January 2, 2025 • 20 mins
Jayson Tatum and Derrick White were the two best players on the floor Thursday night, and it wasn’t even close. They combined for 59 points, including two dagger 3-pointers from White during the final minutes, as the Celtics opened up their road trip on a high note. We’re sounding off on Tatum being the best American-born basketball player in the world, on Boston’s ability to win yet again while missing multiple starters, on the Celtics’ decision to not foul on the final defensive possession of the game.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Down off with me folks on Jason Tatum and Derek
White being the two best players on the court during
a showdown with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it wasn't even close.
Those two guys combined for fifty nine points on nearly
fifty percent shooting from the field, and that is almost
(00:28):
four times as many points as Minnesota's superstar scored in
this game. You heard that right. Boston held Anthony Edwards
to fifteen points on five for sixteen shooting in this game.
It was unbelievable defense that the Boston Celtics brought to
the table tonight against ann The defensive game plan was
(00:54):
excellent and the execution of that game plan was even better.
They were swarming him with multiple defenders, double teaming, trapping,
pressuring him on the perimeter, making him feel uncomfortable all
night long. There's been some debate about Tatum Anthony Edwards
(01:22):
and who is the better player and all that stuff,
and especially since Edwards made some comments about Tatum and
the Netflix show starting five Now. As Tatum said on
that show, He's got a pretty darn good record against Minnesota,
especially since Edwards came into the league, and it got
(01:42):
even better tonight. Oh and by the way, Tatum also
led the game in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. And
I want to clarify that not only did Tatum lead
the Celtics in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, he led
(02:03):
the entire game in points, rebounds, assists, in steals. That's
a pretty big deal, especially in a showdown against another
player who's been trying to make a claim as one
of the best players in the league, a player who
also won a gold medal this offseason, and a player
(02:27):
who's trying to get into the MVP conversation. This was
an MVP performance from Jason Tatum. There are no ifs
ands or butts about that. But we got to get
back to Derek White's performance too, because the Celtics may
not win this game without him. He hit the two
(02:49):
biggest shots of the game, both with less than about
three minutes left on the clock. The first was a
three pointer that answered one from Edwards at the other
end of the court and bumped Boston's lead back up
to eight. It was down to five after ants three pointer,
Derek White answers bumps it back up to eight. Then
(03:11):
just moments later, the second came at the end of
the shot clock in almost the exact same situation, nas
Reed hit hit a three pointer, cut the lead back
down to five, and Derek White answers back again, this
time at the end of the shot clock, and it
just so happened to bank off the backboard. I don't
(03:32):
think he was trying to do that. It grazed off
the backboard, went in. He ran back down to the
other end of the court, smiling, laughing, saying it was
his night, and it most certainly was. Those two to
three pointers from Derek White were the final points the
Boston scored in this game. They did not score dur
in the final two minutes, so those two threes decided
(03:56):
this game. They sealed the win. And those two buckets
are just more evidence of the fact that we all
know that Derek White is as clutch as clutch can be.
The old saying we all know it. They say big
time players make big time plays. That guy is a
(04:19):
big time player. That guy makes big time plays. There
is no questioning it at this point. He is incredible
when the game is online. He also made a couple
of mid range shots during the fourth quarter that the
Celtics needed. I don't know if they win this game
without him, but pretty impressive stuff out of Derek White,
(04:44):
who just continues to come through in the clutch for
the Celtics when they need him, and tonight he got
a little luck from the backboard. Now we've gotten this
far into the episode and we haven't even mentioned yet
that the Celtic won this game against a team that,
by the way, was on the doorstep of the NBA
Finals last season. The Celtics won this game again without
(05:08):
forty percent of their starting lineup. The Celtics were missing
two starters in this game. Jalen Brown was out with
a right shoulder sprain. Kristas Porzingis was out again with
that left ankle sprain that the Celtics are trying to
get back to full health. They were both listed as
questionable heading into the game, and they were both ruled
(05:30):
out hours before the game, probably minutes before the game,
probably thirty to sixty minutes before the game. So that's
forty percent of the starting lineup against an almost fully
healthy Timberwolves team that, again, I will reiterate, was on
the doorstep of the NBA Finals last year, and still
the Celtics get the win that's impressive stuff. A very
(05:55):
very very impressive start to this road trip for the Celtics.
Now they got three more against some really good teams,
but a great start for them on this road trip.
One more thing to mention before we get into our
fan comments. Sam Houser continues to light it up from distance.
We love to see this. He was five for eleven
tonight from long range. He's now twelve for twenty four
(06:19):
from distance over his last three games, and he's shooting
about forty four percent from beyond the arc since the
start of December. So this is about a month's stretch
of him really being hot from distance when he's been
in the lineup. Obviously he's kind of been in and out,
had some back issues, but he's been back, been playing consistent,
been shooting the ball really well. That stroke is certainly
(06:41):
shown up for him in a big way right now.
So the Celtics love to see that. All right, let's
get into some comments from our fans. First up, we
got justin Condo on where Jason Tatum ranks among American players.
We're talking all American players. Next up, we've got b
Wall who's won wondering why the Celtics didn't foul on
(07:02):
the final play of the game. I'll give some thoughts
on that, and then lastly, Hayden Pike comments on how
impressed they are from this win. All right, so let's
dive into the first one. Justin Condo, you are up,
all right, Justin Conno, what do you got for us?
Here we go. First comment, Tatum proved on the national
(07:25):
stage that he's the best American player in the league.
And it isn't even close. Preach my guy, Justin Condo.
This is inarguable at this point, like no one can
actually come to the table and argue this. Anthony Edwards
is a great player, He's an unbelievable player, but he
(07:47):
is not on the level of Jason Tatum. Right now,
Tonight was just one game. You can't use this as
kind of the barometer for everything. But this was a
great example of them going toe to toe and Jason
Tatum not only coming out on top as a team,
but far, far, far outperforming Anthony Edwards when it comes
(08:08):
to stats in a game. So not only does he
get the win, but he far outperforms him from a
statistical standpoint. But when we have this conversation about who
the best American born player is. And by the way,
for some who may not know, Shay Gilgess Alexander he's
in this conversation for MVP, but he is Canadian born.
(08:31):
I think that the next players up in this conversation
are probably like Anthony Davis, as we talked about, Anthony Edwards,
Donovan Mitchell, John Morant, Jalen Brunton, Karl Anthony Towns. He's players,
but Jason Tatum is so far beyond them. Like Jason
Tatum has been All NBA First Team for three straight years.
(08:54):
He's gonna do it again this year. He's been to
multiple NBA Finals, He's won an NBA FI, He's averaged
thirty eight games. These other guys haven't done any of that.
So this really it's not even a conversation to your point,
justin conno saying it isn't even close. It isn't and
(09:15):
the people who try to make it close have no
idea what they're talking about. Anthony Edwards is a great player.
He's going to get even better in his career. He's
younger than Tatum, He's still got room for growth. None
of these other American born players are on the level
of Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum is having one of the
(09:35):
best careers players have ever had before turning twenty seven
years old ever in the history of the NBA. Think
about that. Jason Tatum is having one of the greatest
careers ever for a player before turning twenty seven years old.
(09:58):
So it's not a knock on any of the these
other guys that they are not the best American born
player right now. They're just playing second fiddle to one
of the best ever. And you look at all the
numbers and what Jason Tatum has accomplished regular season and
playoffs in his career, you can't argue it. He is
(10:19):
one of the best players ever before turning twenty seven
years old. He's got a long way to go, but
right now, he is unquestionably the best American born basketball
player in the world right now. All right, Next com
coming in from b wall who says, I still don't
(10:41):
understand why we didn't foul on the inbound pass on
that last play. We shouldn't have let it take that shot.
Such a relief that it didn't go in, because if
it had, we'd have ourselves to blame. All right, let's
dive into this for anyone who did not watch the game.
The Celtics are up one eighteen to one fifteen. Jason
(11:04):
Tatum just missed a mid range step back jumper. It
was a great look, he made a great move, it
was wide open, missed it from about the free throw line.
With about six seconds left, Minnesota grabs the rebound, calls
time out with three point one seconds left, so they're
down by three. They get to advance the ball with
(11:24):
the timeout, and I guarantee you this is what happened
Joe Missoula and his coaching staff during that timeout, we're
coaching their players up on when to foul and when
not to foul. Okay, three seconds left, that's not a
lot of time, especially when a team is going to
(11:45):
take a three point like it's not it's not like
they're going to catch the ball, go away from the basket,
turn and make a move. It's not easy to commit
a foul in that small amount of time, and while
making sure that the other team is not attempting a
three pointer, because the last thing you want to do,
and this is the last thing, like well, I guess
(12:08):
having an and one on a three pointer might be
the absolute last thing But the last thing you want
to do is foul a player while taking a three pointer,
and it doesn't even have to be a good three pointer,
Like you just can't follow them while they're getting into
their shooting motion because then they have a chance to
tie the game from the free throw line. The second
(12:29):
to last thing you don't want to happen is to
allow a three pointer that does tie the game. But
the one thing that you cannot do in that situation
is commit a foul unless it's for sure when a
player is not taking the shot. Now again, three seconds left,
(12:51):
that's dicey. Like all of these coaching staffs around the
NBA have kind of what if scenarios. What if there's
two seconds left, do you foul or not? What if
there's five seconds left? What if you're up by four,
What if you're up by three, what if you're up
by two? What do you do? All of these guys
in these coaching staffs in the Basketball Operations Group have
(13:11):
these things worked out? And what do the stats and
the numbers say to do? I would bet, and I
don't know this for sure, but I would bet that
their discussion was foul. If you know for sure that
a shot is not going up. Don't foul if you're
not sure. Anthony Edwards that the Timberwolves barely got the
(13:36):
ball in They almost got a five second violation, and
so Edwards gets the ball on the inbound pass and
it's like it's a little bit hectic because it was
not the play that was drawn up. So when the
other team starts to freestyle and they're not actually running
the play they were trying to run anymore because they're
(13:57):
just trying to get the ball inbounds, that can be hectic.
You don't know exactly what's gonna happen, and I think
that's why the Celtics did not commit the foul. And
then once he gets into a dribble and to pull
up for the shot from straight away, at that point,
like you challenge the shot, you make sure you don't foul,
and that's exactly what the Celtics did. Anthony Edwards missed
(14:18):
the shot. So I think the bottom line here is
that the Celtics probably would have fouled if it was
a situation where they knew for a fact that the
shot was not going to be attempted. Anthony Edwards caught
the ball immediately turned toward the basket, got the shot
up with like one and a half seconds left, so
it wasn't long after he caught the inbound pass, so
(14:41):
you've got a second maybe to commit the foul. And
to me, that's a little too tight, And I think
to the Celtics who were on the floor, that was
a little too tight. So I thought they made the
right decision in not committing the foul in that situation,
and it wound up working. Edwards missed the shot. He
missed a bunch of them tonight, and he missed the
one that could have sent this game to overtime. So
(15:02):
that's my explanation. I don't know if that's one hundred
percent sure what was going on, but I would, if
I had to bet, that's the conversation that the Celtics
had during that time out. All right, folks, Last comment
of the night coming in from Hayden Pike, who says,
so impressed with this win. Down second and third best players,
(15:23):
t Will shot the lights out and still win. Gutsy win,
Tatum goat emoji. All right, lots to break down here.
So I'm impressed as well, Hayden, like it's impossible not
to be. I got a little bit of an issue
with your second comment here down second and third best players.
I think, for sure, second best player Jalen Brown is
(15:45):
unquestionably the second best player on this team. On some nights,
he's even the best players on this team. I don't
think you can say Christas Porzingis is the third best
player on this team. I think that is totally up
for debate. You could flip a coin a million times
and you would never be able to decide. Derek White
is right there. Porzingis is right there when he's healthy.
Drew Holliday is right there when he's healthy. There's so
(16:07):
much talent on this team. I think it's tough to
make that declaration, however, missing your second best player and
your first best player on some nights, and then another
guy who's arguably in the top three but definitely very
close to being number three on this team. Maybe there's
just three number threes on this team, missing those guys
(16:29):
and then still winning. While I haven't mentioned this yet,
but Hayden is mentioning it here, the Timberwolves were red
hot in this game, fifty percent from the field, fifty
four percent from three point range, ninety one percent from
the free throw line. I'm gonna repeat that. Fifty percent
(16:50):
from the field, fifty four percent from three point range,
ninety one percent from the free throw line. The Celtics,
on the other side, are down forty percent of their
starting lineup and still on the road. They find a
way to win. That, Folks, is the marker of greatness.
Great teams figure it out no matter what the circumstances.
(17:14):
The best of the best find a way to win.
That's exactly what the Boston Celtics did tonight. Now, how
how did they do this? Well? Shot margin, That's what
it all comes down to. Joe Missoula talks about it
all the time. It came into play tonight. The Timberwolves
shot the ball great, but they didn't shoot the ball
(17:34):
nearly as much as the Celtics. Okay, Boston took eighteen
more shots in the game. Eighteen. They took eighteen more
three pointers in the game. And how did that happen?
They forced fifteen turnovers out of the Timberwolves, and meanwhile,
the Celtics only committed three. So there's your game right there.
(17:59):
The Celtics shot the ball well as well, just to
be clear, but they made sixteen fewer free throws, but
the difference was that they took way more shots, eighteen
more shots, eighteen more three pointers. In those numbers, when
you're shooting the ball well, Boston shot fifty percent and
(18:20):
then thirty nine percent from three. When you're shooting the
ball well and you're taking way more shots, that can
erase what the other team is doing if they are
red hot. So pretty darn impressive performance. As Hayden is
saying here that they are so impressed with this win.
Yet not only do you wain in a while the
Timberwolves are shooting the lights out, but you also do
(18:42):
it while missing forty percent of your starting lineup. Jason
Tatum was the biggest reason why Derek White was right
behind him. Those were the two best players in the game,
and there is no questioning it. It wasn't even close.
So the Celtics this wildly difficult road trip with a
(19:03):
victory out in Minnesota, and now they got their next
one up coming up tomorrow night. They are on a
plane right now as this is being recorded, and they are
flying out to Houston for the second night of a
back to back. Tomorrow night, they take on the Rockets
down in Houston, the upstart Rockets. By the way, that
team is really good. Do not overlook this team. The
(19:24):
Houston Rockets are very, very talented and that team is
a bunch of dogs. They could win any night they
take the floor, so should be a great one tomorrow night.
Houston was off tonight. Their last game. They actually beat
the Dallas Mavericks at home, so they've been home for
a little bit. They've had three straight home games. This
is going to be the fourth straight home game. It's Celtics,
(19:47):
it's Rockets coming up on Friday night from Houston. So
I'll see you after that game. Make sure you replied
to my post after the final buzzer, give me your
thoughts and feelings and I'll see you with our next
episode of sound Off with the Boston Celtics coming at
you tomorrow night after the Celtics and Rockets face offs
in Houston. Have a great night, everyone, See you tomorrow
Night's Hi.
Down off with me folks on Jason Tatum and Derek
White being the two best players on the court during
a showdown with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it wasn't even close.
Those two guys combined for fifty nine points on nearly
fifty percent shooting from the field, and that is almost
(00:28):
four times as many points as Minnesota's superstar scored in
this game. You heard that right. Boston held Anthony Edwards
to fifteen points on five for sixteen shooting in this game.
It was unbelievable defense that the Boston Celtics brought to
the table tonight against ann The defensive game plan was
(00:54):
excellent and the execution of that game plan was even better.
They were swarming him with multiple defenders, double teaming, trapping,
pressuring him on the perimeter, making him feel uncomfortable all
night long. There's been some debate about Tatum Anthony Edwards
(01:22):
and who is the better player and all that stuff,
and especially since Edwards made some comments about Tatum and
the Netflix show starting five Now. As Tatum said on
that show, He's got a pretty darn good record against Minnesota,
especially since Edwards came into the league, and it got
(01:42):
even better tonight. Oh and by the way, Tatum also
led the game in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. And
I want to clarify that not only did Tatum lead
the Celtics in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, he led
(02:03):
the entire game in points, rebounds, assists, in steals. That's
a pretty big deal, especially in a showdown against another
player who's been trying to make a claim as one
of the best players in the league, a player who
also won a gold medal this offseason, and a player
(02:27):
who's trying to get into the MVP conversation. This was
an MVP performance from Jason Tatum. There are no ifs
ands or butts about that. But we got to get
back to Derek White's performance too, because the Celtics may
not win this game without him. He hit the two
(02:49):
biggest shots of the game, both with less than about
three minutes left on the clock. The first was a
three pointer that answered one from Edwards at the other
end of the court and bumped Boston's lead back up
to eight. It was down to five after ants three pointer,
Derek White answers bumps it back up to eight. Then
(03:11):
just moments later, the second came at the end of
the shot clock in almost the exact same situation, nas
Reed hit hit a three pointer, cut the lead back
down to five, and Derek White answers back again, this
time at the end of the shot clock, and it
just so happened to bank off the backboard. I don't
(03:32):
think he was trying to do that. It grazed off
the backboard, went in. He ran back down to the
other end of the court, smiling, laughing, saying it was
his night, and it most certainly was. Those two to
three pointers from Derek White were the final points the
Boston scored in this game. They did not score dur
in the final two minutes, so those two threes decided
(03:56):
this game. They sealed the win. And those two buckets
are just more evidence of the fact that we all
know that Derek White is as clutch as clutch can be.
The old saying we all know it. They say big
time players make big time plays. That guy is a
(04:19):
big time player. That guy makes big time plays. There
is no questioning it at this point. He is incredible
when the game is online. He also made a couple
of mid range shots during the fourth quarter that the
Celtics needed. I don't know if they win this game
without him, but pretty impressive stuff out of Derek White,
(04:44):
who just continues to come through in the clutch for
the Celtics when they need him, and tonight he got
a little luck from the backboard. Now we've gotten this
far into the episode and we haven't even mentioned yet
that the Celtic won this game against a team that,
by the way, was on the doorstep of the NBA
Finals last season. The Celtics won this game again without
(05:08):
forty percent of their starting lineup. The Celtics were missing
two starters in this game. Jalen Brown was out with
a right shoulder sprain. Kristas Porzingis was out again with
that left ankle sprain that the Celtics are trying to
get back to full health. They were both listed as
questionable heading into the game, and they were both ruled
(05:30):
out hours before the game, probably minutes before the game,
probably thirty to sixty minutes before the game. So that's
forty percent of the starting lineup against an almost fully
healthy Timberwolves team that, again, I will reiterate, was on
the doorstep of the NBA Finals last year, and still
the Celtics get the win that's impressive stuff. A very
(05:55):
very very impressive start to this road trip for the Celtics.
Now they got three more against some really good teams,
but a great start for them on this road trip.
One more thing to mention before we get into our
fan comments. Sam Houser continues to light it up from distance.
We love to see this. He was five for eleven
tonight from long range. He's now twelve for twenty four
(06:19):
from distance over his last three games, and he's shooting
about forty four percent from beyond the arc since the
start of December. So this is about a month's stretch
of him really being hot from distance when he's been
in the lineup. Obviously he's kind of been in and out,
had some back issues, but he's been back, been playing consistent,
been shooting the ball really well. That stroke is certainly
(06:41):
shown up for him in a big way right now.
So the Celtics love to see that. All right, let's
get into some comments from our fans. First up, we
got justin Condo on where Jason Tatum ranks among American players.
We're talking all American players. Next up, we've got b
Wall who's won wondering why the Celtics didn't foul on
(07:02):
the final play of the game. I'll give some thoughts
on that, and then lastly, Hayden Pike comments on how
impressed they are from this win. All right, so let's
dive into the first one. Justin Condo, you are up,
all right, Justin Conno, what do you got for us?
Here we go. First comment, Tatum proved on the national
(07:25):
stage that he's the best American player in the league.
And it isn't even close. Preach my guy, Justin Condo.
This is inarguable at this point, like no one can
actually come to the table and argue this. Anthony Edwards
is a great player, He's an unbelievable player, but he
(07:47):
is not on the level of Jason Tatum. Right now,
Tonight was just one game. You can't use this as
kind of the barometer for everything. But this was a
great example of them going toe to toe and Jason
Tatum not only coming out on top as a team,
but far, far, far outperforming Anthony Edwards when it comes
(08:08):
to stats in a game. So not only does he
get the win, but he far outperforms him from a
statistical standpoint. But when we have this conversation about who
the best American born player is. And by the way,
for some who may not know, Shay Gilgess Alexander he's
in this conversation for MVP, but he is Canadian born.
(08:31):
I think that the next players up in this conversation
are probably like Anthony Davis, as we talked about, Anthony Edwards,
Donovan Mitchell, John Morant, Jalen Brunton, Karl Anthony Towns. He's players,
but Jason Tatum is so far beyond them. Like Jason
Tatum has been All NBA First Team for three straight years.
(08:54):
He's gonna do it again this year. He's been to
multiple NBA Finals, He's won an NBA FI, He's averaged
thirty eight games. These other guys haven't done any of that.
So this really it's not even a conversation to your point,
justin conno saying it isn't even close. It isn't and
(09:15):
the people who try to make it close have no
idea what they're talking about. Anthony Edwards is a great player.
He's going to get even better in his career. He's
younger than Tatum, He's still got room for growth. None
of these other American born players are on the level
of Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum is having one of the
(09:35):
best careers players have ever had before turning twenty seven
years old ever in the history of the NBA. Think
about that. Jason Tatum is having one of the greatest
careers ever for a player before turning twenty seven years old.
(09:58):
So it's not a knock on any of the these
other guys that they are not the best American born
player right now. They're just playing second fiddle to one
of the best ever. And you look at all the
numbers and what Jason Tatum has accomplished regular season and
playoffs in his career, you can't argue it. He is
(10:19):
one of the best players ever before turning twenty seven
years old. He's got a long way to go, but
right now, he is unquestionably the best American born basketball
player in the world right now. All right, Next com
coming in from b wall who says, I still don't
(10:41):
understand why we didn't foul on the inbound pass on
that last play. We shouldn't have let it take that shot.
Such a relief that it didn't go in, because if
it had, we'd have ourselves to blame. All right, let's
dive into this for anyone who did not watch the game.
The Celtics are up one eighteen to one fifteen. Jason
(11:04):
Tatum just missed a mid range step back jumper. It
was a great look, he made a great move, it
was wide open, missed it from about the free throw line.
With about six seconds left, Minnesota grabs the rebound, calls
time out with three point one seconds left, so they're
down by three. They get to advance the ball with
(11:24):
the timeout, and I guarantee you this is what happened
Joe Missoula and his coaching staff during that timeout, we're
coaching their players up on when to foul and when
not to foul. Okay, three seconds left, that's not a
lot of time, especially when a team is going to
(11:45):
take a three point like it's not it's not like
they're going to catch the ball, go away from the basket,
turn and make a move. It's not easy to commit
a foul in that small amount of time, and while
making sure that the other team is not attempting a
three pointer, because the last thing you want to do,
and this is the last thing, like well, I guess
(12:08):
having an and one on a three pointer might be
the absolute last thing But the last thing you want
to do is foul a player while taking a three pointer,
and it doesn't even have to be a good three pointer,
Like you just can't follow them while they're getting into
their shooting motion because then they have a chance to
tie the game from the free throw line. The second
(12:29):
to last thing you don't want to happen is to
allow a three pointer that does tie the game. But
the one thing that you cannot do in that situation
is commit a foul unless it's for sure when a
player is not taking the shot. Now again, three seconds left,
(12:51):
that's dicey. Like all of these coaching staffs around the
NBA have kind of what if scenarios. What if there's
two seconds left, do you foul or not? What if
there's five seconds left? What if you're up by four,
What if you're up by three, what if you're up
by two? What do you do? All of these guys
in these coaching staffs in the Basketball Operations Group have
(13:11):
these things worked out? And what do the stats and
the numbers say to do? I would bet, and I
don't know this for sure, but I would bet that
their discussion was foul. If you know for sure that
a shot is not going up. Don't foul if you're
not sure. Anthony Edwards that the Timberwolves barely got the
(13:36):
ball in They almost got a five second violation, and
so Edwards gets the ball on the inbound pass and
it's like it's a little bit hectic because it was
not the play that was drawn up. So when the
other team starts to freestyle and they're not actually running
the play they were trying to run anymore because they're
(13:57):
just trying to get the ball inbounds, that can be hectic.
You don't know exactly what's gonna happen, and I think
that's why the Celtics did not commit the foul. And
then once he gets into a dribble and to pull
up for the shot from straight away, at that point,
like you challenge the shot, you make sure you don't foul,
and that's exactly what the Celtics did. Anthony Edwards missed
(14:18):
the shot. So I think the bottom line here is
that the Celtics probably would have fouled if it was
a situation where they knew for a fact that the
shot was not going to be attempted. Anthony Edwards caught
the ball immediately turned toward the basket, got the shot
up with like one and a half seconds left, so
it wasn't long after he caught the inbound pass, so
(14:41):
you've got a second maybe to commit the foul. And
to me, that's a little too tight, And I think
to the Celtics who were on the floor, that was
a little too tight. So I thought they made the
right decision in not committing the foul in that situation,
and it wound up working. Edwards missed the shot. He
missed a bunch of them tonight, and he missed the
one that could have sent this game to overtime. So
(15:02):
that's my explanation. I don't know if that's one hundred
percent sure what was going on, but I would, if
I had to bet, that's the conversation that the Celtics
had during that time out. All right, folks, Last comment
of the night coming in from Hayden Pike, who says,
so impressed with this win. Down second and third best players,
(15:23):
t Will shot the lights out and still win. Gutsy win,
Tatum goat emoji. All right, lots to break down here.
So I'm impressed as well, Hayden, like it's impossible not
to be. I got a little bit of an issue
with your second comment here down second and third best players.
I think, for sure, second best player Jalen Brown is
(15:45):
unquestionably the second best player on this team. On some nights,
he's even the best players on this team. I don't
think you can say Christas Porzingis is the third best
player on this team. I think that is totally up
for debate. You could flip a coin a million times
and you would never be able to decide. Derek White
is right there. Porzingis is right there when he's healthy.
Drew Holliday is right there when he's healthy. There's so
(16:07):
much talent on this team. I think it's tough to
make that declaration, however, missing your second best player and
your first best player on some nights, and then another
guy who's arguably in the top three but definitely very
close to being number three on this team. Maybe there's
just three number threes on this team, missing those guys
(16:29):
and then still winning. While I haven't mentioned this yet,
but Hayden is mentioning it here, the Timberwolves were red
hot in this game, fifty percent from the field, fifty
four percent from three point range, ninety one percent from
the free throw line. I'm gonna repeat that. Fifty percent
(16:50):
from the field, fifty four percent from three point range,
ninety one percent from the free throw line. The Celtics,
on the other side, are down forty percent of their
starting lineup and still on the road. They find a
way to win. That, Folks, is the marker of greatness.
Great teams figure it out no matter what the circumstances.
(17:14):
The best of the best find a way to win.
That's exactly what the Boston Celtics did tonight. Now, how
how did they do this? Well? Shot margin, That's what
it all comes down to. Joe Missoula talks about it
all the time. It came into play tonight. The Timberwolves
shot the ball great, but they didn't shoot the ball
(17:34):
nearly as much as the Celtics. Okay, Boston took eighteen
more shots in the game. Eighteen. They took eighteen more
three pointers in the game. And how did that happen?
They forced fifteen turnovers out of the Timberwolves, and meanwhile,
the Celtics only committed three. So there's your game right there.
(17:59):
The Celtics shot the ball well as well, just to
be clear, but they made sixteen fewer free throws, but
the difference was that they took way more shots, eighteen
more shots, eighteen more three pointers. In those numbers, when
you're shooting the ball well, Boston shot fifty percent and
(18:20):
then thirty nine percent from three. When you're shooting the
ball well and you're taking way more shots, that can
erase what the other team is doing if they are
red hot. So pretty darn impressive performance. As Hayden is
saying here that they are so impressed with this win.
Yet not only do you wain in a while the
Timberwolves are shooting the lights out, but you also do
(18:42):
it while missing forty percent of your starting lineup. Jason
Tatum was the biggest reason why Derek White was right
behind him. Those were the two best players in the game,
and there is no questioning it. It wasn't even close.
So the Celtics this wildly difficult road trip with a
(19:03):
victory out in Minnesota, and now they got their next
one up coming up tomorrow night. They are on a
plane right now as this is being recorded, and they are
flying out to Houston for the second night of a
back to back. Tomorrow night, they take on the Rockets
down in Houston, the upstart Rockets. By the way, that
team is really good. Do not overlook this team. The
(19:24):
Houston Rockets are very, very talented and that team is
a bunch of dogs. They could win any night they
take the floor, so should be a great one tomorrow night.
Houston was off tonight. Their last game. They actually beat
the Dallas Mavericks at home, so they've been home for
a little bit. They've had three straight home games. This
is going to be the fourth straight home game. It's Celtics,
(19:47):
it's Rockets coming up on Friday night from Houston. So
I'll see you after that game. Make sure you replied
to my post after the final buzzer, give me your
thoughts and feelings and I'll see you with our next
episode of sound Off with the Boston Celtics coming at
you tomorrow night after the Celtics and Rockets face offs
in Houston. Have a great night, everyone, See you tomorrow
Night's Hi.
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