Drew Carter of NBC Sports Boston joins us to discuss the Celtics quarter-final loss to a vengeful Aaron Nesmith and the Indiana Pacers, and what lies ahead for the Celtics in the immediate future. Plus, life as the emerging voice of the Celtics, and much more.
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SportsTranscript
00:00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00:03 [INAUDIBLE]
00:00:13 And it is Marcus Short as he usually is.
00:00:15 [INAUDIBLE]
00:00:18 That's not the first time we've seen a superstar
00:00:21 of many a white man start to fight on the body.
00:00:23 [INAUDIBLE]
00:00:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:00:30 Ben Ballas here with First to the Floor,
00:00:33 along with Wayne Spooney and Jake Eisenberg.
00:00:36 Thank you for joining us.
00:00:37 Hope you're doing well.
00:00:38 A disappointing loss for the Celtics last night.
00:00:40 They are instead back home in Boston instead of Vegas,
00:00:43 awaiting the outcome of tonight's Knicks-Bucks game.
00:00:46 But we're going to try and bring some levity here,
00:00:48 and joining us to do just that from NBC Sports Boston,
00:00:50 new voice of the Celtics, Drew Carter.
00:00:52 Drew, welcome, mate.
00:00:53 How's it going?
00:00:54 What's up, fellas?
00:00:54 It's great.
00:00:55 Great to be here.
00:00:56 As you can see, I recently moved to Boston,
00:00:58 so I have nothing in my background.
00:01:01 I've been told it's better than Greeny's from Barstool,
00:01:04 though.
00:01:06 I've not been kidnapped, so that's a plus.
00:01:08 And yeah, I'm watching this game right now on TV.
00:01:11 And some in-season tournament, I don't
00:01:13 know what that's all about.
00:01:14 I've never heard of the in-season tournament before.
00:01:17 So I don't know what they're doing, but it
00:01:18 looks interesting.
00:01:19 Exactly.
00:01:20 What in-season tournament, right?
00:01:21 Like, we never cared about--
00:01:22 I know we spent the whole last podcast selling everyone
00:01:24 on the importance of this thing.
00:01:26 But suddenly, it doesn't feel important anymore, guys.
00:01:28 Spoonie, Jake.
00:01:30 I never cared.
00:01:31 Yeah.
00:01:32 I'm--
00:01:33 It was all a ruse.
00:01:34 Yeah, I was screaming in my living room
00:01:37 for Joe Mizzou to put Luke Cornett back in to make sure
00:01:40 we won the game by 23 points, and then definitely did not
00:01:43 flip to the Raptors-Nets game to scream at Spencer Dinchitty
00:01:47 to not ruin everything for me.
00:01:48 That didn't happen.
00:01:49 None of that happened at all.
00:01:51 I definitely didn't defend the Hacker Drummond with my life.
00:01:55 Absolutely never happened.
00:01:57 Did not care.
00:01:58 Yeah.
00:01:59 Absolutely.
00:02:00 The mortgage bump is a new phenomenon, clearly, in the NBA.
00:02:03 We saw that for Luke Cornett the last couple of days.
00:02:05 We've seen the baby bump.
00:02:06 We've seen all kinds of bumps, statistical and performance
00:02:09 related bumps.
00:02:09 The mortgage bump is a new piece of intel
00:02:12 to be gathered from the in-season tournament,
00:02:13 and nothing else.
00:02:14 Nothing else important is going to come from this,
00:02:16 as far as I'm concerned.
00:02:17 Drew, you mentioned you just moved to Boston.
00:02:19 Obviously, you're only doing road games at the moment.
00:02:21 How does that work for you otherwise?
00:02:23 How are you spending your time when you're not calling games?
00:02:25 Yeah, Ben, it's a good question.
00:02:27 I guess technically, I don't really have to live here yet.
00:02:30 Starting next year, when I do the full slate following Mike,
00:02:33 I would.
00:02:34 But I just wanted to be here, man.
00:02:36 I want to be in the mix.
00:02:37 And thank you, Landon.
00:02:38 I just want to be in Boston, be part of this community.
00:02:41 Because one of the things I've learned--
00:02:43 and I already knew this before I started working with the team,
00:02:46 but that has really been crystallized for me
00:02:49 since I started working here--
00:02:51 is the fan base is insane in the best possible way.
00:02:56 It's true.
00:02:57 There's a reason why there are 1,000 Celtics podcasts,
00:03:01 and why it's been a pleasure to get
00:03:03 to chat with a bunch of people like you guys about just
00:03:05 how much we love this team.
00:03:07 And it's also good that the team is nasty.
00:03:10 I mean, last night, notwithstanding,
00:03:13 it's great to be part of such a good team.
00:03:15 So I just wanted to be here, talk to people about it,
00:03:18 and learn a little bit more about Boston.
00:03:19 And then, who knows, maybe in a few years
00:03:21 I actually sound like I'm from here, like Mike.
00:03:25 That's going to be great.
00:03:27 The closer your voice gets to Tommy Heinsohn and Mike
00:03:31 Gorman, the better.
00:03:32 I guess that's what you can do in your off days,
00:03:34 is just grind Heinsohn tape, but broadcast only.
00:03:38 And Heinsohn, the funny thing about him
00:03:40 is I don't even think he was from Boston originally.
00:03:42 I think he was born, at least, in New Jersey.
00:03:46 So it gives me hope that you can pick up
00:03:49 and sound like you're from Boston,
00:03:50 even if you weren't actually born there originally.
00:03:53 [LAUGHTER]
00:03:53 Love it.
00:03:54 Exactly.
00:03:56 Yeah, so we were joking about the in-season tournament.
00:03:59 We were pretty pumped.
00:04:00 We thought it was awesome.
00:04:01 But what was the atmosphere like in Indy?
00:04:05 Because it looked pretty raucous.
00:04:07 That crowd was loud on TV.
00:04:09 And how did it compare to--
00:04:11 I know nothing compares to a Monday night in Charlotte.
00:04:13 Obviously, that's the best atmosphere of basketball.
00:04:15 But how did it compare to games you've called on the road?
00:04:19 And what was uglier, the court or Halliburton's jump shot?
00:04:22 [LAUGHTER]
00:04:24 There's a lot there, Spoony.
00:04:25 So first of all, on the atmosphere,
00:04:28 to give you guys an idea of what my brain is
00:04:33 doing during a broadcast.
00:04:35 So there was a moment where we showed some crowd shots.
00:04:39 You guys remember in the last dance,
00:04:40 the crazy lady who was heckling the Bulls?
00:04:44 I think it was in Utah.
00:04:45 You guys remember what I'm talking about?
00:04:46 Yeah, 100%.
00:04:47 So for a moment there, I was trying to remember,
00:04:51 was that woman from Indiana in the last dance?
00:04:53 Because I know the Bulls mapped up with the Pacers.
00:04:56 And she kind of looked like she could
00:04:58 be from Indiana or Utah.
00:05:00 I thought about making a reference to the last dance.
00:05:02 But then I remember that I think she was from Utah.
00:05:04 I was about 99% sure.
00:05:05 But that tells you all you need to know about how juiced up
00:05:08 people were in there.
00:05:09 There was a lot of energy.
00:05:12 I haven't called an NBA playoff game, but I've been to them.
00:05:14 I've sort of felt like that in the arena.
00:05:18 And I also think that--
00:05:20 not to say this didn't mean a lot to the Celtics,
00:05:22 but I think for a team like the Pacers--
00:05:23 and we saw it last night with the Pelicans as well--
00:05:26 they probably know this is their best chance
00:05:29 to win a tournament this season.
00:05:32 Whereas with the Celtics, and again,
00:05:35 not to say they weren't trying last night,
00:05:36 but I think it's human nature to know, hey,
00:05:39 we've got the real tournament coming up in the spring.
00:05:42 Whereas with the Pacers, I think we all
00:05:44 agree they're a playoff team, but probably not
00:05:46 a legit contender, at least not when you get to seven game
00:05:49 series.
00:05:50 And so for them, this did feel big.
00:05:52 We said it a couple of times last night.
00:05:54 It sort of felt like it was their Super Bowl.
00:05:56 And Tyrese Halliburton is a guy who is competitive as hell.
00:06:00 And he didn't even play in their last game Saturday at Miami,
00:06:03 and they still scored 144.
00:06:04 But he was out with a slash injury.
00:06:06 He had an illness slash bone bruise in his knee.
00:06:09 So he legit missed that game, came back two nights later,
00:06:12 and was incredible.
00:06:13 He had two assists at halftime, and they ended up with 13.
00:06:17 He basically had a triple-double in the third quarter alone.
00:06:19 So all that to say, the atmosphere was amazing.
00:06:22 It's easy to forget because it was a 10-point final.
00:06:24 It was a tie game with under two minutes left.
00:06:26 It was just really, really fun.
00:06:28 And the thing is, Scal and I weren't going to Vegas anyway,
00:06:32 but the players were.
00:06:34 And I think they were pretty upset that they
00:06:36 didn't get the chance to go.
00:06:38 For some of the guys, the $500 grand would mean a lot.
00:06:40 For Tatum and Brown and guys making that much money,
00:06:42 it wouldn't.
00:06:43 But you could see how disappointed JT and JB were
00:06:46 that they weren't going to Vegas.
00:06:47 Like Brown said, I guess we'll have
00:06:49 to settle for Encore in Boston.
00:06:50 And I might be joining them there this week
00:06:52 because I don't have a road game anymore.
00:06:54 But yeah, you could tell that both teams really
00:06:56 wanted to win.
00:06:57 OK, now I understand Encore in Boston.
00:06:59 I was like, does that just mean we're going to play again
00:07:02 in Boston?
00:07:02 That's a club.
00:07:04 This is what happens when--
00:07:06 Casino.
00:07:06 Casino.
00:07:07 Oh, mate, now you're talking my language.
00:07:09 All right.
00:07:09 But yeah, so that's-- see, that's
00:07:10 the problem with living on the other side of the world,
00:07:13 intimately familiar with the club scene in Boston.
00:07:17 But I think there's a few reasons
00:07:18 why it meant a lot to Andy.
00:07:19 You're absolutely right.
00:07:20 This is like their chance to win something.
00:07:23 And Halliburton's talked already this season about,
00:07:26 like, I just want to win now.
00:07:27 I lost a lot in Sacramento.
00:07:30 People talk about that trade and how maybe the Kings
00:07:33 shouldn't have done it.
00:07:34 It was a dumpster fire.
00:07:35 I remember when they made that trade,
00:07:37 there was like a sign behind the broadcast that just said,
00:07:39 welcome to hell, Domas.
00:07:41 So he was losing a lot there.
00:07:45 They lost a lot with Indy.
00:07:48 And so one, they just want to win something.
00:07:50 And Indy hasn't had real playoff basketball in a while.
00:07:52 Now, the last time they were in the playoffs,
00:07:54 they played actually the Celtics in round one.
00:07:56 Celtics swept them.
00:07:58 Two, revenge game, Aaron Neesmith.
00:08:01 That's one part of the revenge game.
00:08:03 Secondly, the Celtics beat them by 50 recently.
00:08:06 And then also, Halliburton just, for some reason,
00:08:09 absolutely kills the Celtics, since he's
00:08:11 entered the league, especially since getting to the Pacers.
00:08:13 He just murders us.
00:08:14 And so you put all that together,
00:08:16 especially with the epilepsy-inducing court colors,
00:08:21 it was just a recipe for a cauldron.
00:08:24 I don't know if I would say epilepsy-inducing.
00:08:27 I would say it more felt like it was a Saturday morning
00:08:30 and I was watching cartoons.
00:08:31 OK.
00:08:33 Maybe he had some kind of candy.
00:08:35 Yeah, but the court actually looked pretty cool in person.
00:08:38 I will say that.
00:08:39 I don't know if I could say the same thing for Chicago,
00:08:42 and we won't get the chance to see that.
00:08:43 But the Bulls, to me, had the worst court.
00:08:46 It basically made my eyes bleed when I was watching that.
00:08:49 And I don't know if it looked better in person,
00:08:51 but I think the Pacers won that.
00:08:52 You know, the Pacers won was one of the ones that was all right.
00:08:54 Magic won was good.
00:08:55 I thought the Boston one was fine, too.
00:08:57 The Chicago ones and stuff struggled as well.
00:09:00 But OK, how did we lose this game?
00:09:03 Like, there's obviously a few things to choose from here.
00:09:07 One, the Pacers were just really good, I think.
00:09:10 You know, 47% from three.
00:09:12 Turnovers, late game stuff, the 58 second avalanche,
00:09:17 where he was 105, 105, 142 to go.
00:09:20 And then it's just Halliburton four point play, turnover.
00:09:24 So you know, take your pick, Trudy.
00:09:27 Well, I think there are a few reasons, Jake.
00:09:30 And they were all kind of highlighted
00:09:32 in that third quarter, which has been an issue for the Celtics
00:09:34 all season.
00:09:35 I mean, they now have a negative point differential
00:09:38 in the third quarter for the entire year, which,
00:09:42 you know, for my opinion, the best team in the NBA
00:09:44 just doesn't make any sense.
00:09:46 You know, if you look at the first quarter,
00:09:48 the Celtics outscored teams by almost seven points per game,
00:09:50 which is twice as good as anyone else in the league.
00:09:53 Like, they have a chance to be the best first quarter
00:09:55 team in NBA history.
00:09:56 Pretty good in the second, pretty good in the fourth.
00:09:59 But for some reason, coming out of halftime,
00:10:02 they kind of look a little flat.
00:10:05 And that was the case last night.
00:10:06 So they get outscored by 14 in the third.
00:10:08 And I think the biggest reason why
00:10:10 is the three point shooting, like you mentioned,
00:10:14 but also the turnovers.
00:10:15 So you look at the last two games, guys.
00:10:17 The Celtics had 20 turnovers against Philly Friday
00:10:22 against a Philly team that was missing its two best players.
00:10:24 So that should not have been a close game.
00:10:26 But it was because the Celtics were mistake prone.
00:10:29 And I don't know if they weren't as up for the game
00:10:31 as they otherwise would have been if those two guys had
00:10:33 been playing.
00:10:34 But they turn it over 20 times, which is a season high.
00:10:37 Come out, they turn it over 18 times at Indiana.
00:10:40 And if you give that team live ball turnovers, you're done.
00:10:45 I mean, they play at the fastest pace in the league.
00:10:47 They have the most efficient offense to this point in NBA
00:10:50 history.
00:10:51 Same thing with the raw scoring numbers.
00:10:52 They shoot a ton of threes.
00:10:54 If you turn it over against them,
00:10:56 you are not going to have a very good chance to win unless you
00:10:59 shoot the lights out from deep.
00:11:00 And they just didn't do that.
00:11:01 I mean, Hauser was great.
00:11:02 Aside from him, I think we were 6 for 33 or something
00:11:06 like that from distance.
00:11:07 Just very uncharacteristic performance from the Celtics.
00:11:10 And so we were talking about Greenie from Barstool earlier.
00:11:13 He loves tweeting out the Missoula ball thing.
00:11:16 But this is where it bites you.
00:11:18 I mean, because the Celtics are very
00:11:20 reliant on the three point shot.
00:11:21 I personally think that it's a fine strategy.
00:11:24 And we've seen teams win championships
00:11:26 by doing that in the past.
00:11:27 But you end up with nights like this, where if only one
00:11:30 guy is hot, the rest of the team is ice cold,
00:11:33 you are not going to keep pace with that team.
00:11:35 No pun intended.
00:11:36 Yeah, we've been cataloging win types so far this season,
00:11:40 and loss types.
00:11:41 And I think the way that we lost last night,
00:11:43 we've seen it before this season already a couple of times.
00:11:45 Minnesota comes to mind also, where we actually
00:11:48 don't shoot well at all from three.
00:11:49 And yet we still somehow are in a position
00:11:51 to win the game, a tie game with two or one few minutes to go.
00:11:55 And unfortunately, those Tyrese Halliburton threes
00:11:58 looked like he just magicked them in.
00:12:00 We were talking before we recorded,
00:12:01 like it looked like a Patrick Ewing push shot from the post,
00:12:04 but from beyond the three point arc.
00:12:06 It was ridiculous how unnatural that shooting motion looked,
00:12:09 and yet how confidently he put them up
00:12:11 and executed for his team.
00:12:12 So like you said, Jake, Tyrese Halliburton kills this team.
00:12:15 But I suppose the one thing that's
00:12:17 helping me as a Celtics fan not feel traumatized by the three
00:12:21 ball leaving this team again and again, which we've
00:12:23 seen time and time again, is that they somehow this year
00:12:26 are still finding themselves in a position
00:12:28 to win the game despite that.
00:12:30 Yeah, and Ben, just to touch on the Halliburton three point
00:12:34 shot, I think I was listening to my buddy
00:12:37 Scal on Sirius XM this morning.
00:12:39 They make a good point.
00:12:40 Like Halliburton, if you're an NBA sicko,
00:12:43 like everyone on this call is, and I'm sure everyone watching,
00:12:45 you know how good that dude is.
00:12:47 There's no surprise when you see Tyrese Halliburton.
00:12:50 But I think that was their first national TV game of the season.
00:12:53 And so for him, it was a bit of a coming out party.
00:12:55 Yeah, and I guess, look, as an objective NBA fan,
00:12:59 it's cool to see him kind of break out like that.
00:13:01 Obviously, as a Celtics fan, you don't
00:13:03 love to see it against our team.
00:13:04 But he is pretty unique.
00:13:07 He is a special guy.
00:13:08 And one thing for maybe for another episode of this podcast
00:13:12 if you want to debate something non-Celtics,
00:13:14 but I asked Scal this last night,
00:13:17 if you could draft one of Anthony Edwards, Tyrese
00:13:21 Halliburton, De'Aaron Fox to start your team,
00:13:24 where would you go?
00:13:25 I think that's a real debate.
00:13:26 So we don't have to do that now.
00:13:27 Dude, we can do it.
00:13:28 I think that's fine.
00:13:29 Oh, man, we were two slots off Halliburton
00:13:33 dropping to us in that trough.
00:13:34 That's Spoonie.
00:13:36 You go.
00:13:37 All right.
00:13:39 Look, De'Aaron Fox is a great player.
00:13:41 I think he's older than both of those guys.
00:13:43 I just absolutely think he's third to me.
00:13:47 I'm a big Ant guy.
00:13:48 I love Anthony Edwards.
00:13:50 I think defensively, he's better than Halliburton, too.
00:13:53 But the way Halliburton--
00:13:55 this is going to sound maybe insane,
00:13:57 but he's almost like magic in the way it's like everyone
00:14:00 else has to play to his pace.
00:14:04 He has such an incredible impact on just in control of the game
00:14:08 in that it's so frenetic.
00:14:10 I almost had trouble identifying strategy last night
00:14:13 because it was just so up and down.
00:14:16 And that is really like Halliburton's ethos
00:14:18 that just permeates to the rest of the team.
00:14:21 And I think that's a very rare skill
00:14:23 that a small number of guys in NBA history possess.
00:14:27 So I would probably-- maybe this is recency bias
00:14:31 because he just roasted us in the fourth quarter.
00:14:34 But I think I'd take Hallie one right now.
00:14:37 It is hard not to go for Hallie, especially after he's
00:14:40 ripped our hearts out again.
00:14:42 But a big part of yesterday was the Celtics attacking
00:14:46 Halliburton on the other end.
00:14:49 But with Hallie, I do think he's someone
00:14:51 that I think will get better at defense as he gets older.
00:14:54 He's still so young.
00:14:55 He's still so skinny.
00:14:56 I know the Ringer wrote an article today,
00:14:58 which is the Bill Simmons special,
00:15:01 how can we overreact with some hyperbole.
00:15:03 It's like this is Halliburton's 54 in the garden,
00:15:06 comparing it to Steph Curry's 54 points in the garden.
00:15:11 You know, first quarter--
00:15:12 yeah, and our first in-season tournament quarterfinal.
00:15:16 But I think Halliburton can get better defensively
00:15:20 as he gets older.
00:15:20 I think he'll be someone that really cares about it,
00:15:23 gets stronger.
00:15:23 But I do think Anthony Edwards ceiling as a two-way guy,
00:15:30 he does actually remind me a fair bit of Tatum.
00:15:31 If he's able to really get his shot diet under control,
00:15:35 he settles a lot.
00:15:37 Instead of getting to the rim, similar to Tatum,
00:15:39 once he kind of gets downhill and uses that a little bit
00:15:42 more, I think he gives you a more surefire two-way kind
00:15:46 of ceiling.
00:15:47 But for me, it's Edwards, Hallie, Fox.
00:15:49 I love Fox as well, but I think the ceiling of those two guys
00:15:54 is high.
00:15:55 Drew's like a Fox guy.
00:15:56 I can see it in your face.
00:15:58 I mean, look, I do that, but I'm probably with you guys.
00:16:02 I think you'd be third on the board.
00:16:04 It's just-- it's tough.
00:16:05 And really, I think--
00:16:06 like, I'm watching Jalen Brunson right now,
00:16:08 and he just scored.
00:16:09 He's not even in that mix.
00:16:11 I know he's kind of at a different stage of his career.
00:16:13 And Lillard's on the floor as well.
00:16:15 He's older now.
00:16:16 But there's so much good basketball being played.
00:16:20 Like, that's really the moral of the argument, I would say.
00:16:24 And it's cool, I think, that the Pacers and the Pelicans
00:16:27 are going to Vegas, because we get a chance
00:16:30 to see those teams on a bigger stage
00:16:31 than they otherwise would be.
00:16:33 I mean, most of the national TV regular season games
00:16:36 are our team, the Knicks, the Lakers, maybe the Clippers
00:16:40 sometimes, recent champs like the Bucs and the Nuggets.
00:16:43 But these teams are ascending.
00:16:44 And I think that's part of the reason why the in-season
00:16:46 tournament is so great.
00:16:47 If it exists-- again, I don't even
00:16:49 know what we're talking about with the industry,
00:16:50 but if that exists, it would be cool.
00:16:52 We no longer recognize the IST on the show.
00:16:55 I was having some really intrusive thoughts last night
00:16:57 watching the game.
00:16:58 Like, can Jason Tatum control a game like Tyrese Halliburton
00:17:02 can?
00:17:03 Because he's really controlling the fuck out of this game,
00:17:05 and it's worrying me.
00:17:06 And then the only thing that took me out of those dark thoughts
00:17:08 was when Tatum went at Halliburton time and time
00:17:12 again.
00:17:12 And you think, OK, come a playoff series,
00:17:14 that's going to be extremely problematic for the Pacers.
00:17:17 A glaring issue there defensively for them.
00:17:19 So yeah, for me, it's still Halliburton
00:17:21 at the top of my list.
00:17:23 And then Edwards, just because of the two-way nature.
00:17:25 And he's got that quote, unquote, "dog" in him.
00:17:28 And then Darren Fox.
00:17:29 Because I just think his game is too predicated
00:17:33 on scoring as a dynamic guard and playing in transition.
00:17:38 And come playoffs, where things slow down
00:17:39 and it's more half-court offense,
00:17:41 I think that might come back to bite him.
00:17:43 Yeah.
00:17:43 Yeah.
00:17:44 I mean, look--
00:17:44 I'm doing-- let me just say this to play devil's advocate
00:17:46 again.
00:17:47 I agree with you guys.
00:17:48 I would have Fox 3 on that list.
00:17:49 But one of those guys has been the best
00:17:51 player on a really good team for a full season, and it's Fox.
00:17:54 And if--
00:17:54 That's true.
00:17:55 Look, if Fox doesn't break his finger in that Warriors
00:17:57 series on his shooting hand, they probably
00:18:00 win that series too.
00:18:01 Yeah, look, you can't go wrong.
00:18:02 The guards in this league are insane.
00:18:04 Like, yeah, you talk about Brunson and our boy D. White
00:18:08 here.
00:18:08 Like, I know-- and we talk about attacking Halliburton.
00:18:11 I feel like they didn't get to that soon enough.
00:18:14 And Tatum, like, he did--
00:18:17 I wanted to see--
00:18:18 people were hoping we would get elimination game Tatum.
00:18:20 And Tatum had a fine game, 32-12-6.
00:18:24 And again, we've been talking about how
00:18:26 the expectations and standards for Tatum
00:18:28 have just been-- are so high, as they should be.
00:18:30 But I thought he had a really bad first quarter.
00:18:34 So I'm going to pull up the actual first quarter numbers
00:18:36 here.
00:18:36 Yeah, it was one--
00:18:37 While you're doing that, Jake, let me just say,
00:18:38 it must be really hard to be Jason Tatum.
00:18:40 He had a fine game, 32-12-6.
00:18:42 Hey, man.
00:18:44 Yeah, we're going to get to that.
00:18:46 He's about to get handed $340 million or whatever.
00:18:49 That's why we have this--
00:18:51 that's why I'm held to a much lower standard
00:18:53 on this podcast here.
00:18:55 Thank the lords.
00:18:56 I feel like he goes one for four from the field
00:18:59 in the first quarter.
00:19:00 Jalen, again-- and Jalen Brown being good in the first quarter,
00:19:03 I think he needs to become the third quarter as well.
00:19:05 But Tatum and the guys not making--
00:19:07 attacking Halliburton a focus of the game plan,
00:19:09 like from the jump.
00:19:11 They did a really good job shutting him down defensively.
00:19:14 But I thought they needed to make it--
00:19:15 that's where they needed to create a lead.
00:19:16 They had a seven-point lead going into the third quarter.
00:19:18 The problem with this Pacers team
00:19:20 is that all it takes is a five-minute spurt where they
00:19:24 just go absolutely nuclear.
00:19:25 Halliburton hits these 30-foot shots that no one can defend.
00:19:28 And then Derek White even gets a hand to one of them,
00:19:30 gets a block if the tip goes to Halliburton.
00:19:32 He gets a floater in the lane.
00:19:34 Things just start to not go your way.
00:19:35 And the Pacers play in such a way
00:19:37 that they can capitalize on these mistakes.
00:19:41 And next thing you know, it's just an avalanche
00:19:44 that you can't quite handle.
00:19:46 So I think they needed to be a little more purposeful early
00:19:50 than they were.
00:19:51 Derek White had a rough one as well,
00:19:53 and actually called himself out after the game,
00:19:57 which was tough to see.
00:19:57 I mean, he's normally old, reliable.
00:20:00 And to see him have such a rough performance to the point
00:20:02 where he actually acknowledged it and called himself out
00:20:04 was tough.
00:20:05 His dad was tweeting about him.
00:20:08 Do you guys see that?
00:20:08 Oh, yeah.
00:20:09 Oh, yeah.
00:20:10 Dude, Mr. White, friend of the podcast,
00:20:15 but he holds himself accountable too.
00:20:16 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:20:18 Holds him accountable.
00:20:19 Now, we're going to get to concerns.
00:20:21 And relative to expectations, I think
00:20:23 there are some legitimate concerns with this team,
00:20:26 especially if you scroll through NBA Twitter, which we all
00:20:28 have a habit of doing after games.
00:20:30 Pretty dicey there, and some grief directed at the Jays
00:20:33 and Derek White, rightfully so.
00:20:35 But I want to get to some positives from this one first.
00:20:37 I think there were some positive signs
00:20:39 to glean from this game, notably Sam Houser, who continues
00:20:43 to be awesome.
00:20:44 The house trap, defensively luring people
00:20:46 into his defensive cage, trapping them.
00:20:50 His glaring whiteness invites them to attack him,
00:20:53 and he just lets them down every time.
00:20:55 It's amazing.
00:20:56 And then on the other end, House Party, House Money
00:20:59 from 3, every single time.
00:21:01 He's sort of the most consistent Celtic, I think.
00:21:03 You can kick him the ball.
00:21:04 My god, this is--
00:21:05 Oh, you're welcome to take these.
00:21:07 They're not going anywhere with us.
00:21:09 Yeah, it's House Money from 3 every day.
00:21:12 House Money was the only one who turned up from 3 yesterday.
00:21:15 And we kind of joked that we were
00:21:18 kind of happy with Houser shooting 44% from 3.
00:21:21 But I'm not going to be satisfied until he officially
00:21:23 hits his sophomore at Virginia level at 49.7% from 3.
00:21:29 And the last, I think, eight games or something,
00:21:31 he's at like 48%, 49%.
00:21:33 This dude is absurd.
00:21:36 Shoot, he has kept these guys in games.
00:21:39 It's just frustrating, because this
00:21:40 is the type of performance that should mean you have no chance
00:21:43 of staying with the Celtics.
00:21:45 And typically, the other most reliable dude, my boy,
00:21:48 the mistress.
00:21:49 That's a little more R-rated, that one, Drew.
00:21:51 Yeah, Chinese guy.
00:21:52 Yeah, the mistress, Derek White, I
00:21:54 fell in love with despite having a wife, which honestly--
00:22:01 Hold on.
00:22:02 I need to know the genesis of this nickname, the mistress?
00:22:05 The mistress, yeah.
00:22:06 It's truly because I loved Derek White so much that I was
00:22:11 making my wife jealous.
00:22:13 She's like, you're constantly talking about Derek White here.
00:22:16 And I'm like, you don't understand the winning plays
00:22:19 and the ability to make the right play.
00:22:21 But honestly, I think that he has potentially
00:22:24 become her mistress.
00:22:25 And she loves Derek White more than me.
00:22:28 But last night-- and honestly, Derek White,
00:22:31 he had the turnovers, but he still had the 18 points,
00:22:37 7 for 16 from the field, the 8 assists.
00:22:39 So he still had a positive assist to turnover ratio.
00:22:41 But we're so used to D. White being the most reliable,
00:22:45 the most consistent player on this team,
00:22:47 especially to match up with the pacers who
00:22:49 have some of the weakest guards.
00:22:51 You wouldn't expect the five turnovers to pop up.
00:22:54 But I didn't actually have to use my booking
00:22:57 at the Marriott in Indiana last night for me and the mistress.
00:23:00 With the mistress.
00:23:01 Well, I have to add as well that you
00:23:03 dropped the mistress nickname in front of Richard White, Derek
00:23:05 White's dad.
00:23:06 I did.
00:23:06 It was completely confounded with where that came from.
00:23:09 But it was hilarious nonetheless.
00:23:10 Spoonie, any positive takeaways from this game?
00:23:13 Other than bringing up the time I almost cringed it
00:23:15 in my own skin when Jake brought that up to Richard,
00:23:18 I was like, no!
00:23:19 Don't do it, Jake!
00:23:20 I just thought, one, shout out to my guy, Aaron Neesmith.
00:23:26 Yeah, I know.
00:23:27 I was holding on to him being a good NBA player way past
00:23:30 probably his parents were.
00:23:32 So it's nice to win one.
00:23:34 I thought what was really interesting
00:23:36 is how we crashed the glass, which is just
00:23:38 something we don't often do.
00:23:40 And Cornette, I think we got to shout out
00:23:43 Cornette a little bit too.
00:23:44 Because he's really turned into a really solid third big
00:23:48 at this point.
00:23:49 The rebounding was on point.
00:23:50 He had, what, three or four blocks last night?
00:23:52 I mean, he was kind of everywhere.
00:23:53 So yeah, just a couple notes.
00:23:57 Oh, yeah.
00:23:57 I mean, but unfortunately for Cornette
00:24:00 now, he's going to refinance the house?
00:24:03 I don't understand what he--
00:24:05 because that boy was crashing the glass.
00:24:07 Interest rates have been going up.
00:24:09 And Jaylen, you're going to have to cover that one for him.
00:24:13 Yeah, I mean, I'm sure he can get a Venmo from Jaylen
00:24:16 or Jason once he signs the new contract.
00:24:18 Those guys can help him out.
00:24:21 There was a moment there, Spoonie,
00:24:22 for probably a two or three minute stretch
00:24:25 where I thought it was going to be the Luke Cornette game.
00:24:28 He had two dunks, two blocks.
00:24:30 He looked incredible.
00:24:32 I think ultimately, the water kind of found its level
00:24:36 where Cornette playing against the highest scoring, fastest
00:24:40 paced team in the NBA that goes five out is tough.
00:24:44 But for a moment there, he played really, really well.
00:24:48 And I also think--
00:24:49 this is going to sound like an excuse,
00:24:50 but we should keep in mind--
00:24:52 that Christoph Porzengis missed the game.
00:24:54 And I think you could make a pretty cogent argument.
00:24:57 He's been the Celtics' second best and most important player
00:25:00 this year.
00:25:01 And so the fact that we lost a game at their place that
00:25:04 was tied with under two minutes left, missing Porzengis,
00:25:07 maybe it's not all bad.
00:25:09 But of course, that's not how we roll on NBA Twitter.
00:25:12 It's either everything's great, we're the best team ever,
00:25:14 or we suck, we have to fire everybody.
00:25:16 So there's no real room for nuance.
00:25:19 But I do think that Porzengis being out played a big role.
00:25:22 Yeah, it is not a spectrum.
00:25:23 It's one extreme to the other.
00:25:25 And we ride that roller coaster from game to game.
00:25:27 Speaking of, Drew, what is your concern level with this team?
00:25:31 We just spoke about it.
00:25:32 The online discourse after any loss and even a few wins,
00:25:35 mind you, this year has been super critical,
00:25:37 likely somewhat due to those high expectations.
00:25:39 They're not perfect.
00:25:40 And yet the Celts are 15 and 5.
00:25:43 Are you buying into some of these genuine concerns
00:25:45 around the team?
00:25:46 Or are you still confident that they're essentially
00:25:48 championship caliber?
00:25:50 Absolutely championship caliber.
00:25:51 There's no doubt in my mind.
00:25:52 I think what gives me a little pause-- yeah, sorry.
00:25:57 Sorry to be a total homer.
00:26:00 Don't stand up, Ben.
00:26:01 Don't stand up.
00:26:02 That's what this makes it.
00:26:03 Yeah, right?
00:26:05 Thanks for calling it out.
00:26:07 Sorry, Drew.
00:26:07 Continue.
00:26:08 No, it's good.
00:26:08 It's good.
00:26:09 I think some of the concerns are warranted.
00:26:13 Holiday, to me, it's a little bit confusing
00:26:17 watching him play sometimes.
00:26:18 He's always been one of my favorite players,
00:26:20 dating back to when he was at UCLA.
00:26:22 He's always been one of my favorites.
00:26:24 I always, when I created a player in 2K,
00:26:26 I gave them Drew Holiday's crossover package
00:26:29 because it was the best.
00:26:30 And I loved him.
00:26:31 It was cool how he spelled his name.
00:26:32 So we have the same name, but his is cooler somehow.
00:26:35 So I've always loved Drew Holiday.
00:26:37 But with that being said, there are nights where it's just
00:26:39 kind of disappointing.
00:26:42 I was told that this guy is the best defensive guard
00:26:45 in the league.
00:26:45 And I think he might be.
00:26:47 I mean, he's a contender for Defensive Player of the Year.
00:26:50 But when I look around the league
00:26:52 and we talk about the guys like Halliburton and Fox
00:26:54 and Edwards, it's like, our team should be built really well
00:26:59 in a guard-dominated league because we
00:27:00 have the two best defensive guards in the NBA.
00:27:03 And so while our guards don't really run the offense
00:27:07 as much as Halliburton or Fox, et cetera,
00:27:10 we should be able to stop those guys, or at least contain them.
00:27:14 And I know good offense beats good defense,
00:27:17 but I just am a little bit disappointed by that.
00:27:20 And then on the offensive end, some turnovers from D. White
00:27:23 and not a bunch of scoring from Drew.
00:27:25 And again, that's not his role.
00:27:26 But there are nights where you just
00:27:28 like to see a little bit more of that.
00:27:30 The other thing-- and this is obvious.
00:27:31 This has been from before the start of the season--
00:27:34 is just the health.
00:27:35 Drew goes down with sort of like a mysterious knee thing
00:27:39 last night.
00:27:39 He ended up coming back in the game, so I think he's fine,
00:27:42 or at least I hope he is.
00:27:43 But Portzingis, of course, misses his fourth in a row.
00:27:46 And when you're paying your top three or four
00:27:49 as much as the Celtics are, it's hard to build depth.
00:27:52 And so I'd like to see them add somebody.
00:27:55 And I know there have been some rumors about that.
00:27:57 I don't have any inside intel.
00:27:58 I wish I did.
00:27:59 But it'd be nice to see them add another contributor,
00:28:03 because it seems like the rotation is
00:28:06 pretty set at eight guys.
00:28:08 And to make it through an 82-game season,
00:28:10 you just need more than that.
00:28:11 And once we get to the playoffs, it shouldn't be an issue.
00:28:14 But when injuries start to happen,
00:28:15 you get to the dog days of the season
00:28:17 after the in-season tournament, I
00:28:18 think we'll need a little more depth.
00:28:21 It's the same every year.
00:28:25 It's the offense.
00:28:27 The defense, again, the paces, they shot 47% from three,
00:28:31 and we held them to one of their lowest scores of the season.
00:28:34 They were scorching.
00:28:35 Again, you hold Halliburton in check for a half,
00:28:39 that's really all you can hope for.
00:28:40 Derek White's blocking some of these three-point attempts.
00:28:43 It's the offense.
00:28:46 And I understand you don't have Portzingis out there,
00:28:48 but the offense was starting to falter a little bit
00:28:50 without Portzingis.
00:28:51 With Portzingis still out there, Drew, you're on the money,
00:28:55 because you've jumped the gun on the run sheet here,
00:28:59 but we've got the Drew stats.
00:29:00 We've got the Drew stats.
00:29:02 Simpatico here.
00:29:04 Is Drew Holiday OK?
00:29:07 22-23 season, the year before he gets to the Celtics.
00:29:10 His usage is 24.4%.
00:29:13 Drew shooting, 58.6.
00:29:15 The year before that, Milwaukee, it's 23% usage,
00:29:18 59% Drew shooting.
00:29:19 The year before that, 21% usage, 59% Drew shooting.
00:29:23 This year, we have 17.1% usage.
00:29:27 In theory, you'd hope that the Drew shooting,
00:29:32 the efficiency would go up.
00:29:33 I thought this would be a good year for that.
00:29:35 But no, we're down to 52.6% Drew shooting.
00:29:37 If you're playing at home, league average Drew shootings
00:29:40 is around 58%.
00:29:41 He is really struggling on offense right now,
00:29:46 and that is probably right there,
00:29:49 the way to diagnose what's kind of going wrong
00:29:51 with the Celtics offense.
00:29:52 Because if he's up around his normal 58%
00:29:54 and he's not turning the ball over as much,
00:29:56 the offense is just going to look a lot better.
00:29:58 And some of the best games this season
00:30:00 have been when Derek White and Drew Holiday
00:30:02 are combining for 17 shots apiece,
00:30:05 but they're at 65% from the field.
00:30:07 Problem is, he's just missing a lot of the shots
00:30:09 that I feel like he usually does,
00:30:11 which makes me think that it's going to be OK.
00:30:14 The dark parts of my brain are like, he's 33 years old.
00:30:18 - He's winding down.
00:30:20 - Is this a thing?
00:30:21 But he's been incredible on defense.
00:30:23 Athletically, he's been fantastic.
00:30:25 He's been captaining the defense.
00:30:26 So I don't think it's like a decline physically.
00:30:30 And then it reminds me of Derek White when he arrived here.
00:30:32 He was really good on defense, making the right play,
00:30:33 but confidence and comfort in the system was just not there.
00:30:37 And up until, you know,
00:30:39 really the second half of last season,
00:30:41 and this season he's been by far the most comfortable
00:30:43 and confident that we've seen.
00:30:45 So that's probably the hope,
00:30:46 is that Drew Holiday, once he finds himself
00:30:48 a bit more on the offense,
00:30:49 that's when we get back to where we know Drew Holiday
00:30:52 can at least be 58% tree shooting kind of level.
00:30:55 - Yeah, my favorite thing about watching Holiday play
00:30:57 is when he calls for the press on his own.
00:31:01 It's not, it doesn't even come from the sideline.
00:31:02 You can just see him,
00:31:04 block eyes with some of his teammates
00:31:05 and give them a motion, like, let's press here.
00:31:08 And I actually thought they would do that
00:31:09 a little bit more last night,
00:31:11 because that to me is a way you can slow the pacers down
00:31:14 a little bit off a make or a made free throw,
00:31:17 just to get them, make them get into their sets
00:31:20 at 17 or 18 on the shot clock instead of 21 or 22.
00:31:25 I can't remember, I don't think we did that a ton last night,
00:31:29 but like, you bring up a good point, Jake,
00:31:31 that I don't think the defense was that bad yesterday,
00:31:35 especially in the first half, they scored 48.
00:31:38 That was their third lowest total
00:31:39 in the first half all season.
00:31:41 And until that avalanche at the end,
00:31:44 this is a team that's averaging
00:31:45 almost 130 points per game coming in.
00:31:48 And the Celtics played pretty well defensively.
00:31:51 I think the pace was maybe a little slower
00:31:53 than we expected in a typical pacers game,
00:31:55 'cause it did sort of feel like a playoff game.
00:31:57 So another win for the in-season tournament there,
00:31:59 but defensively the team is really good.
00:32:02 But I remember, so just to give you guys
00:32:04 a peek behind the curtain, for every game I have,
00:32:06 I have these charts with names and numbers,
00:32:09 obviously in heights, weights, hometowns, colleges,
00:32:12 all that stuff, and then I have a team stats category
00:32:15 with offensive rating, defensive rating, pace,
00:32:17 points in the paint, et cetera.
00:32:19 And the offensive rating for the Celtics
00:32:21 was first or second for the first couple weeks
00:32:23 of the season.
00:32:24 I think we might be outside the top 10 now,
00:32:26 or right near there.
00:32:29 The offense has been a little bit of a concern.
00:32:31 You're gonna have natural peaks and valleys
00:32:33 when you shoot as many threes as the Celtics do.
00:32:35 But yeah, the offense has not been the same as it was
00:32:38 in the first couple weeks of the season.
00:32:40 - Just staying under the curtain there,
00:32:43 can you explain to us the Dick Lipe experience,
00:32:46 and what that's like through the game,
00:32:47 and to what extent, or I guess what percentage
00:32:50 of those stats are you just coming up with mid-game?
00:32:52 Is it Dick Lipe handing that to you
00:32:54 versus you coming up with stuff yourself?
00:32:56 And is that just coming into you via the earpiece?
00:32:58 Like how, we don't hear much from Dick Lipe,
00:32:59 so I think fans are curious.
00:33:02 - 100% of the stuff I say is via Dick Lipe.
00:33:04 Imagine I'm a puppet, and Dick Lipe is the puppeteer,
00:33:08 and he's basically the puppet.
00:33:10 - It's that simple.
00:33:11 - No, it's funny, I'm glad you asked about that, Ben,
00:33:14 because Dick Lipe, for people at home,
00:33:16 they gotta be wondering, who the F is Dick Lipe,
00:33:19 and why do they keep saying his name?
00:33:20 And now they see it on the screen,
00:33:22 and there was no profile picture,
00:33:24 and now there is, which by the way, I took,
00:33:25 because at the Sixers game at the Garden last weekend,
00:33:29 I said, "Dick, you need a profile picture, man."
00:33:31 So I snapped one, sent it to him,
00:33:33 he made it his profile picture.
00:33:35 His next tweet, I responded, I said,
00:33:37 "Nice profile photo, #dickpic," which is funny.
00:33:41 (laughing)
00:33:42 Dick has no idea why that's funny.
00:33:44 Dick Lipe is the statistician
00:33:49 for the Celtics home broadcast,
00:33:51 and has been, I think, for like 40 years.
00:33:54 He used to be in the athletic department at Bentley,
00:33:57 which is a small athletic school in the Boston area,
00:34:01 and he still does it for the Celtics, which is great,
00:34:03 because he's one of the best in the business.
00:34:06 And so at home games, Dick sits next to,
00:34:10 thanks, Jesse, Dick sits next to the announcers
00:34:13 and hands them stuff.
00:34:14 On the road, sometimes he'll type stuff in,
00:34:18 so we have this monitor.
00:34:19 This is really inside baseball here,
00:34:21 so stop me if you're bored,
00:34:22 but there's this monitor in front of us
00:34:24 that has all the reads.
00:34:26 So like, starting lineups brought to you
00:34:29 by Jordan's Furniture, new Holiday Wonderland and Avon,
00:34:32 or whatever it is.
00:34:33 So that's on the top half of the monitor,
00:34:35 and that rotates through as we have new reads.
00:34:38 And then on the bottom half,
00:34:39 sometimes Dick will chime in with a stat.
00:34:42 And then I can also text Dick.
00:34:44 So I like, that thing about 48 points in the first half,
00:34:48 I text him, I'm like,
00:34:50 "Dick, is that their lowest scoring first half
00:34:52 "of the season?"
00:34:53 And he'll get back to me in like 30 seconds.
00:34:56 - I will say that stat that you,
00:34:57 that I think Dick Lipp had,
00:34:58 it was like when the Celtics out-rebounded their teams
00:35:01 by more than 12 in the first half,
00:35:03 that whenever I was like,
00:35:04 "Damn it, we're gonna lose."
00:35:06 - Why does everyone think that I'm jinxing the Celtics?
00:35:10 - No, it's the free throw thing,
00:35:13 and the rebounding thing,
00:35:14 and the 31st point thing.
00:35:16 Leave me alone.
00:35:17 - It's not true.
00:35:19 It's just the broadcaster thing.
00:35:21 And then, 'cause I was watching you on delay actually,
00:35:23 speaking of the, like,
00:35:24 you thought that there was a timeout,
00:35:27 and then I fast forward on my Apple TV,
00:35:29 and it wasn't.
00:35:30 And then I'm like, "Gosh, go back."
00:35:31 I'm like, "Drew, well, you're killing me here, man.
00:35:34 "Come on."
00:35:34 (laughing)
00:35:35 - Just a bit of feedback.
00:35:37 - It's funny.
00:35:38 When you watch enough of the same show over and over again,
00:35:41 you get in the rhythm of it, right?
00:35:42 - Yeah, exactly.
00:35:43 - You have the QB, it's like Pavlovian.
00:35:45 You hear the cue,
00:35:46 and then you know to fast forward.
00:35:48 So we started playing the music,
00:35:50 and started going to break,
00:35:51 you see the scoreboard,
00:35:52 and all of a sudden it's like,
00:35:53 "Just kidding, we're still here.
00:35:55 "That wasn't a timeout."
00:35:56 Everyone in the building thought it was a timeout.
00:35:58 I don't know what happened there.
00:36:00 - Amazing.
00:36:01 I wish that we all had our own big laugh in our lives,
00:36:03 just a stat man in our ears.
00:36:05 It'd be a great way to experience life.
00:36:07 And I'd never apologize about being too inside baseball.
00:36:09 We, like Spoonie said, we're psychos,
00:36:11 and we want to know absolutely everything.
00:36:12 So thank you.
00:36:13 We are gonna now move on
00:36:14 and forget about the in-season tournament forever.
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00:36:40 So visit fanduel.com/boston and kick off the NFL season.
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00:36:46 - I got one.
00:36:49 I got one for you, fellas.
00:36:51 This one's the obvious.
00:36:53 Patriots, Steelers, Thursday night football.
00:36:57 Don't watch the game, obviously,
00:36:59 but Patriots under 12 and a half points for the entire game.
00:37:03 I don't know how they're gonna score 12 and a half points.
00:37:06 The Chargers have the worst defense in the league
00:37:07 and they scored zero.
00:37:09 And the Steelers have a good defense.
00:37:11 I'm trying to pick them up in fantasy,
00:37:13 but you know, Patriots under 12 and a half,
00:37:16 Steelers lock it in responsibly, obviously.
00:37:20 - You gotta hope the defense has 14 points
00:37:22 and that's definitely the only way that hits the over.
00:37:25 But Drew, I wanted to talk to you
00:37:27 about your relationship with Mike.
00:37:29 I mean, Mike is obviously like a Boston institution.
00:37:32 My entire life, Mike Gorman has been calling games
00:37:35 for the Celtics and I'm in my mid-30s.
00:37:38 So what have your conversations been like with Mike?
00:37:43 Has he like, I just imagine him like giving you
00:37:45 fatherly advice about like how to announce games.
00:37:48 But so like, what have you guys talked about?
00:37:51 Has he provided you any like sage words
00:37:53 you've taken to heart?
00:37:54 - Yeah, Mike just texts me, don't drive drunk every night.
00:37:59 'Cause he really is like my father.
00:38:01 No, Mike is, and seriously, it's gonna sound
00:38:05 like I'm saying this because you know,
00:38:07 I have to or whatever, but Mike is such a cool dude.
00:38:10 Like that's just plain and simple.
00:38:13 As awesome as he is as an announcer,
00:38:15 he is an even cooler dude in person.
00:38:18 And his wife, Terry, has also been awesome to me.
00:38:20 I actually, that Sixers game over the weekend,
00:38:23 I spent most of it sitting next to Terry
00:38:25 because she, like I was sort of floating around.
00:38:28 I have my season-long pass at TD Garden,
00:38:30 but that night it was a big game.
00:38:32 It was a weekend game, so I didn't ask the PR staff
00:38:35 to get me a seat like in the media seating.
00:38:36 I'm like, I'll just, I'll float around.
00:38:38 And then I ended up sitting next to Terry courtside
00:38:41 under one of the baskets for a while.
00:38:44 They both have given me great advice.
00:38:45 And Terry has been in broadcasting
00:38:48 and worked with the NBA for a little bit as well.
00:38:50 So she really knows her stuff too.
00:38:52 And they both give me good advice.
00:38:54 Like I remember, they sort of split their time
00:38:56 between New York and Boston,
00:38:58 and they were driving back from Boston.
00:39:02 And I talked to them for probably an hour
00:39:04 and they had it on speakerphone in the car.
00:39:06 That was a few weeks ago.
00:39:07 And they were just sort of giving me advice
00:39:08 about the best way to do the job.
00:39:10 And what sticks out to me is, first of all,
00:39:13 how kind and gracious both of them are.
00:39:16 And second of all, Mike was like,
00:39:18 it's really important to watch the monitor
00:39:22 instead of just what you're seeing in front of you.
00:39:24 You do need to look at the monitor.
00:39:26 And by the monitor, we mean the program feed,
00:39:28 which is what you're seeing at home.
00:39:29 Because when you're in the mix, right?
00:39:32 Like you can get sort of distracted.
00:39:34 Like I might be looking at the Pacers bench
00:39:37 when at home you're seeing something else
00:39:39 because I'm trying to keep tabs on everything at once.
00:39:42 But if you're not seeing it,
00:39:44 then it doesn't make sense to talk about.
00:39:47 And Terry was saying there's actually psychology behind that.
00:39:51 It's like, if you speak to what the viewer is seeing,
00:39:55 it's like a mind meld or something.
00:39:58 And it lets them know, hey, we're in this together.
00:40:01 It's pretty heady shit.
00:40:03 It's like, sort of above my pay grade,
00:40:06 but it makes sense enough.
00:40:07 And so I've gotten a chance to spend a lot of time
00:40:10 with them and then that sort of opened doors
00:40:14 for me to meet other legends of the game.
00:40:16 Like I got a beer at the Putnam Club at TD Garden
00:40:20 after a game with Mike, Terry, Scal, Abby, Mike Breen,
00:40:25 and then Steve Pagliuca,
00:40:26 one of the Celtics owners came over for a little bit.
00:40:29 - That's amazing.
00:40:30 - Oh my God, that was like kind of like
00:40:31 the holy shit moment, welcome to the NBA.
00:40:34 But they've opened those doors for me
00:40:37 because they're just really gracious and really kind.
00:40:39 And Mike's actually said a couple of times,
00:40:41 like he's sort of happy that the Celtics
00:40:44 and NBC Sports Boston hired someone he didn't know before
00:40:47 because it's given us a chance
00:40:49 to develop this organic relationship.
00:40:52 And I just, I feel really grateful
00:40:54 'cause honestly, like you said it Spoonie,
00:40:56 Gorman's been doing this as long as you've been alive.
00:40:58 He's been doing this almost twice as long
00:41:00 as I've been on this earth.
00:41:01 No one's heard of me or anything,
00:41:04 like I said, I'm not from here.
00:41:05 So he could have easily been like,
00:41:07 who the fuck is this guy?
00:41:08 (laughing)
00:41:09 He could be the next Mike Gorman,
00:41:11 but he's been the complete opposite.
00:41:13 - Yeah, he seems like such a cool, nice dude.
00:41:15 So it's cool to have that confirmed.
00:41:16 Sorry Jake, I'll cut you off.
00:41:17 - I was just gonna say like,
00:41:19 the thing about you watching the monitor,
00:41:21 'cause firstly, NBC Sports Boston does a incredible job.
00:41:25 The broadcast is fantastic,
00:41:27 but just like you're watching the monitor
00:41:29 and like the play is about,
00:41:30 like they're showing a replay
00:41:31 or they're showing a closeup of Jermuzul's face
00:41:33 as like the paces, I can like hear them running up the court
00:41:37 and I'm like, Drew, I know.
00:41:39 I was like, thank God Drew's here to be like,
00:41:42 the pacers are doing this thing
00:41:43 because I'm about to lose my mind.
00:41:46 - That's what happens when you play the pacers.
00:41:48 It's the same thing when you're doing a college football
00:41:50 game with a team that goes super fast,
00:41:52 like Tennessee last year, I did a Tennessee game
00:41:55 and we realized quickly, there's just no time for replays.
00:41:58 You wanna get a replay, wait till they score a touchdown,
00:42:00 wait till there's a timeout or a fake timeout.
00:42:02 And we think we're going to break, but actually come back.
00:42:05 Like that is really tough playing the pacers.
00:42:07 That happened once last night,
00:42:09 but our producer, Paul Lucy and our director, Jim Edmonds,
00:42:13 two of the best in the business
00:42:14 and they've been doing it for a long time
00:42:16 and it made me feel really comfortable.
00:42:18 - Great question, are you allowed to say this?
00:42:20 This takes it, makes it?
00:42:22 What do you got?
00:42:24 - I really want to, I don't think I can get away with that.
00:42:27 I've said got it a few times, but that's just because,
00:42:31 that's kind of a normal phrase
00:42:33 you hear broadcasters say all the time.
00:42:35 Not Mike's trademark cadence.
00:42:37 Takes it, makes it, that's really only a Gormanism.
00:42:40 I think I'd have to pay him a royalty every time.
00:42:43 (laughing)
00:42:45 I don't have enough money for that, so not yet.
00:42:47 - Yeah, fair enough.
00:42:48 So, obviously coming into this job,
00:42:50 you've had a breadth of broadcasting experience
00:42:52 and I suppose some expectations of what this role,
00:42:55 calling games for the Celtics might be like.
00:42:57 That said, what's something that you've learned
00:42:59 in your short time in the role
00:43:00 that maybe you didn't expect would be the case going in?
00:43:03 - Oh man, I think I forgot how fun it is
00:43:08 to be in the NBA mix.
00:43:11 'Cause like you said, I've been at ESPN now
00:43:14 for a couple of years and I do mostly college sports there.
00:43:17 I've had a chance to do a few pro games,
00:43:18 but mostly on alternate broadcasts.
00:43:21 Like I did a Toy Story NFL game.
00:43:23 I did an NHL game that was also animated.
00:43:26 So it's been mostly college sports
00:43:28 when it comes to live action.
00:43:29 And so getting back into the NBA rhythm,
00:43:32 I say getting back, I mean,
00:43:34 I've always been a huge NBA fan,
00:43:36 but when you're working in other sports,
00:43:37 it sort of becomes tough to keep up with it at all times.
00:43:40 And just being back in that mix has been so cool.
00:43:44 Every single game we do,
00:43:47 there's this real burst of adrenaline I feel
00:43:51 between the time when we tape the open.
00:43:53 So again, we'll take you inside baseball here.
00:43:56 We come on the pregame show,
00:43:57 Scal and I do usually about 30 minutes before tip.
00:44:01 And the pregame show is either 30 minutes or an hour,
00:44:03 depending on the game.
00:44:04 So it's either 25 or 30 minutes before tip,
00:44:06 usually we come on the pregame show
00:44:08 and we stay in our spot and then we tape the open.
00:44:10 So that minute, two minute segment,
00:44:12 you see right off the top,
00:44:14 like at the top of the hour, 7.30,
00:44:15 whenever we come on the air.
00:44:17 And so between the time that we tape the open
00:44:20 and the game tips off,
00:44:21 there's usually about 10 to 15 minutes.
00:44:24 And every single night,
00:44:27 I just feel like I'm on cloud nine
00:44:30 in that span for some reason.
00:44:32 When we're walking back from the floor
00:44:34 to our broadcast position,
00:44:36 whether that's court side or up in the top of the concourse
00:44:39 for the teams that love to make money
00:44:40 because they're super greedy
00:44:42 and they put the announcers at the top of the concourse
00:44:44 instead of court side where we should be.
00:44:46 But even that, it's like, damn,
00:44:48 like you just soak it in.
00:44:49 And all these road games are so cool
00:44:52 because half the fans are wearing green, right?
00:44:54 So it's like, I can look,
00:44:56 it's like you're walking down a runway
00:44:59 and you look around and you're like,
00:44:59 yeah man, we're like, yeah, let's go Celtics.
00:45:01 Like, let's get one.
00:45:02 And some people like ask to take photos,
00:45:04 which is really neat and flattering.
00:45:06 But I don't know, man, just being in the NBA,
00:45:09 I know it's a pretty generic answer,
00:45:11 but that's probably been the coolest part of the job
00:45:13 for me so far, especially being with this team.
00:45:16 Like we've already taken a shot at Charlotte,
00:45:18 so let's just take another one.
00:45:19 If you're calling games,
00:45:21 calling games for the Hornets,
00:45:22 it's not the same when you're on the road.
00:45:23 You don't have Charlotte fans traveling everywhere.
00:45:26 With the Celtics, they're all over the place.
00:45:28 And it's been really cool to meet those people
00:45:30 all over the country.
00:45:32 - Yeah, look, I'm sure everyone watching,
00:45:34 including the three of us right here,
00:45:35 like, yep, Mike Gorman's awesome.
00:45:37 Yep, Celtics fans are everywhere.
00:45:39 Yeah, like you're speaking that language.
00:45:41 What's kind of your prep kind of process?
00:45:46 'Cause like if we've,
00:45:47 right now it's gonna either be Knicks or Bucs
00:45:49 right on Friday night, your time.
00:45:52 Like, I'm sure you're watching those games.
00:45:54 Obviously you listen to the First to the Floor podcast,
00:45:56 get up to date on all the latest stats and whatnot.
00:46:00 But like, what's your kind of homework process like?
00:46:04 - Yeah, so I have a Twitter list, actually.
00:46:07 You know, you mentioned your podcast.
00:46:09 I have a list on Twitter with, you know,
00:46:10 a bunch of Celtics accounts
00:46:12 that kind of help you stay abreast of the team
00:46:15 and what the fans are talking about.
00:46:17 That's part of it.
00:46:18 But most of it is, you know,
00:46:20 so like I mentioned earlier,
00:46:21 I have these charts where really,
00:46:24 I can't look at those during the game
00:46:26 as much as I'd probably like to,
00:46:27 because if you look down, you can miss something.
00:46:30 And that's another thing you learn quickly doing the NBA
00:46:33 is shit just happens so fast.
00:46:35 You don't have time to get distracted.
00:46:37 I actually talked with Ian Eagle as a big mentor of mine.
00:46:39 He's the voice of the Nets and he does NBA on TNT,
00:46:43 NFL on CBS, legend.
00:46:46 And one of the nicest dudes you'll ever meet.
00:46:48 I talked to him for a while,
00:46:49 and that was one thing he said.
00:46:51 He's like, "You have to be ready at all times
00:46:53 "for the most amazing feat of athleticism
00:46:56 "you've ever seen to happen like that."
00:46:59 Because it really can't come out of nowhere.
00:47:01 So with that being said,
00:47:03 I can't really look at my notes that much.
00:47:05 So it's about memorizing it.
00:47:06 It's not about what's down here.
00:47:08 It's about what's up here.
00:47:09 And so, but I find that writing that stuff on my chart
00:47:13 helps me memorize it.
00:47:15 And everybody does it a little bit of a different way.
00:47:17 Like a lot of people say if they handwrite it,
00:47:19 then they memorize it.
00:47:20 For me, I like to type it out
00:47:22 because my handwriting sucks
00:47:24 and I don't have that much room on the board anyway.
00:47:27 So I write stuff in during the course of a day.
00:47:30 A typical game day on the road,
00:47:32 we'll have a production meeting at 10.
00:47:33 So I'll talk with Scal and our producer, Paul.
00:47:36 And then we'll go to shoot around.
00:47:37 I usually go with Abby where she does a couple interviews.
00:47:39 I sort of hang around and talk to other people
00:47:42 and watch what they're doing at practice.
00:47:44 That's all in the morning.
00:47:45 Rest of the day, try to get a workout in
00:47:47 because Scal works out like twice a day.
00:47:49 So I feel like I have to try to keep pace with him,
00:47:52 print those charts I said.
00:47:54 And a lot of that stuff, guys,
00:47:56 is just making sure that I have a pretty good idea
00:48:00 of what's happening across the league.
00:48:02 'Cause you never know.
00:48:03 Working with Scal, he hosts a three-hour radio show
00:48:06 every day talking about the NBA as a whole.
00:48:09 And that's really a luxury for me as his partner
00:48:12 is we can sort of go anywhere and he'll be ready.
00:48:14 He's got it.
00:48:15 And I also, that goes both ways.
00:48:17 I have to be ready for him to bring something up
00:48:20 so I can sort of respond with my own take.
00:48:23 But yeah, there's a lot that goes into it.
00:48:24 It's not as simple as just showing up and talking.
00:48:28 I think a lot of people think that that's what the job is.
00:48:30 And obviously that's what it looks like.
00:48:33 But you do have to sound like you know
00:48:35 what you're talking about.
00:48:36 And there's a lot of work that goes into that.
00:48:38 - Of course.
00:48:39 Have you had a...
00:48:40 Oh, go ahead, Ben.
00:48:40 - No, no, no, no, no, you go.
00:48:42 - Just on the Scal thing,
00:48:43 have you had a chance to hoop with Scal yet?
00:48:45 And if so, could you tell us anything?
00:48:46 What are his tendencies in his older age?
00:48:48 - It's starting to bother me because he said like 10 times,
00:48:52 oh yeah, we'll play pickup.
00:48:53 Like, we'll get you in the game.
00:48:54 He plays with his son, Ryder,
00:48:56 who's like 10 or 11 years old.
00:48:58 They play a local high school team.
00:49:00 They get some runs in.
00:49:02 I'm like, bro, I want to play.
00:49:03 Like, I haven't had a good run in a long time.
00:49:05 He's like, yeah, man, we'll get you in.
00:49:07 - He's scared.
00:49:08 - Still hasn't happened.
00:49:08 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:49:09 (laughing)
00:49:10 'Cause you're not afraid to go at Scal
00:49:12 a little bit on the broadcast 'cause he's worried.
00:49:14 He's like, I can't have Drew coming on being like,
00:49:16 yeah, we got you like 3-0 yesterday.
00:49:19 - I gave you 15.
00:49:20 - Exactly right, yeah.
00:49:22 - If there's one thing Scal's not worried about, it's that.
00:49:24 (laughing)
00:49:26 If you've seen the Scallons,
00:49:27 you know that he has no fear
00:49:29 when it comes to average Joes like myself.
00:49:31 And I'm not a very good basketball player,
00:49:33 but I told him, if I'm on your team,
00:49:35 you will get the dirtiest player
00:49:37 you've ever seen in a pickup game on your night.
00:49:40 I will throw elbows, I'll set moving picks,
00:49:42 I'll do whatever you need, man.
00:49:43 So hopefully we get to play soon.
00:49:45 - Yeah.
00:49:46 - Did you know Scal before you started in this job?
00:49:49 Because I think you guys have a very natural chemistry
00:49:53 and you've only done it like 10 or 15 games or so.
00:49:56 Or is this just like you got plopped in the chair
00:49:59 and they said, go and develop chemistry on your way.
00:50:03 - The first time we met was the audition we did together.
00:50:07 And that was in mid-May,
00:50:08 it was a second round series against the Sixers.
00:50:11 Game six, because it was a road game,
00:50:14 the studio programming on NBC Sports Boston
00:50:16 was in the actual studio in Neda, Massachusetts.
00:50:20 So we got to do that demo together.
00:50:23 And I remember this vividly,
00:50:26 'cause I've always been a big fan of Scal.
00:50:28 Like of course, a white dude, like.
00:50:31 - Hell yeah.
00:50:32 - You know, gives us hope, right?
00:50:34 And I thought that his post-game presser
00:50:38 when they won the final,
00:50:40 still one of the best moments in NBA history to me.
00:50:43 So I've always been a huge fan of him.
00:50:46 And when he walked in to do the demo,
00:50:50 I wouldn't say I was starstruck,
00:50:52 but I was like, damn, this is pretty cool.
00:50:54 Like I'm sitting, talking about basketball,
00:50:56 watching a game with Scal, like that's pretty awesome.
00:50:59 And from the jump guys, he was extremely supportive
00:51:02 and made me feel like I was already part of the team.
00:51:05 There was actually one point during that fake broadcast
00:51:09 we were doing where I made a call.
00:51:12 I think it was like a transition layup
00:51:14 and Scal just goes, that was a great call, man.
00:51:18 (laughing)
00:51:20 I thought we were trying to keep,
00:51:21 like he broke the roll, you know what I mean?
00:51:23 Like he broke the fourth wall,
00:51:24 but it was just cool 'cause it made me feel really good
00:51:27 and like I was ready for this.
00:51:28 And then he's just been,
00:51:31 like I consider him a really good friend now,
00:51:33 even though like you said, Spoonie,
00:51:34 it hasn't been that long.
00:51:36 First time we hung out after I had gotten the job
00:51:38 was at Media Day when they sort of clandestinely
00:51:42 whisked me in there.
00:51:43 They hadn't announced that I was joining the team yet.
00:51:46 And so I roll in and Scal's like, he was already there.
00:51:49 So he's like, man, you're late on your first day.
00:51:51 Like we got to trade you for Noah Eagle,
00:51:54 who's aforementioned I and son, working for the Nets now,
00:51:57 total studies, my college roommate.
00:51:59 So we're tight.
00:52:00 - Oh, sick.
00:52:01 - Yeah, so Scal's like, you got to trade you.
00:52:02 I'm like, you're gonna have to throw in
00:52:03 some cash considerations and picks for Noah.
00:52:06 But it's cool that that's the relationship we've had
00:52:09 and it feels natural.
00:52:10 And Scal, who's not from Boston,
00:52:13 has really adopted the mentality of someone who is,
00:52:17 I think, where he says like, if I'm too nice to you,
00:52:20 you know that I don't like you.
00:52:21 You know I like you if I'm like giving you shit
00:52:23 and we can go back and forth.
00:52:25 And I feel like that's what we have.
00:52:27 - Yeah, the banter is solid.
00:52:28 It sounds natural right off the cuff there.
00:52:30 So yeah, it sounded really good on the broadcast.
00:52:33 Maybe we can end on this.
00:52:34 So I think one of the key differences, Drew,
00:52:36 with you in the announcers chair
00:52:37 has been your connection to NBA online culture.
00:52:40 We've kind of touched on it already.
00:52:42 And you've dropped a few references.
00:52:43 Most recently, I think it was the Pepe Silva meme
00:52:46 from Always Sunny, which it did go out over Scal's head,
00:52:49 unfortunately, but it was a good reference at the time.
00:52:51 And every time you do that, it feels like all of,
00:52:54 there we go, we do have it.
00:52:55 Thanks, guys.
00:52:56 Every time you do that,
00:52:57 it feels like Celtics Twitters is perk up.
00:53:01 So is that approach intentional?
00:53:03 Is that just you being you?
00:53:04 Or is this more of an upcoming trend
00:53:06 that you think younger announcers in general
00:53:08 who grew up as like citizens of the internet
00:53:10 are starting to seamlessly integrate into the call?
00:53:13 - Well, Ben, I love that you bring that up
00:53:14 because to me, so to me,
00:53:18 the most important or one of the most important jobs
00:53:22 of an announcer is to make it feel personal to everybody.
00:53:26 So one of the most important pieces of advice
00:53:31 I've ever gotten is three words.
00:53:33 Consider the listener.
00:53:35 And Marty Glickman, who's like an OG broadcaster,
00:53:38 he called games for the Knicks
00:53:39 and the New York baseball giants way back in the day.
00:53:42 And if you've never heard of Marty Glickman
00:53:45 for the younger folks out there,
00:53:46 I highly recommend reading about him.
00:53:48 There was an HBO documentary about him.
00:53:50 He was actually an elite runner
00:53:52 who I think qualified for the 1936 Olympics,
00:53:56 but those were the ones in Germany.
00:53:58 And as a Jewish man, he either couldn't compete
00:54:01 or I couldn't remember exactly the story,
00:54:04 but Marty Glickman is basically
00:54:05 one of the most interesting guys in the last 100 years.
00:54:08 And so when he transitioned from being an athlete
00:54:10 to being a broadcaster, he kind of paved the way
00:54:13 for a lot of people to come after him.
00:54:14 And his thing was consider the listener.
00:54:16 And the key thing there is it's listener singular,
00:54:20 not listeners plural, right?
00:54:22 And so I think the more it can feel
00:54:24 like a one-on-one conversation,
00:54:26 even if you're watching with like a group of 20 people,
00:54:29 the more it can feel like a one-on-one conversation,
00:54:32 the more the fan is gonna feel like it matters.
00:54:37 It's gonna feel like the announcer
00:54:39 is talking directly to you, and that's a good feeling.
00:54:42 Same reason we wanna talk to what you're seeing
00:54:44 on the monitor, 'cause we wanna let you know,
00:54:47 hey, we're with you.
00:54:47 And so I think referencing the stuff on Twitter,
00:54:51 it's kind of dangerous because I'm basically telling
00:54:56 everyone, hey, I see your tweets.
00:54:57 And so if they fire off a few mean ones,
00:55:00 then that's dangerous.
00:55:01 But I also think it is important.
00:55:03 Like that's a big way people consume the NBA now.
00:55:06 I think a big reason why NBA Twitter
00:55:10 has become such a big deal is the league
00:55:13 actually allows their clips to circulate,
00:55:16 even if it doesn't originate from their accounts.
00:55:18 Like look at Worldwide Wapp,
00:55:20 who's like one of the saints of NBA Twitter.
00:55:24 If he were doing that with MLB,
00:55:26 he would have been banned a hundred times.
00:55:28 (laughing)
00:55:29 But the NBA allows that to happen,
00:55:31 and it's such an active community.
00:55:33 But I enjoy, I'm not really part of it,
00:55:36 but I do spectate.
00:55:38 - Same.
00:55:39 - And so I like seeing that stuff.
00:55:40 And when you reference it, it's like,
00:55:42 hey, I'm watching and listening to the same thing you are.
00:55:45 - Oh, hell yeah.
00:55:47 We loved it.
00:55:48 Sorry, last question.
00:55:48 How do you balance being a homer
00:55:50 and being kind of like not too biased?
00:55:53 'Cause Scala, I actually think is,
00:55:56 I watch all the other broadcasts.
00:55:58 You got like the Warriors broadcast,
00:56:00 and that's like, makes me wanna just tear my ears
00:56:04 off my skull.
00:56:05 And then like when like the Rudy Gobert thing happened
00:56:08 with Draymond, and they're like,
00:56:09 anyway, that's all aside.
00:56:10 Scala's actually like very objective,
00:56:13 somewhat to the point, like Scala, this is our broadcast.
00:56:15 Tell me it was a foul.
00:56:17 And yes, how do you balance that?
00:56:20 - It's a really good question, Jake,
00:56:21 because I think I haven't found that balance quite yet.
00:56:25 Especially because, speaking of balancing things,
00:56:30 one of the biggest challenges for me so far
00:56:33 has been trying to do right by Mike
00:56:37 and not having it be jarring for Celtics fans
00:56:41 when they flip on the game and Mike's not there.
00:56:44 So balancing that while also being myself,
00:56:47 and like referencing NBA Twitter is one way to do that.
00:56:52 Because what I've said, and this is true,
00:56:54 is there's only one Mike Gorman.
00:56:56 So we joked about saying, takes it, makes it,
00:56:59 got it, all that stuff.
00:57:01 In all seriousness, I can't be Mike.
00:57:03 There's only one Mike.
00:57:04 I need to be myself.
00:57:06 And so with that being said,
00:57:08 like I don't want it to be weird for people.
00:57:11 Like I'm not gonna come in and treat this
00:57:12 like a national broadcast because it's not.
00:57:15 Like it's our show, it's the local show.
00:57:18 But I do think at a certain point,
00:57:19 if you're like the aforementioned broadcast
00:57:22 you mentioned of another team,
00:57:24 you lose credibility if you're not telling the truth.
00:57:28 Like if we went out there and said,
00:57:29 yay Celtics, Celtics great, they didn't do anything bad.
00:57:32 If they lose, it's everybody else's fault.
00:57:34 The refs screwed us.
00:57:35 At a certain point, people will stop believing you.
00:57:37 And I think one thing that Scal does really well
00:57:40 is he maintains his credibility, not just for our show,
00:57:43 but for the national radio show he does,
00:57:45 by telling it like it is.
00:57:46 Like there are plenty of times where he'll say,
00:57:48 no, I'm not sure if that was a foul
00:57:49 when we're going to the line.
00:57:50 But he does it the other way too.
00:57:52 And so I don't know, it's interesting.
00:57:56 And obviously I think about this a lot,
00:57:57 especially as someone who, I'm not from Boston,
00:58:01 self-admitted, like I grew up in Minnesota
00:58:03 and the Timberwolves were my first favorite team.
00:58:06 I actually got, speaking of Twitter,
00:58:08 someone tweeted at me when we lost that game in Minnesota,
00:58:12 like, dude, we get it.
00:58:13 You grew up in Minnesota.
00:58:14 Like you don't have to say all those nice things
00:58:16 about Anthony Edwards.
00:58:17 Like, whoa, are we watching the same game?
00:58:19 The dude killed us.
00:58:20 Like, I actually think that hyping him and Halliburton up
00:58:24 is only fair and actually makes me feel better
00:58:26 as someone who wants to see the Celtics win.
00:58:29 Like we didn't just lose to a bunch of bums.
00:58:31 We lost to some of the best players in the world.
00:58:34 And so I think that obviously we want the team to win
00:58:37 because it makes the job more fun for us.
00:58:40 And naturally, like traveling with the team,
00:58:43 you get to know these guys.
00:58:44 You get to know the players and the coaches
00:58:46 and you want them to do well.
00:58:47 But we also can't be like having the pom-poms out
00:58:51 cheering for the Celtics on the show
00:58:53 because at that point you lose credibility.
00:58:55 So it's a really good question
00:58:57 and it's one that I'm still trying to find
00:58:58 the right answer to, I guess.
00:59:00 - Yeah, it's interesting.
00:59:01 Well, look, I think this is the first time
00:59:03 that most Celtics fans, sort of 40 and under,
00:59:05 have had to sort of experience what the transition is
00:59:08 from one announcer to another.
00:59:09 So Drew, we really appreciate you taking the time
00:59:11 to come on and answer a lot of these questions
00:59:13 that I think are naturally occurring in the minds
00:59:15 of lots of Celtics fans.
00:59:16 So let's wrap it up there.
00:59:18 Drew, enjoy the rest of the season.
00:59:19 I desperately hope, for my personal sake,
00:59:22 that it ends in a championship.
00:59:23 Thank you so much for coming on.
00:59:25 - Thanks. Screw the NBA Cup.
00:59:27 We were going for the real thing.
00:59:28 - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:59:29 - That's right.
00:59:29 - 18.
00:59:30 - I can't wait to hear house trap
00:59:33 and house money on the broadcast.
00:59:34 It's gonna just be the moment.
00:59:37 Yeah, the mistress, maybe.
00:59:39 Maybe the West Coast swing when everybody's asleep.
00:59:42 - All right, Drew, thanks again.
00:59:45 That's gonna do it for this one.
00:59:46 We'll be back here live on YouTube early next week.
00:59:49 Spoonie, Jake, love your work, guys.
00:59:50 Until next time, go Celtics.
00:59:52 - I love the Celtics!
00:59:54 (upbeat music)
00:59:57 (upbeat music)