidate, a legit threat to win the Finals, about to win 50 games, I would have thought you were nuts. But here we are. It is March 28, and I agree with the both of you. This team is 100% capable of winning the NBA Finals, and that is insane to talk about right now.
- [11:48]
Justin Turpin
I think the spurs are a very interesting barometer because obviously this was never something the franchise discussed or even entertained. But remember right around the drafts where, like, all the Twitter streets, all these Celtics fans were like, oh, do you trade Jalen Brown to start the Spurs? Really blow this thing up and move into the lottery? Like, that was a conversation that people, again, not the organization, but fans, were throwing that out on the Internet and being like, well, they're gonna stink so bad. Might as well just get ahead of this. Reset, move into the lottery, move on from Jaylen Brown. Now with the win on Sunday against Charlotte, they reach 50 wins. They're well within, you know, the second seat of the Eastern Conference. Like you said, cough. They're probably not going to get the first seed. That's not. Not going to happen. You know, the disparity between them and Detroit is too tough to overcome. But the fact that they're here and we're having these conversations is absolutely wild. And when you look at how it unfolded, like everything that needed to go right for them and everyone that needed to step up in their role did. Joe Missoula had plenty of question marks. Still, even after winning a championship, being one of the winningest coaches, not even being hyperbolic, winning his coaches in NBA history entering this season had question marks. People thought he was a product of the roster that he had. I think that he answered a lot of those questions this year. Jalen Brown, we talked about it earlier. Can it be the one a He answered that earlier. Can Derek White and Peyton Pritchard elevate in their role? Yes. Can they get even one of Keda, Ugo Charman, one of these guys, Jordan Walsh, to contribute? Well, all of them did. All of them did in their specific roles. And it's just. It speaks to the. The organizational structure from top to bottom. And that starts with Brad Stevens identifying these guys, Joe Missoula and the coaching staff really kind of developing them and making them into impactful players. And this isn't like Independent this year, like Luke Cornett. He's got 40 million. Last year the guy was playing in the G league at one point, bouncing around 10 day contracts back in the COVID years, like Sam Houser, that guy came from the G league as well. Peyton Pritchard didn't play in the G League but was a Celtic developmental story. Like we've seen plenty of these. And then it starts with the leaders as well with Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum. Like those guys coming back, setting the tone. Even Jason Tatum being present at the facility every day. Like the players talked about how motivating that was and when those guys set the table, it just, it all falls in line. And that's what enables this to work as well as it did. And you know, I want to say it's like as crazy it is because again, like, who expected them to win 50 games? I didn't. I think they'd be better than people thought. I thought they were going to be a playoff game, but no way did I think 50 wins. And here we are. And again, that just speaks to the organizational structure from top to bottom.
- [14:15]
Evan Valenti
Protein is now at Starbucks and it's
- [14:17]
Justin Turpin
never tasted so good. You can add protein cold foam to your favorite drink or try one of our new protein lattes or matcha.
- [14:25]
Evan Valenti
Try it today at Starbucks.
- [14:31]
Adam Kaufman
Few things there. I'm not going to say I picked 50 wins. 45, 48 felt about right. I thought 50 wins was within reach. What I absolutely didn't expect was that 50 wins would be on the table with again, eight, nine games to play. The fact that the Celtics have as much season as they still have left and could get themselves to, you know, 55 plus wins, like that was outside the realm of anything that I thought was realistically plausible in terms of the bench. Everything that you just mentioned is true. We had Brian Barrett on with us last week. It was just an hour and a half of everyone, like you know, fellating the Celtics back half of the roster and what this team has done. So yeah, like with good reason. Everybody is celebrating the depth on this team that a lot of us did not expect to be there. The thing for me that really jumps out and you mentioned obviously Jalen Brown, you know, could he be a 1A? I never for a moment doubted whether he was capable of being a 1A. I'll add some, some semantics to that though. The question for me was could he be a 1A on a great team? Like of course he could go out and be a 1A on a decent team, certainly on a Bad team. Could he be a 1A on a great team? That's a big question that he has answered and that, you know, like you said, he's, I quibble with this one, like he'll get MVP votes, he's not going to win the award. The fact that, you know, Wemby is even in that conversation now after kind of talking himself into it with a lot of the people out there and after that interview with Jared Weiss, I mean, good on him. It's a narrative streak kind of situation when you get to this type of time of the year. But Brown's too far off. Where the, the thing that. Let's, let's take it all the way back to Tatum. Your first point. It's been 10 games and I could run through the 10 game check in all the different numbers we could do that doesn't matter. I mean, obviously if, if you've been watching and I'm sure Celtics fans, anyone who's bothering to listen watch this show, you, you've been glued to it. You know what Tatum has been doing and how impactful he has been. Yeah, there have been some elements of inconsistency to it. As fully expected, by the way, coming off the absence, no training camp, no preseason games, hasn't played in 10 months, all that stuff, he has been largely excellent. But for me it's not these spurts of five straight points, seven straight points, you know, having a flashy dunk, hitting back to back threes, some of those exciting moments. It's bringing an element to this team reliably that was so sorely lacking prior to his arrival. And largely I'm talking about not only the playmaking, but most especially the rebounds. This guy, and I'm rounding up a little bit, it's nine and a half, but he's, he's rebounding 10 times per game. The guy's averaging 10 rebounds per game. I know there's some size on this roster. K. Garza, you know, Brown has certainly turned into a better rebounder in enhanced role where that has been required of him earlier on in the year. But there is no guy on this roster other than Jason Tatum and this has been true for multiple years now that you could look at and say that guy, when the game starts, he can get me 10, 12 rebounds today, reliably. And that is just such a, such an important element of, of what has led to this success since he has returned. They were successful beforehand, don't get me wrong, but they were successful with some holes. He has patched up so many of these holes just by existing, just by bringing those Jason Tatum things to the floor. And the offense, yeah, he's averaging just south or right around 20 points per game. But the offense, it isn't even there yet compared to what it might be in the playoffs. This is still a guy that can get you 25, 30 points on the regular. I mean, he's getting more and more comfortable every single game. But it's those other things that he is doing either away from the ball or with the ball leading the offense, with the offense going through him that a lot of people want to and say, oh, it's getting stagnant doing all that stuff. No, the offense is moving at a very crisp rate with Jason Tatum in, in the ways that it needs to. I know it slows down to some degree, but it doesn't mean it leads to bad plays. He has been excellent. He has improved this team as a guy of the stature of Jason Tatum should. But it's the rebounding, the rim protection, the presence around the glass that to me is, is I think what flips the script a little bit. That to me, Terp, with some of those weapons on the other side that other teams can present you, that turns this conversation from can they win the east? To can they win the title?
- [19:02]
Justin Turpin
They were supposed to be one of the worst rebounding teams in the league and they knew that Joe Missoula in the preseason was pulling anybody who allowed an offensive rebound off the floor. They fully expected to be a bad rebounding team. And like you mentioned, they did have sex success before, like going into the All Star break, like they were towards the top of defensive rebounding percentage. It got better month by month. And I think when people look at the Celtics, they think this is a three point shooting team. Like that is their identity. Their identity is rebounding and specifically offensive rebounding. That's how they were able to maintain such a high offensive rating throughout the year because they're creating all these second chance opportunities, they're creating all these extra possessions and that's what they needed to do and that's a credit to again, the depth. Guys like you, you know, you look at their numbers, it's not going to jump off the page, but you have Ugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheireman crashing from the corners at the way they are. It puts so much stress on opposing defenses and it creates second chance opportunities for the Celtics that their rebounding has become, become such a strength for them. And at first it was really their offensive rebounding, but now with Jason Tatum Back and the way it was already progressing. The defensive rebounding is incredible. Like, they're one of the best in the league in terms of the percentages now, and no one would have expected that. Like, I know we've been saying, like, you know, none of this was really predictable before the year or not. Like, whatever. This was probably the most surprising and the organization knew it. Like I said, like, Joe was pulling guys off the floor and the preseason trying to send a message, like, this is probably the most surprising is how well they've been able to rebound the basketball. Because going through the roster at the beginning of the season, like. Like, where are they going to get these rebounds? Where are the S? Where's the size coming from? Like, you didn't know what K was going to be. Like, the front office. Like, they didn't know either. Like, Brad Stevens on media day was asked about the big man rotation. He's like, I don't know. We'll see what they got. Like, we'll have to wait and see. Like, that was that, to me, has probably been. In a season full of the surprises, and it sounds crazy to say their ability to rebound the basketball has been one of, if not the biggest.
- [20:56]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, I mean, if you. If you look at that since the calendar turned. Jan, when I think of the best rebounding team in the league, and I think Charlotte is second, which is why a lot of people like myself consider Charlotte to be pretty formidable when it comes to, you know, being an opponent, because not only they get out and run and their pace is unbelievable, but they also rebound the hell out of it. So a tough combination for a lot of teams. And I, again, Charles Lee is the man, so we. We can begin with that. But, like, what Tatum has done to this team in terms of the rebounding is one thing. The playmaking is the other. And again, you go back to that Oklahoma City game, and you go into the fourth quarter where they had Tatum, Kada, and then I think at the time it was like, Pritchard, Hauser and Shireman and what that does. And they ran first off. Kata gets a ton of credit from me because he just sets like, stonewall screens out there. He's wiping people out, out, which is a huge advantage for them, because when you get whatever Tatum wants you to have, like, he's. Tatum will sit there, call up Kada, get a screen. And the way that Oklahoma City defends that screen is they don't want anybody being in drop. They bring both guys up the level and try and force the ball out of Tatum's hands. So what happens is when he has that sort of advantage, everybody's kind of leaking out. And if he can get by like a Hardenstein or get by a jet, well now he's attacking the basket and you're pulling someone from the corner because Boston I their spacing. Boston spacing is wild because they have house, they're like 30ft away. They'll have Pritchard 30ft away, they'll have Shireman 30ft away as like a wing guy, as like a safety valve sort of situation. Then you'll have two other guys in the corner. So you have like three 43 point shooters on the floor at all times and all three of them have insane range. Never mind. Tatum is a pull up threat from anywhere and he's still getting his sea legs, still getting his balance. But when you look at the floor, when they have K coming up setting a bone chilling screen, Tatum getting off of it with Pritchard on either wing from 30ft away, pulling that defender all the way out or that person's cheating towards Tatum and giving Payton Pritchard a walk in three, which as you saw last night against the gets the Hawks is a really bad idea. So you have that part of the, part of the game going on. Then you have two other guys in each corner, Shireman and Hauser. And Hauser's had a tough season by his standard shooting the three ball like he's what, 38 I think coming into that game against Charlotte on Sunday night or Sunday afternoon I should say. And then you have Shireman who's been just awesome, especially recently when you have that kind of floor spacing, shot making ability in a creator like Tatum. You are a real problem for teams. And Oklahoma City, who's the best defensive team in the league if you don't count whatever the hell Wemby's doing. The fact that they can do that against one of the best defensive teams league with guys that can match up a little bit better, that should be scary for everybody else. And that to me you, you talk about the rebounding that's big, the playmaking from a 610 guy is the other part of this. And that particular sequence in the fourth quarter, I noted it because they ran, they ran the play the first, I think it was like the first play of the fourth quarter, they ran it. I think they got Hauser a wide open shot in the corner and then they ran the same thing again, next trip down the floor, but they flipped aside and then it was Shireman with a three pointer in the corner the same way. And like I think Charman up fake blow by put it down to the floor and hit the three, I think from the left corner. And it's like, how do you defend that? Especially because Shireman and Hauser this year, but both those guys can put it on the floor. And so it's it. You, they, they put you in binds, they put you in two on one advantages. And if they can continue to do that, they are going to be super hard to beat. But it starts with Tatum as the initiator and having that is again, that's why I keep calling them LeBron. The closest thing we have to LeBron is Tatum because he can do stuff like that.
- [24:50]
Justin Turpin
I do want to circle back real quick on the KEDA comment because you mentioned the screening and I think that and maybe this is just the sports talk radio background of me, I hear all the kind of negativ. It's like, oh, can you win with K as your starting center? I think what you mentioned with the screening is exactly why he's second in the NBA and screens this this year behind Rudy Gobert, who is widely considered one of the best screeners in the NBA. And with keda, the things he is doing this year are super sustainable. Like I don't think he's doing anything like out of the realm of his possibilities. Like he's rebounding the basketball and he's setting rock solid screens and he's being a rim protector. That's what he's doing. It's not like he's shooting like 43% from 3. Like he doesn't take threes. It's not like his shooting is like out of this world. It's a lot of vertical spacing. He goes up, he catches the lobs, he provides a lob threat and throws it down. And that's why I have so much faith in Kato moving forward because this is who he is. What's he going to shrink and forget how to rebound and screen? Like all of it is so sustainable moving forward that I don't really get some of these questions around Keita. It's like, oh, Boots should start over Keita in the playoffs because he has more experience. Vuch doesn't have that much experience in the playoffs either. Guy was the perennial, like losing in the first round of the, in the play in round. Like he doesn't have a ton of experience either. But when I'm looking at K, it's like what he's doing in the reason he is so sustained, sustainable and so consistent is because he plays within his role and he does things that he can do at an elite level and he does them very well.
- [26:14]
Adam Kaufman
The world moves fast your workday even faster.
- [26:18]
Evan Valenti
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Justin Turpin
and clear a path to your best work. Learn more@Microsoft.com M365 copilot Let's take a
- [26:44]
Adam Kaufman
quick break, tell you about our good friends over at Pretty Prize Picks the playoff push it's heating up Tournament hoops right here. Getting down to the nitty gritty obviously. Final fours right around the corner. There's no better way to cash in if you're right on the high flying hoops action than prize picks. That's where it always feels good to be, right? Every bucket, every dime, every win. It means more when you are playing on prize picks and with their brand new team picks markets you can now pick winners, spreads and totals on top of the player picks that you already know. So cash in right now. If you're during all your, you know, all the club buckets you can go get it. Slam dunk. Cinderella's this spring with team picks on prize picks.
- [27:29]
Evan Valenti
F K Last week was the end of the streak. I finally flex play let me down. I was 0 for 3. Not even 1 for 3 on this one. I was over 3 last week. So we gotta, we gotta really rebound here. It's been that was a tough pill to swallow because it was just a fun bit and kept going, kept going, kept going. So this, this particular flex play Saturday for today we're going to start with Joel Embiid which makes me nervous already off the jump but we're going to start with Joel embiid. More than 38 1/2 points, rebounds and assists versus the Hornets. Now the Hornets are a great rebounding team, no question about it. But I'm hopeful because that game will be close. I think I hope that Embiid is able to rack up just a bunch of counting stats in that game. Next we're going to to Denise Jenkins and I ever thought I would have him in any one of my lineups this year.
- [28:21]
Adam Kaufman
Bald out the other day.
- [28:22]
Evan Valenti
He's been awesome. More than 60 and a half points against the Wolves. Again I think these are going to be good games where they're going to play their full minutes. So I'm going Jenkins More than 60 and a half points versus the Wolves and then we gotta add Sunday Slade to this. We're going to talk about Shay. Shay big game Sunday against the Knicks prime time going more than 40 and a half points, rebounds and assists against the Knicks. I think it's very possible that Shay just absolutely kills Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson and pick and roll all day. I like that particular part of my matchup. Obviously you guys know I've hit all three I 3x my money 2 out of 3 get my money back which has been my the only way I've existed in price fix this year and getting your money couldn't be any easier. As little as 15 minutes, watch it roll into your account. Venmo even literally use Venmo. It's the easiest way to do it. And if your lineup is on fire, which happened to me two weeks ago, I could have cashed out early but I did not and it actually cost me. If you, if everything's going well, you hit two out of three really early and you're still in the middle of the game, cash out early and just maybe double your money. I could have doubled it coughing the other day and I didn't. I screwed up and it cost me dearly. So make sure you pay attention folks. Those cash out early options.
- [29:44]
Adam Kaufman
Your time is coming. Not to worry. So again, download the prize picks app today. Use code CLNS. You get $50 in lineups after playing your first for only five bucks. That is promo code CLNS. Get $50 in lineups after playing YOUR first five dollar lineup prize picks. It's good to be right. Let's get back to the show. All right, so we get Justin Turpin here from WEEI talking about this team's fortunes, the Celtics, what they can achieve, how they've gotten to this point, all the different things that Jason Tatum has brought back to the table. I was going to take this in a different direction, but I'm going to pause on that actually. I'll get there. Keep going with Tatum for a second. What are you still waiting for now that you've seen 10 games, fewer than 10 remaining in the regular season, then you get to the playoffs where there aren't games back to back days. You know there, there isn't going to be that built in load management time. Obviously he's not going to play every game that's remaining in the regular season. There'll be a break or two in there at some point. But he has been ramping up the Minutes. Everyone wanted to pretend at the beginning. There was no minutes restriction. There was. It was firmly set at 27 for a stretch of games, jumped up to about 32 and has continued to climb where Jason Tatum is now. Average. He's averaging 31 minutes. So they're getting him ready, obviously, for the postseason. Terp, what do you still feel like you need to see between now and, you know, third week of April?
- [31:13]
Justin Turpin
It's a really boring answer, but I think it's really the only one I have. And when I'm watching him, the shots need to start falling. Right. He's shooting 38% from the field, only 30% from three, because you mentioned it like the playmaking's there, the rebounding. That was one of my biggest question marks with him is obviously he's been, he made it public the other day. He was, he was even saying it, one of the best rebounders at his position for a while. Right. But I was a little bit worried about how willing he'd be to mix it up down low and really kind of get tangled up. Like, you know, obviously you're going up, you're mixing up. It's a little physical when you're trying to grab rebounds. I was a little bit concerned about how he, how willing he'd be able to do that coming off the Achilles injury. That hasn't been a problem. The playmaking hasn't been a problem. The defense, it's been largely great. Like at times, obviously he doesn't have the same kind of burst and the same speed to keep up with some of these faster guards in particular, but it's been good. I think the biggest thing is his scoring. And I think when you're talking about Jason Tatum, everyone gravitates towards the scoring, and for good reason. I know he can do everything, but his scoring is most valuable to this team. And that's what they're going to need in the postseason. They're going to need him to score the basketball. And with the percentages that he's shooting now, again, it's to be expected. He has only played 10 games, was out, what, 10 months? Like it's to be expected that this isn't going perfect, but he needs to start scoring the basketball. He needs to be shooting more efficiently going into the playoffs because obviously that's just such a big part of what they're trying to do.
- [32:36]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, for me, it's finishing at the rim and I'm going to try and because the three point shot for Tatum always kind of comes and goes and he has been sort of a streaky shooter in the past where like, some days I always go back to that meme of the calendar where it's like, is Jason Tatum okay? Then it's like he's the greatest player on the world. And then we have that little.
- [32:55]
Justin Turpin
That's his best month. That was like the calendar meme. He always gets so crazy in February.
- [33:00]
Adam Kaufman
I feel like even that, like the calendar meme, I feel like has been around for what, six years at this point. It's just like the nine year consistency to it.
- [33:08]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, it's so good. It's some of my favorite stuff. And like, for me, like, the finishing at the rim is going to be what I worry about the most because, like the end, the three point shot comes and goes, but get into the basket and finishing through contact or going to the free throw line, that's, that's really the secret sauce of Jason Tatum. It's actually been the secret sauce of Jaylen Brown this year specifically lately, like, Jalen's gone to the free throw line a bunch of times, which, like, legitimately brings him from one tier of player to another tier of player. And that's the same thing for Tatum. Like when he finds a way to get better than 52% at the rim, he's at 51.7% right now in only 58 attempts. So it's not like he's taken a lot because obviously he hasn't played that much. But if he's blowing by guys, getting to the basket and either finishing through contact or going to the free throw line, that's what I'll know. Like, this is, this is the, the guy that we know and love and that we're used to again. When Tatum's able to, you know, average double digit free throws a game, he literally changes the game. And if he can get to the free throw line or get to the basket and finish, like, that's all I need to see. The three point shot, you know, is sort of gravy, I think. Like he's, he's, he is a good three point shooter, but the three point shots he takes are tough. It's like, yeah, if he was just a standalone sit in the corner or be like a safety valve three point shooter and just have to stand still and shoot. Yeah, I'm sure, I'm sure he'd be awesome at that. But what you're asking Tam to do is get the ball on a switch against a seven one big man, dribble it out, and then, you know, time it right so he'd shoot the three. Like that's a whole different element of trying to be a good three point shooter. So the three point numbers can vary up and down pending what type of shot he's getting. For me, it's again, turb. It's all about getting to the basket, finishing through contact or going to the free throw line. That is the last step for me. As you said, the rebounding's there, the. The playmaking again as he's knocking off the rust is there. Like that skip pass to Brown in the left wing where he's in the right corner. He's got like Isaiah Joe on him and he's surveying and Luca Garza gives the little hand signal. And so Derek White pinches down through the elevator screen and it's a skip pass over the top of that to Brown. Like, that is awesome stuff. That's going to get better. The defense, the. The help rotation block on Lou Door at the rim. And again against the Oklahoma City offense. That's good stuff. That'll come with time. The same thing with this. Like this. As long as he can get to the free throw line and finish at the rim, like, again, they're going to be very, very, very, very difficult to stop.
- [35:47]
Justin Turpin
And I don't want to kind of contradict, you know, my answer with the shooting, but the thing with Jayson Tatum, and I think it speaks to the caliber of player he is, he can impact the game without necessarily shooting the ball well. And I think the most glaring example of that is the NBA Finals. They won a championship with him not necessarily shooting the ball very efficiently. Like, I think that speaks to the caliber player he is. And I think that also goes to your point, Ev. When he's getting downhill and he's getting to the free throw line, he's a different player. And if they have two of those players in Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, that completely changes this team. So I do like that answer with the rim because again, he can shoot inefficiently and they can still be highly successful. And we saw that on the biggest stage where he wants to get back to in the NBA Finals.
- [36:30]
Adam Kaufman
All right, now I'll go where I was going to go, which is looking at the hierarchy of the Eastern Conference, because for all of this sitting around celebrating what Boston could do against the top tier of the west, you do have to get there first, guys. So Detroit, the only team in the east that has clinched a playoff spot so far as we know, does not have Cade Cunningham back from the collapse lung yet. But it is expected to happen soon. We're looking at a four game deficit. Celtics behind the Pistons game and a half in front of the Knicks. You know, I am confident in Boston's ability to hold on to this but it's, you know, it's worthy of thinking about at the very least because you know they're now people start to make well, do you want to finish second? Is it better to finish third? And trying to strategically outline your matchups and all that to me just win games. I, I, I don't get punished by
- [37:20]
Justin Turpin
the basketball gods for that.
- [37:21]
Adam Kaufman
Yeah, honestly, just, just win games. It will shake out. How it shakes out is how I see it. So the Celtics again 49:24. Then you have the Knicks. Then you have the Cavs who are playing. All of these teams are playing better. All of them have at least seven wins in their last 10 games. You know, you skip over the Raptors who have their moments, but I just don't think they're all that big a threat come playoff time to anyone really. Hawks have turned it on when they have had to. They've won eight out of 10. I still, I always believe this team would be better without Trey Young. I still don't believe it's a team that threatens to come out of the Eastern Conference. And then from the play in tournament, you know, we know who's going to be in there. Barring Atlanta or Toronto falling back and it's Philadelphia, Charlotte, Orlando, Miami.
- [38:08]
Justin Turpin
My day kicks off with a refreshing
- [38:09]
Evan Valenti
Celsius energy drink then straight to the gym pre K pickup back home to
- [38:14]
Justin Turpin
meal prep time for my fire station shift.
- [38:16]
Evan Valenti
One more Celsius.
- [38:17]
Adam Kaufman
Gotta keep the lights on when the three alarm hits.
- [38:19]
Evan Valenti
I'm ready. Celsius live fit.
- [38:22]
Justin Turpin
Go grab a cold refresh refreshing Celsius
- [38:25]
Evan Valenti
at your local retailer or locate now@celsius.com
- [38:31]
Adam Kaufman
the Hornets. As we know, five straight wins. This team has been playing great for months and could absolutely climb into that top six. Should be a top eight team and not a team that anyone is going to want to see. The way it's playing in the first round of the playoffs, maybe even the second round of the playoffs. But we're projecting ahead who to you
- [38:48]
Evan Valenti
is
- [38:51]
Adam Kaufman
really the team, not the teams, the team that would worry you. If you're looking at the east and saying this is the obstacle, this is the one that Boston needs to either hope to not see or we'll have a tough time to get around.
- [39:05]
Justin Turpin
I think it has in New York. They beat you last year. They have the Experience. Detroit has really no experience in the playoffs, period. I know they got there last year and I actually think they were the better team against the Knicks last year for a majority part of that series. That series. But they didn't have the experience and they couldn't get it done. You don't know what's going to happen with Cade Cunningham and how he looks when he comes back. The Celtics also played the Pistons really tough this year. I know they were 1 and 3 in the season series, but all three of those losses were decided by seven points or fewer. They played them very tough and didn't have Jason Tatum on the floor. When you're looking at New York, like, first of all, that's an emotional series for the Celtics and for Jason Datum in particular. Going back there in the postseason, like, you can't ignore the human element of this. Like, going back. That is an emotional test to go back there and play them on the postseason like. Like they did last year. They beat them last year. I think New York has. For all their flaws, I think we've spent so much time. Last year, everyone were previewing the series. The Celtic Heavy swept them in the regular season. Well, you can't win with Carl Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson as your best players, and they're your biggest defensive liabilities. The Knicks prove they can and over like, really since the, like the last two months, they've been one of the better defensive teams in the NBA. And that was one of their biggest question marks throughout the season, is how consistent can New York be defensively? And they've really turned that around. So I look at New York, I really don't think Cleveland's much of a threat. We saw that a couple weeks ago when the Celtics went into their house and ran them out of the court. They're three and oh, against Cleveland, none of those games have really been great. Detroit, I just don't think the experience is there and I gravitate towards New York. I think that's the answer. I do want to throw this out though, because I found this interesting. I was looking like the standings and I accidentally like clicked like the basketball power index for ESPN and their projections. They have the Celtics as the fourth highest percentage to make the conference finals, to make the NBA Finals. Out of the Eastern Conference. They have Detroit at 27.2%, New York at 21.6, Cleveland at 21.3 and the Celtics at 17.2, which I don't really know what goes into that calculations, but that seems a little crazy. To me, to have Cleveland over the Celtics and maybe even Detroit over Celtics. If, you know, to answer the question, to go back to the original point, I think New York would be the only team I'd have over Boston.
- [41:16]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, I don't. I'll do the thing I always do with any team that employs James Harden. Like, I'm just never going to sweat that team ever. I mean, we have so much evidence that says that James Harden continues to collapse when it really, really, really, really matters. And I. And I just never. I never sweat the Sixers ever again. Kaufman, you've been on this show for years. I've never, ever, ever, ever, ever sweated the Sixers. I don't care how good they are. Nope. But I will say a team that does worry me a little bit, and it's going to sound nuts, but I will explain. It is the Orlando Magic. It has nothing to do with what they do on the. In terms of, like, there's execution or anything like that. I was nervous last year when. When Boston played them, because Orlando just likes to play overly physical. That's. I mean, it felt like last year at certain points of that series that Orlando's main goal was just to get somebody hurt and try and get, you know, somebody out of the game so they could maybe steal one or two. And that still is buried back here in the. In the back of my head. Very much like Miami used to be, where you'd see Miami. I don't care what team they tried out there. I never. I've never cared what team they tried out. It's just the way that Miami works. They seem to find a. A Gabe Vincent who has an insane time or a. A Caleb Martin or a. Whatever. Right. Just some guy is going to go nuts. And, like, Caleb Martin goes crazy against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals and then plays the. The Denver Nuggets. And you've never heard from him since. Like, you just never heard from him. So it just makes me angry. This is a very similar feeling. Like, I. Again, there's no world, I don't think, where Boston would actually lose to Orlando. I just think it's a. This team is super physical. They're gonna muck things up. They have a lot of, like, pretty decent defenders, like adding Desmond Bain, who's a tank. I don't love that. But I. In all facets of. I think Boston will win. It's just. What does Boston look like after that series? Now I get really nervous about just playing a team that knows that, like, hey, we played a Match we got really physical with them and see if we can do it again. I don't want no part of that. Zero part of that.
- [43:29]
Adam Kaufman
I don't worry about Orlando as presently constituted now. If Franz Wagner comes back and looks as he typically looks, that's a new dynamic obviously where you got three. I mean you got some depth there as well, but you got three star level players that can all be gen different ways. Till that happens, I'm not even sure Orlando gets out of the play in to be perfectly honest with you.
- [43:54]
Justin Turpin
And they don't really seem very motivated right now with Java Mosley. I think he's going to be one of the first to go this summer. Yeah, everyone's coach of the year. They people are picking them as a dark horse to win the Eastern Conference. And when you look at their expectations relative to what they were at the beginning of the year, this has been kind of a disastrous season for them and they have a lot of question marks moving forward. So I do agree with the point that they are a physical team and just like the battle scars and the bumps and the bruises coming out of that would be not great. And we said that last year about the Celtics because like everyone knew they were going to beat Orlando. It was just how banged up are
- [44:28]
Adam Kaufman
you going to be?
- [44:29]
Justin Turpin
And I don't think the, you know, obviously the Celtics were very banged up and I don't think that necessarily had much to do with Orlando. It played into it. But like Jalen was dealing with the knee injury already. Jrue Holiday missed what, three or four games in that series because the hamstring Porzingis was a shell of himself with the injury like or the illness rather. So the Celtics were already so banged up at the point last year, like that was kind of their demise. But I don't know how much, you know, Orlando really played into that.
- [44:54]
Adam Kaufman
It's fair for the Celtics. How does you know we mentioned him earlier. How does Vucovic impact things? You know, we don't know when we're going to see him again. A lot of people do presume that's going to be before the end of the regular season, so sometime in the next couple of weeks. But he certainly was not playing his best basketball as a member of the Celtics since his arrival. There were a couple of games, but in a general sense, I think a lot of people have felt kind of underwhelmed by his addition compared to expectation and some of the needs that he theoretically addressed walking through the door in particular size and rebounding and all of that and honestly not that I don't know. Like Gary Washburn mentioned this to us a couple weeks back. Like would you, would you undo the trade if you could? Like would you rather have Anthony Simons right now and that spark off the bench offensively? And I know he's been, he's missed a lot of time with an injury since going to the Bulls, but just again sort of presenting this as like a deal that really I, I don't feel like has worked out particularly well for either side in exchange of expiring contracts and rental players. But can is the reason to be terp more helpful about Vuch when he does return come a playoff run?
- [46:07]
Justin Turpin
I think there is. And I think first of all he's only played 12 games and the Celtics are nine and three in those games. So it's not like it's been a disaster. I know they've had some bad losses in there. Obviously the Knicks on Super Bowl Sunday was embarrassing and he was not good in that game. But I know it hasn't been great. But they are still winning basketball games with him on the floor. But I think the important thing about this and his injury that he has now, it's, it's his finger, right? So he can still participate in certain things in practice and kind of get more of a feel and more of a rhythm. The Celtics offense and their defensive system as well, like it's a completely different system than what he's been playing with. And I think he's, it's taken some time for him to adjust to that like it is any player. And in recent memory when have the Celtics added a player of that kind of impact and that kind of caliber at the deadline. Like you've had your Jaden Springers or Xavier Tillman's, like you really haven't had anyone like Vuch, a guy that's, you know, an all star in the league, one of established as one of the better bigs in the league. So I think part of that is just the patience that comes with that because they haven't had to integrate a player like that like a player that's actually going to come in and play in the rotation at the deadline. Like this is kind of a new thing. So I think him only playing 12 games was a factor of that. And part of it too was just the inefficiency and the shots he was getting. Like they tapped into his passing ability, they tapped into his post up ability. And I think that's going to be an intriguing part when he's back as well, his ability to post up alongside Jason Tatum because they completely got away from posting up the first, what, 50 something 60 games of the season. They didn't really have anyone to do it. Like the last couple years it was Jason Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford were mixing in a couple times too, maybe even Drew Holiday. This year there really hasn't been any of those post ups and I think Buc and Tatum provide that kind of different look for them when they can kind of get going. So I think it's important that it was a finger injury, it wasn't a lower body injury. So he's on the floor probably going through some walk through stuff and getting more of a feel for this offense and whatnot. I do kind of wonder what it's going to look like with Jason Tatum in game action because they obviously haven't played much together. But all in all, I mean, yes, it has been underwhelming, but it's a unique circumstance for this team where they haven't had a assimilate a guy into the rotation at the deadline in the Joe Missoula era.
- [48:14]
Evan Valenti
Really, I would say
- [48:18]
Adam Kaufman
googled. I, I was curious so. Well, during the Missoula era, I, I will go with you on that. But I, I pulled up this article from Chowder and Champions, the five best trade deadline deals in Celtics franchise history.
- [48:34]
Evan Valenti
Okay, let's see how many you know
- [48:35]
Adam Kaufman
there, there will be at least a couple more recently that you guys remember. But this is, you know, one writer's opinion and I will tell you that Vuch is not on this list. Number five, 2022, reuniting with Daniel Tice. Getting him from the Rockets for Dennis Schroeder. Bruno Fernando Ennis, Freedom, formerly Cantor.
- [48:56]
Justin Turpin
There was an emotional tie on that one too. People loved Daniel Tice.
- [49:00]
Adam Kaufman
Loved Daniel Tice, baby.
- [49:02]
Evan Valenti
That was number four, 2021.
- [49:06]
Adam Kaufman
Luke Cornett's first Celtic stint got him.
- [49:10]
Justin Turpin
He wasn't really playing.
- [49:11]
Adam Kaufman
Deal got him in a three team deal with Mo Wagner. Not Franz, but Mo Celtic for a second in a deal with the Wizards and the Bulls. Some of the other guys involved in that trade, Daniel Tice, Javante green, Troy Brown Jr. All went to Chicago. Washington got Chandler, Hutchinson, whoever that is, and Daniel Gafford. Yeah, number three, the pick that paved the way for Tony Allen. 2004 Celtics got a first round pick from Detroit and Cash along with Lindsay Hunter and Chuck Atkins. Chucky Atkins.
- [49:48]
Evan Valenti
Chucky Atkins, baby.
- [49:51]
Adam Kaufman
Pistons got Rasheed Wallace and Mike James and the Hawks, Chris Mills, Bob Sura, you Remember Bobby Sura?
- [49:59]
Evan Valenti
He was an ass.
- [50:01]
Justin Turpin
That just unlocked a memory I forgot I had.
- [50:03]
Adam Kaufman
Yeah, yeah, I. You wouldn't believe how many Bobby Sura college basketball cards I have. And Milwaukee's 2004 first round pick and another dude that I've literally never heard of and can't pronounce his name. Number two, 2015. We all know the legend of Isaiah Thomas is born. Obviously I can't believe that's that number one. But yeah, many will say that sort
- [50:28]
Evan Valenti
of, you know, Spring starts at the
- [50:30]
Justin Turpin
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- [51:00]
Adam Kaufman
stemmed what what the future had in front of us. Isaiah Thomas from the Suns for Marcus Thornton and Cleveland's 2016 first round pick number one. Do you want to take it back?
- [51:12]
Evan Valenti
Ev.
- [51:12]
Adam Kaufman
Do you want to take it back? Number one? The Celtics received Derrick White from the spurs for Romeo Lansburg. Josh Richardson, Boston's 2022 first round pick and a 2028 first round pick swap.
- [51:30]
Evan Valenti
Wow. Well, that's tough because, you know, according to certain people, Kenny Atkinson, Derrick White's top five player in the league, but like Isaiah did finish top 5 MVP.
- [51:43]
Adam Kaufman
Isaiah also, for all the love that Derrick White gets and deserves and has absolutely been a part of what the Celtics have accomplished in recent years at a huge part of it this year included Isaiah Thomas. That edition put them on the path. He was, you know, part of the recruitment obviously for Al Horford, you know, Gordon Hayward for a second until he was swapped for Kyrie Irving. But you know, deep playoff runs, even when it was like, you know, the Celtics, yeah, they get to the conference finals, but there's no chance. Like I can't believe they're even sitting there to begin with. They're not going to do anything. But Isaiah Thomas was part of them starting to get to what felt like annually in the final Four.
- [52:24]
Justin Turpin
Yeah, I just look back on those, like just thinking back on the Isaiah years, it always just brings a smile to my face. Like those teams were so much fun. They were trying to like Amir Johnson it's like starting center. Like those teams are awesome.
- [52:35]
Evan Valenti
Jay Crowder, Amir Johnson, Jerebco was there
- [52:38]
Justin Turpin
for a little bit with them. Like those teams were great.
- [52:41]
Evan Valenti
Smart.
- [52:42]
Adam Kaufman
Yeah. Chowder and champions. Jeff Zymanski, I believe, wrote it. He wrote it two months ago today as a matter of fact.
- [52:51]
Justin Turpin
I would say Derek White is probably a fair number one because they brought, they won a championship as like as much as the Isaiah years are great. Like Derek White was a key contributor on a team that has, that won in NBA finals and has consistently went to another one. They've been to another NBA final. So yeah, I mean when I was, when I was kind of saying that I was thinking more of the Joe Missoula era because obviously like there was the Derrick White, right? Like the ties, the Tyson, the Cornet ones. Like those guys didn't really play a ton, you know, so it's like even then.
- [53:19]
Adam Kaufman
Well remember these are trades obviously. Like there's a party. It's like come on man, PJ Brown. But obviously that was a signing out of retirement. So totally different thing, right?
- [53:28]
Justin Turpin
So I think there is some patience with Vuch in that sense where this is new with the Joe Missoula and really Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown have done it before. But that happens when you play for almost a decade together. Like of course it's going to come up and they did it with you know, Derrick White, obviously with Tyson Cornette, but those two didn't play as much. So I think it is kind of new. And there is, it was also again he, he brings something so different to this team where it's kind of something, it's something they didn't have with the post up ability and the pick and pop. As good as Luca Garza was doing like shooting the ball this year, they weren't really using it a ton until like more recently he doesn't take the volume that Buccovic does as well. So I think it is. That kind of dynamic is a little bit different.
- [54:07]
Evan Valenti
Differently too though cars and, and oh 100. Like yeah, butch is a little closer to the, you know, a little closer to the three point line on offense because like just you know he's always a trailer and kind of bringing up the rear a little bit. Whereas Garza is an absolute maniac and is flying all over the place to do whatever like that. To be honest with you, I was gonna, I was gonna go with the, I would make the, the Vuch Simons trade 10 times out of 10 only because what it did to Luca Garza and they've talked about it, like, after the games or, like, after practicing things. Like, you know, they. Garza spoke about how everybody, like, kind of brought him. Like, hey, man, just because they traded for a guy doesn't mean you can't still make an impact on this team. And I honestly think that Garza's been playing and I, and I will eat all the crow ever, man. I owe Luca Garza an apology. I really do. The guy's been way better than I expected. I mean, Kaufman, we killed him. I can't tell you how many times I made fun of the fact.
- [55:02]
Adam Kaufman
And you know what? They still brought him back.
- [55:04]
Evan Valenti
Still brought him back. I made fun of the fact that Garza shoots more practice shots than him in the NBA and, like, doesn't amount to anything. Like, I, I, I owe that guy an apology. He's been just way better than I expected. And, you know, like, you know, when he's on the floor, just because, like, you just, you feel his presence and like, it. He's not scoring 20 a game. He's not collecting 10 rebounds a game. He's not, he's not like a huge impact player. Like, I'm not trying to say that, but what I am saying is when he's on the floor, you know, because he is literally everywhere. And I think getting V made him realize, like, hey, man, like, every minute I get, I just have to, I have to just make remind everybody, like, you don't need V. I'm here. I got this. I'm, I got this on lockdown. You don't need to bring this guy in at all. And I will say they've been better with Garza at any point since Vuch got here than they are. They were the vouch in the short action they had with him.
- [56:00]
Justin Turpin
Imagine saying that we'd be sitting here with nine games in the regular season talking about a playoff rotation, and people are upset that Luca Garza might not be playing and that Jordan Walsh hasn't been playing either. Imagine saying that before the season. Like, it's, it's incredible. Like, the developmental, the development stories up and down the roster. We've been talking about it for an hour now, is just so spectacular that we're sitting here talking about Luca Garza should be starting over an all Star Nikola Vucevic or playing over Nicole Vuchevich in the postseason, maybe. It's crazy.
- [56:30]
Adam Kaufman
If Vuch has a great playoff run and the team gets to the NBA Finals, does he jump automatically past Tice on the fifth in this list? And Maybe even climbs over. Do you put him over Cornett? Cornett turned into a really impactful player.
- [56:46]
Justin Turpin
No, no. Cornett was huge for them even in that finals run. Like he played during that run. So I think he was important there. I. Tyson's just such a fanfare for him. Like, they absolutely love the guy still. So I don't know if he jumps Tyson. That's it. But if he's impactful, I think it does change his thing because at the end of the day, it comes down to the winning. And that's why I put Derrick White at number one. So if they do go out and win a championship, I don't know if he jumps Cornette because people forget how good Cornette was, man. I think he was just overshadowed by like many ways that Cato was. Like we were talking about earlier, how Cata just does his role and he does it at an elite level. There's the same thing with Cornett. It was the offensive rebounding, it was the screening, it was the, the rim protection. It was all that, like, it's not the most glamorous stuff, but if you're watching, it made it such a difference for them. So I don't know if he would jump Cornette, but he has an argument to maybe go up to third. Actually, I have trouble putting him over Isaiah too. I just. That's a personal thing though.
- [57:40]
Evan Valenti
I get that.
- [57:41]
Adam Kaufman
That's fair. So in front of us still, boys, we've got pull up the schedule here. So it's the beginning of a four game trip off the two straight wins against the Thunder and the Hawks to conclude March and take us into early April at Charlotte, tomorrow at Atlanta, rematch. Just beat him by seven. As we know in this most recent game yesterday as we sit here at Miami at Milwaukee, three teams that are in the mix to do something in the east and then a Milwaukee team that is fighting with its best player. We'll see how that goes again. Again. Yeah, good point.
- [58:18]
Evan Valenti
What turb.
- [58:19]
Adam Kaufman
What. What are you looking for over the course of this four game trip other than, you know, ideally at least three and one.
- [58:26]
Justin Turpin
I mean, this is a tough one, like you said, like, these are teams well within the mix of things. Charlotte obviously destroyed this. It was their biggest loss of the season season against Charlotte at home. So that's a team that you could possibly see in the playoffs and that I don't think anyone necessarily wants to see. I know they're, they're a young team, but they play with so much energy. Like, I mean their, their playmakers are incredible. Like Brandon Miller, Khan, obviously Lamelo ball. Like those guys. That's a good team. Charles Lee has them playing some really good basketball. So I actually look at this as a good test for the Celtics. Like nine games left and you got Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, like you said, all in the thick of things. Then looking even beyond that, you get Toronto in the thick of things, Charlotte again, New York, who you're vying with for the two seed in Orlando. So you have plenty of teams right now that'll get you ramped up for the postseason. I think for Jason Tatum in particular, this is huge. This gives him kind of the closest things you're going to get to postseason minutes without actually playing them. Because all of these teams, like was it 4 through 10 or 5 through 10 in the Eastern Conference is all separated by like two games. Like these teams are fighting for their lives. And that's going to give Jason Tatum and this team an opportunity to really gel against high level competition. Teams that are going to be bringing it every night. Because it's one thing to play games in mid March or late March when teams are kind of easing off a little bit, not kind of saving their energy for the playoffs. They're not really as physical and whatnot. These teams are fighting for their lives and this is going to be the closest that you get suppose season minutes without actually playing them. So I guess I'd like to see the execution and see what they've continued to do. And I think they've done a good job in matching teams and their physicality and they're going to see plenty of that down the stretch. So I want to see that continue.
- [60:04]
Adam Kaufman
Well, here's the real good news of these elite eight games are starting to bump up a little bit now that we're on the weekend here. Later games today, Iowa, Illinois, Purdue, Arizona. But tomorrow Tennessee Michigan is at 215 and Yukon Duke is at 5. So you're only going to have an hour overlap of that game and the Celtics game. If you did want to see that one through, should be a great game. And then pop on the Celtics for the second half, right?
- [60:30]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, I mean we got some great hoops. Next couple of days, that Purdue Arizona game is going to be real. Like it's going to be real physical folks. It's going to be extremely.
- [60:40]
Justin Turpin
I'm.
- [60:40]
Evan Valenti
I'm actually probably the most excited about that game. I think that's gonna be like that, that. Who did Purdue beat? They'd be. It'd be Iowa.
- [60:50]
Adam Kaufman
Who'd they be? No, on Thursday, Iowa State lost last night.
- [60:55]
Evan Valenti
Yeah, they beats, they beat somebody Thursday night. Oh, Texas buzzer beater.
- [61:01]
Adam Kaufman
Yeah, Tennessee.
- [61:02]
Evan Valenti
I knew it was a orange red something. That game was incredible. That was a. Yeah. At the end of the game. Unbelievable stuff. And that's, I mean, obviously Duke UConn's gonna get all the hype just because those are two like legit blue blood programs. But I'm super excited because I think Purdue, frankly guards at a level that most teams, even in the NBA though, I think they, their rotations are super crisp. They, their help defense is unbelievable. I, I, I, I, I really enjoy watching that team. Arizona will be a tough matchup for them.
- [61:32]
Justin Turpin
I was efforting to find a trivia question because Roosevelt Colvin, old Patriot. His son used to be on Purdue, but he transferred out of there. He was on Purdue last year when they were playing at like they held that round at, at the Amp in Providence. And I saw like Roosevelt Colvin on the sideline. I was like, what the hell is he doing here? And it turns out his son was playing for Purdue but now plays for Wake Forest. So no longer is anybody ready for
- [61:54]
Adam Kaufman
the journey to be over. Just so we're not watching every commercial featuring the Boozer Brothers.
- [61:59]
Evan Valenti
I mean, yeah, that part.
- [62:01]
Justin Turpin
I mean, I tune up commercials anyway. I don't know, I don't really watch. I just go on my phone, start looking at the live lines. Whatever, whatever, whatever else it may be. But now the tournament's been great. This is awesome. And I think a lot of people kind of worried like the nil and that aspect of it could kind of take away the cinder Cinderella runs. But like, the basketball has been incredible.
- [62:18]
Adam Kaufman
Yeah, well, I mean, it generally has, you know, other than Iowa at the moment. And obviously if Iowa does beat Illinois, then, hey, we'll see. But, you know, assuming that the chalk wins over the course of the next couple of days, then you're going to be looking at a final four that has Illinois a three seed, Arizona or Purdue a one or a two, Michigan a one seed, and Duke or Connecticut a one or two. So you're gonna have, you know, obviously a pretty chalky final four and final. But that's okay. You know, it's, it's not great for Cinderellas, but it is okay if you want to see the best players on the best teams and the best basketball. That is what we've got in front of us here over the course of the next couple of weeks. But Celtics 2, folks, and the playoffs, remember, got to get through that play in tournament so the regular season ends again. That could be pretty important for Orlando at that point. On April 12th at the Garden. And then you'll have a little bit of a, you know, I don't know, ballpark, a week, better part of a week before the first round actually starts. So the Celtics will, I'm sure the exact date is out there. I just don't have it in front of me. So let's call it, you know, April 18th or 19th, the Celtics will get started with their first round series against one of these teams. Should be interesting. But, man, I mean, just the fact I've said this so many times and I, I say it not for you out there. I say it for me, like, just to continue to remind myself the fact that we're even having these conversations after how we all felt as Tatum was writhing around on the floor last May, it's just, it's amazing.
- [63:52]
Evan Valenti
It I, it's.
- [63:54]
Adam Kaufman
It is amazing. You would have thought, I mean, there was a version of this. Not that Evan, I subscribed to it fully, but there was a version of this where March 28, April, right around the corner. We're really talking about the tournament and really looking at the lottery and, you know, who do you want? You know, who. Who are these? College. Right. I like, I remember we had, you know, someone who covered Creighton on with us to break down the day the Baylor Shireman pick after he was drafted. And don't get me wrong, some of those shows will still come in the off season. But you know, I thought we'd be having some of those shows right now, like let's get so and so on from Duke and talk about Boozer. I'm glad that we're not doing that. I'm glad that we have hopefully another couple months at least of Celtics basketball still in front of us. But want to thank our good friends over at Prize Picks. Want to remind you, check out the podcast wherever you subscribe to the audio versions of your podcast. Rate, review, leave comments, all of that good stuff and of course the video your CLNS Media YouTube page, the all access page features our show. Celtics beat so many others across the network. You can check out the main page for coverage of other teams in Boston sports. The Red Sox are underway and off to a nice start. That 30 win in Cincinnati with crochet on the hill look pretty good. But Terpene, always wonderful to have you here with us. Maybe we'll do it again before the playoffs roll around.
- [65:16]
Justin Turpin
My pleasure, guys. Anytime.
- [65:18]
Adam Kaufman
Justin Terp and Wei, Evan Valenti Adam Kaufman. Thanks for being with us, and we will talk to you again next time.