Grand takeaways after the Celtics win it all

that was Underweter. What a absolute painstaking finals that was to watch. And I love basketball and I was more than willing to watch other things. I went to a sketch comedy show on Friday night and didn't even watch the game at all. Didn't even when we went to a bar after I barely tuned in. It was already a thirty point game. Eastern Conference Western Conference Finals, and the finals themselves were the worst that I can remember. I am now a soccer fan. I'm watching the Euros

Copa America here is pretty fun too. I have watched a lot of Stanley Cup finals. Apparently, the Edmonton Oilers are the Dallas Mavericks of hockey and the playoffs clearly peaked in the second round, because after that it was just all downhill from there. We had a second round matchup between Minnesota and Denver that went seven. Minnesota had a twenty point deficit to overcome and they looked like they were in the grave. Somehow they end up winning

that one Minnesota after they swept the Phoenix. It was pretty exciting. You've got Pacers knocking off the Hospital Wing, New York Knicks, and seven Dallas took out OKC in six, and then it just wasn't close. There were fifteen playoff series in total and only three game sevens. There were eight sweeps or gentlemen sweeps, including both the conference finals and the finals themselves. That's just not what you want

for compelling viewing. I'm just sorry to say last year wasn't good either, but we got a game seven in the Eastern Conference Finals, which is pretty lit. In twenty twenty two, there were only five non competitive playoff series. In twenty twenty one, there were six. And I'm not trying to say that the Boston Celtics didn't deserve winning at all. We'll get into them in a bit, but they were clearly the best team in the Eastern Conference at the very least, and they fielded one of the

most stacked rosters that we've ever seen. They had the best offense in NBA history. They won sixty four regular season games that minimum six All Stars, four of whom are gonna make the Hall of Fame. What a monster roster. Brad Stevens deserves a ton of credit because that team should not have been allowed to be assembled. But it does not obscure the fact that the finals sucked. They were ass It was never particularly close. Even the game the Dallas one wasn't close if you throw out the

fourth quarter of Game three. The MAVs got destroyed in all of the Celtics' four wins. Not fun to watch, just not fun to watch. My immediate thoughts, I have several There may not be a bigger winner in this era than Drew Holliday in terms of consistent ability to change a franchise. The guy changes the culture everywhere he's gone. He even changed the Portland Tilblazers culture and he was never even touched down on the team. He helped us, helped the Boston Celtics win a ring. Look at him.

He's now won two chips on two different teams in his first year, elevating very talented teams that had major question marks about their ability to give with the home hump, to the point where there was even rumors about splitting stars up. First with Giannis and the Bucks, who had always disappointed and have since he left, and then the Celtics, who climbed the mountains so many times and they never really got over the hump until he landed in Boston.

I was right. I'll just say that I was banging the drum that Marcus mart needed to be traded because he was not a reliable point guard. And that was the truth that Boston Celtics fans did not win a year. I told you this in twenty twenty one. You were never winning a championship with Marcus Mart And I'll say it again. I like Marcus mart great defensive presence, won a Defensive Player of the Year award. Did he deserve it? Probably not. Locker room leader, heart and soul of the team.

But for all his merits, the guy has not Drew Holiday like it is not. Drew can not only lock down one of the best players on the other team on the perimeter, but he can be anywhere on the floor offensively either. He can play anything from point to hanging out in the dunker spot. He can shoot timely threees through you shoot forty percent from deep. In the playoffs. He makes everyone around him better. The coach is asking him, Hey, when you guys were in this situation, what did you do?

Brings the team a sense of calm, a sense of ease, a sense of this guy knows what he's doing. He makes everyone around him better. And I was thinking, as much as I disliked the Boston Celtics, I dislike Philadelphia even more. And man, the Sixers really did start the process when they decided to trade a twenty two year old Drew Holliday for the pick that became Nerlins Noel Wow, and he was twenty two. Drew is so hurt by it. He still thinks about it. He told Draymond this on

the podcast this year. I didn't know what to think. I just became an All Star, I just signed an extension. I thought I was one of the cornerstones or major chess piece of seventy six ers basketball. Me Evan Turner, Dad Young, we were still there. I was like, damn and pretty much every move after that has not worked

out like the Sixers wanted to. I'm sure Joe Cronin did not anticipate giving Boston a ring and only getting Malcolm Brogden Rob Williams in two first round picks for that trader, Joe could have sent Drew Holiday to fucking Los Angeles and maybe they would be in the Western Conference Finals. In the finals against Boston, that was the biggest step in building the championship team, which was Drew Holiday. Drew Holiday continues to give you impactful minutes. He can

do anything that you need him to do. Also, the Derek White trade still goes down as like a puzzling trade. Also, they traded Romeo Langford for Derek White to the San Antonio Spurs. I know San Antonio wanted to get Eric White to a better place, but that's just as Jason Tatum also feels like this title is really impactful for him. Just listen to what he had to say in this postgame presser.

there criticizing Jason Tatum. We still will, myself included, because I want Jason Tatum to be a top five player in the NBA, and right now you just is not. I don't care that he didn't win finals MVP. That does not change my argument about whether I think that he's a top five player in this league or not.

It does bear mentioning that he took the ball iso like seven to eight consecutive times in the last two minutes of his time on the court when they were up twenty five, to try to get from twenty points to thirty points to try and get that finals MVP. I know that's what he was doing, and I'm sorry Jason Tatum, you were a minus thirty in two games in that series that your teams blew out the Dallas Mavericks. So but again, we'll never be able to take that

championship away from Jason dintam. We will not. The banner will be there long after he retires. He will be his jersey will be retired at TD Garden. He will be mentioned as one of the most dominant players Boston Celtics players of all time. So while the jabs and barbers will continue, maybe they don't. Maybe they don't affect him as much anymore. I don't know. Maybe that's what being a championship means. Jerry West talked about it. After being so close for so long, he lost by the

way eight finals, then he finally won one. He was like, I'm forever a champion. And this was the guy who was Finals MVP, the only Finals MVP on a losing team. So Jason Tatum doesn't have anything left to proof, and folks, that might make him the most dangerous player in the NBA next year, because listen, maybe the monkey's off of his back and he'll be a certified killer. The third thing that stick out for me is Christas Porzingis just decided to sacrifice and not be the guy and be

the fourth option. And boy, oh boys, he a really great third or fourth option. He did it unselfishly. He did everything that the Boston Celtics wanted him to do. He was a block machine. He was decent on the perimeter. He shot threes, he spaced the flo or. Everybody said before in his early days that he was injury prone and soft. We know he is injury prone, but soft he is not. He said he would die out there. He said, I will die on the floor if that's what it takes. He's not getting a ring if you

die out there. And he did not care. He did not care. He came out for Game five, even though he was clearly hobbled, clearly in pain. His tendon was subluxed, it was dislocated, and he figured out a way to still get dunks and blocks and still be out there for his teammates. That's a narrative that has changed around KP fourth. There's gonna be a ton of scrutiny on Luca this offseason. He doesn't even think he's gonna play in the Olympics. He's so banged up he says he's

got a lot of decisions to make. We know how much fun he is when he plays for Slovenia, how elite is as a player, But he has also exposed major flaws in his game, like he bitches a lot to the refs lot to the point where they don't want to give him any calls because he's such a bitch. And I love Luca. He is obsessed with yelling at the Zebras. We know that he's out of shape. Championship physical fitness is not there. He needs to figure that out.

That was on full display all series. Everyone was waiting for the game that he took over, you know, forty five fifty point performance and that just was not there. Like he did it against the Wolves and had thirty

by halftime. It just never happened. Barking at the refs was a critical bad move in Game three, where he not only complained to the Zebras multiple times while game play continued a five on four, but he took two stupid fouls that took him out of the game when the Mass had a chance to steal one, well not really steal, but get one. Get game three. There's a reason that almost no one pushed back on Windhorse when he blew up Luca spot after Game three. Can't hide

from that. I need to know whether he's gonna come in out of shape. And you can assured that every time that he bitches to the refs next season, it will be scrutinized as well. So for good or bad, that's gonna be one of the biggest storylines going forward into the new season, and that one thinks for shooting. Sure, Luca is not going to like it. Also, I didn't write this down, but it's also bears mentioning is the Boston Celtics fans are clearly in Kyrie Rubing's head. He

has not gotten over that at all. That is one of those bugaboo memories that continue to haunt him. And we'll see whether it ever heals, because right now he is shooketh and Kyrie is one of the most potent scores in the league, and he was shut down to fifteen points in a closeout game. And then finally, the Celtics winning shows that there's a ton of parody in this league. There's now been six different champions in six years.

What does that mean? It means a lot of teams that are one piece away from winning it all, all they have to do is figure out what that one piece is and acquire it. I mean not all you have to do, but you're closer than you think. Timberwolves, thunder Calves, MAVs, you can all make a single move like adding a Drew Holiday that could put you over the top, and maybe you can make two moves figure out role players that will really help you. The question

is what team makes that move? Is that Phoenix. Does Phoenix try to go after Lebron James? Will they be more willing to take a big swing because they saw how much success that the MAVs and Celtics had adding big pieces, even though they're deep into the luxury text, that to me is the storyline. It is time put your nuts on the table, evaluate the players properly, and

maybe you can get over the hump. When you look at the standings, I see seven teams in the East and at least eight teams in the West that you can make an argument it is a major move away from getting to the conference finals or the finals. And listen, like Boston, as good as they are and as talented they are, as they are, they did not have the injury bug the same way that the Knicks did, or the Pacers did, or the heat did or the Sixers did.

So if Jason Tatum God forbid or Jaylen Brown word god forbid to get injured, that East is wide open. The NBA season has just ended and free agency begins an hour. Game five is in the books. After Game five is in the books, followed by the draft and then summer leak, and we'll be all here for that giving you updates because apparently the Heat Check never sleeps. Also, fuck Steph Curry for taking my name. It's my heat Check podcast. Anyway, That's all the time that we have

for this episode of The Heat Check. Come back Friday for an all new episode. Check out the feet for past episodes and many episodes which drop unexpectedly, like a half court heat from Peyton Pritchard. Do not forget to follow the heat Check throughout the finals. That means download, that means subscribe, that means tell your friends. Given little Deuce Tatum, tell him, hey, your daddy's a champion. Tell him throw on the only heat Check podcast, the Heat Check, which

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