WEBVTT - Eastern Conference Legacy Teams Going In Different Directions

0:00:00.160 --> 0:00:08.800
<v Speaker 1>No, no, come home, Come home, come home.

0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:19.919
<v Speaker 2>On this episode of the Heat Check, it's a little

0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:22.159
<v Speaker 2>updates on the New York nixt I know it's a

0:00:22.200 --> 0:00:24.720
<v Speaker 2>back to back next sort of situation, but we have

0:00:24.840 --> 0:00:29.800
<v Speaker 2>new tea, new updates, and boy, they just keep keep

0:00:29.840 --> 0:00:32.600
<v Speaker 2>on keeping on with that whole uh giving up twenty

0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:36.479
<v Speaker 2>five point plus leads might be time to panic. We

0:00:36.600 --> 0:00:41.120
<v Speaker 2>also finally put a little respect on the Boston Celtics,

0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:45.760
<v Speaker 2>just in time for them to lose to the Detroit Pistons,

0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:50.239
<v Speaker 2>the worst team in the NBA. I'm kidding sort of,

0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:53.239
<v Speaker 2>you know, but on that note, drop.

0:00:53.040 --> 0:01:05.320
<v Speaker 1>That beat perfect right lay.

0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:14.160
<v Speaker 2>So, last episode we broke down the inexplicable decisions, well

0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:18.319
<v Speaker 2>decisions yes, by the New York Knicks to stand pat

0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:23.480
<v Speaker 2>at the trade deadline. No one knows why, no one.

0:01:23.920 --> 0:01:29.520
<v Speaker 2>Since then, shit has continued to go off the rails.

0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:33.399
<v Speaker 2>On Saturday, Knicks blow a twenty three point lead in

0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:38.360
<v Speaker 2>the second half to my Blazers getting outscored by thirty

0:01:38.440 --> 0:01:41.760
<v Speaker 2>five to eleven in the fourth quarter. We talked about

0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:46.640
<v Speaker 2>that on Monday, how it's possible to score just eleven

0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:49.680
<v Speaker 2>points in a quarter against one of the worst teams

0:01:49.720 --> 0:01:54.800
<v Speaker 2>in the NBA. Defensively is a mystery to me beyond me.

0:01:55.160 --> 0:02:00.280
<v Speaker 2>And then and then against the trash ass ok Homa

0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:04.840
<v Speaker 2>City Thunder, top bottom two, bottom two team in the league,

0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:09.000
<v Speaker 2>missing their two best players by the way in Shae Kilgris,

0:02:09.040 --> 0:02:12.760
<v Speaker 2>Alexander and Lou Dort completely out of the game. Uh,

0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:16.000
<v Speaker 2>they blew an eleven point second half lead and lost

0:02:16.040 --> 0:02:22.560
<v Speaker 2>in overtime to the again Oh Klahoma City Thunder with

0:02:22.680 --> 0:02:29.400
<v Speaker 2>no Shay and no Doort House way how I don't know.

0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:34.160
<v Speaker 2>And oh, yes, Tibbs tried to call a time out

0:02:34.560 --> 0:02:38.280
<v Speaker 2>late in the game and got teed up because he

0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:41.960
<v Speaker 2>pulled a Chris Webber did not have did not have

0:02:42.040 --> 0:02:46.240
<v Speaker 2>a timeout, which is a bit of a problem. It's

0:02:46.280 --> 0:02:50.320
<v Speaker 2>a Mike McCarthy situation here, folks, like, what are you doing,

0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.240
<v Speaker 2>my guy? And that was a bit of a problem

0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:57.280
<v Speaker 2>considering that was a tie game at the end of regulation.

0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:03.760
<v Speaker 2>And then last night they were up twenty eight points

0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.520
<v Speaker 2>against the Nets, Yeah, net twenty eight at the Crib

0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:14.520
<v Speaker 2>to the Brooklyn Nets, only to lose handily to a

0:03:14.600 --> 0:03:18.600
<v Speaker 2>team that did not have Kevin Durant, that did not

0:03:18.800 --> 0:03:22.720
<v Speaker 2>have Kyrie Irving, did not have Ben Simmons, did not

0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:28.480
<v Speaker 2>have of course, James Harden because he's been traded. Cam Thomas,

0:03:29.120 --> 0:03:34.800
<v Speaker 2>twenty seventh pick in the draft, went absolutely bananas, shooting

0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:41.000
<v Speaker 2>tween tween from thirty step back, no defense on Cam.

0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:47.040
<v Speaker 2>He had sixteen points in the fourth quarter alone. It

0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:53.920
<v Speaker 2>is officially a sweat, a panic at and within MSG

0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:59.320
<v Speaker 2>not only as the garden, as the umbrella, as the

0:03:59.840 --> 0:04:05.040
<v Speaker 2>corporate structure that owns the Knicks. This team is three

0:04:05.280 --> 0:04:11.200
<v Speaker 2>and thirteen in the last sixteen games, sinking, sinking down

0:04:11.560 --> 0:04:18.320
<v Speaker 2>the Eastern Conference standings. Everyone is struggling, from Evan Fournier, who,

0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.400
<v Speaker 2>like I've always been saying, shows up once every three games,

0:04:21.680 --> 0:04:26.320
<v Speaker 2>to Kemba Walker who's consistently in the doghouse, to Emmanuel Quickly, who,

0:04:26.320 --> 0:04:30.559
<v Speaker 2>over his past seventeen games is shooting just twenty six

0:04:30.600 --> 0:04:34.200
<v Speaker 2>point eight percent from the field and twenty three point

0:04:34.320 --> 0:04:38.960
<v Speaker 2>nine percent from three. How bad is this, you might

0:04:39.040 --> 0:04:42.880
<v Speaker 2>ask me, Well, bad enough to write multiple segments on

0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:47.640
<v Speaker 2>them in a week. But old man Thibodeaux, who is

0:04:48.040 --> 0:04:51.720
<v Speaker 2>wed to running his starters out there forty minutes plus

0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:56.560
<v Speaker 2>a game, has just said he is committed to play

0:04:56.560 --> 0:04:59.920
<v Speaker 2>in the youth, to going with the youths. He said

0:05:00.600 --> 0:05:04.000
<v Speaker 2>We've got a young team that can get better, and

0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:08.320
<v Speaker 2>that's where we have to concentrate. Get these guys better.

0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:15.520
<v Speaker 2>Look Mitchell's development, RJ. Barrett's development, Quentin Grimes development, Emmanuel

0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:20.680
<v Speaker 2>quickly Obi topping. That's where our focus is right and

0:05:21.160 --> 0:05:26.600
<v Speaker 2>Julius is still young and can still grow. Sure sounds

0:05:26.839 --> 0:05:29.839
<v Speaker 2>like this is now a rap for the season when

0:05:29.839 --> 0:05:34.279
<v Speaker 2>you're talking about the youth's and developing the youths, especially

0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:38.719
<v Speaker 2>when your name is Tom Thibodeau, who's like basic ethos

0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:44.320
<v Speaker 2>for coaching is fuck them kids, Like I'm running out

0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:49.719
<v Speaker 2>Taj Gibson, I'm running out d Rose in crunch time

0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:55.480
<v Speaker 2>when he's talking about Quentin Grimes, who's a very good

0:05:55.560 --> 0:05:59.400
<v Speaker 2>young player, but he's talking about the youth's in a

0:05:59.440 --> 0:06:04.760
<v Speaker 2>way that is completely counter to his identity as a coach.

0:06:04.960 --> 0:06:07.599
<v Speaker 2>And that's how you know this season is a cooked,

0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:10.520
<v Speaker 2>it's a wrap. He's literally like, all right, we're gonna

0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.080
<v Speaker 2>just see who we have here, see what we have.

0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:16.239
<v Speaker 2>Notice he didn't say Cam Reddish at all in that mix.

0:06:16.920 --> 0:06:19.919
<v Speaker 2>Who they traded for This year is now all about

0:06:19.960 --> 0:06:23.600
<v Speaker 2>assessing who can be the future instead of who is

0:06:23.640 --> 0:06:26.280
<v Speaker 2>here that can help you right now? Because it's very

0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:30.119
<v Speaker 2>clear no one's here that can help you right now.

0:06:31.600 --> 0:06:35.600
<v Speaker 2>Otherwise they wouldn't be three and thirteen in their last

0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:38.880
<v Speaker 2>sixteen games, and they wouldn't have blown eight straight twenty

0:06:38.920 --> 0:06:42.279
<v Speaker 2>point game leads, you know. And so now all of

0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:46.080
<v Speaker 2>this has been fodder for the New York papers to

0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.040
<v Speaker 2>sound off on what's the deal with TIBs? Is his

0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:53.719
<v Speaker 2>but medium hot? Super hot? Burning? Is he almost out

0:06:53.760 --> 0:06:57.360
<v Speaker 2>the door? What's happening? This is the man, folks, who

0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:02.080
<v Speaker 2>is your twenty twenty one coach of the year. How

0:07:02.080 --> 0:07:05.120
<v Speaker 2>could he actually be on the hot seat?

0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:06.160
<v Speaker 1>Well?

0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:09.200
<v Speaker 2>Is he actually on the hot seat? I don't know.

0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:12.560
<v Speaker 2>New York Post seems to think he might be in

0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:17.120
<v Speaker 2>my viewpoint, I mean, like, is the Post anyway in

0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.600
<v Speaker 2>my viewpoint? Well, considering Tom Timbodau is on a five

0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:24.480
<v Speaker 2>year deal. He got hired to a five year deal

0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:28.160
<v Speaker 2>right when he was brought on board immediate. He is

0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:34.160
<v Speaker 2>there under contract getting paid unless he gets fired for

0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:39.080
<v Speaker 2>costs through twenty twenty five. And Dolan not a huge

0:07:39.080 --> 0:07:43.760
<v Speaker 2>fan of having multiple guys on the books at the

0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:49.400
<v Speaker 2>same time, just simultaneous guys on the payroll. He's not

0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:54.920
<v Speaker 2>a huge fan of one thing for sure, though nothing

0:07:55.000 --> 0:07:57.920
<v Speaker 2>is a certainty in this business. You know. Just ask

0:07:58.240 --> 0:08:01.200
<v Speaker 2>the Brooklyn Nets whether they thought James Harden would blow

0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:03.920
<v Speaker 2>this thing up in less than twelve months time. Which

0:08:03.960 --> 0:08:07.080
<v Speaker 2>is now, why how you know things are bad? How

0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:09.160
<v Speaker 2>you know that anything could change at any given moment

0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:13.040
<v Speaker 2>with this club, is that we're now getting Derek Rose

0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:16.680
<v Speaker 2>injury updates about the fact that he's coming back right away.

0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.680
<v Speaker 2>He's here, He's coming back right after all Star break, folks,

0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:23.320
<v Speaker 2>Everything's okay. Once d Rose is back, He's going to

0:08:23.400 --> 0:08:25.840
<v Speaker 2>rate the ship. I was like, that's a strange time

0:08:26.200 --> 0:08:28.240
<v Speaker 2>to put out an injury update on a guy we

0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:30.720
<v Speaker 2>haven't heard about in the last three months, have not

0:08:30.800 --> 0:08:34.040
<v Speaker 2>heard one peep, and now it's like d Rose is

0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:38.480
<v Speaker 2>coming back, he will be back. Should TIBs be the

0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:43.640
<v Speaker 2>one that is primarily held responsible for the Knicks issues?

0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:50.320
<v Speaker 2>Probably not. Who should be held responsible for the issues

0:08:50.360 --> 0:08:53.480
<v Speaker 2>of the Knicks? Well, that is a longer discussion for

0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.480
<v Speaker 2>another day. I don't have that time right now. We've

0:08:56.520 --> 0:09:00.160
<v Speaker 2>got to give the Celtics their flowers and that's the

0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:15.079
<v Speaker 2>next segment. Yo, yo, Let's talk about the up until

0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:21.679
<v Speaker 2>last night when they got beaten, my destroyed Pistons, Boston Celtics,

0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:27.320
<v Speaker 2>hottest team in the association right now, and we've seen

0:09:27.400 --> 0:09:29.840
<v Speaker 2>like a little bit of transformation, so it's time I

0:09:29.920 --> 0:09:33.640
<v Speaker 2>have to give you guys your flowers. And the change

0:09:33.679 --> 0:09:38.520
<v Speaker 2>has been remarkable, I would say, and of course credit

0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:42.640
<v Speaker 2>to me. I have to and will always acknowledge when

0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:48.080
<v Speaker 2>I'm wrong. But I wasn't really wrong before because they

0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:50.400
<v Speaker 2>would go on these four game winning streaks and then

0:09:50.400 --> 0:09:53.560
<v Speaker 2>they'd lose seven. They'd win two and then lose four.

0:09:53.920 --> 0:09:55.880
<v Speaker 2>They just up and down and up, and I was

0:09:55.920 --> 0:09:59.800
<v Speaker 2>like constantly last year apologizing and then recanting the apology

0:09:59.880 --> 0:10:02.120
<v Speaker 2>and and then apologizing again. And then I was like,

0:10:02.120 --> 0:10:04.199
<v Speaker 2>you know what, maybe that's this identity of this team.

0:10:04.320 --> 0:10:07.120
<v Speaker 2>Maybe all they are is just a roller coaster. Maybe

0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:09.240
<v Speaker 2>they're one of the most inconsistent teams with a ton

0:10:09.280 --> 0:10:12.160
<v Speaker 2>of potential that is going absolutely nowhere. And that is

0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.960
<v Speaker 2>exactly what happened, which is why Brad Stevens departed and

0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:18.120
<v Speaker 2>a new general came into town.

0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:20.480
<v Speaker 1>This year.

0:10:21.040 --> 0:10:26.880
<v Speaker 2>They win eight in a row and then checks Notes

0:10:27.200 --> 0:10:30.200
<v Speaker 2>loses to the Detroit Pistons. The day I'm writing a

0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.440
<v Speaker 2>segment for the next episode, the worst team in the

0:10:33.559 --> 0:10:38.480
<v Speaker 2>NBA folks, So how much has really changed? I'm kidding,

0:10:38.559 --> 0:10:41.800
<v Speaker 2>I'm kidding. They actually are a good team. I think

0:10:41.840 --> 0:10:45.360
<v Speaker 2>this year they really did lose the Pistons, but somehow,

0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:49.760
<v Speaker 2>someway it feels different. I don't actually see a four

0:10:49.840 --> 0:10:52.960
<v Speaker 2>game losing streak coming. I don't see a skid coming.

0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:56.000
<v Speaker 2>So the question for folks to think about is twofold.

0:10:57.320 --> 0:11:01.520
<v Speaker 2>When did the Celtics become a different team? And more importantly,

0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:06.280
<v Speaker 2>why why? The when question I've identified it is easy

0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:10.160
<v Speaker 2>to answer. Numerous times this season, Udoka has called out

0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:15.880
<v Speaker 2>the Celtics for publicly excoriating really for lacking efforts and

0:11:15.920 --> 0:11:19.880
<v Speaker 2>for being soft, like you are soft, and particularly after

0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:22.559
<v Speaker 2>a terrible loss to the Knicks on January seventh. This

0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:26.360
<v Speaker 2>is what Eme said. It was rock bottom January seventh,

0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:29.200
<v Speaker 2>so like a little more than a month ago, this

0:11:29.240 --> 0:11:33.240
<v Speaker 2>is what he said. It's lack of mental toughness to

0:11:33.520 --> 0:11:39.280
<v Speaker 2>fight through adverse times, and it's across the board. It's

0:11:39.320 --> 0:11:42.400
<v Speaker 2>a turnover here, it's a bad shot there, it's a

0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:46.960
<v Speaker 2>misdefensive assignment here, several misrebounds tonight. And so all of

0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.920
<v Speaker 2>this seemed bad at that time, and it came to

0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:55.960
<v Speaker 2>a head following a terrible loss to the Philadelphia seventy

0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:59.400
<v Speaker 2>six ers, which you might not remember. Troe l embiid

0:11:59.760 --> 0:12:04.480
<v Speaker 2>and remarked after the game why the Celtics were so

0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.240
<v Speaker 2>easy to beat? And I thought I would play that

0:12:07.320 --> 0:12:07.839
<v Speaker 2>clip for.

0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:13.840
<v Speaker 3>You if you compare you know, uh, tonight from the

0:12:13.960 --> 0:12:17.640
<v Speaker 3>other night. You know, it's kind of easier to guard.

0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:22.120
<v Speaker 3>You know, Charlotte. That moved the ball extremely well, and

0:12:22.320 --> 0:12:24.400
<v Speaker 3>you know they had shooters all over the place, and

0:12:24.400 --> 0:12:29.120
<v Speaker 3>that made a bunch of jump shots. Obviously, you know

0:12:29.800 --> 0:12:33.400
<v Speaker 3>Boston his malls a mall of an isle every team.

0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:37.120
<v Speaker 3>Uh so he kind of becomes easier to kind of

0:12:37.440 --> 0:12:40.040
<v Speaker 3>load up and trying to stop him. And you know,

0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:44.080
<v Speaker 3>I thought, kiss and you know guys, you know, we

0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:48.040
<v Speaker 3>challenge our perimeter guys, uh to contain the ball, and

0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:51.400
<v Speaker 3>I think they did that Tonight's casual.

0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:57.520
<v Speaker 2>He didn't even like clown them. Really, he was just like, listen, Uh, Charlotte,

0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.880
<v Speaker 2>they're just a better team, truthfully. Like they shooters, they

0:13:01.400 --> 0:13:03.800
<v Speaker 2>moved the ball really well. They've got them all over

0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.600
<v Speaker 2>the place. They make a bunch of jump shots. Boston.

0:13:07.440 --> 0:13:10.000
<v Speaker 2>I mean, they're just he just said it, so chill,

0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:12.480
<v Speaker 2>like Boston, They're just a nice, so heavy team. Everybody

0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:15.720
<v Speaker 2>knows that, so it becomes easier to load up and

0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:18.560
<v Speaker 2>try to stop them. And guys like Matis Steibel, it's

0:13:18.720 --> 0:13:24.679
<v Speaker 2>like work when you know Jason Tatum's gonna go dribble, dribble, drible, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble, dribble,

0:13:24.720 --> 0:13:28.560
<v Speaker 2>dribble thirty footer, Like you know, it's pretty easy. Well,

0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.160
<v Speaker 2>we know what he's gonna do, which is not past

0:13:32.559 --> 0:13:37.440
<v Speaker 2>the ball. He drug them out back and laid their

0:13:37.520 --> 0:13:41.280
<v Speaker 2>corpse on the street, and he drove over them without

0:13:41.400 --> 0:13:44.960
<v Speaker 2>even meaning to. He said, that's so matter of fact,

0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:50.480
<v Speaker 2>and cue the Jordan meme. The Celtics caught note of

0:13:50.520 --> 0:13:55.760
<v Speaker 2>that presser and they took that personally, and something at

0:13:55.760 --> 0:13:59.040
<v Speaker 2>that very moment apparently clicked in the Boston locker room,

0:13:59.240 --> 0:14:03.080
<v Speaker 2>because since that game, they've been winning. And there's one

0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:06.600
<v Speaker 2>reason we can identify that they have become so much

0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:12.360
<v Speaker 2>better pretty much overnight, besides their defense, passing, just passing

0:14:12.440 --> 0:14:16.920
<v Speaker 2>the ball. It's unusual how just cutting without the ball,

0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:20.320
<v Speaker 2>passing said ball around till you get an open look

0:14:20.600 --> 0:14:24.640
<v Speaker 2>can help you win games. Somehow, some way em Udoka

0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:26.480
<v Speaker 2>has gotten Celtics to do the one thing that they

0:14:26.520 --> 0:14:28.440
<v Speaker 2>haven't done in the last three years as well as

0:14:28.480 --> 0:14:34.080
<v Speaker 2>earlier this year. And his introductory presser, Udoka said, you know,

0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.120
<v Speaker 2>Hunter Brad Stevens that we're among the worst in the

0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.960
<v Speaker 2>NBA for assists that year, that we are going to

0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:44.320
<v Speaker 2>play team basketball, and he's fought tooth and nail and

0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:47.880
<v Speaker 2>clawed and tried carrots and tried sticks, tried a blend

0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:51.520
<v Speaker 2>of carrots and sticks and found out a way. Okay,

0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.160
<v Speaker 2>it's not just me. Maybe Joe l Embiid needs to

0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:58.600
<v Speaker 2>say some mean things. In other words, Joelle being like

0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:01.560
<v Speaker 2>all they do is I soo, which everyone knows, like

0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:04.160
<v Speaker 2>this is not a new concept. We all know that

0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.880
<v Speaker 2>that's what Boston Celtics have been doing. But Joe Allenbian

0:15:06.920 --> 0:15:09.000
<v Speaker 2>said it's just so casual, and I think it just

0:15:09.120 --> 0:15:14.400
<v Speaker 2>hit different, hit different, and all of a sudden they

0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:18.400
<v Speaker 2>started to share the rock. Udoka says, I think that

0:15:18.480 --> 0:15:23.720
<v Speaker 2>the Celtics, this team are embracing being playmakers, helping everyone

0:15:23.760 --> 0:15:27.680
<v Speaker 2>else score. And it is pleasing to me and noticeable

0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:31.440
<v Speaker 2>when we play that way. Turnovers are down, assists her

0:15:31.520 --> 0:15:35.880
<v Speaker 2>up because we're just getting rid of the ball and

0:15:35.920 --> 0:15:38.400
<v Speaker 2>that's why they're winning. And that lost to the Pistons

0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.840
<v Speaker 2>you can identify and make sense because you realize in

0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:43.800
<v Speaker 2>that game they had no Marcus Smartin, they had no

0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.720
<v Speaker 2>Robert Williams, two guys that have been very instrumental to

0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:52.440
<v Speaker 2>this team identity shifting. And because they're buying into EMA's ideas,

0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.080
<v Speaker 2>I think this team is not the same as previous years. Also,

0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:59.720
<v Speaker 2>they did go back to ISO basketball when they lost

0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:02.640
<v Speaker 2>to the Detroit Pistons last night, So it just goes

0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:04.880
<v Speaker 2>to show you there's about a one to one correlation

0:16:05.040 --> 0:16:10.360
<v Speaker 2>between ISO and else. Here's another reason I think they're different.

0:16:10.560 --> 0:16:12.880
<v Speaker 2>The Celtics played the Sixers again for the first time

0:16:12.920 --> 0:16:17.080
<v Speaker 2>since Embiid absolutely excoriated them publicly and very casually in

0:16:17.160 --> 0:16:21.200
<v Speaker 2>mid January, and exactly almost one month later this time

0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.720
<v Speaker 2>they played them in Philadelphia earlier this week. Udoka gave

0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:29.360
<v Speaker 2>them all of the pregame motivation that they needed, showing

0:16:29.560 --> 0:16:34.440
<v Speaker 2>that quote from Embiid about it being easier to defend

0:16:34.480 --> 0:16:37.680
<v Speaker 2>the Celtics than the Hornets, which the Hornics are not

0:16:37.960 --> 0:16:43.000
<v Speaker 2>like some world beater, They're decent team, but Udoka said

0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.560
<v Speaker 2>it stood out to me when he said it. I

0:16:46.600 --> 0:16:50.000
<v Speaker 2>bet it did. I bet it days like listen, you see,

0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:55.240
<v Speaker 2>everyone knows what you're gonna do. Bet it did. So

0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:58.320
<v Speaker 2>the Celtics went out and just took a baseball bet

0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:03.480
<v Speaker 2>to the Sixers. They want by forty eight points. Shite,

0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:08.919
<v Speaker 2>and the Sixers were fully healthy at that time. I

0:17:08.960 --> 0:17:12.880
<v Speaker 2>cannot believe this, but they held Philly to eighty seven points.

0:17:13.680 --> 0:17:17.800
<v Speaker 2>The remarkable number, though, is that they only scored fifty

0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.800
<v Speaker 2>seven points in a full three quarters. Deshaan Hoorn scored

0:17:20.840 --> 0:17:24.760
<v Speaker 2>fifty seven points sometimes in a quarter and change what

0:17:25.400 --> 0:17:28.560
<v Speaker 2>three quarters? Fifty seven points? They held mb to just

0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.440
<v Speaker 2>nineteen points. They had to sit. Embiid's asked down because

0:17:32.480 --> 0:17:34.720
<v Speaker 2>he was getting such a bad beat down. That game

0:17:34.800 --> 0:17:37.680
<v Speaker 2>was in l as soon as the tip came down,

0:17:38.160 --> 0:17:41.280
<v Speaker 2>Like what, He's only played nineteen minutes and he's averaging

0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:44.199
<v Speaker 2>thirty four points during the previous twenty five games. Let

0:17:44.240 --> 0:17:45.800
<v Speaker 2>me say it again for the folks in the back,

0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.399
<v Speaker 2>Joel Embiid right now is averaging thirty four points in

0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:53.560
<v Speaker 2>the last twenty five games. That was his lowest point

0:17:53.600 --> 0:17:58.760
<v Speaker 2>total sense prior to Christmas. We are here thawing snow

0:17:58.880 --> 0:18:02.280
<v Speaker 2>right now, we are a long ways from Christmas, and

0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:06.160
<v Speaker 2>according to The New York Times, Doc Rivers said he

0:18:06.720 --> 0:18:08.360
<v Speaker 2>and this is basically what the New York Times said

0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.040
<v Speaker 2>about Doc Rivers. Doc Rivers, the coach of the seventy

0:18:11.119 --> 0:18:15.000
<v Speaker 2>six ers, spent the game looking as though he were

0:18:15.040 --> 0:18:21.680
<v Speaker 2>in line at the DMV. After the game, Doc said,

0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.080
<v Speaker 2>you can literally see the improvement of their ball movement.

0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:29.640
<v Speaker 2>The old Boston is more ISOs. This Boston is driving

0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:32.440
<v Speaker 2>and playing with each other, and that is what makes

0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:36.879
<v Speaker 2>them so much tougher. No shit, Like, why is this

0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.920
<v Speaker 2>a complicated concept? They've also been one of the most

0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:44.800
<v Speaker 2>best defensive teams in the NBA and they've just gotten

0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:48.600
<v Speaker 2>better by adding Derek White, which as a side road

0:18:49.359 --> 0:18:52.080
<v Speaker 2>kind of going back to the Knicks like this shows.

0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:55.600
<v Speaker 2>This move shows that Brad Stevens is all in on

0:18:55.680 --> 0:19:00.520
<v Speaker 2>emy Udoka because emy Udoka played for and learned under

0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:04.000
<v Speaker 2>Greg Popovich, put a style of play in that San

0:19:04.000 --> 0:19:07.440
<v Speaker 2>Antonio wrinkle and mode, and then they went out and

0:19:07.480 --> 0:19:10.639
<v Speaker 2>got a fucking san Antonio spur to fit right into

0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.200
<v Speaker 2>his system. You don't do that when the guy's locked

0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:15.600
<v Speaker 2>down for another three to four years. If you don't

0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:17.760
<v Speaker 2>believe that this is the coach of your future. When

0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.359
<v Speaker 2>you get players that do not fit with the style

0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:24.200
<v Speaker 2>of coach that you have, that shows two things. You're

0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:28.480
<v Speaker 2>either stubborn with a huge ego or you don't believe

0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:31.960
<v Speaker 2>in that coach long term. So you're getting other pieces

0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:35.000
<v Speaker 2>that fit some other guy that may be there in

0:19:35.040 --> 0:19:37.720
<v Speaker 2>the future. So that's actually a really good thing and

0:19:37.800 --> 0:19:40.440
<v Speaker 2>shows that e Ma and Brad are on the same page.

0:19:40.520 --> 0:19:44.120
<v Speaker 2>And all of a sudden, Derek White just plugs right

0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:47.639
<v Speaker 2>into the system being a better defender, doing everything that

0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:52.240
<v Speaker 2>he knows works for where he just was. Have all

0:19:52.240 --> 0:19:56.119
<v Speaker 2>the problems in Boston been fixed? No, I mean you

0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:59.080
<v Speaker 2>just saw. You just saw what they can be. Right,

0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:03.600
<v Speaker 2>It's still a wonky roster. They're times that they revert

0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:08.119
<v Speaker 2>back to their natural state, like their natural DNA is

0:20:08.160 --> 0:20:12.760
<v Speaker 2>to just do a million dribbles and a contested step

0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:16.160
<v Speaker 2>back twenty footer. Or when Marcus Smart is in the game,

0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:20.280
<v Speaker 2>he literally brings the ball up and shoots from the

0:20:20.320 --> 0:20:23.359
<v Speaker 2>top of three nine seconds in the shot clock without

0:20:23.359 --> 0:20:26.760
<v Speaker 2>passing to anyone, sometimes at crunch time, sometimes multiple times

0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:30.040
<v Speaker 2>a game. So this is a team who has that propensity.

0:20:30.280 --> 0:20:33.399
<v Speaker 2>If you can corral them and stop them from doing

0:20:33.720 --> 0:20:40.359
<v Speaker 2>idiotic things like that. This team can be dangerous. Just

0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:44.720
<v Speaker 2>ask the Sixers how capable the Boston Celtics are at

0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:47.199
<v Speaker 2>beating the shit out of a team who was just

0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:49.600
<v Speaker 2>the number one team in the East last year. So

0:20:49.720 --> 0:20:53.159
<v Speaker 2>I would personally love, love, love love to see a

0:20:53.200 --> 0:20:57.800
<v Speaker 2>first round matchup between the Celtics and the Sixers, which

0:20:57.800 --> 0:21:02.480
<v Speaker 2>would be fireworks for days and fodder for an out

0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:07.280
<v Speaker 2>or for revenge situation too. My god, I cannot wait.

0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:09.280
<v Speaker 2>That's all the time that we have for the Heat Check.

0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:12.480
<v Speaker 2>Will be back Monday with a new episode. Please do

0:21:12.560 --> 0:21:15.760
<v Speaker 2>not forget to download, subscribe. Please tell your friends and

0:21:15.880 --> 0:21:18.400
<v Speaker 2>follow us on social at this heat Check and at

0:21:18.400 --> 0:21:20.560
<v Speaker 2>trist to Creek on TikTok. Thanksgi