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Welcome into NBA poster production of iHeartRadio in the NBA. I'm Sarahustak, NBA analysts for the Yes Network, and today is Thursday, January eleventh. From our fantastic core group of NBA journalists. We're joined now by NBA dot Com senior writer Michael c Ryde.
And Michael, we had a.
Good one last night between the top team and the Eastern Conference, top team in the Western Conference. Boston Celtics end up outlasting the Timberwolves one twenty seven, one twenty in overtime. And we begin with this Celtics team that has been rolling. UH starting lineup has been just tremendously dominant about the course of the year. And it was another big night for the two Jays. Jason Tatum forty
five points. I went six of eleven from the three point line, thirteen of fourteen from the free throw line. Jalen Brown perfect from the line. They were on the attack. He was thirteen to thirteen. He had thirty five points, eleven rebounds. He was four or seven from the three point line. This is obviously a high volume shooting Boston Celtics team. Jam Anthony Edwards with a big one, but we'll get to him, Karl Anthony Towns and the timber
Wolves in just a second. But I want to talk about the Celtics how well they've been playing, in more specifically with Jason Tatum. In the conversation of the MVP Derek White making a case to be an All Star. Kristapsporzingis has been healthy and he has been such an
important part of how this team functions. Where do you frame Tatum's place in the discussion and how it's impacted with just the overall performance of his teammates and in the combination of having that amount of support on the floor.
Well, Sarah, let's first give the man props. Last night it was a gym. He had a great game, forty five points, fourteen points in the fourth quarter, and then he had twelve more in that overtime period. So he did what he needed to do when he needed to do it. So, you know, I think that's sort of the mark of an MVP type player. But as you mentioned, you look at his team, they are loaded. I mean,
they are absolutely loaded, you've probably got the best. Like I would argue with anybody that Derek White and Drew Holliday are the best two defensive guards in the NBA. So you've got that. Those guys can get you steals, you can get out in transition and cook. Then you've got Christaph Porzingis. I mean, he's missed ten games this season, but for the most part, he's been pretty healthy and
he's been a regular, consistent contributor. And you know, I was having this conversation with somebody the other day and we were talking about like two MVP candidates being on the same team, and their argument to me was, well, if you got two MVP candidates on the same team, then you don't have any And I was like, well, yeah, I guess you're right, you know what I mean, there is something to that, because you've got a guy like Jalen Brown that can I mean, he's had thirty points
in his last four games. So when you've got that kind of support, I mean, it does make it really hard. And I think that's why I've got him a little lower. He's kind of like on that second tier of MVP candidates. You know, if he didn't have the support and he had to do more, I think he'd probably be up there in the top five. But that's just what it is right now with him. And you know, I mean great team eighteen to know at home. I mean, you can't there's nothing bad you can say about the Boston
Celtics at this point. I think they are the best team in the NBA right now.
Yeah, yeah, I agree with you. And that's when you say nothing bad to say. That's that's the tough part of looking. Okay, what what are their potential weaknesses? I know I've seen Boston quite a bit throughout the course of the season, and in many cases you talk to folks that are around the team all the time, covering the team, and they always talk about having more of a backup big or what do they do when they're facing some of those really hefty, strong frames on the inside.
Joel Embiid being one of those who will get to a little bit later in the show. But Jason Tatum did the fluidity, the smoothness his reads on the offensive side. Obviously the length and presidency brings defensively, but it's it's been fun to watch how every year he seems to improve add more to his game, kind of take.
More of a.
Just really mature approach to how he's able to pick apart some defenses. But I do think that certainly helps when you have the compliments of so many others around you. I do think just the fact he's shooting over thirty seven percent from three. Obviously we know the player works the mid range, takes a lot of you know, long two point shots, has been working on that, but his efficiency from three has helped. As I mentioned with the Boston team that wants to put up a lot of
three point shots. On the other side of things, mentioned Minnesota. Tough loss for them, but they have been fantastic this year, obviously tops in the Western Conference. Their defense has been at the forefront of all of that. In Anthony Edwards a big part last night Karl Anthony Towns with twenty five points, thirteen rebound, six assists.
For Edwards it was twenty nine, six and three defecting kicked off the two and out of by Anderson. He gets you've hit to Edwards night moves two.
As the league.
Where do you see Anthony Edwards?
And again we're looking at your second tier of those MVP candidates We've had a lot of the same ones towards the time in that top five, But where do you see Anthony Edwards in his progression to potentially get to that point, considering the fact that Minnesota is a team that has been at the top or towards the top of the West throughout pretty much the duration of this whole season.
Well, Sarah, it is Thursday. It's Thursday, and he's coming off a good game, and.
So did a little influence no, no influence here before tomorrow.
What I'm saying is with him, it just depends on the days. It's really weird. I mean, he is, he is this rising superstar, and you know, throughout FEBA and stuff over the summer, it was sort of okay, we knew that this was the year that Anthony Edwards was going to take that next step, and he has like let's not, you know, get it twisted for a second. But I mean, okay, So, like I said, okay, we're talking about it's Thursday, and we're looking at what he
did on Wednesday. But on Monday he was two of seven for six points. And that's sort of what you get from him, or what we've gotten from him all season. I mean he's been he shot shot the ball fifty percent from the field. I think he shot he shot it below fifty percent in three of the last five games, and so he's been really inconsistent as a shooter. But I love what he does as an own ball defender, his decision making. I think that that's gonna get better
as he gets a little more mature. But you know, I think that without him, they're not number one in the West, that's for sure.
So I like what he does.
I'm a fan, but too inconsistent to really get him up in the higher tiers. So he'll fluctuate anywhere between six ten and then sometimes he ends up in the honorable mention stack, and so you know, we need more of him, you know, at one place instead of just kind of going all over the board.
Yeah, and totally agree with that.
I think you look at him and a reminder despite the facts he's in his fourth year, twenty two years old.
Yeah, all Star last year, so still yeah, I think that's a part of it.
And just figuring out I mean, he jumped right in the scene and you look at where Minnesota was at the last few seasons being the guy, but the uptick. As you have mentioned, field goal percentage uptacking three point percentage, the fact that he's you know, almost thirty nine percent
from three and that fluctuates as well. But I think his decision making on when he's taking threes to me through the eye test has improved, and also assists have gone up, you know, best in his career a nearly five assists per game.
Those type of things I think even too.
Defensively, of course, helps to have a guy like Rudy Gobert back there and those that are around him and just what this defense is comprised of, so it allows him to gamble a little bit more, take risks, you know, some of his off ball play that that helps fourtify. My question to you is, do you think, I said, twenty two years old, fourth year in the league, but projecting out, do you think before his career is over he will be an MVP in this league?
Yeah? I do think he'll be an MVP. And you know, you mentioned like just some of the health he has on the defensive end, but some of the same people you mentioned are also I think gonna be key for him in his maturation throughout this league because you've got a Rudy Gobert, You've got Karl Anthony Towns who's been in the league for a while. You've got slow Mo Kyle Anderson. People don't give that man his credit, but
he is a leader. He's the type of guy that when you get him on the floor, he makes everybody around him better. That's just the way Kyle Anderson has been since he's been out here in San Antonio. And so when you've got some veterans, like they have a nice mix of young talent and sort of veteran guys that they're all gonna help Anthony Edwards moving forward. And I think Anthony is gonna be a star. I mean
a star. I think like one of the two or three people you talk about when you talk about the NBA, like his name is gonna be the one, you know how like we talk about the NBA and we say Steph Curry. I think Anthony is gonna be one of those guys.
Fact I am with you on that.
I also think he has the disposition, character, you know, just all of those things to go into it. Minnesota, though, looking where they're at with the salary caps, some contracts, they will have some decisions to make though in what they continue to do with this roster.
We are going to take a quick break and we are going to get back.
To one of your candidates that has been in that top tier, towards the top the entirety of this year, Joel Embiid. Right after the break, welcome back to m me a Polster a Kustaik joined by Michael C. Wright and all right, where we're going, we're taking the elevator up to the top.
Joel Embiid.
He's been fantastic this year, Michael, and you can see it in the numbers, you can see it how he's played.
He's the reigning MVP.
However, he has missed six of the last eight games, so now you know, getting to that point for those awards need to play in sixty five of eighty two games. And for the most part, it's felt like he's been healthy,
it's felt like he's been available. But when you look at what Embid's done throughout the course of the season, and I had mentioned the numbers, thirty five points a game, nearly almost twelve rebounds, six assists, his playmaking and the improvement of his playmaking has been that one big factor
that you've seen the elevation. How do you kind of frame where your head is starting to be at at this point of the season with some of the games being missed, and how that factors in given the other candidates here in this top five.
Well, with the elevator being stuck right now, apparently apparently you know, it's to the point now where we're starting to count games, and you know that's never a good thing. You know, Like in December, the guy average forty points, twelve and a half rebounds, but he missed five games, and you know, you start to look at that, and I think a big part of the reason why he's he's so banged up all the time is his usage rate. He said that like forty one point six percent. That
is okay. If you compare that to a guy like Nikola Jokic, he's somewhere in the high twenties. And so, you know, I think when you when you have such a high usage rate, you have to do so much for your team, that's going to lend itself to injury. And so, yeah, he's missed nine games. Yeah that's cool. But at the same time, I see what he does on a night to night basis, and I see in some of those games he's struggling physically, but he's just
cutting it out. And so like I really Joe Ellenbiid is one of those guys that where say he missed too many games to be eligible to win the award. That's one of those guys I might make an exception for. And we can't, you know, because of the rules or whatever. But that's something you know. I'm not criticizing the league here,
but I think they need to make exceptions. Start thinking about, like some of the other metrics that might come into play for a guy like MB Like I just mentioned his usage rate, but look at minutes things like that when you're making a determination. I mean, a guy can't help it if he's hurt. And sometimes a guy needs to rest.
Yeah, And as you mentioned just that, like the judgment calls, I think for all of you as voters, there there's a trust and a respect for why you have earned and have those votes, and I think all of you have decisions to make in term of judgment. And so for a player like Joel Embiid, one sometimes it's injury, but two it's it's injury management.
It truly is.
It's injury management. It's not playing, you know, potentially a second of a back to back. You look at the fact that he's played over thirty four minutes per game, and as you mentioned, the usage and how much that goes through him and what he's dealt with. It's also a you know, the frame of his body is very different and some others. So the type of the type of usage that that goes along with that. When you look at Philadelphia sitting third now in the Eastern Conference, Boston,
We've already talked about Milwaukee despite sitting in that second seed. Uh, it's kind of a two sidedness to the perspective on the Bucks given the fact they just don't look good and the wins that they have, it still feels like there's a lot of issues. It's Philadelphia contender for you in the event that you look at this framework and Joel Embiid healthy playing in what he's done in certain cases throughout the course of the postseason.
Absolutely a contender with Joel and Beid healthy. But they've lost three in a row and Joel has missed some time. I don't know the exact exact number, was it something like six the last Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, sure, So they're definitely a contender with him on the floor. But you know there's the question of okay, how often do
you get him on the floor. But at the same time, I think Joel Embiid is the type of guy, just based off what I've seen over these last few years, if they need him, even if he's hurt, he's gonna try to play if he's hurt. And so you know, I think, like, right now, these are the games you're supposed to miss. We haven't even gotten an All Star
break yet. You know, you can miss some games. You can rest here here and there, and then once you get past All Star Break and everybody starts this all out spread, you know, to the finish line, that's when you need him available for games. And I think he's going to be there when his number is called, He's going to be there.
All right.
Well, we will see near and as you mentioned, all Star break, nearing trade deadline. A lot of things to keep eyes on here as we continue on throughout the course of your season, including you on NBA TV, NBA dot Com. You're MVP Ladder that will be out once again on Friday. So it's always Michael. We appreciate your Time You Got It Sarah. NBA Pulse was Sara Acoustack
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