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Greg Manakis
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Greg Manakis
This is Mike Gorman and you're listening.
Will
To Green with Envy with Will and Greg. All right everybody, tough loss for the Celtics at home tonight, 114 to 110 to the Denver Nuggets. We're going to recap everything from that game and then we're right around the corner from all star and I think it starts, it's about time that we start having a Derek White conversation. So we're going to jump into that a little bit today. Plus anything that you got in the chat, we are live on YouTube, live on Twitter. So make sure that you guys are rocking with us. If you're joining us, join us. Get those chats going here. Otherwise if you're listening the day after, sit back, relax, scream with envy. You guys know the deal. What up, what up, what up? Welcome into another edition of Green with Envy. This is a Green with Envy Popes game live. Celtics fall 114 to 110 to the YIC list. Denver Nuggets, as always, 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 Manakis. Greg, for tonight we're we're going to definitely dive right into this game. But I want to start real quick and ask you a question or ask you to. Yeah, let me ask you a question to explain, to help explain to the audience here. You've had a long standing relationship with bees, right? Like bees, like bumblebees, wasps. Like how many times do you think that you've been stung in Your life.
Greg Manakis
Are you trying to get me to do like a job from Arrested Development?
Will
I mean, I, I, I already thought about how I wanted to set this up. I was like, he's gonna go beads. Like, I knew that was gonna happen. But, but that, that isn't, that isn't where we're going. But, but, but your relationship with bees, you've had a rough one?
Greg Manakis
I mean, I've gotten stung a few times. I wouldn't, I wouldn't say it's like too abnormal though. I feel like I've gotten stung, I don't know, ten times or so.
Will
That feels, I think that feels a, a little high maybe. I think when you were younger, I feel like you had some, some, some be.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, I got, I, I went into a wasp nest one time and got stung pretty badly, but, yeah, you know, happens to a lot of little kids.
Will
Well, the reason I asked, before we jump into the Snugget Celtics game, the Kobe hive kind of came after you a little bit. Some of the, some of these Kobe stands in the comments from a video that we posted on Instagram about you saying Jalen Brown was, was Kobe ask. Not, Not a great follow up tonight from Jalen Brown. We'll talk about it. But I just wanted to do a wellness check on you because I did see a couple. I don't always really pay attention to a lot of the comments on whether it's, it's YouTube or, or Instagram. But just today I happened to know like, man, there's a lot of replies on this, on this, on this one particular clip that we have. And I, I saw that you were defending yourself in there, so I wanted, I wanted to check in since you, you know, I interpreted you having a bad relationship with bees. I wanted to check on the Kobe have.
Greg Manakis
Thanks for asking. I, I honestly did it more because of the way that the, the comments were framed that like we were just posting it for engagement, which is like, you know, partially true. It's like that's Alex's job. Right. Alex, the, the producer of the potty finds the clips that he thinks are going to do best on social media and post them. But what I said wasn't for engagement. Right. I think that clip is where I'm comparing Jalen to Kobe's. Right after Jalen's 50 point masterpiece against the Clippers, which to this point is the high point of Jalen's season. Right.
Will
Right.
Greg Manakis
Tonight was the, the, the darker side of the Dr. Jekyll, Mr. High, Jaylen Brown that we've seen in the past. And yeah, I'm okay, though. I mean, I. I don't think it bothered me by any means. I was just, you know, replying, and then once I started replying, I was like, you know what? This is actually causing more people to comment. So if the video does well, then that's fine.
Will
Yeah. Yeah. I just think it's interesting because when the video or when we posted the video, in my head, I wondered, you know, because we're a Celtics podcast. But, you know, I feel like when it comes to NBA fandom, the Kobe, LeBron Michael triumvirate, like, the niche fandoms around those three in particular, and I think Kobe takes the cake as far as, like, how adamant and passionate those specific Kobe stands are. Like, those are the only things that I can compare to what people say about, like, Taylor Swift fans or, you know, Beyonce type fans. And it's always really interesting because I'm not one of those guys. I. I've never really underst Understood the people that are like, I just have this one guy, and I'm just gonna spend my entire existence defending this person. But that's what, like, Kobe has, and I. I've never understood it. So I was curious when we posted if it was gonna. If that was gonna happen, and it didn't. I didn't think it was for the first, you know, day or so. And then I happened to see these comments, and so I wanted to just check it because I think it's. I think it's really fascinating how people get so upset if you say anything against one of your quote unquote guys, if you're one of the stands for those three guys in particular that you put in there that you said, like, hey, like, I think Kobe's a little overrated if we're being honest. And that's. That's the real truth that I'm with you on that. So I thought that was great.
Greg Manakis
Kobe. I mean, like, I really think Kobe's a top 12 to 15 guy all time, which is an amazing place to be. I think his, like, cultural impact and obviously after his tragic passing, like, the legend grows and the legend grows and he had two great parts of his career. But even just, like, why I was never, like, really that scared of Kobe, like, anytime we played the Lakers, I really wasn't, like, worried about Kobe, if that's crazy to say. He's obviously a phenomenal player and is a huge reason why the Celtics did not get Banner 18 prior to two years ago. But, yeah, I thought Jalen, you know, in that game against the Clippers, there were plenty of plays that were reminiscent of Kobe. Like the step throughs with the left hand and like esque. Yeah, yeah. By the way, just got a text from Liptac seeing shams tweeted nine minutes ago. The Hawks are trading four time NBA All Star Trey Young to the Washington Wizards for CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert.
Will
Okay. All right, that's it. Yeah, I was wondering if that was gonna break while we were on tonight. It felt like it was on the verge of happening because I think that it was announced cj, who hadn't missed a game all year, was out. And then Trey has been out the last couple of games and I love the, the work people do behind the scenes where it came out like four hours ago, man, Trey Young has the Wizards at the top of his wish list. Like, all right, give me a break, guys. Like, we're not dumb. Like, that's clearly not the case. But you guys are trying to get a deal done, trying to make a good PR like, right?
Greg Manakis
Yeah, that's a steal for the Wizards, man.
Will
Yeah, I was gonna say I like the deal for the way it's probably one of like three teams that I would have been like, I like this deal. But it's just like you're not giving up anything, right? Like you're giving up C.J. mcCollum's on an expiring contract essentially. Like, it's, it's, it's a free shot at Trey Young, who ultimately is probably for like the Young core they have. Really good for them to lift them up to play in more competitive games that will help their development. And as long here's, here's, here's the big caveat to it. As long as they don't give Trey Young like a big extension, that becomes a really bad trade. If they do that, then it's like, I don't care that they gave up nothing. It's a bad trade. But if they leave it as is, play it this year and I think he has a player option for next year that he's likely picking up like, and it's a one and a half year run while you develop the sar, the Trey Johnson, the Koulibali and everybody else that they have, like, I think it's a great move for them and just gets them, gets you more competitive, high level games. And you're seeing what that does for a team like the spurs last year that had a bunch of young guys that got experience and now look what they're doing. So I, I think it's actually a really good move for the Wizards and I think for the Hawks like Trey Young and just run its course like kind of crazy. They didn't get. And we'll see if any other news comes up. They didn't get even like a. A pick out of this.
Greg Manakis
Right.
Will
Like, that's the. That's the kind of crazy part for all the Trey Young hoopla over the years. Yeah.
Greg Manakis
It'll be interesting to see if the Wizards now try to make like another move to pair somebody else with Trey Young or if like this is just buying low on a guy. Right. Like Trey Young has. Has led a team to the Eastern Conference finals. He is an offense unto himself. It's just the. The physical limitations of Trey have always been the issue with him. And I think with the. If you're a Wizards fan, you got to be happy about it. To your point, it's just. Do they compound the mistake and then give him five years, $250 million, which would be like insane if they end up giving him like five for 150. You know, I think that might end up okay. So good news for the Wizards. It'll make them more fun to watch. They're already like on some nights you catch them on the right night, they. They're pretty fun to watch.
Will
So ours I like saw a little bit of good.
Greg Manakis
I like what the George kid. He's good too.
Will
So yeah, I was gonna. I always get him and the guy. The kid in Utah community. One's Keante George, one's Kean George. I think Kean George is the one in. In Washington. But yeah. Yeah. We'll see if any other updates come out with that. But that was something that's. That's going to start trade season. So we'll. We'll talk a little bit more because Celtics are going to be involved in some rumors, some more Zubots. Rumors were making their way around the news cycle earlier. But let's get back to the game that just wrapped here, Greg, and let's talk a little about it here. Celtics lose to the Nuggets at home 114 to 110. No Jokic in this one, no Cam Johnson. Nuggets now 3 and 2 since Jokic went down, including their. Essentially their zombie G League team beat the Sixers the other night. So they're having a hell of an east coast trip here. Knocking off the Sixers with no Jokic with no. None of their starters playing tonight. They got Christian Brown back. He played so they had him, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon was in the lineup. So they had a little bit more of their core minus obviously Jokic and no Cam Johnson and who needs Nicola.
Greg Manakis
Jokic when you got Zeke Naji?
Will
Yeah, I mean it was a really impressive win for Denver, for Denver tonight and you know, for the Celtics. Let's, let's start with them. Greg, you mentioned Jalen. We talked about Jalen Brown a little bit at the top. He had, you know, such as amazing his magnum opus against the clippers with his 50 point game self has got to win. Last game against the Bulls. Almost everybody besides the Inferno was, was pretty blah in that game. This game here, Jalen Brown scores 15 points in the first quarter, ends up with 33 points on 29 shots, seven turnovers. This, and you said this to me off here. This is kind of what we feared was going to be the consistent version of Jaylen Brown all season. Luckily this has been the exception and not the rule. But it did happen. Not, not the greatest Jalen Brown game tonight.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, I thought it was one of his worst games of the season by far. Just the willingness to kind of play into the, the gambit that the Nuggets were running on defense where they were more willing to switch some of their bigger defenders onto him. And like the Zeke Najis of the world able to hold up in, in a switching defense, Jalen got caught up in in picking roles. Peyton Watson did a really good job staying connected when Jalen would kind of get him on his hip. Just everybody was handsy a being shown there and Jalen just didn't operate well in those spaces and I thought the ball got really sticky and I thought Jalen just played with blinders on pretty much the entire game. I, I thought it was his worst game of the season that I can remember off the top of my head despite having the, the stat of 33.7 rebounds, 4 assists. It just wasn't the MVP level JB that we've seen. But also we didn't get and like on par performances from anybody really. Asides from keda who had 20 rebounds in this game.
Will
Yeah, I want to pause on kid because I want to, I want to come back to him for sure here in just a second. But I do think Jalen playing outside of himself, if you will, in this game compared to how he's played this season. I think you could kind of feel that with the team. Right. Like I think it changed the dynamics of where everyone thought they should be and there was a play. I think it Was in the third quarter where there was just everyone standing around. Jalen's on the wing, and I can't remember if he went for a back down and got doubled. And then he's just kind of standing there waiting for something to do. And like, Hauser makes this cut across the court just to give him an outlet. And Jalen's kind of already seemingly a little frustrated. Makes a pretty bad, like, entry pass to Hauser at the free throw line. But it was also like Hauser was in, like, a spot that he's never in. He was just doing it to bail him out because it was such a bad possession. And that to me was. Was kind of embodied the vibe of. Of what, especially in that second half, what the offense felt like. And I was like, ah, they might just not just have it tonight. If that's the kind of stuff that we're. We're getting.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, we weren't able to crack them off the dribble, get into the paint, draw two and kick. You know, that was. That's been the M.O. of this offense is playing that advantage basketball, paint touches and all that. I thought the Nuggets just did a really good job being physical. I think the referees played a part in it, just allowing both teams to be physical. There weren't many free throw shot in this game, and I don't necessarily think it was for lack of trying. I felt like the Celtics were trying to get to the basket. It did seem like Jaylen had a bad whistle tonight. He. He was getting hit a lot, but he was also forcing it a. So I think he let the physicality get to him a little bit. And then you got to give credit to the Nuggets defense because Peyton Watson did a hell of a job on him. Aaron Gordon, when. Whenever he got switched on to Jalen Brown, did well. And then Zeke Naji was, aside from Jamal Murray, the most impactful guy in the court for them.
Will
Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't leave out Peyton Watson in this game. Peyton Watson had 30 points, six rebounds.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, I did already mention him, but yeah, you're. You're not, right?
Will
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just. Just adding him to that list. So for the Nuggets, man, really gutty winning. Actually something I was thinking about the other night, I watched some of the Nuggets Cavs. I think it was like last week. Sneaky guy that I really enjoy watch playing is Jamal Murray. I just. I just like the little, like, hoppiness bounce that he has to his game. I just find it very aesthetically Pleasing. And like, when he gets. And when he gets on a heater, like, I, I think he's. He's an underrated. One of the best heat check guys in the league that, like. And he didn't necessarily have that tonight. Tonight was more just kind of like a steady game for, for Jamal Murray.
Greg Manakis
17.
Will
But the times when.
Greg Manakis
What's that, 17 assists?
Will
Yeah. Yeah. And that's, that's. I mean, that's filling the Yokich role. Right? That's filling the void of what you get every night in and night out. And so, you know, he's. He's doing the assist thing instead of doing the, hey, I'm gonna be. Jamal Murray scored 35 points.
Greg Manakis
Right.
Will
And get his team involved. And that's, you know, that's what this team needed tonight. And that's, that's what really worked for the Nuggets, for the Celtics. I think you made a good point. Most guys kind of played below their level. Not just, not just Jalen Brown tonight. Derek White, 7 of 19 from the field. Peyton Pritchard only 5 of 13, 1 of 6 from 3 for Pritchard, 3 of 12 from 3 for Derrick White. That's always going to be tough to get it done. But one of the guys that I want to talk about here that I think had a great game was Nemi's kid. I was really impressed with Nemi Escada. He finishes the night with only six points, but 20 rebounds, 10 offensive, 10 defensive. Had some really impressive rebounds where I didn't even think he had a chance to get some of these rebounds. And he still found a way to just battle for it and get them. Give me your thoughts on. On his performance. And I. And then I have a comment that I. I want to get your thoughts on.
Greg Manakis
We had probably about 5 me bounds. Right. So it's probably more like, like 15.
Will
The angel re special that I suggested in the preseason, we did see a couple of those tonight.
Greg Manakis
Yeah. But I, I just think his motor is. Is such a game changer for him this year. I made that comment a few weeks back about that being. The biggest difference for him is he's now. He has the cardio of an NBA starter now. And I was surprised that Missoula kind of had him on the bench the last eight minutes of the game because he was so impactful up until that point. You pointed at the screen for those that are just listening. So go ahead.
Will
Well, that's where I wanted to go because I. This is. Joe Missoula is having a great coaching year these are some of the decisions that I still get really frustrated with that I just don't simply understand and like I'm looking at the box score right now is plus minus is minus 16. I didn't feel it didn't feel like that when I was watching the game. I I know that's what it says but I, I just didn't plus minus can be you know a little bit misleading. It felt it feels mislead misleading from what my eyes watch tonight but something I looked up Greg right before we came on or as they were shooting kind of like those last those last free throws is I wanted to check when did Neemi come out in that fourth quarter because I thought Neemi's used to that. Like he played I think just under 25 minutes. I thought his use was really strange tonight in that fourth quarter because if you remember or in the second half excuse me he gets subbed out real early in the second half like three, four minutes in and I think one of the commentators was like oh Nene looks a little winded or whatever. So he was out for a bit and then he came in for a really long stretch and that's where he was really awesome. Got a bunch of offensive rebounds and then the fourth quarter he gets subbed out.
Greg Manakis
When I tell you was I made a note the game was tied. The game was tied 90 to 90 with about seven minutes left out of a time.
Will
Tell me what happened after that Greg.
Greg Manakis
The Nuggets won the game. The Nuggets go on this like ridiculous run where the Celtics can't do anything on either side of the court. So I'm actually surprised his number was a minus 16 because same yeah I, I that was crazy to to see Joe Missoula decide to take him out. Maybe he was just to to go against my point about his NBA level cardio now. Like maybe he was just gassed because he was expending a ton of energy getting those rebounds. But I think you got to put Keda back in that game. Like I don't know the the moment it gets to 99.90.
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Greg Manakis
Honey, do not make plans. Saturday, January 24th. Okay?
Will
Why?
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What's happening?
Greg Manakis
The Walmart wellness event. Flu shots, health screenings, free samples from those brands you like.
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Greg Manakis
We can just walk right in, no appointment needed. Who knew we could cover our health and wellness needs at Walmart?
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Greg Manakis
Walmart wellness event. You knew?
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Will
Well, here's the thing. And then you get down to about the, you know, it's about two and a half minutes later or so. You get to a point where you're subbing out guards. I remember I'm watching the broadcast and I'm like, okay, there's a sub coming in, but I didn't see who it was at the table. I'm like, this has got to be Nene. And I'm watching to see who it is. The announcers haven't said who is. I haven't heard like in the background. Sometimes you catch who's in, who's out. And I see four guys on the court and I just don't see Garza. I'm like, okay, so Garza's out. It's got to be Neemi that's in. And then they pan out to show the possession and it's Hauser. And I'm like, God damn. Like what, what did you see that I didn't. That, that Nene wasn't making an impact in this game. And I get we needed offense being down. I think it was 99.90 when this, when these subs came in. But at the same time we didn't get a stop for three minutes straight as soon as Keda left. And the broadcast talked about this, like with Keda in the lineup, Boston still has one of the best defenses in the league. It's all the minutes without Keda that our defense puts us kind of middle of the pack. And specifically when you look at the Celtics lineups that are non center lineups, they're great offensively, they're horrible defensively, like they're not good defensive numbers. So I don't know that that was a really weird moment for me for, for Joe. I, I just didn't agree with, with, with that move.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, I thought it was crazy. Take him out of the game at that point, he was, he was so impactful. The, the offense was pretty gummy. They were able to have an extra body in the paint, which I thought made it very difficult for Jaylen Brown and the rest of the guys to like really get to the rim. So much of like the, the extra body that they were showing off of Kada, which allowed him to get a lot of those rebounds, were, Was really impactful. But then there was like a possession right before they, right after he had all those rebounds where they actually stayed connected to Kate, his body. And I want to go back to just go to the gameplay. So what was the last thing that happened? Let's see what was the last before.
Will
Before Cato was subbed out.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, before Kata was, was put. There was a, a Jalen layup that he got at one point in the fourth quarter that I felt like maybe that was in the third quarter. It might have been in the third quarter. Yeah. But it was, it was kind of strange just to see Keda come out larger. Larger. Point is, I don't know what Missoula was thinking. I'm sure they're going to ask him about it in, in the post game because in the moment it felt crazy to take him out of that game.
Will
And listen, the other guy who I thought was a little bit nuts that we didn't see more down the stretch, you talked about it getting gummy. Not really. A lot of like driving lanes and free Simons was good again. I know lately, dude, dude, he's. He's been, he's. He's saved the game against Chicago with his second and tonight I was, I was impressed with him again. I felt like where's. Like to me, the lineup that I was kind of looking for at the end of that game was almost like Derrick White, Jalen Simons, Pritchard maybe or maybe there, there you put in actually Ugo. Ugo would probably would have been the choice. I thought Ugo was making a real big impact in Keda. Like, and maybe that's not enough shooting. And then so you do got to have either Jordan Walsh, who's a little bit better of a, of a shooter than Ugo, but something to that effect would have been the lineup that I would have thought would have. Okay, this is going to give us our best chance to either close the gap or close this game out. And again, these are the type of stuff that with Missoula, I'm just end of game lineups, you know, X's and O's. This really wasn't about X's and O's because the gap got so big so quickly. But this is the little stuff with Missoula that I just haven't quite gotten there with yet that lets me just be like, yeah, Missoula is my guy. Like, this stuff still irks me a little bit. Yeah.
Greg Manakis
But, you know, to the point that you made earlier about Jaylen's game tonight being the exception this season, I feel like this is an exception to what we've seen out of Joe this season. He's done a really good job and this was one of those games where I don't know if, like, what he saw. I'm really interested to see his postgame comments because it didn't make sense to me in the moment and it still doesn't make sense to me now to take Kate out of that game. But I do think Pritchard was really. What's the word I'm looking for? He was an issue on the defensive end. I think that he. They were able to kind of go pigeon hunting on him. Jamal Murray kept getting him isolated at the elbow. And I, I do think it probably would have made more sense to get Ugo in there, have Pritchard on the bench, Kada back in the game with Simons on the court. Just to add that little extra ball handler and shooter that Pritchard normally brings to the table. But I thought Pritchard got exposed on the defensive end tonight, which doesn't happen very often because he plays well above his size. But I think tonight the Nuggets had a really good game plan attacking him. And Jamal Murray is one of those rare guys that can really take advantage of Payton Pritchard.
Will
Yeah, man. More Ugo tonight. I like, I. This is the part I struggle with. Like, Ugo had three points tonight and there was a rebound. Either. I think it might have been end of the third quarter.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, Simon's three.
Will
Yeah, that was one of the best plays of the entire game for the Celtics. That was amazing. I think it was right around that point where there might have been. There was also a K to play that. That really stood out somewhere in that. That mix as well, maybe that you were referring to. But yeah, that Ugo play left the crowd rocking at the end of the third quarter. They get a big stop on the other end and that momentum just didn't carry throughout. Throughout the 4th with some of these changes that we're talking about. And so, you know, looking at the Jordan Walsh Guys got 1345 and a lot of that was like kind of like, at the end when the Celtics made this, like, weird comeback with, like, three minutes left, That's a big chunk of the minutes he got. Ugo made a massive impact, and then we just didn't kind of see him the, you know, last 75 of the fourth quarter, it's. I don't know. Tonight was a tough game all around. Like you said, more of an anomaly tonight all around than anything else. And I think. Think back to our. Some of the points that we've made. The Nuggets just deserve a lot of credit for this game. The Nuggets played all the way through from start to finish, a lot more of a consistent game than the Celtics did.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, definitely. Anything else you want to hit on this game?
Will
I don't think I have anything else on this. On this particular game. Did you have anything that you wanted to go to or.
Greg Manakis
No, I mean, other than, like, the. I'm excited that I feel down again after a Celtics loss, because up to this point in the season, anytime the Celtics lost and we potted afterwards, I was kind of okay with it. This is. I kind of have a bitter taste in my mouth from this game, which is. Which is good. It shows that the Celtics expectations are now raised.
Will
Yeah. It's good to be frustrated. Right. Like, it's as. As much as I like, funny enough that we've been like, man, it's so much better than last year. We don't have to care about anything. It's just all upside, whatever. Like, it is kind of nice to be like. Like, we should have won that game. Like, it is. It does feel good to. To feel that way.
Greg Manakis
Yeah. I guess the. The last thing I thought about a couple times during the game was this is a game where you really felt the impact of Jason Tatum not being. Not being on the court. It made me think about what this team would look like with Tatum back out there, just because of the way that the Nuggets started the game in their matchups where they have the great perimeter defenders in Christian Brown and Peyton Watson. Watson's on jb. Christian Brown, who's a phenomenal defender, is on Derrick White. Right? So Derrick White has a really good defender on him for the entirety of the game. And I think he really felt that in this one where Derrick White was definitely forcing it, not able to get to his spots like he.
Will
He.
Greg Manakis
He has been. And I think with Tatum out there now, you know, one of those guys has to guard Tatum, and then the third defender, maybe it's Jamal Murray, ends up on Derrick White. Right. And allows him to get off a little bit more. So I did. I did feel Tatum's impact not being out there a little bit more in this game than I have pretty much the entire season.
Will
So let me ask you this, Greg. We. We kind of started this podcast with the Trey Young news, right? And like, trade season is coming here, and it's sounding more and more like the. The whispers are that the Celtics are going to be buyers as opposed to sellers. And, you know, they're. They're out of the, you know, the second tax apron. So the biggest thing is those restrictions that come with the moves that you can't make. Trading draft picks locked, Matt, you know, matching exact salaries, all that type stuff. Like where they're at now, it's more just this bill, Bill Chisholm. Does he want to pay? And it sounds like he's like, listen, as long as we're not being, you know, not having actual basketball sanctions against us, like, it's money. Like, we will pay it. We'll find a way. We're billionaires. That's. That's the whole point of owning a team is like, you're willing to pay some of that money. And so I'm curious, and you don't have to give me a specific player, but I am curious, what type of type of player do you think? And it's up to you if you want to just assume Tatum's coming back with this answer or if you want to just put Tatum to the side. I'll let you decide. Like, what is the type of player that you think the Celtics should be going after? We know another big. Even though Luca Garza has been really good for the last two weeks, I. I would assume you and I are still on the same page. I don't feel great going in as Mimi Keda and Garza is my two bigs, but Keda plus another big, either equal to him or better. That's kind of where you want to be. But, like, what are some of the player types that you think the Celtics should be looking at that would help fill out this roster?
Greg Manakis
It has to be front court depth, you know, the Daniel Gaffords of the world, that type of player the day Ron Sharps of the world. I think we just need somebody else, like at the end of this game when Luca Garza is out there getting cooked. Like, we need somebody else that can hold. Hold down the fort. If Kata can only play 25 minutes a night, we need someone that can play the end of the game. If it's Not Keda. Because, you know, if Tatum. Here's my thing. If Tatum doesn't come back this year, I don't want the Celtics to make a trade to improve the team. I think if Tatum's not coming back, it's get rid of Anthony Simons or get rid of a Sam Houser, somebody like that. But if Tatum is coming back, I think you have to go all in on the season and really try and find an upgrade at the front court position. Perfect world. It's Zubots or something like that. Like we've mentioned before on the pod, I would probably pick Sharp over Claxton from the Nets if they were to get rid of one of their bigs just because of salary concerns. But Claxton's a better player. But it's, it's gonna. My answer all season is going to be another big man.
Will
Has the way Anthony Simon's been playing changed your mind about him being the trade piece? Let's say, let's say Tatum's coming back hypothetically, and it's gonna cost Simons and two first round picks to go get Zubac. Is that, is that a. Still a slam dunk if you get.
Greg Manakis
Zubotch out of that? Yeah, you got to get Zubotch. But I, I said all season I want to see Simon's play. Right? That's. I don't want to trade Simons until I.
Will
Well, that's why I'm asking if there's any more pause to it, because this Simon, like the Simons, that's been the last. As much as I'm. I'm still finding my way towards warming up to him, the last couple games really helped. Like, like I, I can see the vision a lot more. Like, I'm wondering if it's going to give you hesitation on, on making. You know, maybe it's not in subat, but maybe it's for another big breakdown.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, I wouldn't, I wouldn't want to do a Simon's trade if it were for somebody like Claxton. I, I like Simon Salmon. I, I think he's really bought into the system. There are some good quotes out of him just talking about how much he's grown up here in Boston, how much he's learned here in Boston. And it seems like he's bought into Joe Missoula, he's bought into the philosophy. He, he's okay coming off the bench. I think defensively he has his physical limitations, but I think he's in the right spots for the most part. He's a Good communicator, moves his feet really well. And, you know, even tonight when he got that big offensive rebound and a little reverse layup, like, that was a big moment for him. He's starting to do some more of those gritty things. It's just nice to have someone that can hit contested, tough shots. And you saw that a couple times tonight. Like, there's very few guys on this team that can have Aaron Gordon one on one in the perimeter and just rip through one dribble, pull up and get a shot off over Aaron Gordon. He was able to do that tonight. I, I don't want to trade him right now, honestly. I think if we could bring him back at a smaller number, like three years, I don't know, 75 million, something like that, like, I'd be okay with that.
Will
That, Yeah, I mean, I'd still be more comfortable about 60 million. But I hear your point and I, and I do think, you know, the, this, the way I felt about trading Anthony Simons a couple weeks ago, where it's like, yeah, just whatever. Like, like there was a rumor this is like, purely to save money. Like, what about like, Anthony Simons for Terence? Man, like now I'm like, no, I'm not doing that.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, no, no, no.
Will
You know what I mean? Like, I'm out on that. But I think if I could get a Gafford or Zubot, I would probably do because I think those guys, if Tatum's coming back, you're gonna, you know, replace what, what you're getting with Simons with some of Tatum. Pritchard's gonna kind of go fall back into a certain role and then you're just going to enhance what you have in the front court. So. Right. I think for guys like that, I would probably do it. And I think those guys are both on contracts that would go beyond just this season. So it's, it's kind of some long term building as well. Guys like that. I would still do it. Claxton, I wouldn't do. I'm just not a big Claxton guy, so I don't think I would, I would do it. But yeah, it's interesting now and I'm sure we'll get a lot more rumors that are coming out here over the next coup. One thing I wanted to do here, Greg, I'm gonna spring this on you a little bit here. It's in the title, so you might have, might have seen it before we, we log on here. But I did want to talk a little bit about the case for Derrick White to be an all Star. His game tonight, not, not the best game for him. But I think Derrick White over the last month and a half or so, despite the fact that his shooting numbers have stayed relatively low, but he's taken them at a certain volume that is still making him a threat. Even though he's shooting about in the, in the mid-30s. He's doing so much else that it's so hard to ignore. Like I, they said stand the broadcast tonight where I, I think I knew it, but I didn't know the exact number, but that he's ninth in block shots in the league. That's insane.
Greg Manakis
That's crazy.
Will
That's just ridiculous. He's averaging three stocks per game. It's. It's just crazy. And you know, another thing I was, I was thinking of is there's a play that's becoming very common for Derek White. I think it's. We need to find a name for it. It's kind of similar to the gta, the Grand Theft Alvarad, where Derrick White just kind of comes along the baseline and he does it both offensively and defensively, where he just kind of sneaks along, traces the ball and then kind of like pickpockets the guy. If it's a, you know, a defensive rebound, keeps an offensive possession going or if they get an offensive rebound, he turns it into a block shot. There's like this little sneak behind the baseline that he's been doing that is coming up more and more. I'm gonna try and find a couple clips of it, but. What's that crime? I like that. That's not bad. That's not bad. That's pretty good. Now that we gotta. Is that a white collar crime? WCC trying to see if there's like a good quick way to, to pop it out there. But I like that. We're thinking, we're thinking along the, the white lines.
Greg Manakis
I like it.
Will
The right lines.
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Greg Manakis
Honey, do not make plans. Saturday, January 24th. Okay.
Will
Why?
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What's happening?
Greg Manakis
The Walmart wellness event. Flu shots, health screenings, free samples from those brands you like.
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Like all that at Walmart.
Greg Manakis
We can just walk right in, no appointment needed. Who knew we could cover our health and wellness needs at Walmart?
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Greg Manakis
Walmart wellness event. You knew?
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Greg Manakis
Yeah, I do think that just looking at the standings right now. Right?
Will
Yep.
Greg Manakis
The Pacers, the Wizards and the Nets. Well, the Nets might get Michael Porter Jr. In there. So Pacers and Wizards don't have anybody. I'm gonna say Michael Porter Jr. Is an all star this year.
Will
Hold on. I have a list for you. I have a list for you that might. Might help us with this.
Greg Manakis
Can I. Can I just do my list off? Off the top?
Will
Yeah.
Greg Manakis
Okay. So Hornets, I don't think they get anybody right now. If I had to pick somebody, it would probably be con. Canipple. Bucks get Giannis, Hawks get Jalen Johnson. The Bulls, I'm gonna say they don't get anybody. The Heat probably get one maybe. And it's probably Norm Powell. So Norm Powell's on there. The Magic, that's an interesting one. Just because of injuries, but I'm gonna just throw Paulo in there. Cavs get Mitchell. I don't think Mobley has like played deservingly of an all star spot. Sixers get Maxi. Raptors. It's probably Scotty Barnes. And then you're now you're at the top three, right? I don't know how many people I just named, but the Pistons are going to get to. The Knicks are probably going to get to Celtics get Jalen Brown. And if there's one more spot, you got to give it to. To Derek White.
Will
So here's what I wrote down. So I wrote down in my mind, I have eight locks and then I had a list of fringe guys with at least two that I think are. Are like quickly. So I'm giving you 10. And I will say though, so it's 12 guys. But. So. Okay, let me lay this out because a few things changed I didn't know about until literally today. So 12 guys make the team however they need to have for the new stupid whatever format need to have 16Americans and eight international guys. And if they ends up being like let's say 15 US and nine international guys guys, then I think Adam Silver just Comes in is like, all right, this guy from. Is now an All Star. And they just add one more All Star to make the Force the format work. So there could be extra spots available, but that's kind of the setup, and they change it so that now it's not. Doesn't have to be like two guards, three front court, two backup guards. It's just whatever. There's positionless, which makes a lot more sense, because who cares? It's a All Star game. It should just be the best players. So with that being said, here's what I wrote down. I had eight locks out of the 12 spots. Tell me if you disagree with any of these. I've got Jalen, Tyrese, Maxey, Jalen Brunson, Giannis, Donovan, Mitchell, Jalen Johnson, Kate Cunningham, and Cat. Those are my eight locks.
Greg Manakis
Yeah.
Will
Agree with all those.
Greg Manakis
Yeah, okay, I agree with that.
Will
And then I had a list of fringe guys, which you touched on a couple of them here. And D. White is in this mix. So I'll list off the of the guys that. That I had listed. I think it covers just about everybody that. That you said. So I had Derek White, I had mpj, had Norm Powell, I had Siakam on here. Just a French guy. I didn't have him as a guy. I think he's gonna make it. But a French guy. It's funny that you said the magic is a weird situation. I put down friends and Paulo, and I'm Apollo guy. I didn't want to put Paulo down. I think it's. I think it's Franz if he ends up playing whoever ends up playing more games out of the two. But it is weird. It doesn't feel like with injuries, any of those guys, guys really kind of should be on the team. But I put Franz and Paulo both down as fringe. I would probably lean frowns, but kind of a toss up. Jalen Duran, Scotty Barnes, Brandon Ingram, Evan Mobley, and out of those fringe guys. So there's eight out of the 12 that I put were locks. I highlighted Duran and Barnes as two guys that I feel like are probably gonna get there. Second Piston, one of the Raptors. And then that would leave two spots between the group of Derrick Wise, white, Michael Porter Jr. Norm Powell, Pascal, Franz, Paulo Ingram, and Mobley. And I gotta think D. White's got a pretty strong case, especially if the Celtics remain in those top two or three over the next, you know, two, three weeks as the. The team gets announced. To me, it feels like this. If there's gonna be a time this Is the D. White run right now to. To get in the game? He's 18.4 points per game. It's career high 5.3 assistance. This right around a career high 4.3 rebounds. Three stocks per game. All NBA level defense. Every single night just makes winning plays even when he's not shooting the ball. Well, I think right now I'm leaning towards. I think he gets in.
Greg Manakis
Yeah. I'm trying to pull up Norm Powell's numbers.
Will
Man.
Greg Manakis
Norm Powell is playing great basketball. 24 points on fit. Pretty much 50% shooting, 42% from 3, 86 from the line, 3.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and then 3.2 stocks.
Will
Yeah, it's good numbers. I mean.
Greg Manakis
No, sorry. 1.5 stocks. 1.5.
Will
Okay. I'd say that sounded a little high for. For Nor Paul with the. With the stocks, but yeah, he's been good. Michael Porter Jr. I think is a guy who. I think he's one of the more fascinating potential trade pieces. Like, I really. I mean it's. I'm not the first one to say it, but like him to Detroit, I think really, really interesting just giving them more size and shooting. Yeah. I mean, I think Norm pal. Because I think the Heat do feel like they've been good enough to probably have an all Star. What are they? Three games above.500. Like. And that feels. That feels pretty good for them. Right. Like not knowing what they were going to be coming into the year. So I. I think out of the guys that I. If I'm putting Duran and Barnes on my team to make 10. Yeah. I mean, I think. Because I would probably factor in winning it. I'm with you. I don't think Mobley's. And we've been waiting for the Mobley breakout year and thought it happened. We've thought it's happened like four different times already over the last couple of years. And then it just seems to not be. And so I think you could make the case remotely. But I think relative to his expectations, it's disappointing in the lack of success in the lack of teams. Exactly. So you can couple it with that where you can't just be like, all right, well, we got to get a second cabin. I think the last two spots, I think think I would have no problem with Norm Powell and D. White. Just given the Magic situation's been kind of weird that you can toss it up to too many injuries. We don't know who to pick. No one comes.
Greg Manakis
Yeah. I think Michael Porter Jr. Needs to be on the team. I think He's. He's playing great and the Nets are just better than I think a lot of people thought they'd be at this point. So I, I want to see. I also want to see him not in Brooklyn. I do want to see him get traded to someone because, dude, he was a big part of the Nuggets. Like, people just acted like he didn't do anything for the Nuggets. He was really hurt in last year's playoffs. Couldn't lift his arm over his head, dude, and be scrub.
Will
Have you seen the stories about like, the ankle brace that he wears from like his. Yeah, dude, it is like it. The. The way it's described makes it sound like it's a piece of Iron man suit. Like, it's. It sounds insane to have to put on like every. Like I think about when we go play pickup hoops and I have to sit there, put on my like, ankle braces. Like it's that. But times a million with like, no, you need guys with like a screwdriver to come put this thing in. Like, it's. It's pret intense. So it's pretty impressive what Porter has been able to do. And you're right, he. He was like, he's one of the best shooters in the league. Like, I do think the Pistons getting him is a bit of a game changer. Like, I think he doesn't necessarily give them the secondary ball handle they need, but like the spacing and the size that he could play with. To couple that with when you have beef stew and Durin and Aar Thompson's athletic freak, like, you know, just the space that that would give Cade as well. Like, I think that's a big time winning move for the Pistons. Without having to probably give up whatever it would take to get someone like.
Greg Manakis
Lowry Markkanin, I think it'd be a really interesting move for the Thunder to go get him. I've been thinking a lot about this with that Lou Dort contract.
Will
Okay.
Greg Manakis
Attach a pick or two. You know, I think that would actually make a lot of sense. And then they get the shooter that they desperately need because the three point shot is their Achilles heel right now. So I think it.
Will
They look human all of a sudden.
Greg Manakis
Yeah. Add a little bit more size. I saw they were only up. Up by like five on the, on the Jazz heading in the fourth quarter tonight too. So that's one that I'm putting out there right now. I think you're going to hear some rumors about Michael Porter Jr. To the Thunder.
Will
I like that one. Any. What? You. You're kind of on fire right now. What else you got? What. What else? What. What else are you. What you got in that mind of yours that you think would be interesting or that you've. You've given a little thought to? To?
Greg Manakis
Man, I don't know that I have any more NBA takes. I got some, like, life takes and TV show takes, but that's probably all I got.
Will
I have some. I have a TV show take as well. So what's the TV show take you got?
Greg Manakis
Okay, I haven't finished Stranger Things. I saw you tweet something about Stranger Things, so we can't talk about that yet. I did finish Pluribus.
Will
Oh, yes, I have. I have takes on this. Tell me what you got.
Greg Manakis
Okay, so one thing I was thinking about was on the last pod, when we were doing all those awards, I was thinking of giving The Celtics the Mr. Diabate Award for, like, making the best of an apocalypse. So the Jason Tatum injury and, like, shedding all the salary, but now.
Will
Is that the French guy?
Greg Manakis
Yeah, this is the French guy who has always. All the time.
Will
Yeah.
Greg Manakis
That feels like Celtics nation this year is like, we. We've made the best of an apocalypse, and now we're just, like, dating supermodels and playing out Bond movies with everything that's happening this season. So that was an award I didn't get to was the Mr. Diabate from purpose award, But I just thought that show did such a good job of making you question your own morals and your own ethics and your own integrity and allowed you to see how you might be. Of the 13 survivors, sorry for anyone that wanted to watch Pluribus. We're spoiling it right now. Yeah. Of the 13 survivors, I think you could see a bit of yourself in each of those 13. The worst part of me would be Mr. Diabate. The best part of me, I think, would be actually hot. Take Lakshmi, the. The Indian lady who just, like, I just want to be with my son. Like, what are you doing?
Will
She wants to be with her family.
Greg Manakis
Yeah.
Will
And her grandpa keeps dying because the. The white lady keeps getting upset.
Greg Manakis
Oh, how. How brutal is she, dude?
Will
So, okay. Interesting show. I thought the first two episodes were pretty amazing. Like, I was real. Like, I was really just. The premise of the show kept me going the entire time. Like, there was enough juice in the premise of this show to keep you going if you haven't watched it. I gotta be honest. The last, like, seven episodes just felt like, is something gonna happen besides just hanging out with this lady who is honestly not that fun to hang out with.
Greg Manakis
Like, it's not a good hang, dude.
Will
Bad hang. Bad hang. And, like, for the show to primarily be just you with her, like, 70% of the time, that was a. It got a little tough towards the end. And, like, how many more times we have to hear that voice message for what, four straight episodes, we heard her get the same voice message. Like, I get it. The first time they did it, like, several times. Make it a point. I get it. We didn't need three to four episodes of that same voice message over and over again. And by the end, when, you know, I don't have to give away everything, well, then again, I don't really think much happens. So, like, just, like, to your point, gives you time to think about, like, what are they trying to say? And, I don't know, smelling their own farts a little bit is what I walked away.
Greg Manakis
I haven't listened to any breakdowns of the show or anything like that.
Will
I haven't either.
Greg Manakis
Okay, so let's just talk about it. What do you think the show is actually commenting on.
Will
It? To be honest, I haven't thought too. Too much about it. I've thought about, like, the question you asked before, like, what would I do in this situation? Right. And I think it's interesting, the point you made of, like, I would probably do a little bit of everything that I saw. Like, I would probably go to, like, a museum and be like, oh, this is dope. Let me just put it in my house. Like, that sounds awesome.
Greg Manakis
Also, that's actually a great moment where she's at the museum and she's like, wait a minute. I can just steal this painting. Yeah.
Will
Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. That was great. Like. Like, there are. There are things that were. That were really good about it, but what it's commenting on, I. I have. So I didn't see this on a podcast. I think I saw it, like, just on, like, a Twitter article that. I don't know. It's commenting on, like, artificial intelligence taking over the. Like, I've seen that.
Greg Manakis
That's what I think. Yeah.
Will
Yeah. And maybe that is what it is. I. I don't know. I haven't thought about this in enough because I've been more focused on, like, what would I do? And then will something happen in the show? Show, or is it just gonna be a giant setup for season two? Because that's what the last, like, eight episodes were.
Greg Manakis
Do you think you'd be able to make it through that jungle with all like, the crazy spikes and bugs.
Will
No. First of all, like, here's the one thing I will say. I know for a fact I wouldn't be that guy. I would not be. There's. There's no way I'm leaving, you know, 10 pesos. I forget where he's from. I know he's from Latin America.
Greg Manakis
Paraguay.
Will
Yeah, he's from Paraguay. So it's like, I'm not leaving money on people's, you know, windshields because I had this, and I wouldn't be sucking gas out. Like, I would. I would. Like, I. The. The focus on, like, okay, this is up and wrong. We got to figure out how to fix it. Yes. But I would also. That part of. What's the. What's the main lady's name? I don't know why I'm blanking on. Carol. Like, the way that she started gathering information and, like, making a plan. I see that. Like, I see that part. I'm like, yeah, like, I mean, yo, open up my sprouts. Let me just go shopping.
Greg Manakis
And, like, here's a question I wanted to ask. What would be the one store you would demand? State of open.
Will
Ooh. Well, it's so interesting. Well, because, like, the other thing I've thought about is, like, everything's free, right? Like, every. Like, so it would probably. I would. I would just sample all of the best restaurants and then just figure out.
Greg Manakis
Oh, so you'd be like, hey, like you are now, but I'm enslaving the entire world. I want every restaurant open.
Will
Well, I'm gonna try one at a time, but, yeah, why not? I mean, I. I mean that this is apparently what they do, but if I had to pick, like, just a one, I mean, I think the grocery store is the. The way to go and just find, like, the best, you know, whatever Trader Joe's or Whole Foods, whatever your. Your pick is, that's probably the way. Well, especially because it depends. Then you got to figure out, like, I think it would take time to get there, because I think initially the reaction is, f all these people, I gotta figure out, like, what to do. But then once it's kind of like the rest of the world is like, yeah, we don't want to help you. Then it's like, all right, well, I guess there's only 14 of us. Like, let me make the best of it for a little bit, I guess. Like, and then. And then plan in secret. The planning in secret, I think, was the part that is, like, the most realistic for me, that it's like, once you settle in, it's like, okay, but I'm gonna also make sure I, like, have a backup plan here because I don't trust these people at all.
Greg Manakis
Yeah.
Will
You know?
Greg Manakis
Yeah, yeah.
Will
What would you give the show, like, as a grade or.
Greg Manakis
I heard a lot of people talking about it, like, it was the best show of the year.
Will
Year.
Greg Manakis
So I went in with really high expectations, and it didn't meet those expectations whatsoever. Mostly because Carol's such a bad hang. I liked her on Better Call Saul.
Will
It's just, like, I looked her up recently. I've never seen anything else she's in because I've never seen Better Call Saul.
Greg Manakis
Better Call Saul is a good watch. Yeah. Tough to get through a few plot points in that, but it. Overall, it's a good show. I don't know, man. Like a six out of ten.
Will
The.
Greg Manakis
My issue, like, you were, like, so pumped about the premise. Like, to me, I prefer a show like 3 Body Problem. I don't know if you watched 3 Body Problems.
Will
I did, which I liked. People didn't seem to like it, but I don't think it got a second season. I thought it was.
Greg Manakis
I think Pluribus is better than 3 body problem. I think it definitely allows you to access more elements of, like, your humanity and, like, probably get a little bit more introspective about your. Your own life. But in terms of just, like, pure enjoyment of watching a show for entertainment, three Body Problem blows it out of the water.
Will
Yeah. Yeah, that was the. I. I'm with you. I had a much better. If I had to rate the times that I had watching those two shows, it's no question Three Body Problem was. Was much more enjoyable. But it is interesting, like, to your point, the expectations you have when going into something. We talk about this with the Celtics all the time, like. Like, how reality and expectations, like, you know, kind of converge together. And I had that same experience with, like, I was catching up on some movies that I hadn't seen, you know, over break. Saw one battle after another, saw Weapons, and, like, both of those had, like, just gotten, like, a lot of hype before I saw them.
Greg Manakis
How was Weapons?
Will
Weapons was good. I liked Weapons. So out of. So I saw three movies over the break, Those two and then the new Knives out movie. I think it's like Dead Man Walking. That was pretty. It was. It was very entertaining. I really like. Like, if I had to rank those three, one Battle after was the best one. Then it was the Knives out movie, and then it was Weapons. Weapons Was good. I think, again, this is where I think the hype of people being like, people told me they liked it better than Sinners. I'm just like, you're crazy if you think it's better than sinners. And it's. And it's in a similar genre of, like, thriller, Little bit more horror than thriller, but it's like, in that same space. And I'm just like, Sinners was so much better. Maybe not so much better, but it's better. Like, it's hard for me to see it as better, but then again, maybe I saw Sinners in a movie theater, saw weapons at home. That also plays a part, but. But it was solid. I would recommend giving it a watch. I had to wait for my wife. Didn't want to watch it. I. I kept trying to show her the trailer or sneak it in. Like, you want to give me the remote? All right, I'm gonna make my choice. And she's like, take it back. So I had to watch it by myself, but. But I liked it, and I'd recommend giving it a watch for sure.
Greg Manakis
Okay, cool. Have you got your copy of Mark's book?
Will
Do I have my copy? Copy? Just got it today. Hot off the press, hot off the Amazon truck. Here, we got it for you. The Dead Know Nothing by Mark James McDonough, an avid motorcycle enthusiast. He doesn't own one or know how to ride them, but he likes to sneak into people's driveways and sit on them. Hey, that's. That's Mark McDonough for you. Hopefully we'll have him on the podcast here soon, so we can give you a little bit more insight into his book. Once again, I forget, what's the title here? The Dead.
Greg Manakis
The Dead Know Nothing.
Will
The Dead Know Nothing. So we'll have more for you guys here. We're going to wrap up this episode. Celtics fall to the Nuggets coming up this weekend here real quick. Raptors on Friday night, and then Wemby and the Spurs. Wemby's back. Wemby's playing tonight, I believe right now against the Lakers. That was the second game of the double header. Wemby, at least the last game. Let me see. I'm going to check this here. Just real quick before we sign up off. See if he's coming off the bench again. He's coming off the bench. I think Wemby's going for six man of the year, I think.
Greg Manakis
I think should come off the bench the rest of the year.
Will
He's just. I think he's Addicted to it. Just. He's been playing well.
Greg Manakis
He lasted two games as a starter, and then he got hurt.
Will
Yeah, maybe. Maybe that's the. What if. What if Wemby's just like, all right, one year I'm gonna win defensive player, but he's gonna win probably multiple times. This year it's six, man. Next year it's mvp. Next year, he just picks different years, and he just starts winning awards. Love it. Very well. Could be. So we'll see where Wemby is come Saturday night. But. But the Luke Cornett return game. Can't wait for that. That will be a lot of fun. He's gonna get. We'll have something. Oh, dude. Maybe for three minutes. Like, it's. It's gonna be insane. We'll have stuff for you on Sunday. We'll record sometime and get you our thoughts on that probably in advance early in the day, just so we can be ready for Pat's Chargers that night. Let's go. Playoff football is back. Actually, very, very excited to watch that. Greg, I will talk to you on Sunday. And for everybody out there, enjoy the rest of your week. We'll catch. Every time I get this high I lose my mind it don't take much no more until I hit the floor Every time I hit this high it's you I find it don't take much.
Greg Manakis
No more.
Will
Until I'm at your door.
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Episode: Trae Young Traded to Washington, The Celtics Fall Back To Earth, Derrick White's All-Star Case, and A Review of "Pluribus"
Date: January 8, 2026
Hosts: Will and Greg Manakis
Notable Guests: None on this episode, but shoutouts to previous guests like Mike Gorman, Drew Carter, Amina Smith, Dana Barros
This episode dives into a tumultuous night for Celtics fans. Will and Greg break down Boston’s frustrating home loss to a depleted Denver Nuggets, unpack breaking trade news with Trae Young headed to the Wizards, debate Derrick White’s All-Star candidacy, and finish with an in-depth, spoiler-filled chat on the TV show "Pluribus." The conversation is candid, passionate, and peppered with moments of basketball humor and life tangents.
[02:43-06:23]
“Kobe takes the cake as far as how adamant and passionate those specific Kobe stands are. ... That’s the real truth, I’m with you on that.” [05:04]
“I really think Kobe's a top 12 to 15 guy all time, which is an amazing place to be... But even just, like, why I was never really that scared of Kobe, like, anytime we played the Lakers, I really wasn’t, like, worried about Kobe, if that’s crazy to say.” [06:23]
[07:20-09:59]
“It’s a free shot at Trae Young... Really good for [the Wizards] to lift them up to play in more competitive games. ... If they don’t give Trae Young a big extension, then I like it. But if they do, then it’s a bad trade, even if they gave up nothing.” [07:55-08:30]
[11:05-26:56]
“Jalen just played with blinders on pretty much the entire game… Despite having the stat of 33.7 rebounds, 4 assists, it just wasn’t the MVP level JB that we’ve seen.” [11:58]
“This is a game where you really felt the impact of Jason Tatum not being on the court.” [27:12]
[16:43-22:39]
“Had some really impressive rebounds where I didn’t even think he had a chance… I thought his use was really strange tonight in that fourth quarter.” [16:43]
“It was crazy to see Joe Missoula decide to take him out. ... I think you gotta put Kaida back in that game. I don’t know the moment it gets to 99-90.” [18:34]
“We didn’t get a stop for three minutes straight as soon as Kaida left. ... That was a really weird moment for me for Joe. I just didn’t agree with that move.” [20:11]
“This is an exception to what we’ve seen out of Joe this season. He’s done a really good job...” [23:56]
[28:13-33:07]
“Has the way Anthony Simons has been playing changed your mind about him being the trade piece?” [30:50]
“I don't want to trade him right now, honestly... It's just nice to have someone that can hit contested, tough shots.” [31:38]
[33:07-42:46]
“I think right now I'm leaning towards... I think he gets in.” [40:58]
“If there's going to be a time, this is the D. White run right now to get in the game.” [40:58]
[42:46-45:10]
“I think you're going to hear some rumors about Michael Porter Jr. to the Thunder.” [44:50]
“That show did such a good job of making you question your own morals and your own ethics... Of the 13 survivors, I think you could see a bit of yourself in each of those 13.” [45:49]
“Smelling their own farts a little bit is what I walked away [with].” – Will, on the show’s introspective bent [48:05]
[53:10-end]
On Kobe Fandom:
“Kobe takes the cake as far as how adamant and passionate those specific Kobe stands are... Those are the only things that I can compare to what people say about Taylor Swift fans or Beyoncé type fans.” — Will [05:04]
On Trade Season Launch:
“That’s going to start trade season...” — Will, on the Trae Young deal [10:05]
On Jalen Brown’s Off-Night:
“Jalen just played with blinders on... It just wasn’t the MVP level JB that we’ve seen.” — Greg [11:58]
On Kaida’s Rebounding:
“His motor is such a game changer... I was surprised Missoula kind of had him on the bench the last 8 minutes of the game because he was so impactful.” — Greg [16:53]
On Derrick White:
“He’s averaging 3 stocks per game. It’s just crazy. ... That’s insane for a guard.” — Will [34:29]
On Pluribus:
“Smelling their own farts a little bit is what I walked away [with].” — Will [48:05]
The hosts are both passionate and casual, blending informed basketball takes with inside jokes, social analogies, and a willingness to argue and self-critique. The mood swings—matching the Celtics’ own volatility—are honest, frustrated, yet hopeful for Boston’s season.