November 18, 2025 • 21 mins
The Celtics won another close game Tuesday night for their third straight W. The thing that stands out the most after this one? It’s the fact that they won by double-digits on a night when they didn’t play particularly well. We dive into that accomplishment, as well as how the Celtics turned this game around, during tonight’s episode of SOUND OFF.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
Sound Off with me, folks on the Celtics winning their
third straight game Tuesday night to get over the five
hundred mark for the very first time this season. And
they did it by showing off that clutch gene yet again.
That's two straight games and tonight they did it in
the fourth quarter to take control of this game. This
(00:26):
is sound Off presented by Xfinity Mobile. Thanks for tuning in, folks,
and we got a lot to dive into, so let's
do it. This was a tight game throughout until the
Celtics took total control during the fourth quarter. They were
down by one with less than nine minutes left in
this game, and then they strung together in eighteen to
(00:47):
three run that completely changed the game, allowed them to
take complete control, and they did it by playing at
a super high level at both ends. We're talking big shots,
big red, top notch defense, everything you need to do
in order to win close games in the NBA. And
(01:09):
there's one sequence in particular during that run stood out
to me and it just felt like a game changing
moment that gave the Celtics this win. So the Celtics
are up by five, okay, and they miss a couple shots.
In fact, they miss three straight shots on one single possession.
At the offensive end, they grab three consecutive offensive rebound
(01:30):
rebounds that lead to a Derek White three pointer in
the right corner to go ahead by eight. Now, changing
the lead from five to eight with a bunch of
time left on the clock doesn't really feel like a
critical moment when you just say it, But when you
talk about the way it happened, that is the type
of thing that can change a game. And it felt
like after Derek White put that ball through the net,
(01:54):
you just knew the Celtics were gonna win this game.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And the reason is.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Because that type of effort by all five guys on
the floor to grab three consecutive rebounds, that in and
of itself is a momentum builder. But when those three rebounds,
those three consecutive offensive rebounds also lead to a swished
home three pointer, that isn't just a momentum builder. That
(02:23):
is a backbreaker. And it proved to be exactly that
during this game. So now, after that stretch and after
the Celtics continued to play well for the remainder of
the game, they've won a season best three straight games,
And it really does feel like this team is turning
a corner. And I know everyone out there is probably
(02:45):
gonna say, well, yeah, three straight wins and eight and
four in the last twelve, but it's not like they've
been playing against the best opposing talent in the league.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And that's true. But hear me out.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
First and foremost, this is the second straight game, as
we touched on at the top, that the Celtics have
won a close game. They just did it against the
Clippers on Sunday, a close game that went down to
the wire. And I said it in sound off after
that game, like the Celtics were not giving that game away.
James Harden was trying to snatch it from them, but
(03:21):
they found a way to win, even win an all
time great Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players
of all time, was taking over a game, they still
found a way to hold on for the win.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So that's one clutch win.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Then you go into tonight, when this game was back
and forth, back and forth for the better part of
three plus quarters, and again the Celtics were down by one, yes, correct,
they were down by wondering the fourth. This was a
close game, and then again they find a way to
turn the tide, grab the momentum and run away with
(03:55):
the win. So that's Number one is winning consecutive games
that were because the Celtics haven't been doing a whole
lot of that. Hadn't been doing a whole lot of
that early on in the season. Now it seems like
they're figuring that out. The second thing what we learned
about this team tonight is that they can find a
way to win when they don't really play well as
(04:15):
a team. And if you watch this game, like this
wasn't the most beautiful basketball game that the Boston Celtics
have played, But when you can find a way to
win when it's not really your night, that is a
sign of a team turning a corner. This game, in
my estimation, was B minus C plus that type of
(04:40):
game for the Celtics. Twenty turnovers, twelve of them during
the first half alone, sloppy defense at times, not a
ton of energy throughout the first two to three quarters
of the game, and then they just hit the gas
and pulled away. And again, I know this was the Nets.
I know that this is one of the worst teams
(05:01):
in the Eastern Conference, maybe in the league when it
comes to record and all the associated stats. I do
understand that, but I would say that maybe half the
teams in the league have the ability to win games
on nights when they don't play well, and the Celtics
(05:21):
just proved to us for the first time this season
really that they can do that. And so again, this
is a sign to me of a team really starting
to turn a corner. And I'm not trying to say
that the Celtics are gonna go on some crazy run
and finish with a top seed in the Eastern Conference
and go to the NBA Founal. That's not what I'm
(05:43):
trying to say. But what I'm trying to say is
about this particular team. With the expectations or lack thereof
by many on the outside heading into this season, this
particular team is starting to show us that it's coming together,
finding ways to win, and turning a corner as a
(06:04):
unit in that has been a lot of fun to
watch and something to keep an eye on as we
move forward. Another thing that stood out to me in
this game, outside of just individual performances, is it is
becoming so much fun to find out who's gonna step
up on any given night, and in particular from the
(06:26):
group of Jordan Walsh, Josh may Not, Anthony Simon's Luca
Garza Tonight being a great example. Right, so we've seen
Jordan Walsh has been starting for the past week or so.
It's been playing really well, like he has earned that
position well. Tonight he gets into foul trouble, right, So
(06:46):
he winds up in this game only playing eleven minutes,
and that's because he had picked up three early fouls,
wound up with four files on the night. So Joe
Missoula calls on joshmy Not, who hasn't been, you know,
putting together those eye popping type box scores that we
were seeing from him early on in the season. But
(07:07):
Walsh is out and someone else's got to step up.
Josh may Not comes in and he was excellent. Winds
up with ten points, four rebounds during this game, makes
all three of his three pointers. Like there was a
stretch in this game when he was shooting it well
from outside. They really gave the Celtics a little bit
(07:27):
of sturdiness, like they were kind of wobbling a little bit.
And then he I wouldn't say took over, but he
really guided the Celtics as they were struggling to find
their way during this game, and then he played well
for the rest of the night nineteen plus minutes during
this game, again finishes with ten points, four rebounds, shot
the ball really well, provided a ton of energy, effort defense,
(07:54):
and the Celtics wind up outscoring Brooklyn by fifteen points
while he's on the court. But this has become a
trend throughout the early portion of the season is that
like you, for the most part, you know what you're
going to get from the guys like Pritchard and White,
even Cada definitely Brown Howser, Like you know, generally speaking,
(08:16):
what you're going to get from those guys on a
nightly basis. But the rest of the group that's playing
on a nightly basis, and mainly it's those guys that
I just mentioned, Jordan Walsh, Anthony Simons, Luca Garza, Josh
may Not. What are you going to get from those guys?
And it's really it's been an enjoyable experience for me
to just see, all right, who's the guy tonight? Who
(08:38):
are the guys tonight out of that group who are
going to step up and impact this game in a
positive way for the Boston Celtics, and very rarely is
it going to be all of them, because these are
four guys who, well, maybe not Simon's in this group
because he's a well established veteran, but three of the
guys out of that group are really kind of like
(08:59):
trying to find their way in the NBA. What is
their niche, what is their role? They're figuring it out
here with the Celtics, but you can't expect them to
play well every single night because they are still pretty
early in their careers, and especially they're gaining experience right
now with roles that they've never really had in the NBA.
So again, it's just been a lot of fun for me,
(09:22):
an enjoyable experience to be able to like kick back
and watch these games every night and just say, all right,
who's the guy or who are the guys who are
gonna step up around that core that we know, We
know who they are, those are known quantities on a
nightly basis, Who is going to come along right next
to them and help the Celtics try to compete and
(09:43):
win this game tonight? That guy was Josh may Not.
So just a lot of fun to watch, all right,
Let's dive into a couple comments from our fans. First up,
we've got ty Ray, whose mind is aligned with mine
and I gotta say that I love it. And then
next up we got Trey his thoughts on the team
after the first fifteen games of this season. Tyray, let's
(10:05):
dive in. You are first, all right. As I said,
Tyray is up first, and he has to say his
takeaway from this game is the Celtics can.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Win while playing poorly.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
All right, ty, You and I I know we're friends
on x I love to see your posts, especially every Friday,
where you're calling out a bunch of the people who
cover the team on a weekly basis. I am so
aligned with you tonight and it feels so good that
we are thinking the same way. Tye is one of
(10:42):
the fans out there in the Celtics Twitter verse who
is very grounded. He's very level headed. He's not an
emotional fan. He always is able to keep himself centered
and understand what's really going on. And you know, not
to toot my own horn, but I think that I'm
kind of the same way on that level, and me
(11:04):
and Tye are saying the same thing after this game
that the Celtics prove tonight that they can win while
playing poorly. And again let's go through some of the
numbers to show just how quote unquote poorly. They played
twenty turnovers during this game. They committed twelve of those
during the first half alone. That is completely unlike this team.
(11:29):
In fact, one of the greatest strengths of this team
is how smart they are and how well they take
care of them. And from that perspective, they are the
number one team in the NBA at taking care of
the ball. I will repeat they entered tonight and they
(11:50):
will still be after tonight, even after committing twenty turnovers,
the number one team in the NBA in terms of
taking care of the ball eleven turnovers per game heading
into this game, they committed twelve during the first half alone,
twenty on the night, completely unlike this group of Celtics.
(12:16):
So to Tie's point, the Celtics played poorly during this
game to their standards, particularly in that specific area of
the box score. They started to shoot it pretty well
throughout the game, but there were moments where they didn't
(12:37):
really rebound well. Okay, Brooklyn finishes with twelve offensive rebounds.
Nick Claxton had five of them. All on his own.
The Nets scored thirty six points in the paint. There
were moments during this game where they were having a
day as in the Nets were having a field day
(12:57):
on the offensive glass and in general around the paint.
So you couple those things with the Celtics also not
taking care of the ball, and actually tonight they lost
the shop margin battle tonight eighty two.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
To seventy five.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league,
if not the best team in the league when it
comes to shop margin this season because they take care
of the ball.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So you add all this stuff together.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
This was not a night where the Celtics played well,
and in ty Ray's words, they played poorly. And yet
here we are in sound off after this game talking
about the Celtics winning this game, and not just winning,
but winning by fourteen points. The Celtics can't just win
(13:49):
while playing poorly. Tonight they won convincingly during the fourth
quarter while playing poorly. And again, I'm gonna go back
to what I said during the open there's maybe fifteen
ish teams in the NBA who can win games relatively
regularly while not playing a strong game. From what their
(14:14):
reputation is and what we've come to see from them
on a nightly basis. The Celtics certainly underperformed from that
perspective tonight, but they won the game, and they won
the game by fourteen points. And again, I know this
is the NETS, that's fine, but in general, there aren't
a lot of teams in the NBA that can do
(14:35):
what the Celtics just did, and especially doing that consistently.
So we're gonna have to wait and see if this
is something that's more of a trend for the Celtics
or if it's something that's maybe just a blip and
a nice performance out of them to be able to
do this tonight. But my opinion is that we're starting
to see the Celtics turn a corner and really find
(14:56):
themselves and that is what has led to them being
able to to win this game. I think if this
was in the first week of the season, they I
don't know if they win this game, I really don't.
But tonight, whatever, close to a month end of this season,
they win it by fourteen points. So a great lesson
learned tonight about this particular Celtics team that, as Tyree said,
(15:18):
the Celtics can win games while playing poorly. All right,
final comment of the night coming in from Trey who says,
the Celtics really shook that slow start off. Hasn't been perfect,
but I don't expect it to be. They are at
least playing super hard in getting results.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
All Right.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
This is a couple things here that we can definitely
take away and talk about here moving forward with the Celtics.
Number one is that they do play super hard. Like
this team gives effort. There is very rarely a majority
of a game where the Celtics are not playing with
the level of effort and energy that they need to
(16:00):
compete for a win. Tonight, we did see that lack
for like I said, two or three quarters, but in
the end they figured it out and that energy really
started to pick up when the Celtics got into the
second half. In the third quarter and then in the
fourth quarter, Derek White really started to step up. He
(16:21):
had a couple steals, block shots. That possession where I said,
they grabbed three straight offensive rebounds and that led to
the kickout three for Derek White in the corner. Like,
that's what the Celtics team is, like. They play hard
every night. And that's something you got to respect, and
(16:41):
that's also something that's going to give you a chance
to win very consistently in this league. Like you look
at the Miami Heat for the last five or so years,
that team hasn't really been a real title contender in
my opinion, but they've won a bunch of games because
Eric Spolstra always has his guys playing hard. They always
play hard, and you know you're going to get that
(17:02):
from them on a nightly basis as an opponent. The
Celtics team is looking like that, where it's just it's
a known quantity. You know that they're going to play
super hard every single night. So great observation here from Trey.
The other thing that he's saying here is that this
hasn't been perfect, but I don't expect it to be
(17:24):
similar to Tie. I really appreciate the level headed comment
here from Trey saying that he doesn't expect perfection from
a team that did not come into this season as
even in the title conversation. I think a lot of
people out there a little bit, maybe not a lot
of people, but there's enough people out there who have
made noise early on this season showing frustrations, maybe a
(17:47):
little bit spoiled by what the Celtics had the last
few years. But this team coming into the season hasn't
been expected by many, if any, to approach fifty wins.
That just hasn't been the external expectation. This team doesn't
(18:07):
have Jason Tatum, one of the top five players in
the world, does not have Jason Tatum. A lot of
talent went out the door during the offseason, a lot
of guys, as we talked about already during this episode,
a lot of guys like trying to find their roles
in the NBA, the first real opportunity to play major
minutes and a major role.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
On a team.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
You gotta have realistic expectations and that's what Tray has here.
He's not expecting the Celtics to play perfect, but he
is expecting them to play hard, and they are. And
I think they're also showing that they might just have
a little bit more talent, a little bit more ability
than a lot of people thought coming into this season.
(18:51):
And as a result, they aren't just over five hundred
for the first time this season. But to Trey's point,
they shook out that slow start first three games of
the season all losses since then eight and four. Eight
and four is a pretty good run over twelve games
of an NBA season. If the Boston Celtics continue on
(19:14):
even something close to that that pace this season, they
might approach or get around fifty wins this season. If
they continue to play at this level and win at
that pace of eight out of every twelve games.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
They are turning a corner. You can see it.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
It is obvious they are starting to come together as
a cohesive unit. They've got Derek White and Peyton Pritchards
shooting the ball well after some struggles early on in
the season. The defense has been really solid. The rebounding
has been much, much, much, much better over the past
couple of weeks than it was for the first week
or two of the regular season. Like all of those weaknesses,
(19:54):
those loose nuts are starting to get tightened, and Jalen
Brown just continues to play at an all NBA level.
Another twenty nine points during this game. How many of
them came during the second half. I'm pretty sure he
had seventeen points during the third quarter alone, that's correct,
And by the way, he has the most quarters in
the NBA. We're talking of any player the most quarters
(20:17):
this season of fifteen or more points. Jalm Brown is
the guy who's done that. He has been playing unquestionably
at an all NBA level twenty three points during the
second half of this game twenty nine on the night,
so you just continue to see signs of him continuing
to play well. But then everyone else around him really
(20:38):
starting to up their game and the group as a
whole really starting to iron out all those wrinkles that
they had early on this season.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Again, eight and four in their.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Last twelve, they are over the five hundred mark for
the first time this season, and they've got a chance
to make it nine and four in their last thirteen
and two games over the five hundred mark when they
play host to this very same team, the Brooklyn Nets,
Friday night at TD Garden. After that game, make sure
you send in a comment to me on x Folks.
I need you to send in your thoughts after these games,
(21:08):
all right, So after I send out my post right
after the final buzzer, hit the reply button and send
in whatever your takeaways are from the game Friday night,
and we might get you into the next episode of
sound Off. Thank you all for listening tonight.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Again.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
This is sound Off presented by Exfinity Mobile and I
can't wait to see you Friday night. That episode is
going to be on both YouTube and all of your
favorite podcast platforms. Have a great rest of the week
and we'll see you on Friday
Sound Off with me, folks on the Celtics winning their
third straight game Tuesday night to get over the five
hundred mark for the very first time this season. And
they did it by showing off that clutch gene yet again.
That's two straight games and tonight they did it in
the fourth quarter to take control of this game. This
(00:26):
is sound Off presented by Xfinity Mobile. Thanks for tuning in, folks,
and we got a lot to dive into, so let's
do it. This was a tight game throughout until the
Celtics took total control during the fourth quarter. They were
down by one with less than nine minutes left in
this game, and then they strung together in eighteen to
(00:47):
three run that completely changed the game, allowed them to
take complete control, and they did it by playing at
a super high level at both ends. We're talking big shots,
big red, top notch defense, everything you need to do
in order to win close games in the NBA. And
(01:09):
there's one sequence in particular during that run stood out
to me and it just felt like a game changing
moment that gave the Celtics this win. So the Celtics
are up by five, okay, and they miss a couple shots.
In fact, they miss three straight shots on one single possession.
At the offensive end, they grab three consecutive offensive rebound
(01:30):
rebounds that lead to a Derek White three pointer in
the right corner to go ahead by eight. Now, changing
the lead from five to eight with a bunch of
time left on the clock doesn't really feel like a
critical moment when you just say it, But when you
talk about the way it happened, that is the type
of thing that can change a game. And it felt
like after Derek White put that ball through the net,
(01:54):
you just knew the Celtics were gonna win this game.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
And the reason is.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
Because that type of effort by all five guys on
the floor to grab three consecutive rebounds, that in and
of itself is a momentum builder. But when those three rebounds,
those three consecutive offensive rebounds also lead to a swished
home three pointer, that isn't just a momentum builder. That
(02:23):
is a backbreaker. And it proved to be exactly that
during this game. So now, after that stretch and after
the Celtics continued to play well for the remainder of
the game, they've won a season best three straight games,
And it really does feel like this team is turning
a corner. And I know everyone out there is probably
(02:45):
gonna say, well, yeah, three straight wins and eight and
four in the last twelve, but it's not like they've
been playing against the best opposing talent in the league.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
And that's true. But hear me out.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
First and foremost, this is the second straight game, as
we touched on at the top, that the Celtics have
won a close game. They just did it against the
Clippers on Sunday, a close game that went down to
the wire. And I said it in sound off after
that game, like the Celtics were not giving that game away.
James Harden was trying to snatch it from them, but
(03:21):
they found a way to win, even win an all
time great Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players
of all time, was taking over a game, they still
found a way to hold on for the win.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
So that's one clutch win.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Then you go into tonight, when this game was back
and forth, back and forth for the better part of
three plus quarters, and again the Celtics were down by one, yes, correct,
they were down by wondering the fourth. This was a
close game, and then again they find a way to
turn the tide, grab the momentum and run away with
(03:55):
the win. So that's Number one is winning consecutive games
that were because the Celtics haven't been doing a whole
lot of that. Hadn't been doing a whole lot of
that early on in the season. Now it seems like
they're figuring that out. The second thing what we learned
about this team tonight is that they can find a
way to win when they don't really play well as
(04:15):
a team. And if you watch this game, like this
wasn't the most beautiful basketball game that the Boston Celtics
have played, But when you can find a way to
win when it's not really your night, that is a
sign of a team turning a corner. This game, in
my estimation, was B minus C plus that type of
(04:40):
game for the Celtics. Twenty turnovers, twelve of them during
the first half alone, sloppy defense at times, not a
ton of energy throughout the first two to three quarters
of the game, and then they just hit the gas
and pulled away. And again, I know this was the Nets.
I know that this is one of the worst teams
(05:01):
in the Eastern Conference, maybe in the league when it
comes to record and all the associated stats. I do
understand that, but I would say that maybe half the
teams in the league have the ability to win games
on nights when they don't play well, and the Celtics
(05:21):
just proved to us for the first time this season
really that they can do that. And so again, this
is a sign to me of a team really starting
to turn a corner. And I'm not trying to say
that the Celtics are gonna go on some crazy run
and finish with a top seed in the Eastern Conference
and go to the NBA Founal. That's not what I'm
(05:43):
trying to say. But what I'm trying to say is
about this particular team. With the expectations or lack thereof
by many on the outside heading into this season, this
particular team is starting to show us that it's coming together,
finding ways to win, and turning a corner as a
(06:04):
unit in that has been a lot of fun to
watch and something to keep an eye on as we
move forward. Another thing that stood out to me in
this game, outside of just individual performances, is it is
becoming so much fun to find out who's gonna step
up on any given night, and in particular from the
(06:26):
group of Jordan Walsh, Josh may Not, Anthony Simon's Luca
Garza Tonight being a great example. Right, so we've seen
Jordan Walsh has been starting for the past week or so.
It's been playing really well, like he has earned that
position well. Tonight he gets into foul trouble, right, So
(06:46):
he winds up in this game only playing eleven minutes,
and that's because he had picked up three early fouls,
wound up with four files on the night. So Joe
Missoula calls on joshmy Not, who hasn't been, you know,
putting together those eye popping type box scores that we
were seeing from him early on in the season. But
(07:07):
Walsh is out and someone else's got to step up.
Josh may Not comes in and he was excellent. Winds
up with ten points, four rebounds during this game, makes
all three of his three pointers. Like there was a
stretch in this game when he was shooting it well
from outside. They really gave the Celtics a little bit
(07:27):
of sturdiness, like they were kind of wobbling a little bit.
And then he I wouldn't say took over, but he
really guided the Celtics as they were struggling to find
their way during this game, and then he played well
for the rest of the night nineteen plus minutes during
this game, again finishes with ten points, four rebounds, shot
the ball really well, provided a ton of energy, effort defense,
(07:54):
and the Celtics wind up outscoring Brooklyn by fifteen points
while he's on the court. But this has become a
trend throughout the early portion of the season is that
like you, for the most part, you know what you're
going to get from the guys like Pritchard and White,
even Cada definitely Brown Howser, Like you know, generally speaking,
(08:16):
what you're going to get from those guys on a
nightly basis. But the rest of the group that's playing
on a nightly basis, and mainly it's those guys that
I just mentioned, Jordan Walsh, Anthony Simons, Luca Garza, Josh
may Not. What are you going to get from those guys?
And it's really it's been an enjoyable experience for me
to just see, all right, who's the guy tonight? Who
(08:38):
are the guys tonight out of that group who are
going to step up and impact this game in a
positive way for the Boston Celtics, and very rarely is
it going to be all of them, because these are
four guys who, well, maybe not Simon's in this group
because he's a well established veteran, but three of the
guys out of that group are really kind of like
(08:59):
trying to find their way in the NBA. What is
their niche, what is their role? They're figuring it out
here with the Celtics, but you can't expect them to
play well every single night because they are still pretty
early in their careers, and especially they're gaining experience right
now with roles that they've never really had in the NBA.
So again, it's just been a lot of fun for me,
(09:22):
an enjoyable experience to be able to like kick back
and watch these games every night and just say, all right,
who's the guy or who are the guys who are
gonna step up around that core that we know, We
know who they are, those are known quantities on a
nightly basis, Who is going to come along right next
to them and help the Celtics try to compete and
(09:43):
win this game tonight? That guy was Josh may Not.
So just a lot of fun to watch, all right,
Let's dive into a couple comments from our fans. First up,
we've got ty Ray, whose mind is aligned with mine
and I gotta say that I love it. And then
next up we got Trey his thoughts on the team
after the first fifteen games of this season. Tyray, let's
(10:05):
dive in. You are first, all right. As I said,
Tyray is up first, and he has to say his
takeaway from this game is the Celtics can.
Speaker 2 (10:16):
Win while playing poorly.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
All right, ty, You and I I know we're friends
on x I love to see your posts, especially every Friday,
where you're calling out a bunch of the people who
cover the team on a weekly basis. I am so
aligned with you tonight and it feels so good that
we are thinking the same way. Tye is one of
(10:42):
the fans out there in the Celtics Twitter verse who
is very grounded. He's very level headed. He's not an
emotional fan. He always is able to keep himself centered
and understand what's really going on. And you know, not
to toot my own horn, but I think that I'm
kind of the same way on that level, and me
(11:04):
and Tye are saying the same thing after this game
that the Celtics prove tonight that they can win while
playing poorly. And again let's go through some of the
numbers to show just how quote unquote poorly. They played
twenty turnovers during this game. They committed twelve of those
during the first half alone. That is completely unlike this team.
(11:29):
In fact, one of the greatest strengths of this team
is how smart they are and how well they take
care of them. And from that perspective, they are the
number one team in the NBA at taking care of
the ball. I will repeat they entered tonight and they
(11:50):
will still be after tonight, even after committing twenty turnovers,
the number one team in the NBA in terms of
taking care of the ball eleven turnovers per game heading
into this game, they committed twelve during the first half alone,
twenty on the night, completely unlike this group of Celtics.
(12:16):
So to Tie's point, the Celtics played poorly during this
game to their standards, particularly in that specific area of
the box score. They started to shoot it pretty well
throughout the game, but there were moments where they didn't
(12:37):
really rebound well. Okay, Brooklyn finishes with twelve offensive rebounds.
Nick Claxton had five of them. All on his own.
The Nets scored thirty six points in the paint. There
were moments during this game where they were having a
day as in the Nets were having a field day
(12:57):
on the offensive glass and in general around the paint.
So you couple those things with the Celtics also not
taking care of the ball, and actually tonight they lost
the shop margin battle tonight eighty two.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
To seventy five.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
Celtics have been one of the best teams in the league,
if not the best team in the league when it
comes to shop margin this season because they take care
of the ball.
Speaker 2 (13:22):
So you add all this stuff together.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
This was not a night where the Celtics played well,
and in ty Ray's words, they played poorly. And yet
here we are in sound off after this game talking
about the Celtics winning this game, and not just winning,
but winning by fourteen points. The Celtics can't just win
(13:49):
while playing poorly. Tonight they won convincingly during the fourth
quarter while playing poorly. And again, I'm gonna go back
to what I said during the open there's maybe fifteen
ish teams in the NBA who can win games relatively
regularly while not playing a strong game. From what their
(14:14):
reputation is and what we've come to see from them
on a nightly basis. The Celtics certainly underperformed from that
perspective tonight, but they won the game, and they won
the game by fourteen points. And again, I know this
is the NETS, that's fine, but in general, there aren't
a lot of teams in the NBA that can do
(14:35):
what the Celtics just did, and especially doing that consistently.
So we're gonna have to wait and see if this
is something that's more of a trend for the Celtics
or if it's something that's maybe just a blip and
a nice performance out of them to be able to
do this tonight. But my opinion is that we're starting
to see the Celtics turn a corner and really find
(14:56):
themselves and that is what has led to them being
able to to win this game. I think if this
was in the first week of the season, they I
don't know if they win this game, I really don't.
But tonight, whatever, close to a month end of this season,
they win it by fourteen points. So a great lesson
learned tonight about this particular Celtics team that, as Tyree said,
(15:18):
the Celtics can win games while playing poorly. All right,
final comment of the night coming in from Trey who says,
the Celtics really shook that slow start off. Hasn't been perfect,
but I don't expect it to be. They are at
least playing super hard in getting results.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
All Right.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
This is a couple things here that we can definitely
take away and talk about here moving forward with the Celtics.
Number one is that they do play super hard. Like
this team gives effort. There is very rarely a majority
of a game where the Celtics are not playing with
the level of effort and energy that they need to
(16:00):
compete for a win. Tonight, we did see that lack
for like I said, two or three quarters, but in
the end they figured it out and that energy really
started to pick up when the Celtics got into the
second half. In the third quarter and then in the
fourth quarter, Derek White really started to step up. He
(16:21):
had a couple steals, block shots. That possession where I said,
they grabbed three straight offensive rebounds and that led to
the kickout three for Derek White in the corner. Like,
that's what the Celtics team is, like. They play hard
every night. And that's something you got to respect, and
(16:41):
that's also something that's going to give you a chance
to win very consistently in this league. Like you look
at the Miami Heat for the last five or so years,
that team hasn't really been a real title contender in
my opinion, but they've won a bunch of games because
Eric Spolstra always has his guys playing hard. They always
play hard, and you know you're going to get that
(17:02):
from them on a nightly basis as an opponent. The
Celtics team is looking like that, where it's just it's
a known quantity. You know that they're going to play
super hard every single night. So great observation here from Trey.
The other thing that he's saying here is that this
hasn't been perfect, but I don't expect it to be
(17:24):
similar to Tie. I really appreciate the level headed comment
here from Trey saying that he doesn't expect perfection from
a team that did not come into this season as
even in the title conversation. I think a lot of
people out there a little bit, maybe not a lot
of people, but there's enough people out there who have
made noise early on this season showing frustrations, maybe a
(17:47):
little bit spoiled by what the Celtics had the last
few years. But this team coming into the season hasn't
been expected by many, if any, to approach fifty wins.
That just hasn't been the external expectation. This team doesn't
(18:07):
have Jason Tatum, one of the top five players in
the world, does not have Jason Tatum. A lot of
talent went out the door during the offseason, a lot
of guys, as we talked about already during this episode,
a lot of guys like trying to find their roles
in the NBA, the first real opportunity to play major
minutes and a major role.
Speaker 2 (18:27):
On a team.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
You gotta have realistic expectations and that's what Tray has here.
He's not expecting the Celtics to play perfect, but he
is expecting them to play hard, and they are. And
I think they're also showing that they might just have
a little bit more talent, a little bit more ability
than a lot of people thought coming into this season.
(18:51):
And as a result, they aren't just over five hundred
for the first time this season. But to Trey's point,
they shook out that slow start first three games of
the season all losses since then eight and four. Eight
and four is a pretty good run over twelve games
of an NBA season. If the Boston Celtics continue on
(19:14):
even something close to that that pace this season, they
might approach or get around fifty wins this season. If
they continue to play at this level and win at
that pace of eight out of every twelve games.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
They are turning a corner. You can see it.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
It is obvious they are starting to come together as
a cohesive unit. They've got Derek White and Peyton Pritchards
shooting the ball well after some struggles early on in
the season. The defense has been really solid. The rebounding
has been much, much, much, much better over the past
couple of weeks than it was for the first week
or two of the regular season. Like all of those weaknesses,
(19:54):
those loose nuts are starting to get tightened, and Jalen
Brown just continues to play at an all NBA level.
Another twenty nine points during this game. How many of
them came during the second half. I'm pretty sure he
had seventeen points during the third quarter alone, that's correct,
And by the way, he has the most quarters in
the NBA. We're talking of any player the most quarters
(20:17):
this season of fifteen or more points. Jalm Brown is
the guy who's done that. He has been playing unquestionably
at an all NBA level twenty three points during the
second half of this game twenty nine on the night,
so you just continue to see signs of him continuing
to play well. But then everyone else around him really
(20:38):
starting to up their game and the group as a
whole really starting to iron out all those wrinkles that
they had early on this season.
Speaker 2 (20:46):
Again, eight and four in their.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
Last twelve, they are over the five hundred mark for
the first time this season, and they've got a chance
to make it nine and four in their last thirteen
and two games over the five hundred mark when they
play host to this very same team, the Brooklyn Nets,
Friday night at TD Garden. After that game, make sure
you send in a comment to me on x Folks.
I need you to send in your thoughts after these games,
(21:08):
all right, So after I send out my post right
after the final buzzer, hit the reply button and send
in whatever your takeaways are from the game Friday night,
and we might get you into the next episode of
sound Off. Thank you all for listening tonight.
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Again.
Speaker 1 (21:21):
This is sound Off presented by Exfinity Mobile and I
can't wait to see you Friday night. That episode is
going to be on both YouTube and all of your
favorite podcast platforms. Have a great rest of the week
and we'll see you on Friday
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