The Celts Blow Another Game 2, With Justin Verrier

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I'm Derek Thompson, long-time writer with the Atlantic Magazine ORG on tech, culture, and politics. There is a lot of noise out there, and my goal is to cut through the headlines, loud tweets, and hot takes in my new podcast, Plain English WORK_OF_ART. I'll talk to some of the smartest people I know to give you clear viewpoints and memorable takeaways. Plain English starts November 16th. Listen for free on Spotify ORG or wherever you get your

Speaker 526.28s - 83.72s

podcasts. It's off the pike presented by Fandul. The road to the NBA ORG finals starts now and Fandul ORG is the best place to get in on the action. Right now you can check out the new and improved quick bets, which are back and better than ever for the NBA playoffs on Fandul ORG. Find what you're looking for faster and easier with more props right at your fingertips. You can check out live bets like three-minute markets and exclusive live bets like quarter player props, player assist combos, and more. So download the app today and bet with Fandul, official partner of the NBA ORG.The ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit RG-Help.com to learn more about the resources and help lines available and listen to the end of this episode for additional details. Must be 21 plus, 18 plus in D.C. And president select states, gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Help.com.

Speaker 684.52s - 120.12s

This episode is brought to you by Atlassian ORG. Atlassian software like Jira Confluence PRODUCT and Trello help power global collaboration for all teams so they can accomplish everything that's impossible alone because individually we're great, but together we're so much better.Learn how to unleash the potential of your team at atlassian.com. A-T-L-A-S-S-I-N dot com. Atlasian ORG, tap the banner or visit this episode's page to learn more. Welcome in to Off the Pike ORG.

Speaker 5120.28s - 140.64s

I'm Brian Barrett, recording after the Celtics ORG, just got demolished by the Cleveland Cavaliers in game two. Did not see this one coming. The Bruins get demolished on Wednesday. Then it's the Celtics tonight. And just an embarrassing effort from the Celtics ORG all around.Joining us now from the ringer and group chat, of course, part of the ringer NBA show, Justin Verrier PERSON. What's going on, man? How are you?

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I thought this was going to be a breezy affair, but I should have known better. The Celtics in game two, never disappoint.

Speaker 5147.16s - 217.76s

It's really unbelievable because the aggravating part is everything's in front of them, right? You look at this Eastern Conference right now, and even if you look at the Knicks ORG, yeah, they had this great win, but OG goes down, he's already been ruled out for a game three. You have Jalen Brunson PERSON dealing with an injury. We know what happened with Milwaukee GPE. Philadelphia GPE has already been eliminated from this thing.And the Celtics ORG, they have this propensity to play with their food. And I thought, hey, they had that moment. They had that moment in game two against the Miami Heat ORG. And it was similar in a way because the Celtics ORG had just felt like they were conceding shots. And I know, coming into this game, Cleveland was 15th of 16 teams in three-point shooting throughout the postseason. They could not throw the ball in the ocean in the first game. But you knowwhat the magic were doing? They were actually pressuring these guys. And it felt like tonight they were just walking into open jump shots. And one of the things that sort of, I still believe, obviously, the Celtics ORG are going to win the series. But one of the things that concerns me is you saw Garland get a little bit of a rhythm there in the third. Mitchell's been awesome in the first two games. But these guys are walking into easy pull-up jump shots for guys of their caliber. And this, I know Garland has not had a great season, but those are easy jump shots that they're walking into.

Speaker 0219.2s - 298.5s

Yeah, I mean, you could look at it one of two ways. One, you could say, maybe the Celtics ORG are just the type of team that needs to touch the stove. And we thought that would happen in the first round. We thought that that would be enough. Unfortunately, it seems like it might have to happen each and every round of the playoffs. And they just need to get their stuff together, right? That would be the optimist case that everything that could go wrong would go wrong. But the problem with this team time and time again is that all of the issues that tend to mount are the ones thatyou're most worried about. It's just a lack of urgency. It's a lack of physicality. Uh, and just like a propensity to like want to settle for a lot of the offense that they're getting. They're a little too enamored with the jump shots. And this one didn't really seem that much about the three ball. A lot of it was just kind of like not really playing with force and really driving the ball and kind of settling for soft mid-range. Tatum in particular, especially when the game was kind of on the line when there weretimeouts, where they're coming out of timeouts after big plays by Mitchell PERSON, and you just saw Tatum kind of float into a turnaround jumper. And so I don't know, at the one hand, I think it's like kind of baked into who they are. On the other hand, this feels like such an outlier compared to most of their other games in this postseason. You got to believe that they'll clean up a lot of the stuff that we're going to talk about here. And maybe just, this was just one of those feel-out games.But unfortunately, it's just game two happens to be when they do this. Well, yeah, and the stove

Speaker 5298.5s - 439.02s

comparison there is probably a good one, right? Because we've seen them have these horrible losses and they bounce back. And we've seen it throughout the years with the Celtics ORG team where you have to go into Milwaukee and win a game six because you fall behind three games to two when Janus PERSON doesn't have Middleton with them. Last year, you have to go into Philadelphia GPE and really escape that game six win when Tatum hit some clutch shots late after he had not been good because you had lost game one of that series without James Hardin PERSON, right? Or excuse me, without Embed when Hardin went off.Miami, you fell behind three nothing. And you came all the way back to tie it at three, but then Tatum rolls an ankle. You can't win game seven, but you dug yourself that hole. And it just feels like they always have to get burned at some point in a series. And then they sort of wake up and get into things. And the other thing I would mention, you mentioned just in termsof the Celtics, there are bad shots offensively. That first quarter defense, I have no idea what they were doing because you had straight line drives to the basket in the first quarter of this game. The Cavaliers scored 22 points in the paint. My math is correct. That's on pace to get 88. Now, they only finished with 60. 60's still a very big number for them. And Cleveland ORG's not a team that scores in the pain a lot. They were 17th during the regular season. And what it was, it was drives getting the ball to Garland and Mitchell getting the ball to Mobley. And then it was Lavert. Levert had 15 points twicein the series against Orlando ORG. He had 21 in this game. He in the first quarter, he had five attempts in the restricted area. Lavert, he was just going by Celtics ORG defenders. So I don't know if this is just an emphasis on, hey, don't let them hit threes, but they're not a good three-point shooting team, or it was just an all-out lack of effort on the defensive end,where it was just really it was straight blowbys at points during the fourths, during the first quarter. And then we saw later on in the game, I give Cleveland ORG credit. They went mismatch hunting. When Houser PERSON was on the floor, they went after Houser. When Cornette PERSON was on the floor, they went after Cornette.And even as I referenced earlier, some of the drop coverages, when Al PERSON was on the court, they went after Cornette. And even as I referenced earlier, some of the drop coverages, when Al was on the court, they were walking in to jump shot. So I feel like Cleveland ORG, not to say they found an answer to the series, I mean, the Celtics ORG can just dial it up defensively. But I don't know what, I don't have an explanation for the first quarter, just these straight line drives to the basket.

Speaker 0439.98s - 535.88s

Yeah, I don't know what was happening with Drew tonight. He just didn't seem like he had it. It almost seemed like he was dealing with an illness or something where just like all the energy had been sapped from his body. And even Derek White PERSON just seemed to get turnaround on switches and whatnot. It just seemed like the communication was completely off as well.And as we saw time and time again, there just wasn't enough force on the back line to do anything about it. You're right. It was like almost too simple the way that the Cavs scored early and then eventually late where where it was a lot of drawing and then dishing it off to Mobley PERSON or the big off a shortcut. And it was just like, on the one hand, it's like maybe that's a recipe the Cavs ORG can recreate because Mitchell is going to draw so much attention. And it requires guys like Drew andWhite PERSON to really be on their game. On the other hand, like maybe it's as much as just, sharpening certain aspects of it. I also wonder how much of this is due to some of the rotation decisions from Missoula PERSON. It seemed like we're really in kind of fuck around and find out mode in this game in particular, where it's like the Tillman PERSON-Horford front court. What was going on there? Because every time Tillman PERSON was out there, it seemed like they were going at him and really cutting him up. A lot of Cornette PERSON, as you mentioned, there's just like, we're getting the full bench here, and it's almost giving me flashbacks to the magic series EVENT where it's like, it's not quiteplaying a full bench mob. But, you know, there are a lot of guys that probably should not be playing rotational minutes, heavy rotational minutes in game two of a second round series. And so maybe it's as simple as shortening the rotation, playing with a sense of urgency. but you're right. Like, this is the teeter totter here. It's like, could it be existential and completely just uncut them? Or is this just like something that they need to clean up in a team meeting and just really get their shit together?

Speaker 5537.12s - 672.88s

Yeah. And some of it, I know that they'll point to, hey, they couldn't shoot from deep, obviously. And Derek White goes one for eight. And he had been so good. He was shooting 50 percent. He had the most threes in the postseason prior to this game tonight, and Cleveland was shooting unbelievably poorly from deep, and they shot north of 46%. So they lose the three-point margin by a wide margin, not to be repetitive there. But getting back to some of the lineup decisions, I think you're spot on because Cleveland coming out of that third quarter, they go on the 8 to 3 run, Missoula takes a time out, and theneventually he comes back with a lineup where he puts Cornett, Houser PERSON, and Pritchard all in the game at the same time, which is just sort of, it doesn't really make sense to me because and look, Pritchard PERSON's a goodpressure you get underneath you type of defender, but if you're going to get a switch on to Mitchell PERSON, he's not going to be able to handle that Mitchell's just too big for him and not to say they specifically did that but it gives Mitchell three different guys to go after and with garland it gives him two different guys to go after with cornet and hauser so I didn't understand that decision and then the one you mentioned to start the fourth quarter it's drew it's jalen it's pritchardit's tillman and now so you're two best playmakers and i know that Tatum has been shooting the ball unbelievably poorly in this postseason, but he's still your best player, Derek White, although Derek White had an off night altogether. And you mentioned the defense, the shooting was off, and I thought some of his decision-making was bad in this game. So you still, though, when you come out to the fourth quarter, you don't have Tatum and White PERSON on the floor. It's just weird. I mean, those are your two best decision makers.So that was perplexing to me. And I know people like to get on Tom Thibito about how many minutes he plays his guys. But at that point in the game, it's almost like ride Tatum for the beginning of the fourth quarter. See if you get yourself back in the game.And if you don't take them out at some point, but I would have just kept Tatum out there. And I know you can say, oh, he played the entire third quarter. We see this happen in the postseason all the time. So that was sort of just weird to me to see some of the lineups.And maybe you're on to something. Maybe they're trying to figure out, hey, what works in this lineup? Because we, or what works in the series, because we saw more Tillman tonight than we did in game one. So maybe the thought process there is, hey, when Tillman PERSON's on the court, we can switch more because obviously you're not going to be switching with Cornett PERSON out there. Maybe that's,and maybe that's part of the reason they went out and they got him at the trading deadline.

Speaker 0673.6s - 713.36s

Yeah, if you were to draw a comparison maybe to Game 2 against Miami to this game 2, I wonder if it's that Missoula showed a little bit too much Budenholzer PERSON and that he had a belief in some of the lineup decisions that dictated some of the decisions he was making with the guys he was playing. And he kind of stuck with it. It seemed like he thought the size advantage would eventually wear on the Cavs ORG because they were so small in this game. But it never came to bear.You know, like they didn't play with more physicality. They didn't play more fourth. They didn't really control the boards in a way. If anything, it felt like they were treating Mobley like he's Rudy Gobert PERSON. And I do think we should give credit to the Cavs in this sense because Mobley is playing unleashed as kind of a small ball five,

Speaker 1713.42s - 769.9s

or just as a true de facto five at this point, had probably his best playoff game. And one of his best games probably in totality of his career. He was a real force on the offense event in the way that he just typically isn't. He's moving the ball, hit a couple shots. And as we were talking about, he just connected on a lot of those dump off passes that would typically go to Allen PERSON. And so maybe it's as simple as not playing into their hand in such a way. It seemed like those bigger lineups only exacerbated the advantage that the Cavs had created for themselves. And it also felt like Tatum in particular, but the team at large was almost tryingto drive action into Mobley PERSON or like take their defender and like draw a crowd, but that almost seemed like it made things more difficult. And so I would hope that Missoula PERSON would see what's going on here and course correct because it does feel like there are pretty clear things that you could do differently. But once again, you never

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know. And the other thing is like it does feel like Missoula PERSON seems a lot of times think that the Celtics ORG will just shoot their way out of these situations, that he just plays the math. And then all of a sudden, the numbers will come back around. And sometimes they don't. And you would like to see him put his foot on the pedal a little bit more, take control of the game and make those decisions a little bit more proactively.

Speaker 5789.38s - 898.52s

Yeah, when they hit eight threes and the Cavs hit 13-3s, that's definitely going to be the number one emphasis going forward, is we just have to hit more threes. But to your point on Mowgli PERSON, I thought he was awesome in this game too. And I really, I was shocked that considering how important he is to this team right now, especially without Jared Allen playing, is I was shocked he didn't challenge that third foul.Because I didn't think that was a foul. I thought he got that block clean. So I was surprised by that because I felt like, okay, this could be sort of a moment where the game could change and the cavaliers were actually fine without them on the court. And part of that too, that getting back to this whole relying on shooting yourself back in the game, one of the things that sticks out to me is you were in the bonus with like 830 left in the third quarter. And the Celtics refused to drive to the basket. Like when they finally get it started to get it to the free throw line there, it was when Cornet PERSONte came into the game. And he was just like diving to the basket. That's how they got to the free throw line there. It was when Cornet came into the game and he was just like diving to the basket.That's how they got to the free throw line in the third quarter. And the amazing thing to me about that is early on in the game, especially right off the bat, Tatum took four free throws to start the game. And he had what, 10 free throws in the first half. He only took one in the second half, which of course was an and one. So you would figure like that to me is just, it's sort of like, throw out the math.You know the other teams in the bonus. Just drive to the basket. Beat your guy off the dribble. There should be nobody on that Cavaliers team that can stay in front of Jason Tatum. Struis PERSON has given him some trouble in the past, but he shouldn't be able to stay in front of him. And the same thing I would say about Jalen PERSON.There's nobody out there. They don't, I mean, really, they match up better with Tatum than they do Jalen PERSON just because of Jalen's speed. He can get downhill a little bit easier. So that to me is just, it just seems like a simplistic thing. Like, hey, they are in the bonus. Why don't you drive to the basket a little bit? And the Celtics ORG didn't do it. Yeah. And if you're looking at this

Speaker 0898.52s - 909.56s

from the other side of things, the one where you have to have if you're the Celtics ORG is you're kind of giving these guys the momentum and the belief that they probably didn't have up until this point. Like, yes, Lever had the game of

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his life. Mowbly PERSON had the game of his life. So maybe these are a lot of outlier situations that ultimately just correct themselves on their own, maybe slight adjustments and we're back to the same old series that we were in game one. On the other hand, like maybe they're finding things in this smaller lineup that they didn't have the runway to do against Orlando ORG. And I think the one worry spot you have, in addition to Mobley maybe being this type of player for the rest of the season, but Garland looks like a factor in the way that he probably hadn't been pretty much this entire post season. He didn't do much.He had a couple threes. But like, that's really all you need in order as a release valve for Mitchell PERSON. Mitchell is just getting enough from other guys that he typically wasn't since Alan PERSON has been out. It's really been the Mitchell PERSON show or bust. And to the point where he's been such a ball hog that it almost feels like it's diminishing the contributions of practically everybody else, if those guys all believe they're part of this and Mitchell PERSON is likeflowing off of them, this looks like a completely different team. This looks more like the team earlier in the season where the cabs were really flowing. What was Mitchell and Allen PERSON and then shooters. Well, maybe it's just more about the freedom and the space and the ball pinging rather than the personnel that they're playing.

Speaker 5976.84s - 996.14s

Well, and that's what scared me prior to the series is I know that Garland PERSON was atrocious in that series against the magic. And I was talking to my buddy from Cleveland on the pod the other day. And I was saying, do you expect Garland to bounce back after the way that he played in game one? He said, no, just because he hasn't been playing well for really since he got that original injury against the Celtics ORG when he hurt the jaw.

Speaker 1996.48s - 1000.56s

But he got up 11 pull-up jumpers in the first game, and he only hit three.

Speaker 51000.64s - 1120.92s

And he was one of seven from deep. And that changed tonight. And if you look at his numbers during the regular season, he's just south of 39% on pull-up threes. Like, those are good numbers. And we know Mitchell PERSON can get to that shot and hit it consistently as well. So I do feel like you're playing with fire a little bit when Garland PERSON's walking into those shots and especially when Mitchell is. And Missoula PERSON said after the game on the defense, they did a good job, especially in thepick and roll. So they tested our pick and roll defense. We have to be better. And like I said, a lot of the issues on defense had to do with our offensive spacing. It's a combination of tactics, a combination of effort, a combination of a little bit of all those things, not to say it was one thing the entire time. Okay. So I guess I can understand his point in some sense, but he always comes back to the offense. The problem is tactically how you're playing these guys.Like, these guys are good one-on-one players, Garland and Mitchell PERSON. And you look at Mitchell on the first round. He spent the second most possessions as a pick-and-roll ball handler in the entire NBA ORG behind Jalen Brunson PERSON. Like, this is how these guys want to operate. So you can't just play the numbers the whole time.Like the Celtics this season, they gave up the most above the, the second most above the break threes per game, right? In terms of attempts. Well, there are certain matchups where you can't do this. Like they lost a game last year to the Chicago Bulls ORG because they will concede mid-range jump shots, but DeMararrozen PERSON hit a millionmid-range jump shots. And sometimes I feel like you have got to switch up the way you play. And look, the Celtics are probably going to blow out the Cavaliers two more times in the series. They're going to win the series. But it just scares me for as you continue on in the playoffs where it's like you can't drop against these guys. So I would hope that the cover, and you didn't see them sprinkle anything else in. Like, once in a while, maybe blitz the pick and roll with Mitchell or Garland PERSON. And look, Mowgli PERSON played well, but I rather him make a decision on the short role than havingMitchell have this open opportunity to either take a jump shot or go by Horford PERSON.

Speaker 01121.48s - 1213.82s

Yeah, I think if there's like a long-term concern, it's just that not having Christops PERSON in there has kind of like really laid bare some of the issues on the back line. And it's like Al PERSON played okay for what Al is, but like a step too slow, a lot of, especially on some of those closeouts,uh, while and drop. But then it's just like you're getting into the cornet minutes. You're getting to the Tillman PERSON. It's just like none of those guys have really done much for me, at least in like a high leverage playoff situation against a finals level competition against like the nuggets or or the wolves orwhomever they're going to see there. And honestly, I would like to see Missoula PERSON play with the lineups maybe in the opposite way. It seemed like he was defaulting to the bigs. I almost wonder if like he should be thinking going small. You don't really see that that much for him. But like what is Drew at this point, if not kind of the ultimate junked up small ball five? And like, if you're going to be so perimmer oriented to begin with, like, and if Al just isn't hitting shots, if Cornett PERSON isn't hitting shots, you're not getting any stretch from those guys? Like, one of those guys actuallyreally giving you. And so I almost wonder, is there a necessity as a mother invention sort of silver lining to this where there's maybe a small ball lineup that they figure out? I also think Pritchard has been incredible the past two games. Like he's probably been one of their best two players. And in some both ends too, right? Like he definitely gives him a jolt offensively, but he busts his ass defensively kind of hounding some of these guys.I mean, again, in the Heat series, he was really good at that, especially turning that around in the game three. And so, like, maybe there's like something new to be gleaned from the situation. I would at least like to see him try it. But I guess we'll see what they do in the next game.

Speaker 51215.04s - 1365.26s

Yeah, and because, like, the bigs they're playing Tristan Thompson PERSON. And Thompson had that big offensive rebound when the game was still competitive in the fourth quarter. But, I mean, they're playing Tristan Thompson PERSON. I don't think you have to worry too much about it. Yeah, I'm with you. I don't think they should go to the double big lineups. I think, I mean, my hope is just they were trying things out with Tillman PERSON.But it's just because I would say too, like I would want to play faster against this Cleveland ORG team. I mean, the Celtics ORG are the more athletic team too. So I think you can pick up the pace. So I'm with you on that. The other thing I would mention is just, so Tatum in this game, he's 7 of 17. I thought he was obviously better shooting-wise, but it's not great. I mean, it's 7 of 17, right?But compared to what he was, he was, his numbers coming into this game tonight, his field goal percentage and his three-point percentage were worse than Franz Wagner, who basically had the worst game seven of all time and had an atrocious series, right? I mean, I think he was like four or three for his final 16 from Deep PRODUCT or whatever it was in that series. He was horrible, and Tatum was shooting worse than that. And he's doing other things, right? Coming into this game, he's over 10 rebounds a game. He's over five assists a game. But now we're talking about he's played seven postseason games so far, and he hasn't shot the ball well once.So it has to be, like, I chalked the first year. I'm like, oh, it's Miami GPE. Like, they're just a weird team. They struggle with the heat at times. And obviously, we've seen it over the past couple years. But at what point has Tatum shooting start to become a concern? I thought when he got the two threes to go down in the first half, that's when I said, okay, he's going to shoot his way out of this. Like, this is when he's going to come on, but he really didn't.I mean, give him credit for getting to the free throw line. But right now, through the first two games, it's not even a question that Donovan Mitchell PERSON's been better than him on the other side. And like, I'm not crazy where I think, like, oh, Tatum's going to be the best player in every series for them to win a championship. I don't think that just because of how the Celtics, in most cases, their two through sixis going to be better than every other team in the NBA ORG, right? So I don't think Tatum, like, Tatum doesn't have to play as well as Donovan Mitchell PERSON does, obviously for them to win this series. But there has to be like a standard for him to get to. And I credit him for doing all these other things and playing good defense and facilitating and he's one of the best rebounders at his position in the NBA ORG.But at some point, the guy has a score. He came into the NBA ORG as a score. Like, we have to look at this at some point and say, he's just going to shoot the ball better. And I don't know what's going on with him there.

Speaker 01365.94s - 1455.5s

He's a top 10 player in the NBA ORG and he constantly plays like another guy on this lineup. And that's like almost to his credit because I do think his mindset shift this season has been important. It seems like he's been willing to take a step back from being the domineering Donovan Mitchell PERSON type and focused more on being an in-between sort of player deferring to some of these other guys because there are a lot of miles to feed on this team and like his playmaking in this game in particular was pretty good. You know, he had six assistsin this game and he's filling the gaps in that way. But you need him at certain times to be the best player in the series and he's yet to do that at this playoffs. And now we're getting into the second round and you're waiting for him to have that breakout star-studded game that we know is in him, but it almost takes a lot to pull it out of him. And I think that's the worry you always have with Tatum is that it's just not his trigger reaction. The same way it seems like for Brown PERSON, he has to suppress that sort of desire, because he has like, to forgive the quote, I guess it's an idiom at this point but thatdog in him like he you know he's a baller who's going to thrash and and play physical Tatum it feels like he needs to be galvanized to get to that point and we're at the point in the playoffs where he should be at that right now and so you're like all right Tatum take over the series because you can do that and this in, like, his decisions just weren't fast enough. He just wasn't decisive enough, especially when he had mismatches. And he almost seemed like, because of that, he was driving right into a crowd. And so just like, just go for it, man.You can do it. Let's see it.

Speaker 51456.56s - 1611.62s

Yeah, it's a good point because I do feel like sometimes, especially with a guy like Struz PERSON, he goes too slow. Even when he gets garland on him, sometimes he just goes too slow. He wants to back you down, back you down. And when you do that, you let other guys recover. Sometimes you're just going to go buy him. And I thought he was doing that a little bit in the early going of this game, but he gets intoit where he just slows everything down. That's one thing I like about Jalen PERSON is when Jalen gets a mismatch, he doesn't fuck around. He's just like, give you the ball and I'm going to go. And I feel like Tatum is such a skilled player. We know he can get to those fallaway jump shots and hit him. Like the guy is an amazing talent, but sometimes it's just like he makes life more difficult than it needs to be. But it is weird to sort of like look at his career so far becausehe has these unbelievable moments. Like game six in Milwaukee GPE. Like that's the best game of his career still to me, you save the season. I mean, the Celtics ORG, they were going to get so much criticism if they didn't win that game. He went into Milwaukee GPE and did that. I think about he was so bad in game six against Philly GPE. Then he hit those late shots, and then he goes for 50 against Philly GPE.And then if you look at last year games three through six after the Celtics were so bad in the first three, he was awesome. Or I should say games four through six. He was awesome against Miami GPE. And against Golden State, of course, he never came alive in the first three, he was awesome, or I should say games four through six, he was awesome against Miami. And against Golden State, of course, he never came alive in the finals two years ago. I still look at that as the Celtics ORG were sort of ahead of schedule, even though they blew a two one lead and they had a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter.I mean, you can never get that back. But it is weird that you're still waiting for, like at this point, he should be dialed in to you would think that hopefully it's game three on the road your star player takes over that's that's what i'd like to see from tatum what about drew because you mentioned some of the defense of issues that he had he came into tonight 71st of 73 qualifiers in the postseason and field go percentage at 37 percent he wastwo of seven tonight oh of 2 from deep. By the way, Lavert, who just had like this unbelievable 21 point game, he was right behind Drew and field goal percentage. Only one guy was worse than him in the postseason. It was actually Aaron Neesmith, and he has this unbelievable game tonight. But Drew it shot the ball so well throughout the regular season.I do feel like he just takes some bizarre shots. Like he'll take a wing pull up. And I don't know what's going on. Like obviously, I watched Drew a lot when he was in Milwaukee GPE, but not on an every game basis. I didn't watch it all 82 games or however many games he played last year. But he just has these stretches where he'll dribble up the court and he takes a wing three. I'm like, what's going on here? It just, he takes some bizarre shots. And he can't finish at the rim anymore. Like, he really can't. So I'm like, what's going on here? It just, he takes some bizarre shots and he can't finishat the rim anymore. Like, he really can't. So I covered Drew when I covered New Orleans GPE for two

Speaker 01611.62s - 1703.9s

seasons. And I always loved Drew because Drew, I always said, has like kind of the acerbic wit of like a journalist. Like, he gets it. You know, he kind of has a wry sense of humor. And I really appreciated him. But I almost feel like this version of him with the Celtics kind of highlights his best attributes, but almost indulges his ability, his tendency to kind of float when he doesn't have the ball in his hands. Like I kind of feel like Drew's either on the ball, pick and roll, Anthony Davis, Drew, or he's the guy you want being your fifth option on offense.But I think the tradeoff there, while he could be a destructive defensive force, especially if he's attuned to that, if that's like his primary modus operandi, I tend to think like he's just not in the flow of things. And he tries to, he struggles to pick his spots, basically. And he tries to force things a little too much. It's to the point at certain times this season where I've almost wondered out loud where Drew probably would prefer not toshoot the entire game. He might prefer to just play one way and just focus his attention on defense because finding his way into the offense is a little bit too difficult for him to process. I think it's just where Drew is at this point of his career. I don't think you could necessarily trust him in the way that you would hope for, especially considering the extension, uh, that he got. And I think the sad thing, honestly, and this might sound like a cop-out answer. I just think this is the Drew experience.I think like in game four, when you need him to hit three-threes, he's probably going to do it. And then he's going to disappear in game five. And we're just going to have to ride the roller coaster.

Speaker 51704.88s - 1778.02s

Yeah, he'll have some amazing moment. Like, what comes to mind to me is the block on Smart and then he threw it off him in that game five against the Celtics when he's on the Bucks ORG, like just an amazing play. But I think, too, some of it is his role is sort of, to your point, undefined in the series because they stuck with Garland on White PERSON. And the Celtics ORG love to run this inverted pick and roll where it's Derek Whiteis the screener. And he's bringing up Garland to Tatum. So you're not going to run that with Drew when not to say Mitchell PERSON's a good defender, but you much rather have Garland PERSON. And White PERSON's a better offensive player. So it just he's got, he's basically like a spacer.A lot of times this year he's playing the dunker spot. So it just, I guess part of it is just trying to find his role within this team. All right, I want to get your take on a couple of Celtics ORG adjacent thoughts here before he let you go. So by the way, I thought Richard Jefferson PERSON was just, I haven't heard a lot of Richard Jefferson on games. But, man, Jalen Brown basically tried to take off from the free throw line and dunk on Mowgli PERSON. And he says, I love this from Jalen Brown, when Tatum's open in one corner and Houser PERSON is open in the other corner,both open for three. So I had no idea what he's talking about there. And then he also mentioned the fact that scoring and assisting together are good. They work out well together. So, I mean, he's not wrong on that.

Speaker 01778.06s - 1778.52s

It's got a point.

Speaker 51778.52s - 1904.92s

But I thought, yeah, I mean, I had to deal. We had to deal with Reggie Miller, the entire Eastern Conference Finals last year. And that was tough to deal with. I thought Reggie was better this year in most of the games that I heard that it was, who was with him? Jamal Crawford PERSON.I thought Jamal Crawford PERSON was pretty good. So I hope we do, I think he said he's going to be in Cleveland ORG. So I think we're going to have to deal with him on the ABC game on Saturday night, which is unfortunate. But, oh, Charles Lee PERSON, this is what I want to ask you about. He gets the job in Charlotte, and we thought that he'd be here for a year.He was a finalist for jobs last year. I don't think that's going to affect the Celtics ORG during the postseason. I mean, this happens all the time across the NBA ORG. I thought actually would hurt the Celtics more last year that I think what happened last year will hurt him more than this year because last year, remember, EMA got named the Rockets ORG head coach during the postseason and you had a bunch of guys on Joe PERSON's staff that obviously came here to coach for e-may I thought that was sort of a distractionnot to say that's what cost them the postseason but I don't think this will be any sort of distraction for this else and I wonder like how good of a job is this say you have lamello ball you got to figure out what you want to do there. Do you want to really build around him or do you want to try to get assets? Brandon Miller PERSON obviously had an outstanding rookie season. And you got a new GM who's 35 years old and you think about the Miles Bridges PERSON situation.We know that he has all these off the court issues. Do you want to keep him around or are you going to let him walk? Because what was it during the trading deadline? He said he would basically veto any trade so clearly he wants to be there but and look it's probably a better job than the lakers because who the hell knows that the lakers are going to do right i mean it seems like frank fogle PERSON was fired and frank fogle got fired again but frank fogle got fired in l aand darvin ham after two years he's fired even though i, the original sin with that organization is the Westbrook PERSON trade. I mean, because you could have had KCP, and they let Caruso PERSON walk. So maybe it's a better job than the Lakers ORG job with less pressure. And he's only 39. He's going to have a long rope to rebuild that thing. But outside of Brandon Miller PERSON, I don't know how much talent you really have there.I mean, the good thing is two years from now, maybe you end up with Cooper Flagg PERSON.

Speaker 01910.1s - 1991.72s

I think comparing him to him is probably a pretty good way to look at this, because Ham just went straight into the fire, probably the hardest job in the NBA, which is coaching LeBron James, and we saw how that ended up. I do think, like, the Hornets ORG are showing the right inclinations and signs that maybe this time they get it. New ownership, new front office coming in there. And I thought what they did at the trade deadline was pretty shrewd because you had a lot of teams sitting on the fence, not wanting to trade one way or another. And the hornets were like, we'll be the sellers at this deadline. We'll get rid of PJ Washington. Some of theseguys that are keeping us stuck in this middle ground where we're just making the play in and not going any farther. And we're going to, you know, we're going to get some interesting bench fill for guys. I think guys like Grant Williams and Michich and even Davos-Britons, there might be a second life for them where they'll play bench minutes, which is like not nothing for a team like Charlotte GPE, which is talent deprived, first and foremost, but also struggles to get anybody to come there as free agents. So like, they actually got some asses back, got some quality players. And I do think, like, if all thingsgo well and knock on every single piece of what I have in my apartment here, like Miller PERSON, Lamello, Miles Bridges is actually a pretty nasty core. And now Lamello hasn't played a healthy season in two years now. He was supposed to come back in the new year, this new year, and just never did. And so that's got to be really concerning. But I saw that he has a new cool back tattoo, so I'm really happy for him in that regard.

Speaker 41991.98s - 1992.8s

I said that too.

Speaker 01993.56s - 2044.12s

But it's like if you want to draw up a modern core, like you probably want those guys where you're big and long enough in one through three where you have defensive potential, where there's two-way potential with those guys. But they're also dynamic offensively, where Miles PERSON plays that three-four and could really shoot it.Miller PERSON, I think clear cut better than scoot at this point and looks like a real all-star caliber guy. Then obviously, LaMelle looked like he was a rocket ship when he first started. So I am high on the Hornets in general, and I think Lee PERSON probably picked the better path than ham because you really want to cut your teeth and develop alongside a young team. But we'll see. I hope it wouldn't do much to disrupt the Celtics. I mean, it's another year of brain drain for thatstaff, so we'll just have to get another guy like Lee PERSON back in there. But you would hope that, like, if he's going to stay there throughout, this wouldn't really derail them overall.

Speaker 52045.08s - 2076.52s

Yeah, maybe they'll get Vogel PERSON to join the staff, although he's going to be making a lot of money not to coach. But, yeah, I'm with you. Like, from a basketball perspective, it just makes more sense. And I feel like there's not as much pressure for your first job. And you're right. Like Bridges had an outstanding season.It's just whether or not from an off-the-court standpoint, do you want to deal with that long-term? And look, they have new ownership. I mean, the Michael Jordan PERSON situation was obviously a mess. So maybe, and Miller PERSON was outstanding. I mean, he really is similar to his goat. He thinks Paul George PERSON, he says he's his goat.He plays similarly to him, right?

Speaker 02076.6s - 2078.48s

That's right. The way that he gets around screen.

Speaker 52078.56s - 2201.72s

Like, I think he's going to be a good player. Lamello, it's just like, I don't, I haven't seen him play serious basketball yet. He's had some outstanding games that I've watched. He had a really good game against the Celtics ORG. It's just like sometimes, I don't, I haven't seen him play serious basketball yet. He's had some outstanding games that I've watched. He had a really good game against the Celtics ORG. It's just like sometimes, I don't know what to make of him as a player. Like he's from that same draft as Anthony Edwards.All right. So then the other thing I wanted to get to real quick is this Nick PERSON series because they're up to O. But O.G PERSON goes down with the hamstring injury that I alluded to earlier. Brunson PERSON hurt his foot in that game. They were 20 and 3 during the regular season with OG and what they've won, six of their eight postseason games.And I just think about, obviously, the Celtics last tonight, but they kind of need that guy for a Celtic NORP series. Then you think about the fact that one of their biggest strengths, they've been the best offensive rebounding team in the entire NBA ORG. Mitchell Robinson was averaging like north of six offensive rebounds per 36. He's out.Hartinstein PERSON has been outstanding. But this is a guy that averaged, what, 25 minutes per game in the first series? Now you're asking him to play the other night. He played 39 minutes. I just feel like this has become sort of like the triage Knicks ORG. I don't know how much they can continue to play with Josh Hart playing 48 minutes, the way thatthey're playing Devin Chenzo PERSON. I thought they should have been playing more McBride PERSON to start this series because it feels like ever since the clincher in game six, they weren't playing him a ton in the first two games because throughout the first part of that Philly series, because Devin Chenzo PERSON had some struggles, they were actually playing McBride PERSON a lot. And then you look on the Indiana ORG side, I thoughtthey, in the first game, I actually thought they were the better team, and I thought they got screwed a little bit. The biggest call to me was the knee-smith. They called the kickball on knee-smith when it was clear that it wasn't. And that could have been eitherfree throws the other way, a lay-up the other way, or maybe even Brunson fouls them there, and they get free-throat, like they get a take-fowl or something along those lines in that situation. So I think Indiana ORG can now, and they're going home to play on Friday, I think Indiana ORG is going to get itself back in the series. How do you feel about that series? Because you say two, oh, it feels like it's over. But now basedon all these injuries, I feel like the pastures are going to make a series of this. Like at this point,

Speaker 02201.72s - 2215.76s

I think it's going to go at least six. Where are you on that series? I can definitely see it going long. So the Knicks were functionally playing seven guys in that last game. And if you want to count the one sacrificial Alex Berks minute, I guess you could say eight.

Speaker 12216.02s - 2324.5s

Well, OG's not in there. So we're down to six. And Tips is going to play six, you know, rather than like suffer through not playing, like, one of these guys 48 minutes, he's not going to throw Birx PERSON out there. So I wouldn't be surprised if we get a six-man rotation in the next game. And Brunson PERSON might be hobbled. He looked like he was playing through that foot injury, and we don't really know the extent of it going forward, but, like, I would assume that's going to hamper him a little bit. And so you would think thisplays right into the pacer's strength, right? They run up and down. They want to run off misses, and they did a good job of that, particularly in game one. The other part of this, though, is like two things. It's really like the guys that you would want to step forward for Indiana ORG, really haven't. Aliburne had an awesome first half, but then disappeared down the stretch. I don't know what's going on with him.I don't know if it's the hamstring. I don't know if he's just not attuned to the moment in the spotlight. We'll see. But also, like, Seacom ORG wasn't as much of a factor in game two as I think he should have been. And it kind of gives you back to the Halliburton part where it's like, I assumed Seacom coming in there would develop more of a two-way streetrelationship with Halliburne PERSON. That really hasn't materialized this early. I thought there would be a lot more Halliburton ORG maybe setting those small big screens and him rolling and catching off of a role and doing some damage that way. And Seacum PERSON being the ball handler, you don't see that as much as you would like. And so I don't know if they really have that gear into them. But then the flip side of this is that the Knicks ORG are going to make every in-between playyou could possibly imagine. They have just found a way to just, whether it's hustle, whether it's just, like, they're just grit and determination and whatever cliche you want to throw out there. They make all of the plays that every team needs the 50-50 plays. And so for that reason, I still give them the edge in this series, even if they only have five guys. But you're right. I think the pacer's the opportunity is there. Am I certain that they'll take it? I don't think I'm

Speaker 02324.5s - 2326.26s

going to be that confident in them.

Speaker 52327.26s - 2376.98s

Yeah, and the weird thing about them, too, is Rick Carlyle PERSON, I don't know why he's not playing McConnell late in these games, because McConnell seems like the only guy that can actually give Bruns PERSON in trouble. Like, I think the tracking data had it. He was one of seven against McConnell in the first game, and he just shot the shit out of the ball when anybody else was on him. So that was surprising. I wasn't surprised at Carlisle PERSON. I know people are giving him a lot of crap for the post game press conference about the small markets. I thought, or the mid markets, whatever it was. I thought that was a little over the top. But I thought that was more aboutgame three than it was about what happened. I think he was trying to like get this in the league's head and the officials head like, hey, we want a decent whistle. I am glad that this is moving to Indiana ORG because if I have to see, oh, Nick's royalty, it's like we're showing Larry Johnson and John Stark PERSON. Those guys won shit.

Speaker 02377.22s - 2383.58s

Marbury and Stademeyer, yeah. Yeah, it's like Carmelo PERSON. And look, I have a soft spot for Carmelo.

Speaker 52383.64s - 2444.18s

We brought my school. It's only national championship. But I'm like, this is amazing to me. These guys are legends. They played in New York GPE, and they didn't win a championship, and they're legends. Like, imagine if they were Yankees ORG. These guys wouldn't even be invited to the ballpark to watch a playoff series.I know they got some of the older guys that, of course, won championships in the 70s, but the way that they treat the 90s Knicks, I mean, Patrick Ewing PERSON, great player, didn't win a championship. And I get Patrick Ewing PERSON. I mean, he's one of the best centers for a long period of time, but he did get outplayed by another great center at that point when he actually made it to the finals. But I was sick.I'm sick of the whole garden experience. And if the Celtics ORG play them in a series, I know that it's going to be the same thing. Like, I'll probably end up hating them more than I hate the heat, just because of the Knicks royalty. Like, Miami GPE, that's an obvious reason why I hate. And I respect Miami because they beat the Celtics all the time. This Knicks ORG thing, though, it's just, it's unbelievable to me. The Knicks ORG royalty, they're showing all the shots of the guys. I did think it was funny, though, and they were chanting like, fuck you, Reggie PERSON. That was good. That was pretty funny.

Speaker 02444.46s - 2458.1s

At least they haven't brought out, like, Zach Zach Randolph or, you know, like Isaiah Thomas PERSON. I don't even think he's allowed back in the building. Like, we haven't gotten to the absolute bottom of the barrel yet. So there's still so room there, but they might make it to another round. So maybe we'll see some more luminaries pop out of the woodwork.

Speaker 52459.06s - 2464.12s

Yeah, we'll see if the Celts bring back Big Baby PERSON for their series. I don't know how well that's going to work.

Speaker 02464.12s - 2464.66s

Going away party?

Speaker 52465.8s - 2470.92s

Yeah, maybe it comes. Did you see the video that Big Baby PERSON for their series. I don't know how well that's going to work. A going away party? Yeah, maybe it comes. Did you see the video that Big Baby had on Twitter or on IG?

Speaker 02471.12s - 2480.28s

He said that he's going to be ripped. He's going to stop eating cheeseburgers. I mean, I guess there's a silver lining and everything, you know, but definitely a choice.

Speaker 52480.4s - 2495s

I'll say that. Yeah, what an amazing story that is, that you had all these guys ripping off the NBA. Terrence Williams PERSON, I guess was like the ringleader of the whole thing. He'll say that. Yeah, what an amazing story that is that you had all these guys ripping off the NBA. Terrence Williams, I guess was like the ringleader of the whole thing. He got 10 years. Big baby go, I think what, three and a half years, 40 months or something like that? Yeah.

Speaker 02495.28s - 2500.32s

It's crazy, man. All right, Vera PERSON. Thanks so much for the time. I know you guys, you had group chat.

Speaker 52500.44s - 2505.3s

They came out this morning or late last night. You guys are doing all the weekend pods too now,

Speaker 02510s - 2513.58s

man. Try not to do too much. I know you guys are really busy right now. I know. We're playing those Josh Hart minutes these days, but, uh, you know, just anything to get through the playoffs.

Speaker 52515.62s - 2519.6s

Who's the tips? Who's the one that's making you do all these? I think unfortunately it's probably

Speaker 02519.6s - 2525.54s

me too. So I'm on the heart and the tips, but, uh, you know, it's worth it, though. These are fun pods.

Speaker 52526.54s - 2529.58s

It's like back of the day when you could have a player coach. Exactly.

Speaker 02530.76s - 2533.48s

All right, Vera PERSON. Appreciate the time, man. All right. Thanks for having me.

Speaker 52534.1s - 2542.5s

This NBA playoffs, Fandul is giving all customers two chances to bring home a big win with a no-swet same-game parlay every weekend of the playoffs.

Speaker 02542.5s - 2545.36s

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Speaker 52545.74s - 2644.1s

and you'll get bonus bets back if you don't win. Bet on everything from rebounds to assist to three pointers and more. And I'm looking at a four leg same game parlay for game three of the wolves and the nuggets coming up on Friday night. Of course, the nuggets are up against it now as they're down two games to none. So the first leg, Carl Anthony Towns over 19.5 points. He's over this line in three straight games. Second leg, we're going to go with Towns over one and a half made threes. He has been over this in four straight games. We're going to go with Michael Porter over 16 and a halfpoints. He had been over this line in six straight games prior to the game two loss for Denver ORG. And he did still have the volume. He took 12 shots, and so for the final leg, we're going to go Porter over two and a half made threes. He took seven in that game two. He just couldn't get really any to go down outside of one. He was one of seven. So that's for plus 409, towns over 19 and a half, Porter over 16 and a half, towns over one and a half threes, and Porter over two and a half made threes.And Fandwell is now live in our nation's capital, Washington GPE, D.C. Visit fandle.com slash pike and shoot your shot on America's number one sportsbook. Fanduel, official sports betting partner of the NBA ORG. Must be 21 plus, 18 plus in D.C. GPE and present in select states. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler, or visit RG-hyphen help.com. Opt-in required. Minimum three-leg parlay required. Refund issued asnon-withterable bonus bets, which expire seven days after a seat. Max refund $5 unless otherwise specified. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fandul.com. This episode is brought to you by

Speaker 62644.1s - 2685.98s

cars.com. When you add your car to your garage on cars.com. This episode is brought to you by cars.com. When you add your car to your garage on Cars.com ORG, you'll unlock access to real-time insights into how much your car is worth. Plus, view its historical and projected value to decide when to sell. So when the time is right,you can scare an instant offer from a local dealership or sell it yourself on Cars.com ORG. Start tracking your car's value with your garage on cars.com. This episode is brought to you by 20th Century Studios, Kingdom and the Planet of the Apes WORK_OF_ART. As a ruthless king builds his empire at the expense of the remaining human race, a young ape will fight for the future of apes and humans alike.Kingdom and the Planet of the Apes WORK_OF_ART. Enter the Kingdom and IMAX this Friday and in theaters everywhere, get tickets now.

Speaker 52686.5s - 2776.4s

Welcome back into Off the Pike ORG. Great stuff there from Justin Verrier PERSON. Make sure to be checking out his pod throughout the postseason. Those guys do obviously an outstanding job covering the NBA ORG. There's a lot of fun chatting Celts with Verier PERSON. And trying to take this at least with, I don't want to say take it lightly,because we've seen this so often with the Celtics ORG, but you have to still think the Celtics ORG are going to be in control of this series, but it's just a position they don't need to be in. They should be up 2-0. You can't let Cleveland win game two of the series. And Jaylen Brown PERSON just said after the game that the defensive performance was unacceptable.And I totally agree with them, but I just don't understand why. Like, you're right, Jaylon PERSON's right. It was unacceptable, but why? Why does this happen to the Celtics ORG? Why in game two against Miami GPE? It's not just shooting luck, right?It's not just shooting variants, if you will. I understand the Celtics only hit eight threes in this game. And Cleveland, a team that cannot shoot the three well throughout, or couldn't shoot the three well throughout the postseason, gets going in this game. Like, I understand that there's three-point variance throughout the postseason gets going in this game. Like I understand that there's three point variance throughout the postseason. But you know what isn't part of three point variance is actually getting out to shooters,not letting shooters walk into three. So that's the thing that kind of irks me about the Celtics ORG. They always tell you that, hey, we sucked. The defensive effort needs to be better. But I want to know the why. Why is the defensive effort not there? Why is the focus not there on the defensive side?It just doesn't make any sense to me. All right. We do have time for a call and an email. So let's do the call first, that number 617-396-7172.

Speaker 22776.98s - 2913.68s

All right, Brian. It's 932 Eastern Time here. The Celtics fall to the Cavaliers ORG and the same game. time here. The Celtics ORG fall to the Cavaliers ORG and the same game. Same story as game two of Miami GPE.Rucco PERSON even made, you know, I think a comment early in the fourth quarter that essentially you know, this was a very similar loss. They shot well, we shot poorly. But here's my concern. And it kind of buildsoff where I was a week or whatever that was a week half ago when they lost the heat in game too. Jason Day PERSON is a really good player. I've watched probably 90% plus of the basketball games he's ever played, either in person or on television. I watch playoffs.I'm one of us that listen to you that do this all the time. We watch him play basketball. He's really good. He does a lot of additive things. He's a really good defender. Great rebounder for his position.He passes the ball well. He's a good score, and he's inconsistent. And my question is, when do we, and maybe in a month I call you and I've got tears in my eyes because I'm happy and I tell you I'm wrong and I hope I do. But when do we go, this guy is a really good player on a really good team and he's not a great player. When do we go, he's Carmelo Anthony or he's Tracy McGrady PERSON.He's young Vince Carter PERSON. He's one of the other really good guys who never make it happen. And that's, you know, in some ways like, hey, there's nothing to be ashamed of. You know, I'm not very good at basketball, so I'm not saying that I'm critical of that. But just like, when do we hit that point as a fan base where we go, hey, maybe this guy is really good and he's not great. And that's what I worry about in games like tonight.I know he scored the ball and played well, but just a killer instinct that I'm better than you, I'm taking over and I'm going to win this game. I don't see that, and I worry about that in this team because we're playing inferior opponents now, but the day will come when we are not. It might be in the finals, but there's not an inferior opponent waiting for you on the other side of this bracket. And I just, I don't know, man.When do we see that? And anyway, well, I love the show. And at least we've got stuff to talk about. At least for the next couple nights. And as always, I appreciate it. And we'll talk soon. Bye.

Speaker 52914.14s - 3172.22s

All right. Appreciate the call. So a couple of things as it pertains to Tatum. And I got into this a bit with Verrier earlier. But I feel like the Carmelo Anthony PERSON comparison, it's kind of unfair just because you look at Carmelo PERSON, he never, of course, made it to an NBA finals, and Tatum has already done that. Look, Carmelo did go to a conference finals when he had Chauncey Billups, and look, Carmelo PERSON was in some bad situations.I always thought the Alan Iverson situation was not the best for Carmelo PERSON, not the best influence on Carmelo PERSON's career. And then, I mean, Carmelo PERSON was a automatic bucket. I mean, he was going to get you 25, 30 points a night. He was an outstanding rebounder as well. But then he went to New York GPE.They did not have the greatest team around him. Now, partially that is on Mello PERSON because Mello wanted to get traded instead of just waiting until after the season, he could have just signed with New York GPE. But Tatum has done, Tatum has consistently won. And I do understand that Tatum was in better situations than the situations that Carmelow PERSON was in.And I do think it's sort of unfair to say like Carmelo PERSON, yeah, maybe he doesn't like make the guys around him better, but he does elevate winning. I mean, basically when he went to Denver ORG, he was in the postseason every year. And with T-MAC, T-Mack ORG really never won anything in the postseason,and T-Mack ORG was an awesome, awesome player. But I'm not ready to make that judgment on Tatum where it's just like he doesn't have the killer instinct. I just think it's a very weird career that he's had so far in terms of just, it's tough to find a comparison to Jason Tatum in recent NBA history, right? Because he's without question, Varyor PERSON mentioned it, he's a top 10 player in the league. But I think a lot of these series that you're going to get into,you would have more faith with the best player on the other team. And this is with Tatum having outstanding postseason moments, as I mentioned in the past. But I don't think we're ultimately going to know until we see how this team finishes. Like, if we get to the NBA finals, if the Celtics ORG make knock on wood that it continues to happen,knock on wood that they win in game three and they show up on Saturday night. But let's say the hypothetical is this Knicks ORG team is banged up. They get through the Pacers ORG. The Celtics end up beating the Cavs ORG. They play them and they beat them in the conference finals EVENT. And then you get Minnesota ORG.You get OKC, Dallas ORG, whoever it is out of the Western Conference, and say SGA is way better than Tatum, or let's say Anthony Edwards, who's younger than Tatum, and so is SGA, but say that Anthony Edwards is way better than Tatum in that series. Then I think you're going to have serious questions of like, you basically, if you're Jason Tatum, you have the best supporting, and I love Tatum.You've heard me defend him on multiple occasions. You have the best supporting cast of any superstar in the league. The closest would be Shay PERSON with all the depth that that team has. I don't know Luca has Kyrie PERSON, but the depth after that. I mean, they have a good team. They don't have a great team.And I would say Anthony Edwards, he has great players around him in terms of Gobert PERSON, the defensive player. The Air Towns ORG is having an awesome postseason, but top to bottom from an offensive perspective, he doesn't have what Tatum is working with right now. Then I think you're going to have questions about, hey, can Tatum be the guy that actually puts you? Like, those questions will be fair.If they get to the finals and he doesn't play well and the guy on the other side does, I think those will totally be fair. But right now, I don't want to go there at this point just because the age of Tatum, this is sort of the age that guys start winning championships between 20, this is his 26-year-old season, between 26 and 28 is when guys start to win championships. So Tatum is at that point now. So I don't want to make that judgment yet, but I do think it's fair to bring it up, like you asked the question, because if he doesn'tdo it this year, with, especially considering the way the East has just fallen into the laps of the Celtics ORG, if he doesn't do it this year, then you're going to have real questions because of the star power out West with the guys that we mentioned, Edwards being younger, SGA being younger, Yokic PERSON still being in his prime, right? Luca being in his prime. You are going to have real questions. And this Nick PERSON's team that is all banged up right now, they're going to have the ability to either acquire another star via trade down the street. Like, New York GPE is now going to become, especially seeing what they're doing in terms of the postseasonand how electric that building can get, that's going to be an attractive destination now for stars to go to for the first time in ages. But I do appreciate the question. I appreciate the call. That number 617396-7-172. Okay, we'll bring in producer extraordinaire. Jamie PERSON McClellan. Jamie,

Speaker 33172.22s - 3176.62s

what's going on, man? How are you? Oh, you know, Brian. I'm fine. How are you doing?

Speaker 53178.5s - 3185.28s

I just aggravated, man. Just another performance that I can't even be surprised at this point.

Speaker 33185.48s - 3186.18s

I really can't.

Speaker 53186.26s - 3189.36s

The one thing I will say that I don't think I mentioned this with Verrier PERSON.

Speaker 03189.46s - 3192.6s

The one thing that does, I mean, I've said this probably a million times tonight,

Speaker 33192.64s - 3196.96s

the one thing that aggravates me, but another thing that does bother me about this team

Speaker 53196.96s - 3203.28s

is once the Cavs got that lead in the third quarter, I never felt like they were going to win.

Speaker 33203.84s - 3204.32s

You know what I mean?

Speaker 53204.56s - 3205.84s

That's the thing that bothers me. It's like I never feel like they were going to win. You know what I mean? That's the thing that bothers me.

Speaker 33205.9s - 3218.28s

It's like I never feel like they're going to climb out of these adverse situations. And I know that's with, hey, they made the critical plays against Philadelphia GPE late. But I'm talking about this, I'm talking about last year, this version of the Celtics ORG team,

Speaker 53218.32s - 3224.6s

when they fall behind in these games, even against Miami, they only lost that game by 10. They had a chance to win that game too.

Speaker 03224.7s - 3229.02s

I just, when they get themselves in these situations, I never feel like they're going to climb out.

Speaker 53229.1s - 3244.32s

And that's sort of a character flaw that they have right now until they prove otherwise. Like there's got to be one of these games where they keep punching you in the mouth and eventually you overcome it. The Celtics, the two times it's happened in the playoffs. They've blown out Miami GPE in every game.

Speaker 03244.7s - 3246.5s

They blew out the Cavaliers in game one.

Speaker 33246.86s - 3304.36s

And the game the Miami won and the game tonight, the Cleveland ORG one, they punched the Celtics ORG in the mouth and they didn't respond. Yeah. I mean, I would say, I can't think of a lot of champions that have that same quality.I think it's a terrible quality. It's the same way. It just feels like they don't really have a plan B when things aren't working the way they want them to work. You know what I mean? And it's, you kind of have to have that. terrible quality. It's the same way. It just feels like they don't really have a plan B when things aren't working the way they want them to work. You know what I mean? And it's, you kind of have to have that. You have to have some resiliency and some creativity when things aren't rolling.I mean, you're talking about all their big guys had foul trouble and they just, they didn't, they didn't go and attack them. And it just feels like that happens over and over. And it's incredibly aggravating. Although I must say like, I feel I'm almost like post aggravation where now I'm just like I just said I have been acceptance about it. I mean, this just happens over and over and over again. And it's like you got to lose four games to lose a series.So if they do this once every every round, fine. But I mean, you just come to expect it at this point. I can't even get that worked up about it just because they just do it over and over and over again. Yeah.

Speaker 53304.6s - 3313.04s

That's a fair point. I mean, because we've seen it so many times. And to what you brought up, the thing that sticks out to you is you mentioned the Mowbly File Trouble.

Speaker 33313.52s - 3315.12s

Go to the basket, man.

Speaker 53315.22s - 3316.62s

They're shot blockers out of the game

Speaker 33316.62s - 3317.72s

and they're in the bonus.

Speaker 53318.56s - 3345.38s

That should be double the reason to do it. You get to the free throw line and the guy that blocks the shots. He's not in the game. Put your head down and get to the basket every once in a while. I don't want to sound like the guy that's 70 years old that's saying, hey, you should be taking more threes. Right. In 70s, I should say 80, 85. Like the guys that say, hey, they take too many threes. I totally reject that notion. I don't think the Celtics ORG take too many threes. But when the situation presents itself, sometimes you're going to play the game instead of the numbers.

Speaker 63346.14s - 3352.98s

Playing the game tonight in the third quarter would have been, hey, don't wait until Luke Cornyette PERSON comes into the game and rolls to the basket to get to the free throw line.

Speaker 03353.3s - 3355.58s

It's like nine minutes left in the third quarter and then the bonus.

Speaker 53356s - 3359.52s

Jalen and Jason Tatum had just gotten and ones.

Speaker 03359.74s - 3361.14s

So continue to get to the basket.

Speaker 63361.28s - 3362.5s

You just got in ones.

Speaker 53362.74s - 3366.9s

And it continued, especially when their shot blocker is on the bench.

Speaker 03367.02s - 3369.08s

So that to me was just, it's perplexing.

Speaker 53369.5s - 3370.24s

It's aggravating.

Speaker 13370.36s - 3374.24s

But maybe now perplexing isn't the word because we've seen this happen with the Celtics

Speaker 53374.24s - 3375.14s

time and time again.

Speaker 43375.56s - 3377.06s

All right, Jamie PERSON, we do have time for an email.

Speaker 53377.18s - 3380.36s

So let's get to that. You can email us at off the pike at gmail.com.

Speaker 33381.22s - 3408.18s

Yeah, this is kind of on a similar track. This is from Seth PERSON. Seth PERSON writes, I want to write this off. It's just a shot variance kind of night, like Miami in game two. But it feels like more evidence that the Celtics ORG are just not mentally tough enough. The Knicks ORG Paces could end up being a very long series.So let's finish these guys off fast and enjoy the rest. But it feels so obvious. And yet we do this yo-yo-type thing all the time. It's a missed opportunity, and it's a damn shame. So I'll say this.

Speaker 53408.26s - 3412.84s

On the Celtic NORP side of things, you can point to shot variants and say it's going to be,

Speaker 33413.26s - 3423.14s

there's not going to be many times where the Celtics go 8 of 35 from deep, because to their credit, like a lot of those threes were good threes. Like Derek White PERSON was getting threes that he ordinarily hits.

Speaker 53423.7s - 3430.06s

Drew Holliday, even though he's really struggling to shoot in this particular postseason, he got a bunch of good looks. Tatum got a

Speaker 03430.06s - 3436.76s

bunch of good looks, right? And Jalen was 0 of 6 from three. Like, they got good looks. So on that side,

Speaker 53436.96s - 3486.16s

I can say yes, the Celtics ORG are going to shoot better than that. But on the flip side, this is a Cleveland team that was shooting 28% from deep coming into this game in the postseason. They were 13 of 28, 46.4%. And to me, and look, maybe they'll never shoot this well again in this postseason series against the Celtics ORG. But Garland was 4 of 5 and Mitchell was 5 of 7. And so basically their two best players had nine of their 13 made threes in terms of theiroffensive players. And they weren't like Mitchell hit two that were difficult. But these guys were getting good looks. So that's not variance. That is, hey, if Darius Garland PERSON's a guy that can consistently, and he's proven it over the course of his NBA career, if he can walk in to pull up threes and hit him, then you got to change the coverage.

Speaker 13486.76s - 3489.86s

So that to me, like on the Celtic NORP side, sure, you can point to that.

Speaker 53489.92s - 3512.54s

Although I disagree with how they played in terms of the offense in the third quarter, we just went over that with the bonus stuff. So we can point to that on the Celtic side and say, hey, Derek White PERSON will shoot better. Galen Brown PERSON will shoot better because all that can be true. Eventually, Drew's going to be able to throw the ball in the ocean again like he was great during the season shooting threes. Like that's all true.But on the flip side, you can't play Mitchell and Garland PERSON the same way.

Speaker 03512.54s - 3517.26s

And this same thing happened against the heat against Granite PERSON. Those guys are inferior players.

Speaker 53517.9s - 3525.46s

But you are allowing them because they were perceived to be bad three point shooters. You are allowing them to get open threes and get into a rhythm.

Speaker 03526.02s - 3544.84s

With this Cavaliers ORG team, it's two guys in particular. Like, if you want to say the shooting variance, okay, you want Max, Max Drus PERSON has not been a good three point shooter this year despite the reputation.Okay, you want him taking a bunch of threes? Fine. Nying PERSON comes into the game, you're going to let him shoot threes. Mowbly, who at that three, who's not a three point,he hits a three fine.

Speaker 53549.08s - 3553.52s

But the two guys that can shoot off the dribble should not be able to get those shots off consistently. And it happened too often in this game. And I said this

Speaker 03553.52s - 3562.8s

when we had Peterlin PERSON on, on the last pod when we were doing the preview. And Peterlin didn't think it would happen because he just thinks that Garland PERSON has not been the same guy since the jaw thing.

Speaker 53563.26s - 3574.64s

But he got up 11 pull-up shots. He got up seven pull-up threes, where you can say, hey, those are more difficult threes, but some guys can hit him. And Garland PERSON has not had a great season, but he's one of those guys.

Speaker 33574.94s - 3579.18s

So to me, that's where you have to look yourself in the mirror or look at the drawing board,

Speaker 53579.26s - 3581.4s

look at the film, and say, we can't play this coverage. Yeah.

Speaker 33581.4s - 3587.06s

And if you're going to do it, if you're going to drop, the guy who's getting screened has to

Speaker 53587.06s - 3636.86s

get over it and rearview contest. Like you have to contest him for, like this is what at times Philadelphia GPE could do at times against Brunson PERSON when he was struggling early on in that series when he was not efficient. Now he did become very efficient later on in the series. Is it was Kelly Ubre, rearview contest. It's difficult to shoot that way, right?When you have somebody coming from behind like that. So if you're going to play that coverage, that's what you have to do. And the other thing I would say, especially with Mitchell PERSON in particular, you have to mix up your coverages. This guy is an unbelievable score. Unbelievable score.You can't just play the same defense whole time. He's going to shred you. And not to compare the players, but it's like, if you show a guy like, say an elite quarterback in the NFL, Pat Mahomes PERSON is bad example because Pat Mahomes is the greatest quarterback since Tom Brady. But let's say Joe Burrow PERSON, right? You show Joe Burrow the same coverage over

Speaker 03636.86s - 3653.48s

and over again. You know what's going to happen? He's going to rip it apart. Same thing with Mitchell PERSON. He's like, you're dropping here? Okay, here we go. So you got to blitz it. You got to switch it. You can drop it once in a while, but you've got to do different things, right? And I would be blitzing them a lot more than the Celtics ORG are. Get it out of his hands and say, hey,

Speaker 33653.78s - 3657.82s

Evan Mobley PERSON, we know you had a great game too. You want to try to beat us on the short role as a

Speaker 53657.82s - 3665.88s

playmaker or walking into a mid-range jumper? Go ahead. Live with that. But what I'm not going to live with is Mitchell PERSON torching me. Yeah.

Speaker 33666.4s - 3688.96s

One thing I was thinking, Brian, you tell me if this is asking for too much. You mentioned, you know, how you're going to approach Mitchell and Garland in game three. But is it too much to ask that they switch this up in the middle of the game? Like, it just feels like these adjustments, it's like they got to watch the film to figure this out when we're all watching. Like, whoa, they're getting torched in the middle of the game.It's like, so switch it up in the third quarter. Like, Joe PERSON's a little slow in this regard, no? I agree.

Speaker 53689.04s - 3700.3s

You should be able to switch it up midgame. And look, they did try, to their credit, they did try some stuff. Like when they brought Tillman PERSON in, the idea of bringing Tillman into the game was that so they could switch everything, right?

Speaker 03700.44s - 3705.58s

It just, Tillman is not, and I'm not saying he's been horrible, but he's not been great since coming to the Celtics ORG.

Speaker 53705.84s - 3712.14s

And the other thing is, you just got to be careful with your, and look, their rotation has been so good all season long.

Speaker 03712.32s - 3713.44s

Joe deserves a ton of credit.

Speaker 53713.44s - 3729.6s

That's why, like, everybody on this team that plays has like a net rating of over eight, at least, of the consistent guys that play. But, like, one, and I may have referenced this earlier, but you can't have lineups where you have three targets, right?

Speaker 03729.64s - 3734.38s

Where you have three guys, because you have such great defensive personnel that I do think

Speaker 33734.38s - 3735.44s

from a Celtics ORG perspective.

Speaker 03735.62s - 3739.28s

And look, I get, Missoula PERSON pulled the guys early and I totally agreed with that.

Speaker 53739.32s - 3740.28s

I mean, the game was over.

Speaker 03740.44s - 3744.02s

You don't want to leave guys out there for no reason and get injured.

Speaker 53744.12s - 3773.2s

Although maybe we could have had fights like the Bruins last night. Obviously, you don't want that in the NBA ORG, right? I mean, hockey's a different story. But, for example, Derek White played 30 minutes. Now, part of that is he didn't come back in, but we see, like, these guys on the Knicks, and I don't want 48 minutes, I don't want 46 minutes. I know that's crazy. But I do think there's ways that you can avoid having three targets out there. Because the Celtics ORG have their person. You don't even have to have two targets out there at once.You know what I mean?

Speaker 33773.92s - 3776.4s

So that's the thing I think they're going to be careful of.

Speaker 53777s - 3779.22s

They are you talking about a six-man rotation for the next.

Speaker 33779.3s - 3783.76s

That sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially when your superstars on one leg.

Speaker 53783.96s - 3789.88s

It's going to be like five and a half now. If I was them, I would almost concede game three. Yeah, get

Speaker 33789.88s - 3791.62s

healthy. Because OG's already out

Speaker 53791.62s - 3799.8s

and look, I hate when people try to play doctor. I don't know the Brunson situation, but if Brunson PERSON, if it's like, hey, if you give him three days

Speaker 03799.8s - 3803.5s

a rest, it's going to be a lot better. Like if that's what they think's going to happen,

Speaker 53804.18s - 3815.68s

I would probably do it. But I don't know. He came back in and he scored, right? I mean, he was effective when he came back in. So now, maybe part of that was adrenaline, but we'll see what happens.I mean, that series to me just got a whole lot more interesting.

Speaker 03816.32s - 3819.56s

Before we go, Jamie, I reference this with Verrier PERSON.

Speaker 53819.66s - 3822.04s

Did you see the big baby stuff? 40 months?

Speaker 03823.24s - 3830.28s

So, and I referenced this, but $27,200 in dental work he claimed that he needed.

Speaker 53830.58s - 3843.22s

He submitted $132,000 in claims. And basically, the date on his cell phone showed that he was in Las Vegas and not at the Beverly Hills GPE dental office that he claimed the procedure took place.

Speaker 33843.9s - 3848.26s

At least he's in good spirits tweeting out that, or putting that post on IG,

Speaker 53848.9s - 3851.16s

talking about he's going to look like the rock when he gets out.

Speaker 33851.64s - 3869.2s

I certainly would not be in good spirits if I was going to jail for 40 months. But, I mean, it's just sad, honestly, when these guys make so much money that they're in trouble, you know, for whatever reason, bad decisions, et cetera. But I don't know. I don't really understand the penal code and stuff like that, but $27,000. You go to jail for like three years, Jesus, four years, three and a half years.

Speaker 53869.66s - 3871.12s

Man, the large infant.

Speaker 33872.48s - 3889.74s

Big baby. I actually saw us talking about me a big baby. I saw he got, remember last year he like tried to sneak down into the courtside seats and they kicked him out? Was this at the garden? Yeah, at the garden. I'm like, look, I get it. You got to, those are expensive seats, but he did play for the Celtics ORG. Maybe you let him sit there. I don't know.Yeah.

Speaker 53889.82s - 3891.6s

He hit that big shot against the magic, remember?

Speaker 33892.14s - 3893.64s

Yeah, donkey and Shrek.

Speaker 53893.76s - 3894.98s

Isn't that what they called themselves?

Speaker 33894.98s - 3898.4s

Yeah, yeah, him and eight. Those guys had a moment in the finals. They did.

Speaker 53898.92s - 3904.24s

They had that outsending game and, like, Big Baby PERSON had, like, spit all over his face. Big Baby PERSON was a good player, man.

Speaker 33904.42s - 3910.82s

Yeah. The best problem was always he was never in great shape. Like he was a skilled player. And he gave him a good charm though, Brian.

Speaker 53911.1s - 3915.32s

Yeah. Part of his charm was the baby fat. He gave them good minutes. Wait.

Speaker 43915.46s - 3927.2s

The year that the 2010 finals, obviously not his rookie year, but the 2010 finals, he gave them really, he was a good player for them. And the other thing with Big Baby that all, every time I hear a big baby, I think of,

Speaker 53927.22s - 3933.26s

every time I see him, I think about, remember when KG ORG made him cry? KG ORG would definitely make me cry.

Speaker 33933.32s - 3942.6s

I don't think I could withstand his barrage of critique. KG ORG was yelling at him. He started crying. That one I can understand. Yeah.

Speaker 53943.1s - 3945.74s

All right, Jamie PERSON, good stuff, man. Thanks, Brian. All right, as always good stuff, man. Thanks, Brian.

Speaker 33946.58s - 3948.52s

All right, as always, make sure to get your voicemails in,

Speaker 53948.62s - 4048.46s

6173396-7172. Email your thoughts and questions to off-the-pike at gmail.com. Thanks to Jamie McClellan and Steve Surrety PERSON for producing this podcast, and we'll chat in a couple of days. Must be 21 plus 18 plus in D.C. In President Select States ORG, Fandul is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino LLC ORG. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit Fandul is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino LLC.Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit fandul.com slash RG in Colorado, D.C., Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and Vermont GPE. Call 1-800-next-step protects next Step to 533442 in Arizona GPE. 1-88-789-777 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut GPE. 1-8009 with it in Indiana ORG. 1-800-2-2-470 or visit KSgamblinghelp.com in Kansas GPE.1-8777-7-7-0 stop in Louisiana GPE. Visit MDGamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Visit 800-Gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-5-22-470-4-70 in Wyoming GPE. Hope is here. Visit Gambling helpline M.A.org or call 800-327-50-50 for 24-7 support in Massachusetts. Call 1877-8 Hope NY or text Hope NY in New York GPE.

Speaker 14048.92s - 4077.12s

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