Celtics WILL PLAY Heat or Bulls in First Round of Playoffs | Still Poddable - video Dailymotion

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Jam Packard and Brian Robb share their early impressions of Celtics potential first round matchups vs Heat or Bulls.  Elevate your style game on and off the course with the PXG Spring Summer 2024 collection. Head over to https://PXG.com/GARDEN and save 10% on all apparel.  Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS  Nutrafol Men! Take the first step to visibly thicker, healthier hair. For a limited time, Nutrafol is offering our listeners ten dollars off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com/MEN and enter the promo code GARDEN!

Transcript

00:00 I just had to go to a bathroom.

00:09 Welcome in to still potable.

00:12 The best Celtics podcast out there available on Patreon, patreon.com/stillpotable Monday

00:18 through Friday.

00:19 This is the free version on the CLNS YouTube powered by prize picks.

00:25 Use promo code CLNS and you'll get a hundred dollar deposit match on prize picks.

00:32 I am Sam Jam Packer joined by Brian B. Robb, Robb of masslive.com.

00:38 We were reacting to one and a half of the play in games at this point.

00:44 We'll talk all about the Heat and the Sixers, the most important game of the evening.

00:49 But you know, B Rob and I, we saw enough of the Hawks bulls game and ready to call it

00:56 with 50% of the ballots in we're declaring a bulls victory.

01:01 There could be some wild changes with the mail-in votes in the second half, but we'll

01:06 keep you updated as the evening goes on.

01:09 But the focus of the evening, because really I don't think any of us believe the bulls

01:14 or maybe even the Hawks have a chance of winning in the next game.

01:17 Although they might, they might consider maybe some injuries.

01:21 Well let's talk about the actual, the game here, the main of a main event 76ers win a

01:27 one Oh five to one Oh four and B Rob as a Celtics fan, I had a whole host of different

01:34 emotions about who I wanted to win this game.

01:38 But it is the 76ers who prevail.

01:40 They will play the New York Knicks leaving the possibly broken Miami Heat still alive

01:48 to possibly fend off the Celtics.

01:50 What was your reaction to kind of this very back and forth game?

01:55 What a rollercoaster.

01:56 What a while now when that this is par for the course, I feel like with those two teams

02:00 is that the exact type of wacky game that you would expect in the old platoon game.

02:06 I mean that like push everything else.

02:09 I will talk about all the ramifications later and all the, the injuries stuff, but that

02:12 a turn back the clock mode for them.

02:16 So, you know, six threes, the, a huge block in the final minute forcing another backcourt

02:22 violation to, it's just like a night where Embiid was meh and Maxie clearly didn't have

02:28 it consistently.

02:29 Uh, some of us stepping up and his name wasn't the bias Harris.

02:33 It was a, it was a two.

02:35 It was definitely not a Tobias Harris.

02:37 Yeah.

02:38 Just six of 10 from deep for 20 points.

02:40 I think his like season high, um, he was talking some, some smack after game.

02:45 He's like, I knew I'm a 40% three point shooter.

02:47 Like you guys shouldn't be that surprised.

02:49 Everyone was surprised by the throwback of a two game, but it's just like a wild rollercoaster.

02:55 The heat got out to this big lead in the second quarter by playing there.

02:59 Like really junk everything up zone kind of had some flashbacks to some, maybe some

03:05 Celtics series against the heat where it's just the 76ers turning the ball over again

03:10 and again and again, and allowing heat to get out to this massive, um, lead.

03:15 I think they are by 14 points at some point.

03:17 And that's kind of the formula we at least Celtics fans have, you know, accepted here

03:22 against playing the heat, especially in the playoffs.

03:24 There's such a, they struggle to score so much on offense that really, if you don't

03:29 turn the ball over, you should be able to kind of get back into the game.

03:33 That's what the Sixers did, uh, in the second half.

03:36 I mean, obviously, but two had a lot of scoring, but they really just cut down on, on turnovers

03:41 and were able to get themselves back in this game because the heat just, we're not able

03:45 to generate any sort of like consistent offense in the second half.

03:49 Jimmy Butler, not really there whatsoever.

03:53 He had nine points really at the, their entire offense was, um, Tyler hero, bam out of bio

03:59 is back, get on his back and that back wasn't carrying much.

04:02 Yeah.

04:03 And so at the start of this game, I was like, Oh, I, the heat are going to be annoying with

04:07 their zone.

04:08 I don't really want to see, I have the Celtics play them.

04:10 So I was like kind of rooting for the heat.

04:12 I also didn't think Joel Embiid was like looking that healthy.

04:14 And I was like, that's very much easy, like in the series.

04:19 Then Jimmy Butler gets, um, hurt.

04:22 He like knocks knees with, um, Kelly Ubrae.

04:26 And then he's just hobbled the rest of the game.

04:28 And I was like, Oh, maybe it's better of the Celtics play the heat because they got to

04:31 hurt Jimmy Butler.

04:33 The heat still have to play the, I guess the winner of this game tonight on Friday night

04:37 and before even a possible game on Sunday.

04:40 And so, I don't know, I just had all sorts of mixed emotions trying to figure out which

04:45 was the best matchup for the Celtics.

04:47 Ultimately walking away thinking maybe there's a reason these two teams are the seventh and

04:51 eighth team in the Eastern conference.

04:55 I just don't think either team looked like they were capable of winning a first round

04:59 series at this point.

05:01 Yeah.

05:02 Embiid, uh, clearly is not close to a hundred percent at this point.

05:06 That's not a big surprise.

05:07 Um, I do see though that the, the Knicks and the Sixers have opened up as a pick 'em in

05:16 some sports books out of the gate here.

05:17 I expect that to shift.

05:19 I would, if I was a betting man, I would be betting on the Knicks right now that they

05:22 say, and beats, he's not going to last an entire series.

05:25 And they have Mitchell Robinson and Hartenstein to like guys with size who they can throw

05:30 it and beat.

05:31 It's not like he's just going to dominate them in the post.

05:32 He doesn't even seem to want to go in the post.

05:34 Yeah.

05:35 I'm a few on that one in terms of where those teams are at, but, um, it's certainly a situation

05:41 where, yeah, these are two teams where there's a far level below where the Celtics are right

05:48 now.

05:49 And despite all the theatrics and the drama, like nothing tonight really changed any of

05:55 that in terms of how the Celtics should be looking in terms of either way, this way landed.

05:59 But to be honest now though, like the, the heat's off, like you said, the heat's offense

06:05 is just, just wretched, um, 40% from the field, uh, 35% from three.

06:12 But just that's there here.

06:16 Like when Jimmy Butler hurt his knee there in the first half, and then they had to be

06:19 like, okay, we really just can't run much of anything from through Butler anymore.

06:24 Um, it was pretty rough going with just like Tyler Hero's your guy and then Squon, you

06:30 know, get whatever else you can get.

06:32 The bench showed up for them.

06:34 High Smith, Jacquez, um, Kevin Lovey had a couple nice plays there, but there's just,

06:40 uh, it's kind of a, a skeleton crew of what guys can give you offensively.

06:44 And that certainly bodes well if this, and if they end up, you know, going through here

06:48 to the first round, because whatever Butler has going on, it seems like that's not going

06:52 to be a, that's not going to go away in a, in a week or two weeks.

06:56 Yeah.

06:57 He was limping heavily, um, kind of throughout the game, uh, report as he was limping out

07:03 of Wells Fargo.

07:05 It was a lot of fun for, you know, my Celtics fans on the timeline saying that it was a

07:10 fake injury and that he was only playing it up for the camera.

07:13 I have no idea what happened.

07:14 He did look to be in immediate pain when he knocked knees with Kelly O'Brie.

07:18 So I'm not necessarily going to question it, but I'm all here for, for the jokes.

07:22 The thing that's most interesting to me about the heat is all right.

07:26 Jimmy Butler goes down.

07:29 Why is Tyler Hero the next solution?

07:32 I understand Terry Rozier is out, but bam at a bio is supposed to be, he's not just

07:38 like a one way player.

07:39 Like he's obviously a very, very talented defensive player.

07:42 People talking to him for kind of in the running for defensive player of the year, first team

07:45 all NBA defense.

07:46 Why is he only taking nine shots, especially with a hobbled and bead.

07:50 It just feels like, and this is the problem with the heat.

07:54 It makes even things last year so much more infuriating because it's like, well, where's

07:59 Caleb Martin hitting five threes in a game?

08:01 And like, where are all these like role players stepping up?

08:05 Because the heat have always struggled to generate reliable offense.

08:08 But I think a problem with that is because bam out of bio is not a reliant or consistent

08:13 scorer.

08:14 And so if Jimmy Butler is hurt, I like, and if he, if their entire offense has to go through

08:22 Tyler Hero, there's a real chance that, and we're still calling the bulls, the winner,

08:28 although it's only a four point game now in the third quarter, there's a real chance the

08:32 bulls are coming in.

08:34 Yeah, those sailors from overseas are really having a heavy Hawks voting.

08:39 But I think there's a good chance that one of those teams could beat the heat if it,

08:45 if they're still kind of banged up in this game on Friday night.

08:47 Oh yeah.

08:48 I mean, both of these teams, their offenses are better than the heat regardless.

08:53 And so the, the question is, is it's, can the heat just coming up enough to where they

08:59 can get enough done or just to get a hot shooting night from random guys off the bench, which

09:04 is certainly possible.

09:05 They were Duncan Robinson didn't play tonight too, even though he was active.

09:08 I think they're, they're clearly saving him, saving Terry for the, the true must win at

09:15 on their home floor, knowing that, you know, if those guys play a tough minutes tonight

09:19 and they lost, and that may kind of put them out of the picture for Friday.

09:23 But yeah, this is, I mean, this is not, this Miami team, we know it's not last year's team.

09:30 We know they're missing a lot of pieces from last year's team, but it's painfully apparent

09:34 now just like how far they've fallen offensively this year.

09:38 And that's again, doesn't mean shit once a seven game series starts, but for a one game,

09:45 like must win situation or just against the, a real rim protector in MPD that was on full

09:51 display tonight, because like you said, with bam, the nine shots, I think just shows you

09:56 like even MPD at 80%, he just such a monster defensively as a rim protector.

10:02 And just with the ground, you can cover around the hoop that bam, that the heat category

10:10 said, but yeah, we, if we can't just run it through a band, because we're not going to

10:13 get better looks, we're not going to get anything beyond just like mid range jumpers for bam.

10:19 Yeah.

10:20 And, and so like, and I feel like their, their offense has historically been bad.

10:24 The thing that still, I don't know if it scares me as a Celtics fan, but you still have to

10:30 be aware of the heat.

10:32 They were able to throw out that just like junk zone that was kind of amorphous, a blob

10:37 that the Sixers really didn't know what to do with there in the first half, especially

10:43 there in that second quarter.

10:45 And you would have to think that the Celtics after playing the heat in the Eastern conference

10:48 finals two years in a row have to be prepared to play against some zone.

10:57 Although it's a shout out to, I forget his actual handle, but his name's Max and he's

11:03 on Twitter.

11:04 And I was asking about the stats about like what the Celtics have done against the zone

11:09 this year.

11:11 And they've only had 173 possessions against a zone.

11:15 They're 111 points, 0.6 per points per a hundred possessions, which is, I think there's seventh

11:21 in the league.

11:22 The league average is 103.

11:24 So the Celtics have done pretty well against a zone.

11:28 But it's obviously not something that gotten a lot of exposure to, but in my heart of hearts,

11:32 I would have to believe that this is like the heat can't just throw out a junk zone

11:38 and like completely baffle the Celtics into losses.

11:42 One they have the experience playing against the zone.

11:44 Two, hopefully they have Chris Stapps Porzingis, the ultimate zone breaker who you can just

11:49 kind of give the ball to him in the middle and he can knock down that like elbow jumper.

11:53 100%.

11:54 I mean that the game we talked about earlier this week, Packard, where they kicked the

11:59 shit out of them in Miami.

12:00 That was a game where they saw plenty of junk zone and they just, and Porzingis just dominated

12:07 it from the top of the key or from the mid range there.

12:10 And when you have eight guys on the roster right now that are shooting 35% or better

12:16 from three point range and many more above 40% that in theory, this should be a situation

12:22 where that's maybe it's frustrates the Celtics for a few possessions here or there, but this

12:27 is personnel wise, shooting wise, just a different animal than it was last year on that front.

12:35 And but, but you, you know that this is what the heat do.

12:39 They junk shit up small strip.

12:41 We'll probably find new wrinkles to throw in the zone to kind of make the Celtics second

12:46 guess what shots they should be taking or where passes are there and, and inevitably,

12:52 you know, turn them into like a 20 point quarter at some point with this stuff.

12:56 But the personnel is much better.

13:00 The consistency of this team is much better than the passing with this year's team just

13:04 feels like much better overall.

13:06 So, but it is, I mean, this lines up as the test here and I mean, Jay talked about it

13:10 for the last couple of months here.

13:12 Like this is bringing back the memories of 2022 right now of the exercising demons with

13:18 the nets and the Celtics could conceivably do this year with the heat.

13:22 If, if they end up getting through, we will check back in with the ballots on the bulls

13:31 and the Hawks after this message from our friends at prize picks.

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15:02 And now back to the show.

15:07 Are you playing a video or am I just going back?

15:09 No, you're coming back.

15:10 Okay.

15:11 And we're back here on still potable checking in the bulls up by six midway through the

15:23 third quarter.

15:24 We're still our official still potable projection holds that should be bulls versus the Miami

15:31 heat in that final playing game to for the privilege, the privilege of playing the Celtics

15:36 at this to be the eight seed to start that series on Sunday.

15:42 Even if Jimmy Butler is hurt, I still think he's going to play because he is playoff Jimmy

15:48 Butler, you know, classic playoff.

15:50 He's always showing up in the clutch with his 19 points on five of 18 shooting in this

15:56 critical playing game.

15:57 I still think the heat are the favorites.

15:59 And I think as you were saying before the break, like really, it shouldn't matter for

16:04 the Celtics.

16:06 They should be heavily favored against all three of their possible opponents.

16:10 But I do think there's some sweet redemption right now in the, if they do get to play the

16:16 heat and beat them soundly in a series.

16:19 Yes, they might play in the mud, but I think that's like well worth the challenge of we're

16:24 beating the best coach in the league.

16:25 We're beating the team that took us to seven games two years ago, beat us in seven games

16:31 this year or last year, pretty much embarrassed us with the three Oh's start.

16:35 And I do think it's a way to a kind of a good way for the Celtics to get that redemption

16:39 start off the playoff run.

16:43 And like really, if you're going to have trouble with these teams, maybe you're just not as

16:48 good of a team as we all thought they were because just the level, there's just a huge

16:53 talent gap between the Celtics and all three of the rosters they can potentially face easily.

17:00 And with the, and I guess the other kind of sneaky thing here is, and I'll found really

17:06 dumb for this in a week or two, if he ends up playing a big role in a series is hero

17:11 in the playoffs for this like particular group in the last couple of years, that's not necessarily

17:16 been a good thing for Miami.

17:19 And tonight we saw some of that with like the nine of 27 shooting, but defensively,

17:24 he's just someone to go at, which last year they didn't have really have that weakness

17:29 defensively in the starting five.

17:31 And now, I mean, we know going back to the bubble, he was just such a killer back then

17:37 in 2020 in the Eastern conference finals then, but his career, I feel like, I don't know

17:41 if it peaked at that point, but it certainly hasn't gotten up to a level where now, you

17:45 know, he'll have to go on certain nights there, but it seems like he's certainly not capable

17:51 of being like a number two or even number three on a, on a really good team at this

17:57 point.

17:58 And that's because the heat clearly have not been that consistently this year.

18:01 Yeah.

18:02 And he was their only real option there in the fourth quarter.

18:05 He, I guess, give him credit.

18:07 He scored 16 of their 30 points was five of 10, but that he's Jimmy Butler took two shots.

18:15 Trump took one, like their entire offense was just flowing through Tyler hero.

18:20 And I feel like one of the strong points, like they, he broke his, what is wrist or

18:23 his hand in that first game against Milwaukee last year.

18:27 And it allowed players like Caleb Martin, Max Bruce and Gabe Vincent, who are not amazing

18:32 defenders, but like are just much more serviceable than Tyler hero is.

18:39 It also helped that they shot what 45% from three in the series against the Celtics.

18:44 And so it made themselves that much more valuable, but I thought like the heat, their strength,

18:49 obviously, and this is still a strength of this team is their defense.

18:54 But if they have to play Tyler hero, especially Jimmy butlers, uh, banged up a little bit,

18:59 if they have to run offense through Tyler hero and play him close to 40 minutes a game,

19:04 I think it was just a pure place for the Celtics to target.

19:08 And I feel like that's just a time for Jalen Brown post-ups, Jason Tatum post-ups on, um,

19:14 a smaller, less agile defender.

19:17 And it's something that I think the Celtics have been very good at and executing this

19:22 year of like finding the weak link, getting the ball to the right guy, um, and just playing

19:26 through that.

19:27 And so personally, I would welcome any matchup against, uh, the Miami heat at this point.

19:33 Yeah, it feels like heroes, like the ceiling on their defense just hits a certain spot

19:37 when he's on the floor for those types of big minutes because of everything he was there.

19:42 Like those, those, the, the Martins, the high Smiths, the road, even the Hawkeyes, like

19:47 junior, like those guys are the ones that really can get after people defensively really

19:51 would make the Celtics lives miserable there.

19:55 But if there's, there's always going to be someone to go after if he was on the floor

19:58 and it's like you said, the Suns have just gotten, they're just much better at it this

20:02 year.

20:03 They're smarter about how to attack it.

20:05 And Miami, this, it may take some time in a series against Miami because Miami will

20:09 confuse them.

20:10 Miami will try to hide them in certain spots or do certain switching where maybe the, it

20:15 sends the Celtics in the wrong direction here or there, but the personnel matchups are at

20:20 a point now where it really shouldn't matter because no matter who here he's on, like that's

20:25 mismatch and whether it's holiday taking him in the post or Derek White taking him off

20:31 the dribble or obviously Tatum and Brown just doing whatever with him when they get him

20:37 in ISO.

20:38 Like that's that will be, you know, there'll be looking at their chops at that type of

20:44 a matchup and, and they'll have to, I don't know what the out is.

20:48 I guess Terry Rozier X factor here, Duncan Robinson, X factor.

20:52 Is he going to, are those guys, I guess that could take some of the pressure off.

20:57 I mean, I, Duncan Robinson, Terry Rozier, not necessarily known for their defense, but

21:01 I guess if you need some other sources of offense, Terry was here, I'd like a neck injury

21:05 or something like bizarre like that.

21:09 He was even with the team there in Philadelphia.

21:12 And so, Hey, I'm a, I'm a big Terry Rozier fan.

21:15 I don't know if he's necessarily the solution there for the heat.

21:19 I don't want to call into question the integrity of our official prediction of the bulls winning,

21:25 but let's live in a hypothetical world where we might be wrong, or let's just live in the

21:29 hypothetical world where either the bulls or the Hawks win the game on Friday night.

21:35 I'm curious, who do you think is a, a better matchup for the Celtics?

21:40 We did see the Celtics lose back-to-back games to the Hawks in Atlanta one with a basically

21:47 half their team, not playing.

21:48 And then the redemption game with their entire team playing and Dijon, Tammari scoring 44

21:53 points on 44 shots.

21:56 Who do you think would have a better chance of taking some games against the Celtics?

21:59 This Hawks team with Trey young coming off his hand injury or DeMar DeRozan, Javante

22:08 green and the Chicago bulls.

22:10 It's gotta be the Hawks, right?

22:13 Like they have the, just the higher offensive upside.

22:18 And I don't know if they're a better team now of Trey young back of like clearly defensively

22:23 there that just, they were like a semi decent team when he was out the last month.

22:28 Plus I feel like, and now with him back in the fold, that just kind of goes away, but

22:33 they still have, you know, three bona fides scores of him, Dejohn, a Murray and look Donovish,

22:40 who has been phenomenal this year.

22:43 And Capella is, you know, has that rough ups and down stretches in the last couple of years.

22:47 But I feel like he's been really good for the last couple of months.

22:49 That's kind of how they've, you know, they won those games that's that week.

22:52 Cause he was pretty good too.

22:54 And the bulls are just like, I don't know, they're, they're old.

22:57 Alex Crusoe is really good.

22:59 They've got some intriguing young guys, but Kobe White's like might be most improved player.

23:03 He's been playing extremely well.

23:06 The problem with the bulls is this, like their center Vucevic has completely fallen off a

23:10 cliff.

23:11 Like I think he's shooting 29% from three.

23:15 And so if he can't do pick and pop, it's not like he's going to be like, like you can easily

23:20 spread the floor and it's not like he's going to be guarding at the three point line.

23:25 Obviously Andre Drummond can do amazing things on the offensive glass.

23:28 And we've seen the Celtics get hurt sometimes giving up a bunch of boards, but if the bulls

23:33 want to play Andre Drummond for, you know, more than 15 minutes in a game, I think the

23:38 Celtics would welcome that because he's another like kind of lumbering center.

23:43 And so I think I like four players on the bulls roster and maybe four players on the

23:48 Hawks roster.

23:51 You know what, if Dejounte Murray wants to shoot another 45 shots in a game and like,

23:56 that's the key to victory for the Hawks.

23:59 I would have to tip my cap to them, but it's probably looking like it's going to be the

24:04 bulls at this point.

24:05 There's still projections are still holding.

24:06 Bulls are up by 10 right now with three minutes left in the third quarter.

24:12 Like you let like they just haven't really, they don't have a lot of great three point

24:15 shooting.

24:16 And so I think things are looking up if you are a Celtics fan this point heading into

24:24 game one on Sunday.

24:25 Well, it's funny now the there's six man right now, or at least tonight Packard is it's Javante

24:30 Green for the bulls.

24:31 And wasn't he just not in the league?

24:34 He was not on the team.

24:36 I think they signed him probably early March.

24:40 He was on the team last year.

24:42 I thought he was pretty good.

24:44 So I think he was playing for in the G League for a while this year for, I want to say the

24:48 Warriors G League team.

24:50 He was definitely around and then because he was dealing with, he got hurt at the end

24:56 of last year.

24:57 It just wasn't never got right really.

24:58 And then they, so they brought him back clearly and he's played well for them.

25:02 I mean, I'll give a crap.

25:03 Like I'm a big Javante Green fan in general.

25:07 Big mistake to to move him within Daniel Tice way back in the day, but that's a story for

25:11 their day.

25:12 But yeah, that just kind of speaks to where the bulls like depth is at this point where

25:18 it's like him and Drummond coming off the bench, Javante Carter there too.

25:24 And yeah, like there's there's fun names, intriguing names in the starting five, but

25:29 certainly defensively the bulls have no chance against the Celtics in a seven game series

25:36 and offensively they're just like less explosive than the Atlanta on the game at night.

25:41 Cause like you said, the, the boost of it's part of them.

25:43 That's like been the beginning of the end.

25:45 Like once he falls off there, if you don't have that stretch ability to the extent that

25:50 they've had in the past, like to cover up his defensive awards, then it's, it's game

25:54 over.

25:55 It's like just the Orlando magic all over again, five years ago.

25:59 I'm going to put you on the spot B Rob, given that we've already declared the bulls are

26:03 going to win and given, we don't know exactly what Jimmy Butler's injury is going to be.

26:09 What is your prediction for the, for the playing game on Friday night?

26:14 The heat will still find a way.

26:16 I think even though this is, it's kind of wild though, because this is the exact matchup

26:20 to like at the, for last year, right?

26:23 Like the heat just pulled that out against the bulls at the end.

26:29 But yeah, I still, I give it to them.

26:31 I'm like, until the someone stomps on their grave, I'm not counting out the heat from

26:38 getting into the playoffs in the first place.

26:40 I'm certainly not going to count on the bulls to do it.

26:44 But it is, I mean, the Jimmy factor there, that is real.

26:47 What Terry and Duncan Robinson look like in that game, they could come out and just have

26:50 nothing.

26:51 And then we'll be looking at Tyler Hero taking 30, 35 shots again.

26:56 So in that situation, you have to give bulls more than a fighting chance there, but I'm

27:01 still laying my heart, man.

27:03 I mean, where are you, where are you on this one?

27:05 Yeah, I think the heat are not going to die.

27:07 I think the Celtics in order to prevail, need to slay their past enemies, the past dragon,

27:16 proverbial dragon, metaphorical dragon.

27:19 It'll be like Spoh will give them, I think Spoh is just the best coach in the league.

27:24 He's going to play in the mud.

27:26 I don't think, I think he can junk up a zone and for one game and beat the bulls.

27:31 And I think he's going to throw everything in the kitchen sink against the Celtics.

27:36 But my way too early prediction at this point is going to be Celtics in five over the Miami

27:43 heat.

27:44 I just think that they're way too talented.

27:46 And especially if Jimmy Butler is hurt tonight, has to play through a game on Friday night

27:51 and then come back on Sunday and play the one o'clock start.

27:58 I think that's just an easy way for the Celtics to kind of get started.

28:03 That being said, the Celtics play three games over the first week.

28:06 They got a Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday schedule.

28:11 So potentially a lot of time for a player like Jimmy Butler to rest up.

28:15 I think that's also just beneficial to the Celtics who, you know, they have, they're

28:21 going to need all their, their bigs, especially Chris taps and Al Horford well-rested, but

28:27 a lot of time between games, a lot of time between games.

28:30 Yeah, that, that's going to be a long week, but I guess to talk to a little bit more of

28:37 the Celtics here for a three-year matchup with those gaps in there, Packard, where do

28:42 you want to see these guys like minutes wise, like especially guys like corporate and pricing

28:47 is out of the gate after the long break, but knowing they're going to have good recovery

28:52 time in those, at least the first three games of this series.

28:56 Like I wonder how hard, you know, Missoula steps on the gas with those guys, or if we

29:02 do see, you know, like a random appearance by Luke Cornette here or there just to take

29:08 the, you know, just because they can.

29:11 I think ideally you are beating the heat by 25 and then you get to throw in the scrubs

29:16 for the final.

29:17 Well, Joe Missoula is not going to do that in a playoff game.

29:20 He was going to leave those guys until like minutes left.

29:24 I should have known that as soon as I said it.

29:26 I don't know.

29:27 I think that's a very good question is like, do we get a random six minutes of Luke Cornette?

29:32 I certainly think Joe Missoula is comfortable throwing it out there.

29:36 I'd be less, I'd be more surprised if we saw a Javier Tillman in there just because I think

29:41 he's such a, just a, a negative on offense.

29:46 I think he's like very good in terms of moving his feet on defense and as a good perimeter

29:50 defender, but I think the heat would just completely let him take threes in the corner.

29:54 And that's just not what I want to see from the Celtics in the playoffs.

29:58 I wouldn't be surprised if it's like the early rounds, they maybe give Cornette some run,

30:03 especially in the bulls for sure.

30:05 Right?

30:06 Like if they're going to play drama, yeah, I would see like it would be Cornette makes

30:11 some more sense against the heat.

30:13 I think maybe you give some Cornette some minutes when, cause they, who's the, who's

30:19 the heats backup center.

30:21 I guess it's Kevin Love at this point.

30:23 Maybe it's Brian.

30:24 Yeah.

30:25 So maybe, yeah, you probably don't, you probably see Tillman if you go anywhere, you probably

30:28 see Tillman over Cornette there just to guard the three point line more, but the, he could

30:33 also just straight up like Thomas Bryant, they have there too, but he just strapped

30:37 in and play tonight and they just went, we don't want big and a bunch of links off the

30:41 bench.

30:42 So yeah, I guess a lot of it is just going to be determined in like, okay, who are these

30:45 other teams going off off their bench?

30:47 And then just let us go from there.

30:49 But to be honest, it might just be, you know, you, you just give a few more minutes to Pritchard

30:54 and Hauser and go like single big, a little bit more against a team like that.

30:57 And that way you can keep both Horford and Porzingis between 30 and 35 tops and that

31:05 should be sufficient.

31:06 Yeah.

31:07 I'm curious how much you think they're going to play a Horford and Porzingis together because

31:14 they certainly did that a fair amount this year.

31:15 I don't know if there was the most effective their offense was this year, but I think the

31:21 safe space space for them to be is just to have 40, 48 minutes of those two guys at center.

31:26 And so just really kind of split their time and, and use the kind of wing rotation and

31:33 the guard rotation around those two guys more so than because the more you use those two

31:37 guys together, the more likely you're going to have to use a third big like Cornette.

31:41 And so I think to me, especially in this team that doesn't have a lot of size like the heat,

31:49 I think it makes sense to just kind of be a single big.

31:51 I agree.

31:52 I think that's just not a team that double big makes a lot of sense unless you're getting

31:58 like destroyed at the rim for whatever reason or on the glass.

32:02 But both those teams like that, a Miami team shouldn't scare them on that front.

32:06 That's a team that you're more worried about everyone getting hot from three point range

32:10 and having Horford and Porzingis out there to deal with that is kind of playing to their

32:14 hands a little bit.

32:15 So keep it, you know, double bigs, like maybe 10, 15 minutes and eight tops just maybe for

32:22 a different look at some point of the game.

32:24 But by and large, yeah, the best way to control those minutes is the single big look and a

32:30 team like Miami would play into their hands there and and bring.

32:34 We have some breaking news of the returns here.

32:37 You know, Arizona has been called.

32:40 So I think we're that bodes well for the Chicago Bulls, who are up 18 now at the end of the

32:46 third quarter.

32:47 So we're we're they're up to vindicated, vindicated, vindicated.

32:51 The still potable halftime call has been vindicated Friday night.

32:56 It will be Chicago Bulls traveling to Miami for in a one game single elimination for the

33:03 privilege of playing the Boston Celtics.

33:08 Should be an interesting game, should be a fun game.

33:09 I just do.

33:10 I do like enjoy the play.

33:11 And it's been a lot of fun watching basketball, meaningful basketball over the past two evenings.

33:16 And so get ready, folks.

33:19 Playoffs are starting on Sunday.

33:20 We appreciate everyone who's tuned in here on the CLNS free version of still potable.

33:27 If you want more still potable during the playoffs, we'll be here every single day,

33:32 Monday through Friday, probably sometimes on the weekends.

33:35 If there's a weekend game, you know, we'll be here with a recap.

33:39 Go to Patreon dot com slash still potable.

33:43 Subscribe today and we'll be here talking Celtics basketball throughout the playoffs

33:48 from me, Jay King from the Athletic, from Brian B.

33:51 Rob Rob from MassLive.com.

33:53 Thank you guys for listening and we'll be back tomorrow.

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Celtics WILL PLAY Heat or Bulls in First Round of Playoffs | Still Poddable

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