• last year
Welcome to episode 152 of the A List Podcast with A. Sherrod Blakely, Gary Washburn, and Kwani A. Lunis. In this episode, Sherrod, Gary and Kwani discuss the Celtics hot start, questions about Boston's bench, and react to the James Harden trade sending him to the Clippers!

0:00 Teaser
1:03 Intro
1:37 Celtics off to a hot start
4:18 Wizards could have been a trap game for Celtics
8:22 Celtics bench performance was discouraging
11:27 FanDuel Sportsbook
12:09 Early overreactions: who are the best teams in the NBA right now?
15:44 Grant Williams is looking good in Dallas
17:03 Are Lakers underperforming so far?
18:10 Which Eastern Conference teams are exceeding or not reaching expectations?
21:38 James Harden is finally traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Who won the trade?
32:40 "Pick n' Roll" Game: Who is more impacted by Harden trade, Denver or Boston?
36:17 Looking ahead at upcoming Celtics games
40:39 Outro

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Transcript
00:00 I didn't like their energy.
00:02 I liked Lamar Stevens came in and did some good things,
00:05 but Delano Blanton was a minus 17.
00:08 Hauser missing countless open threes.
00:11 Pritchard missing open threes.
00:13 Those shots have to go down.
00:15 You do not want your starting lineup
00:17 to be worn to hell out by come April.
00:21 You got to have a bit more bench support.
00:23 You got to hit buckets.
00:25 And if they have to go out and get another bucket getter,
00:28 then I'm not saying they're going to do it now.
00:31 We're not even in November yet.
00:32 November's tomorrow.
00:34 So give them plenty of time.
00:36 But I'm just not encouraged by--
00:39 we saw a playoff preseason P with Pritchard,
00:43 and he ain't carried over to the regular season.
00:46 And Hauser getting in open threes.
00:49 He had two, but I think he missed his first six.
00:52 Then he had two late ones, really late garbage time.
00:55 But he's going to get open shots, and so is Pritchard.
00:58 They have to hit those to make defenses respective.
01:02 The A-List Podcast is brought to you
01:04 by FanDuel, the exclusive wedgering partner of the CLNS
01:07 Media Network.
01:09 Hello, everyone, and welcome into this episode
01:12 of the A-List Podcast.
01:13 I'm Kwanye Lunas.
01:14 As every week, I'm joined by Gary Washburn and A-Tron Blakely.
01:19 Hello.
01:20 Hello.
01:20 How are you two doing?
01:21 We're wonderful, Kwanye.
01:23 How are you today?
01:24 I'm doing well.
01:27 What's up, Kwanye?
01:28 Gary is already--
01:29 I'm sorry.
01:29 I'm sorry.
01:30 I know.
01:30 Gary's already checked out.
01:32 Goofy mood.
01:33 All right, we'll talk about the Celtics.
01:35 I know that's what you guys want to hear.
01:37 The Celtics off to a 3-0 start.
01:40 What have you gained so far?
01:42 They defeated the Wizards on Monday afternoon.
01:45 That's the most recent game, so we could just
01:47 start with that one.
01:47 Jaylen Brown's 36 points, 8 for 13 on 3.
01:51 Tatum with 33 points.
01:54 What do you think about this team?
01:55 It's three games in.
01:56 We're going to have to overreact every single week now.
01:58 Well, they already got the championship.
02:00 They got the week one championship.
02:01 Already locked up.
02:02 Obviously.
02:02 And the end season tournament.
02:04 Exactly.
02:04 Exactly.
02:06 Listen, they're balling out.
02:07 They're doing the things that you're supposed
02:09 to do when you're the favorite.
02:10 I like-- and Joe Mazzullo has talked about this a little bit,
02:12 about just the way they've approached games.
02:15 They have a very business-like mindset.
02:18 They're just going out there handling business.
02:20 The thing I loved about the Washington game
02:21 was that Washington was very undermanned in the middle.
02:25 And all-- or excuse me, in the front court,
02:26 due to injuries and things like that.
02:28 The Celtics played bully ball for that first quarter
02:31 to build that lead up.
02:32 I mean, you saw Tatum in the post.
02:33 You saw Jaylen in the post.
02:34 Drew Holiday in the post.
02:36 Guys were just basically bullying their way
02:39 to the basket.
02:40 And that opened things up on a perimeter.
02:41 And for me, that was a great example
02:44 of what happens when you have a game plan, execute it well,
02:47 and you take it to that next level.
02:48 For them, it was simply establishing control of the game
02:51 with your inside play.
02:52 And then that opens things up on a perimeter,
02:54 which Jaylen, Jason, and all those guys
02:57 were able to really make Washington
02:59 pay from the perimeter.
03:01 And that's the way you got to do it if you're the Celtics.
03:03 I mean, you have to put your foot on people's necks
03:07 when you have that opportunity, particularly when you're
03:09 playing a weak team like Washington.
03:11 I thought that they really took care of business early.
03:14 They knocked the team out.
03:15 Remember, Washington had beaten Memphis two nights before
03:18 pretty good, right?
03:19 Washington is a team that's young, rebuilding.
03:23 But they still got Jordan Poole, who can drop 30.
03:26 They still have Kyle Kuzma, who can drop 30.
03:29 Tyus Jones is a pretty good point guard.
03:31 They're-- how do I put this?
03:34 They're not trash.
03:35 They're not a trash team.
03:36 They're just a rebuilding team with some talent.
03:38 And they got some guys who--
03:40 Respectfully, they're not a trash team.
03:42 I was waiting for you to say that.
03:44 Respectfully.
03:44 First of all, they're not a trash team.
03:47 Second of all--
03:48 Second of all--
03:49 They're not a trash team.
03:50 They're not a trash team.
03:52 But they're going to go to the lottery.
03:54 They're in rebuild mode, right?
03:56 I feel bad for my guy Wes Unseld up there.
03:59 They gave him a job.
04:00 And then they trade Beal.
04:01 And now he's got a bunch of kids.
04:03 And it's like, no.
04:05 He's on the hook, maybe on the hot seat for maybe the first
04:08 coach to get fired after Billy Donovan in Chicago
04:12 because just--
04:14 they want to go fresh and new.
04:15 And Unseld's kind of caught in the middle.
04:18 But that could have been a trap game for the Celtics, right?
04:21 I mean, just as Wednesday against Indiana
04:23 is a good club.
04:24 So we'll see how that goes.
04:26 But it could have been a trap game.
04:28 They could have struggled.
04:29 They've had their slip ups in Washington.
04:31 It's not been a place that they've won consistently
04:34 over the years.
04:34 They've had ups and downs.
04:35 And they came here and took care of business.
04:37 Jumped out 37 to 11.
04:39 The crowd got into it.
04:41 And I was there.
04:41 And it was like, I would say, like,
04:45 one third Celtic crowd in there, if not more.
04:48 Like, there was all types of Celtic fans in the house
04:51 right behind the bench.
04:52 It was like Celtic South in that joint.
04:55 Because obviously, the Wizards fans
04:56 are just coming to watch basketball.
04:58 They don't expect to win.
04:58 Then here come the Celtics with Tatum.
05:00 I mean, them dudes come out.
05:02 They was cheering like they was the Globetrotters or whatever.
05:04 I mean, it was crazy to see the environment.
05:07 Usually-- I mean, there's road venues that the Celtics go on.
05:12 And there's a good amount of fans there.
05:13 LA.
05:15 There's some in San Francisco.
05:16 But Washington might be the one that's
05:18 the most overwhelming because there's like--
05:22 The ratio is off.
05:23 Yeah, not all that many Wizards fans.
05:25 I think people are going because they just
05:27 want to watch basketball.
05:28 There's not a lot of diehard Wizards fans going to the games.
05:31 So the Celtics fans took over.
05:33 So it was a good environment.
05:35 And for them to show up and punch them in the mouth,
05:38 put the-- hey, we taking care of you.
05:40 And then as we know, Joe Mazzulla
05:44 has a very good memory.
05:45 And he still kicks himself over that loss to Brooklyn last year
05:49 where they led by 28 points in the first half.
05:52 They were doing all this trickery stuff
05:54 and behind the back passes and dunks.
05:58 And they were playing with the game.
05:59 And they ended up losing the game by 10.
06:02 And that was just something that he never forgot.
06:05 So I like the way that the team kept their foot on Washington's
06:09 neck in the third quarter.
06:10 They're up 28, I think, or 26 at halftime.
06:14 And then they just go on, jump on an 8-0, 7-8-0 run
06:18 to begin the third quarter like, no, y'all ain't chipping away
06:21 here.
06:22 You're not doing this.
06:23 And then by the time the starters went out,
06:25 the Celts are up 33 now.
06:27 We can talk about the bench in the fourth quarter
06:29 because that got ugly.
06:32 And it shouldn't have been 126-107.
06:34 The Woods shouldn't have got 100 points in that game.
06:37 But I like the way that the Celts took care of business.
06:40 And I just think the business-like approach
06:42 is there.
06:43 Hale was hot, smoking hot from the three.
06:46 Tatum kind of came in.
06:48 And it was interesting.
06:50 But it was like you could see Jordan Poole.
06:55 And he ain't in Golden State no more.
06:58 So he got the green light to do all his chaos,
07:03 all his silly stuff, taking 30-footers,
07:07 making bad passes.
07:08 And then Kuzma kind of was trying
07:10 to turn this into a one-on-one with Tatum.
07:13 But Tatum--
07:14 Never works.
07:15 Yeah, Tatum is better.
07:17 And Kuzma's three years older.
07:19 Like if you really realize it, from the same draft,
07:22 but Kuzma was 22 when he got drafted.
07:25 And Tatum was 19.
07:27 So Tatum's like a superstar.
07:29 And Kuzma's still trying to find--
07:31 Kuzma's 28.
07:32 But you could tell how he was going at Tatum
07:35 and how he was trying to make it kind of like, I got--
07:38 like, no, man, it's my night.
07:39 And Jason put it on him in the third quarter to kind of--
07:45 because Jalen get 36.
07:46 Jason's like, OK, I got to get my 30, right?
07:49 So Jason guy is 30.
07:51 And they both left the game.
07:52 And to me, I thought it was a good litmus test for a team.
08:00 We've known the Celtics to struggle with lesser teams
08:02 over the years, including last year.
08:04 Remember they lost those two games to Orlando at home.
08:07 And that kind of started a real bad skid.
08:09 So I was impressed with the way they handled business.
08:12 And they got-- their schedule over the next--
08:14 you got Indiana, Brooklyn, and then Minnesota.
08:18 Teams they should beat.
08:19 So let's see how they handle those.
08:22 Gary, you did mention the bench, though.
08:24 We can just get right into that as well.
08:26 What more are you looking to see from the Celtics
08:29 in their, quote, supposed depth?
08:32 I'm looking--
08:33 Hey, Gary, first of all, be respectful.
08:35 And second of all, respectfully, what do you have to say?
08:38 First of all--
08:39 First of all, me, myself, I think that the bench--
08:46 me, myself.
08:48 I think they need to score.
08:50 OK, how about hit a basket?
08:52 That's breaking news.
08:53 Like, hit a basket.
08:54 Like, Forfer is the only one off the bench who is scoring.
08:57 And it's three games in.
09:01 They got plenty of time.
09:02 But how many open shots can Hauser and Pritchard miss?
09:07 They are combined 4 for 25 from the three-point line
09:10 in the early season.
09:11 And basically, yesterday, the fourth quarter,
09:18 team blows out one team.
09:20 Both teams put in their end of the bench guys,
09:22 two-way guys, dudes, non-Garrett.
09:25 So dudes is playing hard, right?
09:27 And so the Wizards just played harder.
09:31 They were tougher.
09:31 Like, this Eugene Ogbejime guy, this dude had 14 points
09:36 in like nine minutes.
09:39 There was one play where Cornette had a rebound,
09:44 had the ball, and dude just grabbed it from him
09:47 and took it from him.
09:48 Luke, fight for the ball.
09:50 Like, you're 7 foot.
09:51 Be tougher.
09:52 Like, they just--
09:54 I didn't like their energy.
09:57 I liked Lamar Stevens came in and did some good things.
10:00 But Delano Blanton was a minus 17.
10:03 Hauser missing countless open threes.
10:05 Pritchard missing open threes.
10:07 Like, those shots have to go down.
10:09 You do not want your starting lineup
10:11 to be worn the hell out by come April.
10:15 Like, you got to have more bench support.
10:17 You got to hit buckets.
10:19 And if they have to go out and get another bucket getter,
10:22 then I'm--
10:23 I'm not saying they're going to do it now.
10:25 We're not even in November yet.
10:27 November's tomorrow.
10:28 So give them plenty of time.
10:30 But I'm just not encouraged by--
10:33 we saw a playoff P in--
10:35 I mean, sorry, preseason P with Pritchard.
10:37 And he ain't carried over to the regular season.
10:40 And Hauser getting in open threes.
10:43 He had two, but he was--
10:45 I think he missed his first six.
10:47 Then he had two late ones, really late garbage time.
10:49 But he's going to get open shots.
10:51 And so is Pritchard.
10:52 They have to hit those to make defenses respective.
10:56 And then I'm not sure--
10:59 Sherrod's buddy, O'Shea Brissett,
11:01 I think he had a real positive impact against Miami.
11:04 Not so much against the Wizards.
11:07 He still-- he's not shooting well.
11:09 And I saw him that game in Indiana
11:11 where he hit seven threes against the Celtics.
11:12 So he's capable.
11:14 Bantam, I still don't know about.
11:16 I don't know.
11:17 And maybe they send him to the G League.
11:19 I don't know why he didn't put Jordan Walsh in the game.
11:23 I didn't know why.
11:25 He's the only one that didn't play.
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12:04 All right, I did mention that we were going to overreact
12:06 to everything because it's still very early on in the season.
12:09 So let's overreact a little bit more.
12:11 As you both know, right now, the Celtics
12:13 are the only undefeated team in the Eastern Conference.
12:17 The Western Conference, a little more competition.
12:19 Nuggets and Mavs are still up.
12:21 Warriors, Thunder.
12:22 So right now, whatever you want to pick, you can pick.
12:26 But who do you think are some of the best teams?
12:28 Whether it's the current record right now aside or not,
12:33 feel free to elaborate on who you think
12:37 looks the best right now.
12:38 Denver.
12:40 Denver and Boston.
12:41 I think those are--
12:42 to me, I think that they're--
12:44 not only are they, I think, playing a little bit better
12:46 than some of those other teams, they're just built differently
12:49 to sustain the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows.
12:52 #differentyear.
12:55 Look at you.
12:57 That's their Twitter hashtag.
12:58 You like that, huh?
12:59 #differentyear?
13:00 Yeah.
13:01 I think it's just an old--
13:02 It's better than unfinished business.
13:04 They couldn't go unfinished business again.
13:07 Nah, because that unfinished business wasn't finished.
13:10 So then they would just--
13:12 We really going to talk about finish business now.
13:15 First of all, we going to finish it.
13:16 Second of all, we're going to finish.
13:18 We here now.
13:19 If you want to talk about finishing it,
13:21 it won't be finished, but continue.
13:22 Yeah.
13:23 You're different.
13:24 The Celtics and the Nuggets, I think,
13:26 are just a slight head and shoulders above the others
13:32 because of the way they're built, because of the way
13:34 that they've been playing, and because what, to me,
13:38 stands out in more so Boston than Denver
13:43 is the ability to have different players impact
13:45 the game significantly.
13:47 Denver is all about Jokic, but you look at some of the things
13:49 that Aaron Gordon is doing and Murray
13:51 and some of the other guys, they've got a multitude of guys
13:54 stepping up.
13:55 And in Boston, Tatum, Brown, Derek White, Drew Holiday,
13:59 Prazingis, you start going down the line,
14:01 you have two teams that have a lot of hands
14:05 on deck that are making it so that this team becomes
14:08 very difficult to beat.
14:09 And like we touched on earlier, the thing
14:11 I like about the Celtics, what they're doing,
14:14 is they are simply playing to whatever
14:16 they need to do to beat you.
14:18 When they look over at the Washington Widgets
14:20 and realize that that team has a front court that
14:22 isn't that much bigger than us three right here.
14:24 And so what do they do?
14:25 They play volleyball.
14:26 And it wasn't just one guy, it was the entire team.
14:28 One of the first plays they went to,
14:30 they got a switch with Prazingis and Lelaus behind him
14:33 and he's got a little itty bitty Jordan Poole next to him.
14:36 That is what those great teams are capable of doing.
14:39 They recognize what they needed to be successful
14:42 on any given night.
14:43 And they focus on doing that one thing exceptionally well.
14:46 And that's why I think Denver and Boston are probably
14:48 the two best teams.
14:49 Dallas is going to--
14:50 they're going to take a few steps back for all of a sudden
14:52 down.
14:53 I just don't think that what they're doing
14:55 is going to be sustainable.
14:57 Even though Memphis is at the back of the pack now,
14:59 Olin, whatever the hell they are now,
15:01 I still think that team is going to get right at some point
15:03 between now and the playoffs and be one of the top five teams
15:07 out West with all said and done.
15:09 I ain't giving up on Marcus Smart just y'all did.
15:11 Just because y'all did.
15:12 I ain't looking too--
15:13 I wish you smart.
15:15 That's my dog.
15:17 Well, I'm going to unfortunately agree with Sherrod
15:21 and the Denver Nuggets are still to me
15:25 the best team in the league.
15:26 They're blowing teams out.
15:27 They went to Oklahoma City.
15:29 Oklahoma City--
15:29 Smashed them.
15:30 Yeah, had one at Chicago and at Cleveland at the beginning
15:34 of the season.
15:35 And they beat up on OKC.
15:36 Then OKC comes back and beats Detroit.
15:38 So it's not OKC problem.
15:41 Denver's the problem.
15:42 Denver's a problem for every team in the league.
15:44 Dallas, I think they're relying a lot on Luka.
15:48 But I think they need to get better defensively.
15:51 They have with Derek Lively, the rookie from Duke.
15:54 What about Grant?
15:55 Grant's doing good.
15:57 Grant's starting.
15:57 We're all happy for Grant.
15:58 Got the starting spot that he needed and wanted.
16:01 And there's--
16:02 He was about to overlook Grant.
16:03 You saw that, right?
16:04 He was going to just ease on past him.
16:06 He forgot.
16:07 Much respect on G. Willow.
16:09 Much respect for Grant Williams.
16:10 I really am happy he's getting his minutes.
16:13 The team to look out for though, Sherrod,
16:16 is the Golden State Warriors.
16:18 The Warriors, they lost that opener to Phoenix.
16:21 And they have been sweeping teams.
16:23 They won-- they beat the breaks off the Pelicans.
16:25 The Pelicans had gotten off to a good start.
16:27 Steph Curry's playing well.
16:29 Chris Paul's mixing in with that second unit.
16:31 Look out for the Warriors.
16:32 Now some teams that I think are not as good as I thought,
16:36 the Lakers, the Los Angeles.
16:39 They barely beat Orlando last night.
16:41 They lost to Sacramento the night before.
16:43 They barely beat Phoenix without Durant and--
16:46 sorry, Booker and Beal.
16:48 The other night, LeBron had to go 2006 on foos
16:52 to carry them to the victory.
16:54 I'm not as convinced with the Lakers,
16:56 with their quote unquote "depth," as I thought.
16:59 It's only game three or four for some of these teams.
17:01 They'll figure it out, I guess.
17:03 But I was expecting more from the Lakers
17:05 because of their depth.
17:07 Gabe Vincent isn't playing much.
17:08 Cam Reddish is back to being Cam Reddish.
17:11 Like Christian Wood is working out OK.
17:16 AD and LeBron are playing well.
17:18 D'Angelo Russell is still all over the place.
17:20 How does it feel to be a damn inconsistent D'Angelo--
17:27 how does it feel?
17:27 Never mind.
17:29 Kawhi didn't get that.
17:30 She was like four years old.
17:31 I feel like I know where you were going with that,
17:33 but I didn't get it.
17:34 I get it.
17:34 You didn't get it.
17:35 I didn't expect you to get how he doesn't feel.
17:38 I didn't expect you to get it.
17:40 That was like '97.
17:42 Did I burn the sky?
17:44 Kawhi was in preschool.
17:45 Anyway--
17:46 Anyways.
17:51 Kawhi was handling-- taking lunch pay, lunch money
17:56 in the jersey.
17:57 No responsibilities were had, OK?
18:00 It was one of my best--
18:02 Well, give me that--
18:02 Poking little East Orange kids around.
18:04 Orange.
18:05 [INTERPOSING VOICES]
18:07 Anyway.
18:07 Orange.
18:10 So I mean, there's some teams that are up and down,
18:14 but give it to the Celtics.
18:16 They have, to me, exceeded expectations so far.
18:20 We'll see what's up with the next schedule.
18:22 Milwaukee's a team that's--
18:23 they got blown out by Atlanta at home with Giannis and Lillard.
18:28 That was kind of crazy.
18:29 That was like, whoa, wait a minute.
18:31 Atlanta handled them, and then they
18:33 would come back and beat the Heat.
18:34 But the Heat's already like, we can talk about this,
18:38 and we should talk about this, this whole new--
18:41 and it's-- you know what?
18:42 I'm going to blame this on Sherrod.
18:44 You know why?
18:45 Sherrod's boy, Joe Dumars, laid down the hammer.
18:51 It's an 82-game season.
18:53 Y'all are fools better play.
18:54 He tried to go old school on them,
18:56 and these youngsters are like, oh, OK, old man.
18:59 We got you.
19:00 We got your low--
19:01 we got your low, man.
19:02 We got your 82-game season.
19:03 This ain't the '90s.
19:05 I'm taking-- oh, my hamstring.
19:08 I need a game.
19:09 Oh, my back.
19:11 Oh, my neck.
19:12 Oh, oh, neck spasms.
19:14 Oh, I can't play.
19:16 Oh.
19:17 So Fools is missing just as many games now as they did.
19:22 Miami rested out of Bayou.
19:24 They rested Jimmy Butler the night
19:26 after they lost to the Celtics.
19:28 Donovan Mitchell missed a game along with Darius Garland.
19:32 Missed the loss to Oklahoma City.
19:35 In spite of him.
19:36 I mean, it's crazy.
19:38 It's Sherrod's fault. His boy, Joe Dumars,
19:42 laid the hammer down on them kids.
19:44 He was like, oh, you're going to tell us
19:46 what you think we should do?
19:48 I got something for you, old man.
19:49 We're not going to do.
19:50 This ain't the bad boys.
19:53 But here's the problem, Gary, with these young boys
19:58 don't understand.
19:59 Uncle Joe is trying to do them a solid.
20:01 Because Uncle Joe is trying to make sure
20:04 that when networks are looking to do the new media rights
20:08 deal, that they have something that is meaty for them
20:10 to deal with.
20:11 If they're looking around and saying, damn,
20:12 we got all these players left and right missing games.
20:14 I don't know if we should be paying this amount of money
20:17 that the NBA is looking for.
20:18 Maybe we should pay this smaller number
20:20 because we're actually getting less bang for our buck
20:23 if we pay that top number.
20:24 So young fellas and not so young fellas are missing games.
20:27 Y'all keep missing them games right now.
20:28 Guess what else you're going to be missing?
20:29 You're going to be missing some of that cheddar.
20:31 Uncle Joe is trying to--
20:33 Gary, you saying, see what happens?
20:35 See what happens, fool.
20:36 See what happens.
20:38 That's old school right there.
20:39 See what happens.
20:40 See what happens.
20:42 Keep missing them games.
20:43 See what happens.
20:43 They're going to be looking around and be like,
20:45 where's my money?
20:46 Where's my money?
20:47 Right on the sidelines.
20:49 I'm going to tell you what happens.
20:50 You see--
20:51 On the sidelines.
20:53 --quite don't know about see what happens.
20:55 Well, I--
20:57 That's what your parents would tell you.
20:58 It's no money.
20:59 Keep doing that.
21:01 Keep doing that.
21:02 Come on the bench.
21:03 See what happens.
21:05 You want to--
21:06 You want to put--
21:07 You want to test one of the three?
21:10 Look under each box and see what prize you get?
21:14 Like, look-- an ass whooping under box one.
21:19 No video games under box two.
21:21 Again, guess one of these boxes for the prize.
21:24 Yeah, see what happens.
21:26 Real talk, though, I feel like the Clippers
21:29 in their deals with Philadelphia will kind of play that.
21:32 See what happens.
21:33 Go ahead, hold out from what you want.
21:34 See what happens.
21:35 See what happens.
21:36 Now look at what they got.
21:38 You cued me up perfectly.
21:39 Let's talk about the trade that everyone's been wanting to talk
21:42 about or listen to about this entire podcast episode.
21:47 Gary, your boy, James Harden.
21:49 Our friend Desmond Tutu.
21:52 You're a hero.
21:55 Mahatma Gandhi.
21:56 The most benevolent--
21:58 Give it to the people.
22:00 I am James Harden.
22:03 I will sacrifice $4 whole million of my $90 million
22:07 salary to sign other players.
22:09 Please worship me.
22:11 Hey, Gary, don't say I never did nothing for you.
22:14 James, don't say I never did nothing for you.
22:17 Sit down.
22:18 Man, sit your ass down, James.
22:20 Yeah, St. James is headed to LA.
22:24 That's exactly what he been doing.
22:27 What is he doing here?
22:28 He's headed to LA to the Clippers.
22:29 They get James Harden, PJ Tucker.
22:32 And Philly ends up getting Marcus Morris, Robert Covington,
22:36 Nick Batum.
22:37 They get a lot.
22:38 KJ Martin, some picks as well.
22:41 Who won this deal in your opinion?
22:43 But then also, what does this trade mean for Boston?
22:47 You know who won this deal?
22:49 Nobody.
22:49 Philly.
22:51 Philly.
22:52 Philly won the deal.
22:53 I'm going to tell you why.
22:54 Philly had a player who was just simply sucking up air,
22:59 taking up space, giving you absolutely zero benefit
23:03 by keeping him around.
23:04 You now have brought in a bunch of players
23:07 who aren't as good as James Harden, but guess what?
23:09 They go and play.
23:11 And you get some picks out of it as well.
23:13 And you just might stumble upon one or two guys
23:16 that can actually help you win some games.
23:19 Philadelphia, with James Harden, as dysfunctional as he was,
23:22 was not going to win a championship without him.
23:25 At least now you've got some hope
23:26 of competing for the postseason.
23:28 And actually, you might even get out of the first round.
23:31 But to me, they are the winner simply
23:34 because they got players who actually can play.
23:36 I'm not convinced.
23:37 When you start looking at Paul George,
23:39 you start looking at Kawhi Leonard, you got Russ,
23:43 and now you got James.
23:45 That's a lot of ballers who need the ball in their hands
23:49 to be effective.
23:50 Who is going to sacrifice?
23:52 Maybe it'll be the benevolent baller himself, James Harden,
23:55 who will sacrifice.
23:56 Because that's what you know about.
23:57 Benevolent baller, OK.
23:59 The benevolent baller is all about sacrifice.
24:01 That's Gary's boy.
24:02 Y'all went to the same high school?
24:03 That's your middle school homie.
24:06 I'm going to say--
24:07 I'm going to say--
24:08 They go way back, y'all.
24:09 They're trying to act like they don't know each other.
24:11 Act like you don't know me.
24:14 Philly, I'm the one to trade.
24:17 I agree with Sherrod, unfortunately, again.
24:19 I don't know what's gotten into me.
24:21 The fact they got Marcus Morris with a chip on his shoulder
24:24 going back home.
24:25 Now, Marcus is not the player he once was.
24:28 And it's tough to see because we saw a really good Marcus
24:31 Morris in Boston.
24:32 That was the best version of him, I think.
24:33 Marcus Morris, I thoroughly enjoyed his time as a Celtic.
24:38 I thought-- I was sad to let him go to the Knicks and all that.
24:43 But he's coming with a chip on his shoulder.
24:45 Nicholas Platoon can help you.
24:47 Not greatly, like he used to.
24:49 Robert Covington, same situation.
24:52 KJ Martin's an athletic-- another athlete
24:54 they can throw in.
24:55 Because look at what they've done.
24:58 They've got NB Baller, Tyrese Maxey taking that next step.
25:03 Kelly Oubre has been a factor for them.
25:05 And that was a thing.
25:07 Kelly's always been kind of up and down.
25:10 And everybody didn't know because, remember,
25:13 he didn't sign until late.
25:14 People weren't unsure how he would
25:17 react to a winning situation.
25:18 Can we trust Kelly?
25:20 Kelly kind of flaky.
25:21 Kelly kind of do his own thing.
25:24 But so far, Kelly is within the team.
25:26 And he's taken that third scoring role.
25:29 So I think Philadelphia is greatly helping Salem,
25:31 like Sherrod said.
25:33 Like Harden was at home chilling like bro man.
25:36 I mean, he was just eating a sandwich,
25:39 using Martin's new CD player.
25:43 It's like--
25:45 You ain't got to oil them in pepper wigs.
25:48 Quan, you get that reference, right?
25:49 Yes, I get that reference.
25:51 I was about to--
25:54 It's always something with y'all.
25:56 Anyway, Harden was chilling.
25:58 He wasn't going to play.
26:00 And if you throw him in a game, he was going to half-ass it.
26:02 So get him out of there.
26:04 The Clippers, like if you're talking about the all-star team
26:09 from 2016, hell yeah.
26:11 I'm taking Kawhi, Paul, Russ, and freaking James Harden.
26:16 I'm telling you, that's an all-star team.
26:18 That's in 2016?
26:20 Yeah.
26:21 It's 2023.
26:23 What the hell are we talking about here?
26:26 Like Paul and Kawhi, you hope they stay healthy.
26:29 Russ is 34, and Harden--
26:34 like, is LA a good place for you?
26:37 Respectfully--
26:39 Respectfully--
26:39 I saw some memes.
26:41 Well, I mean--
26:41 LA the spot?
26:42 Y'all saw the meme about the strippers that are so excited
26:45 for him to be in LA?
26:46 I was just going to say it.
26:48 I don't know if LA is the place.
26:50 When I was a kid and growing up in LA,
26:53 the motto of the city was LA is the place.
26:55 LA is the place, right?
26:58 LA might not be--
26:59 Rest in peace to all the bacon cows.
27:01 If y'all, me and your listeners are from LA,
27:03 our podcasters, we watching this from LA, they remember--
27:05 Get tagged, let us know.
27:06 LA is the place.
27:07 It is not the place for James Harden.
27:10 I don't know if LA is the place for him to be.
27:13 Like, you hope that at 33, 34, he matures,
27:19 but he still likes to get out.
27:20 But he says, you know what?
27:22 I can't do what at home what I didn't do in Houston.
27:26 Like, I can't get out like that.
27:27 I can't have my crew.
27:28 I can't have all the homies.
27:30 I don't think that's going to happen at 34.
27:32 You hope.
27:33 Hell yeah, he can do that.
27:34 You hope that he says, I'm trying to win a chip.
27:38 And I got to lock in and focus.
27:40 I'm sure, I will say, I'm sure Kawhi, especially in Paul,
27:45 and even in Westbrook will pull him aside and go, OK, James.
27:48 We know how you roll.
27:50 OK?
27:52 All them dudes got families and stuff.
27:54 We don't get out like you.
27:56 You think they will, though?
27:57 I don't think they pull him aside.
27:58 I think they got to tell him to control himself.
28:00 Like, wait till June.
28:03 When we win a chip, you can go buck naked down Crenshaw.
28:08 Like--
28:09 I'll donate a million.
28:10 Yeah, go.
28:12 Gary.
28:12 Buck naked down Crenshaw on Slawson.
28:14 Realistically, this would be--
28:16 That's not--
28:16 Don't lose your due, James.
28:17 This is what's going to happen.
28:19 He's going to have an episode where he going to be rolling
28:22 when he shouldn't be rolling, doing his part to--
28:26 his stimulus package for the community of LA
28:28 in his own way of providing him with funds.
28:32 And they're going to have a--
28:33 exactly.
28:34 They're going to have a game where
28:35 it's going to be clear as day that James just
28:38 didn't come with it today.
28:39 That he left whatever game he had,
28:42 he didn't bring that game to the gym.
28:43 He left it at another establishment.
28:45 Right, and that's when Paul and--
28:49 Somebody's going to go off.
28:50 James, what just happened, we can't let that happen no more.
28:54 There's going to have to be a moment like that.
28:56 And Tyler, they're going to have to have that happen for him
29:01 to reign him in.
29:02 Because if you come at him before he does something,
29:04 it's going to go in one ear, right out the other.
29:06 He'll get defensive, yeah.
29:07 Just like he always has with him.
29:10 Just like-- I mean, this is just who he is.
29:12 And let's be real, these are grown men.
29:14 They should know at this point--
29:16 I imagine they realize whether good or bad,
29:18 they are held accountable for their decision.
29:20 But there's only so much you can say to someone until,
29:23 like you said, it blows up where you can actually butt in
29:26 and be like, yo, do you want to win here?
29:29 Or what exactly is your agenda?
29:31 He's at that point now where he ain't changing.
29:35 The change that you're talking about, Gary, should have
29:37 happened at 30, 31, when you still have major game left.
29:43 And you had a chance to win a chip.
29:44 And now--
29:45 Why don't we talk to James Harden?
29:47 I'm not talking to James Harden.
29:48 That's Gary's--
29:49 Let's get a letter to James.
29:50 A letter.
29:51 Get an open letter.
29:52 Open letter to James Harden.
29:54 You don't know who I am.
29:56 I'm going to channel my inner James Evans
29:58 and talk to you like that.
29:59 Oh, James Evans.
30:01 Give him the James Evans speech.
30:02 You know who we should get to talk to, God bless his soul,
30:05 is Mr. Jones, Craig's daddy from Friday.
30:11 What the hell are you out there in the street for?
30:13 That would work.
30:13 You're out there shooting jumpers.
30:15 He should be in a gym.
30:16 What the hell are you doing?
30:18 He's putting that door down, boy.
30:19 He's putting that door down.
30:20 Boy, he's playing for the Clippers.
30:23 Yeah.
30:23 I think it'd be a success.
30:24 He should be head of the Clippers.
30:26 Yeah, like, we need--
30:28 what's gone in our community is the old school father.
30:31 Oh, Lord.
30:32 Here we go.
30:33 The James Evanses.
30:35 I'm going to say the Carl Winslows.
30:38 You know, the--
30:39 I was a big fan of Carl Winslows.
30:41 James Evans was my dude.
30:42 The Mr. Joneses.
30:44 The authoritarian father.
30:46 James Harden-- and I think all of us hope for the best.
30:53 Because he's such an entertaining player
30:55 when he's on, when he's engaged, he's locked in.
30:59 He's so fun to watch.
31:01 He has changed the game.
31:02 And maybe not for the necessarily positive,
31:05 but offensively changed the game.
31:07 Everybody does.
31:08 The four steps after they stop, he rid of that.
31:13 Everything that offensively, his moves, his arsenal,
31:17 getting to the line, locking dudes' arms up,
31:20 that's James Harden.
31:22 So for me, it's fun to watch him when he's locked in.
31:27 When he was busting the Celtics' ass, it was like, damn,
31:29 that's real old school 2015 James Harden.
31:34 It's 2023.
31:36 Can he do that as often?
31:38 And will he be focused enough in Los Angeles?
31:42 In LA to stay focused for a whole season.
31:47 There's 79 games left.
31:49 That's a long season.
31:52 And I know people talking to the strip club owners or the--
31:58 They got a draft pick.
31:59 It's like they got the number one draft pick.
32:01 They got the Wimby.
32:02 They got the Wimby of strip clubs.
32:03 The Players Club is reopening.
32:06 The Players Club is reopening.
32:10 We are expanding hours of service.
32:13 God bless our friend Bernie Mac.
32:16 Trouble, trouble.
32:19 The Players Club is opening.
32:22 Everybody is ramping up because Harden's back in town.
32:25 So let's hope he--
32:28 I just want to see him at his best
32:30 and see how good they can be when all the four guys are
32:34 locked in.
32:35 That's all I got.
32:36 No more strip.
32:37 I like it.
32:38 I like it.
32:38 So quickly, let's add a game of pick and roll to this.
32:42 Sherrod, you mentioned how Boston and Denver
32:44 were your number ones on the East and West, respectively.
32:48 So pick and roll, Boston or Denver,
32:50 who do you think is most impacted by this trade?
32:54 I would say that the Celtics only because Philly now
32:57 is a little bit more scrappy, a little more feisty, a team
33:00 that I still think the Celtics are significantly better than.
33:03 But if you meet them in the playoffs,
33:05 it's probably going to be a harder series now
33:07 than it would have been if they would have kept James Harden
33:09 and kept their team status quo.
33:11 Whereas when I look at the Clippers, to me,
33:15 they got to have the perfect storm in order
33:16 to really challenge Denver.
33:17 They've got to have a healthy Kawhi, a healthy Paul George,
33:22 kind of a three, four years ago version of Westbrook.
33:26 And the wild card in all this, James Harden,
33:28 is he going to be able to blend in with that group
33:32 without being a standout for all the wrong reasons?
33:35 A lot of things have to go a certain way for that Clippers
33:40 team to really be a serious, legitimate threat to Denver.
33:45 Whereas Philly, you just know they're not
33:47 going to win a championship, but they're going to play hard.
33:49 They're going to be a much harder playing team
33:51 and a tougher team to get past if you see them in the playoffs.
33:55 Yeah, I agree with Sherrod again.
33:57 Oh, boy.
33:58 I think it affects the Celtics more because now Philly
34:03 knows who they are.
34:05 They know the players are coming in.
34:07 They know what they need to do.
34:09 Nick Nurse no longer has to worry about,
34:11 how am I going to get through to James Harden?
34:13 He is gone.
34:14 The players are going to come in.
34:16 They're going to be motivated.
34:17 Remember, Robert Covington's played there
34:19 before during the tough times of the process.
34:22 So he's back in one of his old teams.
34:25 Marcus Morris is from Philly.
34:26 He's Philly proud.
34:28 I mean, ain't no more Philly than Marcus Morris.
34:30 I love that dude.
34:31 Nicholas Petun, a total pro's pro,
34:34 so he'll do whatever he's supposed to do.
34:36 KJ Martin, obviously an athlete, a guy
34:38 who probably needs to be in more of a winning situation
34:41 than he was in Houston.
34:42 So I think the Philly can ramp up and get excited.
34:46 And now with Nick Nurse as a coach,
34:49 take a positive step forward and say, listen,
34:51 we can compete with Milwaukee and Boston in the East.
34:53 I don't think--
34:54 I think Philly's thrilled about this
34:56 because they got kind of what they wanted.
34:58 They didn't get Terrence Mann.
35:00 Where the Clippers, like Shara said,
35:02 everything got to go right.
35:03 And things just don't go right for the Clippers.
35:05 I covered the Clippers many, many years ago.
35:08 And they just can't get right then.
35:11 Was Pooh Martin on the team then, Gary?
35:13 Pooh Richeson, yes.
35:15 Richeson?
35:16 And Derek Martin, yes.
35:17 That's-- yeah.
35:18 They were one in the same.
35:20 Pooh Martin, Derek Richeson, you know.
35:23 Both--
35:24 Exactly.
35:24 They both went to UCLA.
35:26 That's their commonality.
35:27 So like, we every time-- the Clippers, remember?
35:32 The Clippers in '19, they signed Kawhi.
35:34 They blew a 3-1 lead in the bubble.
35:37 Lou Williams got caught with the chicken wings.
35:40 Cats didn't want to--
35:41 cats didn't want to like come to the bubble.
35:45 They weren't engaged.
35:46 Then injuries have taken over the last few years.
35:48 So with the Clippers, you're sort of waiting
35:51 for the shooter to drop.
35:52 Like, y'all ain't going to be completely healthy
35:55 and completely engaged.
35:57 And the one dude who can mess it up, as we talked about,
35:59 is James Harden.
36:01 But I don't think this makes him the best team in the West.
36:03 I think they're going to need 20 to 30 games to figure out
36:06 how Harden works into the offense.
36:08 But if he's engaged, they're a real contender.
36:10 I don't know about Denver, but I do
36:13 think they're in that second tier.
36:17 Quickly looking ahead to the next few games
36:19 before we reconvene for our podcast,
36:22 they play the Pacers at home, the Nets in Brooklyn,
36:25 the Timberwolves in Minnesota.
36:28 I think we'll record by then.
36:29 So those next three games, what are your expectations
36:33 from the Celtics?
36:34 And is there any matchups particularly
36:36 that you're looking forward to the most?
36:37 What you got, Gary?
36:40 Well, yeah, all of them.
36:41 Indiana's a tricky team.
36:44 They've been a little bit up and down,
36:45 but they got a lot of talent.
36:47 Remember Bruce Brown, Obi Toppenstall with Halliburton,
36:51 Buddy Hiltz, our friend Aaron Nisman,
36:55 signed an extension with him.
36:56 So they view him as kind of a piece for the future.
37:00 Our friend Daniel Tice, who looked like debtless shrimp,
37:05 like a dominant player in the World Championships.
37:08 That's right.
37:08 Put some respect on his name, too.
37:10 I did not.
37:11 Put some respect on Milo's daddy.
37:13 But so that's an interesting game.
37:16 Brooklyn, Cam Thomas, Sherrod's buddy, Cam Thomas,
37:21 the kid from LSU.
37:22 I love Sherrod's buddy.
37:23 I mean, I think he got 100 points in his first three
37:27 games.
37:27 Like, he's putting them up.
37:29 He's going to beat up.
37:30 He don't play no defense, but he gets the buckets.
37:32 But they'll score, and that's a dangerous team.
37:34 And then Minnesota, the Ant Man, that's a tough place
37:37 for them to play.
37:38 So three challenging games.
37:41 If the Celtics don't focus, they should win all three.
37:44 But three challenging games, and three games
37:47 that should test them.
37:48 And at this point, you don't want
37:50 to see them win every game by 30.
37:51 You want to see them get tested.
37:53 You want to see them how they defend Thomas,
37:55 how they defend Anthony Edwards, how they deal with Gobert,
37:58 how they deal with Miles Turner.
38:01 So I'm looking forward to it.
38:03 It should be a nice little intriguing stretch for them.
38:06 Yeah, I mean, the one thing we've seen from the Celtics
38:08 so far is their ability to adapt to whatever
38:11 opponent they're facing.
38:12 When they have a team that's weak in the front court,
38:14 they play bully ball.
38:15 When they've got a team that maybe
38:17 is a little bit more rigid around the middle,
38:19 they kill them from outside.
38:20 And defensively, their ability to just rotate.
38:23 And that 2-1-2 full court press is really, really good.
38:30 It certainly gave Washington some problems.
38:31 And it would be something that they'll
38:33 utilize from time to time as we go through the season.
38:36 But for me, when I look at this upcoming stretch,
38:38 I look at how are they going to handle the marquee
38:42 players for their opponents.
38:43 Are they going to be able to minimize their impact
38:46 and maybe let some of the second tier, third tier players
38:50 around go loose?
38:51 Or are they just going to suffocate the entire team?
38:53 And they've shown the ability to really take away the top score
38:57 or minimize them.
38:58 You look at Jimmy Butler was a non-factor.
39:01 Go back to Jalen Brunson, didn't really do much.
39:04 Jordan Poole got some buckets.
39:05 But when you start looking at what specifically Derek White
39:09 and Drew Holiday have been able to do
39:11 to opposing top tier guards under opponents,
39:14 it's been insane.
39:15 You go back and look at the first two games
39:17 where you have Jalen Brunson and you had Jimmy Butler,
39:19 they were a combined 0 for 8 when
39:23 they were guarded by either Derek White or Drew Holiday.
39:26 And last night, or the other night, what's his name?
39:30 Jordan Poole, he was like, I want to say like 3 for 7,
39:33 3 for 8 when he was guarded by those guys.
39:35 So again, the Celtics are showing the ability
39:38 to not only deliver dominant play
39:40 at the point of attack at that point guard, shooting guard
39:43 position, but then you've got to think about, damn, Tatum
39:46 is giving me 30.
39:48 Damn, Jalen is giving me 30.
39:50 Damn, Porzingis could give me 25 and 10.
39:53 That collectively makes them-- and Al is in playing
39:56 major minutes, but Al's giving you like 6, 7, 8 rebounds
39:59 in like 15 minutes.
40:01 The Celtics have shown the ability
40:03 to adapt their roster and their rotations
40:05 to whatever they need to do to put others in a very tough
40:09 spot.
40:10 And their ability to-- and we talked about this earlier,
40:12 having a business-like mentality about it, that's huge for them.
40:17 And that's why they're-- again, they're going to be one of,
40:19 if not the last team standing in the East,
40:21 if they continue to play with that mindset and stay healthy.
40:25 And for those who are curious, right before our next podcast
40:29 episode--
40:30 well, right after the next episode,
40:32 the Celtics will take on that new look Philly team.
40:34 So you'll be able to see what they look like over there
40:38 as well.
40:39 But until then, we have a lot to look forward to this season,
40:42 as we've said already.
40:45 Any final words, co-host?
40:48 Respectfully--
40:50 No.
40:52 Disrespectfully.
40:53 No, I'm just looking at Gary's magic glow light microphone.
40:58 Microphone.
40:59 Yeah.
41:00 Showing us up.
41:01 Well, it should be some good basketball.
41:04 The Celts are off to a good start.
41:06 And we'll see how everything kind of shakes out.
41:08 It looks like the starting lineup is set.
41:11 Corford's comfortable coming off the bench.
41:14 And we'll see how they take on the rest of the league.
41:16 But so far after a week, they look like one of the best
41:18 teams.
41:19 Mm.
41:20 And now your boy James is home, Gary.
41:23 So--
41:24 James is home.
41:25 LA is my place.
41:25 Your classmate.
41:26 Full circle.
41:28 Well, we want to thank you all for listening to this episode
41:31 of the A-List Podcast.
41:32 I'm Quanie Lunas, A-Shard Blakely, Gary Washburn.
41:36 We'll be back next week with another edition
41:38 of the A-List Podcast.
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