WEBVTT - Celtics Win Reaction, Historical Perspective and Next Season Predictions 0:00:05.640 --> 0:00:09.080 Welcoming into NBA Pulster production of iHeartRadio in the NBA. 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:11.720 I'm Sir Kustak, NBA analyst for the Yes Network, and 0:00:11.800 --> 0:00:17.639 today is Tuesday, June eighteenth. From our extraordinary core group 0:00:17.640 --> 0:00:20.040 of NBA journalists are joined now by NBA dot Com 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:24.639 senior writer Michael C. Rights and Michael, We've got a 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:29.720 NBA champion. This season has come to a close in 0:00:29.760 --> 0:00:32.640 some capacity as the Boston Celtics, the best team in 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:35.040 the NBA throughout the course of the regular season, sixty 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:40.000 four wins, essentially rolled through the playoffs, sixteen and three record, 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:45.360 and they finally have been crowned as champs after what 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:48.680 they put together. You look at this core, it's really 0:00:48.720 --> 0:00:50.879 a celebration of a true team. We've talked a lot 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:55.160 about Jason Tatum, about Jalen Brown. Jalen Brown the Finals 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:58.560 MVP after being named the Eastern Conference Finals MVP, Joe 0:00:58.560 --> 0:01:03.520 Missoula turning thirty six, only thirty six in two weeks 0:01:04.000 --> 0:01:06.840 in his second year. This is a Celtics team that 0:01:07.040 --> 0:01:10.720 went to the Eastern Conference Finals in five of the 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.399 last seven years, that included a trip to the finals 0:01:13.440 --> 0:01:18.040 just two seasons ago. But banner number eighteen. Banner number eighteen, 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:23.680 passing the Lakers. We now have six straight champions without 0:01:23.720 --> 0:01:26.480 a repeat. There was a lot to dig into. I 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:30.480 think you saw the celebration. You saw not only the 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:34.399 excitement but also seeming a relief out of a lot 0:01:34.440 --> 0:01:37.199 of these players, in particular a player like Jason Tatum, 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:39.560 who we've looked at a bunch, but as I mentioned, 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.880 it was everyone true holiday tremendous in this series. Can't 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:46.360 say enough about Derek White. Christaps porzingis in and out 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:48.320 of the lineup throughout the course of this postseason, but 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:52.760 you felt his impact. The list goes on. What was 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:58.240 your biggest takeaway from the Celtics finally winning this title. 0:01:59.280 --> 0:02:03.640 I would say that for the Superstars it was sort 0:02:03.680 --> 0:02:08.160 of their like their bachoration, their final there to the 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:13.519 point where they're finally like, okay, we've we've silenced all 0:02:13.560 --> 0:02:17.440 the critics, We've won a championship. And as Jason Tatum said, 0:02:18.000 --> 0:02:20.600 which y'all gonna say now, you know, I go back 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.440 to two years ago watching that series against the Warriors, 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:30.480 and if you remember, the Warriors won won the championship 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.800 on their home court, and so to go from that 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.480 disappointment two years ago and then to go to this 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:39.560 what we saw last night. I don't think I've ever 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:42.800 seen that much confetti and stuff flying out of the 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:46.640 air in any game. It was crazy, but it was 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.720 just amazing to finally see them sort of get that 0:02:49.840 --> 0:02:53.160 off their backs. And you know, because it wasn't that 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:55.800 long ago when people were saying, well they should go 0:02:55.840 --> 0:02:58.160 ahead and separate Jason Tatum and Jaln Brown. 0:02:58.600 --> 0:03:00.000 You know, see what trade one of them? 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:03.200 Long stretch of time. Yeah, for a long stretch of time. 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:05.480 And so it was so it was actually fun for 0:03:05.560 --> 0:03:08.800 me to see that because those guys have been through 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:12.720 so much together and people just forget that. You know, 0:03:13.560 --> 0:03:17.560 Jason Tatum is twenty six years old. Twenty six, He's 0:03:17.560 --> 0:03:20.399 been to all those conference finals. He's got a championship now, 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:24.040 you know, Luka Doncicch I think is twenty five. So 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:27.080 you know, he's accomplished quite a bit in his career 0:03:27.120 --> 0:03:30.360 and he finally got the hardware to show for it. 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:32.760 You know, he was talking about how you play all 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.160 this basketball, especially when you make it as far in 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:37.720 the finals as the Celtics over these last few years, 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:40.840 and he's like, you play all this basketball and then 0:03:40.880 --> 0:03:42.440 at the end of it, you have nothing to show 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:44.920 for it. Well, finally he does, so I was actually 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:45.640 happy to see it. 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:50.119 Yeah, we had mentioned about what more can you say? 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.560 Probably we're going to say, Okay, what's next? How many 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:54.680 more of these are you gonna win? I wish I 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:58.400 will ask you about the Boston Celtics getting there, But 0:03:58.560 --> 0:04:00.800 you said two years ago lose, and so the Warriors 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:02.800 on their home court. You look at last year losing 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.920 Game seven on their home court to the Miami Heat. 0:04:06.560 --> 0:04:09.320 So there's been and there's been many iterations. You can't 0:04:09.400 --> 0:04:12.280 talk about this title without also talking about Brad Stevens 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:16.480 and just how he constructed this roster, what they put together. 0:04:16.600 --> 0:04:19.919 You go back to mention Danny Ainge as well, you 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:22.320 go back to Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown. Those are the 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.840 Brooklyn Nets. Pick from the Kevin Garnette, Kevin Garnett Paul 0:04:25.880 --> 0:04:29.400 Pierce trade way back when there's been a lot of 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:31.560 ups and downs for this group. I mentioned how they 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:34.640 achieved that success early, and I think maybe that's why 0:04:34.680 --> 0:04:36.919 some of the expectations were put on them, given the 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:39.839 fact they had been to the Eastern Conference finals. So 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.800 many times there was expectations once they had made it 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:49.200 to the finals. Jason Tatum twenty six, Jalen Brown twenty seven. 0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.680 What do you make of There's obviously been a lot 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:55.320 of talk about those two, the tandem that they created, 0:04:55.400 --> 0:04:58.480 how it took evolution and growth to kind of figure 0:04:58.480 --> 0:05:01.159 out the best way not only to to play together 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:04.360 on the floor, but I think too just the differences 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:07.920 in their personality. What do you make of Jalen Brown 0:05:08.200 --> 0:05:10.120 winning the MVP of the Finals. 0:05:10.440 --> 0:05:14.160 I was thrilled for him, just absolutely thrilled for him, 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.880 because Jalen is sort of He's a really deep guy 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:21.320 who you know, sort of as much as he loves 0:05:21.360 --> 0:05:24.120 the sport of basketball, you know, he sort of used 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:27.839 it as a platform to something larger, and so he 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:31.680 was on the ultimate stage last night, and so you know, 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.240 I think, you know, going back to that two years ago, 0:05:34.279 --> 0:05:37.599 I mean, he shot thirty one point eight percent over 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.599 the last three games of the finals. He turned it 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:43.440 over ten times in those last two games. So to 0:05:43.480 --> 0:05:46.599 be able to come back from that and perform the 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:49.440 way he did this year in the playoffs, I mean, 0:05:50.080 --> 0:05:53.039 even if you go back to last night, he was 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:55.760 coming off a career low in scoring. He only had 0:05:55.800 --> 0:05:58.400 fifteen points. Now, he didn't play a ton because Dallas 0:05:58.440 --> 0:06:01.080 just mopped the floor with him in Game four. But 0:06:01.240 --> 0:06:04.800 you know, his story is sort of one of just resilience, 0:06:04.880 --> 0:06:09.920 Like he keeps bouncing back and he's learned every time 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.039 from every setback, he's figured out something else. You remember 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.560 two years ago they were saying he was a right 0:06:15.560 --> 0:06:17.960 hand dominant guy. He can only go to his right, 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:20.000 and then we see it at the All Star Game, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:22.159 you know, and the All Star festivity's playing around so 0:06:22.200 --> 0:06:25.600 and everybody he can go left, and so it's just it. 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:27.120 It's the same thing with Jason Tatum. 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:30.240 I heard you DONNISASLM talking about it last night that 0:06:30.320 --> 0:06:31.920 you know, he was talking about like the heat knocking 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:33.720 at the Celtics out and he's like, you know, every 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.560 time you came back, you had something new in your arsenal, 0:06:37.680 --> 0:06:40.160 you came back better. And that's what they kept doing 0:06:40.200 --> 0:06:42.400 over a period of years and years and years. So 0:06:42.880 --> 0:06:47.039 for Jalen Brown to win that MVP, it was great. 0:06:47.120 --> 0:06:49.120 But and the funny thing about it was, you know, 0:06:49.240 --> 0:06:51.320 last night, I think he was what seven of twenty 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:54.760 three twenty one points, So it wasn't like an MVP performance, 0:06:55.320 --> 0:06:59.120 but him winning the award was about the way he 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.120 performed all finals, you know, and he did it on 0:07:02.320 --> 0:07:05.880 both both ends of the floor offensively and defensively. He 0:07:05.920 --> 0:07:09.320 gave Luca Dodge y'all kins problems last night, and so 0:07:10.120 --> 0:07:13.280 just to see him do that and leadership, this team 0:07:13.400 --> 0:07:18.560 is built to be right there in the mix for 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:22.320 a championship for the next five six years. The only 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:25.080 guy that we were really thinking about, like maybe it's 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:27.280 not time for him to hang it up, but maybe 0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:30.520 he will is Al Horford and got to be happy 0:07:30.520 --> 0:07:30.880 for him. 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:33.440 I mean, the guy was with seventeen. 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.800 League years in the league and only missed the playoffs twice, 0:07:36.920 --> 0:07:38.880 and so for him to finally get over the hump 0:07:38.880 --> 0:07:41.280 and win that championship thirty eight years old, I was 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:43.560 happy for him. It was great to see him celebrating 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:44.240 with his family. 0:07:44.920 --> 0:07:47.760 Excellent mention. Yeah, I forgot to say Al Horford and 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:51.840 just what he meant to see his opportunity to win 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:57.600 a title. You said about Brown and just the totality 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:01.600 of his performance. Jason Tatum did lead the team throughout 0:08:01.600 --> 0:08:04.880 the course of the finals in points, in assists, and rebounds, 0:08:04.880 --> 0:08:07.280 doing at both ends. So again, I think there's just 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:09.240 a lot of things you look at with this team, 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:11.480 which continues to circle back. Even at the beginning of 0:08:11.480 --> 0:08:13.520 this game, it was Drew Holliday that kind of set 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:16.680 the tone. The Celtics weren't hitting shots. Yeah he hit 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.440 shots early. Yeah, we remember what he was able to 0:08:19.480 --> 0:08:24.360 do in Game one. So there's there's, of course a 0:08:24.360 --> 0:08:28.560 lot of contributions. And that goes back to the historical 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.560 perspective of this team. Where this team ranks. I said 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:35.880 it early on sixty four wins this season. They went 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:38.880 through the playoffs sixteen and three. Throughout the course of 0:08:38.920 --> 0:08:41.640 the regular season, they had a plus a level of 0:08:41.840 --> 0:08:45.040 plus eleven point of differential plus eight throughout the course 0:08:45.080 --> 0:08:50.160 of the postseason. They were dominant histories historically, And say 0:08:50.240 --> 0:08:52.440 what you want, and then we all have I had 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:57.080 about the teams that they played missing key players. So 0:08:57.120 --> 0:09:00.680 they play a Miami team that is without Jimmy Butler, 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:05.040 they play a Cleveland team without Donovan Mitchell, Tyres Halliburn 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.400 missing some time for Indigain. There were certain stretches throughout 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:13.160 the course of this However, where would you rank this 0:09:13.360 --> 0:09:17.920 Boston Celtics team historically some of the great old time 0:09:18.000 --> 0:09:19.720 great teams that have won titles. 0:09:19.760 --> 0:09:22.439 Oh that's tough. Are we talking about just Celtics teams 0:09:22.520 --> 0:09:23.560 or all of them? No? 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:24.240 All of them? 0:09:24.280 --> 0:09:27.280 Okay, because of Celtics, that's even hard. I don't know. 0:09:28.400 --> 0:09:31.440 I don't know, but I will say that, like, like 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.160 you mentioned that they were historically dominant, and I mean 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.120 during the regular season, and it was just like the 0:09:37.200 --> 0:09:41.280 Celtics were sort of an afterthought in a way, because 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:44.520 it was like they just went about their business beating 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.360 everybody up, and nobody really talked about them. 0:09:47.400 --> 0:09:47.560 You know. 0:09:47.600 --> 0:09:51.360 Everybody was like talking about teams like Philadelphia in the 0:09:51.400 --> 0:09:55.280 East and you know, just in the Knicks because everybody 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:59.040 was happy that the Knicks were finally good again Milwaukee 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.480 because of everything it went on with the coaches and 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:03.840 Dame coming in there and all that stuff. But it 0:10:03.880 --> 0:10:06.120 was like the Celtics just kind of quietly went about 0:10:06.120 --> 0:10:09.400 their way beating people and nobody saw them coming until 0:10:09.720 --> 0:10:10.360 they were there. 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.800 You know. So I don't know how. 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:17.480 I don't know how to frame them historically, because let's 0:10:17.520 --> 0:10:21.960 let's be honest here, this finals just the way it felt, 0:10:22.000 --> 0:10:24.679 like you mentioned they were playing all these teams that 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:29.640 were missing their best player for different stretches, and so 0:10:30.080 --> 0:10:33.560 it like, I'll be honest, coming into this series, I 0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:36.319 thought the Celtics really hadn't been tested in the playoffs, 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.080 and so I thought that I actually picked the Mavericks 0:10:39.080 --> 0:10:42.480 to win because the Mavericks had been tested. They played 0:10:42.480 --> 0:10:44.760 a good Oklahoma City team, they played they beat a 0:10:44.800 --> 0:10:49.640 good Minnesota team and the Clippers. So I just thought 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:53.199 Dallas was more battle tested. But point it was our 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:56.040 wrong because I didn't what I didn't think about, or 0:10:56.040 --> 0:10:59.040 what I underestimated, was the fact that over a course 0:10:59.080 --> 0:11:02.640 of year, the Boston Celtics had been battle tested, not 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:04.439 just this playoffs, you. 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:04.920 Know what I mean. 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:09.240 So I don't know exactly where to rank them, and 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.079 you know how that is comparison is what the thief 0:11:12.120 --> 0:11:13.600 of joy I want to I don't want to do 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:14.720 that to them. 0:11:15.880 --> 0:11:17.679 You said a lot of things there, and we'll get 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:19.760 to Dallas in a second, because I do think that's 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:21.400 the other component of it. And I did the same 0:11:21.440 --> 0:11:23.920 as you, and I think for a lot of us. 0:11:24.120 --> 0:11:26.720 You looked at Luca and you looked at Kyrie, and 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.000 you're like, oh, if they can keep this a close game, 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:31.400 down the stretch they got the two closers. Yeah, that's 0:11:31.440 --> 0:11:34.120 where I thought they would have the edge over Boston, 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:38.040 a Boston team that held Dallas under one hundred points 0:11:38.080 --> 0:11:43.960 all but that game four blowout loss. I think for 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:49.120 better or worse, And I don't like this viewpoint my 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:53.080 own or just how sometimes I think the historical place 0:11:53.160 --> 0:11:56.360 takes time to see, Okay, what happens next? And so 0:11:56.440 --> 0:11:58.200 are they able to run this back? Do they do 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:00.840 it again? You mentioned other teams some of the injuries. 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.880 And that's not to say that you win a title. 0:12:03.920 --> 0:12:05.920 You win a title, however, you're playing the team and 0:12:05.960 --> 0:12:09.800 the players and the rotation in front of you. But 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:15.280 I think you you kind of look, Okay, what happens next? 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.840 Can they keep this team together? And how many times 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:22.560 can you continue to put it together? Sometimes that where 0:12:22.679 --> 0:12:25.120 that's where we start to look back historically, start to 0:12:25.160 --> 0:12:27.640 look back and see where teams place. I think we've 0:12:27.640 --> 0:12:29.400 done that with the Warriors. You know you do that 0:12:29.440 --> 0:12:31.120 with a lot of teams. We were sitting here last 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:33.200 year saying no one was going to beat the Denver 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.920 Nuggets and how many titles would they reel off? And 0:12:35.920 --> 0:12:37.800 and this is a situation we're sitting in, so we're 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.160 going to get to We're going to get to next year. 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:52.040 Right after the break, Welcome back to NBA. Paul Sarakustak 0:12:52.120 --> 0:12:55.000 joined by the great Michael C. Wright. Okay, Michael, we 0:12:55.360 --> 0:12:58.160 mentioned it talking about next year because I also want 0:12:58.200 --> 0:13:01.960 to get your perspective on Dallas as well and just 0:13:02.000 --> 0:13:04.640 the way things look, what we saw out of Luca 0:13:04.760 --> 0:13:08.360 Kyrie and also really the counterparts that they were playing 0:13:08.360 --> 0:13:10.280 with throughout the course of the series. But I would 0:13:10.280 --> 0:13:12.520 say a lot of that had to do with Boston. 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.400 I mentioned the fact that Dallas did not hit one 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:19.760 hundred but for one game in that Game four at Dallas. 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.520 Give a lot of credit to Boston's defense. We could 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:25.520 talk so much about things offensively, but the door was 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:28.600 open at times because Boston wasn't always perfect offensively, not 0:13:28.600 --> 0:13:31.640 always hitting shots. But their defense is what held them down, 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:35.120 helped them to this title. It's about the team. It's 0:13:35.160 --> 0:13:37.840 about players like a Drew Holliday about and Derek White. 0:13:38.760 --> 0:13:41.680 But the question becomes, especially with the new CBA, how 0:13:41.720 --> 0:13:44.280 long can you keep this group together? What does that 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:48.560 look like? What is salary cap situation all of that, 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.680 What do you see as being next or at least 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:56.480 next year for the Celtics, And whether it's Julius Randall 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.600 sitting there on set with ESPN about it, he's not 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:02.680 He's not going to continue, you know, see kind of 0:14:02.720 --> 0:14:05.240 how things shake out, Joel Embiid having joined it, and 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:07.480 say if I was healthy, and all of those things 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.160 are factors. You look at a lot of the other 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:12.800 teams in the Eastern Conference. If Giannis and Dame spend 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:15.920 some more time together, will that acclamation process help them 0:14:15.960 --> 0:14:19.440 to look different? Uh? What is your take on what 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:21.800 things will look like for the Boston Celtics next year. 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:28.480 It's I think it's going to be just given like 0:14:28.840 --> 0:14:32.640 the health situation for these different teams. All these teams 0:14:32.680 --> 0:14:35.720 are going to be healthy again next year hopefully, and 0:14:35.800 --> 0:14:38.280 so it's not going to be easy for him. 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:39.040 I think that. 0:14:39.360 --> 0:14:43.400 You know, obviously Philly's a rival, uh, Joel Embiid, They're 0:14:43.400 --> 0:14:45.760 going to be better and they you know, they're going 0:14:45.840 --> 0:14:48.800 to do something this offseason to add to that team. 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:53.200 Tyrese Maxi, the guy's a rising star. So they're gonna 0:14:53.640 --> 0:14:55.520 they're going to be in the mix, you know, and 0:14:55.600 --> 0:14:57.920 you look at Milwaukee like you said, another year with 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:02.720 Dame and and be honest, they're gonna be better, especially 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:06.040 you know, with another year under Doc Rivers Cleveland. I 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.240 just don't know what they're gonna do right now, but 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:12.120 if they get Donovan Mitchell to re sign there, they're 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:14.480 gonna be right back there in the mix. So, you know, 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:19.440 the Indiana, like they gave Yea, they gave Boston trouble. 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:22.080 You know, it's funny to think about they gave them 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:26.440 trouble because they played so unconventionally that you know, as 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:29.760 good as Boston's defense is, you can't really set your 0:15:29.760 --> 0:15:32.160 defense up when all you're doing is running all game, 0:15:32.560 --> 0:15:35.960 and so you know, I think that they're only going 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:38.960 to sort of add to that style and make it 0:15:39.000 --> 0:15:43.160 even more hectic for teams to deal with. So Boston's 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.560 gonna have It's not gonna be easy for them. They're 0:15:45.560 --> 0:15:49.200 not just gonna magically appear back in the conference finals 0:15:49.280 --> 0:15:50.840 or the NBA Finals next year. 0:15:51.800 --> 0:15:53.440 It's gonna be a dogfight for them. 0:15:53.600 --> 0:15:58.000 But they are equipped, though to handle it, because like 0:15:58.040 --> 0:16:01.760 I said, they've got all this and all these big games, 0:16:02.160 --> 0:16:05.400 and they sort of have the ingredients, Like you know, 0:16:05.240 --> 0:16:08.680 you just look at those guards. I would argue that 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:13.520 those are the best best two way duo in the 0:16:13.600 --> 0:16:17.640 in the NBA right now. Derek White Drew Holliday super tough. 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:20.640 You saw Derek White fall on his face, and I'm 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:22.600 just like, ah, but I knew he was going to 0:16:22.640 --> 0:16:24.600 get up because I had him here, and yes, I 0:16:24.600 --> 0:16:26.520 had him here in San Antonio, so I know the kid. 0:16:27.240 --> 0:16:29.080 I knew he was going to get up. But then 0:16:29.120 --> 0:16:32.840 I saw his face, his teeth and everything. I was like, oh, 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:33.400 and did. 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.000 You see they had Jalen Brown miked up? He said, boy, 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:36.760 you's ugly. 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:42.600 Yeah, but that's that's the toughness of this group. And 0:16:42.680 --> 0:16:45.120 we saw that it manifest itself in a lot of 0:16:45.160 --> 0:16:47.080 different ways. And I do think to your point, once 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.840 you kind of get get that monkey off your back, 0:16:50.880 --> 0:16:52.520 for lack of a better way to describe it, in 0:16:52.680 --> 0:16:56.360 terms of how much scrutiny was around their failures of 0:16:56.600 --> 0:17:01.360 not winning, I'm curious to see how that release of 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:04.399 some pressure pressure that can now turn into motivation to 0:17:04.440 --> 0:17:08.280 get another may change on the side of Dallas. You 0:17:08.400 --> 0:17:11.280 said it early, so Luka Doncic. He's going to be 0:17:11.400 --> 0:17:15.560 entering his seventh year in the league. He's only twenty 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:20.040 five years old. Give credit to Dallas. I know the 0:17:20.040 --> 0:17:22.280 way things look throughout the course of this series, but 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:25.480 they were a five seed coming in, Michael, you said 0:17:25.520 --> 0:17:28.880 it multiple times, the fact that at the trade deadline 0:17:28.920 --> 0:17:32.119 they were a playing team. There was really nice moves 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:36.120 that were made in bringing in a handful of players 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:39.639 that were able to contribute. You saw Derek Lively and 0:17:39.720 --> 0:17:42.400 what he was able to do on the stage at 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:46.040 his age as a rookie. There's a lot of things 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:49.680 to be optimistic about one player, though that seemingly fell 0:17:49.760 --> 0:17:53.199 short of what you hoped he would do on the 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.879 stage having been a champion before. Was Kyrie Irving And 0:17:56.920 --> 0:18:01.480 obviously there was the backside of things with his time 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:03.760 in Boston and how that may have affected him in 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:06.280 some of those road games. But what do you think 0:18:06.359 --> 0:18:09.959 is next for Dallas. They just sign Jason Kidd to 0:18:10.040 --> 0:18:13.600 an extension, But but there's opportunity for movement on this roster. 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:16.040 What do you think is going to happen with this 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:17.280 MAVs team next year? 0:18:17.560 --> 0:18:21.679 Well, I think the Mavericks at the trade deadline, the 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.119 moves that they made, I think that showed them the 0:18:25.160 --> 0:18:28.320 way that they want to play like, Okay, this is 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:31.360 the style we want to play. Okay, so now it's 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:34.239 going to be about, Okay, how do we enhance that? 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:38.400 And so I could see them definitely running it back 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.280 with the same guys. Now they got to they got 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.719 to figure out a way to bring a couple guys 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:45.639 back though, like Derreck Jones Jr. 0:18:45.720 --> 0:18:48.240 I believe he is going to be a free agent, and. 0:18:49.680 --> 0:18:52.479 Like you could, you know, like you could sort of 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:56.280 like he's gonna he's gonna get paid outside of the Mavericks. 0:18:56.280 --> 0:18:57.760 So the MAVs are gonna have to figure out a 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:00.520 way to bring him back. But I think you can 0:19:00.600 --> 0:19:04.560 run it back with these guys. Derek Lively the second, 0:19:05.680 --> 0:19:09.040 he didn't look like a rookie until this series. Like 0:19:09.080 --> 0:19:12.959 throughout the whole playoffs, that kid was dominant, just running 0:19:13.000 --> 0:19:17.000 all over the floor, getting from corner to corner, defending shots, 0:19:17.640 --> 0:19:19.920 and all of a sudden, the Celtics made him look 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:24.200 like a rookie. But you saw him take and make 0:19:24.440 --> 0:19:27.560 his first career three pointer. I think in Game four 0:19:28.600 --> 0:19:31.639 that was his first three. And so he's going to 0:19:31.680 --> 0:19:34.199 work this offseason and get better and shooting threes, and 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:34.880 then you know, we. 0:19:34.880 --> 0:19:36.840 Talk about five out ball. 0:19:37.359 --> 0:19:41.000 Well, if you add that to the arsenal you got, 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:44.080 now you have that and the live thread, and then 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:47.359 you know, just the pressure that Kyrie Irving and lukadancis 0:19:47.880 --> 0:19:49.880 the pressure that they're gonna put on you to make 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:52.480 a decision. You know, Hey, if you come up on me, 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:54.600 I'm throwing a live If you stay back, I'm just 0:19:54.600 --> 0:19:58.520 gonna hit this floater. So they know how they want 0:19:58.520 --> 0:20:01.159 to play now, and so like I said, it's just 0:20:01.200 --> 0:20:04.960 about sort of adding in the pieces around them to 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:08.919 sort of enhance that style of play. And you know, 0:20:09.000 --> 0:20:11.240 it's fun to watch. It's really fun to watch. And 0:20:11.560 --> 0:20:14.959 you know, looking at Kyrie Irving, I think he is 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:18.360 just in the right head space because even though he 0:20:18.480 --> 0:20:21.600 wasn't successful, even though he struggled against the Boston Celtics, 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.760 you saw it all throughout the finals, it really didn't 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:28.800 affect him that negatively. Like he could he could sort 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:33.680 of take a bird's eye view of the situation and say, yeah, 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:37.400 you know, I'm struggling, but you know it's that's. 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:39.560 Just the Celtics. 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:42.119 I'm playing against a very good team here, and so 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:44.840 he could put it in proper perspective not get frustrated, 0:20:44.880 --> 0:20:46.560 not lash out at the media. He's in a great 0:20:46.600 --> 0:20:49.720 head space. So I see him and Luca only getting 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.280 closer as these next couple of years kind. 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:55.439 Of go on, yeah, you said that, And even like 0:20:55.520 --> 0:20:58.320 the fact you look at Derek Lively's twenty years old, 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:00.920 what Josh Green was it to do with twenty three 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:04.119 years old? How he's expanded his game, like him knocking 0:21:04.160 --> 0:21:05.800 down threes. I remember we came in the league and 0:21:05.800 --> 0:21:07.600 that was you know, that was a part that he 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:09.560 was still trying to work on and figure out how 0:21:10.000 --> 0:21:10.920 how to play that way. 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:11.200 PJ. 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:14.240 Washington just twenty five years old was the big pick 0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:17.120