← Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
The Athletic's Es Baraheni Joins the Show to Explore the Celtics Evolving Identity
00:57:31
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- [00:00]
Will
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- [00:15]
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S. Barini
This is Mike Gorman, and you're listening
- [00:47]
Will
to Green with Envy with Will and Greg. All right, everybody. Celtics are rolling and, you know, every once a while we got to get an outside perspective on what's happening here. So we've called in one of the very best in the business. Our good friend S. Barini from the Athletic is here, so we're not going to waste any more time. You guys know the deal. This is Green with Envy. Let's lock in. What up, what up, what up? Welcome into another edition of Greenwood Envy. As always, this is your boy, Will. We're checking in. Joining me as he does each and every time, my best friend, co host, and the coach of our podcast, one and only Greg. Monica's Greg. I don't know if he's. Do you think this guy that we have it on today, you think he's our number one guest or he's our favorite guest? I'm gonna make you power rank him right now in front of him.
- [01:50]
Greg
Ah, man. I mean, he's definitely top three, no doubt. I would have to, like, really sit down to see if he's actually like our all time favorite guest, but it's pretty close, man. It's pretty damn close. He's one of the best in the business, as you said. And it's actually my birthday as we're recording it, and it's like, great birthday present to me. We get to sit down with the one and only Asparini.
- [02:15]
S. Barini
What up?
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Will
Number three of the power rankings. Yeah.
- [02:18]
S. Barini
Yeah. Who's two in one, bro?
- [02:21]
Will
Who's two in one? I just gotta.
- [02:23]
Greg
I just gotta keep it real, bro. We've had some. We've had some pretty great guests, I would say. You know what? Amina Smith, who's now the. Who's now the anchor woman at at Sports center, we haven't had her on in a few years, but she was always a blast to hang out with similar vibes. So I would say you guys are probably top two. I don't know who I would put in as in the.
- [02:43]
Will
I think Ceruti might be in there as well. Yeah, that's probably our. Our three and then Drew Car and then our guy Drew on the broadcast. That's probably like the. The top four. Somebody's floating in there. But I respect to have you on here today. If you guys aren't up with S's work, the athletic NBA Daily make sure that's a spot that you guys are going to get your NBA coverage. How you been, man? I'm happy to have you on here, man. Like Greg said, this is a little birthday present for Greg. We're recording this for the audience real quick here on a Monday morning. So we're recording this in advance of the Celtics Tuesday Wednesday games. So if unless something crazy happens in that, you probably, you aren't going to hear any thoughts on that because we, well, we can't predict the future, so we're not going to talk about those particular games today, but we are going to talk about all things Celtics and S. Man, great to have you here.
- [03:27]
S. Barini
Yeah, I always appreciate you guys having me on. Thank you very much. I was actually just looking at the schedule. I'm like, are the Raptors playing the Celtics anytime soon? And they don't play until April, so I'll see you guys again for April. I imagine is. Is the vibe we're going with. But yeah, it's always good to chat and talk hoops. And the Celtics team has obviously been a fascination of mine, but also of the rest of the NBA. You know, this team that's like punching above weight and you know, Tatum might be coming back and I know you guys must be excited for that. And the Amica Insurance commercial that he posted and all that, it's just, it's. It's very exciting time for. To be a Boston Celtics fan because I imagine for you guys, like this season is. Has panned out better than you guys could have expected, right?
- [04:16]
Will
I mean, we started. But for peel back the. The layers here, we were starting to have a great podcast conversation before the podcast. And so we were like, hold on, hold up. We're wasting all of our good stuff here. And this is kind of where we started and you know, Greg and I were explaining to s that this isn't the best team that we've covered in the, the five or so years that, that we've had this podcast. But I think it is the most fun. And Greg, you've said this several times. I'll let you jump in here that this is the most fun you've had watching the Celtics since those Isaiah Thomas teams.
- [04:45]
Greg
Well, it's the first season that Joe Missoula has really been able to like, coach a team that didn't have like, personalities that he had to worry about. Right. It's just like all these guys that are bought into what he's doing, people that have been in the system. He's got young guys that he can really imprint his philosophy upon, like the Ugo Gonzalez is, the Jordan Walshes, the Baylor Shiremans, all these like, unsung guys nationally that have been the storylines behind the scenes all season for the Celtics. And I think it really comes down to Joe Missoula, his philosophy, his mentality, and the fact that he's not worried about playing Al Horford too many minutes. He's not worried about Drew Holiday and whether or not he's like empowering him enough on both sides of the ball. He's just got guys that he's willing to throw out there for however many minutes and they can play 30 minutes one night and not play for a week for the, the following three games. And everybody's bought in, Everybody's bought it in the system. And s did a really good job with that video that you alluded to kind of breaking down. Why the Celtics offense, despite the talent glut, is actually been able to maintain one of the best offenses in the game.
- [05:55]
S. Barini
Yeah, it's, it's crazy to me. And, and like looking at, to your point about Missoula being able to throw his kind of character onto this team, it's like the results have almost been the same for this group in terms of, hey, we are going to prioritize three point attempts. We're going to prioritize not turning the ball over. We're going to, going to crash the offensive glass, which they've done better as of late too. But it's, it's like we are also going to work around what our group is best at. And you know, you saw it last night with Peyton Pritchard against Lakers, like, he could get into his spots at will. And truth be, like, the Lakers defense is awful. You know, like not a great example for that. But it's just, it's one of those moments where you see a guy like him is so good at going one on one, getting into that mid range area, cooking in that mid range area. The same thing applies to Jalen Brown, who didn't necessarily have like that efficient of a night, but still got to 32 points. He just. There is a, a motive to what they want to achieve on every, any given night. And it's like as long as that objective is there, you can sort of plug and play guys around them to make it work. Which I think is, I think it's what every team wants to aspire to. Like you watch OKC earlier on Sunday. It was, you know, no sga, no Jalen Williams, no AJ Mitchell, no Alex Caruso. And yet like their defensive nucleus was still exactly how you'd expect it would be because it's, it's a tried and true philosophy of like, hey, we're going to force turnovers, we're going to be like hounding the ball. We're going to make sure that guys can't get to the rim. And when they get to the rim, they're introduced to Chet Holmgren, who's one of the best rim protectors in the NBA. Like, there's just a blueprint there for them to be able to replicate that constantly. And I think the Celtics have gotten to that point too, not just this season, but, you know, over the course of Missoula's time as head coach. So it's just, it's cool to watch the evolution because as you said, they don't have the like the crazy offensive talent maybe that they had in past years, but they're still doing the exact same thing that they have been able to over the past couple years.
- [08:11]
Will
I think it's interesting, you know, what you talked about, like, kind of like the culture and identity of a team and really have an organization. And I think you look at the top of the NBA standings, you see the Celtics, you mentioned the Thunder, the Spurs kind of fit this mold. The Nuggets revolve around Jokic. That is kind of the system, but it's a pretty effective system. And you know, and then the team I look at here is like the Pistons. I think they're a team that has jumped into this because of. Greg has said this a bunch of times on our show. They have a star and they have an identity and that's part of what is kind of leading to their success. And so I, I think when you look at the top of the NBA, it's just interesting to look at Those are kind of the building blocks that this season, to a degree, like that's the narrative of the season that I don't think probably is getting a lot of attention. But it's like, hey, if you have an identity and an ecosystem and a culture, those are your five, six, you know, NBA true contenders that you're kind of looking at right there. And so, you know, when we look at just the whole season, I think that's an interesting plot line that probably needs a little bit more attention is just like as teams are looking to figure out how to build and we deal with tanking and all this, is it more about tank or is it more about just finding your culture and finding your identity?
- [09:20]
S. Barini
Greg, I'm curious what you think about, like, how you've seen this group evolve over the years and I guess like your expectations heading into the season knowing that there was one. Like the last couple of years the offense had been so predicated on, hey, Tatum and Brown are going to hunt mismatches, right? They're going to work in like that mid post, high post area, draw a double, create a rotation, and then boom, boom, boom, they end up getting a three or a drive out of it. But now that philosophy has sort of changed. And I'm curious, did you see that coming? Did you feel like that was something they would have adapted or change or out of nowhere?
- [10:01]
Greg
I mean, a little bit, you know, I, I'm a big believer in the Celtics organization being ahead of trends or at least keeping up with the trends in the league. And for the past couple of years, like the teams that have stood out, you already alluded to the OKC Thunder, but also the Pacers. I think the Celtics learned so much from playing against the Pacers in the playoffs and seeing them have the success that they had last season, getting all the way to Game 7 in the NBA Finals against those aforementioned Thunder. You know, so when you think about the way that the Celtics run their offense, they don't have the Tyrese Halliburton head of the snake who's able to, you know, run a dynamic pick and roll 40 possessions a game. But they do have the pace and the tempo to what they do. And everybody cuts hard, everybody sprints into screens, everybody is willing to crash the glass, everybody's willing to take the open shot and people are willing to pass up open shots at the rim to kick out to open three point shooters. I don't know if you saw about a week ago, right before the break, Hugo Gonzalez had this play where he, he drove to the rim. He had a guy open in the corner. He ended up, I think he ended up getting fouled or the ball went out of bounds, but he didn't make the extra pass to the corner and Missoula pulled him out of the game. He was just like, dude, like that is not the philosophy that we have on this team. Like you're going up one on two at the rim when you have a guy wide open in the corner. Like, just trust the system, man, and the system is going to reward you. I didn't necessarily see the, the strategy because as much as I know the game, I'm not as smart as Joe Missoula and not an NBA coach. But like the way that they're doing it I think has been something that I, I was anticipating. Yes.
- [11:51]
S. Barini
Yeah, that's fair. I, it, it's, that's actually something really interesting you brought up with the Pacers offense because a lot of the actions the Celtics run now, they're sort of disguising movement too. So like if you think about ideal Indiana Pacers basketball, it's like that pitch ahead action where Halliburton will pitch the ball to a big and then he'll run through a screen, whether it be a dribble handoff with that big or he'll end up running a pick and roll with a different big. Like they, they kind of mask a bunch of different screening actions above the break to give him a bunch of playmaking options. And I actually think the Celtics do something very similar here now because they, they run more pick and roll now than they did last year. And it's not by much. It's only like a few more possessions of pick and roll. But overall you see them doing similar things with Derrick White and Kada and Peyton Pritchard and Brown and K especially like the, the handoff actions, the pitch actions that they do with him obviously like the, whoever is defending him is like camped out in the paint and so they weaponize that, right? They're, they're saying, hey, if you're going to do that. We also have these three great pull up shooters that are going to use that extra daylight to knock down the shot. So I just, I love the way they blend some of the concepts to your point about the Pacers offense because in the middle of an action they'll have like, I don't know, Derrick White popping out to the wing and have Jalen Brown at the same time driving the ball. And there's this sort of seamlessness to their offense that just, it feels like it was borrowed a little bit from Indiana Pacers basketball. And also because I know Joe Missoula is a big soccer guy.
- [13:36]
Greg
Like, it.
- [13:37]
S. Barini
It actually does kind of remind me of some of the Tiki Tacka, like, soccer elements that you can see in, like, some of the best premier league teams.
- [13:46]
Greg
So, yeah, there's. There's this one action that they run all the time, right. Where they end up having somebody come off the flare screen that Kada sets and they just like, kind of throw the ball over the top. And what's really interesting is I. I've been looking at that action. I don't know how many times they run in a game. I feel like they run it like 15 times a game. But one of the things that they've started to do is that guy who's setting the. Who's getting the flare screen as he's heading off to the opposite wing. He's now going and setting a down screen. Right. Him and Keda will. So say it's Derek White and, I don't know, Peyton Pritchard's in the corner. Derrick White will continue. The ball won't go to Derrick White on the. Yeah, double down screen or they'll end up giving the ball to Kada and it turns into like a zoom action. You know, there's like all these little things that they're running off of it that, that. I think there's a lot more meat on the bone, especially for what they could potentially pull off as you start thinking about the playoffs and teams preparing for specific actions. And the Celtics, what are they going to be able to do? Kind of preparing for those preparations.
- [14:52]
S. Barini
Yeah.
- [14:55]
Greg
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- [15:07]
Will
today to check your eligibility restrictions apply. So let me ask you this because your, Your video that you put out, how the Celtics outsmarted the NBA, which everybody should go check out, it's on the athletic NBA daily page, which, by the way, man, you're. You're. Your. Your whole beard looks great today. Your mustache in that video. Holy shit, dude, it is popping. It's. I've got it pulled up on my screen right now. So the whole time you've been talking, I'm like partially looking at the mustache. It's just sucking me in.
- [15:35]
S. Barini
Wait, so let me ask you a question, because I was actually having conversations with someone yesterday about this because I'm. I'm hopefully I'm trying to shoot a short film in the next couple months, and the goal is to have the mustache for the short film.
- [15:49]
Greg
Right.
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S. Barini
So I'm like, I'm beta.
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Will
That was a trial run.
- [15:52]
Greg
Yeah.
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S. Barini
Ye. I'm beta ing it out to see what a soft launch to see what people think. And it's so hit or miss for some people. You know, my wife loves the mustache, right? Like, she's like, bring the mustache back. But then some of my friends will be like, that is a dirty stash. It's ugly.
- [16:08]
Greg
It's.
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S. Barini
It's terrible. And I'm like, man, I can't get a read on whether people like this mustache or not, so. And also, it's hard to maintain because my beard.
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Will
Yeah.
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S. Barini
Very quickly. And it's just like, okay. There's no.
- [16:20]
Will
I can't lie. When I saw you this morning, I was a little disappointed because I was expecting kind of the stash to pop the way it is. The video is only a couple days old. It's two days ago. So you're right. Your beard does. I mean, my beard does the same thing. If I were were to do that. What I will tell you here as a beard connoisseur, and we'll get back into basketball here in a second.
- [16:36]
S. Barini
Yeah.
- [16:36]
Will
Is.
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S. Barini
Greg, you're a mustache connoisseur. You got to teach me your.
- [16:39]
Will
That's true. Greg's.
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Greg
Greg's got it.
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Will
Greg's got it going right now, too. I would. I would say, number one, your wife likes it. That's. That's the ultimate. And number two, I think it's all about the confidence. I think if you rock the confidence in it, then you own it. It's money. Greg, any. Any other mustache thoughts here?
- [16:54]
Greg
Oh, man.
- [16:56]
S. Barini
Talk to me about the maintenance of the mustache, man. It all nice and tailored like, you got it, bro.
- [17:02]
Greg
I mean, I. I spent some extra time this weekend making sure that everything was even. And, you know, this. This natural. Some people just, like, don't grow hair right here. I just like the look, so I. I end up shaving that.
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Will
And by the way, I meant to tell you this, Greg, I'm very impressed with that because I. I mean, I always just have a full beard now, but back in the day, I used to try to, like, create that line. And, man, if you don't have that right. And it's 60. 40.
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S. Barini
Yeah.
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Will
Even 55. 45. Like, you look. You look like a disaster.
- [17:31]
S. Barini
That's.
- [17:31]
Will
So I've been very impressed that you've been. You've been Nailing the median here or whatever we want to call it.
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S. Barini
You're.
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Will
You're doing great with that part of it.
- [17:38]
Greg
Hey, I did. I totally didn't expect these compliments coming my way in this podcast, so I'm super happy. But I'm interested in as. Why don't they just have. You have a fake musc. Mustache for the film? Like, why do you got to grow it out?
- [17:49]
S. Barini
Well, because I can grow a real mustache. You know what I mean? It's like, when you can. When you can do it, why not just.
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Will
What do you want them to have an AI mustache next, Greg, Is that your next suggestion?
- [17:59]
Greg
Well, I don't. I don't know what kind of budget they're working with, but, you know, like, yeah, some short films will have a nice wig department. Facial hair department.
- [18:07]
S. Barini
That's true. Yeah. I was. I was actually thinking. And this is. This is a whole nother thing, because I'm trying to convince my. My wife about this too, but I wanted to go bald plus mustache for the film, but she's like, no, you can't. You can't. There's,
- [18:22]
Will
as I will say, as a member of the B. Of the Derrick White. Bald. Bald in. In beard club here. Hold on to it while you got it. Hold on.
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S. Barini
Okay, I got you.
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Will
All right, let's get. Let's get back to basketball here. Where I was going with this originally, before we got. We got sidetracked, is, you know, in this video, you're talking about some. Some of the stuff we've already touched on, right? Joe Missoula and. And his approach here. And so, you know, from the outside, I'm always curious to know what people think of Joe Missoula for a couple reasons. One, he's extremely quirky and just a very, you know, interesting, eccentric dude, whatever you know, adjective you want to. You want to put in there. But the other part that I think is really interesting is going into this year, he was the guy that I kind of had my eye on the most above all else, because a lot of the things were like, we'll see if Kada can play or not. We'll see if, you know, Jalen Brown's up to the task. But, like, Missoula and Greg and I talked about this a few episodes ago before we get to the Tatum injury in that Nick series. I thought he was pretty bad. That, like, I thought it was probably the lowest point I felt about Joe as a head coach. And some of that was the reasons Greg mentioned. He's trying to balance is Porzingis healthy, holiday's health, or if it's getting like there's a lot of stuff. But at the end of the day, I thought he coached pretty poorly in that series. So coming into this year, I was like, all right, what's this gonna look like? Because he's never had to coach a team that didn't have top 2, 3, 4 talent in the league. And now we're seeing what he's doing this year and in, you know, going in, I came in skeptical. And so it took a little bit for me to get over a few things, but there's no doubt he's probably the coach of the year right now, or at least in that top two, whatever you want to want to consider it. But I'm curious as to your overall perspective on Joe Missoula. And as we start to get closer to the postseason, coaching becomes all that much more important when you can end up in a series against some of these other top coaches. How do you think he stacks up across the league?
- [20:06]
S. Barini
Yeah, I mean, I, I think one of the, like obviously he has his predisposition to sort sort of the different concepts that he likes, right. Which is obviously gaming the possession battle, which is something that they've done for years now. And again that comes back to three point attempts and turnovers and offensive rebounds. But I, I think the mark of a really true, like good coach, an elite coach in the NBA is understanding what's on your roster and what you have to work with. Right. Like not trying to fit a square peg through a round hole in terms of the system or the philosophy that you have. And this kind of goes to the point I was mentioning earlier, but like adapting the system to run more and shoot more mid range shots is something that for a coach that is so keen on efficiency and getting the most out of your offense to lean more into your mid range frequency, I think is a testament to his ability to be flexible, you know, and to like bend the identity to what guys are good at in Jalen Brown and Derrick White and obviously Peyton Pritchard. So I think that's the thing that has impressed me the most. Like the, the stat that popped out to me out of all of the numbers, truthfully, was the fact that they were 29th in mid range frequency for the first three seasons under Missoula, and then now they're, I can't remember exactly what it was, but they're like top three or four in the league in terms of mid range frequency. They take the most mid range jump shots in the NBA. And it's funny because they don't have Jason Tatum, who I think over the last few years has always been like, oh, he settles for the mid range jump shot. He's, why is he doing this fade away or whatever. They don't even have that guy who does that for them. That's the part that's the most intriguing to me is like understanding that element and leaning into it more. But yeah, to get your thoughts too, because like, as much as I can go in and watch, you know, like 10 straight games of the Celtics and get a feel for what they're doing, go through the numbers and sift through everything, like, you guys watch this team on a daily basis. You guys are covering them thoroughly and watching them day to day. This is something that I admit to myself all the time. Watching them day to day is so much more different than me coming in as an objective kind of like just jumping into something very, very different. So I'm curious to get what your takes are on this whole thing too.
- [22:33]
Greg
Well, I think the mid range, the mid range theory here is the. The Celtics previously didn't even like attempt to get to the rim. And the fact that they're getting into the mid range is at least like another level of shot profile that they didn't have in the past. Whereas before it was just like three pointer after three pointer with like just passing the ball around the perimeter, you know, which was always, always difficult. But once you start threatening the paint and going into that mid range, there are opportunities that open up just because the defense has to now turn their attention to the middle of the court versus just like playing out on the perimeter. So that was the first thing that kind of popped into my mind as you were, as you were talking there. But I think Peyton Pritchard, the, his ability to do as I call it, the Jalen Brunson impression, playing off of two feet, getting into the paint, reverse pivoting, fade aways, all the stuff that you saw last night against the Lakers. It's just this other level of trust and empowerment into Peyton Pritchard, into Derrick White. That just hasn't been the case because the offense had been so Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown heavy. Now it's just Jalen Brown heavy right where he's taking 28 field goals a night. But there are also other guys that are getting the opportunity to cook. And Jalen Brown will mentioned this on the pod last night. Jalen Brown, when he sees one of those guys have it going, he's not going to be like, you know, it's a national TV game. This is my moment. And he's like, pay Pritchard, do your thing, man. Like, we, we need you. I believe in you. And he empowers his teammates. When he had some comments after the game about like, his leadership style and the way that he's like, kind of brought the guys with him and also Joe Missoula allowing Jalen Brown to be that leader and allowing guys like Peyton Pritchard to, to do their thing in the mid range and, you know, let all the work that these NBA guys do behind the scenes that they never get to show in an NBA game because they're never given the opportunity. Now he's like, Peyton Pritchard, like, like the last decade of work, it's culminating right now. Go ahead, show off.
- [24:41]
Will
Yeah, it's. It's been fascinating to watch, man, because like I said, I came in a little bit skeptical on what the season was going to look like for Joe Missoula as a coach. Because I think you made the point right s of you got a coach to the team that you have, right? Like you, like, you can have a philosophy that's great, but if you don't have the team that matches that philosophy, you got to adjust it in some way. And Joe's done a pretty exceptional job of doing that. And one of the things that he has stuck to and held every single person on the team, including Jalen Brown, who's. If you do not play hard, you will sit. And so that's, I think, one of the most important things. We saw it not as it happens a lot, but there has been a couple times where JB just is having a night where he's making lazy turnovers or, you know, something's not right, and he'll just, he'll just pull Jalen Brown, be like, cool, we'll go with these other five guys. We're gonna work their asses off. And you know, I told you before we started recording here, you know, we were going through that, you know, middle of the season lull after the All Star game. And I was. Sellers are on their west coast trip right now. So it's a little bit later. Even though we're in central time, it's still 9 o', clock, 10 o' clock starts. I'm like kind of, all right, it's the first game back. I gotta watch the Celtics warriors like, you know, Steph Curry a little bit less juice than what it usually has. And as soon as those guys hit my screen just like injected into the veins. It is. It is like 9:30 and I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm like, let's go. This team's diving on the floor, they're full court pressuring. It's stuff you just don't see. And that all stems, you know, from Missoula. And so Missoula, I think, just deserves a ton of credit it for this season. I've been crazy impressed. And I think one of the stats that's. It's not even really a stat, it's just. Just a fact is he's four years into this and he's still the youngest coach in the NBA. So he's been the youngest coach in the NBA four.
- [26:17]
S. Barini
That's crazy.
- [26:18]
Will
Years running. And every time they say that on a broadcast, it still reminds me. I think he's the same age as Greg and I. He's like 37 years old. So he's the same age as us. And this guy's in his fourth year here and you know, has the. I forget if their first or second NBA right now in offensive rating. And like you said, obviously no Tatum on top of that, Derrick White has been shooting the ball horribly most of the season. And so if you were thinking about this before the season and it's like, oh, hey, Derrick White's gonna shoot under 40% and you guys are going to have the second best offense, you'd say, get the hell out of here. Like, how. How is that even possible without Derrick White's gonna have to turn into Steph Curry. If we're gonna have the second best offense, like, there's gonna have to be some of that. And so Missoula is really kind of galvanized this team around all of his beliefs. And I think that leads to this next point that I want to get your thoughts on here is there's the Tatum come back. So there's different thoughts and you know, there's local media doing their. And there's. There's actual educated thoughts that have come in as to like, hey, how could this look? Because this isn't a little piece that you're putting back. This is the piece that you're inserting back in your first team all NBA top five guy. So I'm curious, you know, and this is all hypothetical at this point, but if Tatum is to return with the way this team has slightly adjusted their style of play, it's not entirely different. And I think getting Vuch back, back as far as Tatum coming back is a transition that actually helps, as we pointed out, because it's like, oh, it's kind of Porzingis light, which he's used to playing with. So I'm curious, what do you think, the return of Jason Tatum, do you think it would. Obviously, I think it's gonna be helpful, so I don't want to say that, but do you think. How do you think it would look or would mesh with this current team?
- [27:54]
S. Barini
First of all, it was hilarious to see Joe Missoula in that press conference like that. That's one of the funniest clips that I think I've seen this year where a guy is trying to withhold information as much as he humanly can, but he just. He didn't have a response to the question, so he was just like, I'm gonna pretend the question didn't exist.
- [28:16]
Greg
I'm gonna. He's so. He's so funny like that, because typically he has, like, really quick and witty and.
- [28:23]
S. Barini
Yeah, yeah.
- [28:24]
Greg
But in that, he was like, I kind of dug myself into this position by answering the first question, so I can't say anything. I'm just gonna. I'm just gonna pretend like you don't exist.
- [28:34]
Will
It was literally like. Like a. One of those. Like, he just, like, turns away from the camera.
- [28:38]
S. Barini
Yeah, exactly.
- [28:39]
Will
Just nothing else. All right, let's keep going here.
- [28:41]
S. Barini
That was incredible. So I think. I think that is a great indication as to whether Tatum will be back this season. It feels like he's going to be back. I know a lot of Celtics fans are excited for that Sixers game that's going to come up in like a week or so. Yeah. Which is. Yeah. Which is slated for, you know, potentially his comeback. We'll see. But I think ultimately, you know, to be fair to Tatum, I think it would be crazy to expect him to be first team, all NBA MVP voting type of Jason Tatum off the. Off the rip, you know, But I. I look at some of the players on this roster in a Jordan Walsh, in a. Hugo Gonzalez, in a Baylor Shireman, and like, the wing position for this team outside of their star creators. And I wonder if Tatum could be this, like, like, hyper role player that can come in and give you at least to start, you know, 20, 20ish minutes a night and play in that role, but do it in obviously an elite way and a guy who's played all NBA basketball for the majority of his career, like, just give you more efficient hoops at that position. Even though I've. And, like, maybe we can talk about this later, but I. I've been really impressed with Hugo Gonzalez, I really like what he provides. Like, that's an awesome draft pick for you. Jordan Walsh's development has been awesome. Shireman can come in and hit a shot. So like those guys have been, I feel like almost just as important to the philosophy of this team and the identity of this theme as, as like the top stars. But if Tatum can come in and give you like 20, 25 minutes a night of just like maximized role player and eventually like, if you get to the playoffs and he's starting to feel himself, then you have a change up, right? If we go back to like baseball or like have a pitch that you can kind of morph your identity to, which is when Jalen Brown is off the floor, when Peyton Pritchard is off the floor, you have this like ISO mismatch hunting type of player that can go out and get a bucket too. And that's probably the best way for this season's team. Now next year you're probably going to have to more for your identity a bit and shift towards prioritizing Tatum Moore. But. And that opens up its own questions. But for this year, it's like, hey, how do we prioritize what we have with this group group and incorporate this player in a way that doesn't break from the system that we've developed this season? It's hard. I think it's the best. You know, it's a great challenge for Missoula 60 games into the year. But I don't think like Tatum is the type of player that's going to come in and be like, all right, time for 20 isolation possessions. Move over. You know, like, I think he will be willing to buy into the system. I think it's important that to start his career, Tatum kind of had to play that role player mode. You guys mentioned that those Isaiah Thomas games and, and just playing and being a part of a winning team, but not necessarily being the guy like he, he knows what that takes, right? That's what his career was to start and then he morphed into that star that we've seen. So like, I think he'll fit in pretty seamlessly. I think he'll be okay playing that role that we all expect. But yeah, yeah. I'm curious to get your thoughts.
- [31:57]
Greg
So his, his rookie year was actually Kyrie's first year, so he never actually crossed.
- [32:00]
S. Barini
Yeah, sorry, sorry. That's what I was thinking of. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [32:03]
Will
He was on the IP team.
- [32:05]
Greg
Yeah. Jalen was with I T, but I think with. With Tatum, you know, that rookie Year he was shooting the ball out of the corner a lot. He was playing off of Kyrie. And I, I do think that there is a level of efficiency that Jason Tatum can, can realize as a more off ball threat and as a shooter versus the guy that needs to get into his, you know, his bag and dribble five, five times, step back into a three. Like, that's the stuff that I'm not looking forward to. Like, I don't want to see Jason Tatum Chuck 11 three pointers a game. Like, that's not where this offense is trending. That's not where this team is trending. I think if Tatum's shooting seven three pointers a game and four of those are catch and shoot threes and three of those are like, hey, Tatum, like, do your thing. You need to, you know, you need to find a rhythm. Him and he's talked a lot about that in the past. He's like, the reason I shoot so many of those shots is because they open up other things for my game and they help him find his rhythm. So with him coming in as a role player, which I don't know if it's gonna happen, but I do, I do. Like, the theory is, is he able to adjust just like his mentality of being this more fluid player and kind of getting to his spots and needing to be in his rhythm rhythm versus someone who just like figures out what the rhythm of the game is each and every time and is able to insert himself into that rhythm. So I don't know if he's going to be able to do it. I think he's capable of being like a great, you know, weak side rebounder, corner crasher. He's going to be able to take some of the minutes at the 5. Vuchevic has been okay with the Celtics so far. You see the, you see the piece, but he's definitely a few years past his prime
- [33:45]
Will
there.
- [33:46]
Greg
There are some lineups that are just fascinating with Tatum at the five that you can go to because the Celtics have those dogs like Hugo Gonzalez that you don't want to relegate to the bench. You want to continue to, to see them grow and to add the spark. Like, it's already hard enough that Luca Garza, who's having the best season of his life, is now on the bench and he doesn't play anymore. And there is like a little element of Luca Garza that we miss on a game to game. Like last night against the Lakers. Did Vuch really do anything? Not really.
- [34:14]
S. Barini
Like, maybe, honestly, he was Invisible to me, truthfully.
- [34:18]
Greg
Yeah, let's talk about that, man.
- [34:20]
Will
Well, that's one of those games last night, Greg, where I was thinking with Tatum, because last night when Kada was out there, you felt kata, but then when Gooch was out there. Right. You didn't feel it. And the Lakers, I think Jackson Hayes got hurt early in the game and so he left. And so basically they had eight. And then they just kind of went to like their small ball wing lineup where it's like whether you want to call Ruby or LeBron, the five, whatever, or Jared Vanderbilt, you insert whoever's out there. And it's like I was thinking last night, like, if Tatum's back, this is interesting that you could just counter with. And Missoula did this a lot early in the season s and it had very mixed results where he just went no centers and went five ways.
- [34:52]
S. Barini
Yeah, I remember that against the Raptors, I think a little bit.
- [34:56]
Will
Yeah, it was early. Yeah, I think there was a. Josh
- [34:58]
Greg
Mina was getting minutes at the 5.
- [35:00]
Will
Yeah, yeah, right. And so it had like pretty good results offensively. Pretty horrible results. Defensively is. Is what it broke down to. And really since Lucas kind of found his way back into the lineup before the Vuch trade, he kind of went away from. From utilizing that lineup. But with Tatum, you can bring that back and it changes the entire dynamic for multiple reasons.
- [35:19]
S. Barini
Right.
- [35:19]
Will
Aside from even just the offensive side of the ball, which was doing well. It's like defensively you now just have. I mean, the Celtics were just really small and they look at all their wings. They have all these great wings that are good rebounders, hustle. But like Jalen's the biggest one out of them. It may be like 6, 6, 6, 7. And so now with Tatum, you have a 610 guy. You have this different length. You have just a higher level defender. Tatum's the best rebounder. When as soon as Tatum comes back, he's the best rebounder founder on the team, like that automatically is something that. That changes it. So I think that was something last night I was thinking about where I was like, man, if Tatum comes back, I'm really against the all wing lineup right now. But if you bring it back and you have Tatum, I think there's a lot of bones there that of a really, really interesting lineup that we haven't seen from this team yet.
- [36:03]
S. Barini
Yeah, that's super interesting. I also think of it like as. As matching up against some of the teams in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Like the Knicks struggle when teams go small, that's just a matter of fact. And, and you know, I think especially Carl Anthony Towns, he struggles when there's a like smaller wing type defender on him. And Tatum isn't necessarily smaller. Like he's basically about the same size as him. But that's sort of the prototype of what Cat struggles against. Right. So if you, you think about matching up against that team, you might have an advantage going smaller. And of course we know how Missoula likes to get Mitchell Robinson off the floor with the hack of Mitch stuff that he does. So like, I think that part of it is intriguing to me is how they can again be a little bit more versatile come postseason time to try and maximize their potential here against some of the other Eastern Conference playoff teams. I don't know how that would necessarily work against Detroit or Cleveland, who are obviously bigger teams. I think there's also the aspect of like they can force those teams to play smaller by shooting. And that five out line lineup will have a lot of spacing and, and shooting ability. So like can they get Jared Allen off the floor, can they get Mobley off the floor, can they get Isaiah Stewart or Jalen Duran off the floor and force the Pistons to play smaller? And then you have the advantage. Right? And then now you're, you're being the aggressor in that situation. So I don't know. I think that's the thing that's intriguing to me when it comes to postseason basketball is like how Tatum can allow you to be a little bit more versatile. But I'm glad you guys brought up the rebounding because that's something that I think he'll be able to provide day one. Like he's, yeah, a good rebounder and has always been throughout his career. So like, if he can just come in and be that guy who will crash the glass, knock down his threes, maybe get a couple of possessions here and there when Brown is on the bench or when Pritchard and, and White are out there to play his style more again. That's just, I think that that provides the Celtics with a level of versatility.
- [38:10]
Will
Let's talk a little bit about the postseason. Let's look at the east specifically. Tell me right now, ask how many teams in the east do you think could actually win the Eastern Conference?
- [38:19]
S. Barini
Four. Four of them, dear. The Celtics, the Knicks, the Pistons and the Cavs.
- [38:26]
Steve Smith
Big thanks to our sponsor, BetterHelp for
- [38:29]
Will
partnering with us for this important conversation about mental health.
- [38:32]
Steve Smith
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- [39:03]
S. Barini
That's all I got no rap.
- [39:05]
Will
Would you.
- [39:06]
S. Barini
Absolutely not.
- [39:09]
Will
By the way, Greg, does that know your prediction from, from earlier in this, earlier in the season.
- [39:14]
S. Barini
I don't know. What was your prediction?
- [39:16]
Greg
I predicted they'd be in the Eastern Conference finals.
- [39:18]
S. Barini
Oh, I love that I'm down. Hey, if I would love to cover Eastern Conference finals team. I truthfully like the way this season has, has shaken out for the Raptors. I, I struggle to see them beating one of the top four teams in the East East. And as things currently stand, it feels like they're going to be playing one of those teams in the first round. They've struggled against them like all year. They have, they obviously haven't been able to beat the Celtics. They haven't been able to beat the Knicks. They swept the Cavaliers. But that was before James Harden came into the fold and before they even got healthy and started playing better basketball. They lost their one game to the Pistons. Like they've, they've struggled immensely against the good teams in the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. So like, like the Raptors to me have been a team that is beating up on the teams that they're supposed to, which is good. That's how you get to where they're at. But they have struggled to kind of like punch above their weight and be that top tier team so that I, I don't see like a huge run for them. It would be great. It'd be cool. I'm down. Count me in. But I don't, I don't see that in their cards this season.
- [40:23]
Greg
Is it, is it because you don't have the like the superstar plus you don't have the shooting. Like what is what's holding?
- [40:30]
S. Barini
Yeah, the shooting.
- [40:31]
Will
Shooting back.
- [40:31]
S. Barini
Yeah, the shooting is a big thing. Especially against the teams in the Eastern Conference because I like, I think they match up terribly against the Celtics because you guys maximize every single possession. And we just talked about the mid range frequency stuff but like the Raptors, all they do is the mid range shot. They don't have the three point thing to kind of balance the floor with as you guys do. And so they can't match up offensively against that team. Right. And I think the same thing applies to them versus the Knicks and they've also struggled against teams that are bigger than them and more physical against them. So Detroit, Cleveland, those are two teams that are bigger and more physical and it's just, it's hard to see them matching up. Well, like I think you know they, they could beat up on the Orlandos and Miami's of the world. I think they would be intriguing versus Philadelphia. But again it depends on health with those teams. But yeah, I just, I don't see them beating those teams because they, there's too much offensive, I guess just they don't have the offensive firepower to do it man. That's the thing. Like they should give any, any chance
- [41:38]
Will
to a Scotty Barnes next level up team on his back.
- [41:42]
S. Barini
Sure, I could see it. Yeah, I could see, I could see that helping them push one of these teams to seven games. But I think ultimately like there's just so much to ask for when it comes to offensive output for this team and there's so much reliance on Brandon Ingram to be like hey come save us in the mid range area that eventually through a series they are going to target and you know, obviously send a bunch of double teams to and get the ball out of his hands. And so now it's like who else is going to take those shots? Right?
- [42:11]
Greg
You know, what's the, what's the lineup you guys can throw out there that you think has the best balance of what you need defensively with what you need offensively?
- [42:20]
S. Barini
That's a great question. I think that's what they're working out right now. I think the, the Yaka Pertle question is, is huge for them because he hasn't been healthy this season and he, he hasn't looked the same.
- [42:30]
Will
He's starting to a left on that contract too.
- [42:33]
S. Barini
Yeah brother, they do. It's, it's going to be interesting to see how they play him throughout the rest of the year. But like if they can. I think their best lineup is truthfully going smaller and having their rookie Colin Murray Boyles as their starting center. Scotty Barnes, Brandon Ingram and then probably if Jacoby Walter is hitting his shot, be there. And Emmanuel Quickley, that's sort of the, the front court backcourt mix. If you can have this blend of like three point shooting off the ball ball and defense in versatility in your front court that's the way they might be able to Win. But again, going small means you're kind of susceptible to certain things. Right? And Keda is a, is a guy who has dominated them in the past just because of the offensive rebounding and the crash in the glass aspect. Like, I think both games the Celtics have played against the Raptors, they have absolutely dominated the inside. And that's partly because they didn't have an answer for Keda and for Garbage Garza. You know, so, yeah, it's.
- [43:31]
Will
Yeah, I think the Raptors, I mean, honestly, I thought they would be. I thought both them and the Celtics were going to be better than the expectations of General, which is to me they have been. You know, the Raptors definitely have been. I, I was still thinking they were going to be 6, 7, 8. That's kind of where I thought the Celtics and Raptors were going to live this year. Both teams have exceeded expectations. But I want to talk about the, the kind of the four teams that you mentioned that could win the east. And obviously we've talked a lot about the Celtics. I want to talk a little bit about the Pistons, Knicks and Cavs. And let's start with the Pistons. They're the best team in the east by a mile. They've got a better record than the Thunder. How legit is this? Because every time I watch them, I'm always impressed. Their win over the Knicks last week I think is one of the best wins in the entire NBA season. No Beast do no Jalen Duran on the road. Msg. Cade, I think threw his name very squarely in the MVP conversation with that performance. And, and every time I watch the mess, all I can think about is, all right, game plan should be make anyone besides Kate Cunningham do anything and I'm gonna live with it. And it just seems like no one can do this. And they're 42 and 13. But it does make me skeptical about how, how you can do that over a seven game series. When we see if you have a fatal flaw, typically that gets exposed at some point in the postseason. But I want to get your thoughts on how, how real this Pistons team is. Regular season for sure, but postseason season, how real can it be?
- [44:52]
S. Barini
No, they're real. They're real. But yeah, to your point about like how can you poke at their flaws? I think they, they are susceptible to certain things and one of them is obviously three point shooting. Like they don't take and they don't make a lot of three point shots. And that's not the be all and end all. Like we just saw OKC win a Championship. Having a terrible shooting postseason. Like they, I believe they knocked down like three threes in one of their finals games. It was ridiculous. Right. So it's not the be all and end all. Like you have a recipe there to be this incredible defensive team that forces turnovers, that runs in transition and then relies on one single player in Cade Cunningham in the half court. But the issue is that the Pistons, unlike the Thunder, don't have that second option in a Jalen Williams to go to. Right. There's like I don't know Tobias Harris is that guy for them. And like truthfully, like that's not the same as having Jalen Williams on your team.
- [45:48]
Will
That's probably the biggest point I've ever heard of. Why I'm a little skeptical on this team. Might win, might be a real contender.
- [45:53]
S. Barini
Yeah, exactly. Like the second option stuff is, is valid for them. And to your point, if you are able to take away Kate Cunningham, which is hard to do, you know, he's a very, very talented player. I think his, even though he didn't have the greatest postseason playoff series against the the Knicks last year, like efficiency wise, I think he, his, his body and his physicality is like made for postseason basketball ball. He just knows how to take and make tough shots. So like that aspect will be there. I think Cade will perform. But the question is the other guys and that kind of relates to the Raptors equation. You know, I feel like you will get good games from Brandon Ingram, you will get good games from Scotty Barnes. But can Emmanuel quickly knock down his open shots? Can RJ Barrett give you 15 to 20 a night? Like that's the questions around this Pistons team. It's like who is going to score for you? You outside of Kate Cunningham, who's going to knock down threes outside of Kate Cunningham. Their defense is going to win them playoff series. How do they match up against a team like the Celtics that is going to maximize every possession, shoot the hell out of the ball and like that's a big gap to, to kind of jump over there if you're matching them in a seven game series.
- [47:04]
Greg
It's really interesting.
- [47:06]
Will
Sorry, one thing, one guy I did want to shout on the Pistons because I only learned about him from the daily podcast was Dennis Jenkins. He had those, he had those two. I think he had like two buzzer beaters or two game winning shots in like.
- [47:18]
S. Barini
Yeah, he's been like a two day.
- [47:19]
Will
Yeah, he's been awesome. But it was so funny. It's like that's like the next guy That I think is their ball handling and shooting is kind of. Danish Jenkins is really, really important to a championship run for the Pistons, but wanted to shout you guys out because you guys talked about him for like 10 minutes on like two consecutive podcasts. I was like, who the are they talking about? Never heard of this guy in my entire life. So thank you for introducing me to Danish.
- [47:40]
S. Barini
Got you.
- [47:41]
Greg
Shout out to Dennis Jenkins with, with Cage. It's. It's really interesting because he's kind of like, he's a little bit like Luca, right? He's a little bit like James Harden. The, the way that he plays just in terms of like how the team is built around him as well. But he's a two way player. Kate Cunningham plays defense, so this is, this is a fun, you know, test and litmus test for this like heliocentric style of. Of game where you have someone who's not a liability on the other side of the court support. And with all the talk about like Luka Doncic and whether or not he's a top five guy in the NBA anymore, is he an MVP candidate? In my opinion, no. Like, you just can't play that level of defense and, and be an mvp. Cade isn't the offensive player that Luca is, but he's way more of a defensive player that he is. So like, is. Is Cade Cunningham what Luka Doncic was kind of like hoping to.
- [48:40]
S. Barini
Hoping to be? Yeah, I could see that. That's a valid point. Yeah, I think, I think the big thing, the swing factor for Kate is going to be the three point shot. Like if he can knock down the three consistently, then he puts more pressure on defenses and pick and roll situations, then you can't like play drop against him. And he, if he's pulling up and knocking down those threes, then the offensive bag is, is way better. But yeah, Cade's defense is incredible. Like physicality wise, he, he matches what they need at the point of attack. And, and you know, obviously he has the size to match up against bigger wings. He has the, the physicality to match up against these smaller guards. And so that's why I'm really interested to see if they ever match up against the Celtics and if they play a first round series or a second round series or whatever against the Celtics, how that looks, you know, what the, what the matchups would be. Who would be guarding Cade if it's not Tatum, you know, because I think Tatum, Tatum for his size and his ability. I know he's coming off an Achilles injury, but like hypothetically Kate doesn't have that, like, speed to him, to which Tatum would, would not be able to guard him in any sort of way. And Tatum has the size and wingspan to make things a little bit harder on him. He obviously has the physicality too. So I don't know. I'm very intrigued by how the Celtics would match up against them so we
- [49:54]
Greg
don't play them again the regular season so we'd only see them in the playoffs.
- [49:57]
S. Barini
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. That's, that's the intriguing part about this whole thing. And like, I, I think I don't know how you guys feel about the Knicks, but I think you guys match up well against the Knicks.
- [50:09]
Will
Man, I, I thought so too, last year. S. I thought.
- [50:12]
S. Barini
I know, I know.
- [50:13]
Will
Yeah, I hear you.
- [50:14]
S. Barini
I hear you. It's hard because. It's hard to say that because of what the, the weird, it was such a weird series too. Like a strange, like a dream of a. Not dream, maybe not dream for you guys, nightmare of a series for you guys. But, but like it was this bizarre situation where the Comebacks happened two times in a row. And maybe that was a coaching thing where understanding when to pull the plug in certain situations, but I just can't see that happening again. And I, I, like, I, I, I look at this Knicks team and I see so many flaws for how you can attack them defensively and how, how when the going gets tough, they really struggle to generate quality. Looks like it's Jalen Brunson tough shot. It's Carl Anthony Town's tough shot. It's. And if those other, like the trio of shot making guys that they have in OG and Mikhail and Josh Hart in them, if they're not hitting their shots, then they're toast. And I just, I, I just trust what the Celtics can get to more because of what we've talked about throughout this whole podcast. It's like that identity is baked into what they do night in, night out. You can depend on it. There's a reliability to it compared to what the Knicks do. And yeah, I just, I favor you guys in a series against them.
- [51:28]
Greg
That's good to hear, man, because the Knicks scare me. They really do. Like, after last season, I'm just like, they, they match up really well with us. Bridges was just such a nightmare for us in those playoffs and he's continued that into this season where we don't have the guy to necessarily shut him down for whatever reason. I don't, I don't know if like Brunson scares The hell out of me Cat. Like, give me, give the ball to Cat all you want. Like, I'm not worried about Cat. But then Josh Hart, man, Josh Hart's one of those guys where I'm like, we theoretically have the type of guys to match what Josh Hart brings. Now the mentality that we have, I almost feel like was built to not let Josh Hart be like the, the.
- [52:14]
Will
They have Jose Alvarado. He's just Josh Hart, but smaller. Yeah.
- [52:17]
Greg
Yes. I love Alvarado. I think that was a great pickup. So they still scare me. I, I think if I, if, if I'm not picking the Celtics to win the east, this is. Assuming Jason Tatum is back. I would probably pick the Knicks over the Pistons.
- [52:29]
S. Barini
There's a bit of a love triangle going on here and I, I don't know if. Yeah, I've talked about this before on the NBA Daily and I, I don't know if this tracks with the win loss record here. So forgive me about this if I'm not wrong but like I feel like the Celtics can match up well against the Pistons because of the offerings offensive variation. And then the Knicks match up well against the Celtics and then the Pistons match up well against the Knicks. And so there's this sort of like there are going to be very matchup dependent playoff series based on who you end up playing in the second round that might determine whether you're Eastern Conference finals team, a finals team or a second round out. And it's interesting. Yeah, I don't know.
- [53:13]
Will
Do the Cavs play any role? Because you mentioned four teams that you have to do it.
- [53:17]
S. Barini
It where.
- [53:17]
Will
I mean, obviously the Cavs are new with this James Harden look, but where do they fit into that equation? Because for me I'm, I'm fully in the Cav. Just got to show me something because I, to me, I just, I can't believe in this team. Even with everything that we've seen over the last three years with Harden so far, minus, you know, Thunder yesterday, shorthanded Thunder get the best of them. I don't know. Cavs are just a team that I'm with you. I think they're the fourth team that I would qualify as a chance to get out of the east, but I think they're fourth with a bullet. And then to your point, it's the other three teams where it's like, show me the playoff matchups and we'll go.
- [53:51]
S. Barini
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. March 8th versus the Celtics. That's the Cavs game that I'm kind of locked into to see how they look because Cavs are starting to get healthy. Evan Mobley is back. They hopefully Streuss comes back at some point too. I don't know what his availability is and what.
- [54:08]
Will
Man, a lot, a lot of Cavs hopes have been riding on Max True coming back all year. That's all I ever hear anytime talk about with the Cabs. Well, I don't know man. Max Dr. Has been out
- [54:17]
S. Barini
and then, and then from the Celtics perspective, it seems like Tatum might be back at that point. How does that look? I don't know. It's. There's so much up in the air with that equation.
- [54:27]
Will
He's just fun, man. Listen, I don't think overall it's as good as the west, but I do think those top four teams and honestly Philly's so weird because it's injury dependent. They're kind of just weird. But they, they can at times. I think. I don't think they could get there for a full play.
- [54:40]
S. Barini
No. You know what? I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna go against you here. I'm gonna say the E. East is just as good as the west this year. I, I feel like could because I was looking at this yesterday, I was looking at the standings and I'm like man, you know, in the, in the west play in race. Okay. Like the sun's very fun, exceeding expectations, but they don't necessarily like put the fear of God in you, you know what I mean? The warriors obviously very injured right now, but they also with their current injuries in their situation, like I'm not, I'm not like that's not, not a really good playoff team to me. Blazers young team figuring things out, but again, not like the greatest team either. And then there's the Clippers that are trying to battle and, and be better, but they've also changed their team so much that it's hard to see what they, they're even going to do outside of that. Bro. The Grizzlies, Mavericks, Jazz, Pelicans, Kings, like that is bottom feeder stuff. Like they are all trash. They are all trying to lose. They are all, all tanking their hearts out. Like I don't think that's a good group at all. For what it's worth, the east bottom five is just as terrible too with Bulls, Wizards, Nets and Pacers. Like they are also bad. But I just, I look at the playing race for the east and I'm like okay, you know the Hornets are on the come up. They've got Conque they look, they look like they are going to be at the very least in the mix for a play playoff seed next year. The Hawks, they have that illustrious pick that's going to be coming to them this year. And they also have this young group that they're working with. The Heat somehow are always a pain in the ass and competitive. And then the Magic have had a really injury riddled season, but they're still trying to find ways to win. I just, I like the middle of the East a little bit more than the middle of the west. And, and the top six in each conference, we can go back and forth, but if you go and look at net rating, like three of the top four teams in net rating this season are east teams. You know, five of the 10 top teams in net rating are east teams. There are eight teams in the top 15 that are east teams in net rating. So like they've just matched up well. I feel like the east has been better than people have expected compared to the west, which I. I don't know. The star power is in there. I like the teams are. The teams are good.
- [57:02]
Will
You know, that's what I think the perception is. But I was gonna ask you for a bold prediction. I like this. This is the bold prediction here that I wanted to end on here with you. The east just as good as the West. You heard it here first from Esparahini. Greg, we gotta wrap up here, but anything else that you got for s here before we sign off?
- [57:18]
Greg
No, man. Hopefully we can have you back on when the Celtics play the Raptors. But it's been great having you. It's great.
- [57:22]
S. Barini
Birthday gift to me, dude. Happy birthday. I'm so glad I was able to be here for you.
- [57:28]
Greg
This is awesome, man. I was. I was happy was able to give you a little bit of mustache advice.
- [57:32]
S. Barini
Hell yeah. Thank you, brother. I appreciate it.
- [57:34]
Will
I'm gonna.
- [57:35]
S. Barini
I'm gonna see if I could do the little middle thing. I don't think I'm built for that.
- [57:38]
Will
Be careful, man. Be careful. You gotta get the ruler out and you gotta get real. Exactly. Ask Greg. I don't know Greg.
- [57:43]
Greg
N. Do it on vibes, bro. It's all feel all vibes. Just go for it.
- [57:47]
Will
That's a risky procedure, man. Run that by the wife first so we don't get in trouble here. You don't know us. We never gave you any type of advice. That's fine. This s. Appreciate you being here, man. Anything, obviously NBA daily, we can catch you. Anything else that you got that we need to promote right now. But NBA Daily with you, Dave DeFore. Typically it's you, Dave. I know there's one other. Your other.
- [58:06]
S. Barini
Yeah, Xena Kada is. Is on there with us as well. Yeah, look, go and listen to the NBA Daily if you like daily NBA content. We we drop episodes every single day basically covering all of the NBA. And then for Raptor stuff, if you guys are interested, you can tap into Raptors Republic. But appreciate you guys as always, man. Thank you.
- [58:25]
Will
Head to the Raptors game, go check out that's the stuff. Right before he gives the Celtics preview in there. But appreciate you guys for joining us here. Appreciate everybody listening to us and rocking with us. We will be back with you guys later this week, maybe next weekend. We'll see what happens on some of these west coast games. But appreciate y' all locking in with us. We will catch you guys later.
- [58:55]
S. Barini
Every time I get this high it's
- [58:57]
Will
you I find it don't take much no more until I'm at your dark.
- [59:07]
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- [59:33]
Will
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Arby's Announcer
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