We breakdown the Celtics loss to the Thunder, look ahead to next week's tough schedule, critique Jrue Holiday's play, and go around the league.
We breakdown the Celtics loss to the Thunder, look ahead to next week's tough schedule, critique Jrue Holiday's play, and go around the league.
You're listening to Offering in-depth analysis on all things Boston Celtics With your hosts Jim and Mike Quigley.
Mike Quigley:Friday, january 5th 2024,. You'll listen to the hot file. I'm Jim Quigley with my brother, michael Mike. Celtics coming off a loss, you know, a really good game against Oklahoma City. It was a story of Celtics played two pretty good quarters. They played one really terrible quarter and then they played one really really good quarter in the fourth, whereas opposed to Okay, you see, played two okay quarters, one great, exceptional quarter and one not quite as bad quarter as the Celtics. Bad quarter, cass and OKC won. You know, okc showed a lot, I thought, in that game.
Mike Quigley:I thought there were some positives, actually, to take away one specific that I want to get into with you Right off the jump. So that fourth quarter, mike, positives for the Celtics, I mean and I want to start there, I know we can get into the third quarter Ugliness and all that stuff the Celtics, all season and we discussed on the previous part of you know what I thought might be a weakness for this team, but all season they've struggled with God play, really good God play, and this game was no exception SGA through, you know really, three quarters dominated, you know, got anywhere he wanted to, got any shot off he wanted to get, was consistently getting clean looks until you know. They made the switch and put Tatum on him.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, that'll be the game plan.
Mike Quigley:What's that, Mike?
Jim Quigley:That'll be the game plan in Boston.
Mike Quigley:So when you actually look to Jaylen Brown's, numbers against him weren't terrible either. They weren't as good. And so I wonder now, when there's certain type of guards and you can't do this against every guy, like I don't think you could do this against the Dame Lillard but I'm wondering if Halliburton in the fourth quarter, if the closed game, let's say Saturday night, if we might see Brown or Tatum on him, as opposed to Holiday or White down the stretch of the game where Halliburton's a little bit bigger God you know he's tougher, I think, in a lot of different ways than SGA is to cover like that. But the size of Brown and Tatum and their ability to move their feet and close out quickly on jump shots because of their length, I don't think you do it for a full game. But I wonder, if games are close, if you're going to see this in the fourth quarter against some of these longer, shittier guards like a Halliburton or a Maxi, you know, in an SGA, like you saw on Tuesday night, or was it Wednesday night, I forget, but you know I don't know what your thoughts are there.
Mike Quigley:Initially I thought Tatum. You know it wasn't for him. The Celtics don't get within three points or two points or whatever as close they got in that game.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, that entire fourth quarter was really kind of the Jason Tatum show with his defense and then on the other end setting guys up, playmaking. Yeah, yeah, it's playmaking, play after play after play. That was an exciting game. I think for the Celtics it's really hard to come back from a deficit like that against OKC, just because of the way the Thunder play, with their ability to get to the paint as much as they do, to sustain that run, to sustain those stops of defense. It is really difficult. I think down the stretch of that game the Celtics offense was executing and it was like two or three possessions where they gave up. You know, a drive to Williams in the paint, free throws, free throws again, and it was like it's just too hard, you know. Yeah, overall I don't think there's much to react to.
Jim Quigley:The Celtics had the bad third quarter. That's where they came down to. I think it would be a 40 to 25 at one point, there being out scored 18 to three. They looked a little lethargic. Maybe that could have been more time. What's called early on, whatever.
Mike Quigley:In OKC like the Celtics were bad, but I think OKC was better than the Celtics were bad.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, and the thing is with OKC, it puts a lot of pressure on your offense to score with them throughout the game. I think they like I'm going to change my previous podcast prediction. I think OKC is a Western Conference finalists contender. I don't think they're going to make the NBA finals because I think, after watching that game and really digging into it and even watching the Hawks game the night after, they could be a team that's actually pretty easy to scheme for defensively and planning how you're going to defend them and how you're going to attack them offensively. And I think the Celtics had a really good game plan in the fourth quarter on how they were going to attack them. They were really using Porta Zincus, not Justin Lopost, but the Sprite OKC out to create lanes for Brown and Tate to drive and free for the people. The issue was Brown had his worst game in like the last two months.
Jim Quigley:And so you think about yeah, holiday isn't playing well, jalen Brown isn't playing well and your opponent is scoring as much as OKC is. The fact that you lost by two points was kind of a miracle. It says a lot about your heart, because I know at one point in the fourth quarter you and I were texting like just get them out of the game. They got a tough stretch this month. This is one to just play your bench lose by a lot. Move on. Give the Celtics credit. I thought they played really hard down the stretch. They played really well down the stretch. They gave OKC a lot to think about when they come to Boston.
Mike Quigley:I thought the comeback was just a situation where they ran out of time. It wasn't like your offense was.
Mike Quigley:That's exactly, the defense was still pretty good. I know Jalen Williams got that clutch drive late where Tatum didn't, you know, wasn't able to close out on him. But if you're, if you're watching the game, you're wondering like, and it was all wasn't wrong for doing this, but if Tatum went in an minute earlier in the fourth quarter, you know, would that have been the difference? You know, like, that's how much he impacted the game and how much Pryzingis impacted the whole game. And, by the way, we got a couple of things right that I wanted to point out. We predicted a high scoring game, which is pretty obvious, and then we also predicted the two guys that were going to go off, which I think if you watch either of these teams you knew what was going to happen was SGA and Pryzingis, and both of those guys went off. And I thought the Celtics in the first half they didn't do it as much in the second half really imposed their size on OKC. It's on the defensive end more than on the offensive end.
Jim Quigley:And the Celtics were kind of set up offensively and I think that's why, too, I think in like, if we're looking at a series against OKC, I think the Celtics would utilize their post up game a lot more. I think the way OKC is similar to Golden State, where they kind of trapped the Celtics into. Even the Celtics were dominating in the paint. That turned it to an up and down chuck in 3s game. And that's what these teams can do because of the way they play.
Mike Quigley:You know who I think would be a really. Maybe it isn't what they want for their long term, but know who I think would be a really good pickup for OKC this season.
Jim Quigley:I'm interested to hear because I had a guy Go already out. Oh okay, so I'm going Utah too, and I'm going to a guy that Utah's not starting anymore, which I'm really surprised about, and it's a really good big. I was gonna go Walker Kessler, I think would be a good fit.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, I think he's. I think he's young. I mean, he's still on his rookie deal. I don't see Danny giving him up for us. If it's, you know, he's blown away.
Jim Quigley:Yeah.
Mike Quigley:This weird. He's not playing Machanings in all style. He feels like he can get a lot for him. I don't think they see him as a core piece out in Utah and you know you, you read some things where Machanum could be available and okay, so he certainly has Enough. You know you could you could give up giddy in some pics, and You're right, he's talking.
Jim Quigley:Giddy, though, if you're Utah.
Mike Quigley:I don't know if he's too toxic, but you know what I mean. It's a little like they know what you mean, they have guys that you could give and the first round picks at the end of that.
Jim Quigley:That should apply right.
Mike Quigley:Yeah. So there's guys there and there's certainly picks, so I was just sitting there watching and they need size. They do desperately need size and they need size I can score. I feel like a little they need another Guy who can individually get this shot off, not just Get the. Yeah, okay, he does, you know, because that's a difference in the playoffs often.
Jim Quigley:So I guess you probably wouldn't like this idea. I was thinking I Like Nick Klaxon. He's not good offensively but I think he brings a lot to the table as far as a guy who breaks size can rebound, run the floor.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, maybe he helped them, but I think they need a guy that can individually get it this shot off without having to run like the okc stuff which will shut down the playoffs.
Jim Quigley:Are you gonna give up a lot for that?
Mike Quigley:You do, but they have. They have a lot. Well, that's a thing. They haven't a lot to go out and get a marketer and still have enough to go out and Get someone else later on. That's really really good if they wanted to.
Jim Quigley:What about a Pascal Siak?
Mike Quigley:He's interesting. Yeah, he'd be interesting. I don't know how he fits it, though. Siakum needs the thing about Macklin and he doesn't need the ball. He doesn't need to be. The acobie's everything running through him where Siakum is a lot isolation, you know it's a lot of isolation going, you know, down to the block and stuff. I think it changes what they do a little bit.
Jim Quigley:But it's interesting, though this is gonna be way too much time on Siakum. Okay, see if we can go on. It's interesting with Siakum, though. Just one point is that he was able to play off of Ryland or DL they wanted, but that was a long time ago, so yeah, he's not gonna.
Mike Quigley:I don't think that's his intention this year. I don't think he's on the block. He I think Toronto tends to keep him. He's looking for a huge deal. He's a, he's up. You know this is he's looking to be paid like one of the top players in the NBA? I wouldn't. I Like he's a. He's a really good player. I don't think he's that. I don't think he's a core piece.
Mike Quigley:But I, mike, you know, speaking of Utah, we spent some time on Utah, macklin and Kessler, we got them. The Celtics got them tonight. You know, leading into what you know you've brought up A couple weeks ago, just how tough this schedule, especially over these next five games and over this next week you know it's Thursday of next week is. It's just, it's hellish, it's like. So they got Utah tonight and then they got a fly right to Indiana and then they have the, the mini two-game playoff series, whatever you want to look at it with the Pacers there on Saturday and Monday, and then you, you write back to home to Play Minnesota, then you write back on the road to play Milwaukee.
Jim Quigley:Very next night in Milwaukee's, not playing for a whole four days before they play you yeah.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, well, they probably need time in the gym. I think that team has serious issues.
Jim Quigley:I think they have serious issues, but I don't gonna be a tough game though.
Mike Quigley:I watch. If you look at what the Celtics schedule since they last homestand that ended with Orlando. The only time over the course of the last two weeks where they've been in the same city For consecutive games is when they've been in LA and now Indiana. They have not been in Boston for consecutive games. Um, you, you know well, I take that back. They were what? The Detroit, the mini Detroit and Toronto maybe, yeah, toronto thing so, but it's just been. It's been, it's been really tough and you wonder how they're going to look Now. I do think that during the stretch they're catching teams, maybe at the right time, a little bit, I think.
Jim Quigley:Especially Minnesota.
Mike Quigley:You know there's some issues there and I wonder, you know, how Indiana's going to approach this stuff. But you know Utah, you know, and so you looked at this at the beginning of the season. You saw Utah and you circled this as an easy one. Utah is playing the best basketball they've played all year and I guess, and all look, I think they're not becoming a boss in the Wynlow gym.
Jim Quigley:We're not losing the Utah.
Mike Quigley:Most of their wins have been in this stretch. Here They've been against really lousy teams. They did blow doors off Dallas, but most of the stretches have happened at home in Utah. I don't care what their record is. Playing in Utah in elevation it's your routine. Going in there it's really hot. It's just a tough environment, tough crowd, yeah, the elevation, and so it's a huge homecourt advantage for the Jazz.
Mike Quigley:But they are healthy and they haven't been healthy all year. You know it's the first, and Colin Sexton is playing the best basketball he's played since Cleveland and I even think it's a little bit better than that. He's really balling out for the first time since he's been in Utah. He's been excellent over the last couple of weeks in particular. So you have another guy who's playing at the top of his game really and I still think there's room for him to grow potentially as a player. So you're going to have some challenges In the size of Utah. You need to keep them off the glass. Tonight the Celtics should win. I have no doubt about it, but I do think it's not as easy as it looked a month ago.
Jim Quigley:I think on the offensive end, the Celtics is providing Utah with a lot of challenges, like they do with every NBA team especially at the. God position you talk about. Jordan Clarkston called Sexton covering Derek White tonight.
Mike Quigley:I feel like Derek.
Jim Quigley:White should have a huge game.
Mike Quigley:If he's locked in.
Jim Quigley:if he has a normal Derek White effort I think he could be going with like 25 tonight and I would expect that home in the first quarter for J LeBron to go bananas tonight. One of those 12, a 13-point first quarter tonight.
Mike Quigley:He doesn't really have any wings that can cover the town of Brown and Tatum either. I think you'll see John Collins kind of in the try, but they just don't have anyone.
Jim Quigley:It's interesting the guy who killed the Celtics from Utah last year is the guy that they're not playing, but Walker Kessler. Yeah, he was really hurt and they had some big rookie backup last year that really hurt the Celtics. I remember a text back and forth like look at all these stuff and what is he coming in the game for Utah? I've been watching him some this year. I'm like where are these guys? This was their strength last year. What?
Mike Quigley:happened. Kessler played a lot and very well. When I came against Detroit, though, they won it over time.
Jim Quigley:They could be playing that guy. Yeah, like I don't understand why you're not going to help him out.
Mike Quigley:I think there was some health issues for him earlier this season. Oh OK, kelly Olenek has played very well, so they still get big seconds after Laurie Mocken is really playing well since he's come back from health.
Mike Quigley:I don't think John Collins has played well, but he is what he is, I think, at this point in his career. And Jordan Clarkson, too, is playing at a pretty good offensive play. So it's not like they don't have any talent it's not the case but they do struggle on the defensive end. You should be able to get what you want against them. They are one of the worst first half defensive teams in the league. The Celtics are the best first half offensive team in the league. So I think you're going to see some pretty big numbers early in this game and I think, as you said, you're going to have a ticked off Jalen Brown that usually in these moments early in games, he goes off.
Jim Quigley:So I wouldn't do that and speaking of a ticked off Jalen Brown, the way we saw the same react to our Wando this year. I'm not going to say a Celtics are going to sweep in Indiana. That's tough to do and they've probably swept two teams this year home to homes. So going three for three in that would be insane. So I think their chances of doing that are really low. But I would say on Saturday night, even though it's a back to back, that we're going to see a determined Celtics team that's playing pissed off. I just haven't felt that's coming on Saturday.
Mike Quigley:It's going to be interesting how they handle these back to backs right, and I don't know if you've seen any injury report of the Celtics and I'll try to pull it up as I talk, but they've handled them differently at times this year. All the time.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, like you don't know if they're going to sit for Zingas or play him or what's going on.
Mike Quigley:And there's been times where they split for Zingas and Horford. Right there were Horford's play the front end and Posingas has played the back end of these back.
Jim Quigley:It depends where they both played and then stat.
Mike Quigley:I wonder too which were a holiday, and I would do this if they start giving him kind of the Horford treatment on these back to backs.
Jim Quigley:Him, horford and Posingas. All three of them need to have that treatment, in my opinion. Yeah, I think that's the best approach, because you're winning without these guys anyway, so just sit them.
Mike Quigley:So what's interesting is Al Horford is questionable with rest for tonight.
Jim Quigley:So rest of the point.
Mike Quigley:So I imagine they're going to set him on the front end tonight of the back to back and have him play in Indiana, which you know either way makes sense. I guess I don't think it matters too much how they want to do it in this case.
Jim Quigley:Dispens times were causing us to play both games.
Mike Quigley:So I don't think they have him on a pitch count.
Jim Quigley:I think it's a. I don't know how they handling the match. I have no idea how they handle it Since they're in this calf, though they've changed that.
Mike Quigley:They've done it, so I think that's going to continue. What's going to be really interesting to how they handle Minnesota-Milwaukee. I think they're going to go all in on Minnesota at home and then you know whatever's left against Milwaukee. That's what they're going to play, which probably doesn't sound like it makes sense, but I think in you know, in some ways it does. You want to make sure you get that first initial win.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, I think so too, and you're also matching up against Minnesota's size. Milwaukee has size too, but I don't know it's like. I think it makes sense to do it against Minnesota, because Brooke Lopez just seems to go off against you, no matter who's playing. So some go off against the backups.
Mike Quigley:And I think offensively, if you look at Milwaukee, you feel like whether Posingas is in there or not, you can get whatever shot you want against them right now, because every team in the league is and they have so many defensive issues that I think you can go into this and say, if we don't have Posingas against Milwaukee, we play him against Minnesota, give him the rest day against the box. We can still get what we want with Tatum White, brown, holiday and whatever else was thrown out there. Even if we don't have Crawford, we know we're playing well enough where we can get what we want. And if we have to win a game 135 to 133, we got a shot. And I think that's probably what you're looking at. Going into that game there against the box, that's my guess. Obviously, things change. Guys get hurt or you know how the Celtics play going into the box game. You know all those things can change.
Jim Quigley:But it feels like this has been the Celtic schedule, like all season. It feels like it's tough and a lot of back to backs. It played a lot of good teams. I've been waiting for that real easy stretch. Just doesn't seem like it's coming.
Mike Quigley:It does. February gets a lot easier. So when I look at the schedule now for the Celtics, I don't really even and I know this is how it is measured, but I don't measure it based on the strength of who they're playing, because I just feel like, all things being equal, the Celtics are probably gonna win, regardless of who they're playing. You know, and they've done that, the difference between playing a really good opponent's earlier in the year and doing it now, to me is just how it's happening. It's a ton of travel, these back to backs, back to backs. Like you said, one another team's gonna ton of rest. It just that's the difference. To me, it's kind of how, if they go into the match and they're playing a bunch of good teams but it's spread out, I kind of look at it as that not very tough schedule. It's just a schedule, you know, for this team, if that makes any sense.
Jim Quigley:It does, jim. So tonight I'm looking forward to the game tonight. I'm definitely looking forward to the two games in Indiana. I think that the Celtics have a lot to get back to Indiana with the way they celebrated on their home court, the way Halliburne went off against them. I'm excited to see what kind of effort the Celtics are gonna put in early in that game, even when they're with their tired legs. I don't feel I'm gonna come up really determined. So I know we have another segment here, jim. Five questions. Will we do another one?
Mike Quigley:again today? Sure, I have one. So if you want to, I think you have four or five. If you want to throw yours out, and then I'll do mine last.
Jim Quigley:Oh, okay, so you want me to ask them?
Mike Quigley:Yeah, oh, if you need me to ask questions, I can ask questions. Whatever, I thought you had some ready to go.
Jim Quigley:I do all right. So questions for Jim Over the last couple of weeks who's a player or a team in the NBA that's caught your attention? Oh, that's really surprised dude.
Mike Quigley:I'm gonna mention two. We spent some time on one already and the first it's just how bad defensively the bucks are. They are. It's troublingly bad and I don't know how they really fix it at this point. I know Jake Crowder hasn't played, but I don't think he's the answer to that. Boudin-holles at least had a scheme that was somewhat effective. It was really really effective in the regular season, had some polls and issues in the playoffs, but it was really effective during the regular season.
Mike Quigley:Right now, you can get whatever you want against Milwaukee and they just have too many guys that can't defend. Middleton can't defend anymore, dane can't defend, hatt-cartington gives a good effort but he can't defend. They just have too many guys where you can find matchups or you can find them and drop coverage and you can get what you want. Last night's game against and by the way, it was a fun game to watch Wemby was really terrific, but San Antonio doesn't do anything really other than just run off the floor and look for the first shot that he can get, and they were getting whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. When Milwaukee got stops, it was on open misses. It wasn't because they did anything and, by the way, that block Wemby had on Yanis was just unreal.
Mike Quigley:And then the second team that really stood out. It's not a team, it's a player, it's just Yolkich. I mean that guy, he's unreal Like. So I watched a game from Y to Y last night against Golden State. They come back from 18 down. He hits a three a step over half court to win it at the buzzer, doesn't draw any rim at all His passing. There was one pass to Aaron Gordon where he brought the ball up, gave him a two hit and chest pass from half court. That led to a dunk.
Jim Quigley:Like Larry, I am so tired right now. I stayed up watching him.
Mike Quigley:Larry Bird, stuff like in terms of passing. Yeah, it's just he is. He is by far to wear the best playing in the league and there was no comparison between him and B, just from a pure aesthetics, where, as a big guy, just like almost plays like Haydn James Haydn trying to draw fouls stupidly, and it's just, it's awful to watch Yolkich, it's just, it's so much fun and it's just a pleasure to watch him to play basketball I don't know how else to put it and Curry as well, I mean you're watching. Curry, on the other hand, is electric, but Yolkich. Those are the two things, just the obvious in Yolkich, and then Milwaukee's issues on defense.
Jim Quigley:I'm gonna read you some numbers and this is the guy you know we're both gonna. I don't know why, I don't wanna give you any clues. I'm gonna read you some numbers and tell me who you think it is Okay 24 points 25 rebounds. 11 points 18 rebounds. 15 points 23 rebounds. 11 points 17 rebounds. 13 points 19 rebounds. During his stretch since he became a starter.
Mike Quigley:Is that drumming?
Jim Quigley:Doesn't he put up the most meaningful, awesome, meaningless, awesome numbers ever? Yeah, he really does. Yeah, yeah, this rebounding stretch like if this guy could get on a team that's tanking and play every night, he would break every rebounding record the NBA has. Well, if he's up to 10,000 rebounds for his career, but he just can't play anymore because of the way the league is.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, if he developed, like every other big guy, three point shot. You know he it's interesting, but those are incredible, incredible numbers. The most he impacts the game on different spots but he hurts them defensively just so badly, you know.
Jim Quigley:Oh yeah, yeah, remember he was on the team with Blake Griffin. Yeah, detroit, it couldn't stop anybody.
Mike Quigley:No.
Jim Quigley:But it's just looking at his numbers for his career. I was just interested when I saw that run Like if he took his name off the stack sheet he would say is this guy a Hall of Famer Just with, like, his overall statistics? If it was a different era he would be yeah.
Mike Quigley:If it was a different era, he probably would be, but he's not, you know. No, he's clearly not. He's not like he's not.
Jim Quigley:I don't care what you say sometimes. You just know Well Mitch Richmond's in, so Well yeah.
Mike Quigley:I kind of want to the basketball Hall of Fame being on its own and not an NBA Hall of Fame, and the fact that some of the players that get in and who you have to share it with, like some high school folks from Iowa I know it's the dumbest, it's the stupidest thing. You know the fact that it took Dominique Wilkins so long to get in this is a whole different tangent to get in, but yet you have some rando. It sounds like you know Northern California that you never heard of. It's just it's mind boggling. Yeah, but go ahead.
Jim Quigley:All right, Jim. So we're in trade deadline season right now. It doesn't have to include the Celtics. What's an NBA trade you want to see happen?
Mike Quigley:The one I talked about. Yeah, we're already marketing to the Thunder. I think to me that would make that team, you know, a championship contender. Like you said. It would really speed up their development and I don't think it limits them in the future for going out and getting somebody else. So the problem with OKC and it's been their problem for over you know course of a couple of decades now is they don't want to spend, and so that's a question that needs. You know they have a really same price as a great GM, but you know he was forced to ship out Hardin and then eventually that led to, you know, durant walking away. And so in a case like this, if they don't spend, does SGA eventually say screw this? So I you know whether they do it. If they don't, if they continue to just move in this direction and get good and not bring in another piece, I think you probably have to look right at ownership over there.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, I would like to see Terry Roseair get moved to a content. Oh, that'd be cool. Yeah, he's balling out. We've seen him at least in home games during that stretch when the Celtics made their round when they were really young. He's a big game guy. I'd love to see him get on a good team. Maybe he's a fit for the Knicks. Maybe a box could move a middle 10 for him. He's going to be tough to move.
Mike Quigley:He's going to be tough to move.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, a lot of these contracts, Big money yeah.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, like Gordon.
Jim Quigley:Haywood's making 30. Gordon Haywood would be good for a content Right now with the way he's been playing, but he's making 30 million. But he's gone after this year.
Mike Quigley:So, like, if you can cobble together those contracts, you're you swallow that a little bit whereas Terry Roseair, like you have them for the next year, you have to put him on the ball. Well, he's party of plans. He is after this, yeah, yeah.
Jim Quigley:I wonder if Gordon Haywood would be a good fit for a team like the Knicks where they have that 40 years contract and somebody else? Yeah, I don't think he does anything for them.
Mike Quigley:But yeah, he makes them a little better yeah.
Jim Quigley:With trade deadline season. What's the worst Celtics trade of your lifetime. Worst Celtics trade of my lifetime.
Mike Quigley:I don't, you know, I guess I'd have to go back to when they traded Chauncey Phillips for Kenny Anderson and Kenny Anderson was actually a good fit for him and Kenny Anderson was actually really good here and I love them as a player. But even that isn't like a terrible trade when you think about it. What do you have? I got to think about this a little bit more. They haven't had a ton of terrible trades.
Jim Quigley:They have. And I was thinking about it, I was coming along, I was thinking trading way Joe Johnson. He was so young.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, yeah. Well, that's it for Rodney Rogers and Tony delt, who, yeah, contributors to a playoff team. But that was. That was really bad.
Jim Quigley:And they signed Travis Knight right, I have.
Mike Quigley:You know the Petino, the all.
Mike Quigley:Actions out there as a whole outside of yeah, and say it was terrible. You know, I think they traded something from then Baker and you know, never really that never made sense when they did that, yeah it's. You know it's tough to you could go back and say the trades they didn't make with you know not maybe trading McKeil, not trading parish to, once you saw birds back going and the tragedy with lumbia, some things like that that you had to accelerate a rebuild, right, well, those could be the trades they didn't make that really hurt them. But I mean the Celtics For decades, with the exception of the Petino years, they They've kind of really bamboozled teams.
Mike Quigley:Going back to Bill Russell, the bird trade and on and McKeil and parish and that trade on that trade the tape what got them came in brown, you know, got in that trade twice I guess, and then you recently other moves, so even Isaiah Thomas when they brought him, and was it just they bit they kind of bamboozled teams a lot. So there's not, there hasn't been a ton of bad trades. Yeah, it's been a lot of good ones.
Jim Quigley:So, jim, I know you have a question you want to ask.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, so drew holiday. What you? How do you rate this right now? His play, and you know, do you have some concerns? I mean, he was benched, effectively benched, at the end of that, okay, see, a game for paid in Pritchett For the. For the last Seven, eight minutes of that ball game His play has been, you know, I'll let you give your opinion, that I'll get mine, but what are your thoughts? And true holiday, true, true holiday to this point of the year.
Jim Quigley:I. I think that he's had nice stretches. So when the Celtics, particularly particularly Before the stretch of probably bad games with the last two or three, he's played really well when the Celtics were playing really well. You know, I go back to that Orlando game where he's the one who shut down be a caro when he went off for 29 the first half. We've seen the impact of him offensively when he's hitting the shot, his shot, what it does for the Celtics. Um, I still think they only have one loss as a team on their record when he scores more than 13 points. So it does show that that his offense matters.
Jim Quigley:Um, how much of an improvement he's been over mark is smart.
Jim Quigley:It's hard to say because I think we see the same inconsistencies from holiday that we saw from smart bad turnovers, sometimes really bad decisions on the offensive end. Three-point shots early in the shot clock, which I never understood with him, especially when they're contested, really bothered me because he's their fifth option and he's not a great three-point shooter and he seems like he's gone to his post game a lot but less, which makes me think is he healthy right now? Does he need to sit down for a stretch? That's something I've been wondering about and I'm waiting for the postseason to see if his true impact is in playoffs, because I don't think he's impacted winning as much as Porto, zengas and White have with all the changes the Celtics have made, and even he's competing with Peyton Pritchett sometimes as much as his impact towards winning too. So he hasn't lived up to expectations, but there's still a lot of time for him to fit into what they're doing it. I think we're going to see the most of him come playoff time, the most of his value.
Mike Quigley:So I thought ownership in particular really set off the game Observedly high expectations of what he was going to bring to the table. When they traded for him they talked about like a connet impact that he brought. He's an older player at this point, an older guard too, which you know. Usually you see steeper declines. I think he's been good and, like you said, he is the fifth option. I think the biggest difference between him and Smoud is he understands he's not an alpha anymore.
Mike Quigley:What Smoud I think approached way too many moments as being like a top three player on this team and I don't think Smoud's that either. You know, and I don't think Smoud would have been able to handle not being on the court. Let's say, the last six minutes of the game against OKC, where you were able to do that with holiday, yeah, I. So as far as being a teammate and those type of things, I think it's been really good. But there's been times where you know His play hasn't been what you've expected and what you've seen out of him in the past. If we're being fair and you know he's finishing around the rim has particularly been sub-par and defensively. You know there are guys that he struggles against now, as you saw and he look. He admitted that in the offseason too, he brought up a guy just like SGA that he hates to cover. That is really difficult for him In terms of the type of guys, but then at the same time you've seen them matched up against. Indeed, you've seen him do different things against the Bucks with Yamas. So I think he's still a good player.
Mike Quigley:I still think it was a really good pickup. You know they didn't trade him for Smoud People. He always gets compared to Smoud, which is unfair in a lot of different ways Because of where the points they are in their career holidays a bit older than him. But also they trade him for Rob Williams and Malcolm Brogdon, and Rob Williams is out again and he's clearly a better player and better fit for this team than Brogdon. I don't have huge concerns about him being benched At the end of the game.
Mike Quigley:I do wonder, like you brought up, if there is some health issues going on right now. He has been on the injury report. He isn't on this most recent one, but he had been on it pretty consistently for a better part of two weeks. So you know that that bears watching. I still think it's a good move. I think come playoffs against different teams, different coverages and things like that. He'll be helpful. You know, and you talk about like a coach on the floor where he was the guy calling out when they were going to go to a 2-2-1 and do different things Defensively, almost from from the jump. So those things matter. Yeah, absolutely I, when I think about him long term.
Jim Quigley:They got him from the sea. They're going all into win this year. What his impact is more important when the playoffs die more in the Eastern Conference finals right, and I think, as the Celtics think about their long-term plans, they have to do whatever it takes to get him to the playoffs. They have to do whatever it takes to contain to keep Derek White right so that would probably include me and that they'll have to move through all day at some point.
Mike Quigley:Maybe, unless it becomes like an Al Horford situation where he recognizes where he is in his career. He likes it here, you know they're winning and maybe you get him like under an Al Horford contract right now, I don't, you know there might be a team still willing to spend a lot of money to get him on the open market. There's all, it only takes one. But You're right, I wouldn't. I wouldn't sign him to a crazy number.
Jim Quigley:All right, jen. Well, uh, we got Utah tonight, indiana tomorrow, indiana Monday. We'll probably be back on the hot Tuesday, so break down those three games. I hope everybody has a great weekend.
Mike Quigley:All right, be well everyone.