WEBVTT - Deep dive on the Celtics’ start and Kyrie’s return; LeBron/Lakers first impressions; College hoops preview; Early season NBA storylines 0:00:07.120 --> 0:00:09.920 Hey, welcome into the All Ball Podcast. I'm Doug Gottlieb 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:11.880 and you can listen to the Doug Gottlieb Show whether 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:16.000 it's on Sirius XM on a daily basis or on 0:00:16.000 --> 0:00:18.600 your I Heart Radio, Apple, Fox Sports Radio dot Com. 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:21.920 Follow me on Twitter. We list all the available places 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:23.599 in which you can get the Doug Gottlieb Show, and 0:00:23.640 --> 0:00:26.079 of course make sure you're not only download subscribe to 0:00:26.200 --> 0:00:28.680 rate us, but tell a friend have them download as well. 0:00:28.760 --> 0:00:31.520 This week we're gonna deep take a deep dive into 0:00:31.560 --> 0:00:34.360 the Boston Celtics as well as to the d m V. 0:00:34.479 --> 0:00:37.279 My boy Darren Mclinton is going to join us. Uh. 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:40.000 He was a tremendous planet player at James Madison played 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:41.680 overseas I played with him in the c b A 0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:44.080 for a minute in usb L as well. Uh. He's 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:46.040 not only a trainer but also in a you coach 0:00:46.240 --> 0:00:48.519 and a guy who just knows and loves hoop. I 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.800 thought you'd enjoy me catching up with de Clint, who 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:53.920 has his own podcast with his brother who played ball 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:57.840 in Maryland. I thought that would be uh interesting, entertaining 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:00.280 and enlightening. Also joining us as Keith Smith, the covers 0:01:00.320 --> 0:01:03.800 the NBA for Yahoo's Sports. You can follow him on Twitter. 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.120 He also does the Celtics blog as well. So I 0:01:06.160 --> 0:01:07.480 want to get you sense for what was going on 0:01:07.520 --> 0:01:09.440 with the sas maybe what's going on with the Wizards. 0:01:09.480 --> 0:01:11.600 I'll give you my my two cents here real quick 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:14.760 on a couple of things we've seen. I will point 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.200 out this about the Houston Rockets, and I'm not laughing 0:01:17.240 --> 0:01:20.240 saying I told you so, because they're much worse defensively, 0:01:20.360 --> 0:01:24.160 much worse offensively now they've had, uh, you know, subtraction 0:01:24.200 --> 0:01:27.400 by addition, by bringing in Karmelo Anthony. I think some 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.840 of that we saw in Fairness. In fairness, you know, 0:01:31.040 --> 0:01:33.680 they had they had a suspension with Chris Paul and 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.920 they got James Harden hurt. So if you lose Chris 0:01:36.920 --> 0:01:38.640 Paul for a couple of games, and you lose James 0:01:38.720 --> 0:01:41.200 Harden for a couple of games with with that top 0:01:41.240 --> 0:01:43.600 heavier team and that top heavier salary scale, you're not 0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:46.800 gonna be as good. On the other hand, it's really 0:01:46.840 --> 0:01:50.800 really hard to hide Carmelo Anthony. His game is one 0:01:50.840 --> 0:01:54.160 that doesn't really fit in the modern pace. In space 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.960 three and D, you know, spread you out NBA, and 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:00.840 I think it's also a fair early even though some 0:02:00.920 --> 0:02:05.040 of their pieces are Um has some consistency him last year, 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:06.680 it's still kind of a new team and they're still 0:02:06.720 --> 0:02:08.400 kind of figuring it out, so I'm not giving them 0:02:08.400 --> 0:02:11.480 a pass. They haven't played well. But neither of the 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.240 Ocloma City played well. Neither is the Wizards played well. 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:18.000 Neither of the Lakers played all that well. And some 0:02:18.120 --> 0:02:20.720 of it is new pieces. Some of it is some 0:02:20.720 --> 0:02:23.359 guys learned to get along. Some of it is hey, 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.200 other dudes in the NBA are tired of hearing about 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:28.480 some of these other top teams and they're coming ready 0:02:28.520 --> 0:02:30.520 to play. And some of it is some of these 0:02:30.520 --> 0:02:32.160 teams aren't as good as we thought. I think there's 0:02:32.200 --> 0:02:35.000 a combination of it. But my my fear with Mellow 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:38.720 is what happens when you signed him to the bench. 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:40.880 I think you'll see some success coming off the bench. 0:02:41.160 --> 0:02:43.320 It's just really hard for a guy who's always played 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:46.000 thirty thirty five minutes and got starters minutes and been 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:48.040 a go to guy to suddenly be an ancillary part. 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:50.600 There's there's a pride nego thing to it, you know. 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:53.160 Derrek Jeter Win moved to the one, moved to second 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:55.560 base for a rod He should have but he didn't. 0:02:56.320 --> 0:02:59.400 And the Machifs. But people think the machiese moo basketball 0:02:59.440 --> 0:03:02.239 is the only play. It's like, No, not necessarily. Lara 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:04.280 fitzhild is one of the only wide receivers to move 0:03:04.360 --> 0:03:06.400 from being outside the number one threat to moving in 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.120 the slot. You know, hinz War did it some as well, 0:03:09.200 --> 0:03:11.359 became a great blocker. But those guys are a few 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:15.720 and far between. That that the that the evolution or 0:03:15.880 --> 0:03:19.760 um devolving, or well maybe it's evolving into understanding your 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:22.800 body and your age and how you fit in. That 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:27.240 takes a supreme amount of kind of emotional balance and 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.600 we don't necessarily create and foster that in the NBA 0:03:29.680 --> 0:03:32.160 when guys are seeing as superstars and a guy like Mello, 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:34.960 who's the all time leading scorer of USA basketball. We'll 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:37.720 dig in there with the day McClinton upcoming. My thoughts 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:40.280 and the Lakers are I think Lebron is really trying. 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.520 He's trying to play this new way of moving to basketball, 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:45.920 and I think he's picking his spots. For example, at 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:48.600 the time of this recording, last night, they took down 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:50.440 the Dallas Mavericks, had a big league kind of gave 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:52.320 it away and survived late. He made only one or 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:57.760 two free throws late. Um, but I think he's trying 0:03:57.800 --> 0:03:59.600 to move the basketball. And the third quarter he took 0:03:59.600 --> 0:04:01.360 over and side all right within the confines of the 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:04.080 offense and in the transition. I think the problem is 0:04:04.120 --> 0:04:06.200 that they're waiting on Brandon England to play better. He 0:04:06.240 --> 0:04:09.200 hasn't Rondo his first night he played well. Outside of that, 0:04:09.240 --> 0:04:13.200 hadn't played well and uh and and some of their 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:16.400 best shooters aren't shooting the basketball. Well, that's happened with 0:04:16.440 --> 0:04:20.120 the Wizards, right like the Wizards didn't expect to play 0:04:20.160 --> 0:04:23.000 Yon Mihemi this many minutes, and they expected to shoot 0:04:23.000 --> 0:04:27.640 the basketball better. And just like Clay Thompson ends up, 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:30.120 you know, going from a shooting slump to hitting fourteen 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:34.040 threes in the game. Eventually, the expectation is Water finds 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.880 its level. But it's going to be curious to see 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:39.559 what happens with Ingram. He has to play better because 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:42.080 if there's one guy that could be moved, it would 0:04:42.080 --> 0:04:45.359 be Ingram. Remember he's the longest tenured laker, right, the 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:48.280 longest he's the only guy drafted by Mitch cup Check 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:52.039 I believe still on this roster, and they they I 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:53.640 think they all think he has more in them, but 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:56.640 he hasn't played all of that well so far. It's 0:04:56.640 --> 0:04:58.720 one of the reasons the Lakers are struggled, although their 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:03.000 schedule also being preyed totally difficult, and Jimmy Butler stepping 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.360 up and making three fourth quarter threes is one of 0:05:05.360 --> 0:05:08.960 the reasons that three and five right now too. Um. 0:05:09.000 --> 0:05:11.200 As for the Thunder, a lot of people are talking 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.440 about Andre Robertson still being out and Russell Westbrook not playing. 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:17.320 That's why in preseason, that's why they're not playing as well. 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:21.320 It's important I think to mention our vision of Andre 0:05:21.680 --> 0:05:26.440 Robertson is he was before he got hurt. Now he 0:05:26.440 --> 0:05:29.000 had a major knee surgery and then a cleanup knee surgery. 0:05:29.320 --> 0:05:31.719 We have no idea his level of athleticism and bounce 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:35.359 when he gets back. Um So, as far as the 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.240 NBA goes, even the Celtics have been a little bit disappointing, 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:40.839 and I think we gotta take a breath, see what 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:43.000 we like, see what we don't like. Then Gordon Hayward 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.120 has been a little too passive at times. Kyrie Irvan 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:46.640 has been a little too aggressive. We'll talk with ke 0:05:46.800 --> 0:05:50.880 Smith about that. But in the NBA, the team that 0:05:51.040 --> 0:05:55.360 is most interesting has to be the the Milwaukee Bucks 0:05:55.600 --> 0:05:58.200 because people in the league have talked about Nice and 0:05:58.240 --> 0:06:00.679 his ability to take over games, to take over the league, 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.920 and he has Mike Budenholzer, who has done some made 0:06:03.920 --> 0:06:06.719 some nice adjustments, and I think they've kind of adjusted 0:06:06.720 --> 0:06:09.640 the roster accordingly. I don't think they can keep up 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:11.280 this that I gotta right undefeated, but I don't know 0:06:11.279 --> 0:06:12.760 if they'll keep up the pace of being the best 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:15.760 team record wise in the East. Bud has done it before, 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:18.320 back when he was with the Atlanta Hawks. But I 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:21.400 do think you combined a player who continues to improve 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:24.159 his jump shot and his decision making with a team 0:06:24.200 --> 0:06:26.360 who's kind of played mostly together for a couple of 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:28.920 years now, and a coach who fits how they want 0:06:28.920 --> 0:06:31.680 to play and understands how to utilize the spacing and 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:35.799 also the length that and versatility has defensively, and maybe 0:06:35.800 --> 0:06:37.520 the Bucks of the team that we didn't talk enough 0:06:37.560 --> 0:06:39.280 about that have a legit shot to come out of 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:42.720 the East. And Janice is the type of game breaking, 0:06:42.760 --> 0:06:46.840 game changing player that we might be missing because because 0:06:46.880 --> 0:06:50.880 he's in Milwaukee, because he hasn't gotten to an NBA finals, 0:06:50.920 --> 0:06:53.760 because he's not playing for a traditional power in the NBA, 0:06:54.360 --> 0:06:56.839 we're not talking about enough. But it's gonna be fasting 0:06:56.920 --> 0:07:00.080 to see what what happens next. Al Right, quickly on 0:07:00.200 --> 0:07:03.039 college basketball, as we're getting ready for next week, we 0:07:03.200 --> 0:07:07.480 have UM the showdown in Indianapolis. He had four premier 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:11.360 college basketball programs, and I just I want you to 0:07:11.440 --> 0:07:14.640 start the season with this thought in your mind. Get 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:19.880 old and stay old. As as I'll release my preseason 0:07:20.040 --> 0:07:23.600 rankings and my early season rankings. It's really hard to 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:27.480 tell how good teams are going to be because we 0:07:27.560 --> 0:07:32.800 don't know the pace by which the freshman will improve. UM, 0:07:32.840 --> 0:07:35.360 but I can tell you that teams like a Kansas State, 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:41.600 teams like a Clemson, teams like a Wisconsin UM teams 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.360 that that that bring back, teams like an Oregon State 0:07:44.520 --> 0:07:46.520 teams being that bring back a couple of the best 0:07:46.560 --> 0:07:50.520 players in their league that are juniors and seniors are 0:07:50.560 --> 0:07:54.520 Barry Brown and Trace Tinkle and Ethan hap Um. Even 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:57.520 David's another other mean, he's only a sophomore obviously from Wisconsin. 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.120 But there's so much youth in college basketball that if 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:02.960 you start the season with guys with experience in three, 0:08:03.000 --> 0:08:05.560 sometimes twenty four years old, you're gonna be ahead of 0:08:05.560 --> 0:08:07.520 the curve. It's one of the reasons I think Clemson 0:08:07.560 --> 0:08:10.600 has an absolute shot, along with Virginia, to take down 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:12.520 Duke in the a c C. Even if Duke has 0:08:12.560 --> 0:08:15.480 more draft picks, you know, more more first round draft picks, 0:08:15.600 --> 0:08:17.160 and the year, I think in the n c A 0:08:17.240 --> 0:08:26.040 Tournament we're likely to see some combination of Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, Um, 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:29.640 you know, Duke Kentucky, Kansas, who am most of my forgetting, uh, 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:31.280 you know, in the final four. And then you have 0:08:31.320 --> 0:08:34.080 the Tennessee's in the Virginia's of the world. Oh, Gonzaga 0:08:34.080 --> 0:08:38.080 as well. The Gonzaga of course, they have age, they 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.920 have experience, They have transfers, which gives you age, an experience, 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.640 and and the question about Gonzaga is always you know, 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:47.800 they front load their schedule and they try and sprinkle 0:08:47.800 --> 0:08:49.600 in some non conference in the middle of their schedule. 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.360 But this is a really young St. Mary's team, as 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.640 we chronicled with Randy Bennett in one of our previous 0:08:55.720 --> 0:08:59.200 All Ball podcasts, and the point is that I don't 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:02.600 feel like Gonzaga is going to be as severely challenged 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:04.880 in the w c C as they have before by 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:07.120 teams like a B y u Is beating them twice 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:09.880 on their court, or or like a St. Mary's who's 0:09:09.920 --> 0:09:11.480 the last team to win the league. And when the 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:14.280 league tournament outside of Gonzaga, so you know, we'll have 0:09:14.320 --> 0:09:16.439 to figure out what Gonzaga is and what the level 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:18.280 of play is heading into the tournament when they have 0:09:18.360 --> 0:09:20.880 this kind of weirdly unbalanced schedule compared to everybody else. 0:09:21.440 --> 0:09:24.400 That said, it should be a fascinating college basketball season 0:09:24.400 --> 0:09:26.280 and hopefully most of the scandals have been put to 0:09:26.320 --> 0:09:30.480 bed and we can actually enjoy it. And when when 0:09:30.559 --> 0:09:33.720 you when you watch Duke play and you're gonna fall 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:37.800 in love with Zia Williamson's athleticism, Um, it's r. J. 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:41.640 Barrett who's actually the better player. And then I think 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:44.280 the fact that Duke has a true point guard makes 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:48.000 me think that Duke can finally achieve what their talent 0:09:48.080 --> 0:09:51.480 says they can achieve. They have experience playing together going 0:09:51.520 --> 0:09:54.680 to Canada, they got a point guard, they have just 0:09:55.160 --> 0:09:59.920 enough returners, just enough depth. I think they'll have enough shooting, 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:03.840 especially if they play Zion Williamson at the five, definitely 0:10:03.840 --> 0:10:07.200 at the floor, and I think there'll be some games 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.600 which they overwhelmed their opponents because even though they're exceptionally young, 0:10:11.120 --> 0:10:15.320 college basketball generally is young, so many have jettison college 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:17.839 basketball to go to the NBA. But those are the 0:10:18.240 --> 0:10:20.320 five or six teams. The vat is of course hanging 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:23.560 out there, and Auburn is hanging out there. We'll see 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:26.160 what else. The Pack twelve if an Oregon behind Peyton 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:29.480 Pitchard and now incoming freshman Bull Bull can can make 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:31.720 a run at the Pack twelve title and be another 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:35.640 potential Final Four representative at USC as well. They they 0:10:35.679 --> 0:10:39.240 lose Um, a four year starter at point, which I 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.640 think people are under selling. But USC a very very 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:44.960 talented roster as well. But the schools you need to 0:10:45.000 --> 0:10:48.280 know about outside of the Kansas States and the Clemsons 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:52.040 and the Wisconsins and the older teams, maybe New Mexico 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:58.320 as well, San Diego State as well, is Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Gonzaga, 0:10:58.640 --> 0:11:00.800 throw in Virginia can learning how good they were in 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:03.280 the A C. C and how much they returned. I 0:11:03.360 --> 0:11:05.760 think that that's where your final four is likely to 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:10.040 have two or three teams at least come from that 0:11:10.040 --> 0:11:11.960 that that group of teams. All right, let's get you 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:13.720 to the All Ball Podcast. Let's get you to some 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.120 of the interviews of the week. Um he's a contributor 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:19.600 to Yahoo Sports, NBA, at Real GM and to the 0:11:19.600 --> 0:11:22.200 Celtics Blog. Who better to talk about with maybe the 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:25.360 most interesting team that is not discussed enough, I think 0:11:25.360 --> 0:11:27.920 on a national basis in the Boston Celtics. Keith Smith 0:11:28.000 --> 0:11:30.720 joins us here in the All Ball Podcast. And Keith, 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:35.240 we're coming off of watching Kyrie Irving breakout last night 0:11:35.400 --> 0:11:38.600 and and get a big home victory over a Pistons 0:11:38.640 --> 0:11:40.960 team that has played really well out of the gate. 0:11:41.000 --> 0:11:43.080 But I think that the bigger question is here we are, 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.600 when we two weeks into the NBA season. How would 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:50.120 you characterize what you've seen from the Celtics so far? Yeah, 0:11:50.360 --> 0:11:52.720 a little up and down, in a little messy, I 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:55.160 guess is the best way to put it. It's it's 0:11:55.200 --> 0:11:59.120 tough when you're bringing back Kyrie Irving and Gordon Henward 0:11:59.160 --> 0:12:02.520 and adding was two players who are really guys who 0:12:02.520 --> 0:12:04.760 need the ball a lot, you know, you said, being 0:12:04.800 --> 0:12:06.760 the ones that kenned an offense, and you're adding to 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:08.680 them to a team that came with a game of 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.160 the NBA Finals. It's bound to be a little messy, 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:13.480 but I think they're starting to figure it out. Seen 0:12:13.559 --> 0:12:15.560 signs of that over the last couple of games. And 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:17.520 you know, it's one of those things. I know everyone 0:12:17.520 --> 0:12:19.840 in Boston is. You know, they were a little nervous 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.040 early off, like it was what the team feel like, 0:12:22.080 --> 0:12:24.160 it'll be okay, we're gonna get this sorted out turned 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:27.400 around them later. Yeah, It's it's kind of interesting because, yes, 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:29.640 the Raptors are off to a hot start and saw 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.120 them get a big home win last night, and the 0:12:32.120 --> 0:12:35.120 Bucks are undefeated. But like, look, if you don't like 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.680 the way the Celtics are playing, you're gonna hate the 0:12:37.679 --> 0:12:40.120 way the team, like the Rockets are playing right or 0:12:40.320 --> 0:12:43.160 the way the Wizards are playing. So it hasn't been 0:12:43.200 --> 0:12:46.719 as smooth a transition as people would hope. But it's 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:48.800 not like they're the Rockets where all of a sudden 0:12:48.800 --> 0:12:51.520 there's finger pointing, or the Wizards where people are talking 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:55.320 about trading. Players are firing coaches already. Yeah, absolutely not, 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:57.839 there's not that going on. These guys all get along great, 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.600 they're all you're really happy. I think thing that really 0:13:00.640 --> 0:13:03.200 helps is you have a group of players there in 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:06.400 Boston who are extremely honest about what their role are 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:09.400 and what their hopes are, both for themselves and for 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.479 the team. You have guys like Terry Reginior Marcus Morris 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:14.800 who are on the record they ensure, I'd love to start, 0:13:14.880 --> 0:13:17.000 but I know that's not going to happen here, and 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:18.800 I know what my role is and I want to 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.520 win right now and starting and more money and those 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:23.520 things that will come down the line if it's supposed to. 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.320 So it's one of those things where rarely do you 0:13:26.360 --> 0:13:29.120 have guys who are so open about their role in 0:13:29.160 --> 0:13:31.560 the NBA and then also accepting of that role. And 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.880 that's where you know Boston's likely compared to a couple 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:36.480 of those other teams you mentioned, where I think guys 0:13:36.559 --> 0:13:40.000 have a falsely inflated view of what their role maybe 0:13:40.040 --> 0:13:43.120 should be within their team or really even just how 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:46.520 good their teams should be. Yeah, it's it's fascinating. Let's 0:13:46.520 --> 0:13:51.120 talk about Kyrie because there was some discussion I think 0:13:51.200 --> 0:13:53.679 Tommy Hinson said he thought he looked heavy, which I 0:13:53.760 --> 0:13:56.599 hadn't heard from anybody. Maybe it was that, maybe it 0:13:56.679 --> 0:13:59.599 was his haircut or his beard or something. Um, I 0:13:59.760 --> 0:14:02.000 was old in the preseason and in training camp he 0:14:02.120 --> 0:14:04.839 looked great. He just wasn't hitting shots either in the year. 0:14:04.920 --> 0:14:07.560 And you know, Kyrie is a as a guy whose 0:14:07.640 --> 0:14:10.360 game is really based upon his shot making. Everything else 0:14:10.400 --> 0:14:13.800 falls into place. Of course. You know, we're recording this 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.800 podcast on Wednesday after Kyrie in a back to back 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:19.120 matchup with the Pistons, lights them up, goes for thirty 0:14:19.120 --> 0:14:21.600 one and only sixteen shots. That places as the fishing 0:14:21.600 --> 0:14:26.200 of basketballs he has all season long in Europinian? Was 0:14:26.320 --> 0:14:29.160 he out of shape? Was there something that changed? What's 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:33.760 your assessment of why at least shooting percentage wise? He struggled. Yeah, 0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:35.960 that one came out of nowhere for me as well. 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:38.960 I had heard that until I really mentioned laughter the 0:14:39.200 --> 0:14:42.040 game against the Pistons on Tuesday night, and you know, 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:44.160 here we are now. It's kind of become a little 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:46.280 bit of a story that you know, I glad to 0:14:46.280 --> 0:14:48.720 give myself in better shape since Tommy Hunton called me fat. 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:51.440 You know that seems a little a little out of nowhere, 0:14:51.480 --> 0:14:53.880 because all the reports were that he looked good. For 0:14:54.000 --> 0:14:56.400 my own view, he looked great. I thought he looked 0:14:56.440 --> 0:14:59.880 physically fine. You know, he was quick, he was explosive, 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:02.400 He really had his you know, handle going and moving. 0:15:02.800 --> 0:15:05.280 And I think it was just the reality of missing 0:15:05.360 --> 0:15:08.560 the shots came from two places. One, he was taking 0:15:08.640 --> 0:15:11.680 some contested jump shots that you weren't really in the 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.120 flow of the offense. I think, trying to get himself going, 0:15:14.840 --> 0:15:16.920 which I think that's a big chunk of what has 0:15:17.000 --> 0:15:20.000 changed over these last few games. I think Brad Stephen 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:21.760 Jerry said, hey, we got to move the ball, get 0:15:21.800 --> 0:15:24.320 back to the team we were for all last year, 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:27.160 and you know, your shots will come. And then I 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:30.880 think the second one, he was um taking a lot 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:34.920 of these looks that were coming, you know, in points 0:15:34.960 --> 0:15:37.360 of the game where I felt like he maybe felt 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:39.800 I have to carry the offense here and didn't have 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:42.000 the trust and some of those younger guys like Jaylen 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:45.120 Brown Jason Tatum, because you know, he missed that whole 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:47.720 playoff run. So now that it's settled back in and 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:50.400 now he's able to kind of just function within the 0:15:50.520 --> 0:15:53.360 offense and then pull it out when he really has to. 0:15:53.760 --> 0:15:55.320 It's starting to look a lot better, and he started 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:58.120 to look like the Kyrie Irving Evold. And then I 0:15:58.200 --> 0:16:00.640 feel like Gordon Hyward's the opposite. Like I feel like 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:04.080 Gordon Hayward, who was a low twenty game All Star 0:16:04.400 --> 0:16:08.240 with Utah Jazz. He's like like Kyrie is a you know, 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.040 your force of will. I'm gonna show everybody how good 0:16:11.080 --> 0:16:14.440 I am take questionable shots, whereas Gordon Hayward has been 0:16:14.480 --> 0:16:16.520 a little bit too passive and tried to fit in 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:18.800 a little bit too much. Is that a fair assessment 0:16:18.840 --> 0:16:23.360 of why statistically he hasn't been um as good or 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:27.160 maybe as important as ultimately he will he will or 0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:29.960 should be. Yeah, I think that is fair. I think 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:31.960 Gordon Hayward, I think one of the things that attracted 0:16:32.040 --> 0:16:34.800 him to coming to Boston. You know, even before Kyrie 0:16:34.960 --> 0:16:37.080 was very agreed. You know, when I saw Isaiah Thomas 0:16:37.320 --> 0:16:38.880 was I don't think he wants to be in a 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.040 situation where I'm the man and I have to shoot 0:16:41.040 --> 0:16:43.280 it every time down. I think he wants to be 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:47.160 part of their system and part of something bigger. And 0:16:47.360 --> 0:16:49.760 I think for him, what it is is, but you 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.160 need to take those shots when you have them, and 0:16:52.240 --> 0:16:54.600 when you have the mismatch, you need to take advantage 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.560 of that. That's when the Celtics offense works best. They 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:01.720 they're really good at guy I taught, wentlessly hunting mismatches. 0:17:02.160 --> 0:17:05.000 They find the guy who has the best uh chance 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:06.920 to score, and they'll go to him over and over again. 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.240 I think that's something that Heyward has to get that mindset. 0:17:10.480 --> 0:17:12.440 And again more startency did not come a little and 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:15.200 one thing that's hoping can get there. They're putting the 0:17:15.240 --> 0:17:16.760 ball in his hands a lot and saying, hey, you 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:19.119 be the playmaker here, but the other guys play off 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.920 You the one that's scoring it for himself or get 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.639 setting somebody else up. We're seeing you know him, you know, 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:27.040 excel at doing both of those. I think that's a 0:17:27.080 --> 0:17:29.360 great point. It's you know, he actually plays a good 0:17:29.359 --> 0:17:31.480 amount of what you would call point guard or playmaker. 0:17:32.119 --> 0:17:34.600 Brad is very comfortable with him playing any position one 0:17:34.640 --> 0:17:37.359 through five. I do think he's probably, you know, the 0:17:37.680 --> 0:17:41.040 most natural passer you know, Brad. Brad was trying to 0:17:41.080 --> 0:17:43.240 convince me this summer when we're talking that you know, 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:45.560 Kyrie Evering's one of the five best pastors in the league. 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:46.879 I was like, well, that'd be great if he showed 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:49.560 the rest of the world how good a pastor he is. Um, 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:52.680 but I think I think Kyrie has the capability, not 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:56.000 the mindset, whereas Gordon has some of the capability but 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:58.240 a lot of the mindset. And it is It's one 0:17:58.280 --> 0:17:59.840 of those guys. It's one of those things that we 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.639 I think that's why he's the right fit. And people, Uh, 0:18:03.920 --> 0:18:05.959 if you don't watch the Celtics as much as as 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:08.919 you do Keith, you don't realize. You're like, wait, well, 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:11.200 how's this all gonna work. You have to have guys 0:18:11.240 --> 0:18:14.040 that are willing to sacrifice themselves in order for Jason 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:18.399 Tatum ultimately to become what he can become, or Jalen 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:20.879 Brown to become what he can become. And then, as 0:18:20.960 --> 0:18:23.399 you smartly pointed out, this is the new wave of 0:18:23.480 --> 0:18:27.880 the NBA, which is relentlessly searching for mismatches. The difference 0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:30.480 with the Celtics as opposed to like a Lebron James 0:18:30.600 --> 0:18:33.520 lead team is, you know, Lebron James team, You're just 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:36.200 trying to get a mismatch on Lebron and then create 0:18:36.280 --> 0:18:37.880 help and then he kicks off for a jump shot, 0:18:37.920 --> 0:18:40.359 Whereas the Celtics have so many guys that can score 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:45.240 simply moving the basketball. The mismatch will then present itself. 0:18:45.359 --> 0:18:47.880 Right that. That's more the way in which Brad's system 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:51.000 and with this personnel it works, isn't it. Yeah? I 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.760 think the way I refer to it as it's it's 0:18:53.840 --> 0:18:57.600 manufacturing a mismatch. We're swetting it come naturally. I think 0:18:57.760 --> 0:19:00.760 the Lebron example you use, that's manufacturing that mismatch. We 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.639 saw that when the Felt explained the Cavaliers last year 0:19:03.680 --> 0:19:05.880 in the playoffs, they did everything they could to get 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.960 Terry Roger matched up with Lebron James because Lebron just 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:12.240 gonna overpower him and do whatever he wants. With the Celtics, 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:13.960 what they do is they just kind of let the 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:17.080 ball flow, cause the defense to react, and then they 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:20.040 find it generally somewhere, you know, halfway through the Shaw 0:19:20.119 --> 0:19:23.119 Clalker Show. So okay, here's what switched, here's what what 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:25.960 was created. Now let's get to that guy. And that 0:19:26.080 --> 0:19:28.240 may not mean it's the same guy all game long. 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:31.120