The Most IMPORTANT Part of the Celtics Season is Here | Big 3 NBA Podcast

The Most IMPORTANT Part of the Celtics Season is Here | Big 3 NBA Podcast

up for the layup. Oh, blocked by James. Larry Bird scores 16 points. Look at the Boston players. But Michael Jordan is not only the best basketball player, but he’s the most exciting basketball player to ever play. Fires away, cuts it in. 51 for Jason. [Music] Hello people. Welcome to another edition of the Big Three NBA podcast. I am Sherrod Blakeley joined by my CLNS colleague Bobby Manning. What’s going on Bobby? What’s going on Sherrod? Interesting times for the Celtics. We’re like 13 games in and we still don’t know who this team is really. And the scariest part about that, Bobby, is I don’t think this team knows who this team is. Uh it’s one thing for us to be in the dark, for them to be still kind of in the dark. Uh a little scary. A little scary. Uh before we get into the thick of things, I just want to let folks know that this is again the Big Three NBA podcast. And we are part of the CLNS Media Network family. And of course, we couldn’t do what we do here if it wasn’t for great partners like our good friends at Prize Picks, which is America’s number one daily fantasy sports app. Download the app today and get $50 in lineups after you after you play your first $5 lineup. Uh we are going to begin on a happy note because the Celtics are coming off a win which has not happened nearly as often as they would like. Uh big- time beatdown of the John Morantless Memphis Grizzlies. 13195. Uh and as we’ve seen, Bobby, and you’ve seen up close, there’s been this pattern of win one, lose one, win one, lose one. It’s been like that the last five games for the Celtics. Uh alternating wins with losses. What does this team have to do, Bobby, from your perspective, to just get a little bit more consistency in terms of racking up and stacking up wins? Probably shoot better. That’s the big thing, right? They’re bottom five in three-point shooting to begin this year. Half the team, maybe more, is slumping from outside. And I think they’re probably in the process of figuring out where their shots are going to come from this year. Because even Joe, as three point centric as his system has been, came into this year saying, “Yeah, we might have different uh jobs from different places on the floor given the personnel we have this year.” Specifically talking about the lack of pick and pop bigs because that was a big part of the Zingis and Horford and other, you know, player minutes that they had in past seasons here. So, they’ve been so far the top three point shooting team in terms of attempts, but they’ve also, thanks to Jaylen Brown and Pritchard, moved up to the top 10, top five, 10 and mid-range attempts per game. And those two have been super efficient from that area. And Jaylen at practice today, a big part of his discussion was uh the fact that they just need to be able to find shots from anywhere this year. He’s been discouraged in the past from taking mid-rangers, but this year he feels like he needs to do it for a number of reasons. And Pritchard Oso has his three-point has betrayed him to begin this year. Oso stepped in closer to the basket to that 105 uh range and has been lethal there. He’s probably been one of the better mid-range shooters in the sport to begin this season. So, I think figuring out where those shots are coming from and where they’re best suited to be taking attempts on the floor is going to be a big part of their offense stabilizing. It’s still been a top 10 to 15 offense to begin this year, which I think given the circumstances is suitable um along with their top 10 to 15 defense, but they just need to be a little bit more consistent with that on the offensive end, particularly in crunch time, which is where they’ve lost a lot of these games. And as we record this, Sherrod, no team in the NBA is further below what their record should be. They’re two wins below what their record should be compared to what they’ve done efficiency-wise to begin this year. Um, so even though they’re six and seven, the numbers say that they should be eight and five. So, it’s a big difference right now what they’ve been versus what they’ve uh produced in terms of efficiency. Well, when you when you look at those those numbers, Bobby, what what do you think has been the reason for them falling short of that that where they should be in terms of wins and losses relative to their efficiency? I mean, are there one or two things that you can look at and just say that those are probably some of the key culprits as to why they are where they are record-wise? It’s the crunch time. I mean, you can you can rattle them off, right? Opening night, they got the last shot against Philly. Two shots for Pritchard that he misses. Utah, they got to get a defensive rebound. Nerkich gets the put back and they lose that game. I can just go through all the examples right now. Detroit, all those offensive rebounds late in that game. They’ve struggled in a number of areas late in these games. And Joe, you know, pushes back on that a little bit. He says crunch time’s a crapshoot for everybody. Um, and that even the end of the second quarter, the end of the third quarter, those are just as important. And I don’t totally agree with that. But I will say the most recent Philly game, the third of the three that they’ve played, they lose by two and Quinton Grimes hit a halfcourt heave at the end of I believe the second or the third. So that did end up being the difference in the game, not defending that shot and stopping them from doing that. Um there’s a lot of factors that go into winning and losing close games obviously, but I do think when they’ve had a number of situations this year where they’ve had the final shot and they’ve botched it, that game in particular with Derek at the end, the Payton situation on opening night, they got to get better in those final shot situations or at least run enough good sets down the stretch of these games to not be in that position. Easier said than done when you’re not going to create a lot of separation this year, right? you know, miles ahead of teams like you have been in the past where you can avoid those close game situations, you’re going to be in them a lot. And if you do get to the end of the year and let’s say they’ve blown seven to 10 games that they could have had, that’s going to be the difference between you potentially being that six seed surprise some of us thought they’d be coming into this year and the non-playoff team some people thought they’d be coming into this year. It’s easy to see that being the deciding factor in their final record. Yeah. And when you when you talk about the the just the crunch uh factor with the Celtics and and again we’re talking about Bobby Manning Singness uh insider for the uh for CNS media uh covers the Celtics does a great job. We’re talking about just crunch time uh part of the game. And if you look at this team on paper it in theory should be Jaylen time. Uh and you would think that a lot of what they’re trying to do is to make sure the ball is in his hand so that he’s making decisions. And you tell me if you disagree with this, but I don’t feel as though that’s emphasized enough when they are in those late game crunch time situations that they make it an absolutely come hella high water. We’re going to get the ball in Jaylen Brown’s hands. Whereas it see it feels like if we do great and if we don’t, we don’t. I mean, you you tell me. How do you see that? Yeah, we were debating it on the postgame show that night after the Philly game. Why not call a timeout to set up what you’re looking for in that position? Cuz the ball doesn’t end up in Jaylen’s hands. Even though after they all admitted that was what the plan was going into that possession. So White ends up with it. Uh loses the ball against Drummond. Foul maybe in that spot, but they didn’t have the play that they wanted to run set up. And there was a clear opportunity there to stop it, reset it, and go back to what you were trying to do or change it in that situation. Instead, they just ran this frenetic set. He throws up the ball. Kate almost put it back. And clearly, they did not get what they wanted out of that possession. opening night tougher for me to remember, but another situation on two straight shots where you probably wanted the ball in Jaylen’s hands and it ends up in Pritchards for, you know, two rough shots in that in that situation down one. So, this is something I feel like Joe has struggled a little bit throughout his tenure here. You know, you can just run back the memory of numerous Tatum heaves, tough shots, basic isolation possessions in that spot. And then, you know, it’s a lot of the stuff we always talk about with Joe. Would you rather just get a shot off rather than turn it over trying to run something crazy, you know, with guys cutting and passes left and right and all that stuff, or do you just want to get a shot off? And if it goes in, great. Maybe there’s enough time on the clock to get an offensive rebound in that situation there was in that Philly game in that spot. But if we’re looking at the um clutch numbers for the team this year in terms of who’s taken the shots, who’s been efficient in that spot, who hasn’t, um on the whole this season, they’ve actually run the offense more through Derek, Payton, and those guys have done exceptional with the ball control, even though they haven’t shot well to begin this year. So, I don’t think anyone has any problem with that being the case to begin this year. But in crunch time, two shots a game for Jaylen, 54% from the field. He’s been efficient in those situations. Derek 30% in those spots, 0.1 assists, and no turnovers, which is great. Same with Pritchard. So, those guys haven’t been given the ball away in those situations. But White’s 30 from the field in crunch time. Pritchard’s 43. Jaylen’s 54. I know it’s a small snapshot. It’s seven games and you know however many minutes that is probably like you know half of that but this is something that they have to work on clearly and there’s not a lot of practice time right so you’re not getting a run and you know execute those situations in controlled environments they just have to keep doing it and it’s probably going to keep happening for them that they end up in those situations. So hopefully over the course of the season you get better at it. You figure out what you want to do in those situations cuz honestly Shrod that’s probably where they miss Tatum the most right if we’re stacking up all the things they miss about him is just being able to give him the ball say go do something here and him actually being you know one of the more efficient crunchtime players in the league last shot guys was a big benefit for them. Now they don’t have that option so they have to do it by committee. But I do think there’s a strong argument to having Jaylen handle the bulk of those responsibilities. Yeah. And I guess for me that’s really what’s been the big surprise is that he’s not I mean I I would think that if you have if let’s say you did not have Jaylen Brown around and you didn’t have Tatum then yeah it becomes more of a crapshoot because you literally have no idea who should be the one kind of driving that train in that moment. But Jaylen is your best player uh right now and typically your best player has the ball in their hands down the stretch in those clutch type situations and it just feels as though it’s something the Celtics want to do but it doesn’t feel as though it’s something that they feel they absolutely have to do. It doesn’t seem to be a sense of urgency to get it done the way there seems to be when Jason Tatum is in that role. Uh and and and again, I I just find that fascinating uh this year when there’s so many holes that they’re looking to have filled when you talk about Tatum not being there. You talk about no Drew and no Porzingis and all those guys and Jaylen’s like, you know, I am all NBA. Uh you know, I I’m pretty good player. And it feels as though he there’s still a reluctance to go all in on him being the guy in those clutch situations, which is surprising to me. Yeah. And I I don’t know if it’s a decision they’re make because clearly they’re drawing up these plays for him, right? They’re trying to get on the ball, but they just haven’t been able to. And some of that’s I’m sure on the coaches, some of it’s on the players executing it. These are guys who have never been in crutch crunch time by and large in their careers. And it’s probably the biggest adjustment or acclamation that they have to go through is those possessions where things really tighten up where they’re locking down on everything. defenses, uh, especially the final shot of the game where everything’s being done to blow up a play and can you react? Can you adjust? Can you do something on the fly to make the best of that possession if you’re not getting a timeout in or you’re not able to stop the play? I thought Derek actually did a pretty good job trying to get something off on that shot in Philly. And then Kada had a great look at being able to put that in at the basket to tie the game there. The bench actually thought that he did. He was that close. So that’s the good reactions on the fly by a guy like Kada, by other guys on the floor like Derek to just make something happen in that situation, but they’re going to have to get it done there at some point. And they have in a couple now, you know, they have two wins in the clutch. Um they’ve been able to blow out a handful of teams too now, which is nice. I didn’t know if they’d be able to do that. And they’ve now done it to Cleveland, Washington, as well as Memphis now. So they’ve won in a couple different ways, as we’ve mentioned. they have a worse record than they probably should right now. And that probably makes you feel better if you’re them. In fact, Joe said as such this week at practice that feels good that, you know, we’ve know we’ve played better than we’ve actually been in our record. But if that trend continues throughout the season, you do start to look at this and say, man, they’ve left a lot of wins on the table and this season could have been better than it ends up being. Depending on what you want out of this year, right, Shard? Because a lot of fans want to see them tank. Yeah. Maybe their best case scenario for people who feel that way is see these guys play well, see the strides by the young players throughout the course of the game and then just blow it at the end so you get the loss and you’re in the lottery. Like if that’s how you feel, that’s probably your ideal outcome if you’re a fan like that. Yeah, because I mean you look at a team like for example the Dallas Mavericks last year where they were by far they were not the worst team in the NBA and yet there they lo and behold they won with the number one overall pick and it can happen for sure. Uh we are with Bobby Manning and just a reminder this is the Big Three NBA podcast part of the sale media network which is where you’ll find the Big Three NBA podcast and present episodes as well as other great Celtics content. Uh Bobby, I wanted us to to to pivot a little bit and talk a little bit about this uh second unit that is constantly in a state of influx because guys are in the starting lineup and they’re back to the bench and and there’s a lot of rotating there. But it seems that they’re starting to to to get a a a certain consistency or at least uh relatively consistency out of couple of key guys off of that bench. And I’m thinking of folks like Luca Garza who seems to kind of start finding his way. Sam Hower, we know what he can do. Hasn’t had the greatest season, but we know what Sam can do. And Anthony Simons has really been that bucket getter uh that we knew he him to be in Portland. What’s your take on this this bench unit, Bob? Bobby, because it seems that when this Celtics team does well, they stand out in a big big way. Uh and obviously when they struggle, not so much. Yeah, I’m feeling a little better about them over the last week here. And I looked at the numbers because it felt like that. Simon’s Hower Garza rotation, the first one that comes in off the bench in the first quarter was a problem. Uh they hadn’t played great through the beginning stretches of the season and there was a week or two where the starters were putting up amazing numbers and the bench was the reason that they were losing those games because those minutes were so bad. But it did get to a point over the last week here thanks to Simons coming around. And you mentioned Garz’s couple good games we’ve seen um and Hower finding his footing with that unit where they got to be a plus five for the season. That three in particular lineups including those three. I’m sure that they’ve staggered in White and Brown and and some other guys to make those lineups work too. So that’s what they’re going to have to do. Mix and match a little bit. Uh the question we’ve had all season is whether stacking the starting group and just leaving Simons and whoever off the bench is a sustainable way to have winning rotations throughout games. And they’ve done a better job with it of late. So I’m not hugely concerned about that second unit at full strength right there. I like what Garz has given them whether he’s scoring or not. And it’s nice to see him start scoring and find himself on put backs and wherever else he’s contributing right now. not the best defender in the world, but they’re making it work with that. May not looks like he’s going to be there for now. So, maybe he helps out with the rim protection alongside him. I thought moving him to the bench was risky because for a lot of the role guys on the team this year, the ones who have played with the starters, my not included, have been empowered. The ones who go to the bench don’t end up doing as much offensively at least because there’s just not as much offensive creation in those lineups. But later in that uh Memphis game, even though it was garbage time, even though it was the second half, he did find a way to get a dunk and a three and do a couple other things. So, that ends up working out for him, all the better. We’ve talked about it. The starting lineup and the bench are probably going to change pretty regularly throughout the season. I had hoped that the Minot thing would stick because we just loved what he was giving this team in a number of different areas, but his production tailed off. And I think a big reason Joe and he he talked about it at practice. It wants to see constant change there is the lack of complacency from not knowing who’s going to be in there on any given night. Mine not even said like he feels like he’s uh you know has no staying power in that lineup even though he had been there for nine straight games. And Jordan who said he was fighting for his life even as he started to play pretty regularly there and now he gets a start. I don’t think we’re under any uh impression here that Walsh is going to stay in that starting lineup all year and any a number of guys can move. I think we’re still in the stage, Sherrod, where we’re discussing the Pritchard Simons thing. I think it’s a worthy debate uh that we’re having about which one of those guys should start and which one of those guys should come off the bench here. So, I think there’s plenty of change to come when it comes to who’s starting, who’s coming off the bench, mixing, matching throughout games, who’s out there at the end of games, I think, is going to be a nightly question and has changed. Tilman even has filled in for Kada at some of the end of these games. As much staying power as Kada has had in that starting group. And I I found out today talking to Jordan Walsh because I figured Joe went and told these guys when they’re going to start, right? They just see it on the starter sheet that everyone else gets when it comes out. They just look every g every day before the game and the five starters come out on the piece of paper or on the PowerPoint, whatever they show there. And that’s how they find out that they’re starting before these games. And obviously none of them know whether that’s going to carry over the next night outside of White Brown and Pritchard. Let’s say Kada maybe a little bit too at this point. So that stuff’s going to change. And Joe’s argued it’s a strength. There’s some downsides to it, too. Obviously, the constant having to figure out what’s the best group to put out there in pretty much every situation from starting to finish, but does keep the coaches on their toes, keeps the opponents on their toes to some degree, I guess, too. And, uh, keeps all these guys feeling like they could get involved. And that’s where they’re at, Shard, right? I think out of the 13 guys that they have available, pretty much 12 have been part of this thing outside of Buché. and even he’s snuck into a few games lately. So, they’ve done a nice job getting productivity out of everybody on the roster to this point. And that was something I heard going into this le year, not just for them, but for teams around the league. With this new apron, with this new setup where teams aren’t going to be as loaded at the top, there’s going to be an onus on coaches to get as much energy and hustle and whatever they can get out of any number guys, even if they’re not the most polished players on either end of the floor. Can you get a guy to come off the bench and just play as hard as possible for five minutes and have that be part of your 48 minute plan for a night? I think Indiana started doing that last year and a lot of teams, including the Celtics, are trying to follow suit. Yeah. And and as you know, Bobby, you’ve seen enough of the league to know that if it’s anything, it is indeed a copycat league. Uh if something is working somewhere else, you’re going to try and see if it can work for you. uh one of the guys that you mentioned uh Jordan Walsh who you know I mean you talk about going from you know is he gonna even be on the roster at the start of the season to now he’s a starter uh is amazing and we’ll talk a little bit more about him in a few minutes but first uh want to uh just a few words from our good friends at Prize Pick uh this episode is brought to you by Prize Pick. You and I make decisions every day but on Prize Picks being right can get you paid. Don’t miss any of the excitement this season on Prize Pix where it’s good to be right. Prize Pix is the best place to turn your sports knowledge into cash with millions of members. Prize Pix has made it made daily fantasy sports assessment all you just pick more or less on at least two players for a shot to win cash. 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Well, folks, we are back and we are here with Bobby Manning, CNS Media. And and Bobby, you you mentioned Jordan Walsh a little bit earlier and I want us to take a little bit uh deeper discussion uh in Jordan and just really this is the guy again his contract was not guaranteed unless he was on the roster at the start of the season. got that crossed that bridge. Then he really wasn’t playing much and we looked at the May not surge and then it just seemed that he was just gonna basically be at the end of the bench and lo and behold he got an opportunity to play did some good things got another opportunity and now he’s in the starting lineup. What’s been the key to his ascension to where he’s now among that first five even if he’s not always brought on the PA announcement when he’s in the starting five? Yeah, it’s interesting. Uh he’s in a spot I don’t think anyone else on this roster is right now where he went from not playing at all to being a starter which I don’t like those are just such two extremes that it’s hard to grapple with where he ends up between those two things by the end of the year. I don’t know if he’ll stay in that starting group. he has a chance to just cuz he does bring some of the rim protection which I didn’t expect that May not did blocking shots and help positions around the rim because of his length and certainly the rebounding’s been sustainable through his minutes there that Minot was able to help stabilize and when he became a starter and the shooting to me it’s a small sample so far I think he’s like six for 17 from three has been good enough where you probably feel better about him as a three-point point shooter than you do Minot even though Minot was able to get up to like 33% 32% through his best run there. Um there’s some similar pitfalls with them. They’ve both fouled a decent amount which I know the team has as a whole this year. Um he probably is vulnerable with the skinny frame there. So, um, there’s a number of things that you do question whether it’ll be sustainable or not staying with that group. But the fact that a player you drafted and spent time developing and were patient with trying to come around, you know, through some of the development hurdles he had to go through there. The fact that at what’s he 21 now looks like he’s part of the picture at least going into the future, you know, has another year on the rookie deal next season. Can probably extend him for super cheap if you want to. Uh, this summer. Um, it’s it’s encouraging because they’ve done this now with a number of players. Hower, Cornet, Kada, who’s become a starter now. They’ve had guys go through Maine. They’ve had guys acclimate to their system, sit on the back burner for a little while, learn from the veterans, and then start to work their way into roles. And this is what they need next to Brown and Tatum going into next year. Rebounding, defensive, occasional shotmaking wing. and he has some versatility to his game in terms of pushing the ball in transition, right? Obviously, he’s good enough defensively to put him on an both a Tyrese Maxi, a Jiren Jackson Jr. as well as Apollo Bonerro so far. So, not going to overreact to a week or two here, but it’s hard not to be encouraged by what we’ve seen from him. Hitting shots with poise, um, playing consistent minutes, being part of the defensive game plan. And one thing Joe has said about him that Walsh said to me today too is he takes a lot of pride in really knowing the opponent’s tendencies, studying them. Um being ready to guard a number of different players and knowing what they’re going to do. That shows in in the defensive success he’s had to be in this year. And I think only Tilman um has held opponents to a lower shooting percentage in their defensive uh matchup so far this season. And if you look at Jackson, he was 0 and5. I think Maxi was like one for nine against them in that game. So, some impressive stuff that he’s done defensively to start the season and for the team as a whole. Like, I’ve been blown away by how good they’ve defended, how well they’ve defended to start this year. I thought that was going to be where they struggled. They’ve actually been rock solid on that end. It’s the offense that’s been the question to begin this year. And I think that’s what the question is for Walsh, May not Kada, any number of these role guys who, yes, are giving them a lot of hustle minutes, a lot of defense, a lot of rebounding, um, intensity, but where are they giving you on the offensive end? That’s still what they’re trying to figure out with all these guys. Yeah. Yeah. And I think the Celtics, I believe, uh, as far as scoring defense, I think they’re like number two or three in the league as far as fuse points allowed, things like that. Uh the thing that Jordan has done that I don’t I think he’s he’s actually addressed an area of weakness that even when they had this incredibly stacked roster, it was still an area that we recognized. We just kind of glossed over and didn’t pay much attention to it. But the Celtics have consistently had problems with super quick guards. Guys that just like Maxi, it was always a problem. Uh it didn’t matter whether it was Drew, it didn’t matter whether it was Smart Smart, it didn’t matter who. those fast, quick guards were a problem. And even though Jordan is not, you know, a speed merchant per se, he’s a he’s shown the ability to use his length to give those speedy guys athletic, too. Yeah. He he gives he gives them a different kind of challenge that I don’t think Boston has had guys at that position in the past couple years who are great defenders, have been amazing defenders, but they that was an area that they weren’t necessarily as strong as maybe say Jordan Walsh has been. So to me, I look at him, I look at my not as two different types of defenders, but if you were to morph them together in the course of a 48minute game, you could easily see a scenario where each of those guys plays defends a certain type of player and gives them that four, five, six minute burst of solid play defensively uh in certain matchups. Uh and but to your point, Bobby, what can they give you at the other end of the floor? Uh are can they just simply knock down open shots? Because I mean, I think that’s literally what you’re looking for right now from anyone not named Jaylen, Payton, Derek White, can those other guys, can they just knock down wide openen shots? Because you got to believe that when Tatum comes back and whoever survives, who’s ever still on the roster, you’re going to you’re going to get even more open looks than the ones you’re getting right now. Yeah. And so far, 47 from the field, 44 from three, it’s seven for 16 actually, that he’s at out there. um only two free throws for him so far. So this is there’s an active question about where he fits in best on that end. You hope he’s not in the knee situation where you’re just taking a couple shots every game and whether you make them or miss them deciding whether you’re playing or not. It’s nice to see this year that that’s not necessarily the case for a lot of these guys and it’s given them more freedom probably to shoot more comfortably when they do get those opportunities and play more freely overall knowing that they’re not going to get yanked out of these games necessarily. So, um, nice to see Walsh show some strides. He had the best game of his career over the last week or two here. Kada had the best game of his career a week or two ago. May not had his as well, I think, on the same night. And, um, someone else had theirs, too. Like, they’re just starting to stack those up up and down the roster for a young team that hasn’t gotten to play a lot. Gagars, I’d say you can throw into that mix. Um, these are guys who have been waiting their whole careers to have regular roles and to see them capitalize on those opportunities is encouraging because again, like we said, you need one or two of these guys to carry forward into the next uh Celtics team that’s contending when Tatum gets back. And there’s a number of options that you could see emerging from that group there to this point. So, that’s the important thing about this year. Like we said, Shrod, if they lose all the close games at the end and they end up in the lottery, that might be the best long-term uh outcome for the season along with players finding their strides and getting extra opportunity and developing through the course of an up and down year. And we know that’s what this is going to be. We’ve seen it already. Some great wins, some really bad losses. And the schedule is going to lighten up this week uh here with the Clippers struggling coming in on Sunday and Brooklyn Tuesday and Friday who are almost automatic wins and uh a number of other teams coming up who who are vulnerable along with more off days which this team hasn’t had. I think they played 13 games in 22 days to start this year. Yeah. And and that’s Bobby Ashley. That’s what we’re going to end on talking about this upcoming slate of games where the Celtics, this is the first where you feel comfortable and confident that they can not only find success but get over the 500 mark for the first time this season. Uh when you look at the teams that they they they have on a schedule, you’ve got the Clippers, as you mentioned, plus the uh away and home uh set with Brooklyn. What’s the key for them to go into this stretch of games and just handle their business? is it’s not even about, you know, playing up to the level of opponent. If both teams play to the level of their ability at worst, Celtics get two out of these three. Yeah, for sure. And I mean, it’s when I look up at that Brooklyn team and they have some guys, right, Nick Claxton, Michael Porter Jr., so there’s some players you have to watch out for. Cam Thomas is hurt obviously, so that helps. But when they’re they had five first round picks last year and when all of them effectively um save for one or two are playing in the GLeague on this team that’s rebuilding that should have minutes available for those guys. That’s a crazy thing to see and and can’t make you feel great about those picks if you’re them. Uh I know it’s early but you would want those guys playing. Um Yeaman Igor Yaman or however you pronounce it. Um he looks like he’s starting to show some stuff there again. There’s a couple guys you have to watch out for on that team and they’re well coached. So, I’m not going to say it’s going to be 30 point win from the jump against them. They’re competitive to some degree, but they just don’t have the the personnel that they had say at the beginning of last year when they were able to push you to the brink. Um, so, you know, you can’t just sleepwalk into those games. I don’t think this team is in position to do that anymore. A lot of these players are in position to do that, especially with a gap between games. should be able to win both of those. But as you know, Shroud, sometimes there’s an element of if you play a team twice in a short span, the team that loses the first one is able to figure some stuff out and steal the second one. So, we’ll see how it goes. The Clippers are going to be tough, right? Harden and and Zubots in particular, two guys who are going to be tough to contain. I I would think they’ll throw Jaylen, but also a few, you know, the Walsh and Mine out of the world at him and try to frustrate him on the ball. Zubach, Kate is just going to have to do the best he can there. but no Kawhai. So Celtics have caught some breaks between Kawhai, Zion being out in that Pelicans game, J being out in that Memphis game and they knock on would have been healthy themselves. So those are the things that are going for them to begin this year along with the schedule in terms of games played over a certain amount of time starting to turn their way as well here. So I don’t know how you feel Sherrod, but I’m still in the place where I think this team can exceed expectations this year. It definitely should be like eight and five as we’ve talked about right now. That would make you feel better about them finishing with let’s say 45 plus wins this year, but I think you’ve seen that they can play well enough to aspire to do that. Um, where are you at? Well, I’m I’m curious about this this stretch of games they they got coming up. really I don’t know if there has been a three-game stretch they’ve had where you felt they should win all three games or they have a very good shot at winning all three games without it being this major uh you know upset of of proportions or something like that. So, I’m curious to see how they are going to handle uh basically going into a stretch of game similar to what we’ve seen Celtics teams in the past couple years. Closest was Utah and Washington at home and obviously they blew the Utah one and then won in a blowout in Washington. So, could be similar to that, I would imagine. Yeah, absolutely. And and I guess the thing that I’m curious to see like how does Jordan Walsh handle this stretch of games? Because really, if I’ve just been thrown into the starting lineup and I’m hitting a stretch of games against teams that aren’t great and I’m in a starting lineup, this is an opportunity for me to almost like build some starting unit credits. Uh because I’m I’m basically competing against guys and and teams that I should have some degree of success against, whether it’s scoring, defense, you name it. I should be able to do some things that I should be able to do at a little bit higher level against them than let’s say Oklahoma City or the Knicks or Orlando. Uh so he’s the guy that I’m really paying close attention to during these next three games. Is there a guy that you’re you’re paying attention to a little bit more closely in this stretch coming up? Oh, it’s a good question. Probably Derek, right? Like is he going to break out and become the guy that we thought he could be coming into this season? some of the loftier predictions we had like allstar like all NBA the answer to this point’s been no and you know he’s top in steals and blocks at players at his position so far he’s been super consistent in terms of his defensive output so the shot making hasn’t impacted him on that end offensively after a couple good games here a good second half him in the Philly game and a great game against Memphis does that get him going now is he able to break out of that slump he was in to start this year because as much as Pritchard was in his head as he talked about after that last game and has just missed shots. Feels like Derrick’s getting more defensive attention and actually having to take more difficult shots to begin this year. So, is that what the story this season’s going to be for him that he’s less efficient and less impactful offensively because of more attention and a bigger role or is he just off to a slow start and it’s going to turn around here? Um, that’s what I’m going to look to see, especially as the opponents get a little bit easier here over the next handful of games. Yeah, I’m I’m I’m with you, Bobby. I I really want to see him break through because I mean, he’s a heck of a player. Uh, and and you know, he’s it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s not working other than the fact that is it, as you pointed out, is it the fact that he has basically moved up the food chain in terms of status and in terms of attention, or is he just having one of those stretches? and it’s hard to tell the difference between the two at this point. Um, so hopefully he will be able to kind of get on track uh these next few games against again teams that he and the Celtics as a group should uh have some success against. Uh before we get out about to say something, Bobby? No, no, good. Okay. Uh before we get out of here, for those of you listening to the show, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. And for those watching the show on CLNS, go ahead and hit the like button and subscribe to CLNS Media and Selis All Access YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Celtics content as well as a chance to leave a comment that we may talk about on the next episode. And one more thing, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new video drops like this one. And for Bobby Manning, I’m Sher Blakeley and this is the Big Three NBA podcast. [Music] [Music]

Sherrod Blakely and CLNS’ Bobby Manning discuss the Celtics’ quest for consistency; the team’s struggles in clutch situations; the emergence of Jordan Walsh; and a slate of games coming up that should put the Celtics above .500 for the first time this season

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