Speaker 1: You're tuned into Heat Check with Triste Quick.
Speaker 2: On this episode of the Heat Check, it's another bonus
Speaker 2: episode people, You're welcome. We've got an interview with Brendan Glashan,
Speaker 2: who is the play by play man for the main Celtics,
Speaker 2: the G League team as well as the Connecticut Sun
Speaker 2: and works for ESPN, DraftKings and the Action Network on
Speaker 2: Green Dot Daily. Brendan joined me and my co host
Speaker 2: Ryan Horvaught on BETTYMGM tonight on a recent episode, and
Speaker 2: he actually gave his unfiltered thoughts on the Celtics, the Nets,
Speaker 2: the Timberwolves, and a ton of other teams. It is
Speaker 2: a great conversation. So Nick, do me a favor and
Speaker 2: drop that motherfucking beat.
Speaker 1: I don't think.
Speaker 2: Anyone expected, even myself, as a long, long, life, long
Speaker 2: fan of the Portland Trailblazers, that they would sit atop
Speaker 2: second in the West. What are you seeing from them?
Speaker 2: Do you think that this is sustainable? I saw on
Speaker 2: our commercials some people are already talking about Dame Willard
Speaker 2: for MVP, even though he's already missed time with an injury.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's pretty incredible what they've done with Dame out
Speaker 1: and they're eight and two against the spread this year,
Speaker 1: so they've been a great covering team this season as well.
Speaker 1: But I like what Portland did in the off season.
Speaker 1: Jeremy Grant, who I thought played some good minutes for
Speaker 1: the Detroit Pistons, who was still trying to kind of
Speaker 1: find himself. He's carved out a nice role in Portland.
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's sustainable, that's the million dollar
Speaker 1: question with this team. But when Damian Lillard is on
Speaker 1: and getting teammates involved, they've they've got enough knockdown shooters.
Speaker 1: Grant was five of eight from three the other night.
Speaker 1: I like Little's game off the bench. He made a
Speaker 1: couple of threes, So they've surrounded Dame with enough shooting
Speaker 1: that Phill hang in games, and they've played this underdog card.
Speaker 1: But it's encouraging for sure when he's not in the
Speaker 1: game that they can still utilize their wing players like
Speaker 1: I think Anthrony fantastic player, up and coming player in
Speaker 1: the league. He's only twenty three years old, so sure
Speaker 1: it's surprising. I don't know if there is surprising as
Speaker 1: Utah no, because I can't figure that team out. Holy crap.
Speaker 1: But yeah, this whole division out west is fascinating based
Speaker 1: on the start of the season.
Speaker 2: Since Brendan is a voice of the Celtics G League team,
Speaker 2: we thought we'd ask him about the job Danny Ainge
Speaker 2: is doing in Utah. He gave a fascinating answer. I
Speaker 2: also follow that question up with another one on the Wolves,
Speaker 2: a team that's intrinsically linked to the Utah Jazz. Let's
Speaker 2: listen in Yeah, I.
Speaker 1: Don't know, like again being based in New England, this
Speaker 1: has the feel at Danny Ainge has got his fingerprints
Speaker 1: now on this operation. It's got the feel of the
Speaker 1: Bridgie Celtics when it was Isaiah Thomas, Avery, Bradley, J. Crowder.
Speaker 1: I know Kelly Olynox on this roster too, he was
Speaker 1: on one of those Bridgie Celtics teams. But it's basically
Speaker 1: a collection of three star Baseball cards and these guys
Speaker 1: are reviving their draft stock, Like Lori Markinen is suddenly
Speaker 1: a hell of a player. Yeah, if this was the
Speaker 1: player Chicago drafted a few years ago. Twenty two points
Speaker 1: a game, nine rebounds. The shot volume is unlike anything
Speaker 1: he's ever had in his career, and maybe that's all
Speaker 1: it took. I've always liked Mike Conley's game, and Jordan
Speaker 1: Clarkson was their best player from last year's team. And
Speaker 1: I think Jordan Clarkson was a guy, by the way,
Speaker 1: in a bunch of trade rumors, someone who could have
Speaker 1: easily gone somewhere, they could have gotten the package for him,
Speaker 1: they decided to hold on to him. I mean, he's
Speaker 1: the guy. Clarkson's their guy, giving the pregame speech before
Speaker 1: opening night to the fans like it's gonna be a
Speaker 1: fun season. And it just feels like a lot of
Speaker 1: players speaks just to keep the fan base encouraged. But
Speaker 1: it is something here. But they share the ball too,
Speaker 1: which is why I think Utah is a good story.
Speaker 1: Their offensive rating was number one in the NBA last year.
Speaker 1: This year it's number three in the league, and their
Speaker 1: rosters pretty different. So if they continue to play high
Speaker 1: to mid level defense, their top eight in the league
Speaker 1: right now in defensive rating. Again, they feel like Portland,
Speaker 1: where where they're extremely feisty. They'll give teams trouble if
Speaker 1: you don't take them seriously. I'm assuming the numbers as
Speaker 1: it pertains to they're against the spread numbers will change
Speaker 1: drastically soon. I mean, they're covering the spread by eight
Speaker 1: point seven points, which is incredible. So we'll see what
Speaker 1: kind of adjustments that come their way. But again it's
Speaker 1: a group of underrated or not underrated, but guys that
Speaker 1: have been counted out and they've come together on it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt, especially Colin Sexton coming off the bench,
Speaker 2: like he was supposed to be one of the marquee
Speaker 2: guys for the Cavs and they didn't really want to
Speaker 2: pay him. And obviously getting Donovan Mitchell was huge, and
Speaker 2: so you have to give pieces away for that. Another
Speaker 2: team that gave a bunch of pieces away in the
Speaker 2: offseason to get a marquee star was the Minnesota Timberwolves
Speaker 2: to get Rudy Gobert. They gave up a ton of
Speaker 2: guys are now really benefiting from playing in Utah with
Speaker 2: another bunch of collection of players in the Donovan Mitchell
Speaker 2: trade as well. So you look at the Timberwolves, they're
Speaker 2: five and six, but more so Brendan, they're boring as hell, Like,
Speaker 2: they are horrible to watch. Perimeter defense has been atrocious,
Speaker 2: and even more so than that, lots of drama between
Speaker 2: Rudy Gobert. Yeah, they won't let him eat pop Eyes anymore.
Speaker 2: You've got some food shaming by Karl Anthony Towns. Like
Speaker 2: it kind of feels like to me, and I'd love
Speaker 2: to get your thoughts that things are already off the
Speaker 2: rails for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's kind of a weird. The minute that trade
Speaker 1: went down, when Gobert went to Minnesota, wasn't the hole
Speaker 1: I mean, you guys tell me, I mean, wasn't everyone
Speaker 1: like huh, like, like, how is this going to work?
Speaker 1: And seeing Karl Anthony Towns, who can't shoot the three
Speaker 1: camped out in the corner, it just feels said to
Speaker 1: feel right. It kind of reminds me it's not a
Speaker 1: great comparison because he's a little undersized in comparison to
Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns. But when the Sixers brought in Al
Speaker 1: Horford and you had the component of Embiid and Horford,
Speaker 1: it just it just didn't feel right, like spacing Wise
Speaker 1: and Tobias Harris at the three on that team, but
Speaker 1: with Utah their idea of this twin tower matchup. I'll
Speaker 1: be honest, I haven't watched a ton of Timberwolves games,
Speaker 1: and I'll tell you a game I did watch they
Speaker 1: played last week in Phoenix. No DeAndre Ayton, They're at Phoenix.
Speaker 1: It's a I think the first quarter line was a
Speaker 1: short number, and I'm like, Okay, Minnesota has no reason
Speaker 1: to not hanging this game. Eight and out. You have
Speaker 1: two guys inside who should dominate the game, and they
Speaker 1: could not have looked more disorganized in transition in the
Speaker 1: half court set Anthony Edwards. Maybe I don't know, maybe
Speaker 1: hustle has got to this kid's head because they can't
Speaker 1: seem to get on the same page. But even their
Speaker 1: finishing ability inside is not at the level that we
Speaker 1: expected when you have this good of an interior duo.
Speaker 1: They're shooting forty seven percent as a team this season.
Speaker 1: That's not terrible, but it's not as great as it
Speaker 1: should be when you have two high rim players inside
Speaker 1: and they're not making threes. So if you're not making
Speaker 1: threes but two guys inside that can space the floor
Speaker 1: keep you guessing congest the middle, it's not a great start.
Speaker 1: They should be in the mix though, by the end
Speaker 1: of the season if they get their defense right inside,
Speaker 1: but it just feels too cluttered. It just doesn't feel
Speaker 1: like the spacing has.
Speaker 2: Worked Finally, we ask him who he likes in the
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference and what teams are legitimately in trouble. Ten
Speaker 2: games into the.
Speaker 1: Season, Cleveland is legit man, Like, I think they've done
Speaker 1: a really nice job. I mean, it's a trade that's
Speaker 1: clearly so far worked out for both teams. We just
Speaker 1: spoke on Utah and what they've done without Donovan Mitchell,
Speaker 1: but Mitchell gives them a guy at the end who
Speaker 1: is far and away a go to shot maker and
Speaker 1: someone you have to account for in clutch situations. I
Speaker 1: really like Kevin love the way he's played off the bench,
Speaker 1: which as well this season, Molbley is turning himself into
Speaker 1: an All Star. I mean, I'm sorry, I can't help
Speaker 1: but watch this Cavs team and think, what were the
Speaker 1: Nets doing with this culture? Like Kris LeVert Jared Allen,
Speaker 1: Like the Nets had all these players and that's the difference.
Speaker 1: We could spend the whole segment on the Nets. I
Speaker 1: realized that. But I can't help, but I watched that
Speaker 1: Cavs team. I'm like, the Nets had such a nice
Speaker 1: mix there before they moved on from these guys. And
Speaker 1: Darius Garland is no joke of a player either eight
Speaker 1: and a half assists a game. I did him a
Speaker 1: lot of credit for being willing to give up the
Speaker 1: bal to Mitchell in those ISO spots at the end
Speaker 1: of games. Giannis is amazing usage rate is number two
Speaker 1: in the NBA behind Luca. Luca's doing James Harden like
Speaker 1: stuff in terms of his usage rate. I think the
Speaker 1: Jalen Brunson move has hurt Luca in terms of asking
Speaker 1: him to do more. Is that sustainable for eighty two games?
Speaker 1: I don't know. That's why I really like Luca as
Speaker 1: an MVT, but I don't know if Dallas is as
Speaker 1: good collectively as the team. But sticking on topic, in
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference, I think it's three teams right now.
Speaker 1: To me, it's Milwaukee, It's Cleveland, and I think Boston
Speaker 1: when they want to be invested defensively, which has yet
Speaker 1: to happen this season, the Malcolm Brogden edition has worked
Speaker 1: out perfectly. I think Brogden likes to hear himself talk
Speaker 1: quite a bit, and he was a great piece in Milwaukee,
Speaker 1: a hell of a player for the Pacers. But we
Speaker 1: saw the Pacers last year. They weren't trying to win
Speaker 1: many games and Brogden was just a stat stuffer, so
Speaker 1: what would he look like as a bench piece on
Speaker 1: a team with real expectations. He has so far said
Speaker 1: all the right things. He's come in and given them
Speaker 1: instant offense. He's led their second unit. As long as
Speaker 1: Marcus Smart keeps his head on straight and does not
Speaker 1: let his ego get the best of him, still quoting
Speaker 1: himself in the third person as the reigning defensive player
Speaker 1: of the Year, the Celtics will be fine. I am
Speaker 1: a little concerned. This is what concerns me a little
Speaker 1: bit about the Celtics. Milwaukee has proven even without Middleton,
Speaker 1: they can reinsert parts and move pieces around Giannis like
Speaker 1: Lebron for ten years with the Cavs in the Eastern Conference,
Speaker 1: he will make it work. As long as you are
Speaker 1: ready and capable to make shots. With the Celtics, Jason Tatum,
Speaker 1: I think has arrived. He has taken that next step.
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown has not played all that well in my opinion,
Speaker 1: up to his level. He had a nice game against
Speaker 1: the Knicks the other night on the second night of
Speaker 1: a back to back, but they need more out of
Speaker 1: Jaylen Brown to be their next star, and then of course,
Speaker 1: the elephant in the room on Celtics is they've got
Speaker 1: to get Robert Williams back because their interior depth is
Speaker 1: a huge issue.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Huge.
Speaker 2: It really is between the heat who are four and seven,
Speaker 2: the seventy six Ers that are five and six, and
Speaker 2: the Golden State Warriors which are four and seven. Who
Speaker 2: are you most worried about? And who are you least
Speaker 2: worried about?
Speaker 1: Good question. Wow, that is a tough one because I
Speaker 1: have thoughts on all three of these teams. I think Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: I'm going to leave Philly out on this one because
Speaker 1: I don't really know yet. With the Sixers because I
Speaker 1: think Maxi is a good enough young player. I like
Speaker 1: Philly's Yes, I think Philly's got some depth there that
Speaker 1: they can overcome this. I'm not worried about Golden State
Speaker 1: because they have enough championship pedigree as we all know.
Speaker 1: I still think the Jordan Pool Draybond green stuff it
Speaker 1: will sink underwater. It will get past them. I'm curious
Speaker 1: though about their motivation, like is Klay Thompson really back back?
Speaker 1: I don't know. I don't know if he ever will be,
Speaker 1: so their depth is a little concerning, But I just
Speaker 1: think they're too good and they can squeeze in at
Speaker 1: the end in the West to be a threat. No
Speaker 1: one will want to face them, so they're taking me
Speaker 1: the long game approach. I will say about Miami, and
Speaker 1: I think I heard you guys, I tuned into you
Speaker 1: guys earlier talking about this division. I think it's a
Speaker 1: great point. Maybe Miami looks at it like we really
Speaker 1: have to win fifty five to sixty games get the
Speaker 1: one seed. Like Boston took us the seven games last
Speaker 1: year in the Conference finals and we lost in our
Speaker 1: home floor in Game seven, and we beat the pants
Speaker 1: off them in Boston in one of those games during
Speaker 1: that series, Like do we really need home court? I
Speaker 1: get the NBA players like to go out in Miami,
Speaker 1: like that's the whole court advantage kind of thing. I suppoth,
Speaker 1: but that's really it. Like are their fans all that good? Sorry,
Speaker 1: Heat fans, if you're listening, Like, I don't think you're
Speaker 1: all that good. I just look, I don't know if
Speaker 1: their surrounding cast is all that good enough. I think
Speaker 1: they're good defensively, but I don't know if Jimmy Butler's
Speaker 1: got enough to carry that team again, because They felt
Speaker 1: very Jimmy Butler reliant in the playoffs last year, and
Speaker 1: that seems to be coming up to the level now.
Speaker 1: So I've got concerns. Their culture is great, That's why
Speaker 1: they're probably going to be better off than I say.
Speaker 1: I'm saying, but I don't know if their talent is
Speaker 1: going to be able to get them through.
Speaker 2: The whole two That's it for this episode, this bonus
Speaker 2: episode of The Heat Check. Check back tomorrow for an
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Speaker 2: find your podcast. Thank you to my co host Ryan Horvat,
Speaker 2: super producer Cameron Gray, Brendan glas Sheen for this interview,
Speaker 2: and of course my producer of this heat check of
Speaker 2: the Heat Check, Nick Berlanski. Thanks again for listening. We'll
Speaker 2: see you next time.