Why Celtics are NOT Tanking | Celtics Beat

Why Celtics are NOT Tanking | Celtics Beat

[Music] Celtics Beach brought to you by Ice Pits. Hey everyone, welcome in new edition of Celtics Beach for your win a game, lose a game, every other kind of situation for the six and seven Boston Celtics. There it is. There’s the motion. Abby Chin is here with us. NBC Sports Boston. We’re all just is if we do it out of sync too, it’ll just look ridiculous for the YouTube audience. We thank you for being here with us across the CLNS YouTube page, the All Access page for the Celtics. A lot of great Celtics podcasts available to you, not just this one. Uh, as we humbly say anyway. And of course, download the podcast wherever you should happen to get your audio versions of the show. Rate, review, most importantly, subscribe. Adam Kaufman and Valente. We’re always here, but like I said, Abby, our special guest today, on with us for the first time this season. First time in a little while. AB, we’ve missed you. Welcome back. And uh boy, how’s life since the last time we spoke? It it was when was the last time we spoke? E could tell me. E can look this up while while we’re chatting, the last time that you were on the show. Probably longer ago than it actually feels. Uh, but what um life covering this team has changed quite a bit from the last time that we spoke obviously with all of the departures, the injury to Jason Tatum, and now just a lot of evaluating who’s part of the future, right? Yes. Uh, yes. If we haven’t spoken since last season, a lot has changed. And you’re right, I I don’t think I really understood how much until we are in it now. Um, I think going into the season, yes, and I was excited. There were so many new guys, so many new stories to tell. And while I’m still excited, it’s just it hit me like a ton of bricks just that this is a different team, a different season, and it is going to be a different journey. And so, we are already seeing some of that. And there have been some really fun moments. It’s just it is, and I’m taking the tagline from the Celtics, but it’s it’s different this year. It’s different here. It’s different here. It’s different this year. For the uh booking person purposes at home, it was episode 593, which was October 10th, 2024. Come on. We even with Abby on the show since last October. Oh, wow. Quick search just I could be, you know, look, it’s Friday. It’s possible. Now I got Now I got to go back through my text messages to see. I mean, a lot has changed. I know we’ve I know we’ve tried to coordinate things since the we’re very the topic the episode title was revolving around Jason Tatum and his superstardom coming off the starting five Netflix doc wow that was a long time ago so much has happened there’s been a whole other doc released then there there have been a couple asks along the way but you know family scheduling concerns obviously or travel with the team that you know Celtics practices all that. Yeah. Uh life gets in the way. Wow. Of the podcast. But I can’t believe it’s been a year. I could have sworn we spoke near the end of the season. Not not according to my text message history. We don’t text nearly enough. Obviously. Obviously. Long time no see, guys. You look right. Good to see you. How you been? How so? How did you feel about that move from Chris Porzingis and Drew Holiday? And yeah, I mean obviously like it’s this is a a I mean truly a totally different team that you are covering then not just in terms of the personnel but you know the thing that everyone has wrapped their their heads around here slowly is is expectation. You know, we we go into recent years. You go into every year believing the Celtics are at the very least in the contender conversation, if not favorites to win the championship over the last couple of seasons. You know, last time you were on, I guess we’re probably still basking in the afterglow of winning Banner 18. And so, you know, right? Seriously. And so now, you know, as we think about how this team goes about constructing Banner 19, I mean, what to you or what you’ve gleaned from either conversations with Joe on or off the air? I don’t know how much how many conversations you actually have with him off the air. Seems pretty close to the vest, but you know, obviously the the front office, anyone on the coaching staff, I mean, what are the priorities that that they are, you know, really honing in on throughout this season? Well, first I would say that I have gleaned that while I know we all talk a big game, but I certainly took for granted how hard it is to win in the NBA. And for the past few years, a handful of years really, I mean, they hadn’t missed the they haven’t missed the playoffs in what 10 is it seven straight or 10 straight, whatever it is, they’ve been in the playoffs every single year. And I have experienced a losing season before. I came in the same season as Brad Stevens. So 2013, the Celtics won 25 games, right? But like you said, the difference is expectations. That team was not expected to win. This group with this coaching staff and this front office has been expected to win championships. And all throughout preseason, you know, you talk that that still remains the standard for this team um and this group, but it’s it is a different thing. And so as far as priorities go, priorities are to win every night. That doesn’t change. That is something that um this Joe Missoula will tell you. He’s trying to do whatever it takes to win every night. It’s just that as we know that margin for error is so much smaller night in and night out when it with this group. And so the priorities I and it doesn’t feel like this is about development. Of course, they want to develop the young guys and the new guys and and that’s going to happen in the course of this season, especially with guys in and out of the lineup getting more run some nights, less the other. And so that development is going to be there. But I mean, overall, it is it’s the Celtics. This is Boston. The expectations, the standard is to go out there and try to win every night and do whatever it takes to do that. Yeah, it’s interesting. They, you know, the expectations are lower, obviously without Tatum. And yet, obviously, they want to win every night. You talk to anybody in in any front office, winning is a skill that you need to learn how to do. You just don’t get magically popped on any surface that you play sports on and just know how to win every single game. No, no question. But what’s I find interesting is the expectations lower. They’re six and seven and yet they have a tough It’s funny every time. I’m sorry. I know. I know. It’s okay. I And I feel like we’re in this very specific moment. I’m sorry. For a split second, I was like, is there another way I could say this? They’re one game below 500. They’ve played 13 games and they’re one under 500. They’re one game below 500. Do the math yourself. Fighting for a 500 record in their 14th game. All those things all happening. Yet they have a top 10 offensive rating, a top 10 defensive rating, top 10 net rating. Like all these things are good. They’re again one game, but they’re still putting out what is I would call a quality product and I think it’s because, you know, I think they have guys on this team that try very hard. They have good principles. Um, you have, you know, there’s not it’s not like they’re they’re walking out, you know, the process Sixers every night for a lineup. No, there’s Jaylen Brown and Derek White and Payton Pritchard. There’s a lot of pride on this team. What do you make of this this particular point in time where like yes, they’re they’re one game below 100, but like all the metrics say they’re actually doing a pretty good job. What do you make of this? Because it’s kind of hard to sip through all these things. Bad luck. Could be. Yeah, close games, a lot of clutch situations that most of these players have not been in or been the guy in in the before. Um, and then like I said, the margin of error is very small. So, while the Celtics may be playing really, really well, so is the other team. and those other teams are fighting for wins and the parody in this league I think is something that has reached a level that the league appreciates and I’m not sure that we’ve really seen uh of late. And then I would also say that what’s been the most intriguing part to me is that they are doing all of this with those numbers, the metrics, the ratings. While both Pton Pritchard and Derek White have been struggling mightily shooting and in the last game was the first time both of them broke through in the same game. Sam Hower has had off nights too, one of the veterans in this group. And so to me, it speaks to the job of the staff getting all of the other guys up to the place where they need to be to be able to help these guys and get them to the point where they are in position to win games. And then it does go back to Evan, like you said, this is just it’s a competitive group. This is who the front office goes after. These are the guys that they target when they are looking for the players on the market. And I think that that has shown through and and Joe Misoula maintains that he just his only goal is to give them a chance to win and they are in those games. And the reason they are below 500 is because they’ve dropped some close gains. And I think that like I said at the beginning of this season, things that you just forget. You forget that in those clutch situations, no matter what, the ball is going into Jason Tatum’s hands. And that is a reassurance that we all trust in. and he’s come through more often than not. And while Jaylen Brown, I believe, is completely capable and will figure this stuff out, he just hasn’t been in those positions before. The learning curve is steep. As much as you want to say that they have, you know, I know this is Jaylen’s 10th season in the NBA, but these are positions that he’s never been in before. And so you can talk about it, you can watch it on film, you can practice it in a gym, but and Adam, you and I can speak to this, like there is no you cannot duplicate live reps being out on the floor having things happen, having to make decisions as quickly as they need to make decisions. Like you just there is no way to duplicate that in any sort of practice or film setting. And so they’re learning on the fly. The games came fast and furiously to start this season off. They had 13 and 23 days. This is the first time they’ve had consecutive days off this season. And so they really haven’t been able to get back on the floor in the practice gym since training camp. And so they’re learning on the fly. And I and what I take away from those first 13 games is there are a lot of positives. And based on the numbers and the metrics, they’re trending up. You know, here’s something we haven’t spoken about on this show. E, and Abby, you would have a unique potential intel into it. Certainly, you’re a lot closer to the situation than either of the two of us is when it comes to the rotations and the uncertainty of them right now. like you know that Brown, White, Pritchard, Hower, Kada like you know who who’s firmly in the rotation but then you have over the course of the year not right now over the course of the year May not Walsh Ugo Garza some of these guys that you know their roles have you know been more or less prominent kind of by the game and I don’t take that as to be somebody landing on you know in in the doghouse for Joe or something like that. It’s more him just trying to experiment and figure out like what the hell do I have here to work with? You know, we’ve talked about that a lot. The side of it we haven’t talked about is what’s the impact of that on Jaylen Brown as the number one for this team trying to just sort of sift through all of it and survive it and thrive around it while you know playing his game and getting not that he’s focused on getting his numbers but playing his game and elevating guys around him and and just making this team as competitive as it can possibly be while having this musical chairs of pieces going on around him. I don’t think that you can understate what Jaylen has done for this team yet this season on the floor. Yes. And being able to maneuver all of those. I mean, obviously his playmaking, we have talked about it for years, but it is coming to the forefront and the turnovers are down and the assists while the number itself might not be there, the hockey assists and the playmaking. to me the way the decisions that he’s making are there and you’re seeing that out on the floor regardless of who’s out there with him. but just the leadership that he has shown throughout the summer, taking these guys under his wing, organizing workouts, being in the gym, talking to guys, doing everything that he can in that respect, but then also just leading by example, having the hamstring injury that he suffered in the last game of the preseason. While yes, obviously it was relatively minor that he could play through it, but he made it a point. It has been on it. He has taken it upon himself to play every single game this season because he knows that that’s what this team needs from him. And so he did everything in his power to be able to play. He’s played every single game including backto-backs. They had five and seven at one point in October and Jaylen Brown was out there. And he’s also standing up in front of the media, taking the heat for those close losses and also remaining positive and not blaming anyone, not uh putting any sort of undue pressure on the guys who are struggling or the young guys who are coming up and and making mistakes as they will because no one is perfect. And so I just I don’t think you can understate what Jaylen Brown has done for this team. And yes, to answer your question, Adam, I think that it is going to be something that will continue to be kind of a revolving rotation depending on who’s playing well and then also what the matchups ask for. Um, but I think that this is something that Joe has done maybe not as much because you knew who was going to be out there, but he’s tried to instill in these guys that you need to be ready at any moment. No question with the stay ready group, but even with the starters and it’s just um a mindset and I think that he is drilling that into these guys and we’re starting to see it show through. I mean, you look at Jordan Walsh and Josh Minott. Josh Min went out there and played every minute like it was going to be the last of his life and he got rewarded with the starting role and Jordan Walsh saw that, went out and did the same thing and got his first start of the season, last game. And so I think that these guys are seeing what it takes, what level is going to be required for you to stay out on the floor and they’re meeting it and hopefully that means good things going forward. Kia, I I just want to follow up on that real quick because and this is this is going to be an apples to oranges comparison I will admit, but thinking back to what was it the 201819 season when you know I’m bad with time Adam. So that was so that was that was the year that obviously you know you were thinking you were going to have Kyrie Irving and you were gonna have Coron Hayward and all these guys over the course of the year they get hurt and it it becomes you know it’s all of a sudden it’s like there there’s this coming out party for Jason Tatum and his development was accelerated right and everyone still talks about the block on LeBron you go to the playoffs and you have you’re one win away from reaching the NBA finals at a time this team was not ready to be in the NBA finals. That is not me leading into a question of do you think this Celtics group don’t worry I know they’re not going to the NBA finals. What I’m thinking about is I think a lot of us ev thought about the aspect of is this while it sucks now not having Kyrie, not having Gordon, not feeling like you’re a true contender, is this better in the long term? because Brown, Tatum, these guys are getting reps they never could have dreamed of at this stages of their career and and playoff setting and all of that. Is this going are we going to look back a year from now when Tatum is healthy, they’ve made whatever moves in the offseason, God willing, they’re in the contender conversation again, all of that, and say, man, what Ugo and May not and Walsh and, you know, whoever of these young guys that is fighting for this opportunity that survives it ultimately in terms of being in a Boston Celtics uniform, are we going to look back a year from now and say, “All right, well, it sucked that Tatum was But man, did those guys benefit to a point that that is really going to help this team now in a way that we wouldn’t have envisioned before. I mean, I hope so. A lot of those guys are on short contracts and then if you are going to start building up towards winning again and I know the second apron and all of that, the money will be limiting and what they can do. But I am curious to see how many guys end up back next year ultimately. Um just because that is the way of the NBA. But and these guys are showing out and so I mean you know might be able to get some more money elsewhere. Allah Evan Turner or um Luke Cornett for that matter. Um, and so I think it speaks to the development staff of the Celtics and and the work that they are able to do with these guys night day in and day out. But I think the one name that you mentioned that really stands out to me is Ugo Gonzalez. And I’m not sure anyone knew that a 19-year-old coming in from Spain who played less than 11 minutes a game for his professional team in Spain could come out here and compete and hold his own against some of the best players in the NBA. His defensive instincts are off the charts. Joe Mazula tells us over and over again. and the fact that he can I think a lot of us just assumed that he would be spending a lot of time in Maine and I don’t think that’s going to happen. He is a viable part of this team and he brings that level of chaos particularly on the defensive end that Joe Misoula has been begging for all season. And then as long as he knocks down some threes and continues to spread the floor, Ugo has been one of the biggest surprises for me so far this season and someone who I think will bring value to this team going forward. My search for silver linings. Here’s a silver lining for the Celtics Speed podcast. We love our partners. Let’s take a quick break and tell you about our friends over at Prize Pick. Price Pix is the best place to get real money sports action. With over 10 million members and billions of dollars in awarded winnings, that’s right, billions with a B, Price Pix has made daily fantasy sports accessible to all. You just pick more or less on at least two players for a shop to win up to 2,000 times your cash. 2,000X. Are you kidding? Run your game all season long on Prize Picks. 2,000X, 3x, 1x. It’s all good, Kaufman. It’s all good. And we have another Friday show, which means we have another flex play Friday with prize picks. Last week, we just missed out on the K, not the Kan Booty, the Demario Douglas, uh, more than 36 and a half receiving yards. Coffin came up two and a half yards short, which, you know, was annoying. It’s tough. You had we, you know, you have those moments with your lineups where, you know, you you pegged it right. You know, you had it right. You just came up just a little bit short. So, we’re going to keep moving on with a positive attitude here uh this week in week 11. Um first part of our lineup, we’re going to Spain. Jaylen Wadd more than a half a touchdown versus the Commanders. I actually think the Dolphins here are a live uh underdog if if you can call it that. I don’t even know if they are. Wadd actually. Yeah. Wow. Well, I know Wadd’s been a lot better since Hill’s been basically uh, you know, gone for the entire season. And last week against the Bills, I I I saw some things I like. So, we’re going to take that. Chase Brown more than 77 and a half rushing and receiving yards versus the Steelers. I like these rushing and receiving yards props or these these parts of your lineups just because it to me I I don’t know how he’ll get there, but he’ll get there. Uh, this Steelers defense is bad. We saw what happened last time. lot of points, a lot of yards. I think Jace Brown is gonna be all right. And then Zack Charbanet. Uh we’re going to go more than five and a half receiving yards versus the Rams. Yes, five and a half. He basically has to have like one catch out of the back field and I think we’ll we’ll we’ll nail that part of our of our lineup. So Jaylen Wadd more than a half a touchdown. Chase Brown more than 77 and a half rushing receiving yards. Zack Charbanet more than five and a half receiving yards. That is my flex play for the week. If I hit all three, it’s 4x because there that that Jaylen Wadd touchdown part uh is a little more juice under it. And if I hit two out of three, it’s still 1x. So I I’m feeling confident. I’m feeling great. And getting your money from Price Fix, as you know, couldn’t be any easier. You’re talking Venmo, uh whether it’s your your debit card, your bank account, doesn’t matter. It hits almost immediately whenever you want. And you know what I like doing when I win something? Getting the money. I’m all about that withdrawal, man. And if that if that number is big enough, put it right in my wallet. So, as little as 15 minutes, you can watch that money roll into your account. Download the app today. The code cls, you get $50 in lineups after playing your first $5 lineup. Again, download the prize picks app. Go do it right after this show ends. Heck, you can do it while you’re listening to the show. Use the promo code CLNS. Get $50 in lineups after playing your first for only five bucks. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. All right, back with Abby, with Evan, obviously. And you know, I I think as again, we’re what 14 15% of the way through the year, something like that. Like we got a lot of season left in front of us here. In terms of what we’ve seen so far, I know the results have been inconsistent, at times, underwhelming. I It’s I’m still sort of coming to grips with the Utah Jazz loss. It it really pissed me off that night. What are you you just talked about Ugo Gonzalez and I I agree. I think he has been one of those bright spots that again rookie contract. He’s not going anywhere. At least I’d be really surprised. We can look toward his growth in the coming years in the NBA. But for this season, what’s something that has been enjoyable to you through the first 13 games that you’re looking forward to seeing more of or continuing to develop or label it however you want to obviously in the, you know, months to come here throughout this year while we wait for Jason Tatum’s inevitable return. It has been uh the guys who were I don’t want to say lesser knowns. I’m looking for the right word, but it is it’s the Josh Minauts and the Jordan Walshes. Who we are just getting to know. We know Jordan and uh Sam Hower was talking today at practice about um Jordan coming in. He was only 19 as well and just you know how young that is. Imagine what we were think about what we were all doing at 19 and then to come in to be have to be a professional but he comes in on that team um and they win a championship in that first season. I know he didn’t touch the floor much, but I just remember one of his first press conferences and Al Horford was his vet at the time and he said he hadn’t watched the Godfather movie and all of us were like, “Oh my god, who how old are you? What’s going on?” At least he’d heard of it, right? I don’t think so. I don’t No, I don’t know. And I don’t know. I still don’t I don’t He said he started to watch it and it he could not get into it. So, I’m not sure he ever did finish it. That is not a knock on Jordan Walsh. That is just to say that I think it’s a knock on Jordan Walsh. The classics are the classics. Yeah. I mean, it’s a knockout for Jordan Walsh from my perspective for sure. Like maybe not everybody else, but Yeah. Maybe you’re not knocking them. We’re going to knock them on your behalf. Absolutely. I get it. I mean, to sit down, the movie is like three hours long, isn’t it? It’s It’s long. Gone with the wind. All three of them are long, but the first two are worth it for sure. Okay. Either way, just tell Abby, have you seen The Godfather? I’ve seen it once and I’ve only seen the first one. Oh, the second one’s even better. That’s why she’s taking it easy on him. Cough. Yeah, this is the problem. Godfather 2 is even better than the first one. You need I’m not a Yeah. gratuitous violence lover in general. Um anyway. Okay. So, gratuitous. What? Gratuitous violence. You prefer the non-gratuitous violence. Yeah. Or I I prefer that emotionally romantic comedy happy endings is what I prefer. So a romcom. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Good ones out there. Some people make that argument. I I would say no. Okay. So Jordan Walsh. Yes. Was young once too. So I think he still is. to see his maturity. And I think even um throughout summer leagues and the preeason, it was kind of like, is Jordan going to get it? And it’s been really cool to see it feels like a switch flipped and all of a sudden in these last handful of games, he gets it. He’s in the right spots defensively. He’s taking the coaching and he’s knocking down shots, but being in the right position and making the right decisions when they need to be made. And so I think that’s been really cool to see and to see him kind of because he he has he’s always kind of showed us a little bit of his personality. So now he gets to be that a little bit more to see that confidence build. Um that’s something that I I did a hit on Jordan and Scal talked about it that with every minute, every touch, every basket that goes in as a young player, you build confidence. And Tommy Heinson used to say that all the time that when you’re a young player, the biggest barrier that you have to get over is to believe that you belong there. And I think that Jordan Walsh is finally starting to see that and and believe that in himself and then also understand what it takes to stay there. And so we’ll see if he can maintain that consistency. And the same with Josh Minat who has been in this league for some time but has talked to us about his role in Minnesota was really a learning role. And so now he’s kind of able to take all of those lessons and Scal said it on air. He’s like that’s actually, you know, Anthony Edwards being like, Josh, just I got this. Let me let me let me cook. But um to take all of those lessons and everything from that to bring it into this situation and then make the most of that opportunity and see that you really do need to play literally balls to the wall every second that you were on the floor. That’s what will keep you here. I think that those are important lessons for young NBA players to learn and something that will help to carry him through and actually elongate his career in this league. And so I think that’s been cool to see those guys kind of starting to figure things out and understand what it takes. And then to watch that on the floor like Josh Minot is so fun to watch on the floor. The offensive rebounds, the putbacks, the energy, and then he does it all with a smile afterwards. And so, um, I think those guys have been really fun to see and and and have been highlights. And then if Payton Pritchard and Derek White can start to find some consistency here in their new larger roles, I think that will also be fun because those are two great guys who you want to see succeed. Ev, what is your cabinet position in the Jordan Walsh fan club? Oh man, I’m I’m I’m on the board for sure. Um, I really enjoyed the Jordan Walsh stuff. I think it’s the biggest storyline of the entire season because here’s a young guy that you drafted in the second round that had a ton of potential, but very green, like just hasn’t had the reps yet. But you saw a lot of, you know, some point forward stuff, some defensive stuff, certainly has the measurables of of a guy that should be a very good defensive player. Um, you know, at that point, if you can just stand in the corner, hit threes, move the ball, cut, and then defend your ass off and rebound the basketball, you’re going to get playing time. I mean, he’s done all those things. And with this team that’s a little, you know, trans in this transition phase when you have, you know, some older guys for sure with with, you know, I’ll put Tatum and Brown and the older guys, you know, busting. And it’s crazy to say too, but but like when you compare the 21-year-old Jordan Walsh, 19-year-old Gonzalez, it’s like those guys are those guys are older, but they’re you’re going to need young reinforcements, you know, and mine obviously factors. This his contract situation is a little bit different than than Jordan’s, but still like lump that in the same the same basket of you’re going to need young affordable contracts and bodies to be able to sustain this thing in the long term, right? With the second apron stuff when you can hit on second round picks and you can hit on vet minimum guys, you can hit on a firstrounder late in the first round. These are all ginormous pieces and the Walsh stuff to be able to go from being the primary defender on Tyrese Maxi who’s been an absolute nightmare for everybody this year including the Celtics that first game him and VJ Edgecom took just went back and forth killing the Celtics up and down the floor to come in guard him in the third and fourth quarter be the primary defender on Tyrese Maxi in crunch time as a 21-year-old who really doesn’t have a lot of a ton of NBA experience to go from that to start in the next game and guarding Triple J from the jump. Uh, forcing a miss shot the first trip down, blocking a shot the next trip down. I’m sitting here, I’m like, this is this is like found gold right here. This is unbelievable stuff from a team building standpoint. The trajectory that Jordan Walsh has put himself on is going to be extremely important for the Celtics as they go forward. Like, this whole year is a is a is a transition year. And and when you asked the question earlier of you know what are the big you know what we know at the end of the year like the the the fact that we’ll have some clarity at the end of the year of what direction this team will move in that’s what’s exciting like okay all this data is going to give us at least a path forward for the next iteration of the selfies and what’s really great the past couple of games and I would be surprised if this changed just given what we’ve seen it looks like Jordan Walsh is going to be a part of this team and not just like a small, tertiary, whatever piece like, no, no, no. He’s going to be a guy that you can trust to come in and guard some really hard assignments. And look, we’ll see what Jason Tatum looks like when he gets back, but we know defensively what he’s capable of. We know when things are on the line, Jaylen Brown can be an unbelievable defender. We know Derek White is one of the best defending guards in recent basketball history. You add another guy to this equation and he’s going to make not a ton of money. That is so so so huge. I have en I I have the smile on my face c I wish you could see it when I watch Jordan Walsh like do all this defensive stuff is just the best because you’re seeing a young guy truly get it and you’re seeing it click like literally in real time that this guy can really make a huge difference and yes the stuff Ugo stuff that’s all he’s need to watch a game together I think. Yeah, but this Walsh thing is a little different because he’s been in the system for a while and it hasn’t quite worked out, but he hasn’t had the opportunity. But now that he does, I said to Jack Simone, it’s proof of concept that what the Celtics are doing is actually working. And so there are so many questions about the future of this team, but I think that the direction that they want to head in is the right one. In every game, I think we get a little more data with that. And so just Jordan Walsh by himself is going to make this season so much better for at least just for me personally. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve loved watching him play. It’s been fantastic. Adam, who stood out to you? Who’s been your favorite so far? I I’m I’m slowgoing on the Walsh thing. I like I I agree. I’m cautiously optimistic. Cautiously optimistic. Yeah, I think we we still need to see more. Uh, I am so I I I’m a hoop head. I’m an NBA fan, but I wouldn’t claim to know like all the bottom of the rotation, barely in the rotation guys across the league. And I will readily admit when the Celtics signed Josh Minot to a two-year deal. I’m not entirely sure I even knew the name, let alone could tell you anything about his game. and what he has come in and done illustrating a lot of what you guys have already talked about from yeah it’s great if he can get a putback dunk or hit the occasional three that sort of thing but for me it’s the contagious energy effort enthusiasm the fact that this dude is playing for his basketball life every time he takes the floor and that kind of stuff is just that’s what it maybe he could have a role with this team starting but I think that’s short-lived, you know, in in the long term. You know, I I think you view him more as obviously just a a rotational piece, but if he can be a solid, reliable in the playoffs, part of your top eight, a guy that can come in and just shift the energy of a game, be a stalwart defensively, fill out the box score, the occasional steal, block, offensive rebound, whatever it is, and again, chip in some assists, some points, whatever it is from time to time. I don’t need him to average X and X, you know what I mean? Just come in and hash, you know, impact Allah Marcus Smart, if you will. Like, that to me is the dream, especially at the just by NBA standards, joke of a contract that this team has him on right now, this year and next year. It’s incredible. And you know this just it feels like and I know he hasn’t been as involved the last couple of games as he was during that starting run but you know I’ve made the comparison here and elsewhere a couple of times to Derek White and it’s not a totally fair comparison because I don’t believe May not is going to grow into what White has become and be this you know bonafide starting fringe allstar alldefensive team kind of guy blue guy. Yeah. Yeah. But where I will make the comparison is, you know, I think people and we we’ve talked about it enough here, so like our listeners know this, but when the Celtics went out and acquired Derek White, that was, you know, he he was sort of similar in that not a lot of people knew him. Obviously, if you were a Spurs fan, you knew him and you knew how he could, you know, be good. But he was more well known than my not, don’t get me wrong, but he wasn’t a guy that, you know, I don’t think e people could have fathomemed coming into Boston and growing into what he has become. He was a diamond in the rough kind of acquisition for Brad Stevenson Company. And it feels like in a similar vein my not can be another one of those guys which is exactly what the Celtics had to go out and acquire this year by luck purpose whatever it is simply because of going full circle with what you talked about earlier with the aprons where they are financially. You need some of those lower paid guys to fill out your rotation that are serviceable, more than serviceable, can come in and play and be competitive and not just eat a roster spot. I also just like that it seems that he loves the city of Boston so far. Maybe it’s just because he’s getting opportunity. He’s embracing it for sure. Yeah, the games have been entertaining. You know, he’s he’s at least, you know, playing in front of a nice capacity crowd. It’s not like he’s playing in front of like nobody. The crowd’s into it. You know, he provides an energy. So people I mean I Abby, you must feel this in the arena that, you know, he gets on the floor and makes a big play. Like it does bring a different type of juice from the crowd. People are reacting well. So it seems like he’s enjoy that that that’s the thing that at the end of the day like I like guys that like to be in Boston representing the Boston Celtics. Like that to me is a big deal. So, what do you I don’t know if it was you or if it was Caleb Burton and after the game I had a conversation with him where he’s like and the first thing he’s like I love being here. I just just I love being in this in this arena. I love playing for this team. I’m like this is this is how you get guys people on your side. You just love just talking about how much you love being here because we also clearly love being here. We might be miserable sometimes. We also love being here. So, I that’s a big deal for me personally. I don’t know about you, Abby. They have fans in Minnesota that I just they weren’t all cheering for him at that time. Yeah. Well, I think and I I can’t speak to it. I mean, you like you used to cover the Blazers, so you can certainly speak to Portland, but you’ve traveled the NBA, so maybe you can speak to some of the other cities as well. I feel like one thing that is very true about Boston sports fans across the board. What we’re just talking about basketball, but I think this is true of every sport in this city. We love our role players. We love our, you know, less heralded guys. Um, I don’t know if it’s the kind of bluecollar workmanlike nature of the city, uh, or or how however you want to determine it, but that does feel and it exists certainly in some spots in the NBA, but I don’t think that’s a universal thing to where every city loves its role, guys. Like, you think the Lakers fans who barely care about the team to begin with give a crap about anyone not named LeBron, Luca, maybe Reeves. You know what I mean? They like Austin Reeves a lot. Yeah. So like and they’re getting the Marcus Smart experience now, right? But you got to really, you know, filter it down, don’t you think? And so I don’t know how how unique to that is you, you know, in your mind, how unique is that in terms of Boston’s love for for the May not hell for for the Scallabrinis of the world, not to, you know, bring your coworker into this. I will say Scall is as famous in Chicago as he ever was here. So whenever we walk the streets of Chicago, people are like, “Scral interesting.” Um, so I can’t speak to what other genes are, but I agree with you. And I think that it does have something to do with the lore of the sixth man and the value that that has always been to this franchise. Yeah. And um I agree with you that it is those guys that they are really important to everything that is going on with the team. Whether it’s Blake Griffin who came in and kept that locker room light and lively even though he was playing intermittently throughout that entire season. Um it was a crazy season. Yes. Luke Cornet. Absolutely. Even uh Sam Hower for these years coming into this. He’s been just a steady, consistent guy who you just kind of just that hoham guy from Wisconsin talking about cheese and taking care of his family and he’s just a great guy and and you want to see those guys succeed on the floor and they genuinely love Boston, feel the responsibility of wearing green and go out and embody that every night. And so I think that that is something that it there is value and it is really important and I think it’s why we care so much about the stay group because as Boston fans are awesome and actually know the game and know how important those guys can be night in and night out and it can and that is Joe’s message and what he tries to stress is that every single one of these guys from 1 to 17 there could be a night this season and I think that he says this all the time but this year it’s especially true. There could be a night this season where it is you. You are the one who impacts whether we win or lose a game. And so we need you to be ready and we need you to be at your best no matter what. Does Sam Hower walk around talking about cheese? He talks about cheese a lot. Yeah. Wisconsin cheese. You know the cheese heads. Sure. No, I’ve got one 20 feet away from me. I’ve got a cheese head. Ironically purchased at the Mall of America in Minnesota, not in Wisconsin, but I they had a Green Bay kind of close area store in there. Yeah. So, bought one. I know Patriots fans may not like it that he wears his Green Bay Packers jerseys in to the arena all the time, but you know, at least he’s authentic, being true to himself. Well, look, I mean, nobody owns St. Louis like Jason Tatum. So, we just need to kind of get over those things. I think, believe it or not, until St. Louis gets an NBA team and they steal him away, that can be a problem. Well, that Yeah, that let that go. We don’t need that. Yeah. Yeah. No, not all of these guys who are effectively transplants to our city fall in love with all of our teams. Believe it or not, everybody, nice as that would be. Well, that’s going to make the AJ Deans thing a lot easier when he just a just appears in the Celtics uniform at some point. So then where do you guys fall on this uh priorities question, Evan in terms of like playing Saturday on the floor at TD Garden? It’s true. I think this is fantastic. I think this is so great for like I love this little the discussions around Cooper Flag, a Celtics fan. He’s from Maine. He like watched Larry Bird tape when he was younger. I’m like, “Yes, feed feed me more of this stuff.” Uh I love that Devance is from Brockton and and it’s coming back to the Garden to play. I think it’s a little weird. I think it’s very weird and unusual, but I think it’s kind of cool. Yukon, so I think that counts. That’s true. But it’s like I I think it’s I think it’s gonna be a really cool moment. I think it’s gonna be What’s the weird part? That BYU is gonna play a basically a home game in TD Garden basically. Gotcha. You don’t find that weird? Yeah. I mean that’s Sure. That’s that’s different, but obviously Yeah. I mean speaks to the Oh, I wonder if Danny’s going to come back. He did not come back for the Utah game. Maybe Danny will come back for BYU at Garden. I’m kidding. I don’t think he is. I just think that’s bizarre that this is could be in the running for him. Well, that’s true. It’s just it’s going to be a huge huge thing. It’s It’ll be It’ll be way bigger than I am probably even giving it credit for right now just because like you ever go to a Hoopal Classic, Kaufman? I have not gone to it. No. Not at the Hall of Fame. Okay. No. So, I would take that because the energy at that particular event is nuts. Really? It’s Yeah, especially when like a Zion or uh like a like a Jabari Parker like when there’s a really big It’s hard to put Jabari Parker in. I just picked the other Duke guy. But the idea being there’s a lot of energy in that building and if it’s someone like really really special then it’s like it’s getting a credential was like almost impossible for that event like with certain guys. I think it’s gonna be like on the game at TD Garden. It’s through the Hall of It’s a Hall of Fame series game. Yeah. So, I think it’s gonna have that sort of feel to it, but like instead of a very small, it’s going to be in an NBA scale. I think it’s going to be super cool and really a really only a few particular places could like put something like this together. Obviously, like MSG could have a similar feel. Like if you ever go to a Big East tournament game back in the day, like it was like always magical. Or like maybe LA could figure this out or Chicago. Like there’s only a couple places in America where you could have this happen. I think this is going to be super cool. But again, super super super weird, but I’m going to embrace it. I’m going to embrace all the conspiracy theories, all of it. I I will just So, it’s this is the beauty of having a team that’s not competing for a title. we can focus on so many other weird storylines just like well to to that end Abby I mean you haven’t been on with us in a year obviously and I will tell you in the last uh few months or so a lot of conversation on this podcast and elsewhere and certainly on your network there at NBC Sports Boston has you know focused around the what’s in the best interest of the organization this year you know to to get yourselves in the best position to chase Banner 19 come the fall with a healthy Jason Tatum we don’t And like Evan and I have have been believers for a little while now that Tatum is going to play this year. Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. We’ll see how that plays out. But do you think I know the organization Well, I don’t know what the organization wants. I know what the organization would tell you it wants, which is obviously go out, be competitive, you know, fight to win. There’s no tanking any of that. And I don’t believe anybody out there on the floor or on the coaching staff or any There’s no tanking. Nobody’s throwing away games or anything, but there’s strategic moves that could be made that send you in that direction. Prolonged absences for guys that are a little tweaked. Maybe they sit out a little longer than they otherwise would simply because you’re not as concerned with winning games. Do you think this franchise in its best interests behind closed doors truth serum for Brad and Xarn and all of these guys want to be in the middle of the Eastern Conference in a playoff spot this year and see what they can do or want to have a top five, top seven lottery pick? Uh, no. I think True Serum, they want to go as far as they can and play as well as they can and win as many games as possible. I I wholeheartedly believe that number one, there is a new ownership group and there’s no way that that new ownership group wants to come in and in their first year be the ones who are actively tanking. Number two, I think that as they say, you know, don’t listen to what they say, follow what they do. And to me, Jaylen Brown playing on that hamstring every single night. And while Joe Mazula says told us today that he’s 100% healthy, but if the team had any sort of aspirations of possibly playing on the fence and trying to do both ways of that, win every night, but also see if maybe we do creep into the lottery. I think you could have made an argument to hold Jaylen out some of those games. Um, and I don’t think that they would have selected the players that they did in the offseason if they were going to try to do that. So, no, I I think that this team wants to get all of these guys as much experience as they can and see where that puts them. And then the hope is you bring Jason Tatum back fully healthy next season and you’re a championship contender again. I mean, look at what they found in Nim Kada, who has to me legitimately become a starting center in the NBA, has taken the hard coaching from Joe, continues to do that, and has shown marked market improvement. I mean, from game to game, season to season, monthtomonth, and so he has proven to be a legitimate big in this league, regardless of what they end up doing. if he does end up coming off the bench, if they get another big who’s a starter, what if Al Horford comes back again and then Nimi can start and play the bulk of those minutes and we just bring Al off the bench every once in a while. Um, I think that development is is the priority. Getting these guys as good as they can, winning as many games as possible to me is is the the ultimate goal and and truthfully, authentically is what the Celtics are trying to do this season. Well, sorry, AJ. so much for the homecoming. It’s all right. But like, think about it. That’s not to say that they couldn’t. I mean, if Jaylen sustains an actual injury and some of these guys go down, I mean, the the Mavericks were in the playin tournament last year and got the number one overall pick. I do think there is some aggressive tanking going on throughout the league that the Celtics maybe have already won too many games to actually be competitive in that six and seven in that goal. You’ve done too much winning. But as we’ve seen, purposely tanking doesn’t always guarantee you anything. I mean, Philly and and even when you do those young guys coming in, it takes a while for them to develop. Cooper Flag has has been great and shown flashes, but he’s not impacting winning with the Dallas Mavericks right now. And even though he’s doing it, he has to do it all himself. I understand that. But um like Jason and Jaylen are just are in their primes now. And this is Jaylen’s 10th year in the league. So it’s it’s all fun to talk about tanking. Yay. Let’s see what happens. It’s enjoy the enjoy the journey of losing, but embrace the journey of losing. But like those young players, no matter how talented they are, it takes time to develop and become an impactful NBA player unless you’re bringing them on to an already championship level team. Why do I get and enjoy the journey of losing bumper sticker? That’s get excited. That’s what we need. Yeah. Embrace the process. You embracing the process, F. uh always there is no this is the pro the process is to win. Yeah. The process is Yeah. It is it’s just to compete and I think they’re doing that. I mean again it’s not like they’re Philly rolling out what they were rolling out some of those lean years you know uh like uh this is a team that tries and cares and does all that stuff. And usually the basketball gods reward you with something in in return for that. Like you know it’s not it’s not like they’re gonna they’re going to roll over and die here. No, they’re going to play. They’re going to play really hard and they’ll probably get someone that fits their ethos, whether it’s at pick number five or pick number 16. Like, it’s just probably going to work out like in, you know, I cough, I’ve been sending you every couple of days or a couple of weeks another guy that I like in the draft class. So, just just, you know, keep checking those out. They’re not going to be the the the uh the the the Nicholas, the kid from uh Virginia Tech who’s their like point guard, shooting guard, point forward guy who’s 69 and does a bunch of fun stuff. Like that could be a fun guy to have. He’s not going top five. Like he’s not going to be is supposed to be historically deep, right? So yeah, a lot of people say like one one through seven, eight, you know, you you feel pretty good. six or seven day and and like look if they’re bad they end up in the top, right? Sorry, Evan. No, you’re fine. You’re fine. Get ready for some win. And I know they lost outright as a double- digit favorite against Utah, but guess what? You just beat the tar out of Memphis. Curb stomp that team rightfully so. They stink. Now you got the six straight losses Clippers coming into town who are another dumpster fire that you should win on Sunday. Then you have a home and home with the one and 10 Nets who suck like you read about. That should be four wins in a row. And then you have Orlando. All right. Orlando’s going to be tough. So I think right here, get ready. Celtics are about to be above 500. Ev, stack some wins. Stack some wins. I just keep going back to suck what you like you read about. Like that’s like that a common saying. Yeah. I don’t know. That’s that’s right next to enjoy the the the journey of losing. That’s the next bumper sticker next to that is terrible like you read about. I don’t I feel like on a t-shirt actually. Oh no. I shouldn’t have said it. Someone’s gonna clip that out. No. No. Harrison, clip that out. Oh, why did I use the words out loud? Oh, that’s good. That’s good. Harrison, clip the six sevens. Yeah, just only clip the six sevens. Only clip the six sevens. That’s it. How many times can we get 67 into a podcast after it’s already left popular culture? That has to be at least 17. But that speaks to you and I both being, you know, parents of young children that, you know, we don’t we don’t get hipped to something till it’s over. Still in our houses. Yeah. Good stuff. Well, thank you for having me, guys. Nice to see you. Let’s do it again next year. Let’s do it again this season. Let’s Let’s be bold. I don’t know. I don’t Let’s not go crazy. Yeah. It’s already November, guys. I don’t know exactly. How much time do we really have left? Yeah. Oh, too much, not enough all all at once. All right. Well, for Abby Chin, NBC Sports Boston on Twitter, TVY for And yeah, I still call it Twitter because I am an old for Adam Valente, Adam Kaufman. Thank you so much for watching. Again, check out the CLNS all access page for Celtics content. Lots of great C’s content available to you across many podcasts all across the network in general and of course the audio version wherever you get your podcast as well. We will be back with you after the Celtics. Uh let’s see again uh let’s the next so Friday. Yeah, it could be Saturday next week. It it could be at We might be talking about the nine and seven Celtics next time we get together. Let’s hope. Sorry, AJ. All right. Bye-bye. Thanks. [Music]

Abby Chin is a sideline reporter and a studio host for NBC Sports Boston. Abby joins the show to discuss Jaylen Brown handling the pressure, the young role players finding a way, and why the Celtics are absolutely not tanking. X: @tvabby

Celtics Beat is Powered by 

💰 Prize Picks – https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS
📲Sign up at http://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS & Download the app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup!

Subscribe to CLNS’ Celtics 🍀 All Access Here:
🔴 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmp3kivpOg3lzoJC7yV7VjQ?sub_confirmations=1 🔴

***************************************************

CLNS Media is Powered by:

💰 Prize Picks – Sign up at http:// prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/CLNS use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup!

Join Our Discord Server: https://clnsmedia.com/discord

The CLNS Media Network is the leading provider for video/audio content. CLNS is a fully credentialed member of the media with access to all NFL/NBA/NHL/MLB teams & venues.
———————————————————————————

CLNS’ rebuilt their YouTube community in less than 12 months, during a pandemic that attacked sports. Wondering how? Find out here (and support our channel) – https://www.tubebuddy.com/clnsmedia

Visit the Official Home of CLNS Sports Coverage – https://clnsmedia.com

Twitter – https://twitter.com/CLNSMedia
Celtics – https://twitter.com/celticsclns
Patriots – https://twitter.com/patriotsclns
Bruins – https://twitter.com/bruinsclns
Red Sox – https://twitter.com/redsoxclns
Non-Sports – https://twitter.com/northstation
Facebook – http://facebook.com/clnsmedia
INSTA – http://Instagram.com/clnsmedia
INSTA Celtics – http://Instagram.com/celticsclns
INSTA History – http://Instagram.com/nbahistoryclns