May 24, 2024 • 22 mins
We’re sounding off on Jaylen Brown putting forth the most impactful performance of his playoff career, which now includes a whopping 116 games. He dropped a 40-piece on the Indiana Pacers while leading the Boston Celtics to a runaway win during Game 2 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. Brown was dominant, and we also dive into Jayson Tatum’s performance, Jrue Holiday’s game getting better and better as the stakes get higher and higher, and what the Celtics might do with their rotation going forward with Al Horford logging big minutes this postseason and Luke Kornet now suffering a left wrist sprain while Kristaps Porzingis is out.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
Now possibly looks on the Boston Celtics taking total control
of the Eastern Conference Finals and Jalen Brown sure as
hell looking like an All NBA player during Game two. Listen,
Boston played harder and Boston played better during this game,
and it is nearly impossible to beat when those two
things are the case. If you are going to beat
(00:27):
the Boston Celtics, and not many teams figured out how
to do that this season, If you are going to
beat the Boston Celtics, you need one of those things
to not be the case. Well, both of them were
the case in this game in Indiana. Learn the hard
way that it is very difficult not only to beat
this Celtics team, but to even be close to contending
for a win with the Celtics team when those two
(00:50):
things are the case. Listen, this might have been Jalen
Brown's best game ever in the playoffs. It wasn't a
career high in scoring in individually like he has scored
forty points before in a playoff game, but I think
this was his most impactful game unquestionably during his NBA
playoff career. And this man has played in the Eastern
(01:13):
Conference Finals or farther in six of his first eight seasons.
That's a lot of playoff games. This game tonight, in
my opinion, was his most impactful game of all of them.
It just felt like, from start to finish, like Jalen
Brown came into this game and he said, I cannot
(01:33):
be denied. I will not be denied, and I am
going to make my mark on this game from start
to finish, and he really did. I mean, you could
see it on offense, you could see it on defense.
Indiana had no answers for him. He was playing so
incredibly hard. We all know Aaron Neismith right he started
(01:54):
out his career with the Boston Celtics, made a name
for himself here by how hard that he played. He's
done the same thing out in Indiana after he's been
traded there by Boston. He's done in this series as well.
Jalen Brown played as hard with as much effort as
Aaron Nesmith today, which that is a high bar. Aaron
Nesmith is one of the hardest playing players in the NBA.
(02:16):
Jalen Brown matched him tonight with how hard he played.
And then you add in the skill that Jalen Brown
brings to the table. Complete dominance like this was one
of the best performances of all of the NBA Playoffs
by any player in the NBA Playoffs. Tonight by Jalen Brown.
He made his mark. He said he wasn't going to
(02:38):
be stopped, and he was not stopped again. Forty points
that he scored that matches his career high in the playoffs.
Adds in five rebounds, two assists, one steal. The rest
of those stats outside of the scoring don't necessarily pop
off the stat sheet, but it was his impact, like
you could feel his imprint on the game everywhere, Like
(02:59):
it just fell like he was everywhere in this game,
like there were two or three of them out there.
I'm pretty sure the Indiana Pacers would say the same thing.
He was awesome tonight with a capital A, stealing a
saying from Dicky V. He was a plus eighteen and
thirty seven minutes, pretty darn good. And again it just
felt like he asserted himself and said he wasn't gonna
(03:20):
be denied. Now this game, it was close early on
in the first quarter and a half, and then at
some point Boston just had a tidal wave of momentum
and pulled away for this lead a twenty to zero
run in the second quarter. Twenty to zero. I'm gonna
put some context around that, which thanks to Taylor Snow,
(03:42):
our statistical guru here at the Boston Celtics, he dug
this stat up that twenty to zero run is the
second largest playoff run unanswered in the history of this organization.
And if you're watching this right now on YouTube or
you're listening to this on any of the podcast platforms,
you very damn well know how much history is in
(04:04):
this organization. Well, tonight was the second highest unanswered run
in the history of this team's playoff history. Okay, twenty
to zero unbelievable dominance at both ends of the court.
That was to start the second quarter. I'm pretty sure
I've got it written down here. Indiana missed its first
(04:24):
eight shots, went the first five plus minutes without scoring
a point. We watched Game one, and we watched the
first quarter of Game two as people who were kind
of observing the Boston Celtics thinking when is the defense
going to show up and dominate the way it has
throughout the regular season and the start of this postseason. Well,
you got your answer now. It was the second quarter
of Game two, Boston dialed it up on defense and
(04:47):
that turned into offense at the other end of the
court again, a twenty to zero run. That is what
changed the game. Yes, Indiana came back and kind of
got it a little bit close, but it just felt
that that the Celtics were playing at a level that
Indiana was not at and it was just a matter
of time before the Boston Celtics pulled away. And that's
(05:09):
exactly what they did during the third quart I think
they had a thirteen to two run late in the
third quarter that pushed them ahead by thirteen or fourteen points,
and they led by double digits the rest of the night.
So they controlled basically the entirety of the second half
en route to this sixteen point win, in which point
they were up by twenty at one point of this game.
(05:31):
And we've got to talk about Drew Holliday. I mean,
can we please discuss what this man has done through
the first couple games of this series. A lot of
people in Celtics Nation clamoring for him to up his
game from what we saw through the first couple of rounds. Well,
the man is answering the bell a career high with
the Celtics and a season high twenty eight points in
(05:51):
Game one. He was unbelievable in Game one. The Celtics
don't win that game without him. And by the way,
he's the one who passed the ball to Jalen Brown
for that game tying three pointer in the corner that
forced overtime in Game one. So he was awesome in
Game one, and then again Tonight comes out with another
outstanding game, fifteen points, ten assists to lead the game.
(06:13):
A double double in this game, adds in three rebounds
as always stellar on defense. Just an outstanding game from him.
So so far, through two games in this series, he
is averaging twenty three points per game, nine assists per game,
in five rebounds per game, all while providing elite NBA
All NBA All Defensive Team defensive performances night in and
(06:38):
night out. When he was on the Bucks and the
Celtics were facing him every year a few years in
a row, I always felt Jrew Holliday is a guy
who answers the bell. Number one in the playoffs, I
want the ball in his hands when things matter. But
number two, He's always felt like a guy who gets
better in better, in better, as the games become more
(07:02):
and more and more important, and we're seeing that trend
right now as this postseason is unfolding. The games are
getting more important, and Drew Holliday is on a steep
incline getting better and better and better every single night.
His impact, you can't even put words to it. He
has been awesome for the Celtics, running the offense, making shots,
(07:26):
getting to the rim, making three pointers, making great decisions,
affecting the game with his elite defense. By the way,
defending everyone on the court doesn't matter who he switches
on to, So Drew Holliday just continues. I mean, we
know he was great during the regular season, but as
a fit and as an impact, but now the impact
(07:47):
is actually being matched by numbers. And that's a very
scary thing for any team that has to play the
Boston Celtics the rest of the way. If it's Indiana
for four or five more games of this series, whatever
it is, if it's the next round, potentially in the
NBA Finals with Dallas or Minnesota, like you've got now
you're adding Drew Holliday who's making an impact with scoring
(08:10):
and numbers. In addition to Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum
and Derek White. And by the way, I'm not sure
if anyone knows, but the Boston Celtics haven't had Christas
Porzingis for a few weeks. So they are now ten
and two in the postseason, and most of those games
have been without Christas Porzingis, So you add him back
(08:30):
in while Drew was playing at this level, and you've
got your other guys who are just continuing to play
at the level they're accustomed to. Boy, oh boy, are
the Boston Celtics a team that no one should want
to play. So a lot of good coming out of
this game too for the Boston Celtics, And as you
can imagine, a lot of great comments from our fans
on nex. We're gonna take to four of them tonight.
(08:53):
Our first ones coming in from Eric f commenting on
the Jas. Then we've got Mark Iriardi. I hope I'm
saying that correctly on concerns with one Celtics players playing time. Oh,
you're gonna have to stay around and tune in to
hear that. Next up, we've got Henry Mahoney on the
impact of Luke Cornett's injury. He was out with a
(09:15):
left wrist injury tonight and then special Kangynac that's a
great name on X on what they need more than air.
They say, got to tune in and stay around for
that one as well. So let's dive in. Eric f
is up first, All right, Eric F's comment on X
(09:36):
his reaction to this game super positive. The narrative will
be Brown picking up the slack for Tatum, but I
thought Tatum showed up fine in the second half either way.
Blessed to have them both and what a difference Holiday
makes at point guard. Let's talk about this narrative that
could potentially be talked about, who knows, maybe on all
(09:57):
the talk shows on sports radio, went on the sports channels, ESPN,
wherever you want to go for your content. The narrative,
as Eric Effi is saying, is that Brown picked up
the slack for Tatum. Well, let me just let everyone
know this right now. Yeah, Jalen Brown was awesome tonight,
forty points. Jason Tatum scored nineteen of his own just
(10:22):
during the second half on seven of twelve shooting. Jason
Tatum would tell you that he struggled for the first
first half. A little bit into the second half, as
well he did. He struggled, He wasn't playing his typical
brand of basketball on level of basketball. But it doesn't
matter how you start, it's how you finish. And this
(10:42):
man finished with nineteen points during the second half on
seven of twelve shooting. It don't get much better than that, Okay.
So you add that in with Jlen Brown playing again,
and I'll say it again, since he didn't make the
team in all NBA level, which he did all year,
the man was snubbed from making an All NBA team.
(11:03):
When you've got those two guys playing at their typical
levels and bumping it up in the playoffs, I don't
know if there's a better duo in the whole NBA.
They're probably is not. These guys are dynamic at both
ends of the court. They can score on anyone. They
can score in any way on the court, getting the
(11:25):
free throw line, getting to the rim, in the mid range,
behind the arc, they can literally score from anywhere. So
great game from them. Listen, Tatum did not play great
in the first half. I just said that. He would
admit it. Everyone's gonna talk about it. But he redeemed
himself in the second half, and he helped the Celtics
pull away and stay in front of the Indiana Pacers
(11:49):
with comfort during that second half. And again talking about
Drew Holliday, as ericaf says, what a difference Holiday makes
a point guard. He's awesome. I mean, this guy knows
what he's doing in the playoffs. This is why Brad
Stevens not only traded for him, but extended him. Drew
Howiday is an incredibly important part of this team, and
(12:10):
the Celtics are gonna need him to play at this
level if they want to go on and win an
eighteen championship this season. So again, Jalen Brown awesome. Jason
Tatum not so awesome during the first half, but certainly
bounced back during the second half. They complimented each other great.
It's great to have two guys playing great, one of
them in each half in Jalen playing great in the
(12:30):
second half as well. But when you can have two
guys volley like that and takeover games at separate times
of the game, there aren't many teams in the NBA
who can say that they have a duo that can
do that. And Drew Holliday just playing arguably his best
basketball of the season, right now, So I appreciate it.
Aeric Aft, great comment. All right. Next up we got
(12:51):
Mark IRIARTI again. I hope I'm saying that right. It
sounds Italian. I should be saying it right. So if
I'm not, I apologize. But Mark is saying great name.
By the way, thinking Missoula better start getting Horford more rest.
If Horford wears down with porzingis still out, the Seeds
will have a problem. Play Tillman and even Cada a
(13:12):
few minutes at least to give Horford a blow. All right, Mark,
I think a lot of people have been thinking the
same way that you are right now heading into game two.
Let's go down the list last handful of games for
Al Horford. Forty minutes excuse me during Game one against Indiana,
thirty five minutes during Game five against Cleveland, twenty eight
(13:36):
only in game four. That's not that big of a deal.
Thirty nine in game three, and then twenty nine and
twenty seven, those aren't big numbers. Now. Thirty nine is
a big number in Game three against Cleveland, thirty five
is a big number in Game five against Cleveland, and
then forty minutes that's a playoff high. I believe yes,
(13:57):
confirmed a playoff high this season for al Horford during
Game one, but that was before tonight. Okay, the Celtics
thanks to Jalen Brown, thanks to Drew Holliday, thanks to
Jason Tatum during the second half, and a lot of
other contributions from other guys. Thanks to them, they cruised
(14:19):
to this win during the second half. And what is
the subplot, the sub story to this game. As a
result of that Al Horford's minutes. Al Horford played less
than twenty five minutes in this game. It's a pretty
good deal for the Boston Celtics runaway win. Get al
(14:42):
Horford some rest because he has certainly been asked to
do a lot more for a lot longer or bigger
chunks of time than when Christas Porzingis was healthy. Now
it sounds like Porzingis might be back soon. You gotta
hope that that's the case. But getting al Horford tonight
where he didn't have to play a lot like twenty
five minutes, that's lower than what he averaged during the
(15:05):
regular season, So that's a good thing. What did he
average during the regular season, Let's look this up right now.
Al average about twenty seven minutes a game during the
regular season, so tonight a couple minutes plus underneath that,
coming in at less than twenty five minutes during Game two,
So he should be feeling pretty good going into Game three.
(15:27):
Out in Indy. Sat for a good chunk almost the
entirety of the fourth quarter. I think he's gonna be
feeling much better than maybe he was heading into this
game after playing forty minutes on Tuesday. I think he'll
be feeling pretty good going into Game three, and then
who knows, maybe the Celtics do get Christas Porzingis at
sump back at some point during this series. But we
(15:49):
did see tonight without Al Horford or excuse me, as
Al Horford got some rest. We did see some other
guys get into the rotation. I know you're asking here,
Mark for Xavier Tillman or Nimias Caita. We did see
some minutes going out to some other guys like Xavier Tillman,
excuse me, I've misspoke there, to some other guys like
(16:12):
Oshae Brissett, who played twelve plus minutes. We're gonna talk
a little bit more about this in the next comment,
but I do think that since Horford did not have
to play as many minutes during this game. He'll be
good for the next one. And if the Celtics need
to dip a little deeper into the rotation, they'll do
it to preserve him for the stretch run of this
playoff run. All right, This next comment is coming from
(16:36):
Henry Mahoney, and it kinda is a nice segue from
the last comment from Mark. This one says the impact
of the Cornette injury in terms of forcing Joe Missoula
to unleash some small ball and how this could potentially
matter against a Dallas matchup. That is, obviously if Dallas
gets to the finals, if Boston gets to the finals. Additionally,
(16:58):
the severity of that Halliburton injury. Are we seeing him
again this series. I'll start out with that last part. Obviously,
Haliburton went out with a leg injury. It's been talked
about as if it is a hamstring injury. And I
will say one thing, and I'm not speculating. I'm just saying,
based off of history, hamstrings in calves are two of
(17:22):
the most difficult injuries that you can have as an athlete.
Those things you can feel great and it can go
and be tweaked immediately. That's why the Celtics I believe,
are taking a cautious route here with Chris as porzingis
coming back from that calf injury. But if this is
a Haliburton hamstring injury, it's gonna be an uphill challenge
(17:42):
to get him back on the court, especially for Game three,
but really in this series as a whole. But we're
gonna have to wait and see how the Pacers handle this,
how Halliburton feels moving forward. It's possible that he just
felt a little bit of a tweak and then the
Celtics were pulling away for the win and the Indiana
just chow to rest him a little bit. So we'll
just have to wait and see who knows. I hope
(18:04):
that he's okay. You never want to play a team
that's not a full health and you never want a
burgeoning star like Tyrese Halliburton to be injured in the postseason.
We want that guy out on the court. Now. The
impact of Cornett's injury with that wrist, he was questionable
to return to this game. He did not return to
the game, and that wound up to your point here,
Henry of the Celtics unleashing a little bit of small ball.
(18:26):
That's where osheper Set came into this game, and he
made an impact as he did whenever he got the
call during the regular season, A plus eighteen and only
twelve minutes and O'Shea did all. Listen, the numbers weren't crazy.
Three rebounds and two points in three steals. We can't
forget about that. But the numbers weren't crazy, But it
was the impact. It's the impact from the effort that
(18:47):
he plays with. It's contagious. Anytime that guy is on
the court, you know, he's playing one hundred miles an
hour and trying as hard as he possibly can. He's
gonna empty the tank. And I really do feel like
that's contagious when he's out there on the floor or
so getting him back in the rotation, getting him some
minutes and potentially if the Celtics do need to play
some small ball moving forward, with him playing the four
(19:08):
or the five against this Pacers team the rest of
this series or in the next round. Potentially if the
Celtics advance and have to play against the Dallas team
that plays small every now and then, it's nice to
have Oshaeber Sett not only getting some minutes but also
playing well and making an impact. So we're gonna have
to wait and see what the situation is with Luke Cornett.
Let's hope that he's okay as well, but if he isn't,
(19:32):
the Celtics and Joe Mizoula got a pretty good look
tonight with some small ball lineups, with oshaeber Set fitting
in very nicely, just as he did during the regular season.
All right, our last comment of the night is coming
from my favorite X name so far that I've taken
from anyone with comments here on sound Off. This is
coming from Special Kangnac. I hope you took a sip
(19:54):
of that after this game, after the Celtics went up
two to oh says I think six more games like that.
I need it more than I need air. Please bring
it home. That's right, Special Kangyac. The Celtics need six
more wins at this point to win an NBA championship,
and I'm with you. As I was watching this game,
(20:14):
this felt like the dominant Boston Celtics that we saw
throughout the regular season. The Celtics entered this game in
the postseason nine to two, it's a dominant record, but
they haven't been It hasn't felt like that dominant team
that we saw for basically the entire regular season. Tonight,
I felt like I saw that team. I felt like
(20:35):
I saw them imposing their will on the opponent. And
just because you impose your will doesn't mean you're gonna
be winning fifty to fifteen out of the gates. No,
Sometimes it takes a little while for you to impose
your will and for it actually to show up in
the score, And in my opinion, that's what happened tonight.
I told Brian Scalabrini before this game, he said, what
(20:55):
do you think? Said, I think the Celtics are gonna
win going away. He looked at me. It was like
late second quarter, early third quarter, and he's like, how
are you feeling about that comment? I was like, I
feel pretty good. They were only up two at that time.
I said, I feel pretty good about how the Boston
Celtics are playing. It's only a matter of time before
they pull away. Sure enough. Not calling myself noster domis
(21:17):
or anything, but sure enough, the Boston Celtics eventually continued
to play the way that they had been, and they
pulled away and blew the Pacers out during the second
half with a dominant performance. So I love the way
the Celtics played in this game. To special cognacts point,
can we get six more of those? Let's hope fingers crossed.
(21:39):
Celtics are up two to zero in this series in
the Eastern Conference Finals. They got two more wins to
go to punch a ticket back into the NBA Finals.
Game three. The next opportunity to grab a win in
this series is coming up Saturday night. Ladies and gentlemen
on the East Coast, It's a late tip. I hope
you got your schedules cleared for Saturday night. You're not
going out to the bars unless you're going to a
(22:00):
bar where you can watch a game. Hope you got
no dinner plans. Hope you're not going out to watch
any movies. It is tuning in to the Boston Celtics
taking on the Indiana Pacers out in Indiana. That game
will be on ABC tip Off. As I said, it's
pretty late, it's at eight thirty PM. I will have
another episode of sound Off with you after that game.
(22:20):
We will not be doing a YouTube post of that episode.
It will only be going out on the podcast platforms,
but regardless, I appreciate you taking part and I can't
wait to see you all Saturday night. Joy the game folks.
All great weekend
Now possibly looks on the Boston Celtics taking total control
of the Eastern Conference Finals and Jalen Brown sure as
hell looking like an All NBA player during Game two. Listen,
Boston played harder and Boston played better during this game,
and it is nearly impossible to beat when those two
things are the case. If you are going to beat
(00:27):
the Boston Celtics, and not many teams figured out how
to do that this season, If you are going to
beat the Boston Celtics, you need one of those things
to not be the case. Well, both of them were
the case in this game in Indiana. Learn the hard
way that it is very difficult not only to beat
this Celtics team, but to even be close to contending
for a win with the Celtics team when those two
(00:50):
things are the case. Listen, this might have been Jalen
Brown's best game ever in the playoffs. It wasn't a
career high in scoring in individually like he has scored
forty points before in a playoff game, but I think
this was his most impactful game unquestionably during his NBA
playoff career. And this man has played in the Eastern
(01:13):
Conference Finals or farther in six of his first eight seasons.
That's a lot of playoff games. This game tonight, in
my opinion, was his most impactful game of all of them.
It just felt like, from start to finish, like Jalen
Brown came into this game and he said, I cannot
(01:33):
be denied. I will not be denied, and I am
going to make my mark on this game from start
to finish, and he really did. I mean, you could
see it on offense, you could see it on defense.
Indiana had no answers for him. He was playing so
incredibly hard. We all know Aaron Neismith right he started
(01:54):
out his career with the Boston Celtics, made a name
for himself here by how hard that he played. He's
done the same thing out in Indiana after he's been
traded there by Boston. He's done in this series as well.
Jalen Brown played as hard with as much effort as
Aaron Nesmith today, which that is a high bar. Aaron
Nesmith is one of the hardest playing players in the NBA.
(02:16):
Jalen Brown matched him tonight with how hard he played.
And then you add in the skill that Jalen Brown
brings to the table. Complete dominance like this was one
of the best performances of all of the NBA Playoffs
by any player in the NBA Playoffs. Tonight by Jalen Brown.
He made his mark. He said he wasn't going to
(02:38):
be stopped, and he was not stopped again. Forty points
that he scored that matches his career high in the playoffs.
Adds in five rebounds, two assists, one steal. The rest
of those stats outside of the scoring don't necessarily pop
off the stat sheet, but it was his impact, like
you could feel his imprint on the game everywhere, Like
(02:59):
it just fell like he was everywhere in this game,
like there were two or three of them out there.
I'm pretty sure the Indiana Pacers would say the same thing.
He was awesome tonight with a capital A, stealing a
saying from Dicky V. He was a plus eighteen and
thirty seven minutes, pretty darn good. And again it just
felt like he asserted himself and said he wasn't gonna
(03:20):
be denied. Now this game, it was close early on
in the first quarter and a half, and then at
some point Boston just had a tidal wave of momentum
and pulled away for this lead a twenty to zero
run in the second quarter. Twenty to zero. I'm gonna
put some context around that, which thanks to Taylor Snow,
(03:42):
our statistical guru here at the Boston Celtics, he dug
this stat up that twenty to zero run is the
second largest playoff run unanswered in the history of this organization.
And if you're watching this right now on YouTube or
you're listening to this on any of the podcast platforms,
you very damn well know how much history is in
(04:04):
this organization. Well, tonight was the second highest unanswered run
in the history of this team's playoff history. Okay, twenty
to zero unbelievable dominance at both ends of the court.
That was to start the second quarter. I'm pretty sure
I've got it written down here. Indiana missed its first
(04:24):
eight shots, went the first five plus minutes without scoring
a point. We watched Game one, and we watched the
first quarter of Game two as people who were kind
of observing the Boston Celtics thinking when is the defense
going to show up and dominate the way it has
throughout the regular season and the start of this postseason. Well,
you got your answer now. It was the second quarter
of Game two, Boston dialed it up on defense and
(04:47):
that turned into offense at the other end of the
court again, a twenty to zero run. That is what
changed the game. Yes, Indiana came back and kind of
got it a little bit close, but it just felt
that that the Celtics were playing at a level that
Indiana was not at and it was just a matter
of time before the Boston Celtics pulled away. And that's
(05:09):
exactly what they did during the third quart I think
they had a thirteen to two run late in the
third quarter that pushed them ahead by thirteen or fourteen points,
and they led by double digits the rest of the night.
So they controlled basically the entirety of the second half
en route to this sixteen point win, in which point
they were up by twenty at one point of this game.
(05:31):
And we've got to talk about Drew Holliday. I mean,
can we please discuss what this man has done through
the first couple games of this series. A lot of
people in Celtics Nation clamoring for him to up his
game from what we saw through the first couple of rounds. Well,
the man is answering the bell a career high with
the Celtics and a season high twenty eight points in
(05:51):
Game one. He was unbelievable in Game one. The Celtics
don't win that game without him. And by the way,
he's the one who passed the ball to Jalen Brown
for that game tying three pointer in the corner that
forced overtime in Game one. So he was awesome in
Game one, and then again Tonight comes out with another
outstanding game, fifteen points, ten assists to lead the game.
(06:13):
A double double in this game, adds in three rebounds
as always stellar on defense. Just an outstanding game from him.
So so far, through two games in this series, he
is averaging twenty three points per game, nine assists per game,
in five rebounds per game, all while providing elite NBA
All NBA All Defensive Team defensive performances night in and
(06:38):
night out. When he was on the Bucks and the
Celtics were facing him every year a few years in
a row, I always felt Jrew Holliday is a guy
who answers the bell. Number one in the playoffs, I
want the ball in his hands when things matter. But
number two, He's always felt like a guy who gets
better in better, in better, as the games become more
(07:02):
and more and more important, and we're seeing that trend
right now as this postseason is unfolding. The games are
getting more important, and Drew Holliday is on a steep
incline getting better and better and better every single night.
His impact, you can't even put words to it. He
has been awesome for the Celtics, running the offense, making shots,
(07:26):
getting to the rim, making three pointers, making great decisions,
affecting the game with his elite defense. By the way,
defending everyone on the court doesn't matter who he switches
on to, So Drew Holliday just continues. I mean, we
know he was great during the regular season, but as
a fit and as an impact, but now the impact
(07:47):
is actually being matched by numbers. And that's a very
scary thing for any team that has to play the
Boston Celtics the rest of the way. If it's Indiana
for four or five more games of this series, whatever
it is, if it's the next round, potentially in the
NBA Finals with Dallas or Minnesota, like you've got now
you're adding Drew Holliday who's making an impact with scoring
(08:10):
and numbers. In addition to Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum
and Derek White. And by the way, I'm not sure
if anyone knows, but the Boston Celtics haven't had Christas
Porzingis for a few weeks. So they are now ten
and two in the postseason, and most of those games
have been without Christas Porzingis, So you add him back
(08:30):
in while Drew was playing at this level, and you've
got your other guys who are just continuing to play
at the level they're accustomed to. Boy, oh boy, are
the Boston Celtics a team that no one should want
to play. So a lot of good coming out of
this game too for the Boston Celtics, And as you
can imagine, a lot of great comments from our fans
on nex. We're gonna take to four of them tonight.
(08:53):
Our first ones coming in from Eric f commenting on
the Jas. Then we've got Mark Iriardi. I hope I'm
saying that correctly on concerns with one Celtics players playing time. Oh,
you're gonna have to stay around and tune in to
hear that. Next up, we've got Henry Mahoney on the
impact of Luke Cornett's injury. He was out with a
(09:15):
left wrist injury tonight and then special Kangynac that's a
great name on X on what they need more than air.
They say, got to tune in and stay around for
that one as well. So let's dive in. Eric f
is up first, All right, Eric F's comment on X
(09:36):
his reaction to this game super positive. The narrative will
be Brown picking up the slack for Tatum, but I
thought Tatum showed up fine in the second half either way.
Blessed to have them both and what a difference Holiday
makes at point guard. Let's talk about this narrative that
could potentially be talked about, who knows, maybe on all
(09:57):
the talk shows on sports radio, went on the sports channels, ESPN,
wherever you want to go for your content. The narrative,
as Eric Effi is saying, is that Brown picked up
the slack for Tatum. Well, let me just let everyone
know this right now. Yeah, Jalen Brown was awesome tonight,
forty points. Jason Tatum scored nineteen of his own just
(10:22):
during the second half on seven of twelve shooting. Jason
Tatum would tell you that he struggled for the first
first half. A little bit into the second half, as
well he did. He struggled, He wasn't playing his typical
brand of basketball on level of basketball. But it doesn't
matter how you start, it's how you finish. And this
(10:42):
man finished with nineteen points during the second half on
seven of twelve shooting. It don't get much better than that, Okay.
So you add that in with Jlen Brown playing again,
and I'll say it again, since he didn't make the
team in all NBA level, which he did all year,
the man was snubbed from making an All NBA team.
(11:03):
When you've got those two guys playing at their typical
levels and bumping it up in the playoffs, I don't
know if there's a better duo in the whole NBA.
They're probably is not. These guys are dynamic at both
ends of the court. They can score on anyone. They
can score in any way on the court, getting the
(11:25):
free throw line, getting to the rim, in the mid range,
behind the arc, they can literally score from anywhere. So
great game from them. Listen, Tatum did not play great
in the first half. I just said that. He would
admit it. Everyone's gonna talk about it. But he redeemed
himself in the second half, and he helped the Celtics
pull away and stay in front of the Indiana Pacers
(11:49):
with comfort during that second half. And again talking about
Drew Holliday, as ericaf says, what a difference Holiday makes
a point guard. He's awesome. I mean, this guy knows
what he's doing in the playoffs. This is why Brad
Stevens not only traded for him, but extended him. Drew
Howiday is an incredibly important part of this team, and
(12:10):
the Celtics are gonna need him to play at this
level if they want to go on and win an
eighteen championship this season. So again, Jalen Brown awesome. Jason
Tatum not so awesome during the first half, but certainly
bounced back during the second half. They complimented each other great.
It's great to have two guys playing great, one of
them in each half in Jalen playing great in the
(12:30):
second half as well. But when you can have two
guys volley like that and takeover games at separate times
of the game, there aren't many teams in the NBA
who can say that they have a duo that can
do that. And Drew Holliday just playing arguably his best
basketball of the season, right now, So I appreciate it.
Aeric Aft, great comment. All right. Next up we got
(12:51):
Mark IRIARTI again. I hope I'm saying that right. It
sounds Italian. I should be saying it right. So if
I'm not, I apologize. But Mark is saying great name.
By the way, thinking Missoula better start getting Horford more rest.
If Horford wears down with porzingis still out, the Seeds
will have a problem. Play Tillman and even Cada a
(13:12):
few minutes at least to give Horford a blow. All right, Mark,
I think a lot of people have been thinking the
same way that you are right now heading into game two.
Let's go down the list last handful of games for
Al Horford. Forty minutes excuse me during Game one against Indiana,
thirty five minutes during Game five against Cleveland, twenty eight
(13:36):
only in game four. That's not that big of a deal.
Thirty nine in game three, and then twenty nine and
twenty seven, those aren't big numbers. Now. Thirty nine is
a big number in Game three against Cleveland, thirty five
is a big number in Game five against Cleveland, and
then forty minutes that's a playoff high. I believe yes,
(13:57):
confirmed a playoff high this season for al Horford during
Game one, but that was before tonight. Okay, the Celtics
thanks to Jalen Brown, thanks to Drew Holliday, thanks to
Jason Tatum during the second half, and a lot of
other contributions from other guys. Thanks to them, they cruised
(14:19):
to this win during the second half. And what is
the subplot, the sub story to this game. As a
result of that Al Horford's minutes. Al Horford played less
than twenty five minutes in this game. It's a pretty
good deal for the Boston Celtics runaway win. Get al
(14:42):
Horford some rest because he has certainly been asked to
do a lot more for a lot longer or bigger
chunks of time than when Christas Porzingis was healthy. Now
it sounds like Porzingis might be back soon. You gotta
hope that that's the case. But getting al Horford tonight
where he didn't have to play a lot like twenty
five minutes, that's lower than what he averaged during the
(15:05):
regular season, So that's a good thing. What did he
average during the regular season, Let's look this up right now.
Al average about twenty seven minutes a game during the
regular season, so tonight a couple minutes plus underneath that,
coming in at less than twenty five minutes during Game two,
So he should be feeling pretty good going into Game three.
(15:27):
Out in Indy. Sat for a good chunk almost the
entirety of the fourth quarter. I think he's gonna be
feeling much better than maybe he was heading into this
game after playing forty minutes on Tuesday. I think he'll
be feeling pretty good going into Game three, and then
who knows, maybe the Celtics do get Christas Porzingis at
sump back at some point during this series. But we
(15:49):
did see tonight without Al Horford or excuse me, as
Al Horford got some rest. We did see some other
guys get into the rotation. I know you're asking here,
Mark for Xavier Tillman or Nimias Caita. We did see
some minutes going out to some other guys like Xavier Tillman,
excuse me, I've misspoke there, to some other guys like
(16:12):
Oshae Brissett, who played twelve plus minutes. We're gonna talk
a little bit more about this in the next comment,
but I do think that since Horford did not have
to play as many minutes during this game. He'll be
good for the next one. And if the Celtics need
to dip a little deeper into the rotation, they'll do
it to preserve him for the stretch run of this
playoff run. All right, This next comment is coming from
(16:36):
Henry Mahoney, and it kinda is a nice segue from
the last comment from Mark. This one says the impact
of the Cornette injury in terms of forcing Joe Missoula
to unleash some small ball and how this could potentially
matter against a Dallas matchup. That is, obviously if Dallas
gets to the finals, if Boston gets to the finals. Additionally,
(16:58):
the severity of that Halliburton injury. Are we seeing him
again this series. I'll start out with that last part. Obviously,
Haliburton went out with a leg injury. It's been talked
about as if it is a hamstring injury. And I
will say one thing, and I'm not speculating. I'm just saying,
based off of history, hamstrings in calves are two of
(17:22):
the most difficult injuries that you can have as an athlete.
Those things you can feel great and it can go
and be tweaked immediately. That's why the Celtics I believe,
are taking a cautious route here with Chris as porzingis
coming back from that calf injury. But if this is
a Haliburton hamstring injury, it's gonna be an uphill challenge
(17:42):
to get him back on the court, especially for Game three,
but really in this series as a whole. But we're
gonna have to wait and see how the Pacers handle this,
how Halliburton feels moving forward. It's possible that he just
felt a little bit of a tweak and then the
Celtics were pulling away for the win and the Indiana
just chow to rest him a little bit. So we'll
just have to wait and see who knows. I hope
(18:04):
that he's okay. You never want to play a team
that's not a full health and you never want a
burgeoning star like Tyrese Halliburton to be injured in the postseason.
We want that guy out on the court. Now. The
impact of Cornett's injury with that wrist, he was questionable
to return to this game. He did not return to
the game, and that wound up to your point here,
Henry of the Celtics unleashing a little bit of small ball.
(18:26):
That's where osheper Set came into this game, and he
made an impact as he did whenever he got the
call during the regular season, A plus eighteen and only
twelve minutes and O'Shea did all. Listen, the numbers weren't crazy.
Three rebounds and two points in three steals. We can't
forget about that. But the numbers weren't crazy, But it
was the impact. It's the impact from the effort that
(18:47):
he plays with. It's contagious. Anytime that guy is on
the court, you know, he's playing one hundred miles an
hour and trying as hard as he possibly can. He's
gonna empty the tank. And I really do feel like
that's contagious when he's out there on the floor or
so getting him back in the rotation, getting him some
minutes and potentially if the Celtics do need to play
some small ball moving forward, with him playing the four
(19:08):
or the five against this Pacers team the rest of
this series or in the next round. Potentially if the
Celtics advance and have to play against the Dallas team
that plays small every now and then, it's nice to
have Oshaeber Sett not only getting some minutes but also
playing well and making an impact. So we're gonna have
to wait and see what the situation is with Luke Cornett.
Let's hope that he's okay as well, but if he isn't,
(19:32):
the Celtics and Joe Mizoula got a pretty good look
tonight with some small ball lineups, with oshaeber Set fitting
in very nicely, just as he did during the regular season.
All right, our last comment of the night is coming
from my favorite X name so far that I've taken
from anyone with comments here on sound Off. This is
coming from Special Kangnac. I hope you took a sip
(19:54):
of that after this game, after the Celtics went up
two to oh says I think six more games like that.
I need it more than I need air. Please bring
it home. That's right, Special Kangyac. The Celtics need six
more wins at this point to win an NBA championship,
and I'm with you. As I was watching this game,
(20:14):
this felt like the dominant Boston Celtics that we saw
throughout the regular season. The Celtics entered this game in
the postseason nine to two, it's a dominant record, but
they haven't been It hasn't felt like that dominant team
that we saw for basically the entire regular season. Tonight,
I felt like I saw that team. I felt like
(20:35):
I saw them imposing their will on the opponent. And
just because you impose your will doesn't mean you're gonna
be winning fifty to fifteen out of the gates. No,
Sometimes it takes a little while for you to impose
your will and for it actually to show up in
the score, And in my opinion, that's what happened tonight.
I told Brian Scalabrini before this game, he said, what
(20:55):
do you think? Said, I think the Celtics are gonna
win going away. He looked at me. It was like
late second quarter, early third quarter, and he's like, how
are you feeling about that comment? I was like, I
feel pretty good. They were only up two at that time.
I said, I feel pretty good about how the Boston
Celtics are playing. It's only a matter of time before
they pull away. Sure enough. Not calling myself noster domis
(21:17):
or anything, but sure enough, the Boston Celtics eventually continued
to play the way that they had been, and they
pulled away and blew the Pacers out during the second
half with a dominant performance. So I love the way
the Celtics played in this game. To special cognacts point,
can we get six more of those? Let's hope fingers crossed.
(21:39):
Celtics are up two to zero in this series in
the Eastern Conference Finals. They got two more wins to
go to punch a ticket back into the NBA Finals.
Game three. The next opportunity to grab a win in
this series is coming up Saturday night. Ladies and gentlemen
on the East Coast, It's a late tip. I hope
you got your schedules cleared for Saturday night. You're not
going out to the bars unless you're going to a
(22:00):
bar where you can watch a game. Hope you got
no dinner plans. Hope you're not going out to watch
any movies. It is tuning in to the Boston Celtics
taking on the Indiana Pacers out in Indiana. That game
will be on ABC tip Off. As I said, it's
pretty late, it's at eight thirty PM. I will have
another episode of sound Off with you after that game.
(22:20):
We will not be doing a YouTube post of that episode.
It will only be going out on the podcast platforms,
but regardless, I appreciate you taking part and I can't
wait to see you all Saturday night. Joy the game folks.
All great weekend
Host
Marc D'Amico
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com