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- [00:01]
Host 1
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- [01:01]
Host 1
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- [02:38]
Host 1
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- [03:34]
Jared Weiss
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. On today's show, we're talking to Anthony Slater about the Western Conference playoffs. Jared Weiss about the Boston Celtics and then we'll do some trivia. First we are going to. Our friend Anthony Slater is a national writer here at the Athletics. Slater. What's up?
- [03:53]
Guest 1
How are y' all?
- [03:55]
Jared Weiss
Great.
- [03:56]
Guest 3
So good.
- [03:57]
Jared Weiss
Great. I, I didn't just get off an airplane, so I think I'm doing a little bit better than you are right now.
- [04:01]
Guest 1
Yeah, it's been, it's been some travel. That's what happens when you take your first round series to seven games and you're the road team and then you're the road team to start the next series and you play in a Western Conference that is geographically wild.
- [04:14]
Jared Weiss
Dude.
- [04:15]
Guest 1
With the fact that Minnesota, you know, I'm basically in Chicago Detroit area, but you know, it's west playoffs. 8:30 tips too, as you guys know. Well there in Oklahoma city.
- [04:24]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. So 8:30 tips are, are brutal. Yeah. Getting out of the arena at like 3am like, it's like I'm at home. Like I haven't left home and it's like it's been a week just because the tip is so late.
- [04:35]
Guest 1
I do not want to sound like a grouch and honestly I shouldn't because this is the first time I've been home since before Game 7 of the Houston series. So.
- [04:43]
Jared Weiss
Wow.
- [04:43]
Guest 1
Oh, wow. And by the way, I mean like, nobody cares about me, but this old warriors team is doing the same thing I'm doing. Like that's what probably matters here.
- [04:53]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. So. Yeah, no kidding. Let's start with the two teams that were knocked out of the playoffs this week. First, the Clippers. After pushing the series to seven, the Clippers didn't show up in Denver and failed to make it out of the first round for the third straight season. Do you think the Clippers should consider trying to pivot at this point or were there enough positives this season to feel good about running it back and extending Harden?
- [05:17]
Guest 1
Probably, number one, enough positives and number two, just the reality of their ownership situation, which is good in so many ways. Right. He's like trying to pack Ball arena in their elimination game, remember with all those Clippers fans. But he's just like, he doesn't seem like he's gonna hit a rebuild button. He wants, you know, a lively wall in year two of of the the Clippers run and like, you know, Kawhi, I know it's maybe a little bit of fool fool's gold. It even looked like it faded within the first round series. But he at least showed that there is a gear that he can get to very occasionally. James Harden was j. Have they announced all NBA yet? I don't think they have. He was a third team candidate. Zubach is a third team candidate. Nor Powell before Kawhi came back was like fringe all star Ty Lue is the type of coach who's not going to want to hit, you know, full eject, rebuild. So honestly, if you, if you lose your competitiveness, you're probably losing Tyloo. Right? So. So no, to answer your question, to me, it's like, do I think they're going to win a title next year? Probably, probably not. But it's, it's almost a better version of like, like the King situation is like, man, what are y' all really going for? But the owner's kind of obsessed about winning now. To me, the Clippers are like a brighter, more positive version of that. It was like you guys aren't probably going to push it to a title, but I get that like you just want to fill into it dome and have fun playoff games and have Steve Ballmer over there like probably delusionally believing that they can maybe make a run.
- [06:44]
Guest 3
So the, the other team that was knocked out this week was the Rockets. For the first couple seasons of Alpern Shingoon's career, the narrat around him was that he was, you know, he could be Jokic light on offense, but then when he got to the playoffs he was going to be targeted Defensively, we've now seen him in the playoffs and it was actually his inefficient offense that was more of an issue. His counting stats were impressive, but he shot 45% from the field. What did you think about Shingoon in that warriors series and how committed do you think Houston should be to building around him going forward?
- [07:12]
Guest 1
More committed than they are to Jalen Green. He was more impressive in that series, truthfully. I do think the defense, like it is an issue. But Imei Udoka is a really sharp defensive coach and they've built an infrastructure around Sengun and it was like honestly the middle portion of that series, like it was this like hide and seek on Alper and Shangon where the warriors kept changing their starting lineup because Udoka started him on Moses Moody. So they yank Moody out, they put Buddy heel in because they were like, you know, he can't guard the movement shooter. Then they put him on Pajemski and then at one point, Steve Kerr put Gary Payton in for Pajemski because he wanted to get Sengun in screening action. So, like, he is still a target defensively, but he' tough, he tries. He's not, you know, it is not an Ennis Caner type situation. Right. He's just not like a sieve defensively. But he also doesn't rim protect. But again, they build a roster that like, that was a hellacious defense in the playoffs and like there wasn't a point in that series. I was like, oh, you need more, less Sengun. They, they survived with double bigs. They did zone. The warriors were scoring less than a point per possession on, you know, against that double big zone. It feels like we're in a little bit of a transformational age defensively. Right. With the playoffs and the physicality being allowed and the double bigs that are surviving. So, you know, unless Sengun is the swing piece to get a Giannis or to get Devin Book or whatever theoretical superstar we're talking about, I'd keep him. I'd build around him. I just build smartly around him, which I think they kind of have. And then on the offensive end, you mentioned it like warriors came out of that very impressed. Draymond Green was impressed with Sengun and he's pretty honest as you can see with, with some of his thoughts on people. He had some thoughts on Dylan Brooks post series. So if he thought Sengoon was just some easy mark, he would have said it. And he, he was impressed by him. And I, I just think Sengun ran into what has been a top three defense in the NBA for two months. And like Draymond Green playing at his highest level, like, that's why he was inefficient. I mean, the games in that series were like 95, 85, 101, 89, like this. It was a, it was a mud wrestling match and I think that's what led to his inefficiency.
- [09:21]
Jared Weiss
So after beating that Rockets team, the warriors moved on to face the Wolves in the second round. The warriors had a surprisingly dominant game, but lost Steph to a hamstring injury that will keep him out until at least Game 5. Seeing how good Game 2 went without Steph, what's the recipe? Seeing not, not how good. Seeing how game two went without stuff.
- [09:41]
Guest 1
I mean, they, they tried a lot of ingredients. An NBA record, they were very proud post game and NBA record. Fourteen players touched the floor in the first half of a playoff game because Braxton Key came in for like a defensive possession.
- [09:57]
Jared Weiss
How do they extend this series? Like, how do they, how do they get to the point where Steph can actually join this team?
- [10:02]
Guest 1
Jimmy Butler probably. And you know, I think Jimmy Butler, who is still feeling the impact of that hard fall in Houston, but getting better from it. But you know, he's, he's running off fumes a little bit too, because of this condensed schedule they've had and just his age and all that. I think he doesn't necessarily have, you know, five straight 45 minute, you know, play off Jimmy type bullets in his chamber. And they told the team at shoot around that they were going to play 13 guys and just try to find answers. But you know, Steve Kerr's way of not chasing the game as he likes to term it. And, and I. They told Jimmy Butler they were going to play him like, you know, 34 minutes. So to me that gets Jimmy Butler in a mindset of this isn't the one to go after. And I think you saw that he took 13 shots in 34 minutes. You know, he's out there running, picking rolls with Trace Jackson, Davis and then Gis Santos is in and then they're trying to feature Kaminga and they're telling Kam, they're trying to wake Jonathan Kaminga up. And we don't need to get too deep into that storyline. But like, I do think the fact that now that Steph's out, you can feature Jonathan coming and tell him, hey, go take the shots we've been telling you not to take, it did seem to kind of invigorate him a little.
- [11:08]
Jared Weiss
Bit.
- [11:08]
Guest 1
He made eight straight shots. But to your point, back to your original question, how do they extend this series? They need to win one more. It was huge for them that they actually got that win, that Steph was hurting. Game one.
- [11:19]
Jared Weiss
Kidding.
- [11:20]
Guest 1
Because now they really just need to get one to get it to six. And I think six is the realistic target for Stephen. I just think Jimmy Butler's gonna have to go like 46 minutes, shoot a bunch. Draymond Green, ferocious defensive effort. Buddy healed, you know, kind of goes prime clay again as he's done like what, three out of the last five games. And the defense, you know, and they've said that in the, in the aftermath, they're like, we can win with defense. They, they've been the top defense in the league for, you know, large stretches lately.
- [11:49]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. What about Draymond? Like, where's everybody at with kind of like the antics and like where, where all that's been.
- [11:55]
Guest 1
First take. I believe it led first take today. I know, sorry. In sports again. Yeah. I mean, they just don't want him to get suspended. And he's at five technicals and seven is the one game suspension. And you know, look, if, if, if he gets suspended for what if they get it to a game six with Steph, but in game five he gets the seven suspension and then he's not there. Like there is. Yeah, that is looming. And also, by the way, what if they get through this series like these, you don't reset the technical clock and he's only two flagrant points away. So to me, that's the concern for them. It's. It's been an odd playoffs because I know he, obviously he went after the refs post call last night, but generally he's been good with the officials. Very few of his points and technicals in these playoffs are like arguing with Tony Brothers, arguing with Zach Zarba. It's almost all these like post whistle flails that he, you know, Steve Kerr called it a habit and it is. It's a habit I don't like. I don't think last night he's going out there like, I'm gonna get a cheap shot on Nas Reed. Can't wait to find a moment to do that. He is just doing his flailing thing that he's trying to sell calls. He's in this stage of his career. He's absurdly undersized for what he does. I mean, you guys have stood next to him before, right? I mean, 6:5 stretching towards 6, 6:35 now does not have the Pop or the athleticism he used to yet is being tasked with being a defensive interior stopper, you know, plugging holes, battling Sangoon, battling Go Bear, battling Julius Randall. And he just gets himself so wound up for these clashes. And it just leads to a lot of the, you know, this stuff, the, the flailing of this, the, the yelling at the referees. He's, he is, you know, generally a delightful human off the court. And I think sometimes like, you know, I understand that he made the storyline today with what he said in the post game locker. I. And part of that was a Minnesota fan who said some st shouldn't have and got ejected.
- [13:53]
Jared Weiss
Right.
- [13:55]
Guest 1
And I do, I can, I can sympathize a little with him that like who the world thinks he is is not who he like is off the court, but who he has made himself to be on the court. Like obviously, like it comes with his repercussions. Like, I don't think the league is not rescinding these technical files. They're like, look, you got Nas Reed with an elbow, you got Fred Van Vleet with a forearm and it's going to accumulate to a point where it might cost his team. But also, as they will continue to say, they cannot tell Draymond gre, tone it down because if Draymond Green tones it down, he's not good. He doesn't help them and they lose. So it's a really tough situation.
- [14:34]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, yeah. This is, this is what you get at this point. Like if you want to win, this is what you get. Which is a, it's a tricky, very.
- [14:42]
Guest 1
Tricky situation by the way, to, you know, to his defense, not on, on the antics or the fouls or the Technos. This four titles, obviously people can say cost him the 2016 title, whatever, and has aged way better than I ever predicted. I, I, he was third and defensive player of the year this year. And again, like maybe people think he shouldn't have been. He was an all defensive team member at, you know, in year 14 as a 6 foot 5 center. Like, he's still good. He's still really good. And this is how he's good. It just comes with its side effects. It's, it's, they want him to get as close to the fence, the, the electrocution fence without getting electrocuted. But, but he gets electrocuted a lot.
- [15:24]
Guest 3
So. Anthony, you wrote a great article this week about the ways in which the Wolves and Warriors have been linked to each other going back to the 09 draft when then Wolves GM David Kahn drafted two point guards before Curry, who was drafting at number seven. One of the more interesting links is the 2020 draft. And I was wondering, for our listeners who haven't read the piece, could you recap the warriors approach to that draft and what happened when they worked out Anthony Edwards?
- [15:47]
Guest 1
Yeah, Anthony Edwards acts like, it's like a career changing moment when he, they went down to Atlanta. You guys remember 2020 draft, obviously the COVID draft, where it was like, you know, or if you can probably think about the situation, it's in Atlanta gym where you have to be spaced out. You're only allowed to have very select members of the organization. There was Joe Lakob, Bob Myers and Steve Curry in masks. I can imagine, right, watching Anthony Edwards and his trainer workout, right? You're not bringing your guys in, you're not bringing your workouts, your assistant coaches. It's Anthony Edwards and his trainer while, like from afar, Steve Kerr and, and their, you know, brain trust watches. And Anthony Edwards, the way Steve Kerr tells it, he's like, oh, okay, this is a long warm up. Like he's just, you know, kind of getting the blood flowing. Like, when's this workout gonna start? And after 15 minutes, it was like, we're wrapped. That was the workout. And Steve Kerr went to him and like, kind of was like, you need to go harder. You need to be, you know, get better at this stuff. They went to a dinner where apparently Anthony Edwards retells it, that he was just explaining to him how hard you guys have seen Kevin Durant work out in person like that. It's just game speed, you know, one dribble, pull up. Game speed, one dribble, pull up. And Steph Curry, it's obviously very similar. Klay Thompson, if you ever seen him go through a shooting routine. Steve Kerr has that experience, obviously, and brings that to Anthony Edwards and doesn't really think anything of it. Right. He's just, you know, sharing a story with a draft prospect. But Anthony Edwards says that is like, like basically jolted his workouts to life and, and helped him become who he had become for the Warriors. I can imagine they won't tell it this directly, but kind of turn them off the Anthony Edwards, you know, trail a little bit. Because you guys remember pre draft, like that was the questions, like the drive, remember, did he have some quote that got picked up about like how he wanted to play football? Like that was his real life.
- [17:34]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. Basketball wasn't even his best sport or something like that. Yeah, yeah.
- [17:37]
Guest 1
That was kind of like the concern about him entering the Draft there was like, I remember because it was Minnesota maybe taking him one and did there was like some Andrew Wiggins, like, you know, is it that type of situation?
- [17:47]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [17:49]
Guest 1
So again, I'm not, the warriors are not saying that workout is the reason we didn't, you know, try to get aggressive and get up and get Anthony Edwards, which I believe they could have done. And they love James Wiseman. They, they thought it was the right fit at the right time. And, and, and I know that's been pinned on Joe Lacob and do not get me wrong, Joe Laker was very much about that draft pick and as you know, in the aftermath called him a generational center prospect. But that was Steve Kerr liked to pick Bob Myers like the pick the, the players like to pick. They liked the James Wiseman selection and obviously it did not work out.
- [18:22]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. We're recording this on Friday afternoon before Cavs, Pacers and Thunder Nuggets game three. What, what's been the single most surprising thing for you that's happened just in the playoffs in general so far?
- [18:35]
Guest 1
I mean probably like this two zero Knicks lead maybe feels.
- [18:39]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [18:41]
Guest 1
Out of left field. I mean even watching the other night, what did the Celtics go up early? It was like it, it felt like your classic game to just favorite stomps away. And the fact that the Celtics blew that and it does feel a little bit like they're feeling maybe that the defending champion impact mentally but also physically. Right. Jalen Brown's been dealing with this knee thing and was that it's a wrist thing with Tatum. Porzingis has this like mysterious illness that's like like completely limiting him. Drew Holiday had a hammy like you know, I'd still like may like if they, if they won this series and won the title, I would not be surprised. But also like you know, five days from now we could just be talking about a dead tired defending champion that lost number one and number two. We know the, the bigger long term questions about them and like the money and the new ownership group, like that could lead to some real changes. And I don't you guys might be talking to Jared Weiss about this, so we don't need to get too deep into it, but that's probably among the biggest surprises right now.
- [19:42]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, we didn't go super big picture. We tried to, we tried to stay zeroed in on this on the series a little bit. But there are some, there are some massive implications that I think that the team will change no matter what. But it probably this depends on like how much it Will change.
- [19:55]
Guest 1
And it is a hot topic around the league. And, you know, as. As these eight teams that are still existing in the playoffs are, like, in the moment, in the X's and O's. You guys know, I mean, the lotteries next week, the con, I'm talking to warriors front office, people going to the combine, Minnesota to Chicago. Like, it is kind of getting to that part of the year where bigger picture stuff is, like, decisions are about to be made, and there's a lot of conversation about what the Celtics, from a payroll standpoint, are going to have to do and who that mean they. They might have to, you know, get off. And as we're talking about, like, if they go down in the second round pretty meekly, that could really change some stuff.
- [20:32]
Guest 3
Yeah. Before you go, Anthony, we do have a little game for you. Now, this is not trivia, but this is our NBA championship draft. This is something we've done for the last three weeks. You'll be able to see the results of the last three weeks on the right hand side. Hand side, if you're watching on YouTube. But basically, we're going to draft teams that we think at this point, as of Friday, May 9, are most likely to win the NBA title. Now, because you are our guest, you get to pick whether you want to draft first, second, or third. This is a Snake draft, so if you pick third, you'd get the third and fourth pick. And we're only going to draft six teams, which. I'm just going to say this up front. This is the most difficult week that we have ever done.
- [21:25]
Guest 1
This is crazy because, like, you know, you got to decide what you think about this Celtics series.
- [21:30]
Guest 3
I.
- [21:30]
Guest 1
You know what? I'll take the backside of the Snake draft.
- [21:34]
Guest 3
Okay, Andrew.
- [21:36]
Guest 1
I'm gonna force y' all into a. Into a tough decision. Up top. Actually, I feel like I know what you going up top. I feel like he's staying local. Up top.
- [21:47]
Jared Weiss
It's not too difficult for that one.
- [21:49]
Guest 3
Okay.
- [21:50]
Jared Weiss
Alex, why don't you go first?
- [21:51]
Guest 3
Okay, fine. Great.
- [21:53]
Jared Weiss
Okay.
- [21:53]
Guest 3
I'm taking OKC for the first time.
- [21:55]
Jared Weiss
Okay. Yeah.
- [21:57]
Guest 3
Yeah. For the first time, I've taken all east teams. But now, based on how things are going, I am going back home and taking the Oklahoma City Thunder, who could lose tonight. By the time people are listening to this, they could be down to one to the Denver Nuggets.
- [22:12]
Jared Weiss
I mean, it's. It's possible. It's definitely possible. What's. What's. What's your feel on the Thunder right now?
- [22:19]
Guest 1
Yeah, I really like them in the series still. I do think I was really curious how they were going to come out in Game 2 because that was the first bit of like, adversity and even, especially like, even aimed towards like decision making process and like all the things that the Thunder hold like pretty dear right now, which is just like, you know, the disciplined nature of like, we follow up, you know, we follow up three. We follow up three. He was like, oh, well, you screwed up that game.
- [22:45]
Guest 2
Yeah.
- [22:46]
Guest 1
And Chet Holmgren had to, you know, we know Chet. He's really hard on himself. I was wondering how he'd come out. He was impressive. They were impressive. I think the west is breaking right for them because I, I like them in a Minnesota matchup as we'll probably get to. As we decide what other title contenders here like this Steph Curry hamstring injury just probably derailed the Warrior season. That's, that's likely how we're going to retell it. Like, I think if Steph Curry was healthy, one of us would pick the warriors pretty early here. But I probably won't pick them at all because of it because I just don't think they can survive it. So I think they got a path to the finals. I still. We'll see. On like Jalen Williams shed homegrown being like a true number two. But I'm not sure you're going to need it. Defense is still great. It is. It would seem to be the obvious number one pick only because the Celtics are fading.
- [23:37]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. Yeah.
- [23:39]
Guest 1
So Andrew and Cleveland, I should say.
- [23:40]
Jared Weiss
By the way, I say. I was going to say Cleveland too. I did want to say that Chet after the game did talk about how Kenrich Williams basically came over to his house the, the day after and just was like wanting to watch the games with him and like gave him just like some perspective on like, like how he should handle missing those free throws. Like basically like just like lean into it. Like be like you should want to shoot free throws again. Like you need to go into this game wanting to shoot free throws. I think he took seven and in game two made them all. You know, it's like there's just a good mentality there too, you know, behind that. Because like sometimes moments like that can derail you for a series or for your career that are that bad that where you like, you feel like, I mean he probably pins the game on himself because he makes those two free throws. Even if he just makes the second one, he gets a defense set and like maybe you can stop him, but Anyways, I thought that was an interesting note. Okay, the second team here, this is. I feel like it's already tricky.
- [24:45]
Guest 1
It's super hard.
- [24:47]
Jared Weiss
I, this may be really, really dumb. I'm still taking Boston here.
- [24:53]
Guest 3
I knew you were going to take them down. Oh, two.
- [24:57]
Jared Weiss
Down. Oh, two. It looks bad. It looks really bad. I was watching that game in the Thunder media dining, and Tony Jones, who is a huge Knicks fan, who's covering the Nuggets for us at the Athletic right now, was just going bonkers there. He was. He was so pumped to see the KN Knicks beat them. But I still just think, I mean, Jared is going to talk about it, but, like, there are just these moments where I was like, man, like, just shots that should have gone down that didn't. Like, not just one, but multiple shots that were good shots. And you just. I kind of believe in that in the process for them.
- [25:36]
Guest 1
I just think it will go ahead. He just believes.
- [25:39]
Jared Weiss
I just believe. I do. I think, I think they're gonna, I still think they'll win this series. And I think that they, the Knicks fans, I mean, I, I, I feel for Knicks fans. If they do just because you're riding high right now, that would be a pretty awful collapse. But I'm still sticking with Boston.
- [25:53]
Guest 1
I was hoping they were going to fall to me in the 34 spot. It would have been, it was going to be great value in the 3 4. And I thought you were going to be scared off. I thought you were going to be scared off.
- [26:03]
Jared Weiss
No.
- [26:05]
Guest 1
You know, that was. I don't know what to do here, really. If I just. Process of elimination. I just said it. I think Steph Curry derails the Warriors. I think Denver's gonna lose to the Thunder. So I'm taking those two off the board, you know, like, I might have to take Minnesota by default because it's like, they seem likely to advance, but, like, do I think Minnesota is gonna win the title? No. And then you look at the east like, you know what I mean? Give me Cleveland at one of these two. It sounds absurd, but they're at least getting their guys back. Like, there's at least a path of like, like, oh, well, yeah, they were missing a lot of their best players. Now they look good again.
- [26:41]
Guest 3
You could hedge and take Indy.
- [26:43]
Guest 1
Yeah, it would be. But then it's like, okay, Andrew, Celtics ride into the next round and sweep. And I, you know, I don't know, maybe I should just take the next. No, give me Minnesota. It's absurd, but it's like you know, at this point, I think they're of those of this group maybe that have the easiest path to the conference. Fine. I don't like that pick, by the way, but it just is.
- [27:06]
Guest 3
No, I think that's a good pick because, I mean, we know as Thunder fans over the last two years, Minnesota's played the Thunder so tough. All those games are disgusting.
- [27:15]
Jared Weiss
They have. Yeah.
- [27:16]
Guest 3
They're very good defensively against okc, so at the very least, I could see that series going long. So I. That's who I was hoping would fall, but go ahead, Andrew. Who do you want?
- [27:28]
Jared Weiss
Who's your second hedge and take. I'm going to hedge and take the Knicks.
- [27:32]
Guest 3
Oh, nice hedge. Nice head.
- [27:34]
Jared Weiss
Because if they do, I. I. Indy's really good.
- [27:37]
Host 3
And I.
- [27:38]
Jared Weiss
That it was probably between them and Indy that I would go between. Like, I don't know that either of these teams will win the title, but I think they have a chance to get to the finals.
- [27:46]
Guest 3
Yeah.
- [27:46]
Jared Weiss
You know, from here. And if it's Indiana, New York in the east finals, which is kind of what it looks like it could be right now, when you get into close games with Jalen Brunson, like, it just. You have to just trust him at this point.
- [28:02]
Guest 1
You could say the same about.
- [28:03]
Jared Weiss
He's been clutch as well. He's been clutch as well. I just kind of believe in Brunson at this point, and so I'll. I'll go New York Knicks.
- [28:10]
Guest 1
This feels like the perfect forum to let y' all know that for. I must give him credit. Buddy, healed since prior to the playoff starting, has been adamant that the Pacers are going to win the east, and I've been like, no, they're not.
- [28:24]
Jared Weiss
I remember telling me that they're going.
- [28:25]
Guest 1
To win the East. They're going to win the east. And now I'm like, now, now he's.
- [28:31]
Jared Weiss
Got to be really loud about it.
- [28:33]
Guest 1
Yeah, it's getting there. Well, he got some other things to figure out right now, but.
- [28:38]
Jared Weiss
Right.
- [28:40]
Guest 3
It would be between Denver and Indy, but I'm going to go with Buddy. Plus, I made my bold prediction at the beginning of the playoffs that the Pacers were going to make the Eastern Conference finals.
- [28:48]
Guest 1
You did?
- [28:48]
Guest 3
Doesn't seem that bold at all. And just the way I wanted because Cleveland got hurt, but.
- [28:56]
Jared Weiss
Right.
- [28:57]
Guest 3
But yeah, I just think Indy's playing great right now. And, yeah, you should be terrified of Halliburton as well. He seems automatic at the end of these games. And so it feels weird leaving off Denver, but leaving off Jokic.
- [29:10]
Guest 1
And Steph Curry, although obviously not. I know actually Steph Curry. But it does feel weird.
- [29:14]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, it does feel weird leaving Denver off.
- [29:17]
Guest 3
Yeah, it's, it's the, it's like the injury to Michael Porter Jr. I think is, is relevant. And the fact that they're already thin and they're relying on a guy who's got a busted shoulder who needs to be one of their best six players, they're just so thin right now. They could, you know, because they have Jokic, they could still win this series. They could be up to one by the time you're listening to this, but I think between Indy and Denver, Indy just has the clear path right now.
- [29:46]
Guest 1
Man, I forgot this is going Saturday, so I'm gonna look brutal when my number one one pick is down three zero.
- [29:55]
Guest 3
I told you to hedge. I told you to take Indy.
- [29:58]
Guest 1
Sorry. I got the Wolves.
- [30:00]
Jared Weiss
I got the Wolves. Slater, thanks so much for coming on the show. Please go read Slater today at the Athletic. Go listen to Warriors Plus Minus on your podcast feed. If you're looking for recaps of these games, they have podcasts that are usually up pretty quick after the games are over, so go check that out. Anything else you want to plug?
- [30:21]
Guest 1
No, I'm good. Just follow along on the Athletic. It has been an interesting playoff. Great playoff, league wide. It really has.
- [30:28]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, no kidding. No kidding. Thanks. Later.
- [30:30]
Guest 1
All right, y' all.
- [30:31]
Host 3
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- [31:11]
Guest 1
As.
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Host 1
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Host 2
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- [32:11]
Host 1
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- [33:50]
Jared Weiss
With us now, friend of the show, friend in my life, Jared Weiss, who covers the NBA for us here at the Athletic. Jared Fred, what's up man?
- [33:59]
Guest 2
What an honor to be a friend and be in your life. It's like almost equally honorable things.
- [34:05]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, it's beautiful. It's a beautiful thing. So after winning 61 games this season, the depending champs are now down 02 to the new York Knicks, dropping both games at home. The Celtics outside shooting has been the big story. They've missed 75 out of their 100 three pointers through two games. It's very, very kind of them to to produce such a nice round number there. The most misses in consecutive playoff games in NBA history, which is just insane. So while shooting variance is obviously a factor, what have you seen from the Knicks that has been contributing to Boston's offensive struggle so far?
- [34:40]
Guest 2
Can we also just note that they shot 25.0% in both games? Like, the consistency has been impressive. You know, we're always looking for consistency in shooting. We never really specify what number we want to see it at. We just want to see consistency. So at least it's predictable. The okay, so the first thing here, let's credit the Knicks. Mitchell Robinson, I feel like, is the first person we got to talk about because his defense on the perimeter, I mean, there's been a few plays where he got killed, but he has stood up Jason Tatum on the final play of regulation twice. And then we've also had Mikhail Bridges have the game when you steal on the final play of the game twice now. And so we're seeing this really impressive combination here of of the Knicks lesser defenders for a wing situation like adjacent Tatum or Jalen Brown, they're all doing a pretty solid job. And then that frees up Bridges and Anunoby to play in the gaps. And so two of the best guys in the league you could have in that situation. And so the Celtics really struggling to just crush Jalen Brunson in target pick and rolls in the fourth quarter to be able to get Mitchell Robinson in space and be able to shoot over him or get by him consistently. It's just not happening for Boston. And you know, Brown and Tatum have just not played well so far. And very few guys on the team look healthy right now. It's ironic that New York looks healthier even though they run. Tibbs runs those guys into the ground every single night. And. But then also, like the Celtics are missing a crazy number of completely uncontested threes. And you go back and you watch the fourth quarter of that game in game two, and like Jalen Brown misses a completely uncontested pull up three, like in rhythm. Jayson Tatum gets a corner three and there's nobody on the same side of the court as him and he clanks it. Horford misses the same shot. Like everybody on their team that hits those wide open threes missed them all. And any one of those goes down and they win the game. And so, you know, that happens in games. Guys miss shots. You can't just be like, if that person made that shot, they win it. But we're talking about, like, the best shooters on the team. That's the best shooting team in the game, missing completely uncontested looks. And so that's the kind of stuff that that should correct. Usually that corrects over the course of a series. And if the Celtics are making some of those completely uncontested threes that they are creating in the fourth quarter, then we're looking at this completely differently.
- [36:53]
Guest 3
You mentioned Tatum looking over his last three postseasons. He shot 32% from three in the 2023 playoffs, 28% from three in last year's playoffs. Currently shooting 32% from three so far in this year's playoffs. Each of those playoffs runs, he's taken seven plus threes per game. What do you think the future is for his outside shot? Like, is there a breaking point where he's just not consistent enough as an outside shooter, where he has to change his shot profile, even though it's such a big part of the Celtics approach?
- [37:21]
Guest 2
Yeah. So listen, I got a copy of the script for next year, and the very first line in the script, it says, Jason tatum, playoff shooting percentage 32.3%, 7.2 attempts per game. It's in the script, guys. There's nothing we can do about it. Like, this is what's going to happen with Jason Tatum. He's going to shoot kind of mediocre from three in the postseason. And there are probably some things he could change about that. He can maybe go away from ISO step back culture, which is the only way I could describe it at this point in, you know, for three in a row, maybe it's one of them. And if it goes down, you get another one. And maybe you don't try to shoot three in a row and you miss two, you know, miss three of those. You know, I think that there are things that he can amend to his game in the postseason, but I also think maybe part of this is that the guy doesn't really rest during the regular season much, and they had to, like, really force him to this year. And so he probably also is just kind of wearing down a bit in the postseason because of how physical he plays in the playoffs and how hard he defends in the playoffs, that it's going to affect the shooting. So maybe there's just more maintenance and load management that needs to be done over the course of the season. And maybe that needs to be done during the postseason as well, because, you know, like we were saying before, like, the guy missed a shot, that should be absolute cash for him at the end of that game. And like, we're seeing that, we see that, we saw that happen earlier in the year. Every single season his shot kind of falls apart. He fixes it halfway through the year, has a strong, stronger finish of the year. And you know, maybe it's just kind of that cycle again, but I think that's just gonna, it's what it's gonna be with JT and that's the difference between JT and an MVP level player. It's just that like an MVP level player is probably gonna hit 40% on those three and they're going to score a little bit more per game and that's going to be a little bit of that edge.
- [39:07]
Jared Weiss
So on the other end of the court, the Knicks offense hasn't been great in either game, but they have consistently been able to generate shots down the stretch. And both of the comebacks. What have been some of the Celtics biggest issues defensively at the end of these games?
- [39:21]
Guest 2
Well, I think the Celtics biggest issue has been offensively more. So they, they. There's some sort of airborne pistons virus going around, I guess in the NBA right now where whoever the Knicks are facing just catches this crunch time deficit and we're just seeing Boston. You know, maybe part of it is the Knicks are hitting more shots, Boston's playing in transition less, and therefore they're getting less good looks. But I feel like the Celtics defense has generally been pretty good in this series. And you look at the Jalen Brunson baskets in crunch time. You ever, have you ever seen a Jalen Brunson basket in crunch time? And you're like, wow, the defense is terrible there. Like, not that often. I feel like he usually just hits really, really hard shots that very few guys can hit. You know, I, I think earlier in the fourth quarter is when they got killed with a lot of transition shooting from McHale Bridges and, you know, things of that nature. And so that's where the offense comes in. That's where the Celtics, they kept shooting through everything. And you could see in game two, they passed up a lot of looks. And so that's why they only took what, like 40 threes instead of 60 threes, which is still a lot. And so I, I think that for them, they usually look at it as, we don't want to miss layups. Because that's going to be guaranteed transition the other way. So if we're going to miss shots, we'd rather at least miss threes, where our spacing allows us to get back and have that defensive shell. But if they're just missing so many shots and they're guarding in transition so often, they're just going to. There's going to be holes there. So Boston's defense usually starts with their offense, and I think that continues to be the case in this series.
- [40:48]
Guest 3
So, Jared, you've been around this team for several seasons. You've seen them fall down.02 before, most notably in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals against Miami, which they end up losing at seven. How would you compare the mood around the team in this series compared to that infamous series against Miami?
- [41:05]
Guest 2
Well, they're in a more privileged position at this point, like, because they've won the championship. I don't think there's that desperation of, like, this is our last chance to ever become champions. Like, there's a bit of that. A bit of that stability and already having won it. And I think that's a combination of, like, being delusional enough to think that you can make it out of this. And delusion is a very important part of being a good basketball team. And then also, just, like, the lack of fear that you'll never be a great. You'll never be recognized as a great player, because if you're Tatum, if you're Brown, you've already. You've already won that championship. So I think that that actually is probably a good thing because the tension of the fear can really splinter. While, you know, I think when you feel confident in yourself, it allows you to kind of stay the course more. So. And the lack of desperation, I think, will probably help them stay the course a little bit. And I know people are going to conflate desperation with a. They don't care. No, it's just, like, there's a difference between, I really want to win another title and I've never won a title, and my career will be a waste if I don't win a title. Like, there's just. It's different. You can't expect somebody to have that same drive. But, like, the Celtics are very capable of winning this series. Just forget about even the results just based on the history, like, you're saying, like, we know that they're able to turn things around, that they have multiple solutions to the way that they play, and that they're shooting like absolute crap right now. And I just don't expect them to shoot 25.0% again next game. They're probably going to shoot 25.1%, but even that will be a little bit of an improvement.
- [42:33]
Jared Weiss
Looking ahead to games three and four, are there any adjustments beyond hitting a couple more threes that you expect the Celtics to look at?
- [42:42]
Guest 2
Well, they haven't really played out of the post that much and that's a big part of how they've been able to get easier offense and we just haven't seen a lot of that. And the problem for them is that the Knicks defense, one of the things are clearly built for is to not get cross matched in the post because whether it's heart, Anobi Bridges, whoever the five is at the time, like they're always going to have four good post defenders out there. And if you really go for Brunson, Jalen Brown was able to get Jalen Brunson a few times in the post, but most of the time it's hard to really get a point guard all alone in the post over and over again. Usually teams know how to switch out of that. So they, you know, the post thing, maybe we'll see more just like, like non cross match post ups, like just posting up Mikhail Bridges even though he's tall, hoping that you can get muscle through him, things like that. I mean there's a very obvious adjustment which is that Chris Hops Porzingis is good. And that's the thing that's really killing the Celtics right now is just like they need kp, they need to play through him in the high post, they need him pick and popping. Like those are the two things that they've been really, really missing in the series and he hasn't been able to deliver it it. And they're hoping that with this illness that he's dealing with, whatever it is, that a couple days off will allow him to actually perform better next game. And I know watching him last game, I was watching him before warm ups and you know how kp, he kind of like falls onto his front foot when he shoots the ball. It's kind of like a lean forward kind of thing. He was like literally like falling into his front foot like he could barely get off the ground. He looked like he was in really rough shape and he played like it. And if he's just like not in really, really sick and not feeling like garbage, like he's probably going to be better. And that will be such a huge boon for them because he's been really, really like ineffective so far.
- [44:25]
Guest 3
All right, Jared, thank you for answering all of our questions about the Boston Celtics. But it is now time to play Andrew versus the Beat, our weekly trivia show where Andrew goes head to head against the NBA beat writer this week, Jared Weiss. Now, Jared, you've played this before. You know how it goes. I've come up with eight questions this time, all about the Boston Celtics. You're going to give me a number between 1 and 8. It'll correspond to a question. If you get it right, you'll get at least two points. If you get it wrong, Andrew will have a chance to steal for one. And we'll go back and forth until all the questions have been asked and answered. So, Jared, to start us off, I just need a number between one and eight.
- [45:07]
Guest 2
I'm going to do Andrew a favor here. I'm going to pick number seven in honor of Jalen Brown, which means that I'm most likely going to miss the first question.
- [45:17]
Guest 3
Okay, question number seven. According to cleaning the glass, when this Celtic is on the floor during this year's playoffs, the Celtics offense is 22.9 points per 100 possessions better than when he is off the floor. Who is it?
- [45:37]
Guest 2
It's.
- [45:38]
Guest 1
I don't.
- [45:38]
Guest 2
I have no idea who it is, but it has to be Luke Cornett.
- [45:46]
Guest 3
It doesn't have to be because it's not Jared. That means Andrew gave a chance to steal. Celtics offense is just amazing when this player has been on the court in the playoffs.
- [45:59]
Jared Weiss
Wow.
- [46:02]
Guest 2
It would be hilarious if the answer was Jaylon Brown.
- [46:06]
Jared Weiss
Derek White. I don't know.
- [46:08]
Guest 3
That was also incorrect. The correct answer was Peyton Pritchard.
- [46:15]
Jared Weiss
Peyton Pritchard. I guess that would make sense. Wow.
- [46:18]
Guest 2
It's funny because he's not having a great series.
- [46:20]
Jared Weiss
Lord, is yours number one question?
- [46:23]
Guest 3
Number one. Oh, this is great. Last week, one of our trivia questions was about James Hart, James Harden's logo, low scoring games in the playoffs. So we're going to do it again, but this time with Jayson Tatum. So Jason Tatum has played 119 playoff games. In what percentage of those games did he score 15 points or fewer? Now Andrew gets to choose who answers first. You can make Jared answer first and then you go higher, lower. Or you can answer first and then Jared would go higher, lower. If Jared got it exactly correct, though, he would get a bonus point.
- [46:59]
Jared Weiss
I'll let Jared guess. I can't even, like, begin to think of a baseline number number for that.
- [47:04]
Guest 3
For. For reference, Jared. Last week when we did the same question about James Harden, the correct answer was 25%. 25% of his playoff games. He scored 15 points or fewer to give you. Give you a rough idea of where it was for Harden. So what do you think, Jared? What percentage of Jayson Tatum's playoff games did he score? 15 points or fewer.
- [47:26]
Guest 2
So, so the way I'm trying to do the arithmetic here is I'm, I'm calculating how many games he probably played his first two seasons when it was less likely he had a role where he would get 15 consistently. And so probably played about 16, 20 ish or so each of those. Right. So I'm guessing he was below 15, half of that first year. That's 10. So I'm gonna guess that his. What's exactly the question? Is it. What percentage did he score below?
- [47:56]
Guest 3
It's the percentage. Yeah.
- [47:57]
Guest 2
Yeah, I'm going to say it is. 19%.
- [48:05]
Guest 3
19%. Andrew, would you like to go higher or lower than 19%?
- [48:12]
Jared Weiss
Wow. I'll say lower.
- [48:17]
Guest 3
Say lower. Jared, you were within 1 percentage point.
- [48:22]
Jared Weiss
But it was lower.
- [48:23]
Guest 2
Wasn't it in it.
- [48:24]
Guest 3
And the correct answer? It was 18%.
- [48:32]
Jared Weiss
I'm in that same position every week where I feel like I'm within like two or something. And then whoever it is guesses the right one.
- [48:39]
Guest 1
That's funny.
- [48:40]
Guest 3
Here's the good news, Jared, you have control of the board.
- [48:44]
Guest 2
I'm gonna do number eight since it was 18.
- [48:51]
Guest 3
Sorry, what number did you say again?
- [48:52]
Guest 2
Oh, number eight since it was 18. Number eight.
- [49:01]
Guest 3
He's number. Number eight.
- [49:03]
Guest 2
There we go.
- [49:04]
Guest 3
So, Jared, there are three active players who are still playing in the NBA playoffs. They have played for Boston, but they are not currently playing for Boston. How many can you name? You get one point per correct answer. So active players still playing in the playoffs played for Boston once upon a time. Not currently playing for Boston.
- [49:28]
Guest 2
All right, Tristan Thompson.
- [49:31]
Guest 3
That is correct.
- [49:32]
Guest 2
Aaron Neesmith.
- [49:34]
Guest 3
That is correct.
- [49:36]
Guest 2
And then. No, he's not there anymore. Oh, this is tricky. What's the last one? I'm drawing a blank on the last one now. I don't know. I assume the buzzer's going off any second now. I can't. I can't think of who the last one.
- [49:58]
Guest 3
Okay, you got two points. Andrew. Andrew, you have a chance to steal the other name.
- [50:04]
Jared Weiss
I actually.
- [50:05]
Guest 2
Damn, I remember it now. Oh.
- [50:10]
Guest 3
Jared, I'll. I'll give it to you because it's super hard. There's no chance Andrew's getting it is Javante Green?
- [50:19]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. I was not getting that. I was not getting that.
- [50:22]
Guest 2
I just talked to Tristan and Javante Green together.
- [50:24]
Guest 3
Yeah.
- [50:25]
Guest 1
He played two years ago, so I.
- [50:26]
Guest 2
Should remember that one. Yeah.
- [50:29]
Guest 3
Let's see. Actually, he's played. Let me see how many minutes he's played. 29 minutes so far in the playoffs for Cleveland. Wow. Okay, Andrew, board is yours.
- [50:40]
Jared Weiss
I will take number two.
- [50:42]
Guest 3
Question number two. The last home team to go down oh two in the playoffs and win the series was the 2021 LA Clippers. Kawhi and PG led the Clippers in minutes play that series. Who played the third most minutes in that series for the Clippers?
- [51:04]
Jared Weiss
Oh, my gosh.
- [51:06]
Guest 3
So 2021, I believe they're playing the Utah Jazz.
- [51:12]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [51:13]
Guest 3
Or no, the Mavericks. They were playing the Mavericks.
- [51:15]
Jared Weiss
Yeah. I think this is Paul George's fishing buddy, Reggie Jackson.
- [51:30]
Guest 3
Andrew, he was on the team, but it was not Reggie Jackson. Dang it. Jared, you have a chance to steal.
- [51:37]
Guest 2
For one point, please.
- [51:39]
Guest 3
The question was 2021 Clippers. They were the last team, a home team, to go down.02 in the playoffs and then win the series. Kawhi and pg they were. They led the team in minutes played during that series. Who was the third most in minutes played for the Clippers during that series? And it's not Ray J.
- [52:01]
Guest 2
All right. Too late there.
- [52:02]
Guest 3
Also incorrect. It was none other than Marcus Morris.
- [52:09]
Jared Weiss
Marcus Morris?
- [52:12]
Guest 3
Yeah, Marcus Morris, the legend. Okay, Jared, board is yours.
- [52:18]
Guest 2
Three, please.
- [52:22]
Guest 3
The Celtics have lost two games in a row in the regular season. There were five teams that beat Boston twice. Now, three of those teams, okc, Cleveland, Indiana, are still in the playoffs. Who are the other two teams that beat Boston twice in the regular season? And you get one point per correct answer.
- [52:45]
Guest 2
Orlando.
- [52:49]
Guest 3
That is correct. For one point.
- [52:52]
Guest 2
And then can you get the other team? Did Detroit beat them?
- [53:00]
Guest 3
That is incorrect.
- [53:03]
Guest 2
Yeah.
- [53:03]
Guest 3
Andrew, you have a chance to steal for one point.
- [53:07]
Jared Weiss
I think this is Atlanta.
- [53:09]
Guest 3
It is the Atlanta Hawks. The Giant Slayers.
- [53:13]
Guest 1
Very nice.
- [53:14]
Guest 3
Also did it to Cleveland.
- [53:16]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [53:17]
Guest 3
Okay. Oh, I didn't mark that off. Andrew, board is yours. Three questions left. Four to three. You're down by one. What a game we have on our hands.
- [53:26]
Jared Weiss
Number four.
- [53:28]
Guest 3
Question number four. The Celtics scored 90 points in game two against the Knicks, their second lowest total this season. The fewest points they scored this season was 76 in a game against the Magic. Which two Celtics led Boston in scoring during that game with 15 points each. You do get. You do get one point per correct answer. 76 points. 30 of those were scored by these two guys.
- [54:01]
Jared Weiss
Wow.
- [54:02]
Guest 3
Now this would really help if you. If you followed this team. If you were a Fan of this team.
- [54:07]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [54:07]
Guest 3
Otherwise probably be pretty tough.
- [54:10]
Jared Weiss
Would be pretty helpful. How about our. How about our guy, Luke Cornett?
- [54:16]
Guest 3
That. No, no. It's a fun guess though. Would have been fun.
- [54:21]
Jared Weiss
Thank you.
- [54:21]
Guest 3
Okay, Jared, do you know the answer to this question?
- [54:24]
Guest 2
Yeah. This one's gonna be a deep cut probably. Who's so far back in the bench that I can't remember off the top of my head? Is that Jordan Walsh?
- [54:37]
Guest 3
Jordan Walsh. No. Wow. Okay. Not that deep. One of them is deep. Okay. Peyton Pritchard was one of them.
- [54:45]
Guest 2
Yeah.
- [54:46]
Guest 3
And then the other one, Baylor Shireman.
- [54:50]
Guest 2
Between those two.
- [54:51]
Guest 3
Wow.
- [54:51]
Guest 2
Okay.
- [54:52]
Jared Weiss
Pritchard just seemed too obvious to me for that.
- [54:56]
Guest 3
Yeah, it makes sense though. It makes sense. Everyone else was out of that game. Okay, Jared, board is yours.
- [55:03]
Guest 2
Number five Question.
- [55:05]
Guest 3
Number five. Jason Tatum hasn't been scoring well, but he has had double digit rebounds in four of his six playoff games this year. Among active players, Tatum's 47 double digit rebound games in the playoffs ranks eighth. We're going to name the other active players in the top 10 for most double digit rebound playoff games. So how this will work? Jared, you'll give me a name, then Andrew will give me name. So these are only active players and this is just in the playoffs games with double digit rebounds over their careers. So, Jared, who would you like to start with?
- [55:43]
Guest 2
Jokic.
- [55:45]
Guest 3
Jokic is number four on the list. Andrew Giannis. Giannis is number five on the list. Jared Gobert, Bears, number six on the list. Andrew.
- [56:06]
Jared Weiss
Active players, double digit, Double digit rebounds.
- [56:12]
Guest 3
LeBron. LeBron's number one. Number one. All right, Jared.
- [56:20]
Guest 2
Similar logic. Kevin Durant.
- [56:23]
Guest 3
KD is number seven on the list. All right, there's four names left. Back to Andrew.
- [56:33]
Jared Weiss
Oh, boy. Draymond Green.
- [56:38]
Guest 3
Draymond is number two on the list. Wow, Back to Jared. Yeah, back to Jared. Three names remaining.
- [56:45]
Jared Weiss
I don't know why that felt risky to me when I said it. He's number two.
- [56:51]
Guest 2
Three remaining.
- [56:54]
Guest 3
Three remaining.
- [56:56]
Guest 2
That's a tricky one. Anthony Davis.
- [57:01]
Guest 3
He is number 10 on the list. Okay, there's two names remain. Ning. Andrew.
- [57:09]
Jared Weiss
Remain.
- [57:09]
Guest 3
Ning. Could you get one of them? Can you get one more name? Andrew?
- [57:22]
Jared Weiss
This is tricky. This is really tricky. I don't feel like this is going to be right.
- [57:30]
Guest 3
Towns. Carl Anthony. Towns. Andrew. That is incorrect. Oh, sorry. Andrew.
- [57:39]
Jared Weiss
Jared.
- [57:39]
Guest 3
Any other guesses?
- [57:42]
Guest 2
Kevin Love.
- [57:44]
Guest 3
No, the other names. Kawhi, which you might not think of.
- [57:49]
Guest 2
You know, he had played enough games. I can't believe that.
- [57:52]
Guest 3
Yeah, he was number nine. And the reason I was hoping you Would get Kawhi. So they would set up the final name. Who was actually number three? Current Celtic Al Horford.
- [58:02]
Guest 2
Oh, sure.
- [58:03]
Jared Weiss
I see. I thought. I thought of Al. I was like, he's definitely played enough games, but, like, how many. How many times do you look at the box score? And he's got eight.
- [58:10]
Guest 2
Yeah, he is.
- [58:11]
Guest 1
Yeah.
- [58:11]
Guest 2
I was gonna say he always has eight rebounds every time.
- [58:13]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [58:15]
Guest 3
Well, maybe they rounded up for this stat, did some rounding. Andrew, here's the good news. You get the final question, first dibs, and it has a potential three point answer, which means you could tie it up because right now it is six to three. Okay. Okay, here we go. So lock in. There are four active players who have scored 500 plus points against the Celtics in the playoffs over their careers. Now, LeBron is the obvious one. Can you name the other three? You get one point per correct answer. These are active players who have scored 500 career points, at least against the Celtics, specifically in the playoffs.
- [58:59]
Jared Weiss
Wow.
- [59:00]
Guest 3
You have to. You have to run the table to tie it up and send this into overtime. Andrew, can you do it?
- [59:06]
Jared Weiss
I don't like this. I don't like this at all. Shoot. Oh, boy. LeBron is the easy one.
- [59:23]
Guest 3
Yes. I already gave that to you.
- [59:24]
Jared Weiss
You're just repeating what I just. Just want to say it. Is it okay if I say it, man?
- [59:36]
Guest 3
Okay, okay, here we go. First name.
- [59:44]
Jared Weiss
Number one is. Why is it so hard for me to think of this? I feel like my brain is just completely dead at this point. Giannis. I don't know.
- [60:06]
Guest 3
Okay, you got one point. Andrew. Here we go. Giannis is one of them. Can you get another name? Get two more names to send it in overtime. Andrew, two more names. I get one. Morty, can you think of a player?
- [60:28]
Jared Weiss
Can I even think.
- [60:29]
Guest 2
Name any player.
- [60:30]
Jared Weiss
Of a player. At this point, I don't feel like I can.
- [60:36]
Guest 1
Shoot. You have to.
- [60:40]
Guest 3
You can't end the week by not even saying a name, Andrew.
- [60:46]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, that's a pretty bad way to go out. It would be.
- [60:53]
Guest 3
Name a player.
- [60:54]
Jared Weiss
Oh, y' all. I don't know. I'm trying to even think. Embiid. I don't know.
- [61:10]
Guest 3
Andrew. That is incorrect. Which means Jared wins the week. Congrats, Jared. Six to four. Jared, any guesses? Just a rubbing in Andrew's face.
- [61:19]
Guest 1
Yeah, I lost.
- [61:21]
Guest 2
Who did he guess before?
- [61:24]
Guest 3
Oh, he guessed embiid.
- [61:28]
Jared Weiss
Yeah.
- [61:29]
Guest 3
Yeah. Jimmy Butler, number two on the list. Giannis, number three. Any guesses who number four is? See, I was hoping it would end on this name because Again, similar to the. The Horford question. Former Celtic, Kyrie Irving.
- [61:52]
Jared Weiss
Kyrie, Seriously? See, I thought about him, but I couldn't. I just didn't know if he played that many games against him. Man. Please go read Jared Weiss. Yeah, the Cavs years. Yeah, I guess that would make sense. I guess that would make sense. Please go read Jared at the Athletic. Jared, thanks so much for coming on. Thanks again to. To Jared and Slater for coming on the show. Listen up, guys. On Monday we have the draft lottery, which is one of my favorite days. It's one of the weirdest days for the NBA. The fate of so many teams is determined on days like this. And it's very exciting. And so on Monday during the draft lottery, we will be doing a live stream, Alex and I, a slam and jam Stream. Stream.
- [62:40]
Guest 3
Wow.
- [62:41]
Jared Weiss
To just. You can follow along, watch the lottery with us.
- [62:45]
Guest 3
We should get Josh Robbins to join us, but we should try to get him.
- [62:50]
Jared Weiss
He does. I bet you he's there. I bet you he's going.
- [62:53]
Guest 3
He might be there.
- [62:54]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, I'll hit him up anyways because he would be amazing on the live stream. I feel bad we haven't had Josh on honestly this season. The wheel did not. Did not get him. Maybe we can bring him on with if, if and when the. The Wizards get the number one pick. How about that?
- [63:12]
Guest 3
Okay, that'll be cool.
- [63:13]
Jared Weiss
That'd be cool. And we're gonna take our own little Tankathon spin right now, right now, just to get ourselves ready, get the juices flowing for the lottery. Let's. Let's see this hit. Hit the symbol in reality. See what we get.
- [63:24]
Guest 3
Slamming jam spin. It's going to be first pick. Oh, my God.
- [63:30]
Jared Weiss
The San Antonio spurs jump seven spots. The Sixers jump a couple spots.
- [63:36]
Guest 2
Result.
- [63:37]
Jared Weiss
This is a cursed results. The wizards stay at 2. Utah falls to 3. Charlotte falls to 5. New poor New Orleans falls to 6. Brooklyn at 7, Toronto at 8. Sorry. Yes. Man, that is a. That's a.
- [63:51]
Guest 3
Let's close that window.
- [63:53]
Jared Weiss
Yeah, you better close that window. Quick. Quick. If you would please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Five stars only, please. And we will read it on the show. This one comes from. From Little Laser 11. It says five stars. Great. I love slamming jam. Al and Andrew are a great duo. Thank you so much for that review. This next one comes from Philly Iverson. Five star slam and jam. Great show with Andrew Schluck and Alex Spears. I love the last few weeks when guests were some of the less frequently heard guests doing YouTube channels. Keep up the great work. Thank you so much for that review. And then somebody left this YouTube comment that I wanted to read as well. Well, from at Jeeves 2328, my daily dose of unavoidable can't miss NBA News. The insightful podcast has become my favorite daily podcast fix. Truly the best show out there. We're staying current with the league. What I appreciate most is that they don't create artificial animosities among players, especially stars, nor do they spawn fake rivalries. Just for drama. Listen up. First take this is how you do a show. And then we had Thunderwood below said. Agreed. I actually end up watching more games because I'm curious to hear what they have to say about them the next day. So thank you so much for just leaving comments like that. We really appreciate it. We're really proud of what we've done so far this season and through the playoffs. So please continue to leave us five star reviews. Leave a comment on the YouTube page. We would really very much appreciate that. If you're watching on YouTube right now, just hit the like button and leave a comment. We'd very much appreciate that. I hope you guys have a great weekend. Enjoy the basketball and we'll talk to you guys again next week.
- [65:45]
H
It's almost Mother's Day and you can now get anything you need delivered with Uber Eats.
- [65:49]
Guest 3
Well, almost almost anything.
- [65:51]
H
You can't order a relaxing shower, but beautiful flowers?
- [65:53]
Guest 1
You bet.
- [65:54]
H
From Mother's Day gifts to groceries to.
- [65:56]
Guest 3
Your favorite restaurants, order now on Uber Eats.
- [65:58]
H
Product availability varies by regency.
- [66:00]
Guest 3
Up for details.
- [66:00]
H
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- [66:39]
I
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