You're tuned into Heat Check with Triste Quick.
On this episode of the Heat Check, it's another bonus episode people, You're welcome. We've got an interview with Brendan Glashan, who is the play by play man for the main Celtics, the G League team as well as the Connecticut Sun and works for ESPN, DraftKings and the Action Network on Green Dot Daily. Brendan joined me and my co host Ryan Horvaught on BETTYMGM tonight on a recent episode, and he actually gave his unfiltered thoughts on the Celtics, the Nets,
the Timberwolves, and a ton of other teams. It is a great conversation. So Nick, do me a favor and drop that motherfucking beat.
I don't think.
Anyone expected, even myself, as a long, long, life, long fan of the Portland Trailblazers, that they would sit atop second in the West. What are you seeing from them? Do you think that this is sustainable? I saw on our commercials some people are already talking about Dame Willard for MVP, even though he's already missed time with an injury.
Yeah, it's pretty incredible what they've done with Dame out and they're eight and two against the spread this year, so they've been a great covering team this season as well. But I like what Portland did in the off season. Jeremy Grant, who I thought played some good minutes for the Detroit Pistons, who was still trying to kind of find himself. He's carved out a nice role in Portland. I don't know if it's sustainable, that's the million dollar
question with this team. But when Damian Lillard is on and getting teammates involved, they've they've got enough knockdown shooters. Grant was five of eight from three the other night. I like Little's game off the bench. He made a couple of threes, So they've surrounded Dame with enough shooting that Phill hang in games, and they've played this underdog card.
But it's encouraging for sure when he's not in the game that they can still utilize their wing players like I think Anthrony fantastic player, up and coming player in the league. He's only twenty three years old, so sure it's surprising. I don't know if there is surprising as Utah no, because I can't figure that team out. Holy crap. But yeah, this whole division out west is fascinating based on the start of the season.
Since Brendan is a voice of the Celtics G League team, we thought we'd ask him about the job Danny Ainge is doing in Utah. He gave a fascinating answer. I also follow that question up with another one on the Wolves, a team that's intrinsically linked to the Utah Jazz. Let's listen in Yeah, I.
Don't know, like again being based in New England, this has the feel at Danny Ainge has got his fingerprints now on this operation. It's got the feel of the Bridgie Celtics when it was Isaiah Thomas, Avery, Bradley, J. Crowder. I know Kelly Olynox on this roster too, he was on one of those Bridgie Celtics teams. But it's basically a collection of three star Baseball cards and these guys are reviving their draft stock, Like Lori Markinen is suddenly a hell of a player. Yeah, if this was the
player Chicago drafted a few years ago. Twenty two points a game, nine rebounds. The shot volume is unlike anything he's ever had in his career, and maybe that's all it took. I've always liked Mike Conley's game, and Jordan Clarkson was their best player from last year's team. And I think Jordan Clarkson was a guy, by the way, in a bunch of trade rumors, someone who could have easily gone somewhere, they could have gotten the package for him, they decided to hold on to him. I mean, he's
the guy. Clarkson's their guy, giving the pregame speech before opening night to the fans like it's gonna be a fun season. And it just feels like a lot of players speaks just to keep the fan base encouraged. But it is something here. But they share the ball too, which is why I think Utah is a good story. Their offensive rating was number one in the NBA last year. This year it's number three in the league, and their
rosters pretty different. So if they continue to play high to mid level defense, their top eight in the league right now in defensive rating. Again, they feel like Portland, where where they're extremely feisty. They'll give teams trouble if you don't take them seriously. I'm assuming the numbers as it pertains to they're against the spread numbers will change drastically soon. I mean, they're covering the spread by eight point seven points, which is incredible. So we'll see what
kind of adjustments that come their way. But again it's a group of underrated or not underrated, but guys that have been counted out and they've come together on it.
Yeah, no doubt, especially Colin Sexton coming off the bench, like he was supposed to be one of the marquee guys for the Cavs and they didn't really want to pay him. And obviously getting Donovan Mitchell was huge, and so you have to give pieces away for that. Another team that gave a bunch of pieces away in the offseason to get a marquee star was the Minnesota Timberwolves
to get Rudy Gobert. They gave up a ton of guys are now really benefiting from playing in Utah with another bunch of collection of players in the Donovan Mitchell trade as well. So you look at the Timberwolves, they're five and six, but more so Brendan, they're boring as hell, Like, they are horrible to watch. Perimeter defense has been atrocious, and even more so than that, lots of drama between Rudy Gobert. Yeah, they won't let him eat pop Eyes anymore.
You've got some food shaming by Karl Anthony Towns. Like it kind of feels like to me, and I'd love to get your thoughts that things are already off the rails for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Yeah, it's kind of a weird. The minute that trade went down, when Gobert went to Minnesota, wasn't the hole I mean, you guys tell me, I mean, wasn't everyone like huh, like, like, how is this going to work? And seeing Karl Anthony Towns, who can't shoot the three camped out in the corner, it just feels said to feel right. It kind of reminds me it's not a great comparison because he's a little undersized in comparison to
Karl Anthony Towns. But when the Sixers brought in Al Horford and you had the component of Embiid and Horford, it just it just didn't feel right, like spacing Wise and Tobias Harris at the three on that team, but with Utah their idea of this twin tower matchup. I'll be honest, I haven't watched a ton of Timberwolves games, and I'll tell you a game I did watch they played last week in Phoenix. No DeAndre Ayton, They're at Phoenix.
It's a I think the first quarter line was a short number, and I'm like, Okay, Minnesota has no reason to not hanging this game. Eight and out. You have two guys inside who should dominate the game, and they could not have looked more disorganized in transition in the half court set Anthony Edwards. Maybe I don't know, maybe hustle has got to this kid's head because they can't
seem to get on the same page. But even their finishing ability inside is not at the level that we expected when you have this good of an interior duo. They're shooting forty seven percent as a team this season. That's not terrible, but it's not as great as it should be when you have two high rim players inside and they're not making threes. So if you're not making threes but two guys inside that can space the floor keep you guessing congest the middle, it's not a great start.
They should be in the mix though, by the end of the season if they get their defense right inside, but it just feels too cluttered. It just doesn't feel like the spacing has.
Worked Finally, we ask him who he likes in the Eastern Conference and what teams are legitimately in trouble. Ten games into the.
Season, Cleveland is legit man, Like, I think they've done a really nice job. I mean, it's a trade that's clearly so far worked out for both teams. We just spoke on Utah and what they've done without Donovan Mitchell, but Mitchell gives them a guy at the end who is far and away a go to shot maker and someone you have to account for in clutch situations. I really like Kevin love the way he's played off the bench, which as well this season, Molbley is turning himself into
an All Star. I mean, I'm sorry, I can't help but watch this Cavs team and think, what were the Nets doing with this culture? Like Kris LeVert Jared Allen, Like the Nets had all these players and that's the difference. We could spend the whole segment on the Nets. I realized that. But I can't help, but I watched that Cavs team. I'm like, the Nets had such a nice mix there before they moved on from these guys. And Darius Garland is no joke of a player either eight
and a half assists a game. I did him a lot of credit for being willing to give up the bal to Mitchell in those ISO spots at the end of games. Giannis is amazing usage rate is number two in the NBA behind Luca. Luca's doing James Harden like stuff in terms of his usage rate. I think the Jalen Brunson move has hurt Luca in terms of asking him to do more. Is that sustainable for eighty two games? I don't know. That's why I really like Luca as an MVT, but I don't know if Dallas is as
good collectively as the team. But sticking on topic, in the Eastern Conference, I think it's three teams right now. To me, it's Milwaukee, It's Cleveland, and I think Boston when they want to be invested defensively, which has yet to happen this season, the Malcolm Brogden edition has worked out perfectly. I think Brogden likes to hear himself talk quite a bit, and he was a great piece in Milwaukee, a hell of a player for the Pacers. But we
saw the Pacers last year. They weren't trying to win many games and Brogden was just a stat stuffer, so what would he look like as a bench piece on a team with real expectations. He has so far said all the right things. He's come in and given them instant offense. He's led their second unit. As long as Marcus Smart keeps his head on straight and does not let his ego get the best of him, still quoting himself in the third person as the reigning defensive player
of the Year, the Celtics will be fine. I am a little concerned. This is what concerns me a little bit about the Celtics. Milwaukee has proven even without Middleton, they can reinsert parts and move pieces around Giannis like Lebron for ten years with the Cavs in the Eastern Conference, he will make it work. As long as you are ready and capable to make shots. With the Celtics, Jason Tatum, I think has arrived. He has taken that next step. Jalen Brown has not played all that well in my opinion,
up to his level. He had a nice game against the Knicks the other night on the second night of a back to back, but they need more out of Jaylen Brown to be their next star, and then of course, the elephant in the room on Celtics is they've got to get Robert Williams back because their interior depth is a huge issue.
Yeah.
Huge.
It really is between the heat who are four and seven, the seventy six Ers that are five and six, and the Golden State Warriors which are four and seven. Who are you most worried about? And who are you least worried about?
Good question. Wow, that is a tough one because I have thoughts on all three of these teams. I think Philadelphia. I'm going to leave Philly out on this one because I don't really know yet. With the Sixers because I think Maxi is a good enough young player. I like Philly's Yes, I think Philly's got some depth there that they can overcome this. I'm not worried about Golden State because they have enough championship pedigree as we all know. I still think the Jordan Pool Draybond green stuff it
will sink underwater. It will get past them. I'm curious though about their motivation, like is Klay Thompson really back back? I don't know. I don't know if he ever will be, so their depth is a little concerning, But I just think they're too good and they can squeeze in at the end in the West to be a threat. No one will want to face them, so they're taking me the long game approach. I will say about Miami, and I think I heard you guys, I tuned into you
guys earlier talking about this division. I think it's a great point. Maybe Miami looks at it like we really have to win fifty five to sixty games get the one seed. Like Boston took us the seven games last year in the Conference finals and we lost in our home floor in Game seven, and we beat the pants off them in Boston in one of those games during that series, Like do we really need home court? I get the NBA players like to go out in Miami,
like that's the whole court advantage kind of thing. I suppoth, but that's really it. Like are their fans all that good? Sorry, Heat fans, if you're listening, Like, I don't think you're all that good. I just look, I don't know if
their surrounding cast is all that good enough. I think they're good defensively, but I don't know if Jimmy Butler's got enough to carry that team again, because They felt very Jimmy Butler reliant in the playoffs last year, and that seems to be coming up to the level now. So I've got concerns. Their culture is great, That's why they're probably going to be better off than I say. I'm saying, but I don't know if their talent is going to be able to get them through.
The whole two That's it for this episode, this bonus episode of The Heat Check. Check back tomorrow for an all new full episode, and do not forget to check out the feed for past episodes and interviews. Please follow us on The Heat Check across the twenty twenty two twenty twenty three season. Please download, subscribe, Please tell your friends, every single damn one of them, and please just give
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find your podcast. Thank you to my co host Ryan Horvat, super producer Cameron Gray, Brendan glas Sheen for this interview, and of course my producer of this heat check of the Heat Check, Nick Berlanski. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time.