← Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
Green With Envy: A Boston Celtics Podcast
The Under Appreciated Draft + a Playoff Bracket Check In
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- [00:01]
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Will
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- [01:02]
Will
to Green with Envy with Will and Greg. All right everybody, another week of Celtics basketball is in the books. We'll take a look back. Plus we're going to start looking ahead here. We're going to start doing a weekly check in here on the Celtics path to the finals. Seeing how the Eastern Conference shapes up and break down week over week. Plus we're going to appreciate the underappreciated on this podcast. We're doing a draft things that are underappreciated right now in the NBA. Things, players, maybe it goes outside the NBA. Who knows? You never know with us. So you got to stick around and you guys know the deals. Scream with envy.
- [01:39]
Greg Manakis
Let's lock in.
- [01:59]
Will
What up, what up, what up? Welcome into another edition of Green with Envy. As always, this is your boy Will. We are checking in on a Sunday. 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 manakis. Greg, Celtics 1 and 2 on their last road trip this past week against Cleveland, San Antonio and okc. So I got to be honest, it, it, it's a, it's a good one and two to me. I don't know if you agree, but I feel like it's a pretty damn good one and two for the Celtics.
- [02:31]
Greg Manakis
Yeah, especially, you know, we were at the game in San Antonio and it looked like Jaylen Brown was on his way to having one of the games of his life and he gets kicked out right before halftime. So, you know, the fact that they were able to hang in the second half, and then you go to okc, you don't have Derrick White, you don't have Jason Tatum, and you still put up a game against the. The league's best with Jalen Brown kind of being the head of the snake and Peyton PR doing what we thought he might not be able to. To do against a team like the Thunder, and that is ball out and make big shots, you know, minus the last shot of the game. So I'm very encouraged by the, by the. By the trip. I am looking forward to the rest of the season, and I'm looking forward to the Celtics being real contenders.
- [03:14]
Will
Yeah, tough to put that last shot up, Richard. It wasn't. Wasn't much he's really going to be able to. To do with that. But yeah, I think it's a pretty successful one and two week two and two overall, including the win against the lowly Wizards last night, who deserve to lose every single game for the rest of the season. Maybe eternity after what happened earlier this week.
- [03:33]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
Yeah, can we.
- [03:34]
Greg Manakis
Can we talk about that real quick? Because there was some backlash against the backlash to Bam Adebio. Right? So Eric Spolster comes out and he's like, I'm not apologizing to anybody. And then Bill Simmons kind of zags and him and Legler on his pod talk about how, listen, Bam deserves to get to 83. If you're going to blame anybody, blame the Wizards for. And blame NBA tanking for putting out a team that can't stop somebody from getting to 40 points at halftime. Right. Jaylen Brown goes on his twitch. He kind of echoes that same sentiment. So, you know, with almost a full week now with BAM's 83, where do you lie? Are you on team blame the Wizards team blame Bam or you know, how we. How we kind of doling out that blame?
- [04:16]
Will
I mean, if we're doing a blame pie here, it's probably like. And this is something I was going to bring up in our segment later, but I'll use it now, is like it's probably 60, 40, like Wizards versus maybe even 70, 30, like that. I'm leaning more. This is like the Wizard's fault more than anything else because, you know, I said this when we did our. Our segment on BAM, like 70 of these points are relatively legitimate. Right. You know what I mean? Like, it's really the end of this. But the big chunk of what made up that 70. And I went back and there's A video that was floating around of, like, all of the fouls. They're all fouls. Like, these dudes did not stop following. Like, and they. And. And they're playing a team that, you know, they traded for Trey Young. They trade Anthony Davis. Trey Young doesn't play in that game. AD hasn't played a game for them. Like, you know, they're. They're not a very good team. I think there might have been a few other guys that were out that night for them too, even out of, like, their younger guys that are good. So, you know, I, I think this is a weird culmination of, you know, tanking with, like, you know, I, I still think there's some grossness to the Bam part of it. Like, on Zach Lowe's podcast, he went through and he was like, listen, the raw number is 83. But I'm telling you right now, it's maybe not even a top 10 scoring game that I'm like, super impressed by. And he went through some other ones where it's, you know, the part that Bam is 7 of 22 from 3. Like, to me, like, if I could wrap my head around this more, it's like, yeah, Bam went 14 of 20 from three. Like, hey, that just happens, you know, but he's right. Seven of 22. He's 50 on the rest. And then he just got 43 free throw attempts. But that's on the Wizards. And if you watch some of the baskets he got, like, he just got like, really easy put backs or he got like, really easy lanes to the basket. Like, that's on the Wizard. So the. The end of the game with the Heat following missing free throws and like, basically I, Bam throwing up three pointers just clearly double teamed. Like, might as well throwing it over your head. Like, like just stupid shots. Like, that's on the Heat in. In Bam. But also, I agree with Sportster. I wouldn't apologize either. I would just stick to my guns. But let's put it 30 on them because there's like 70 legit points, 65 legit points, and the rest was on the Wizards. You can't let a guy like Bam Adebayo go for 83 more than double his career, his career high.
- [06:28]
Greg Manakis
That's absurd, right? And that's kind of why I wanted to get into this underappreciated draft, because I think Bam overall is one of the most underappreciated players in the league. I think, you know, that's why I've always been a. Bam's been a favorite of mine. I always thought he had more in his bag than he showed just because of his mentality on the court. He's always more of a distributor, you know, willing to kind of run the elbows and facilitate from that six, nine, power forward spot lot. And he just has a game where, you know, other guys are not playing. Spolster calls him out, and it's like, hey, we need you to kind of be the head of the snake tonight. And he goes up against the team Perfect Storm that's not trying to win, and he goes out. He puts up over 40 points in the first half. I think the craziest, most underappreciated part of that is the 7 for 22 from 3 means that he had a legitimate shot at 100. You know, he hits a couple more of those threes, and all of a sudden he's at 95. And you're like, holy, Bam's at 95 with two minutes.
- [07:24]
Will
And so think about this, like, the 31 he had in the first quarter, like, there was no shenanigans there, right? Like, that's just straight up tip. Let's go like, 31, and a quarter from a guy like Bam. That's freaking nuts. Like. Like, you know, I mean, there's a lot of scorers in the NBA that don't ever put up 30 plus in a quarter. Like, there's nothing about that. That's. That's unlegitimate. Right? So, like, that's also like, another underappreciated part of all of this madness that hit so many different quadrants this past week.
- [07:54]
Greg Manakis
Right. But I. I just didn't think it was possible for someone to, like, get up the amount of shots and have the usage to get to 100 points in today's NBA. But, like, looking at Bam stat line, he could have had 100 points in the game, which is, like, the craziest part of the game to me. So I thought that was, like, a pretty good way to kind of frame what we're doing on this pod today with the underappreciated draft that we're about to do. Especially, you know, Jalen Brown. A few years ago, LeBron James, when he drafted him for an all star game, he called him Jalen underappreciated Brown. Right? And I've kind of just had that always kind of lingering in the back of my head. And when you think about Jalen's performance against the spurs before he gets tossed, the tough whistle he gets throughout, you know, his entire career, and then when you juxtapose that with Shay Gilchrist Alexander, who, as Jalen came out and was just talking about, like, hey, he's not playing basketball. He's just trying to draw fouls.
- [08:48]
Will
Right.
- [08:49]
Greg Manakis
It kind of. Kind of re triggered in my mind. Jalen Brown's still one of the most underappreciated basketball players on the face of planet earth today.
- [08:58]
Will
Yeah. So let's get into this. I was going to do the podcast the reverse way, but let's jump into it now because we're already here with our underappreciated draft. So we're going to go back and forth here drafting things that we just think are underappreciated, overlooked, that we think deserve some space here to be discussed. And so we already kind of jumped into it here with Wizards, some of the bam stuff. Wizards were on my list here. So, Greg, let's go to you here. What's. What's something else that you got here that you want to talk about that's underappreciated?
- [09:28]
Greg Manakis
I'm going to stick with Jaylen Brown right now, and I'm going to go to the end of the OKC Thunder game, and Jalen was having, you know, another underappreciated night where people look at the raw stat line. I think he was like 10 for 25 from the field with six turnovers or something like that. And people start saying, oh, Jaylen Brown's. Like, he didn't. He wasn't even close to the, you know, the. The player that SGA is. And I'm like, actually, he was in that game. Like the. The block on Chat Holmgren lead into the dunk. Those moments, the. The willingness.
- [09:59]
Will
One of my favorite Jalen Brown plays of the entire year was that. That block and dunk on Chad, right?
- [10:04]
Greg Manakis
It was. It was just unbelievable. And, like, the athleticism, the dunk out of the dunker spot, like all these different things. But the specific play I want to go to is the very end of the game where. Where Jalen Brown, who has been compared to the Scottie Pippen season, when Jordan goes to play, goes to play baseball, right? And there's that famous game where Scottie Pippen does not get the last play of the game drawn up for him, and he gets upset and he whines and he pouts and he sits down on the end of the bench and Tony Kukoc ends up hitting a shot to, I think, tie the game and send it to overtime or something like that, right? And Joe Missoula in this moment where Jaylen Brown is The, you know, having his MVP duel with sga, a moment he's clearly been waiting for. And he decides, I'm going to use Jaylen Brown as a decoy on this final play. And we're going to get Payton pritchard an open 30 foot shot. And Jaylen Brown cuts hard from the right wing all the way to the left corner ball side. And he takes two OKC Thunder players with him, drawing all the attention away from Jaylen, away from Payton Pritchard, who just steps into a pretty wide open three point shot. Shea comes off the inbounder and actually makes a decent contest on it. But I think that play right, right there, that is such an underappreciated, selfish, selfless play from Jaylen Brown because, you know, he wanted to take that shot, but he decided, I'm going to use the gravity I have to get Peyton Pritchard an open shot. Someone who had already hit two buzzer beaters in that game and has been known to hit clutch shots his entire career. So shout out to Jaylen Brown. I thought that was a really underappreciated moment.
- [11:34]
Will
It's funny, we're doing an underappreciated podcast. We're going to leave with two different Jaylen Brown things here because I also have something for Jalen Brown and he's an MVP candidate. First team all the NBA. We've talked a lot him on this, but we're going to continue to. But on. On the point that you're making here, I think adding to just basketball things that I enjoy both watching and playing is making a cut that opens something else. Right. Like, and this is from like our men's league too. Like, it feels really good when you make a cut to a certain area and that opens up like a teammate. Like, I love that. That makes me feel. I'm like, all right, I'd made the, like in my head, like, I get this extra satisfaction I of like, that was clearly the right play. Even though, like, especially in immensely. Like, no one gives a. Like no one's noticing this. I'm the only one that's getting like joy out of this. Like occasionally, you know, one of our teammates might be like, hey, like, like you'll notice it, right? And that. And there's like that satisfaction to it. But like, it's something that I love watching because it's one of the few things I can look at and like try to apply to myself because most of these things guys are doing are so alien. And I'm like, I. It doesn't matter. I can picture this in my head. I can't go out do that. But if I can watch like, hey, I'm a guy spacing out in the corner, but I can cut down to the baseline that sucks somebody in and opens up a wing three for somebody, like, that's something where I can be like, okay, I can try to imagine this situation and actually put it into a game where I'm playing. So it's a really fun thing to watch for because it's one of the few things that you can try to apply for yourself. And so when you see it work in real life, like I love, like, you know, when you're watching the game and you just can see how the geometry was shifted because by a player making a selfless act. And that's like, again, I think that's really kind of like for people that are locked in watching really intense in depthly for certain things. But like, I think that's when I have the time to do it and focus. And mostly with Celtics games, that's one of my favorite things to look for. So I think that's a. That's an excellent call out for something with, with Jalen Brown. Something small. Mine's probably a little bit more on the nose, but I just think it's something given Jalen's season that deserves attention because you know he's not gonna win MVP and that's fine. Like, I think he's gonna be gonna be first team all NBA. Or at least we'll have some discussions around him being first team all NBA. I think that in my opinion should be a lot, but we'll see. It could get crowded depending on number of games played. But one of the things that probably separates him and puts him slightly lower than some of the other candidates, right? So let's think of Cade, let's think of Jokic. Let's think of SGA, obviously, is playmaking big.
- [14:07]
Greg Manakis
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- [14:13]
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- [15:13]
Will
And we think about, you know, Jaylen Brown for years, Greg, what's been the assist to turnover ratio at best, one to one. Exactly. So I've been noticing, we've talked about it a little bit here. Just like the assist totals ticking up in Jalen Brown's game. So over the last month, which was I believe about 11 games or so that we are looking at, his scoring has dipped down a little bit, right. But and his efficiency has gone down because it was so sky high. So it's dropped down. But what we're seeing is this year he's averaging 5 assists in total in the last 11 games over the last month he's averaging 7.2 assists per game. Talked about in San Antonio. He got kicked out of the game at halftime with seven assists, right? He had eight points and seven assists in that game and he's doing so at a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio, 7.2 assists, 3.5 turnovers in that time frame. We know how high his usage has been across the board. And you know, obviously this over a full season for assist would stack up very nicely with the K's, with the Lucas, with the Shays. And so you know, I don't know like how sustainable it is, but it's a real sample and it's been, you know, he's been improving that playmaking but consistently over this month you're just seeing time and time again it's seven assists, it's eight assists, it's double digit assists and it's in last night there was, you know, he only had I think three assists against the Wizards last night. But there was a play and I promise somebody highlighted it. And then I watched it again this morning where he comes down the court, he finds I think Sam Houser, he misses the shot, he gets the rebound, he finds Derrick White, Derrick White misses the shot, Jalen gets the rebound, Jalen finds Derek White and he's manipulating the defense on every single one of these Passes like it's not just got the ball, kick it out, but it's kind of like manipulating with his eyes, making kind of that next level read again. First, the Wizards we saw with the Wizards defenses, so take it with a grain of salt. But I think there's enough in there that I think Jaylen Brown's increased playmaking with Tatum out and his usage and getting to that, that kind of vaunted two to one area that we were really thought was never going to be, that was like the area of Jalen's game that we were like, fine. Can't put a ceiling on it except for that. It's one to one. It is what it is. Like, that's the underappreciated part of Jalen's spectacular season for me, especially over the last month or so, definitely.
- [17:28]
Greg Manakis
And I think with Jalen, you know, with the continued theme of him being underappreciated, the most recent MVP poll came out and I think Jalen was like number seven on the poll, maybe even number eight.
- [17:40]
Will
And I just think the NBA.com poll, that one sucks. I hate that one.
- [17:44]
Greg Manakis
But Jay, I mean, Jalen has been. He has been, I think, as high as 3 in that poll. So I don't know if NBA came out and was like, hey, he can't be complaining about the refs like this vehemently and this publicly. We've got to drop him down. But I do think it's. It's worth looking at potential assists for him. So number one in the league this year is Kade Cunningham. 17.8 potential assists per game. Jokic is at 17.7. When we go all the way down, I'm trying to find Jalen, trying to find Jalen. Jaylen Brown is, see, Derrick White is actually at 14.7. Peyton Pritchard's at 13.9. Jalen Brown, here we go, 13.6. So 13.6. So he's about four potential assists off of the league leader in, in all basketball, Kate Cunningham and then Nicola Jokic. So when you think about it at that level, in the shots that with the shooters that are surrounding him, it's really a crapshoot, really. It all has to do with guys making shots or not making shots. The fact that he's at 13.6, you know, top 25 in the league in terms of potential assists per game, I think that speaks to the level of playmaking and the continued unselfishness that we've seen out of Jalen Brown this year.
- [18:59]
Will
Yeah, let's. Let's maybe Move off, Jalen Brown. This is a fairly obvious appreciated guy in our underappreciated segment. So let's see. Let's see what you got next, Rick. See if we can get back into the spirit of this year.
- [19:10]
Greg Manakis
Okay, I'm gonna go to a former Celtic, Marcus Smart.
- [19:14]
Will
So we have too much of the same brain. I hate this. The Wizards being on here for their role in BAM83 was on my list. Marcus Smart is also on my list. So let's love it. Let's.
- [19:26]
Greg Manakis
Do you want to do the Market Smart segment? You can go.
- [19:28]
Will
No, no, you go for it. You go for it. No, no, go for it. This is all you.
- [19:30]
Greg Manakis
Okay. So Marcus Smart being a legit end of game guy once again for the Los Angeles Lakers, who are on an absolute heater right now. Luca, Austin Reeves, if you missed that game last night, everyone that's listening, go back and watch the fourth quarter. Great plays out of Luca, some great plays out of Austin Reeves. But Marcus Smart really stood out to me as someone that J.J. redick just can't keep off the court at this point. And I didn't. I thought that portion of his career was well beyond him. I thought he was going to be a 15 to 20 minute game guy. But he's, you know, he's 28 minutes a game for the Lakers this season in the last eight games. He has at least four steals in three of his last eight games. He has a positive plus minus in all of those games. Plus minus is crazy through the roof. And it continues to shoot with irrational confidence, as you know, much to, you know, the chagrin of Celtics fans over the years, where we saw Marcus Smart take some of the biggest shots in any game. Right? Because there's so much attention on some of the other guys. They would have to be the decoy and Marcus Smart would be the one to take the shot. And yesterday in the game, they asked him, I think it was at the end of the third quarter, and there was the. The between quarter interview and they asked him, hey, Marcus, you have 16 points in this game tonight. What else do you have to do to help your team win? And he goes, gotta keep making shots, right? And he understood that it was about the shooting for him because the defense is always going to be there. And there was this one moment in the game last night where it was a tie game. Late in the fourth quarter, LeBron James dives on the floor looking to get a loose ball. At 42 years old, just absolutely crazy. Comes up with it. Jump ball with Jamal Murray he did
- [21:10]
Will
not hold back on that.
- [21:11]
Greg Manakis
That was wild. That was a great Play. Out of LeBron. Loses the jump ball to Jamal Murray, which was very surprising. Ball ends up in Aaron Gordon's hands. He's dribbling up the court against Marcus Smart and Marcus is just like prime. Marcus waiting there for Aaron Gordon. Times his dribble, pokes it away, beats him down for a layup on a fast break, forces a timeout. And it was one of those moments where I was like, man, I've been comparing Baylor Shireman to Marcus Smart all season. Like I need to, I need to check myself because Marcus Smart, the defensive instincts are just through the roof.
- [21:43]
Will
It's funny that you say, you know, Marcus Smart's defense is, is always going to be there because earlier in the year it looked. But man, I just don't know if Marcus is getting back to Marcus. Right. And I honestly have not really sued. I, I don't all like when Lucas on the heater. He's fun to watch, but I, I don't love watching Luca and LeBron at this age. Now it's just like if you're watching a Lakers game, you're just waiting too long for LeBron. So I haven't watched a lot of Lakers basketball because I just haven't just not super like fun for me. So last night was the first time I had tuned in, in a little bit to watch a good, good amount of that Lakers Nuggets game, which was an excellent game. And getting to see Marcus back in that form was really fun. Like seeing him be a real guy in a real moment against two high quality teams, like, that was fun having him out there and we end up hitting a big three as well. I don't know if that was in the fourth or overtime when he hit.
- [22:36]
Greg Manakis
I think it was overtime because him and Eaton, I think had like all the points in overtime for them.
- [22:40]
Will
Dude, the funniest deandre Ayton play was he made this nasty block but then forgot to grab the ball. Yeah, that was one of the fun. It was like, dude, what do you do?
- [22:49]
Greg Manakis
Kept it inbound somehow and then, yeah, it just let it go. He did the Bill Russell was awesome. Aiden was awesome in that game and you know, continued like underappreciated moment on that Austin Reeves play, DeAndre Ayton, because that was a drawn up play. Like they actually drew that.
- [23:05]
Will
You're talking about the missed free throw, right?
- [23:06]
Greg Manakis
The missed free throw, yeah, where Austin Reeves shoots it off the left side of the rim and deandre Ayton pushes Jokic under the basket and then seals him off to allow Austin Reeves to get the floater. So that was really impressive stuff.
- [23:18]
Will
Yeah, that was fun, man. And, you know, Marcus Smart being. Being in that mix, making winning plays was. Was awesome. And I. I'll be honest. Like, there was a couple times in both the fourth quarter and overtime where I thought he showed a little bit of constraint in not taking some of the shots that were him taking. There were a couple moments where I was sitting there. I was like, here it comes.
- [23:41]
Greg Manakis
And then he moved the ball to Austin Reeves. Secondary action. Yeah, great, right?
- [23:45]
Will
And it's. And, you know, it's. It's one of those things where it's like, you know, as he gets older and especially, you know, one of the things I think was always hard during the Marcus Smart era with the Celtics was he was older than the Jays, right? So there was a little bit of, yo, we're the same age, kind of, because it was like, Marcus Smart, then Jalen Brown got drafted, then Jason Tatum. So he's like, yeah, these are my guys. But, like, you know, I'm. I'm the. I'm the one here now, when you have LeBron and, like, Luca, like, is already established. He wasn't there for, like, the early days, right? There's no like, coming up. It's just like, Lucas Luca. So, like, in that. And that's where, you know, we're in. Just in general, where Marcus Smart is at is in his career. Like, I think it might be, to a degree, a little easier for him to look around and be like, all right, like, I'm clearly option four. And if we're being real, he's probably option five along with Rui. Like, it's, like, it's probably. It's probably what he is, but I think it's a little bit easier for him to do that at this stage of his career, giving kind of what's happened between Boston and where he is now.
- [24:44]
Greg Manakis
Right?
- [24:45]
Will
But, yeah, I think just Marcus Smart being back. I heard Zach Lowe, I think, talking about him, I was like, I gotta check this out. And then last night, I was like, that looks a lot more like a guy that can make a difference in a player.
- [24:56]
Greg Manakis
He looks in shape. Like, he was getting a little doughy. Obviously, that comes with not playing. And he was probably depressed from being traded from the Celtics for being real. So that combined with injuries, I think it just led to Marcus kind of being a forgotten guy and being written off as someone who could make an impact on a. On An NBA team. And the Lakers, you know, the fact that they're third in the Western Conference, they now have the tiebreaker. That's why that game was so important for them against the Nuggets last night. It was to determine the tiebreaker. So I think the Lakers, you know, if they can end up with a three seed. As much as I've bashed Luca all season, I think that's definitely got to put him into top five MVP candidate. He's been playing a little bit more defense, too, of late, getting some steals, being super handsy. So, you know, shout out to Luca. I'm. I'm not a Luca fan. I still think he's Luca Donkey. Luca fat ass. But, you know, I think he's. He's playing a lot better basketball. Jokic, by the way, comment in the chat here from Scorch Sore. Shout out. Scorch score scorched. Source for being in the chat Today says Bam's 83 are about as legit as Jokic's three defensively valueless MVPs. Yogic did have six deals last night.
- [26:04]
Will
Yeah, Yoga is a very smart player, right? That's. That's always kind of. Kind of his thing. And the thing is, like, he's just average, right? No one's gonna say he's a good defender. He's an average defender because of Zacchu. That's all anyone wants Luca to be. And that's why I hate when, like, he gets credit for, like, weeks at a time. It's like, okay, then just be average, like, 90 of the time. That's it, right? That's all anyone's asking. No one's asking you to be Marcus.
- [26:26]
Greg Manakis
You know, it was a pretty bad Luca moment defensively last night where Jokic had that ridiculous skip pass across to. I forget who.
- [26:33]
Will
That was crazy. It was hard away in the Jordan.
- [26:35]
Greg Manakis
Yeah, it's a hardaway in the corner, but Luca, like, he jumps right, and he can't jump, so he barely gets off the ground. He, like, tries to bat at the ball. It's like the moment you see that ball going to the corner, you just gotta turn and run that guy off the line. And he was, like, a full step and a half late there.
- [26:50]
Will
So it felt like that was in the air for a long time. Like, that ball felt like when you try to throw a wiffle ball too far to somebody and the wind catches it and it's just, like, sailing down to the right. Like, it. It just kept drifting, and it was a hell of a shot.
- [27:06]
Greg Manakis
Tasted a frisbee and you're like, man, I'm never gonna catch this Frisbee.
- [27:09]
Will
Yeah, it just keeps drifting and drifting. You're like, damn, how far is this thing gonna be? It's gonna take like I wasn't sure it was gonna get there. Ended up being a really great shot by, by Tim Hardway, but, but overall man, fun, fun ass game last night. Nuggets, Lakers. That was a good one. Good basketball man, all around the NBA right now. Really exciting. All right, let me go to my next thing here. I'm gonna go back to the Celtics and I'm gonna go to our two way guy, Ron Harper Jr. We talk a lot about the power rankings here of the Wings and with Josh Minut's departure, Ron Harper Jr. Entered the mix and he's been pretty solidly at four and it's a fair assessment, man. However, what he did this week against San Antonio and okc, I just think it needs to be called out. Like being at that spurs game, Jalen gets tossed, there's no Peyton Pritchard. Like that third quarter, me and you were like, I think Derek Weiss is going to have to try to play this game basically one on five offensively. Like that's all that's going Tatum still, you know, he had a spurt in the fourth, but in the third it just felt like it was. Everything was, was on Derrick White's shoulder. Ron Harper is the only other guy that was out there really making shots and being there. And I don't know if it translated on tv, but there was at least two, if not three of those threes that he went six of nine from three in this game, in that game. And there was at least two to three of those threes where I'm convinced he couldn't see the basket. Like I'm convinced Wemby just blocked out everything. And I was pretty sure at least one of those corner threes is going off the side of the backboard. Like I, I just don't understand how he even got them off. So you know, for a guy who's on a two way that's only played in, you know like 30, less than 30, 20 something games this year and he's had, you know, two starts and he's made real impacts in like three pretty memorable games. The win against Houston on the road was his first start. You know, he made an impact in the. Even though these were two losses again, two different types of losses against the spurs and okc and I just think he really stood out. It's crazy that The Celtics have a guy that we're ranking fourth on this list of young wings that can step in and be that valuable. And like against the Thunder, you know, he didn't have obviously the same numbers, but he played 12 over 12 minutes and was a plus 15. And so this is different to me than when a guy steps in. It's like, oh, he performed against the Wizards, the Pacers, the, the Kings, right. Like Ron Harper Jr's had some moments where he's been placed in really tough scenarios against really tough and quality opponents. And so it, it just goes to the depth and development that the Celtics have and that their, that their staff have been able to, you know, get out of these back end bench guys. And so now, you know, when the Celtics get into the playoffs here, like we'll see how Joe Missoula trims the rotation. But I wouldn't rule it out that there's an opportunity that potentially Ron Harper could make an appearance in somewhat meaningful way at a time in the playoffs. And for a guy that's on a two way who's likely going to be converted by the way by the end of the season because as I was having have to do some, some cap management here, Max Shulga just got converted. Charles Bassey got signed to a 10 day eventually that's going to be Ron Harper Jr. By the end of the year. So he likely will be eligible for the playoffs. I, I just think he's a guy that just, you know, there's not going to be a ton for us to talk about and speculate because he's not going to be in the main rotation. But the fact that every couple of games he gets in there for 30 minutes and he's quality and he's solid like it's pretty crazy to see especially against high quality opponents components.
- [30:36]
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- [31:06]
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- [31:36]
Greg Manakis
He's been great, man. His defensive instincts and his defensive measurables make a lot of sense when you consider the stock that he comes from. You know, his dad was a great defender as well. So I've been, I've been really impressed with him. I think the shot's super smooth. I think he's got a little bit, a little bit of playmaking out of the pick and roll that we might be able to tap into. Celtics did sign Max Shilga. They converted his two way to a standard contract and signed Charles Bassey to attend. 10, 10 day contract. That does not mean that Ron Harper Jr. Won't get converted to that two way. So, you know. Yeah, just a timing thing. Okay. So my last one will I think is a pretty good segue into the next segment. So do you have another one you want to go to?
- [32:19]
Will
Nah, I'm good. Let's go. Let's go to yours.
- [32:21]
Greg Manakis
All right, so the next segment that we're doing, do you want to set up the playoff check in or.
- [32:27]
Will
Yeah, well, let's. I'll get it up on the screen here. So.
- [32:30]
Greg Manakis
Okay.
- [32:30]
Will
One of the things that we're going to start doing here on I think on the Sunday podcast, it makes the most sense. Just kind week over week is just taking a look. The playoff brackets are coming right. Like we're, we're roughly about a month out here from hitting the play in week, which then leads us right into the first round of the playoffs. And so I think each week I just kind of wanted to keep an eye on like what does that path continue to look like? How does it shape right now? Celtics have a game and a half lead on the Knicks. The Magic all of a sudden are in the five seed the Greg, you know the craziest things I thought about looking at this here. The records for the teams in the 7 through 10 spot of the east have all of a sudden become very legit hit records like across the board. The Heat at 7 seed are 38 and 30. The Hawks are 36 and 31. Both of those teams may be the two hottest teams in the Eastern Conference. The Sixers have fallen, but they're still 36 and 31. And then you have the Hornets that everyone was kind of looking out for as, like, hey, can they get to the 5 seed? They're in the 10 seed at 500, and we saw them kick our ass two weeks ago. Like, all of a sudden, the Eastern Conference depth, where we were, like, maybe that still resides on the west, like, is looking a lot different. Like, like, I'm, I'm pretty shocked at some of these records. So I think it's interesting to keep an eye as how this is all going to shift week to week.
- [33:42]
Greg Manakis
Yeah, for sure. And the, the last underappreciated thing I wanted to talk about was the Orlando Magic, who have suddenly found themsel in that fifth seed. And I, I, I've just been really impressed, you know, tuning into Magic games here and there, seeing them with the lack of depth that they really have. Like, if you look at the guys that they're playing off their bench, they really don't have much coming off their bench outside of Mo. Mo V isn't playing right now. He's been out. So I think their resurgence, getting into the fifth seed, I think they're like 8 and 2 in their last 10 or something like that. They are actually closer to home court than we are to the first seed. So they have, like, really talked their way back into being a legitimate playoff contender this year. And I think because they were so bad at the beginning of the season and so underwhelming compared to preseason expectations, people haven't yet given them the respect that they might deserve because there's still 15 games left in the season. If they continue at this 80% clip or 70% clip, they're gonna, there's a real chance that they're gonna have home court. And if you forget about the first 50 games of the season and you just look at the talent that they have, the defensive identity that they have, adding Desmond Bain, Paolo playing like a number one again, doing a lot of stuff off ball. It's not just Paolo dribbling the air out of the ball, coming off of ISOs and things like that. They're really moving him around. He posting up. He's coming off of flare screens. He's coming off of, like, wedge screens in the paint. They're doing a lot to free up Paulo. So I think there's a world in which the Orlando Magic, when it, when playoff time comes around, whoever faces him in the first round is in for one hell of a fight, as we saw last year. And I think that the Magic could sneak their way into the semifinals and kind of a Dark horse to make it to the Eastern Conference finals with the, the. The power that they have on the front line. And with Desmond Bane playing ridiculous basketball right now to go. Paulo, watch out for them, especially if Wagner can get healthy and Jaylen Sugg stays healthy.
- [35:41]
Will
Yeah. Two years running been my conference finals pick is that it's going to be the Orlando Magic. Maybe this is another team very similar, as I mentioned, the Lakers that I've kind of tuned out on for a little bit that I need to tune back into because I, I really thought the Bane move for them was fantastic. Like, they were one of the teams that I was like, you got to think about them in the Cavs, Knicks like, conversation to start the year. I was like, I think the Magic are going to be right there. Because honestly, I put a lot of stock in that five game series last year where they were pretty banged up against the Celtics. Like, that was a. That was a freaking tough five game series. Like, they mucked. They mucked it up. And what I really think stood out to me is like, Paulo and Franz, like, stood out as like, yeah, we're gonna lose this series, but we're dudes. Like, we're real guys in this series. Like, Paolo was making plays where I was like, there was a couple stretches where the Celtics just couldn't stop him. And I was like, all right, that's. That's kind of what I think. I think Paolo should be in the Anthony Edwards conversation. Obviously, that's shifted a bit here over the last year, but not. But Paulo is playing a lot better. His rebounds are up, his field goal percentage is back up again. Like, this is a team that is looking different. I do think to the depth point, they have to get Franz back. And I don't know if that's going to throw off what this looks like. This seems to be a team that, you know, one of these guys is always out and then they kind of find a way to play. Then can they reintegrate and we'll see. And I think maybe, you know, if, if and when Franz comes back, we'll see how it goes. This could. This coming up upcoming off season could be their Jalen, could be their Jay's moment. Right?
- [37:12]
Greg Manakis
I. I do think there's a world in which, you know, Franz comes back and they're like, you know what? Like, come off the bench, man. Like, clearly doesn't work with you and Paulo on the court at the same time. There's too much overlap in your skill sets. You. You and your brother could come off the Bench the Wagner brothers and just like, absolutely up. So I do think that that's something they should consider because Da Silva's been great for them playing that spot in, in Wagner's place. And he. He's awesome too. He almost made my underappreciated list because as I've been tuning into the Magic, I've just been like, damn, like, this to Silva guy. I really like him.
- [37:49]
Will
Yeah. My Brazilian brother Tristan De Silva's been great and Anthony Black's been. Been really good for them throughout the entire year. Right. Like, that's been probably the biggest things that Anthony Black has turned in. Like both of those guys have turned into guys. Right. So that gives them a chance with a little bit more depth, but they're really looking at that. With Franz back, they're like eight deep. And I've seen Jet Howard has gotten some minutes lately and then, you know, just for more shooting, he might be an option, but that's still kind of very questionable if you're even stretching it that far. So I think it's definitely something to keep an eye on. But let's take a look here, Greg. Let's. Let's look at how this playoff bracket is shaking out. So, you know, I mentioned the bottom, the play in groups here. When you look at east versus west, it. It really shocks me to look at just the fact that there is. Every team in the east is 500 and above. And when you look to the west, you get the Clippers, who we know how bad they started the season. Even though everyone's saying how great they are, they're one game above.500. Right. And then you get two teams in the warriors and Blazers that are two and three games respectively under.500. So looking at this play in tournament in the east, it's starting to look a lot more legit. Like, I thought we were at a time going to be looking at gas guys. We've got four teams. One team is barely over.500. And this is just like kind of pathetic. But if this is holding, this is. This becomes pretty legit. And looking at this from the Celtics point of view, you know, if things hold them in the Knicks, like, there's still a chance to jockey back and forth. The Celtics still have some tough games coming up and I think there's one more game. Celtics, Knicks on the schedule here. I'm just checking real quick here in live time and I'm stalling. Yeah. Late in the season here, third to last game of the year in New York Celtics and Knicks will tip off on. On April 9th. So maybe that will have playoff implications, but that's going to be something for the Celtics to kind of keep an eye on. So let's look at this kind of 7, 8, 9 area, Greg here, because right now it's Heat, Hawks, but Hawks, Sixers are a virtual tie. So let's kind of lump all three of these teams together. We'll leave the Hornets because they're. At least put the Raptors in there,
- [39:53]
Greg Manakis
too, because the Raptors, they've been kind of sliding in and out of the spot.
- [39:57]
Will
You're right. So. So let's look at those four teams. We'll remove the Hornets for now. We'll look at the RA, the Heat, the Hawks, the 76ers. If you're the Celtics, how do you think you're. You're wanting this to shape out? If you're starting to think about what the path to the finals could look like?
- [40:13]
Greg Manakis
I don't want to see the Sixers. I think that there's a world in which they get healthy and like, the earlier you see the Sixers in the playoffs, the. The worse you're. Worse off you are. Because they're going to be the healthiest they are at the beginning of the playoffs, and then people are going to get hurt. Right.
- [40:27]
Will
Especially if they avoid the play in which. If they get back. I mean, they're injured right now, but. Yeah. Yeah. Either way. Good point.
- [40:33]
Greg Manakis
Yeah. So I don't want to see the Sixers in the first round. I just think that's an unnecessary, tough matchup. So many. You know, there's. There's a reason why it's not completely out of the realm of possibility that the Sixers end up in the Eastern Conference finals just because they have that much talent on their roster. Like, even. Even some of their role players. Every time I watch their role players, I'm like, man, that guy can kind of go a little bit. So I don't want to see the Sixers. I would say I'm fine. Raptors, Heat, Hawks, like, take your pick. I don't think any of those teams can beat us, so as long as we avoid the Sixers, I'm cool.
- [41:08]
Will
I would say Hawks would be my number one team that I'd want to play. I just don't see how they, you know, how they. How they get by this. I don't really see how many of these things besides the 76ers, to your point, because the Sixers have played us tough this year, like, save for the last game. I think we blew them out. But they've. They've beat us twice. And all of those times, Embiid. Either player Embiid was. Was like. Or B did not play or he was like a shell of himself. Think back to like opening night. I know we're a very different team than opening night, but still, like, I think the 76ers are the team that I definitely with you do not want to see. And then I think I would rank it as Hawks would be the number one team I'd want to see. I'd probably go Heat. Then Raptors might be the. Actually, no, I'd go. I'd go. Raptors are the next team I'd want to see. And then Heat. I just, you know, the Raptors are fine. I just. I just don't. I've. I think. Yeah, they're exactly falling to where I thought they'd be like a solid player.
- [41:59]
Greg Manakis
Yeah. And like with Tatum back. I'm not scared of those. To those teams. If, if it was no Tatum, I would say like any of those teams could beat us in. In a first round series. But I think with Tatum, the way that all the young guys have developed this year, I just don't think any of those teams have the talent to. To match up with us with healthy Jason Tatum coming back who look great against the Wizard. So yeah, I think the Sixers are the one team I want to avoid if I had to rank them. I think you ranked them correctly though. I play the Hawks first, Raptors second, Heat third, Sixers fourth.
- [42:30]
Will
Yeah, I think that seems about right. So that potentially could be the 27 matchup. And of course one of those teams gonna have to end up in the six seed. So, you know, I. I think regardless of who ends up in the six seat, I think we would. Correct me if I'm wrong, we would both pick the Knicks to win that series against whoever it is out of. Out of any of those teams. Right.
- [42:45]
Greg Manakis
Yeah. And the Knicks are, you know. Right. Right on our tail, so.
- [42:48]
Will
Right, exactly. That's why I want to do this week over week and kind of see how this changes. But either way, it looks like we are steamrol another semifinals that goes Garden to Garden, TD to Madison Celtics. Knicks looking like it's heading towards that way in the playoffs right now. And. And I think it's interesting because. And we've talked about this a little bit with our. With our guy Lip Tac, friend of the show. Came on here a lot while I was. When my baby. When Mariana was born and was helping us out during that series. And it's funny because, like, the Celtics are have similar DNA to who they were last year, but they also are a different team. Whereas the Knicks are just kind of like the next evolution of the same team that they were last year. Although they have made some, you know, the Jose Alvarado move, Diora getting in the mix, they've got some wrinkles, but it's an interesting matchup for the Celtics. But with this changes that they've made, do you actually think the Celtics match up better this year than they did last year? Even though we thought last year going into it we were like, yeah, we've, we've worked the Knicks three out of four times. Like, going into this, like, we felt really confident. How do you feel about that matchup right now?
- [43:59]
Greg Manakis
I still think the Knicks, I. That's going to be a really tough matchup for us. But we, you know, we have guys to throw at Brunson that I think are at least on par with what we had last year. Right. Drew Holiday, he had, you know, some of the biggest moments going up against Brunson where he came up short, short in, in last playoffs. You know, that first game where he ends up committing the foul where Brunson hits the, gets to the free throw line to ice the game on that comeback. Like, Drew Holiday was not the same guy that he was two years ago for the Celtics. Right. Al Horford was not the same guy. He was getting kind of bullied by Towns a little bit at times in that series and he couldn't box out Mitch Robinson. So the fact that you're throwing in potentially Vuchevic to match up with Robinson, keep him off the boards, you got Cato, who's been playing great basketball, and then you've got all these young wings that you can throw at Brunson. I do think that's going to allow for Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown, Derrick White to save their matchups with Brunson for like the, the biggest moments. And then the switchability of all those guys, I think matches up a little bit better with what the Knicks have going on. You know, remember in the series last year, Derrick White struggled against Bridges. I'd be surprised if he struggles against Bridges again in these playoffs. I think that that's one of those things where he got kind of caugh guard and Bridges took it to him. But I do think that the, you know, if he's called upon to guard Bridges again, I think he's going to be able to do it. Or if he has to guard Og or whatever. So I, I, I, I think there's a point that the Celtics defensively match up better with the Knicks. And then offensively I just got to see it out of the Celtics because the Knicks have played us really tough and have bogged down this new identity of Celtics offense. And last year when it was more ISO heavy and tank Tatum centric, they were able to really shut off a lot of the other faucets on the team and really make Tatum kind of be a, a solo man out there doing a solo act. So we'll see this year.
- [45:55]
Will
Yeah, I, I think for me right now Knicks are still probably the number one team I don't want to see in the playoffs, even though it looks like that's where it's heading towards in the second round. I just think the Knicks at their apex ability is the best team in the the east, like at their absolute best. It's just they can't find the consistency of it. But I think from the Knicks games that I've seen when they're at their best, that's the best team in the east because they have defensive flexibility, they have offensive variety, they have different things that they can go to that I just don't think the Pistons have and I think they just have slightly more talent than the Celtics do right now with kind of the way that this matches up. Now of course where Tatum's at by the time we get the second round of the playoffs, that's a humongous X factor. But something I was thinking about that I, I think will be really interesting for this series is when you think about in the playoffs, there's typically these energy plays that shift game, shift series. A guy that kind of tells her is going to say hey, you gotta, you got to make these, you got to make shots and you got to make those plays to like a very high level is something's going to say to Josh Hart, go ahead and do that. And Josh Hart's been really good against the Celtics in certain moments where he's just been kind of a menace. Something I was thinking about is the Celtics now actually have kind of their own versions of Josh Hart to, to kind of throw into these playoff matchups. And specifically I'm thinking of like Baylor Shireman and Ugo kind of possess for where they're at in their careers. A lot of Josh Hart like qualities.
- [47:23]
Greg Manakis
Yeah, that's my favorite Ugo comparison. I was actually going to launch that soon that Hugo Gonzalez and Josh Hart kind of have the same spirit.
- [47:31]
Will
Spirit.
- [47:32]
Greg Manakis
But I do think that Would be fun in a seven game series if like we matched Josh Hart minutes with Ugo minutes and we were like, Ugo, like it's, we're going, it's you or Josh Hart, one of you guys winning this series. Let's see, let's see who wins it.
- [47:44]
Will
Yeah, I mean you just think about like the, the way that all three of those guys rebound as, as Wings, right? Like we've seen Josh Hart constantly. I think he's the, the best undersized, you know, rebounder in the entire NBA probably. And you see him constantly have these double digit rebound games. Games. We've seen Ugo have 16 rebounds. We've seen Baylor Shireman have multiple double doubles this season. Like to me when I see Shireman and Ugo just crashing from left, from right, from the top, like everywhere, like it gives me Josh Hart vibes. And you know, with, with Ugo, I think it's funny. Again, our brains are, are unfortunately very, very linked even without talking about it. Because I was thinking like man, Ugo right now is like Josh Hart. Like there's so many similarities. I just think, think Ugo. Like I love Ugo. The form on Ugo shot is there. Like I think I have, I would bet money I think Ugo's gonna be a pretty good shooter at some point just based on his form. And that's what can separate him to like the next level that Josh Hart can probably or it hasn't, probably won't ever get to. He's been league for a long time now. Like isn't going to get to like that's what can take Ugo from being a Josh Hart for the Celtics or for whatever team in the NBA and being whatever that next level might be is that jump shot. But right now, now he's probably on par. And you know, I think Charman's just kind of an energy equivalent there. So now we have kind of like two guys that either both are going to be in the rotation or at least one of them is going to be like, hey, whatever Josh Hart's giving to them from a, you know, rebounding standpoint, from an energy standpoint, from, hey, we don't trust this guy to make shots. Like we need you guys to match or beat that in the series. And there was no equivalent to that for the Celtics last year. Right. So.
- [49:22]
Greg Manakis
Right.
- [49:22]
Will
I don't know if that's going to shift the series, but I just think it's an interesting dynamic for a Celtics, Celtics, Knicks potential matchup.
- [49:27]
Greg Manakis
Yeah, you know, dating back a couple years Ago, we were looking at, like, the o' Shea Brissettes of the world. We were like, why doesn't Joe Missoula play o' Shea Brissette? Like, we need an energy guy off the bench. And now we've got two. You know, Arc will be three of them. So it's. It's fun to see. And that was like the Tory Craig of it all last year, right? When we got Tory Craig, it was like, maybe Tory Craig will be that guy. And he just wasn't.
- [49:46]
Will
Yeah, no. Was. Was not going to be either Tory Craig or o' Shea Brissette. And then Greg just quickly the top of the Eastern Conference bracket bracket. If you look at the Pistons, let's. Let's just assume that Whoever is the 8 seed is not going to make a run to the conference finals. Let's just say that for now. But we just talked about the Magic Cavs. We saw them a week ago. Celtics, you know, beat them without. Without Jared Allen. You know, we talked about with our. Our friends over at the Stop the block, the shot. Like, I think I messed up the way that they. They framed that. But either way, yeah, our Cavs friends, you know, where they were black bragging about Jared Allen's. Maybe that was a big deal. Big difference not being there. But they, you know, they've been better since James Harden has come on board. But Pistons, Cavs, Magic. How would you handicap that right now on A. On March 15 here as who you would see coming out of. Of that side of the bracket between those three?
- [50:38]
Greg Manakis
To be honest with you, I need to tune in to more Pistons and Cavs games. I don't really have a good feel for either of those teams other than, like, what I felt about them six weeks ago. So six weeks ago, I. And I've been watching a little bit more of the Magic. So in my head, I'm like, I think it's the Magic, but that's just recency bias in my brain. And I know. So if I had to, I would just go Cavs, Pistons, Magic. Just because I think the cat. I. I just think Donovan Mitchell is the best player in between those three teams. So I'd probably go, interesting.
- [51:09]
Will
You take Donovan over Cade.
- [51:12]
Greg Manakis
I think overall, yes, I think Cade's having a better season and doing more with less than Donovan. But if it came down to it, like, who would I trust in a playoff series? I'd pick Mitchell over Cade.
- [51:24]
Will
Yeah, that's interesting. I think I'm at a point where I just. I. I love Kate. I. I would Put Kate over Mitchell. I. I'd have to think about it, you know, if we're really making like, some type of, like, concrete list. But I think just initial would be for me, it'd be Kate Cunningham. And he's the only. Like, I. I think the Pistons have such obvious flaws, and they've been slipping a little bit here, but they're still 48 and 18. Like, they've, like, they've won a lot of big games. So I. I think this really, for me, like, I, like, I'm like you. I've actually watched more Pistons and Cavs and I have magic recently, and I just. I just don't believe in the Cavs. I know the talents there. I believe in Donovan Mitchell. But just around it, like, when you get below those top four guys, which seemingly still, even with Darius Garland out, only three seem to be available. And it's like, once you get from there, you know, five through eight, nine, ten guys, like, it's just not that impressive. Like, even if I like Dean Wade, like, that's the next guy that I'm playing thinking of, you know, like, I just. I just don't know what that's going to do for you. But Pistons have a similar problem, so I think it's a really big toss up between those.
- [52:23]
Greg Manakis
And I think going back to the. The Mitchell Cade thing, like, we've been very quick as an NBA community to just like, anoint Cade as the next guy. Two years ago, people were talking about Cade like he was, you know, potentially going to be a bust. And then last season, he has, like, the best season of his career. And this season, he, you know, rightfully has catapulted himself into MVP discussions because he's been awesome. But I just think, like, we're. I'm. I need to see it for one more playoffs before I'm like, Kate is definitely, like, entrenched top seven guy in the league. I just think, like, we've been all a little quick and, you know, too much group think going on with how great Kate is. I think he's having a great season, but I don't think he's a top seven guy yet. And then the NBA, that's fair.
- [53:09]
Will
I. I feel like, just for me, like, he's one of. We've talked about it before, like, the handful of guys that you watch for the first time versus Celtics and you're just like, that guy has it. Yeah, I felt that way with Kyrie. I felt that way with Luca. That's. Cade's one of those guys for Me that I was just like, man, first, like two times I watched this guy, like, I don't know why they're not winning. Like, I don't know what the hell's happening with.
- [53:26]
Greg Manakis
No, but yeah, no, I hear you. And, and I do think that like two years ago when people were calling him a bus, I thought people were crazy. I was like, Kate's awesome. Like, what are you talking about? And now I'm like, just, just. Let's just pump the brakes just a little bit. Let's just see it for one more playoffs.
- [53:40]
Will
That's fair. Everything changes in the playoffs, right? Like, that's where you cement like, okay, no more questions. This guy is now at, at a certain level, so extremely fair. I mean, and Edwards has had to go to two conference finals to. For me to be like, yep, okay, that's. No matter what I might think. Like, he's got to be in that top seven eight conversation every single time, no matter what. So this is gonna be fun, man. I'm excited for the stretch, the stretch run here. We got about a month left of regular season basketball and I think it's gonna be cool to just check in week over week because there is a lot that can change, you know, in the standings like you mentioned, aside from the Pistons, basically the Celtics gave a little scare about a week ago. We were I think three games back at one point. Now being four and a half back month to play, it's going to be pretty tough unless the Pistons really slide for the Celtics to catch that. But between them and the Knicks, game and a half between the Knicks and the Cavs, another game and a half Magic two and a half back from Cleveland. So that's, you know, a decent amount of gap there. But you know, the Magic are still not that far away from that nine seed. Between the nine seed Sixers and the five seed Magic, it's two and a half games. So a lot of movement can happen here. What the path for the Celtics to get to that conference finals again is going to look like. I think it's going to change. I think it's gonna be fun to try to take a look at that and see what we have. But I think that's gonna do it for this episode here of Green with envy. As always, appreciate you guys rocking with us here. Rocking with us in the chat. Rocking with us. Leaving comments on video. Shout out to our guy Alex, who's been putting out some great content for us. Short video form. We got a couple other short videos that were broken out from our last podcast specifically about Bam Adebayo, and then also about Jalen Brown and his ejection out in San Antonio. So make sure that you guys go check that out on our YouTube page. Any last thoughts here, Greg? Before we sign off on this, what has turned into a pretty nice, beautiful day here in Austin, Texas? We should go enjoy.
- [55:34]
Greg Manakis
No, no final thoughts. I'm starving, dude. I'm gonna eat some lunch.
- [55:37]
Will
All right, everybody, get out of here. Go enjoy your day. Go enjoy your week, and we will check in with you guys later.
- [55:51]
Greg Manakis
Until I hit the floor.
- [55:55]
Will
Every time I hit this time it's you.
- [55:57]
Greg Manakis
I find it don't take much no
- [56:00]
Will
more Until I'm at your door. Not to brag or anything, But Arby's new $7.99 meat in three box is kind of a big deal.
- [56:11]
Greg Manakis
The other guys give you just one side. We give you three sides.
- [56:14]
Will
Not to brag.
- [56:15]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
You get a meaty sandwich, curly fries,
- [56:17]
Will
Mott sticks, a sweet treat, and a drink, all for just 7.99.
- [56:23]
Greg Manakis
It's more meal for your money.
- [56:26]
Will
More meal for your money. More meal for your money.
- [56:29]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
Oh, where'd that come from?
- [56:31]
Greg Manakis
Arby's.
- [56:32]
Will
We have the meats at participating Arby's
- [56:35]
Sponsor/Ad Voice
for a limited time.