← Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
The Celtics are back on track thanks to Jaylen Brown and Josh Minott
00:41:32
Loading summary
Transcript113 lines
- [00:01]
Walmart Ad Narrator
Look, if you've got prescriptions, the Walmart app is your place to manage them. Transfer your scripts, refill them and have them delivered straight to you. Migraines, managed allergies, alleviated dermatology, derma delivered ding dong. Is that your pizza?
- [00:20]
Will
Nope.
- [00:20]
Walmart Ad Narrator
Walmart pharmacy delivery with a refill. Switch to Walmart and manage your prescriptions in the app. The Walmart you thought you knew is now new delivery. Not available for all prescriptions. Exclusions apply.
- [00:32]
Sylvania Ad Narrator
With Sylvania. Seeing better while driving at night starts with you because headlight bulbs dim over time and can lose up to 50ft of visibility before burnout. That's why you shouldn't wait. Upgrade your drive with brighter lights for better visibility on the road ahead. Sylvania's step by step installation video guides make it easier than ever to take control of your nighttime clarity. All without a trip to the mechanic. So before a burnout darkens your day, upgrade to Sylvania and see better tonight.
- [01:01]
Greg Monakis
This is Mike Gorman and you're listening.
- [01:03]
Will
To Green with Envy with Will and Greg. All right, everybody, just like we all expected, a 20 point win for the Boston Celtics against The Cleveland Cavaliers. 125 to 105. We've got it all for you. Coming up next here on Green with Envy. You guys know the deal.
- [01:22]
Greg Monakis
Lock in.
- [01:42]
Will
What up, what up, what up. Welcome into another edition of Green with Envy. Post game live, the Boston Celtics take down the Cleveland Cavaliers 125 to 105. We are live on YouTube and Twitter. If you are joining us here right after the game, make sure you get your thoughts, your comments, your questions, get them going in the chat, get them populated. As always, this is your boy, Will. We're checking in. How you doing? How you living? Joining me as he does each and every time, my best friend, co host and the coach of our podcast, the one and only Greg Monakis. Greg, you gotta love when we do an overreaction factor. Fiction to the first week and then the Celtics and. And we get worried about the Celtics not winning a game for almost a month and they win two in a row back to back. It's a good feeling.
- [02:30]
Greg Monakis
Yeah, man, we needed this as Celtics nation here. I gotta say, man, I'm digging the vibe that you got going on. You're looking good. You got the girl dad collective hat on the white hoodie. It's, it's finally chilly here in Austin, Texas. So I like, I like seeing that happen for you.
- [02:46]
Will
I've got sweatshirt on top, shorts down below. It's like the it's the. It's the perfect weather for that.
- [02:51]
Greg Monakis
You got. You got a little Beijing on that beard.
- [02:53]
Will
Little Beijing. A little. You got a little. Little Rover. Little. Little Rover 741 spray? Is that what you're asking?
- [02:59]
Greg Monakis
Yeah, you got the moon dust on there. You think Jaylen Brown's powers were unlocked with. With the. With the haircut last night?
- [03:06]
Will
Okay, let's talk about this real quick. I. So last night, like, you know, I saw. He was gonna stream whatever. It's like, oh, he's going bald. And then I saw a couple clips come out, and I was like, all right, where's the. Where's the picture of Jalen Brown bald? And then I see him at the game tonight. You just. Just got a haircut. They didn't go ball. What. What the hell is this? But it was.
- [03:24]
Greg Monakis
It was.
- [03:24]
Will
It was false advertisement.
- [03:26]
Greg Monakis
Well, that's how you get people to tune into your Twitch stream. You gotta. You gotta. You gotta hook them.
- [03:30]
Will
I don't get twitch. That's why I don't get it.
- [03:31]
Greg Monakis
Yeah, that's why you don't get it. But JB was great tonight. You know, he 30 points out of JB, but I thought even though he only had five rebounds on the night, I felt like every rebound was loud. And like, we talked about the first game after playing against the. The Sixers, how Maxi and Edgecomb, you just felt their athleticism out there on the court. And I felt like jb, you know, he. He started to do it in the Pistons game. That's when, like, you really started to feel him, or he was like this, like, we're not going down like this. I'm gonna go out there and drop 40 against the Pelicans, we didn't quite need it as much because they didn't have Zion and they don't have many good players on their team. And he had five fouls, so he didn't play in the fourth quarter. Right. So he only ended up with 15. But tonight I felt like JB really set the tone. And obviously, we're going to talk about Josh Minot, because why not? But I think Jaylen Brown is just, you know, he's. He's getting to the level that he needs to get to for this team to be a competitive basketball team.
- [04:28]
Will
That's the perfect way to put it. And we. And we talked about this, you know, going into the New Orleans game of, like, what you saw with JB out of the Pistons versus these teams that typically are going to have a higher. A higher level of talent overall, JB's got to be the guy to, to bring the Celtics with him to whatever that next version is. And he has to be, if not the best guy, which he was tonight, be on par with whoever the other best guy is across the court. Right. Like he's got to be in that conversation for the Celtics to have a chance against these teams, emphasis on these teams that have far more talent or depth than the Celtics. Like, JB's got to be that guy because in games like this against the Cavs or even the Pistons who like, are above the Celtics, but not by much. Like it's gonna be a world of difference if JB is the guy that is, you know, who. The Sixers game where he was a little bit more passive or you know that night against the, the Knicks where he just played bad. Right. Like those games were not going to have much of a chance. Right. If it's either of those options, it's going to be tough for the Celtics to, to have a chance outside of the Pelicans, the Wizards, the, the Nets, other teams that they can get by where Jaylen has those games, teams that are on par or above, it's just not going to happen. And so seeing JB come out with how aggressive he was tonight, like, that's like to the point you were making him just going into attack mode. That's just when he's at his best, right? When he just decides he's going to put his imprint on the game and he's doing it. He did it in a very mature way tonight where we've seen it be in the past, not always, but we've seen in the past where it can be reckless. It was very measured, mature. This is the Jaylen Brown that if this team is going to be a real play in team, not just they happen to be a play in team, but they're a real playing team that threatens to actually be like a real top six seed. Like this is the jb. This is, this is the way. Yeah.
- [06:23]
Greg Monakis
And he was, you know, taking the task on defense as well playing. I think one of the things that has unlocked JB since, you know, the. A little bit of a rough start in the Pistons game, which we've talked about already. But in case you, you didn't catch that podcast, you should, you should subscribe green with envy. Make sure you, you guys are subscribing. Hit that subscribe button. Hit that like button. But Jaylen Brown started to go back to just what Jaylen Brown does. Great. Right? And Joe missoula is putting him in spots to be successful because that's what this team needs right now. Right. This team doesn't need Jaylen Brown to be running point and trying to, like, do his best Jason Tatum impression. He just needs to be the very best Jalen Brown that he can be. And he need, like, we need to stop the narrative of can Jalen Brown be what Jason Tatum is and, you know, fill his shoes. Because Jalen Brown is very capable of carrying this team, doing what he does best. Playing off ball, coming off of wide pin downs, getting to his right hand, playing at the nail, playing at the elbows, one to two, dribble, pull up, you know, get into somebody's body. The little right. Right hand float shot off the glass that he had tonight. Nice. He did that twice and Jaylen was just cooking. And then when he's hot, then you can see him get into his bag. That ridiculous, like seven dribble, step back three. At the end of the third quarter was just bananas. And that's what Dalen Brown, you know, when he's feeling it, man, that dude can shoot the rock. But, you know, like Derek White at halftime.
- [07:49]
Will
Yeah.
- [07:50]
Greg Monakis
On the other end, Derrick White is just forcing everything. Jaylen Brown is playing within himself right now, you know, and that's what everybody else on the team needs to look at JB and be like, okay, he's playing within himself. I know that I can now play a role that is within me and not have to overexert myself to be someone I'm not.
- [08:07]
Will
Yeah, let's. We'll come back to Derek. We want to talk about the backcourt junk. I think this is going to be more of a fascinating group than I think I really anticipated for different reasons going into the season. But I think looking at this team to put a bow on the Jalen Brown part of this, like, like, I think going into the season, some of. To your point, like, who does Jaylen Brown need to be for this team to be successful? And it was like, ah, maybe he needs to be a guy's facilitating more play, making more. I think ultimately he needs to get back to the guy from two years ago that averaged 20, I think 26, 26 and a half points and be the guy averaging 28, 29. Like, that's actually what's probably most important for this team is that he's averaging 28, 29 points per game on a pretty regular basis or somewhere in that vicinity and, and leading in that way and with toughness. And to your point, like, even if he has five rebounds. Make them loud rebounds, like aggressive rebounds, physical rebounds, setting a tone. Like, that's actually the JB we need more than the well rounded JB because there just isn't the talent around. Like when you think back to Tatum got hurt last year and we were like, man, what an amazing. Was it game five against the Knicks where he was like 26, 12 and eight? That's awesome. I would love to see more of that Jalen Brown. That's not really going to happen with this team with this particular set of people around him. So that's cool that we saw him do that in the playoffs. He doesn't have that talent around him. What we need now is the guy that's probably going to go 35 and five most nights, and he's going to.
- [09:35]
Greg Monakis
Be basically what he had tonight, 35 and four with one steel, one block and only two turnovers plus.
- [09:42]
Will
Exactly.
- [09:42]
Greg Monakis
Yeah. And that's what we need out of Jalen Brown. Like, that's a great point that you made. It was game four, right? Game four in Boston, back to game five, New York, and lost. Lost where Tatum got hurt.
- [09:51]
Will
No, no, it's game six. We lost. Game five was the, Was the Jalen Brown game.
- [09:54]
Greg Monakis
Oh, you're right. You're right, you're right. Yeah, but. Yeah, we write him, right?
- [09:58]
Will
No, I'm just kidding. Relax. Okay. How dare you?
- [10:03]
Greg Monakis
Yeah, but I, I just think with JB, if he could put up 35 and five this year, like 35 rebounds, five assists.
- [10:11]
Will
Yeah.
- [10:11]
Greg Monakis
A steal, maybe like 1.5 stocks. That would be the perfect Jaylen Brown season for what this team is because they don't have the talent around them. Right. Them being the main guys on the team right now. Derek White, Jaylen Brown, Pton Pritchard that they had in the past. But one guy we have to talk about. Will we filib busted enough without going talking about Josh, Can I hit you?
- [10:32]
Will
Could I hit you with a. With my Tommy Hindson impression?
- [10:34]
Greg Monakis
Yes.
- [10:36]
Will
I love Minot. He's the man. I love him.
- [10:40]
Greg Monakis
That's pretty good, dude. He is everywhere. He was 11 points, 14 rebounds, five offensive rebounds, three steals in a block.
- [10:50]
Will
It felt like he was everywhere. It felt like when you just said that, that's. I was, I was sitting here watching the game and all I could think about is even when he wasn't getting a rebound or a loose ball, he was in the area. Like, he was there. Either he tipped it and maybe it didn't get to him or get to a teammate and like, but he Kept it alive. He prevented a. A breakout, you know, a fast break, because he's in there just mucking it up. He's just. It was almost unfathomable in that second half, watching different times where I'm like, okay, that was. That was good hustle. He won't be around this one, but he was right there every time. He's just right there in the vicinity of where the basketball is. Yeah, let's. Let's just gush over Josh behind it for a couple minutes because he certainly earned it tonight.
- [11:33]
Greg Monakis
Well, the biggest thing that we talked about after Game 3, and everybody was talking about how the Celtics had the worst defensive rebounding percentage in the league and inserting Jo Minot into the starting lineup instead of someone who made a huge impact in his minutes, Hugo Gonzalez. Hugo Gonzalez, right. Who hasn't played much the last two games because he doesn't necessarily have the size of Josh Minot, who can do a lot of the stuff that Ugo was doing, but he's also getting 14 rebounds and doing a lot of the dirty work that was kind of underappreciated in Jason Tatum's game. And, like, getting 12 to 14 rebounds, like Jason Tatum would do on many nights, Josh Minot is able to do a lot of that defensive stuff that. That Jason Tatum could. Can do and in some regards, do it even better. Like the way that he was guarding Evan Mobley tonight. He shut Evan Mobley down, and, like, he was getting in Mobley's jersey, he was m. And shout out to Mobley, who was still able to, like, show a lot more handle than I thought he had. But he. He didn't want to go at Josh Mina at all. And I don't think anybody really wants that problem because he's just everywhere and the motor is indefatigable. He just, like, does not stop, and I love it.
- [12:41]
Will
Yeah, he does. Does not stop. And, you know, he. He. He shot six threes tonight, and he hit two of them. Right? Like, that's fine. That's. I need him to be ready to shoot, which he is. And willing to shoot. Right. Like, just if he's going to play within this style. And we. We've noticed in Joe Missoula's tenure, right, what's the one thing that he will not do with wins if they either don't shoot or can't shoot straight up, you just don't play. That's. That's always been kind of Missoula's thing. So when we're always looking for. As we have been for years. Like, who's that third wing with the Jays or like outside of Hauser, you know, and it's like, ah, well, Tory Craig, but he can't really shoot. Ah, o' Shea percent but, but he can't really shoot and you know, mine, I don't think he's ever going to be a great shooter. But everything else that he's giving you, and if he's going to give you two of six, two of five, one of four, like you're gonna live with that, with everything else that he's giving you and yeah, 33 minutes tonight, I think I'm looking at it here. Second on the team in minutes played behind Derrick White. Just a really, really impressive game coming off his career high 15 points against New Orleans. Like Josh Minot, 22 years old. This is a guy that feels like it could be a steal. And even as you and I in the last podcast were kind of projecting, like, again, a lot of the season is going to be centered around do I think outside of the guys we already know about, do these guys translate to a team that then has Jason Tatum and whatever else we need to fix? Like, does this work? Minot certainly feels like he fits that mold of one of those guys where, you know, five games in, I'm already penciling him and I think he's, I'm pretty sure he's on two year contract run. Penciling him in as like, this guy could absolutely be a staple. And I see we have a comment here. Minot is reminding me of Herb Jones and yeah, I can kind of see that a little bit. You know, we got to see if it gets to that level defensively of, of her. But it's certainly the physical traits do remind you of that. And so it's hard not to be really, really into the Josh Minot experience right now.
- [14:42]
Greg Monakis
Yeah. And even with Herb, like, Herb's not even Herb. Is it Herb like Ugo?
- [14:47]
Will
I don't know. I, it was, I, I, I did a double take.
- [14:49]
Greg Monakis
I don't know what to do with H's anymore, man. Ugo's got me all up. Yeah, I think with, I think with Minot, he's even bigger than Herb Jones is. Right. And he plays more physically than Herb doesn't. He boards up a little bit more than Herb does. Right. He's like kind of a, a mix between Herb and maybe like Jared Vanderbilt, maybe a little bit of like Jared Vanderbilt vibes because Vanderbilt's great rebounder. So yeah, yeah. Just loving everything out of Josh Minot. We predicted Ugo was going to be in the starting lineup, you know, when Jason Tatum comes back. But there's no reason why it could be Josh.
- [15:26]
Will
Yeah, yeah.
- [15:27]
Greg Monakis
Which is cool. Like, that's what this season is about, man. It's great. Like, when we heard we got Josh Minot and Luca Garza, I was like, neither of those dudes matter at all, but they're not going to make an impact. Like, why do I even need to watch film on them? And then you watch a little bit of Josh Mina on film, you're like, holy. Like, this guy is fun to watch.
- [15:45]
Will
Yeah. I think to your point, that's the point of the season. It's the Josh Minot development. It's Nemi's kid, who I think's been really solid for several games now. It's. It's his development. We'll get to him. It's gonna be, you know, whatever Ugo brings. Like. Like, those are the things that are going to be most important for this season. I want to go back to and shift gears here. You mentioned Derrick White earlier. I want to talk about just the guards kind of in general, and we can talk about him, Pritchard and Simons, I think, kind of collectively, because I think this is a. Becoming a very fascinating group for me because I think going into the season we're like, hey, listen, at the very least, like, our guards are pretty legit. Like, that's. That's not a problem for us. And the answer through five games is both correct, it's not a problem. And yes, also, it is kind of a problem. And it's really interesting to look at, like, which one of these three. We can talk about all of them. But, like, who would you want to start with out of these from? Talk about. Let's go, Derek. That's what I think it is, too. Derek White, let me just read you his stats real quick and then you can. Can kind of go from here. As I mentioned, led the team in minutes per game tonight, just under 35. 5 of 20 from the field, 3 of 12 from 3, 6 of 6 from the free throw line. Ends up with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 turnovers. Greg, let's talk about Derrick White.
- [17:10]
MultiCare Ad Narrator
Our state has changed a lot in the last 140 years. We know because MultiCare has been here guided by a single purpose, making our communities healthier. That comes from making courageous decisions, partnering with local communities to grow programs and services, and expanding healthcare access to those who need it most. Together, we're building a healthier future. Learn more@ multicare.org.
- [17:42]
Lowe's Ad Narrator
Deadlines move fast. So should your takeoffs. With Lowe's blueprint takeoff, you can turn blueprints into competitive quotes. Bring us your plans and we'll generate itemized material lists to make quoting faster and easier. And when you're ready, we'll deliver everything you need straight to the job site. Visit the pro desk today to get started. Lowe's we help you save.
- [18:13]
Greg Monakis
I just don't understand what he's doing out there. Like all the shots that he's taken. I'm like, bro, where this is not who you are as a basketball player, not a guy that chucks hero shots. And like part of it, like when you think of he had that like two minute stretch where he missed four straight shots in the fourth quarter when JB went to the bench, part of it is a little bit by necessity because there's nobody else on the court that can really do anything. But like, that's what always made Derrick White great, is that like he wouldn't force that, you know what I mean? But now he's seeing, oh, I have to be the primary creator on a court with like nobody else that can really do much and no one who's really a threat. Like I'm going to force it a little bit more versus taking that extra dribble, moving the ball, cutting, doing all the stuff that Derrick White does great, setting screens off the ball. So much of it is him just hunting 30 foot, 3 point shots off balance and I'm like, that's just not who you are, man. And that the, the percentages reflect that. And he just hasn't been taking good shots all season.
- [19:17]
Will
And which by the way I said earlier, I don't know if I said this after the first game or if it was after the last preseason game that there's a chance, if I could bet on it, that I think Derek White's going to lead the league in three point attempts. He leaves the league in three point attempts at 11 per game and shot 12 more tonight. So wasn't, wasn't wrong about that prediction. But I think to your point of Derrick White's shots at times feeling like, or at least he's feeling like it's a necessity. Like there's two things. One, it gets back to our Jalen Brown conversation earlier where like him just needing to be the 28, 29, 30 point per game guy, hopefully over time helps to alleviate that pressure from Derrick White because it's just making him not be the dude that he needs to be. And so hopefully when at least he's out there with Jalen, he's not going to feel that right now. The other part of this is talking about the other two guards that he's playing with, which are Peyton Pritchard and Anthony Simons. And specifically I'll start with Anthony Simons because Cybons apparently is just a really expensive jump shooter. I think that's all he is. He's. He's just a jump shooter in the half court. He's trying really hard on D. He's got some good defensive metrics that, you know, are, are, you know, whatever.
- [20:24]
Greg Monakis
He's been good on defense. He has been good on defense.
- [20:27]
Will
Yeah, he's been better than, better than expected on defense. That's, that's absolutely true. He's still six, three short. Whatever. It's, it's, it is what it is. But I think when JB's out and you mentioned he missed like four threes or whatever it was in that, in that stretch, that's where it was like, I kind of think like we thought, okay, Simons becomes the new go scorer in that moment. And most of the times it feels like Simons is just like, I can't dribble. Derek, can you do something? And then, and then occasionally they'll double Derek and like, Simons will move well off the ball and get like an open catch and shoot three. And he can shoot. So that works out.
- [20:59]
Greg Monakis
I got that one play with Prichard where Pritchard hit him with that dime when, when he drove.
- [21:03]
Will
So there's moments like that, but it's in my mind it was always cool. JB's not in there. Like, Simons is now the offensive catalyst and then we can do other stuff off of that, but that just does not thus far seem to exist.
- [21:18]
Greg Monakis
Well, it's tough when JB's on the bench. It's like, who's gonna get a paint touch for us like Peyton Pritchard can, but he's not, like, doing all that much with those paint touches. Peyton was good tonight. 10 points, 10 assists. And I, I thought he played a really good floor game, but still he's like, really struggling to play within the trees. I thought he did a really good job against the Pelicans doing that, you know, playing off of two feet, hitting those little Jalen Brunson fadeaways that I think he's capable of doing. But against a team like, you know, the Cavs that have double big, it's kind of hard for him to get a shot off. And hunter, who's like 69 on the wing.
- [21:54]
Will
Yeah. The bigger teams, it's tough. I do want to point out he is shooting 60 over 65% on two point shots so far this year. Yeah. So he is. He is making some head waves. He just can't shoot the three at all. I don't know what's happening there.
- [22:05]
Greg Monakis
Yeah. But I. I just think, like, the. The point about Jalen being the guy who can get paint touches, like, Derek White's not getting paint touches right now, and he, like. I think part of the issue is, you know, why he's shooting so many threes. He's like, I can't get by anybody. You know what I mean? Like, I gotta shoot these threes so that they be like, Derek White's about to shoot another 30 footer. Like, I gotta contest so that he can eventually hesi and go buy somebody. Right. It's just like right now, the shots aren't going in and it's not gaining him any respect, so they got to figure out a better balance with those three guards. Anthony Simons needs to figure out how to dribble again. And like. Yeah, I mean, he was good against the Pelicans, right? He was really good against it.
- [22:48]
Will
He was good. Like, that's. I mean, that. That.
- [22:49]
Greg Monakis
That's a positive Pelicans, though, and they have nobody on the court. They've Jeremiah Fears out there, like, the one guy in the league who weighs less than Anthony Simons.
- [22:59]
Will
So that's. That's the thing. It's like, that's the one game you can look to. And like, JT walked by his. His post game and was like, there's the. There's the ant. I know, whatever. And it's like, I would. Yeah, it's amp. I think he said. I think he called him ant, but I don't know. Either way, whatever, We're. We can't get names right Tonight. It's. It's. It's post game live after. You know, it's getting late. Me and you are. We're getting sleepy. We're getting old. We just. We're just gonna it up. It is what it is, but. Yeah, I. I can't help it, man. I'm still just wanting more on the. I'm just, like, waiting for, like, before.
- [23:32]
Greg Monakis
He, like, exploded in the second half of the Pelicans game. I was. I was literally watching the game. Like, get this guy off the court. Like, I don't want to see Anthony Simes playing.
- [23:41]
Will
When you texted me, was that not the most Predictable thing that Jose Alvarado was just going to strip him at half court. It was like, yeah, that's all I was expecting. Yeah.
- [23:49]
Greg Monakis
And I mean, Alvarado, that's what he does, right? But it was just like, why are we having Anthony Simons dribble the ball.
- [23:56]
Will
Pressure on Simons at this point. I'm surprised when he gets it over half court.
- [23:59]
Greg Monakis
Like even tonight against Lonzo Ball, he's like dribbling right near half court. I'm like, dude, you're gonna get another back court. Like, what are you doing? But it was funny after Alvarado picked his pocket, he just didn't want the ball again. He was like, somebody else take it. Please do not make me dribble the ball up against full court pressure because I can't do it right now. Hopefully he can figure it out because it's like, it's like watching you dribble up against full court pressure, man. Like, it's not good for people at home.
- [24:24]
Will
It's not.
- [24:24]
Greg Monakis
It's tough. It's tough. But yeah, I mean, those, those three guys there, they'll figure it out. I, I'm feeling, I'm feeling a lot better at two and three than I was at. Oh, and three. As we should. And we've got the Sixers in the right NBA in season tournament on Friday, baby.
- [24:42]
Will
Oh, okay. I didn't even realize it was an in season tournament game. So you know what that means. I wasn't ready for it. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. I wasn't ready. But now, God, don't really give a about the unseason tournament, but I love that theme song. So good. But yes, to the point of, of these, of these guards right now and specifically Pritchard and Derrick White, you know, Derek White goes 3 of 12 from 3 today. Peyton Pritchard 1 of 8. Like, these guys are just so much better shooters than what they're at coming into the game. Pritchard shooting 20, you know, Derrick White shooting 25, which is going to stay the same. Like, like somehow Pritchard is. His percentage is going to go under 20 right through five games. Like, that's crazy, right? Like, that's like we've, we've seen so much of Peyton Pritchard to this point. We know that that's not. I think he's got, he's in his head a little bit. I think when shooting threes at this point, like they're just shooting bombs, bro.
- [25:45]
Greg Monakis
They're like, they're not taking easy threes they're shooting 30 footers every time. It's like step in and take an easier three point shot for sure.
- [25:52]
Will
And, and part of it is the way Missoula wants to play, if he wants to play, quick read, react, like even, you know, fast break. And they're sometimes pulling up. I'm like, dude, you room to pull up, just pull up. Just pull up further. And like I was listening to Tim Legler on Simmons podcast, I think this morning or this afternoon and like, you know, hey, big, big breaking news without Jason Tatum. You know, a guy instead of being 6 to 8ft away is now 3 to 5ft away. And that's making a difference in these shots, right? And so it's, you know you're gonna see a dip. And I kind of factored that in and figured we see a little bit of volume spike, maybe a little bit of percentage, but like 20 and 25% is just so beyond absurd of like what these guys are for shooters that being two and three and being one possession away. If you look at that Sixers game from just being three and two, like we're back to at least level as to hey, this is a 500 basketball team that should be fighting around the play in and that's kind of where we should be. And then they're heading there and they're heading into a Friday night game against the Sixers where you know, they're, they're riding a high and it's. But it's a team you lost by one point, so you shouldn't feel like.
- [26:57]
Greg Monakis
You'Re just had to go to overtime against the Wizards, right? So it's not like the Sixers are world beaters out there, right? You can hang, which, that's the thing, we can hang with most teams in this league. Like it's going to be, it's going to be really interesting to see us against the Rockets on the second night of a back to back on Saturday because that's just a bad matchup for us. And there are always going to be bad matchup teams out there. For any team in the NBA, every team has a bad matchup out there. Styles makes fights, right? And I just think the game on Friday could be really, really fun. Saturday is going to be just like a fun test to see what the medal is of that team. But we, I want to go back to Jalen Brown for a minute because as you were talking about Jason Tatum having the gravity to get people wide open shots. One thing that I've noticed about jb, when he gets in his bag. Like he, he doesn't quite have the same gravity as jt, but I think he needs to have the mindset so that the gravity continues to like grow exponentially. Right.
- [27:57]
Will
Explain that a little bit more. What you mean?
- [27:59]
Greg Monakis
So like when he drives to the basket right now teams are showing help, yes, but they're not showing as much help as they might show Jason Tatum. Right. They're not, not going to play like full boxes and elbows. But if he continues to just like operate around the elbows and get to his right hand for that pull up whenever he wants, maybe you're going to see a little bit more gravity from those off ball guys so that Peyton pritchard can get 6ft of space versus 4ft of space. Right. And I, I just think I love what Jalen's doing getting to his right hand, man. Like there he, he just looks explosive. He looks quick this year. Like makes you realize how much that knee was bothering him last year because he looks like he looks prime athlete Jalen Brown right now.
- [28:42]
Will
Yeah, Jalen looks fantastic. I think that's one of the, the couple silver linings I'm looking at right now is like Jalen looks awesome. The Minot experience is hitting on all cylinders and a guy who I think at least deserves a few minutes of our times. I think Nemius Kato does just for, for being pretty consistent. Like going into the season. His consistency is going to be key. Like I just don't need the peaks and valleys of cool. Oh my God. What's the potential of Nemi scada? He went 20 and 10 one night and then spends a week getting in foul trouble and committing, you know, really bad offensive fouls, whatever. Like I, he's been pretty solidly consistent so far this year. Like of course there's things that you could nitpick, but I would say through five games, I feel like Nene's on the right path to, to what I'm, I'm looking for right now.
- [29:30]
Greg Monakis
He's exceeded my expectations. Like, I didn't expect him to be bad this year. I was expecting somewhere around like low range double double out of him, which is like about what he had tonight, right? 10 points, 13 rebounds. If it's 13 points, 10 rebounds and just being a seven footer and being a presence there around the rim on defense is so important for him and he was like angry out there tonight and that's what I love about. He plays with a little bit of that like David Ortiz, you to him.
- [29:57]
Will
And like down there with throwing those elbows his Elbows look kind of scary when he's throwing.
- [30:03]
Greg Monakis
Jared Allen, right, Who's like similar body type to him and he's just like, you know, Jared Allen's not going to push me around like Jalen Duran did, right? Like, I'm going to be able to get boards when I want to get boards against these like string beans. Like I'm a string bean. So I, I think if he plays with that you attitude, it's gonna do worlds for this team. Because then now you Kada who plays with an edge, you have Minot who plays with an edge, you have Peyton Pritchard who plays with Jaylen Brown, has like the UL chip on his shoulder. And then Derrick White is like sneaky that guy who you're just like, Derrick White did it to me again. You know what I mean? So it's like five guys that you can really throw out there and feel good about just that competitive edge. And that's what this, this season is about is like rediscovering that competitiveness that clearly wasn't quite there last year with that team. Like, they, they really lost some, some like je ne sais quoi it factor, competitive level.
- [30:59]
Will
Kind of like year after just complacency. We won championship last year. Like, you know, like it was. It was hard to. To get up for every game in the same way. Like that. That's part of, of what it was. And like, you know, this is point out in the chat here, Kate. A double double with only one foul tonight. Like, that's really big for him to be able to. And he plays 26 minutes, only has one foul. I know for me, one of the moments with Kata that stuck out was. I think it was about maybe midway through the third quarter. I think it's Mobley's driving down and K was able to go vertical on him without following. Yeah, like, I thought that was really big because in years past, that's Kada just wildly going for. For a block that occasionally maybe he gets right and he then feels justified to do it at other points. But tonight it was like, hey, I might not get the block. I might just get a contest. And we got a miss shot out of it. I don't even think he got a. A block out of that necessarily. No block size. He didn't get a block out of it. But I think that was a really sneaky thing. That was one of. That was probably my favorite nene part of the night because I just think that's a growth that we've needed to see is him Be able to. He's never. I. I don't want to use the term defensive anger, because that just holds so much weight, but be a dude on the back line and be able to do it and. Yeah. Be a deterrent and. And that's. And that's part of it. Being able to do it without following.
- [32:16]
Greg Monakis
Yeah. And then when you think about his offensive game, I think if they're going to run so many, like, DHOs and, like, delay actions with him at the top, he's got to make his reads a little bit quicker, and he's got to figure out, like, the timing on the screens. There was just, like, so many times in the first quarter where, like, the timing was just off. Like, when Luca Garza comes in. Right.
- [32:38]
Will
It.
- [32:38]
Greg Monakis
It kind of changes in terms of how that offense flows when Kate is in there. Like, him and Derrick White don't have any chemistry right now. I. I don't know if that's something that we're gonna see, like, a steep learning curve or if it's gonna just something, like, clicks one day. Now he doesn't really have it. It's a tough thing to do. Right. Like, Al Horford was great at it, and we watched a guy who operates at, like, one of the highest levels in those delay actions, and now we're going to a guy who's just learning to do it for the first time. So it's going to, like, it's going to stand out to you as someone who, like, watched the Celtics over the last, you know, since Al Horford's been on the team, like, what is happening at the top of the key? Why are these actions, like, so clunky? And it's because Al is one of the best in the league at it, and Kate is just learning how to do it. So he'll figure it out. But right now, it's just something that is really standing out to me. It's just, like, really ugly. Anytime they go dho or screen actions with Kada up at the top. I do want to talk about Sam. We haven't talked about Sam, and he was.
- [33:35]
Will
That was gonna be where I was going next. Go for it.
- [33:36]
Greg Monakis
Okay, cool. Seven for 13 from three tonight. I think he had four threes in a row in the first quarter. 21.
- [33:42]
Will
That was elect. That was. That was gonna be the point I was gonna bring up. That was that. That felt like it kind of got old garden vibes with, like, four threes, and I don't know what. What the time frame was. Felt like 90 seconds.
- [33:53]
Walmart Holiday Ad Narrator
Tis the season of gifting and holes to deck and the who's in Whoville were in love with new tech. Where can we find Sonos and Samsung and Nintendo? They shouted. Would they find it in one place? This they questioned and doubted when suddenly a who yelled, Walmart's the place to start. And each who added headphones, TVs and games to their carts with Walmart, their shopping was done in a flurry. They cried out who knew? And ordered their gifts in a hurry. Shop the latest tech gifts in the Walmart app.
- [34:24]
LifeLock Ad Narrator
It's Cybersecurity awareness month and LifeLock is here with tips to help protect your identity. Use strong passwords, set up multi factor authentication and report phishing scams. And for comprehensive identity protection, Lifelock is your best choice. LifeLock alerts you to suspicious uses of your personal information and also fixes identity theft guaranteed or your money back. Stay smart, stay safe and stay protected. With a 30 day free trial at lifelock.com Special offer terms apply.
- [34:55]
Greg Monakis
It's great to see somebody on the team really knocking down threes, right? It's just like damn, Peyton Pritchard and Derek White are killing me. And JB's been good from three as well. But hower man, like how many spot up shooters are better than him in the league when he's going there's not many.
- [35:13]
Will
He shoots 40. This is what I was telling, I was telling somebody, I was just, they were asking me about Sam and I was just like man like you know he's never going to be a world beater but he's always going to be at the top, top tier of those like three point shooters that are so valuable which is what makes him and his contract so valuable no matter what. Which is why like unless the deal you have to, you're going to hold on to that that until the time is right. But like when Sam's on he just doesn't touch the rim. And of course he's now becoming, making that kind of like his signature shot right? Like the, the no.
- [35:47]
Greg Monakis
The no dip.
- [35:48]
Will
Yeah, yeah exactly. And he hit one of those. I think that was either the third or fourth three that he hit tonight was, was on one of those. That just feels like kind of like he has like a signature shot which is says a lot when all you do is shoot but you shoot different styles and you actually kind of created your own signature shot. Like that tells you right there like how elite you are of a shooter. And, and yeah I'd have to give some more thought to it but just like from A pure knockdown shooter. There can't be many guys that you would want above Salmon. He's got the quick release to go with it. He. Yeah, it's. Thank God. To your point that, that he's shooting the way he is because none of the other guys that we banked on shooting right now are shooting anywhere close to their level. And he's still a 42, three point shooter.
- [36:29]
Greg Monakis
Can we get that man in the three point contest this year?
- [36:33]
Will
I hope so. Right? We should be able to. I don't see why he wouldn't be. He's. He's. He's one of the best shooters in the league. That's what that competition is made for. So I would love to see Sam. And Sam actually had a passing. A little sauce on it down the baseline. Oh, that was a nice little. Little pass from Sam. And yes, Sam, I feel like to this point in the season it's just somewhat of a. Not a forgotten guy, but it's just like we're just getting the same reliable same. Like when we're seeing Derek White and Pritchard and we're like, man, these guys are really trying to figure out what their roles are. Sam's locked in on his role. He knows what he's supposed to be doing. He knows where he's supposed to be.
- [37:06]
Greg Monakis
But it's great that we're bringing him off the bench again, right? Like, they tried him in the starting lineup for a game, then they go Ugo. Now they're going with Josh. It seems like Josh Minot's gonna be the guy in the starting lineup for the foreseeable future. Like, Joe seems to have found a combination that he likes, and it's showing off. Right. Like, Josh Minot starts two games, Celtics win two games. So, yeah. And Sam Houser is great tonight. Anything else you want to talk about this game?
- [37:32]
Will
Last thing I got here. I just want to get your overall thoughts on. On the Cavs. Cavs are one of the two favorites in the east coming into the season. Them in the Knicks. It feels like it should be, you know, kind of. It's kind of. I mean, we. We said this before, like, if you're the Cavs or the Knicks and you're don't make the Eastern Conference Finals 1 or you don't make the finals and it's not. And you're not losing to the other team that we're talking about, you got to look yourself in the mirror and be like, what the are we doing? Like, you got to make some real. You have no other other choice but to make changes, even if you don't want to, if you guys can't get it done this year. And so getting a first full game look at the Cavs as a favorite in the east, part of potentially the inner circle by proxy of being one of the two favorites in the East. What'd you think? Of course, no Darius Garland, no Max Druce.
- [38:18]
Greg Monakis
Yeah. And they were missing Sam Merrill as well. So they're missing three of their top eight. I mean, welcome to the world of losing a little bit of talent and having to figure it the out Cavs, you know, like that's what the Celtics gonna be doing all season. So, you know, judging what they did, what they were throwing out there versus what the Celtics are thrown out there, things were pretty even, right? Jalen Brown vs. Donovan Mitchell can be a wash. You would hope Evan Mobley and Jared Allen could make more of an impact on the game than they did. Evan Mobley was minus 22 on the night, 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists to steal and two blocks. But you didn't feel him right? Same thing. Like that stat line's okay. The same thing we talked about Jalen in the first game. Like, you gotta feel like if you're gonna be a star, you have to have your presence felt in every moment that you're out there. And credit to Josh Mina, because Josh Minot was the reason why Evan Mobley was unable to be as aggressive as he needed to be. Because he was just like, what the is this thing just running around like this? Like six foot nine mosquitoes?
- [39:21]
Will
Yeah, yeah, 100. And I, I think for the Cavs, I, I, they, the Cavs on paper, I think always look so good. And I was a huge fan of the Lonzo ball pickup in the off season. I thought that was going to be a really good move for them. More times than not, I just leave underwhelmed. When I'm, when I'm watching the Cavs once a year or twice a year, they hit like these massive hot streaks where they are out of their mind on like 12, 15, 18 game winning streaks. But like outside of those windows over the last two seasons, I always just leave a little underwhelmed. Like even last year when they beat the Celtics twice, I didn't really mean much to me because we played super underhanded in both of those games, right. And so I was like, cool, you guys be as underhanded full strength. We beat you guys twice. If we're at full strength come playoff time, I was never afraid of the Cavs. And so right now I, I still just look at the Cavs like, I, I just don't have a lot of faith in this team. And this is, you know, I'm not trying to put too much stock into the fifth game of the season, but they just didn't do anything to change my mind tonight. I still think they're a good team, but there's just nothing I saw tonight that I'm like, ah, this is different about this team. And, you know, they don't have their full team, so maybe that's all it is. But I guess, I mean, Jalen Tyson was probably the only thing that really stood out to me as a guy that I was like, ah, it wasn't familiar with your game. I thought he was, he was a solid guy that just wasn't expecting a lot from. I thought he had a really solid game. But, yeah, the Cavs remain a team that, that they're, they're good, but I still can't put a lot of faith.
- [40:49]
Greg Monakis
Yeah, I don't, I don't look at them as like a legit NBA title contender. They're. They're going to be a really good team. I'm kind of like those Hawks teams back in the day that Kenny Atkinson was on the staff, right? Pretty sure. Kenny.
- [41:02]
Will
Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure he was on that, too. But. But I mean, here's the thing. Like, the east, like, you know, the Sixers are under. The east is starting off very weird. Sixers, undefeated. Cavs, whatever. Nick's also just lost to the Bucks last night where Giannis was just being superhuman. And yeah, I still think the Bucks roster stinks. Although Ryan Rollins. Very interested in Ryan Rollins. He's actually pretty. Looking like a pretty interesting.
- [41:23]
Greg Monakis
I haven't, I didn't, I didn't get a chance to check out that game. Tell me about Ryan Rollins.
- [41:28]
Will
Can just shoot, can handle the ball. Like, my biggest thing that I was like, Bucks don't have anyone that could dribble. They have no one that can dribble. It's Cole, Anthony, maybe Kevin Porter Jr. And then Giannis, and that's it. And like, Giannis can do whatever. Giannis is superhuman. He's insane. I was never doubting that. But it's just if he's not gonna play for 15 games, which is normally what happens, like, that's just, you know, they're going to be really struggling. But Ryan Rollins has become a guy. I've watched probably about a game and a half of the of the Bucks and Ryan Rollins each time handles the ball, can shoot the ball, makes really smart decisions. Giannis seems to trust him, like, to the point where, like, that's the only guy I've seen Giannis be like, I'm out here, but you can bring the ball up. Like the only guy I've seen him. Him feel comfortable with that. So. So I think that's the guy. Next time you watch, I'd be curious to get your take on him. But again, Knicks, you know, I think they're two and two. Magic lost again tonight. Magic are one in four to start the season and they're giving up a ton of points. They give up 135 points. The Pistons tonight in regulation lost by over 20.
- [42:26]
Greg Monakis
Dude, my Raptors are struggling after that. Big.
- [42:29]
Will
Yeah, they're one and four and they lost by 18. Yeah, it's not. Not looking good for the Raptors after that. So. So my point being with the whole Cavaliers thing, like, I don't. I'm with you. I don't think they're a contender, but by default they're kind of in the top two. 3.
- [42:43]
Greg Monakis
The Easy Terrible man.
- [42:45]
Will
Which then just makes them a contender. Because if you get to the finals, like Shay rolls an ankle or, you know, Jokic pulls a hammy, all of a sudden it's like, oh, you got a chance. You know what I mean? So it does put them in that position, but it's. It's weak, man. It's weak. And so just a week into the season here, week plus, but we'll see how things turn out. We got the, the red hot Sixers on Friday night. And again, as you mentioned, Greg, that is going to be an NBA in season tournament, NBA cup game. So we will have a breakdown of that game. Very excited to see part two of VJ Edgecomb to see how the Celtics respond that game against the Sixers and then as you mentioned, back to back against the Rockets on Saturday night. IME Udoka. We'll have a podcast coming out on Sunday. Monday, Sunday night, Monday morning. Recapping both of those games and taking a look around the league. Anything else you got here, Greg, before we sign off for the night?
- [43:48]
Greg Monakis
Nah, man. Ready for bed.
- [43:51]
Will
I'm ready for bed. Celtics two, two game win streak here. One game away from getting right back to.500. Right where we think this team's gonna be. Guys, everything's cool. We're good. We don't have to worry about talking about tanking just yet. We're okay. Let's put that let's put those talks on pause and let's enjoy the Celtics Friday night against the Sixers. We will catch you guys later. It don't take much, no more.
- [44:20]
Greg Monakis
Until.
- [44:20]
Will
I hit the floor it's you I find it don't take much, no more until I'm at your door.
- [44:35]
Walmart Holiday Ad Narrator
The who's down and who Newville were making their list but some didn't know. Walmart has the best brands for their gifts.
- [44:42]
Will
What about toys? Do they have brands kids have been wanting all year? Yep. Barbie, Tonys and Lego.
- [44:47]
MultiCare Ad Narrator
Gifts that will make them all cheer.
- [44:49]
Will
Do you mean they have all the all the brands I adore? They have Nintendo, Nespresso, Apple and more.
- [44:55]
Walmart Holiday Ad Narrator
What about so the who answered questions from friends till they were blue. Each one listened and shouted from Walmart? Who knew? Shop gifts from top brands for everyone on your list in the Walmart, Apple.