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- [00:01]
A
Today is Thursday, April 2nd, 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 670 features Barstool Sports. Dan Greenberg.
- [00:14]
B
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. $50 of lineups when you play, $5. Hey everybody.
- [00:39]
A
Welcome in another new addition to Celtic Feet. As we wind down the regular season. The Celtics still with plenty of games to play, sitting at 51 wins on
- [00:49]
B
the road to 55 plus.
- [00:51]
A
Just like everybody envisioned when Jason Tatum was writhing around on the floor at Madison Square Garden last May. This is what we all knew was going to happen. Obviously, another 55 win plus campaign. The team sitting here in contention for not just the eastern crown, but the entire NBA championship. My God, this is fun. Adam Seletti, Dan Greenberg back with us here, our good friend from Barstool Sports. On the heels of a147,129 defense optional win in Miami in which the Celtics have now piled up victories in eight of 10. But guys, where I want to start, it's wonderful to see you both ev doing, if anyone is watching, his best Bobby Manning impression with the turtleneck greeny. Rocking the green right on brand. You know, we've had over the last weeks, months, obviously years, but I'll keep it to this year. We've had a number of Jaylen Brown shows. More recently we've had some Jason Tatum shows. What we haven't really had yet is the Jays show. If ever there were an opportunity to do it. It's off of what we just saw in south beach in which Tatum posts his first triple double since his return from the injury. Fills out the box score in 37 minutes. Mind you, you think this guy's ramping up for the postseason. 25 points, 11 assists, 18 rebounds. All of those on the defensive glass. Jalen Brown for the seventh time goes for 40 plus 43 points in his 37 minutes. Also had seven assists, took almost 30 shots. A plus player not unlike Tatum. Although neither is even close to the realm of Nemi kada. Sitting at plus 28 in this game. Just be the K show, guys again. Wow, wow, wow, wow. You know, some people, I, I'll do shows elsewhere and people like, all right, cough, like pull up your pants like we don't need the Celtics porn. Well, people come to this show want the Celtics porn. We're Going to give you the Celtics porn. What a win that was in Miami. But more so than the win because I never really questioned whether Boston would win this game. Greeni. What a performance out of the Jays with the playoffs this month.
- [03:15]
C
Honestly, it's. I think it's the highest. It's like the peak of what we all hoped we would one day see as this return progressed. The fact that it's happening in Game 12 that Tatum has played is. It's almost incomprehensible. Like, right. With everything we know about this injury, everything we've sort of seen with guys coming back from it, I don't think if you, you know, were able to prevent the hot take culture from entering your brain, I don't think there was ever a doubt that they would know how to play together and off each other. I mean, we have almost 10 years of that. But for me, it's more the fact that Tatum looks like all NBA. Tatum next to this elevated level of Jalen Brown is the differentiator for me. And it's like if you assume that Tatum is only going to get in better game shape and only going to feel even more comfortable, what we're seeing is he is not suffering from the mental block that we saw Gordon Hayward suffer from in his return when it came to his style of play, trusting his body, his aggressiveness. Like, I'm watching Jason Tatum play like Jason Tatum pre injury, but I'm seeing that next to a version of Jalen Brown that's having a first team all NBA type season. So when you add those two things together, you get a game like last night where you sit and you look at it and you're like, I know the Miami Heat aren't world beaters, but like, if they get 85% of last night in a playoff series, they're going to coach their way to the NBA Finals. I think that as long as everyone stays healthy between the two, like, they just present so many problems for opposing defenses that you just can't solve. Knowing that Tatum is at the level he's at.
- [05:06]
B
What I think is interesting is the. You go back to the first quarter of that game and like, it's just the Jalen Brown show just going like one on five, right? Cooking everybody that, you know, Miami threw in front of him there was, I think he had what, 20 points in the first quarter. At one point it was Jalen Brown 11, Miami 11. And what was funny to me, like, as you watch that game, what we. It's the Thursday recorded Thursday. So Wednesday night you Watched that game Wednesday night, and the big thing that I think a lot of people been looking for is, is like, is this, is the cohesion still there? Even though they haven't played basketball together in a while. Guess what it is. But it's the like dueling banjos, like, your turn, my turn, your turn, my turn stuff. And in the just absolute slaughtering of the Miami Heat, they. That was Wednesday night. It never felt, your turn, my turn. It just felt like, hey man, you got an advantage. Here's the ball, go to work. And then when either one of them would be on the bench, the other one obviously runs the show and, and, and kind of controls things. But when they're both in the floor at the same time, it never felt forced. And Jaylen just absolutely annihilated every single defender they tried to throw at him. They're too small and, and just set the tone from the beginning. And that to me is. Is like. Because you go back to the championship year where the best version of the Boston Celtics is when they're attacking advantages. They're two on one advantages that they talk about so much, where the ball's flying around, it's going inside and out, and they're putting guys in two on one situations and making guys make decisions. And I think it's really the growth of Jalen Brown that has now finally like, oh, I'm gonna attack this two on one. But there's Kate in the dunker spot on the weak side. So up I just have a dump off pass and there's an easy one for Kada. Like, it's stuff like that. And the evolution of Galen Brown that is. Is making this all really kind of work seamlessly in that. And in that first quarter where Jaylen was just like on another level, he looked like a man possessed. And you know, he. It was clear that he was just a problem. Miami and Jason Tatum was like, you know what? I'm out of here. I'm out of the way. Go ahead, have a blast. And look at that. In totality of the game, with every. All the box scores put together, it's like, yeah, that's probably. I mean there are duos in the NBA that are very scary, right? I. I go to Murray and Jokic and Denver obviously as champions. SGA in. In. In J dub, another incredible duo. But like, I don't know. I mean outside of. Of of I think the Joker and Murray, I don't know if any other duo has high as high of a ceiling as what we just watched last night.
- [07:47]
C
I Think the best way to describe it is you just saw like a 99th percentile performance of what it looks like. And I think if I remember correctly, ahead of Tatum's return. I was here and we talked about, well, how would they adjust with him on the floor? What is, what does Jaylen have to change in his game? And I said at the time people were looking at that the wrong way because everything we loved about Jalen's first, you know, 60 games of the year in terms of his getting into the paint, playing in the mid range, attacking the rim, those are all things that get accentuated and improved with Tatum on the floor. And last night was a great example of it because now defenses can't just tilt to Jaylen Brown. Now you have to account for a version of Jason Tatum that looks as good as ever. So what did we see? We saw Jaylen Brown have one on one matchups with Davion Mitchell, with Tyler Hero, because they can't help off of him because Tatum's on the floor, Sam Houser's on the floor. That's how Jaylen was just able to get to his spot and bully his way to the rim. He has played no differently with Tatum than than without Tatum. The shots are virtually identical, the points virtually identical. But what has changed is the way that teams are defending him. Now you're seeing the leap coming to fold with exactly what I've just talked about, his playmaking leap, his ability to read defenses outside of what we saw against the Hawks the other night. But you know, on the whole, for the season, he's able to read and find those simple passes. It's not like world beating reads that he's making as a playmaker, but he doesn't need to. He just needs to be able to identify when the defense is collapsed on him. Where's your outlet? The fact that he's getting much better matchups and much better one on one coverages because Tatum was on the floor is the whole point of why the whole, you know, assimilation of Tatum coming back nonsense was just that. Because you're adding a guy that makes everyone's life easier specifically for your other best player so much. It's like such a drastic difference just in terms of the coverages that Jaylen Brown is now having to deal with. And he was putting up 30 a game while being double teamed and being the sole focus.
- [10:07]
A
And what do we like to say around here? We've been saying it for years.
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B
First, baby, that goes back to. That goes to Dr. P. When everybody gave a shit about Kyrie's knee tendinitis and everybody called us clowns, that, that Kyrie's injury was going to be a problem not just this year, but for the rest of his life. And everybody called us.
- [10:28]
A
It was the best. Yeah, there have been many, many examples along the way. Well, let's try and play another one right now. I wasn't really thinking about this until listening to you guys both before the show and now that we've been underway here and kind of, kind of got me thinking in terms of a conversation that, you know, Greeny, you're a little more tapped into kind of what's, you know, the discourse on social media, maybe even what's happening nationally. So by all means, if this is already out there somewhere, don't hesitate to humble me. But I wonder with the level at which the Jays are playing. And as you just said, we are getting a version of these two, shockingly, after again only roughly a dozen games since Tatum's return, a version of these two that we have never seen before because of obviously the ascension of Jalen Brown. If this continues into the playoffs, get through the first round, maybe get through the second round, get yourself to the Eastern Conference finals. People are dreaming big. Looking at the situation in the west, you know, teams are beating the hell out of each other. The east is looking relatively easy. Suddenly somebody nationally, locally, both is going to make the comment, you know, I wonder if this Celtics team is better than the one that just won the title. Oh, interesting because of the top heavy approach of this team and obviously a great amount of depth as we've talked about in recent weeks, but not quite the name recognition of the depth that they've had in recent years, especially on that title team. But I wonder at what point do people look at this team if Brown keeps balling out, getting MVP votes. Tatum, like you said, looks like all NBA Tatum, like the injury never happened. When are we going to look on this road maybe to Banner 19 and say boy, these guys aren't just like really good, they're maybe even better than Banner 18. Good. I don't know.
- [12:36]
C
I haven't, I've seen in the national landscape, you know, you are now obviously like the favorite to come out of the east for good reason. I would say I don't think they'll even, even if they win it. That 24 team touched basketball immortality, you know, like just their profile in terms of, you know, their net rating. Most, you know, more 30 point wins than double digit deficits. Like you know, greatest offense of, you know, you know, within the top five in NBA history. So. So that team, you know, I think they went what, 16 and three in the playoffs. Like, if this team does that by the time we get to a potential Finals, maybe. But I do think what we're seeing is this team is better than last year's team, than the title defense season, because, you know, we did get the regression from Holiday. The regression from Al Porzingis was wishy washy. That first year was like, you know, that was, you're, you only get one of those seasons like in your lifetime. But last year, you know, when you look at this year's team compared to that group, they're way more athletic, they're way more versatile defensively. You know, they're still playing the same way, but now they've added in this elite offensive rebounding component that sort of bails out their shooting droughts. And like you said, they're adding a version of Jalen that we've never seen before, who was then dealing with all of his injury issues last year. So I think you're well within your right to be of the stance that even before we get to the playoffs, the team we're seeing right now with Jayson Tatum is better than the title defense.
- [14:14]
B
Celtics, I don't think it's possible for them to get there because they don't have true holiday shooting 65% from the corner.
- [14:20]
C
That's what I mean. Like, that was such an insane, you know, like you touched God in, in that.
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And not only was he shooting 65, but he was also like probably the best defensive player on the team that year. And just like, you'll remember a ton of stuff from that season, but one of them that's going to be just lodged in your brain is his stop on Nem. Hard to pick his pocket at the end of the game. Like, that's, that's just the Drew Holiday stuff that we saw defensively that year. And look, I was very much pro market smart. He's better than Drew defensively, blah, blah, blah. After seeing him for one season, I'm like, I'm not so sure about that. I think, I think Drew might be better. He's just, he was amaz. Like, again, some of the stuff they were doing with him as like the rover. I, I just, I just. It was the. One of the most unique things I've seen a team do with a guard like that and be able to just muck things up. And the whole team was on a string because he would leave and everybody would kind of play like this, like hybrids. It was just, it was very, very. That's not saying that this team isn't, isn't great. They are, they are extremely well equipped to be the Eastern Conference representative in the finals. And if that's, if that's what you're doing, that's, that's, that's a tremendous spot to be in. And I think they might be a little better suited to play today's game just because you talk about the athleticism, the youth that they have, especially at some of these key spots. So it's, and they've made up for it with, with.
- [15:45]
A
Yeah.
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B
Like they might not be as lethal offensive because they don't have por Zingus at 73 shooting threes from 28ft. But this is what I said the other night. Their spacing when they have Tatum then pick your poison of Brown, Shireman, Richard and Hauser and then they throw Kada out there as, as this world class screener.
- [16:10]
C
And I don't, I, I Garza 2 Elite screener.
- [16:14]
B
Yeah but like for, I don't know what it is about Neemi screens but like when he hits somebody, when he gets a real good one like it's earth shattering. It's fun to watch through the TV but when you have the spacing that they have, I actually think, I don't, I'm not quite sure if the 24 Celtics got to this point. Just I don't think Drew Holiday was that good of a threat from this far out because like Derek White is, Pritchard is, Hauser is, Shireman is, Tatum is. And Brown is. These guys are all good from 28 to 30ft away from the basket. And when you have everybody spread around Tatum as the, the initiator and he gets a, a bone chilling screen from, from Kada and then you know, K either dives to the basket. Yeah. Usually just dodge or maybe he'll just hold it there. And Tatum attacks the big and anybody crashes, well, you either have not enough time to recover on Tatum who's driving to the basket or you're leaving a guy who's a really adept three point shooter wide open from a place where the recovery from someone else is not going to get there. That's the bind that I think Boston when they're humming is really putting teams in. And that's the thing that I'm not quite sure if the 24 team could duplicate. I do think that they'd have different areas of the like Kristaps Porzingis post ups were a revelation in 2023, 24, that was amazing. Nobody on this team can really do stuff like that. But on the flip side, the spacing that you get with this team and then the evolution of Jalen Brown, there's an argument to be made that.
- [17:55]
C
And you have to remember this team is so much better in terms of the possession battle, right? The off of rebounding is way better. And the ball security, they just virtually never turn it over. So what they lack in the shot making of the 24 team that was just beyond dominant, they've adjusted it to account for that in the possession battle and in the margins in those areas. So it's almost a situation where they're just as dominant, but they're doing it through a different way compared to just, you know, drew shooting 80% from the corners and Porzingis averaging like two points. Possession on a post up that nobody could stop. Now it's. We have all the same shooting, we have all the same, you know, ability to be with the Jays, but we're also never going to turn it over and we're going to rebound about 35% of our own misses, which is just an insane number. That's how I think they've sort of made up the gap for the talent, because they just play so hard and they crash the glass like that.
- [18:59]
A
Look, all I know is not only did you guys not laugh me out of the chat room here, you made the case that maybe I'm right. So I'm, you know, in different ways, different avenues in different ways.
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It's okay.
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A
That's fine.
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B
Wait, do you really think they're better than the championship team?
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A
No, of course not. I think that's ridiculous. But I wanted to be entertained by the idea of it, that this world of hyperbole and hot takes, like, how hot was saying something like that? And as it turns out, which only supports my belief that at some point, somewhere along the line, somebody is going to say this in the next month, month and a half, depending on how they're playing. You know, it. It, you know, is. Is reasonable. It's actually somewhat measured compared to the statistical dominance of that team, which really just kind of supports what I was going for. So I'm good with it. I'm good.
- [19:51]
C
Yeah. I mean, if they, if they go to the finals and they're what, 12 and 2 or whatever, I think you're gonna have a lot more of those takes, because really, that's where it's ultimately going to be determined. I will say right now they're probably playing at a pace in terms of net rating, offensive defense that that is eerily similar. But you know 16 and three in a postseason run is pretty unique. So.
- [20:18]
A
Yeah. And some would still say it should have been better.
- [20:21]
C
Yeah, I mean they did punt on game four. That's all they punted game four.
- [20:27]
A
Let's take quick break tell you that today's show is powered by prize picks. The playoff push of course heating up tournament hoops also here. There is no better way to cash in if you're right on the high flying hoops action than prize picks. America's number one sports picks app. Every bucket, every dime, every win means more when you are playing on prize picks. And with their brand new team picks markets you can now go ahead and pick game winners, spreads, totals all on top of the player picks that you already know. So cash in if you are right during all the clutch buckets, slam dunks, Cinderella's this spring with team picks ev on prize picks.
- [21:08]
B
Yeah, it's the best time of year for sports in my opinion. We are hitting the pinnacle final four weekend this year. Basketball is getting towards the April stage. To me it's getting more intense. Baseball started up. We have golf and the masters right around the corner. Life is spectacular. But for a flex play Friday for this week we're going to start with Victor Wembanyama. I know they played the night before but they played a. They played a warriors team that was not, not so great. So we're gonna take Wemby, our first leg of prize picks in our lineup. We're no more than 12 rebounds against the Clippers now. He's hit that number in the last five games so I'm feeling pretty confident about that. Even though he's on the second night of the back to back and they probably won't plan that much. I just don't think the Clippers really have any big men that are really going to deter him from goblin up rebounds. Next one we're gonna stay with big men. We're gonna go with Kling Kong Donovan KLINGON More than 12 and a half rebounds versus the Pelicans. Now he came up short the last two times he's played of that number. Again similar to Wendy. I don't see anybody on New Orleans that's keeping clinging off the glass. He's been honestly for me like he's filling in the Zubots role of like best rebounder in the league like cling has been unbelievable this season and we'll stay with the Portland Trailblazers. We haven't done a lot of them in flex play this year. Denny Abdia, we're going less than 26 and a half points against the Pelicans. He's, he's short of that for the last five games. Said a great season, don't get me wrong, but I don't think the Pelicans are going to be put up too much of a fight in this particular game. The blazers are 39 and 38 over.500, which is, I think kind of remarkable given that Chauncey Phillips was in a poker scandal like right as the season started. So I'm gonna give that, that team a little bit of love, a little bit of juice.
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A
Trust in Tiago, man, I love it.
- [23:02]
B
I love it. I, I think he's earned the job. But that's not my decision obviously to make. As you guys know. If I hit all 3 or 3x of money, 2 out of 3, I get my money back. Last week we came up short. We came up short. That's okay. We reset and hopefully this week we're going three for three or at least I'll get my money back again. Getting your money from Price Picks couldn't be any easier. Venmo. I use it that way. It rolls in your Venmo account. You have it directly to your bank account. Whatever works for you, works for us. Obviously it's super easy and if Kaufman you happen to be in a place where your lineup's looking pretty good, you can cash out early. So folks, if you're involved with Prize picks and lurking around, keep an eye on your lineups. Because if you can cash out early, you can save yourself like I didn't do the other night and guarantee yourself a little bit of cheddar buddy.
- [23:50]
A
So download the Prize Picks app today. Use Code CLNs get $50 lineups after you play your first for only dollars. Again, that is code CLNs get $50 in lineups after playing your first five dollar lineup. Prize picks Predict is a registered FCM offering team picks and culture picks as event contracts. Trading involves significant risk not for all the content provided is for informational and educational purposes only. Does not constitute investment advice or recommendation to trade any commodity interest or offer to open an account. Celtics Speed, of course, is not registered with the CFTC or NFA Prize Picks Predict does not endorse or guarantee any statements made by third party promoters or influencers. Please consult with qualified professional a qualified professional before making any trading decisions. Back here on Prize Picks, of course, we've got Dan Greenberg, Barstool Sports hanging out here with us. We always like to remind you, check out all Celtics related content across the CLNS media page. The All Access page specifically is where you can find this show. And if you don't want to look at us, that's fine. We won't be offended if it's easier for you to just listen to your podcast while you're driving, walking your dog like ev on a lunch break, whatever it may be. You can check out the audio version, subscribe, rate, review wherever you get your podcast. Guys, I want to keep going with the Kaden Brown again theme of the Jays here in this show element of this because I truly am as I know we all are in our own ways fascinated by this belief that maybe we are seeing a level of the two of them together that we have never seen before. And again, very small sample size. And these are two guys that have had years of data supporting what an elite tandem they are. It's not like we are saying for the first time here post injury boy this, this they could be the best one two punch in the NBA. We've been saying that around here for years. Others have said that this is not again a hot take to suggest that Tatum and Brown as a tandem is the best that the NBA offers today, certainly at the bare minimum in the conversation. So we know what we're talking about. A couple of future hall of Famers, couple of guys that have won championships together, at least one, hopefully another eventually, and are going to find their numbers up in the rafters one day. But I'm wondering Greeny, if you can look into your crystal ball, maybe even more so as it relates to Jalen Brown than it does Tatum, because Tatum's always been a step ahead in terms of the well roundedness of his game. What can Brown continue to do? What what is left to unlock for him personally that influences the dichotomy of the duo?
- [26:46]
C
I would just say continued playmaking leap. You know, I think that has really taken his game to a next level. I mean obviously his free throw shooting has been the career best up to 80% on the season, which is great. I do would just want to see more decision making in high leverage situations in this new version because that can always get better for both. But honestly, if if this is the version he is for the next handful of years, I still think you're looking at a situation where you could be looking at a top four Celtic all time and a top 10 Celtic of all time. And that I think is so special and so unique and just such a prayer to be experiencing as a Fan, because you dream of one guy having this type of career when you draft them, right? Like, if you say, oh, this guy's going to be a top 10 player in your franchise history for a team like this, you'd be like, that's the greatest news I've ever heard. To have two of them who are doing it alongside one another. It's like we're living in the Larry Bird, Kevin McHale era of Celtic basketball, which for people like us, we're all around the same age. You know, I never thought that I would experience an era like that in my fandom. I was molded by the Rick Patino era where this team couldn't win over 35 games. You know, we got Paul Pierce, but really he was the only franchise guy and they never won. So it's like to get the two of them at the same timeline, the amount of prolonged success that they've had, you're look, I mean, their legacies are already cemented. But now you're talking about. Once you. If you're fortunate enough to win multiples and you join that Celtics group that won more than one, it's just a rarefied air that is beyond anyone's wildest expectations when they were first drafted, you know, 10 years ago.
- [28:45]
A
Can I get. I just want to. You'll inevitably have take this, you know, somewhere probably a little more relevant to what Greeny is talking about. But I do often I want to go off the beaten path for a quick second because of one thing that you mentioned. I think I brought this up, albeit many moons ago, here on this show, and I never thought it would have been a relevant talking point this year, except where we are in the standings right now. It is plausible not just Boston, but what's happening over in the Western Conference. Do the Jays. The one thing the Jays don't have in terms of, you know, like we. We keep talking about, boy, like this group. You can go into such rarefied air if you win multiple championships, as obviously, you can do something that, you know, Pierce Allen Garnett didn't do. That takes you back to the original Big Three and all of the great teams that came beforehand. But one feather in the cap of the second iteration of the Big Three that all of those previous teams had that this one doesn't. How much does beating the Lakers in a championship impact your legacy as a Celtic? Is that something? And you can only control what you can control, right? Like, have to do their part. It's not like they can impact whether or not the Lakers are. Are able to get through the West. And this year, any year, any year that the Jays are still around. This isn't a 2026, you know, specific talking point, but do they need to? Not need to, because again, you can't control it. But how significant is it that Boston go through LA on, on the way to a title in. In, you know, as a means of just sort of, you know, elevating that already rarefied air that they are in?
- [30:31]
C
I mean, I think it would be a nice footnote, but I think, you know, if they finish with two or more and never play the Lakers, I don't think they would be put under the teams or the duos or the Celtics that ended up beating the Lakers because like you said, you can't. It's not like they can pick their opponent. But I do think should they get the opportunity, it's a series where if they do win it, it only adds to their like legendary careers. But for me it would just be a nice to have as opposed to like, let's say they win three but they never beat the Lakers. I can't say like, oh well, Larry Bird's team beat the Lakers. You never did. Like you don't, you can't enter that room. What gets you in the room is the third championship, regardless of, you know, who it comes to. But again, let's just get a second one before we start dealing with all that. But it would just, I think you're
- [31:23]
A
arguably in the room even with two.
- [31:26]
C
Well, you're in the room of the people who won two. I think, you know, you don't get in. It's like, I think Nick Wright has like the championship club like bit. You get in the door, you, you, you get into the VIP section with a second one. But you don't get into the Boom Boom room without three or more, you know. So I think like that's the, that's like the, you need to earn your way into each level of that.
- [31:51]
B
Great. Fair. Yeah. I mean, just on that, you know, if Boston happens to win another one, whether it's against the Lakers or not, it's going to be against a team that's got an all time player on it. Like you're in the Wemby, Shea and Jokic era and like, I don't know, those guys are all going to be probably top 25 guys of all time. Just throwing it out there. I mean, Wemby, Wemby does stuff at this point where you just like laugh. He's just insane. I, I mean, I think everybody in this podcast holds Nikola Jokic in an incredibly high regard for what he's been able to do. And I think Shay is well on if he wins two, if he goes back to back title defense, right? So he wins the title two years in a row. MVP two years in a row. Finals MVP two years in a row. Like, that's, that's rare air, man. That is not a lot of dudes. Like you're gonna go through an all timer to get there. Whether it's on the Lakers or not. I don't think matters, especially because they already beat Luca, who's probably going to be the main waker for a bit here. They already beat him in the finals once, so you're gonna always have that little feather in your cap. So I guess you can have it that way. But I mean, to Greeny's point, yeah, if you win two, yeah, you're, you're in the, the guys that have won two. But to get to the Bird Mikhail Parish level of.
- [33:11]
C
And to be fair, there aren't too many people that won two, but didn't win three or more. You know what I mean? So it's like, you know, they're in the, it's. If they finish with two, it's like not like they're, I think, what, like Max, maybe Cedric Maxwell, one, two, I think. So you'd be like where he's allowed to go in the club. But the rare air you need, especially when, when you think of Tatum and his standing in franchise history. If, like for him, I think to get into the Hondo Bird conversation, he needs three. Like he doesn't get there with two, but we'll see. I mean he's, he's certainly well on his way. You know, given how he looks right now.
- [33:53]
B
I do want to hop back to the Jalen Brown. Like, what else does he need to do to like level up here? This free throw rate of 35% is bananas. And if you look at his career, 29, 29, 26, 27, 23, 26, 25, 24, 29 to 35, like that's 80 shooting.
- [34:18]
C
So it's like he's getting there and he's converting it.
- [34:21]
A
That's. That's hard for me. Like, getting there is great. Don't get me wrong. I mean, I am, I am a preacher of go to the rim, get to the free throw line. Like, I, I can't tell you how often I've harped on that over the years for, you know, any potential star player. But to get there and deliver you know, like JALEN at, at 80. I know like 80%, you know, for one guy isn't viewed as 80 for another guy. There are some elite, elite free throw shooters that you want to see. Guys at, you know, 87, 88, 90 plus percent. I get all of that. But Jalen at a point, guys like, I mean earlier in his career, like we, we, we wondered if this guy was ever going to be a 75 free throw shooter, let alone 80. So getting there and making it, and
- [35:08]
C
he shot close to 90% for the month of March on high volume. So it's like the 80% sounds good, but when you look closer it's like it's been 90% and above for the last, I don't know, 15, 20 games. And in a couple of these, includes high leverage, end of fourth quarter, clutch time makes, which is really the most important part. It's one thing if you're 10 for 10 in the first half, but then if you miss the ones when you need them, it's like not as great. He's just as automatic in these late game situations, which to me is like the biggest part of his free throw shooting jump that I think you need to put a little pin in for when we get to a playoff game. I mean we've seen him go to the line and need to make three free throws. We've seen him go to the line and go 2 for 2. We've seen him convert and ones. It's just, I don't know what he's changed. I don't know if it was just like a mental block he needed to work through, but it's easily the most welcome part of his leap this season. Given what I've said a 36%. I don't think any Celtic has had a 36% free throw rate in this entire Jay's era.
- [36:19]
B
So actually, because I'm glad you went there because my follow up was going to be Tatum's only been above 35% twice.
- [36:28]
C
Okay. And he has a strip whistle right,
- [36:31]
B
that the championship year where they, he, he was 35 and the year prior he was 40.
- [36:37]
C
Oh.
- [36:38]
B
So if you have, I'm, I'm just gonna, if you have two of these guys that are going to be one on one Mitchmas nightmares and that are going to the free throw line, 30 a game, you know, 40. Like that's, I mean it's gonna be super. Like imagine if there were two shades, like. Right, I would know. I, I mean I love Shay when you're not playing him. Like when you're not playing Shay. He's just so fun to watch when you're playing him, you're just in. You're miserable for the entire duration of the game because he's so good off the dribble. He's so shifty, and he knows how to draw contact whether you like it or not. Like, whatever. Like, I'm very. That's. That is. He's just faster than everybody else. So he's been able to manipulate referees. But, like, if you had two of those guys. I'm not saying that these guys are at the rate that Shea is this season. I don't know. I have to look it up real quick to see what it is. And maybe while you guys. While you guys are responding, I'll look that up. But it's just one of these things. If you have two guys that can create contact and go to the free throw line, whether they're finishing or not, it's valuable. Like, I don't know if you guys caught it last night when.
- [37:40]
C
Oh, my God, I just googled it. You're not gonna believe these numbers.
- [37:45]
B
48. Is it 48.
- [37:46]
C
Okay, so in 22, 23, it was 53%. 23, 23, 24, 43%, 24, 25, 40%. And this year, 48% free throw attempt rate.
- [38:02]
A
It's unbelievable.
- [38:03]
C
And he's doing it with an insane, true shooting, you know, effect. He just doesn't miss a jumper.
- [38:08]
B
Yeah, he went 10 for 12 against the sub.
- [38:11]
C
So, like, that. I don't know if we'll ever see them get, you know, a 53% free throw rate. But, you know, 35, 36 is good enough for me.
- [38:19]
A
Yeah, we've had conversations on our, you know, text thread with our buddy Landman about how, like, just some of the. I'm not saying SGA is Michael Jordan.
- [38:27]
B
Don't.
- [38:27]
A
Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. But some of these statistical things that he is doing during these prime years, last year, this year, he is putting up again, small sample of a couple seasons. This isn't career, but he's putting up numbers that exceed that of Michael Jordan's best play. It's bananas what this guy is doing.
- [38:50]
C
I mean, he's rivaling Steph Curry's unanimous MVP 30 point per game on, you know, 70. You know, just insane shooting. It's like, we haven't seen. That's why I think people miss the mark with SGA a lot because of the baiting and all that. Like, you are witnessing one of the Greatest shot making seasons in the history of the league. And I just think people get annoyed with how they play and they just chalk his production just up to free throws. It's like, no, you are watching an unstoppable offensive force. Even if you take away the ability to draw fouls just from a shot making perspective. It's like SGA and Jokic in the history of the NBA.
- [39:33]
A
Yeah, I'm sure you guys watched the other night too when that. God, who are they playing? The Pistons. Right When. When they were down by. Even without Kate obviously on the other side. And the Thunder were fully staffed. They were down by seven points with you know, four minutes left or something. Came back, tied the game up, Thunder at the ball, closing seconds of regulation. SGA puts up a three drills it, but shockingly got called for an offensive foul in the process and they waved it off. And ultimately Thunder, you know, no harm, no foul, they go on to win it in overtime. But even just that bucket at the buzzer or what looked to be at the buzzer to win the thing as we believed at the time. I mean, this dude is just like Ev said, you hate playing against him, but my God, he's fun to watch.
- [40:21]
B
It's insane. But I don't know if you guys caught this last night. I want to just stick on the free throw thing for a minute. Doris was talking last night about how Paul Pierce told her a long time ago that getting to the free throw line late in the game is how like games are won when games really matter. He's like, when it. She was. I forget the exact story, but she was just talking about how Pierce made it a point that late in games, when games really matter, get in the free throw line and hitting your free throws is how like how clutch guys and, and big, big time games. And if you're gonna have two of those guys who are again playmakers at 6, 10 and 6, 6, like you're just gonna. They're gonna put a lot of teams a lot of binds and so if they can continue to do this stuff like that's. And get to the free throw line at the end of games, give guys rest, hit both free throws, set your defense on the other side. Like what. It's just gonna. They're gonna be really, really, really, really difficult to beat. No question about it.
- [41:14]
C
Yeah.
- [41:17]
A
Well, we're down to six games remaining in the regular season. Again sitting at 51, 25. Three of those, at least as of right now, will be nationally televised games. An NBA TV game, a peacock game And a prime video game starts with at Milwaukee. I don't. This is on, you know, as we sit here, it's tomorrow. I don't know if the early line is out for that game, but given the way that Milwaukee is operating at the moment, Celtics will certainly be double digit favorites. You know, how ugly is it going to be? We'll see. But it's just been generally ugly across the NBA for about a week now where it feels like every night you're getting at least five double digit spreads. The fact that we don't have that tonight is bananas. But again, we got a really short slate. So in Milwaukee, clearly no Giannis Doc is, you know, the, the newly minted, soon to be hall of Famer is probably going to be fired after this year. So they are really, you know, flushing this season down the toilet. You got the Raptors team that is not going away on Easter Sunday. Hornets. I mean pencil in another 40 for Jason Tatum. We know how he likes to play against the Hornets even though this one is, you know, not in Charlotte obviously and it's a Tuesday, not a Monday, but man, a team that continues to just be as hot as about anybody in the NBA and capable even out of that nine or ten seed right now of making a run at the Knicks in what's going to be really the last true challenge of the regular season coming up one week from today. You got a back to back. So Tatum more than likely not going to play in that home game against the Pelicans on the Friday and then a regular season finale against the Magic, a team that is playing for its playoff life and just got Franz Wagner back. So we'll be back with you obviously before the end of the regular season. But just wanted to paint the picture of what is left because of how little is left before the Celtics get themselves a little bit of a break during the play in tournament and reset for the start of the first round. We spent a lot of time guys on the Jays, this team on the whole, what do you need to see? What do you want to see over these last half dozen games out of this team? Obviously building in rest and prioritizing health. You know, looks like the, you know, two seed is all but locked up. You got a two and a half game lead right now on the Knicks, but clearly that head to head could be an important one when that rolls around. What are you looking for here, Greeny? I'll start with you.
- [43:43]
C
Just health. They've answered every question we've had. They've. They've built A statistical profile of a true legitimate title contender. Like, I just. There's nothing that they could show me in these last five games that will alter my perception or that I still need to see from a basketball standpoint. We now know what they are, we know what they're capable of. It really just comes down to health, I would think, with that back to back and then the finale, we probably only have maybe like three or four more games of Tatum left. So I just like to see him get, you know, improve his conditioning, just, you know, be, you know, on this ascension that we're seeing. But as a whole, for the team, it's like, play your young guys, get out of the season unscathed and just, you know, be ready for game one. You know, you have to. You cannot drop this Game one to open the playoffs. Right. You have to, you know, keep this momentum rolling. But I don't know, even the unproven guys, I still feel great about because of the body of work they've shown this entire season. So really, the only thing I'm looking for, you know, I think if they win their next two, you won't really have to worry about the two seed. In terms of the Knicks, You'll. You're up three in the last column, so math is on your side there. It's. It's really just get out healthy, get rested, and, you know, you have as good a shot as any for another championship.
- [45:07]
B
I think mine revolves around a development that happened last night, or should say Wednesday night against Miami, and that's Sam Houser getting his life back together here. He's been kind of.
- [45:18]
A
17.4 will do that for you.
- [45:21]
B
What's up?
- [45:21]
A
17 point quarter will do that for you.
- [45:23]
B
Yeah, I mean, he. I mean, he was ridiculous against Miami, but the, the, the. And he's too good of a shooter to be 38. I'm sorry, like, he's just way too good of a shooter to be at 38 for the year. But like the Shireman development, the Shireman's a different type of dude, but, like, you can easily see the minutes of Hauser going. Shifting more towards Shireman because he does a little bit more on both ends of the floor. I'm not saying Sam isn't great great. Like, Sam's. Sam's a great player, great shooter. That in between stuff starting to figure out. He went to the free throw line a couple times recently, which is wonderful. We love that. And defense better than I think he gets credit for. But, like, I think Baylor is a better. Just. He moves the ball better. He's a little more confident on the deck with it. Can go one on one a little bit better. I think he's a more versatile defender. I think he's a better rebounder than Sam. And I'm starting to see, like, some of the minutes sort of like shade more towards Charman's weight. I'm not saying he hasn't earned them because he's been great this season. I mean, he's been way better than I think anybody expected when the season started he would look like, but like that Hauser, that. Like that. If he's shooting the ball well, I
- [46:36]
C
mean, he's the one who should be next to the Jays in the starting lineup. If he's shooting like this, like, right, that's the space to another level.
- [46:45]
B
He's just, I mean, because he's, you know, Hauser manic, he's automatic. If he's hitting shots, it gets really, really hard to fathom trying to beat that team. And so if he's gonna get back to that normal 42% that he's been since he's been dropped on an NBA floor, then life's gonna be really great. Now if he's not, then you're relying on other guys like a Shireman to come in and give him, you know, a little bit more. Pritchard's been just ridiculous and continuous just to make me laugh every game with the stuff that he can do, but, like, having that, that one more shooter. Because, like, at the end of the day, when they get to some of these better teams later in the playoffs, like, that's the type of guy that's like, man, they. They just. There's just too much shooting. There's too much scoring. They just. They're like, yeah, they have the Jays, but then they got this guy and this guy and this guy hauser, who's hitting 60 of his threes from the corner, like, that's it. It's.
- [47:39]
C
It's. It was a nice reminder that you should never worry about any type of shooting dip. I mean, this is a lifetime 40 shooter on high. And I think if he's feeling healthy and his back is good, this is closer to the version I think he is. As opposed to the guy who we saw miss four or five wide open corner threes against the Thunder, and you're like, I didn't even know Howser was capable of missing that many quality looks. He may never go. He may not go. What was he, five for seven last night or something crazy like that. But nothing in Terms of his makes were like, oh, wow, he never does stuff like this. It was more, this is the Sam Houser we remember and the one that makes them such a devastating force when everybody is playing to their potential.
- [48:25]
A
We did get an update just as we've been sitting here. A an update from Detroit, not a significant one. Cade Cunningham, with that collapse lung, is expected to miss at least one more week. I'm not sure anyone really believed we'd see him by the end of the regular season. It could happen still, but obviously he is expected to be back from the playoffs again. This is a 55 win team that is sitting four games in front of Boston for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Even though, you know, you get into the playoff field and Vegas odds would indicate this, you know, I would personally rank these teams a little bit differently in terms of the hierarchy of the conference. But before we wrap, guys, I want to bring this to the West. We talked about the Thunder and you know, all the success OKC has had and obviously SGA and all of that. There's been a lot of conversation over the last week or two surrounding San Antonio and in particular Wemby. And we've talked about him a little bit on the show, just what a freak of nature he is and the alien and all of these things, but I mean, this dude is basically talking his way into the NB MVP conversation. Obviously it goes back to that, you know, locker room interview that he did with our guy Jared Weiss, who's now covering the spurs, the Athletic and I don't know, reminding people, because it's not like people didn't know, but reminding people how important the defensive element of the game is. And that should be a factor in the mvp. But out there just pleading his case for Most Valuable Player. And I kind of hate that the guy feels like he has to do that, but it's suede odds. You know, SGA was running away with that award. I mean like minus 2000 at a point. And now it's not a pick them, but it's a much more reasonable number if you wanted to, you know, take a look at that. But in terms of the spurs playoff future, I'm just wondering how you guys feel. I think this team is obviously excellent. You know, has owned the Thunder during the regular season. Wemby's a matchup nightmare. You have incredible depth, youth, Fox, Castle, Harper, you name it. Like our guy Luke, I love this team. As for whether San Antonio can come out of the Western Conference though, I just wonder. And look, I'd root for it. Just as a fan, as a spectator, like, they are wildly entertaining to watch, but I wonder if they, early on, midway through a playoff run, are going to run into what great teams that are there for the first time generally run into, you know, the Thunder falling short before they got over the hump and won a title. The Celtics, obviously, what happened against the warriors before ultimately beating the Mavericks. You know, if some of these guys just kind of have to go through something for the first time and experience the postseason for the first time before they really figure it out, or if this spurs team, to you guys, is built like one that doesn't need to have the rough patch, doesn't need to have the learning experience, could actually get in there for the first time and make the run.
- [51:31]
C
I think it just comes down to Wemby, because NBA history is on your side, right? You usually have to get your lumps. And this dates back pretty much in every era of NBA history, right? Like the. The Bull Michael Jordan had to get over. The Celtics, the Pistons, you know, the Isaiah Pistons had to get through, you know, the Bird Celtic. Like, that's just how it tends to happen. I think the one thing that trumps that and makes it possible is how generational your best player is. And I think Wemby is that combination of insane impact on both ends of the floor to where you would think, okay, like, maybe they'll have, you know, shooting struggles. Maybe castle won't shoot 40% from three or four. You know, the. The moment will be big, too big for some of their, you know, ancillary players. But if, at the end of the day, you can just throw it to Wemby and he'll just dunk it without jumping, I think that just. That makes up for whatever cold streak they may, you know, they may go through. But he's the deciding factor. If. If in his first playoff run he shows, okay, he has the normal growing pains, like, they probably won't come out of the west, but if he shows that he's such a level of generational talent that he's like, you know, he's bulletproof to that theory, then they will have as good a shot as anybody, because the playoffs are about matchups at the end of the day, and they match up great with the biggest threat. And I just think it all comes down to Wemby. And that's what's going to be so fascinating, because at every step of his career, he's shown that he is that different level of talent to where normal basketball reasoning may not be able to be applied to him because he's just that much of a two way freak.
- [53:22]
B
Yeah, I mean I think he'll be defended a little differently in the playoffs. I think people are going to try and be overly physical with him as we get there. I'm looking at. They've won 10 in a row. They're two games back of the Thunder. I don't think they'll get the one seed. It's possible, but it is possible. The, the Thunder had the Lakers twice, Denver once, the Clippers, who, you know, I'm not. That's fine. And a pesky Phoenix in the last game of the year. They might actually have to play for that one. San Antonio's at the Clippers, Denver twice, including the end of the year. Philly, Portland and Dallas. I don't think it's gonna happen. I think there'll be one too. But I'm looking at like they only need to tie.
- [54:14]
C
They only need to finish with the same record because they own the tiebreaker. So. Right.
- [54:18]
B
Like if you, if you look at like San Antonio, la, like I'm not sure if LA is going to have the guys to really punish Wendy the way they like they'd want to, but they got one seed and end up playing Denver. I can maybe like maybe the, you know, the combination of Jokic and, and, and, and Aaron Gordon just, just beating the crap out of him for seven games might do it. I mean, I don't know. There's certainly, it's certainly possible they make a run. I just, I think with all the great players in the west and I, I just think with the experience those guys have, I think it'll be really hard for going to come out of the Western Conference.
- [54:54]
C
It's. It's kind of like the Celtics season. Right. It's mostly just based in the unknown. Like when we were heading into the season, it was hard to know what the Celtics would be like because we had just never seen it before. I think a lot of people were, you know, even though the Thunder made. Had lost in the second round prior, a lot of team people were like, ah, they're still a little young. You know, they have to go through it first. But SGA was just that good and they were that historically dominant where their youth and inexperience didn't really matter. I think part of like that's how I view Wemby and this and the spurs young core is like they may be able to do it, but we just have to see what it looks like. But they fit the statistical profile of a team that is historically dominant. And more often than not, I think people try to look for more reasons why they can't do it than what's staring at you in the face. The same way people doubted what the Celtics were doing in 24 and they were doubting what the Thunder were doing last year with their historic net rating. Sometimes what you see is just what it is and those teams tend to win.
- [55:59]
A
Listen, I think even almost two full years removed, there are people still out there doubting what the Celtics did two years ago. So hey there, there are just the haters out there, as people like to say. So again, Celtics back at it. It's a Friday, Sunday, more than likely Tuesday with that Horace game before we are back with you coming up here May and we'll see. Maybe we'll come at you on the Wednesday in between before the trip to New York. Maybe we wait out the next game and then reset after the next four heading into the stretch around the final two of the regular season. Either way, you can count on us being back with you. We want to thank our good friends at Prize Picks for their participation here with this program. Go out Flex Play. Hopefully you will cash the full boat there. Ev I I want to see you bring it home and I want people to tail that play and get on it with you and hopefully make some Money. And the CLS All Access page on YouTube is where you can find Celtics Beat a number of other great Celtics podcast loads of green goggled glasses. Celtics content is available for you. You can't get enough of it and the audio side rate Review subscribe to Celtics Beat wherever you get your podcast. Greeny, Always a treat man, Always a pleasure and I always just enjoy the roller coaster ride that is following your notifications on Twitter throughout live Celtics games as I always like to tell you.
- [57:21]
B
So thank you.
- [57:21]
C
A little bit more positive as of late, I would say a little bit more.
- [57:25]
A
Yeah, I mean there'll be, you know, if there's a moment I'm tied up, I'm out of the dinner or whatever, you know, I'm putting the kids to bed that I I don't have the Celtics actively on the screen in front of me. It's just refreshing to know that I can tell exactly how a game is going based on following your Twitter feed.
- [57:40]
C
Yeah, I mean listen, it's a blessing and a curse. That's why I never feel bad when people are like, oh, I had to mute you. It's like, I get it. It's just my rapid delusional thoughts in real time.
- [57:49]
A
I would never.
- [57:50]
C
You're interested in our guy.
- [57:53]
A
Dan Greenberg, Evan Valenti, I'm Adam Kaufman. Thanks, everyone, for being with us here on this edition of Celtics Beat. We'll talk to you again soon before the music comes back. One idea. Between work and family, who has time for long sports shows? TikTok gives you quick updates and highlights in seconds. Easy to watch, easy to keep up. Download TikTok now.