How Celtics Dominated Game 2, Mavs T-Wolves Preview, All-NBA Decisions

That's obviously something that had been a point of just kind of conversation and observation in how he was playing the latter part of the season, and so steal no update to this point as to what his status is, but the major factor in what Indiana will be able to do with or without him in the series. On the other side of things, Jalen Brown was spectacular. He

had forty points twenty four in the first half. And all NBA teams came out prior to the game, Jalen Brown was not on them, So whether that added a little bit of extra motivation, we'll discuss those all NBA teams as you are a voter, later on in the show. But Boston was great and overall they did a lot of the things in terms of balance that they needed to do to take care of their home court as

the series will now return back to Indiana. But with all that being said, a Boston team that I know, there's been a lot of just thoughts perspective on how they've been winning, how they've been playing, the belief in them despite the fact they were so far ahead of the pack throughout the course of the regular season. What did you take away from that win in Game.

for the Celtics than Game one. Obviously there was some garbage time thrown in, you know, Thursday night, but I thought offensively they were just much more purposeful, and that purpose was basically attacking Tyrese Haliburton, you know, from like sort of the middle of the first quarter until Haliburton got hurt if he was on the floor, like three out of every four possessions, it was, you know, Haliburton's guy setting a screen for Jason Tatum or Haliburton's guy

setting a screen for Jalen Brown, or Jason Tatum setting a screen for Haliburton's guy, or Brown setting a screen for haliburton guy. That was it was like basically their offense was, all right, who's gonna set the screen? Where are we going to set it? That's just the point is put Tyrese Haliburton in the action, make him work. I thought it worked pretty well. You know, he it

created some open shots for Dark White. Let's say, if if if White was setting the screen, Haliburton would try to you know, hedge the pick and try to scramble back, and if he didn't scramble back in time, he had an open three. Or if he was rotating, you know, you could sort of attack the attack the rotation. And I thought that was just like the main my main takeaway from that game is they just attacked him almost

every possession down the floor. And it was on one of those possessions, I think it was his man setting a screen for Tatum where he hurt reinjured his hamstring. He was trying to scramble back and I don't know when he pivoted something, you know, he tweaked something in the leg and so that was it. And then shoot, when when Halibert was out, they just turned dot, So who are we gonna pick on? Next? It was Ben

Sheppard and then it was Doug McDermott. You know, Doug McDermott got got in the game, and it's like, all right, he's the guy, you know, and we're gonna start attacking him. He's his man is going to set all these screens and so I and I feel like that's I mean, that's what the Celtics have been doing for years. Like when they are seriously purposeful, it's not about like this flowing offense. It's what, you know, what defender can we

attack with? What what matchup do we want? And and no, it's not doesn't necessarily have to turn into an isolation because if like it, like I said, I, if Haliburton is sort of blitzing and then trying to recover. Well, then the ball can move and they can drive and kick from there and eventually get an open shot. It doesn't have to see, it doesn't have to be like, all right, let's just get a switch and then isolate and let Jay, you know, Tatum and Brown do their thing.

Although there was some of that, I think and Brown, you know, part of Brown's performance was some some tough shots in isolation, but I thought they were, like, you know, they were just much more purposeful offensively in game two than they were in Game one.

just not himself. I mean, we saw during much of the second half of the season where he was not one hundred percent and his offense wasn't you know, it just wasn't the same, and it seemed like he was finally getting his legs back in these last you know, in these last few weeks, and so it really stinks that,

you know, he he've reinjured the same hamstring. And as much as they picked on him on the defensive end of the floor, the Pacers need him offensively to sort of push the They have t J. McConnell, but they need two of those guards basically to push the ball up the floor and get their offense moving, you know, pick and roll and then go from there. And so yeah, it would be a tough task for the Pacers to sort of Pacers offense to continue at the pace it's

been at the last few games. If Haliburton is either unavailable or or or not you know, not himself. You know, I think Brissette was in there because Luke Cornett got hurt, and so yeah, I think the Celtics now were down to you know, Al Horford being their only big, assuming that Kristaps Porzingis is not coming back in the next game. So there's something there, you know. I don't know if if the Pacers can try to exploit Boston on the glass.

Boston's been a very good defensive rebounding team in the playoffs, but that might be their the sort of only hope or not not only hope. But one way they can try to make up for what they've lost is is try to crash the glass and turn into the Knicks almost because they could do that. Isaiah Jackson is a really active big and really good on the glass, so I think that's one way they could try to adjust.

to get one back at home. But I think they have been so good there and I think there's moments that the Celtics that level and sense of urgency and maybe understandably so, just isn't always there throughout the course of the series. So I do think I would maybe

predict a gentleman sweep off of this one. But on the flip side of things, I think we got a long series in the Western Conference on the way Dallas stealing the first game on the road at Minnesota one five victory against the Timberwolves team, and it was really it was fun to watch these two teams going back and forth, but more so just the strategy behind it, some of the game planning Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, I think when that trade was made, and just kind

of watching them and some of the injuries that played in the fact they didn't spend a lot of time on the floor together last season. You are seeing the I think, kind of the ideal way of the hope of what they would be together. And early on in the game, Kyrie Irvin set the tone twenty four points of his thirty in that first half, Luka Doncic closing things off. He finishes with thirty three, six and eight, a couple of nice defensive stops to close out the game.

But it was more about what they did to Minnesota. Minnesota taking forty nine three point shots, making just eighteen of those, and Jade Daniels ended up being the leading scorer for Minnesota with twenty four points. In some ways kept Anthony Edwards in check and I think a lot of that too. Just you saw it, and he set it out after the game. Timber Wolves a minute after the game, they were tired, and they looked at they

looked fatigue and how they were playing. They will play against nikere at Minnesota at a thirty pm Eastern on TNT. What is your expectation of what happens here in Minnesota based on what you saw in game one?

mid range shots. Kyrie Irving kept the MAVs in that game. In game yeah, in the first half, and a lot of it was transition, I think. So like number one for the Wolves is like, let's be better in transition and try to get in front of Kyrie Irving. And that's that's a big sort of theme with the MAVs, is they were just a slow team prior to his arrival.

In fact, like they saw the second biggest jump in transition points per game from last season to this season obviously his first full season in Dallas, and a lot of that's just him, like he's he's a guy who will get out and go and obviously has stuff in his bag in those transition possessions where he can if he's if it's one on one or even one on two, he can score. And Don has been better this season

about passing ahead. And there was one incredible in that first half, incredible lead pass from Don Chits to Irving on one of those breaks. So I think number was.

twenty one. So obviously be better in transition. And then and the drop coverage sort of it was Doncic just started getting going in the second half with that where he was you know, he got the screen, he was able to keep Jalen McDaniels on his hip, excuse me, Jaden McDaniels on his hip, and Gobert was more you know, they got a couple of lobs behind Gobert, and so after that he was sort of more, you know, retreating

towards the role man. And then Doncic was able to get into you know, short step back jumpers, twelve foot fifteen foot jumpers. They did that with Gobert, you know, sort of in the high pick and roll. They were different. When Karl Anthony Towns was defending the pick, they blitzed right like they had him blitz the pick and roll take the ball out of the ball andler's hands. They also blitzed every time when there's a pick and roll on the sideline, and those I thought were ended up

with better results for the Wolves. You know, Doncis would pass the ball and the Wolves turned the ball over a lot in those situations. You know, we saw a turnover peep from PJ. Washington, town stripped him. There was a late turnover from Derek Lively where he got the ball on the roll. Mike Conley came late with help and Lively traveled. That was like an adjustment like late possession where Gobert blitzed at the top and Lively got the ball and traveled. So I think maybe they make

it up a little bit. I think it's a sort of a pick your poison situation. It's not like if you blitz, the maps don't know what to do, right, Like they've seen everything this year, so they're they're gonna be able to just Doncic is willing to get off the ball. They have other guys. But I think Minnesota has to decide, you know, do we want Doncic to keep the ball or do we want him to get

rid of the ball. Like that's basically decision number one when it comes to Dallas's half court offense, and they just have to be better. I think you just have to be good in rotations. I think they're capable, They're they're long. I think they're a smart defensive team, so they are sort of capable of sort of blitzing and then rotating from there. They just have to make sure that the guy we if we're blitzing Luka Doncics, we're not leaving you know, Kyrie Irving isn't the guy we're

leaving open, right, Or if we blitz Kyrie Irving. Luka Doncic isn't the guy we're leaving over it. They did that once where they blitzed Irving and like two passes away, Luka Doncic's got a I open three. I think it was in the first half. He missed it, but it was like, yeah, that's not the you know, let's let's you know, let it be Derek Jones Junior and not Luka Doncics that we're leaving open as a result of this, you know, defensive coverage.

attack very much. And I think if that was fatigue, if it was you know, him just sort of reading the Dallas defense, and I don't, you know, I don't think they were double teaming him, but they were shading towards him right like if he's got the ball at the top, they were shading and obviously very willing to leave Kylie Anderson open. He's on the floor. I think some other guys got some open shots, but I think they obviously did not want him to, you know, get

into the paint and get to the basket. And so it's as much about you know, the other defenders on the floor as the guy who's in front of front of Edwards, which is going to be Derek Jones Jr. And that's you know, that's a lot of length obviously. So yeah, I think Minnesota's got to sort of find a way to get Edwards into the paint and towards the basket, whether that be with with scheme or just him being a little bit more aggressive.

come back with the all NBA teams. Welcome back to the NBA, Paul, Sarah Whustak, joined by the great John Schuman and Shoe I'm curious how your voting ballot stacked up with the way things shake shook out. For all NBA had mentioned, Jalen Brown left off of it despite the fact he was on probably last year. More important for him is it helped allow him to sign the

richest contract at the time of NBA history. But first team you got Giannis Luca Sga Jokic and Jason Tatum, and second team Jalen Brunson, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Anthony Edwards, and Kawhi Leonard. And then rounding out the third team Kevin Booker, Curry, Tyres Halliburton, Lebron James, and Demona Sibonis. Is there any I guess different on your ballot or ones that you felt strongly about that you voted for that weren't.

problem with the way anybody else votes. But for me, if you're the clear defensive player of the year, like that's and you're not like a complete liability on offense, which I don't think he is. That's thirteen All NBA like defenses half of the game. And you know, like, so if you're the defensive player of the year, how are you not you know, a third team All NBA at the least. So that that was it for me.

I didn't have Brown. I know, he was definitely one of the you know, twenty five players I considered, and probably was one of the very last cuts on my list for obvious reasons. You know, just a terrific two way player. But I think he you know, as far as the numbers, his numbers just weren't as good this year as they were last year. That's not necessarily his fault.

I mean they had a better team. They had more, you know, a stronger sort of top you know, starting lineup from top to bottom than they did they had last year. You look at like Drew Holliday even like took a huge you know cut in his numbers, you know, his he saw like basically one of the biggest drops in USA Drake from year to year in the league. So that's just the way that you know, like they

were a great team. And yeah, you'd think, you know, how did the Lakers get two guys on All NBA and the Celtics don't, But it's just, you know, it's basically because they had five six great players, right Like, it was a lot of balance.

and vice versa. Four. But yeah, it's I I tell you, that's one of the hard I think it shows just how robust the talent and skill in level of play is in this league with these discussions we could have, And that is one of the hardest jobs I will give you of having to decide decide because it's it's such small, small margins of things and details that you can look at.

it before I can like give you a list. If I were to give you a list, it would be very sort of shallow analysis if I do it like three weeks before the end of the season. But if but like at the end of the season, Yeah, you have the opportunity to sort of sit down for a couple of days and really think about it. And yeah, I think for me, the criteria for MVP and First Team All NBA was basically the same, you know, and I do look at value and like value to you know,

the player's team. You know, how important was that player to his team? And that's where I think I guess Brunson gets the edge over Tatum because he's obviously a little bit more important to the Knicks than Tatum is to the Celtics, just because they have, you know, so many more players. There's so much more depth and at least with Brown and a little bit Derek White, guys who can replicate his skills a little bit.