The Boston Celtics' recent hiccups on the West Coast come under scrutiny—Jason Tatum's offensive decisions against the Denver Nuggets and the team's faltering fourth-quarter performances—casting a shadow of doubt on their championship aspirations.
The conversation shifts as we pull apart the Celtics' recent setback, with a particular emphasis on Jayson Tatum's play and high turnovers contributing to a less than stellar performance. We don't shy away from tough love—calling out Coach Mazzulla's questionable choices during key stretches and highlighting Jalen Brown's free-throw line struggles that have fans holding their breath.
Our final act spotlights the unheralded heroes on the Celtics bench, where players like Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard have stepped out from the shadows to become essential cogs in the team's defensive machine.
The Boston Celtics' recent hiccups on the West Coast come under scrutiny—Jason Tatum's offensive decisions against the Denver Nuggets and the team's faltering fourth-quarter performances—casting a shadow of doubt on their championship aspirations.
The conversation shifts as we pull apart the Celtics' recent setback, with a particular emphasis on Jayson Tatum's play and high turnovers contributing to a less than stellar performance. We don't shy away from tough love—calling out Coach Mazzulla's questionable choices during key stretches and highlighting Jalen Brown's free-throw line struggles that have fans holding their breath.
Our final act spotlights the unheralded heroes on the Celtics bench, where players like Luke Kornet and Payton Pritchard have stepped out from the shadows to become essential cogs in the team's defensive machine.
All right. My pick for the night is Miami getting four and a half at home versus the world championship Denver nuggets. My thinking on this is Miami has not been playing well. They came off a really embarrassing loss to Washington. I had a couple of chances to win it at the end there, including a wide open three from Mr Clark's Jimmy Butler that he bricked. But they really in a spot where they have not a lot of room for error going down the stretch if they want to get out of this playing scenario.
Jim Quigley:So big game for them at home. Always a home court advantage for Miami down there, especially with the West Coast team coming down and the time change and all those things. Denver has obviously been playing great since the All-Star break, but I think they're going to get Miami's best half rate. I'm not sure who's going to win this game, but I think it's going to be like a one possession game. I really do. I think of the final score is going to be around a one possession game here and I'd like Miami to cover. So that's my pick getting four and a half against the nuggets at home. Maybe a bit of a like down game for the Denver playing so well now going out east.
Mike Quigley:You're listening to offering in-depth analysis on all things Boston Celtics with your hosts, Jim and Mike Wigley.
Jim Quigley:All right, here we are A hot foul, mike. The Celtics come off a three-in-two West Coast road trip we have not talked to the people since then losing their first two at Cleveland and Denver and then winning their last three Phoenix, portland, utah in that order and now they're coming back home for a Thursday night match against the Suns Still the best record in the league. I actually I'm not sure how the Bucks I'll have to look how if the Bucks won or lost last night they were down 20 at halftime. So the you know, the Celtics, as we speak right now, could be 10 up in the loss column for the one seed. So that thing's about wrapped with 17 to go, I would say. But, mike, your thoughts on this trip, you can take it wherever you want. You want to start at the end, you want to start at the beginning, but you go forward.
Mike Quigley:Thanks, jim, and welcome back. I'm really excited to be here to talk about this road trip, which I think showed us a little bit about this team, and not a ton. But I think the most important thing to take from the trip is that, as good as the Celtics are and they are very good championship contender obviously they still have some work to do to catch Denver. I know I'm really strong in my beliefs that, despite how good the West is, denver is coming out of the West and I feel like they're winning the NBA championship. The Celtics are going to have to figure out a way offensively to attack them better. I think, and that's something that I noticed in this last game, denver did a really good job for the majority of that game of turning Jason Tatum into a jump shooter and it really to me, christoph was in this as well and it was Jaylen Brown that was attacking the basket and I felt like that was that's what kept Boston in the game and I feel like Brown's teammates really let him down.
Mike Quigley:I didn't love the execution on the offensive end. I didn't love the game plan. Maybe Tatum was a little you know two games against Denver. Really he was a jump shooter in both games. I'm starting to wonder if it's the size of Denver that's bothering Tatum. But that's something to keep an eye on as we move forward here, because Tatum was also a bit of a jump shooter against Cleveland and now those are two teams with size. We know that we're going to play against Milwaukee and they have a lot of size. Tatum's better when he goes downhill, tatum's better when he attacks the basket. We certainly saw that last night. I think we saw some of it against Portland and against these bigger teams. I'm a little nervous about his mentality that he thinks he can beat them with the jump shot. It takes away a lot of his game.
Mike Quigley:On the other part of it, the Celtics have a matchup problem against Denver, obviously with Jokic, and they were really abusing the Celtics with Aaron Gordon as well, diving to the basket like they are against most of the NBA. And then, lastly, to a coaching point. I thought the double biggs against Denver with Jokic out of the game was a mistake. I'm going to let you talk more about that, though, jim. The Cleveland loss I look at it as the worst loss of the season, but also the fact that they got back in the game as proof of the Celtics to the best team in the East. The Celtics were a defensive rebound away from still winning that game in my opinion, so it was a horrible loss. That guy weighed good for him, like the threes that he was hitting was wide open, the Celtics were really covering them. But unbelievable fourth quarter by Wade I don't know if you saw the next game I think he went one for eight from three with like two points.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, yeah, that's the way it works, right.
Mike Quigley:But I mean, it's obviously a horrible loss. You can't give up a 21 point lead in the fourth quarter when you're as good as the Celtics. However they did. I was impressed that they came back when Forzingus made that fast break layup. I was certain they were going to win that game. It was pretty stunned that they didn't.
Mike Quigley:And even though Denver outplayed the Celtics and I really think they outplayed the Celtics to fight a close score, the Celtics very much were in that game. Jason Tatum hits that wide open three which I couldn't believe he missed. That's a different story too. So even these losses, the Celtics showed how good they are because they're right in it, but there is some concerns with their fourth quarter play against these good teams. You got to nitpick this team right and I'm nitpicking Jason Tatum and his mentality in some of these games and fourth quarter execution overall. So again, I guess my final thought Jim, I just said a wicked lot of word garbage there, I apologize. My final thought here is that I think the Celtics are very, very good. I'm scared that nobody can beat Denver and I don't think that's insult to the Celtics. I just think Denver is that good and I hope that we play them and we beat them, but I think it's going to be really, really hard.
Jim Quigley:Yeah. So look, I think Tatum I don't know if he would turn into a jump shooter, if he's just passive he only took five, threes of his 13 shots against Denver. He went two for five from three and that means he only went three from eight from inside the arc. He doesn't take a lot of mid-range jumpers anymore, so most of those are on the post or going to the hoop. It was kind of similar numbers five and nine from three from Cleveland and then eight for 21 nights. So that means he went what Reef for 12 from inside the three-point arc.
Jim Quigley:I thought Mike in his turnover numbers was just atrocious, really high. Like I just thought he was passive. I thought the second. Obviously he was on fire in that first half of the Cleveland game. The second half things weren't going his way. I don't think he thought he was getting the calls that he needed. I didn't feel like he was going to the basket to score. He was going to the basket to get contact.
Jim Quigley:At times Towards the end of the game, when Cleveland was going nuts and the Celtics were trying to stay in at the best they can, he missed a, bought a fourth photo, front-rimmed it when he was driving to the rim. That would have been a big shot for them at the time. He wasn't good and so, okay, dean Wayne goes crazy and Tatum has a bit of a stinker in the Celtics' fall suit. In that second half they blow a 20-point lead. It had all the elements of it happening One team having to go crazy and you playing really, really poorly. That's funny. They actually had some pretty good execution in that final minute against Cleveland, but anyways, they lose the next night against Denver two nights later. To me that was just unacceptable. His passes were lazy. They were lazy. There was one where it was like a high bounce pass from above his shoulders out to Przingis. That was just an easy steal for a transition dunk for Denver, just even to stop the game. Przingis has KCP on the post and he just kind of slap-asses the ball into Przingis on a bounce pass, doesn't step into it. Kcp knocks it away. He got called for a foul, which probably wasn't a foul, so the Celtics got billed out there. You know I remember watching it. Scal mentioned it on the game. You know you got to be better, you got to be more forceful with your passes there and I thought, ok, that won't happen again. The problem is it happened all night. It happened all night.
Jim Quigley:You know, one of the plays that really, I think really hammered home the effort was the Celtics get on out of break, a two-on-one break, late in the game and Tatum has the ball and Holiday's running down the right side and I think it's Jamal Maris, the defender. Tatum doesn't make Murray defend him, he gives up the pass. You know, maybe right around the three-point line, a bounce pass to Holiday. That was a tough angle, tough to handle. I mean, it's Jamal Murray. You, adjacent Tatum, attack the hoop there, Get him to commit to you, then drop down the pass and just go right through him.
Jim Quigley:And it was just a huge turnover at that point in the game and I thought it was a passive play. I didn't think it was an aggressive play to attack the basket and you know it's tough to overcome that when you're going against a team like Denver. It's just, especially on the road and the fact that they still almost did. You know you can take some solace, I guess, but I don't mind him playing Paulie Mike and I texted you this Like he was on such a run, like if he went into Denver and he shoots 8 for 24, and he has a few turnovers go off his knee why he's going to the basket. I almost can live with that. You know it sucks. The timing of it was sex. It's a second we'd have to talk about it. But if he was being aggressive and it just wasn't happening, what are you going to do? You know, like it's, those things happen to you. Move on. I thought he made his mistakes being passive and of course that's easy for me to say, sitting, you know, on my couch watching it. But that's what it appeared to me and I think that's what the big problem was.
Jim Quigley:And if you really look at these two Denver games now, I mean he had a chance in both games to put them up late with shots that he's fully capable of making. You know the corner three, it's no gimme. You know we treat it like it a gimme, but it's a make-miss type shot. It's 50-50, I would say you know that corner three maybe even less than 50-50. One he should make as a superstar, but he missed it. And the game at home he had a layup point blank with under a minute to go that would have put them up and he missed it. He just missed it. He went through three guys.
Jim Quigley:He did everything right, but the difference, I think in the Boston game and in this game you can say he missed it being aggressive. You know he tried to make a play as the best player and you know this one. I didn't see that happening. You know even his transition, where he missed the three. I thought he threw a bad pass to Jaylen Brown. I thought again he didn't make the defenders commit to him so you can get a transition hoop as a player of his quality. So I look at that as the major reason they lost your best player having six turnovers, most of them caused by him, but just not being aggressive.
Jim Quigley:And you know everything you said is correct about Denver, about them being that good, and I think right now, I don't know how, you don't look at them as a favorite, but I don't think it's a huge gap. Like you know, sports are funny where we always say, oh, this team can never beat this team. You know this team doesn't have the moxie to win it all or whatever. And then it happens right. Then the Colts beat the Patriots. Oh, you know, the Bulls get by the Pistons. You know it's just. Sports is littered with stories like that you know where a team just finally figures it out. So the South Exxon, far from doing it, you know, but I there are some concerns and you know, and I think the Tatum stuff we've seen in big games before where he's performed like this and that's the most troubling thing. And the other thing that was troubling for me in that game like and again this is nitpicking, but I just thought Joe Mazzullo let his team down.
Jim Quigley:You know, one of the things you cannot afford to do against Ember is lose the non-Yokic minutes. You know, if you look at their numbers with Yokic on and off they're at all world team with the Yokic on they are a bottom half of the league team with Yokic off. And I thought the lineup decision was weird to go double bigs of Horshid and Tillman in that against that non-Yokic lineup against Murray. Murray just found the matchups and then once they found the matchups that they could exploit, because you have, it was like Horsford, tillman, either Houser or Pritchard and then Tatum of Brown in holiday, something like that, right, and they would just find the non-Brown holiday guys and attack them and then there was no rim protection, no rim protection. So it was either a foul or an easy layup because it was just no one to slow down those drives or even to stop the drives once they got to the rim. So it was hoop after hoop after hoop and they got killed on those non-Yokic minutes to finally, with about nine minutes to go in the fourth, they get out of it and they changed our lineup and they cut the Denver league from 12 to 6. But at that point the Yokic is coming in two minutes later. So like that advantage was lost, so it was.
Jim Quigley:I thought he really let them down. I even think that would have been a better option in that situation, because at least he's a deterrent at the rim. Then go on Tillman and Horsford. It was just.
Jim Quigley:And what was so odd about it, mike, is that he went back to it in the fourth quarter again after seeing it get killed. And I know you want to try things out, but this is this had big game feeling to it. I think it's a good opportunity for your team to feel like it's a big game and it's a good playoff run up. And I just I worry about I'm worried a little bit more than I was last week or the week before about him making in-game adjustments in the playoffs about him being late. I just the fact he went back to it was kind of stunning to me when I thought it was obvious.
Jim Quigley:I thought it was obvious from early in that second quarter that that was a bad lineup. So those are the two things. And obviously the biggest thing about that is just how great Yocuch is and what he does for Denver and how tough they ought to beat. How tough they ought to beat there, and right now it's a bugaboo for the Celtics if they ought to see them again. If you know and it is an F, you know there's no guarantee that the Celtics are gonna to the finals and there's no guarantee that Denver's getting there too. You know things happen, as we see all the time. So that's my thought.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, two other points I just wanted to bring up too is I mean, how concerned are you at the end of games if Jalen Brown is at the free throw line? Yeah, it's almost like for me. I can't put the ball in his hands. He missed another two big free throws against Denver in the fourth quarter. I think he missed what seven in that game overall for the game that he had.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, that's a real concern for me, and Pusingas and Tatum missed ones in the fourth too. That was huge, but yeah.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, and that's things we've seen in the past with this team.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, it is.
Mike Quigley:And big games, missing free throws and big moments and then just the end game execution. I think we've seen it a lot this year that the Celtics don't have a lot of creativity. It doesn't even matter who's got the hot hand. The ball's in Jason Tatum's hands and typically it's a jump shot at the end of these games, whether they're down one or two points, it's a jumper. It's nothing going to the basket and I'm really frustrated with that.
Mike Quigley:When you have a guy like Pusingas on this team that I'm almost at the point where at the end of games I may be more comfortable if they go to him over Tatum and Brown to see what we have here, because we haven't seen a lot of success with these end-of-game plays down by one or two. Tatum taking the last shot Just doesn't seem to be much creativity without at all. It seems to be always the same thing, even though they don't call a timeout, they don't draw up a play and it ends up being some sort of a jumper that Tatum's taken While they do call a timeout. It's the same thing. They haven't even gone back to the play where they have Tatum in the half court sprinting and then going to the basket. Like I just haven't seen much creativity with their end-of-game execution this year. I don't know if you have Jim, but those are just two things.
Jim Quigley:I picked up in these games. I'm sorry I'm forgetting what was your first point again.
Mike Quigley:First point is I don't know if you can trust Gail and Brown at the end of games when you got to make the first, yeah.
Jim Quigley:So I think that's a problem. And I don't know, he's about a 70% free throw shooter, which is way too low for a guy that can score like he can and has a ball in his hands. And then he has these moments where he's really terrible in games that matter, and so I don't know if I'm an opposing coach, like, if it's like three minutes to go, do you put them online in certain situations? You know it's gonna be interesting. I mean there's enough of a track record here to you know it's a risk. It's certainly a risk because if he gets his confidence going that that could really backfire with a player of his caliber. I mean it's a real risk for a coach to do. But I mean you're down a little bit. You need to get stops on the Celtics and change the momentum. I wouldn't be shocked to see a guy like Eric Spolster employ that right. So it's just the fact that someone can consider it with a player of his caliber is not good. It's not good. So that's to your first point. It's a problem and I have no idea you're not remedy. That's not gonna be remedied between now and the playoffs unless he just gets on a heater and figures it out, but I don't see it.
Jim Quigley:The second point you know I thought their execution in Denver down the last two minutes was pretty good offensively, you know you can look at their last couple of possessions keeping threes. But you know time and circumstance kind of really dictated that after Tate missed that three. But I thought both defensively and offensively they were pretty good down the clutch. I thought they were better than Denver for the most part, even though Denver was very methodical on how they ran their sets and you know were impressive at times. You know the Celtics I thought they did a good job at defending them, causing turnovers and misses, and I thought they got really good looks trying to come back. But Tealaja point I thought Cleveland was a glaring example of just you know, late game execution when you're down I don't remember they were down 201 or whatever in that situation and I know what they're thinking they have. They have Gallin on the floor and they wanna attack him, so they don't wanna call a timeout and take Gallin off. But there's 19 seconds. So you just find Gallin and you go, and you go fast and you go hard at him and if you miss you foul quickly. They were down one and then you still have a chance to tie the game with another by using your timeouts. So two things Tate was gonna be better than that. This is what I mean where I just felt like he's been passive, where he waited and waited and wanted to be methodical and waited until the last shot. So he's got that's on.
Jim Quigley:The player Missoula needs to be better in realizing he's not moving like he should be. So with about 15 seconds he should have, he should have hit the timeout. Now he's claiming he tried to hit it with four and a half seconds left at the end of that game. He said that in the post game. But whatever, at that point four and a half seconds You're still playing for the last, you're still playing for the last shot. At that point You're not getting two possessions anymore, which, the more possessions you have, the most chances you have to either win or tie the game.
Jim Quigley:I thought that was really poor and again we spoke to this Mike that those situations aren't gonna improve until your best play is realized that they need to play different, and so that was alarming, because we hadn't seen that a lot this year. They haven't been behind like that in those situations. When they have, they usually come out of a timeout and they set something up, whether it's a. Whether you like the draw up or not, you gotta kind of live with that sometimes. So when we get a chance to see it, and this is how it looks, it should be a reason to be concerned.
Jim Quigley:And again it's Missoula. You know, I'm sitting there on my couch saying call a timeout, like I get. Why they didn't initially like immediately okay, attack Gala, that makes sense. Save me a timeout. He's the worst defender on Cleveland. Go after him. I get it, but once they weren't gonna execute it, you had to go in another direction to, to, you know, maximize your possessions. And they didn't. And again it's. I think we're talking about similar stuff, even though it's a different topic that we were just talking about in the Denver game. So it's yeah, those are concerns. They're like and they're not concerns you can just push to the side and unfortunately, the types that you don't get answers to unless they're in that situation. So you don't know, you're not gonna know again, maybe not until the playoffs, right, right. So it's tough, it's tough and I think that we can talk about these last three games.
Jim Quigley:I thought you know, we talked about late game execution, Mike. Again, it's not the last second shot, but I thought the late game execution against Phoenix was excellent. They attacked mismatches, got Tatum going downhill after a tough game to the basket multiple times.
Mike Quigley:Phoenix also like handed the Celtics a gift by just putting bowl bowl in the game for like huge minutes yeah yeah, I don't understand the Celtics went on like it was huge around with that guy in the game.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, yeah, but I mean towards the end of the game it was four, six point game with about two and a half minutes left and you know it started with a high kind of screen and roll with Holiday and Tatum and you know defense comes down to help off Holiday, Hufford has a wide open corner, three, and then every I felt like every offensive possession after that was just executed perfectly by the Celtics. So that was encouraging. I know it doesn't get talked about as much when they actually do it, but I thought they were really great in those last two minutes against Phoenix and overall what was a pretty uneven game for them. And then I don't know, I don't know what you take away from these last two games against Portland and Utah. They were, I felt like the Celtics just kind of showed up, even not at full strength, and knew they were gonna win and that's exactly what happened. Neither one of those teams.
Mike Quigley:That's not from the breakdown. Those games I mean this next Phoenix game is gonna be more telling. I'm sure Devin Booker is gonna be out there, so that certainly adds another element to it. Are you concerned at all with Porzingis and the Sam String?
Jim Quigley:No, I don't think so Take as long as you want with it. If it's tight at all, then they'll play him. Right now I think it was a playoff. See, probably be out there. I don't expect to see the Celtics at full strength. Much the rest of the way.
Mike Quigley:You know this thing I also need for it.
Jim Quigley:No, even against Phoenix. I'd be kind of surprised coming off a long road trip if they're at full strength, even if Phoenix is, even when they play the box.
Mike Quigley:You know, I just I don't really expect I would go full strength against the box after getting blown up by 50. I think I would.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, if you feel like everyone is rested and healthy. If you don't feel that way, then you don't.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, I think I would prepare myself to make sure they are yeah For that game. Like go out, you're the better team. They can't cover your wings. Make sure everybody's rested, get them all out there and kick their ass. Yeah.
Jim Quigley:I do.
Mike Quigley:I think you kick their ass one more time this year and let that stay in their head for the playoffs.
Jim Quigley:Maybe that's the game you know. If you look at good teams that are left, it's Phoenix, milwaukee, okc. There might be a couple others in there, but that's essentially it. The Celtics have, I think, the easiest schedule left in the NBA.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, they go on the road to New Orleans. They still got the Knicks Well good last night with their guys back. I think they're still waiting on Randall. But yeah, there's not a lot left on the schedule this year.
Jim Quigley:No, no. So it's wrapped up for the Celtics. It's just there's a lot of interesting still playoff races to go, particularly in both conferences actually, but the Celtics is the most they're going to be.
Mike Quigley:It's way more interesting out west. So yeah. Yeah, I mean because those teams can actually win a series. You know, the bottom seven through 10.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, but what's interesting in the East is that right now, 7-8 is Miami, Philly and you could have an NBA back and then Philly right there too, as you two play in teams, which is kind of wild, and I was reading this morning that he's not even close.
Jim Quigley:No, no, it's, yeah, it's all the same thing. Maybe the last week of the season, but that doesn't really sound encouraging at all and he won't be in good shape. Anyways, mike, just two questions today, and if you want me to go first with my answer, I'll be happy to, but we're just going to do most unto told story of the season for the Celtics and then pick something from around the league that's kind of interesting to you right now. So most unto told story for the Celtics. You want me to go first? You want to go? Let me know you can go first.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, you can go first. Mine is my man and Mike is Luconette and I think before every game he has headphones on listening to you on this podcast saying how much he sucks, over and over and over again. But he has been a really he's been a good player, you know, and he's not a guy that I expect to get playoff minutes, but I think if he did, as long as they're not extended, I don't know if he really hurts you that much.
Mike Quigley:Hey, if Al Horford plays as Bazzy played in the playoffs last year with the way Luke's playing now, watch out, you better be ready to go.
Jim Quigley:Yeah, well, you know he was a guy that before he came into the Celtics 60% of his shots were from three. He hasn't attempted a three. Yeah, he went down to man a couple years ago, listened to what the Celtics wanted him to do, completely changed his game and has become a run runner and run protector and he's done it at a really good level for a third spring backup center. You know I don't know what his numbers finished with yesterday, but I know he's in double digits of points and he's close to double digits with rebounds. He had six assists, he had some blocks. His rim protection is good enough for a lot of guys like Derek White to recover and get you know, get in back in on the play, or drew a true holiday to recover and get back in on plays. You know, and what helps connect to, especially defensively, is that the Celtics' guards Holly White and Pritchett had just been so great at navigating screens that he can just stay and draw coverage. The Celtics are way better at navigating screens this season than they were last year with their guard play. You know they do. It doesn't mean you know really good guards in the playoffs aren't going to get you anyways, but they've done a really good job of recovering and getting back out on their men and fighting through these screens all season long, and it's helped.
Jim Quigley:A guy like Luke couldn't have to be very effective, not to mention he just seems like the ultimate teammate. He's funny as hell and I just you know this isn't the difference maker, I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, but he's been an enjoyable piece of his team. When you know, when you're at the point of the season where there's not much left to analyze, this is just my Luke going out of appreciation. You know kind of rant, mike. What's your undertold story?
Mike Quigley:And I feel like Luke has earned himself. I think this is the last year of his deal, right, so he might be looking at a payday around the league at the back of the center. Yeah, yeah, so this might be his last year as a Celtic? I hope not. I love him on the team. I think he definitely. It's a good point. I think the most overblown story is the Celtics bench and how bad they are Usually here and I'm like, yes, vanna, tnt, it's going to be like their Achilles heel.
Jim Quigley:I don't think there's enough credit.
Mike Quigley:That goes especially the Pritchard and Al Orford. Al's been really good since the All-Star break.
Mike Quigley:He's been a really good rebounder, a really good defender. He's shooting the ball well, passing it well. It seems like he's really accepted his role. The other night he started I think it might have been against Phoenix. He had 12 rebounds in the first half. He's playing really well. Pritchard really steps into any role. I think I was texting you last night that he reminds me a bit of like Earl Boykin's offense, where he's so quick that people just can't stay with him when he's going to the hoop.
Mike Quigley:He had somebody on their heels last night that he got a layup that ended up being a goal tending but got off the backboard before it was blocked. Really just the quick stopping out of nowhere to do a crossover dribble, he's got the three-point shot. And then it was Zula talking about his defense. I agree, on the defensive end he's Earl Boykin's. On the defensive end, he's Payne Pritchard. He's one of the better on-ball defenders on this team. It really gets up on guys. It brings the intensity. Then Sam Hauser, another guy that I think he saw a lot of it last night. It's a really solid defensive player now and he doesn't get credit for it.
Mike Quigley:I think people just look at him as a spot-up shooter. I think the bench play has actually been pretty good this year for those three guys. As you mentioned, Corneb, when he gets his opportunities, that's an overblown and undertold story is that the bench has actually been demonstrating this year for the Celtics.
Jim Quigley:You bring up just a great point with Al. His minutes are way down this season. I think that's real positive. He's gone to the bench. Obviously, with Borzinga's move, guys like Corneb have been able to allow Al to get some extra rest. I think what happened last year he was playing 30 plus minutes a night just about every night, except for on back-to-backs. Corneb was always positioned to take on the toughest assignment of the Bigs that Philly series. He did an admirable job against Embiid, but he had no legs to shoot anymore. That was clear, especially against Miami. You should have a much more fresh Al Horford for the playoffs than you had last year. We've seen around here what that means. He's been really good at times in the playoffs for this team. Hopefully that's just a huge upside thing for this Celtics team. Mike, anything you want to talk about from around the league that's interesting to you right now?
Mike Quigley:I see injuries so many this year. The real yeah, yeah with Philly, philly next game. The other night was this impossible to watch Final score to be like 78-76. The best player on the floor was like Kelly Ubre. It's just, it seems, a decimated buy. It's nice to see the next getting guys back. I saw that Mitchell Robinson is close to playing, julius Randall is close to being back, bronson and it will be back out there, like all those guys have been missing from the mix for like peaks. Yeah, so that's, that's just something that kind of stinks. But yeah, just the Western Conference overall. Jim, I know you said the Eastern Conference is intriguing, but the West, these playoff series are going to be awesome, even like the plan you're going to get Sacramento playing, dallas possibly Phoenix playing.
Mike Quigley:Phoenix still like game up. So yeah, I just the Western Conference is so many good teams and I think a big story is I can't believe OKC still in the one seed. So Denver is only one game back now, but OKC has been holding on to that one, two seed all year, which are good for them. I didn't, I didn't know if they were going to have the ability to do that. So they're coming to Boston soon, so that'll be a good game.
Jim Quigley:Yeah. So it's interesting with that top of the race for the number one seed out West. It's like if you're Minnesota, okc, you need to have that home court advantage against Denver to have any shot. Denver doesn't feel that way at all, obviously, no, should they. But those teams really need it because you're not going into Denver, I'm winning a series there. You just, you just not. So it's going to be interesting to watch whether Denver really goes all out for it. Which are they start resting guys, which I'm going to. I think it's probably going to be the latter with them. I don't know if they're going to go all out for it, but if you're Minnesota and OKC, you have to go all out for it Because, like I said, you're not, you're not going to, you're probably not going to pass them anyways, but you definitely not if you don't have home court.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, my is definitely going to be a big upset out West. I think there's going to be a seven or an eight seed or a six seed that beat somebody.
Jim Quigley:You could? Yeah, absolutely. I mean it happened last year with the Lakers, you know, getting all the way to the West Conference finals. So you see, in these playing teams have success. Last season anyways, not before that, but last season playing teams had a lot of success, you know, and the playing is an interesting storyline.
Jim Quigley:Oh, to you, I think you have four teams Orlando, indiana, the Knicks and nothing X. The next is right, right in that hogpodge too, but I think they're going to pull away. But Orlando, indiana, miami and Philly, that are all within like a game and a half of each other, for the, you know, either being the fifth seed or the eighth seed. And you know, right now, as it stands, miami's playing as, but you know, really bad basketball again. All of a sudden I lost, you know, to the Wizards, and inexcusable loss by full strength to the Wizards the other night.
Jim Quigley:Philly obviously they're in a real tough spot, being without Embiid for an extended amount of time and you're seeing just the wear and tear that that's happening on that team. But you know, I don't think Embiid's coming back, but there is a possibility that your seven, eight seeds out East is going to be Philly team with Embiid and a Miami team that went to the NBA finals last year and you know that obviously creates an interesting first round matchup for the Celtics. Yeah, you know what that could look like and you know a part of me, a large part of me I wouldn't mind seeing Miami early on this thing, like you're doing this again.
Mike Quigley:You're doing this for the third straight.
Jim Quigley:No, no, I want to see them.
Mike Quigley:Oh, my God.
Jim Quigley:I want to see them go through the best teams, and if they can't do it, then they can't do it. But I just want to put storylines to bed. This team is too goddamn good not to get it done. So if they can't beat Miami, they can't go through the Knicks in the second round, and then they can't go through Milwaukee in the East finals. They don't deserve to be here anyways. So part of me is almost wanting to see it, just to put storylines to bed. And then, if they can't, then there's something you know, much bigger going on that Brad Stevens is going to have to figure out. But I know what you mean. Are we doing this again? I don't know. We might, you know. I'll tell you something right now, you know.
Mike Quigley:I'll tell you something. Right now the Celtics are getting to the NBA finals without playing Miami. It's going to. It's no way. That doesn't happen.
Jim Quigley:So when you rather to be in the first one, what I rather?
Mike Quigley:no, no, I'd rather than play like an. Orlando in the first round and have like a four game sweep. That's what I would rather. I'd rather see Miami in like the second round. I think it's nice to get. It's nice to get guys rest in the playoffs.
Jim Quigley:I feel like Miami will just get bigger and stronger with each round they win. But yeah, I don't know. As it stands right now, you would have Miami in that first round.
Mike Quigley:And if you really want to play in right now.
Jim Quigley:Miami.
Mike Quigley:Yeah, I want Miami to be the sixth seed so they can beat like Milwaukee again. Maybe it happened.
Jim Quigley:You know what?
Mike Quigley:I mean yeah.
Jim Quigley:But if you're looking at like the arrows on teams, on, who do you think is going to be five, six, or who thinks going to be seven, eight, indiana and Orlando are playing much, much better than Miami and Philly right now. So you know we'll see what happens. I haven't looked at schedules, is not a lot of games left, so every game that you lose and the other team wins is a big game from here on out for those teams. And you know it's a risk, Look, look, it's a huge risk for Philly and Miami to be in that spot. They got to play each other. The loser would. Then, you know it's a one game playoff against whoever it is, atlanta and Chicago, and you probably feel confident that you would definitely beat them. But in one game, one game, anything wild can happen. So it's an interesting storyline. But that's it for me, mike, unless you have anything else you want to close with.
Mike Quigley:No big game Thursday. Well, it's not a big game but a good game Thursday night and everybody enjoyed the Celtics game. We'll check in with you guys next week.