The postseason is just within reach, but we still have active playoff teams making shocking moves. The Rockets have hit a group, but we will see if today's guest is a believer during our Contender Verse, Pretender or Chicken Tender segment, and of course we'll get into the state of the Celtics with NBA analysts and podcaster Warren Shaw.
On today's episode. Me, I'm Miles break.
Wait what's that you say?
Oh well, I'm JABORI Davis's.
Jack and this is Miles Yet look a hitch.
Okay, you be driving spinny.
Number that's been secure, the sultic your NBA champions over the cop.
Teams, be honestly, Gitar, Yes.
All right.
Warren Shaw, owner of nineteen Media Group, co host of the Baseline NBA podcast, and host of Dope Interviews, thank you for coming back to Miles from Jabari he got.
Bad Boosti's so many things to.
Talk about and we will get into them, but first we got to do a little bit of our homework.
We got to catch up.
We had games of the Week that we said, hey, do your homework because we're going to be talking about this. The first one Friday's matchup Nuggets at Warriors.
Oh I'm trying.
This is getting so petty already.
Oh huh what happened there?
Did anything happen as a result or I mean there, what.
Is put up? Thirty three to twelve nine? I mean yeah, seventeen from the floor. Okay, okay, Steph Curry looked.
Man, I'm worried about he. That's he looks like a problem again, like he always tends to. But yeah, I mean obviously that lended in what maybe ten point loss?
Was this sixteen fourteen or so?
Fourteen ten to fourteen points? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, that did not end great.
I mean the other thing too, Every single player had a negative plus minus.
That's sough. That's so. I mean, that's not just an indicator of, like, you know, one thing going wrong. It's kind of like just across the board.
Maybe sounds like systemic.
Really, I think they agree with you.
That a systemic issue.
That seems it's just me, Uh, Warren, what did you did?
You catch that game a little bit a little bit, But I'm not in the same vibe in mode as you are.
That's fine, that's fine.
I mean you had a wonderful stretch of March into early April, and we'll get to that.
Obviously, I think only two l's taken. Yikes.
But see, I think that's the thing. Before I have to confront the inevitability of the domination of the Celtics, I have to micro does a little bit a hater ade, you know, and just watch the Nuggets because they've had our number, but recently we've had theirs. And then also the other game we were watching Lakers at OKC on NBA TV. Now that that was interesting. That was I thoroughly enjoyed that. I thoroughly enjoyed our shot making. I
thoroughly enjoyed just the deef everything. It was a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful result, I would say, I would say.
So my question for Warren is, obviously, you know where we land on the Lakers. You know, a game like that, it's going to restore some hope. You know, they out rebounded them, they defended well, they actually defended the three point line. You know, you got people in, you know, around the Lakers, you're in the around the fan base at least talking about, you know, making a run from the outside looking in. If you think that's a blip on the radar or are these Lakers of you know, live dog this year.
No, there's a lot of healthy respect for this Lakers team in there should be, especially when you have two generational literally generational players playing at the same time.
It doesn't matter what part of Lebron generation we're in. He's still out.
Here rocking and rolling and like they scared the but Jesus Oude of me, you know, as a Celtics and to just know that they can have some semblance of success. And the way they handled Okac that night, that afternoon rather was was pretty damn impressive. So you know, I don't want to write nobody off. I'm I'm I'm a little nervous. I'm a little uneasy. And before you even asked me, the best thing for me is, y'all have to get the warriors of the first round and one of y'all.
Got to die.
I think that everybody, every a lot of us are just being like, I just need this first round to work out for me personally, and that would Yeah, that's what you want to see. You're like, Yeah, can the two monsters I'm scared of just fight it out and then whatever whatever ends up surviving.
Yeah, I'll take that one.
I'll take that one.
But yeah, the Nuggets do we I think that that Minnesota game happened after right we recorded last week? Oh lordy lord, so my goodness, that double ot loss. I remember, I think you texted me and you're like, hey, Yoki is putting up but he's having a sixty point triple double in what I'm pretty sure is about to be
an overtime loss. And but that ending was surreal. Just have fun, Oh Russell that to to not finish at one end of the court and then give up that foul to send him to the line, it was it made my like I was having like because we I think know deeply the chaos that Russell Westbrook can bring. I even felt it deeply in my bones. And did
you see that one? People isolated the angle of the Timberwolves bench right in that last stretch from them like putting hands on foreheads after he missed that layup to then the foul, and people truly like melting. I was like, oh this, I was like, this is this is?
This one hurts even watch to be.
Honest, listen from the outside looking and you know, just looking from basketball plays, you see something like that happens, and I mean, and it to a to a nicer guy or to the best guy, depending on your on your your viewpoints, so to speak. But in historic story, triple double from you just for that to kind of go to waste, and then a couple of nights later, I don't want to get too far ahead, he puts
up another thing against Indiana and they lose again. Like, well, Miles, you're gonna be micro dosa for a little while, brother.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got to make sure I'm not it's not a macro.
But just to be clear that because obviously this is gonna come across as like, oh, we're dancing on Russell Westbrook. I don't. I still don't have a problem with Westbrook. I only dislike his fans that made it seem as though the Lakers ruined him, and it was, you know, it was all good once he went to the Clippers, and then it wasn't and it was all good once he went to the Nuggets, and now it's not again, and it was It's all I'm saying.
I think, well, because the ups and downs, especially in the last few years of his career, has been a mix of like I.
Want you to do well, man, I was then he.
Gets on your team and you're like Russell no, uh and if it becomes very frustrating. But yeah, which brings us to our next story, because what's his record with coaches getting fired after he's played on their team. It's like, what it happened in Houston? Yeah, it happened in La Tyler obviously safe.
Wait wasn't wasn't Scott Brooks the coach in Washington that year? Or was that after?
Oh?
Might have been. I feel like he did play for me.
All I'm saying is it's not to say one's connected to the other, but it might be ominous when you do sign him of.
Something that might be happening on the team.
But either way, that brings us to the fact that now Mike Malone and the GM Calvin Booth are both out in Denver.
Just there's games to play.
Still, I don't understand this, and it please jump in here. I don't understand the timing of it.
What what is like, I'm this is the biggest question mark have you must win games coming up? And you're like not blogging. Lets you see where this thing goes. Yeah, I'm just like I'm not. Obviously I'm the last person to be a Mike Malone defender, but I am very I'm this is where I am ignorant, and I do not understand what the cronkeys are thinking, unless it relates to Arsenal Football Club, in which case they're doing fine.
But what, Warren, what what?
What?
What's happening?
Nobody has any clue at this stage, and anybody who would tell you that they do would be lying. I think, you know, you would have to talk to the Nuggets ownership specifically to get real insight into what's happening here. I just want to say, for me, this is going down as one of the more bizarre seasons of mav
of my generation, like by by far and away. And I'm not one for I perblee and you know, over exaggerations, but there's just been some weird issue that has happened, especially the second half of the season, since the turn of the year of twenty twenty five. And to do this with a team that is basically a year or a year and change removed from an NBA championship is just effing bananas. And if you're the Nuggets fan base,
you're just the here scratch in your head. Yeah he graded on people, and yeah he yelled.
And so forth and so forth.
But as you're alluding to three games before you get into what is supposed to be another playoff run with the best player in basketball with your kitch on your roster, like, I don't know, brothers.
I don't know, because one version here is like, well, you know, Booth and Malone they didn't get along. They were they were talking trash behind each other's backs constantly, and there's a lot of conflict. Other people were like, well he he's both strategy around drafting was was was not really uh it didn't really reconcile that with Malone
wanting to have veterans around and things like that. But like, there were just so many errors, like they let players go that they didn't replace, you're putting people on like max style contracts for that. It just there was just, I don't know, a lot of mistakes and it's hard to even say, like, yeah, you got to do that. Although the fans seemed to be calling for blood by the time of that Pacers loss, Yeah, they were like some's gotta have some something needs to change the.
Way you just laid that out and you know, and bear with me here, this was a lost reference. It reminds me of that episode of It reminds me of that episode of Asourage, that episode of Ontage where the Sklar brothers ended up having to get fired because they simply can't, you know, they can't coexist, Like that's it
for whatever. You know, that's just crazy to me. Like if it happened at the end of the year, open find like that's you know, that's fine, But like to go into the postseason and say, nah, we're fine, stay at the house.
I don't know, but but I mean, I think to you, to both your points, it's it's usually one or the other ownership governorship. Sorry, they usually pick a side, right like you know, like both of the y'audit. That sends the organization to even further chaos and dissension, especially if you're players in that locker room. I cannot wait, like I happened, I said, just getting home. Haven't dove into it. I don't know what the players are going to say and what their real thoughts are. You know, k is
not He's gonna not give you much. But there will be some guys who might be a little bit more of a boast, and some of the younger guys are gonna be like, Yo, what the hell just happened here?
Right right?
I'm it's I'm just scratching my head because I mean, Yokic is a malone guy, right like he likes Yeah, it seemed like that was fine, but then when you also, I felt like for the last few months, we kept we kept seeing this thing being hammered in the media over and over again, like, yo, he has nobody around that's at his level at all, Like, and this feels bad that this guy is putting in performances like this without any kind of tangible result in terms of a
winning record or you know, adding wins to the record. And then you're like, so, what is it is? Is a Yokic's frustration because I feel like after that that Blakers loss that I truly believe set off this whole down for Spiral, because what's their record against is then ten and twelve?
Since that, great.
Though they beat us again, but like seeing his Jokic's words after that, he's like, we just gotta want it more.
I don't know.
Again, we were also saying is he over his teammates? Is he just being a practical sort of leader and just being really honest and holding himself to account.
Does he want.
Absolutely new people around him? But that's gonna that's a complex that's a complex operation when you have one of the best players of all time and you're fumbling that bag.
The only thing that I can see, and again the timing is the only thing that doesn't make sense. But the only way I can see it is they look at the KI and they say, how much how much more great you know, how many more years of greatness do we have, whether that's three years or five years or whatever the case may be. We're not wasting another second of it. So if at the end of the at the end of this run they did that again,
I actually would have understood. But you know what, like kind of to Warren's point, this has been an absolutely crazy year around the league, and I guess this is, you know, this just makes sense.
So what like what is the move here?
Like if they say, you know what we need to put together, we need to win now, we need to win yesterday, what is even the most idealized version of what this offseason looks like to get there? And is one version just saying Yo, we're letting the league know. We just can the GM and the head coach. This might be just so you know, we we're open to some people coming to play with Nikola Jokic, just so
you know. I don't like, I'm just trying to help me make sense more like, what do you think that that could mean?
Or even again, what is the ideal?
They'm gonna just take us back briefly, I think, you know, to the Memphis situation and right where like ownership must be thinking like time is of the essence. We have some summons of a runway this year to make a change effort. Let's just do it. And I think what's and I don't want to get all you know, soft and sappy where the case be. But there's a real psychological aspect to the players who are impacted by the voices in the locker room here that I don't think
is being considered. So that's where I think that they've overshot this. Even if they feel like, well, we need to do it now because we have an opportunity right now, it's kind of bs if you ask me, And if they're going to do something long term, obviously you're not trading Joker himself. Then you're looking at the larger contracts of Murray, which you probably shouldn't have resigned to a max anyway, especially with how you looked after the Olympics,
but they love you. And then the larger contracts on Michael Porter Ji, who has been listed in trade rumors previous to this, Guys like Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown, Like they're like, that's not going to really get you anything, and they know that without doing a deep dive into what their draft capital is right now, it's some of those larger contracts, but I think other teams they will find are going to be hesitant, like, no gonna yeah, like Murray, Murray has his splashes, Like let's like a
call spade a spade, like just like he has he has issues. And then and Michael Porter Junior has has his issues have subsided in terms of those injuries. But you're not gonna be able to get top quality or top tier draftis with either one of those guys.
So you're kind of stuck in limbo.
And that's where I guess where they feel like, well, if you can't do anything, well let's change the leadership and maybe that will he us to boost in the locker room, to propel us forward.
I don't know, Miles. I mean, it's wild.
Hey, they got a good piece of Nickeoly. I'd say that that's a piece right there. Hey, And I would say, you know, bring him home, come on, come on home, Come on home, Nicola, come on home. Look I said that about Luca jokingly last year. But look, Warren Stranger. Things have happened, have happened. But yeah, it's I'm yeah, I I just don't know, like even I get that, like the other thing.
Yeah, the morale question is huge.
I don't know what this does to these players or they're just like, you know what, I man like, we weren't really going to go that deep anyway, and maybe people stay healthier. I just it's it's very very hard to understand, and I just don't I'm not sure what they're I just don't understand the calculus of it, because you have Jokic who's dying for support. But this doesn't seem the best way to sort of arrive at that destination.
Where you just landed is kind of where you know. I was listening to, you know, like as many analysts as I could about I'll be honest with you. It came in such a shock. I thought, Okay, it's something going on that I don't know. I know that they've been struggling on defense, but there has to be more. Friend of the Show, Jason temp you, no, no big deal. His opinion on it was it indicates that they just
don't believe like that. It is clear in that locker room and around that organization that the belief in their capabilities, you know, to win this year is just not there. So if that's it, I mean, and if ultimately that's the case, I guess you go ahead and do it. But yeah, that's a you know, crazy crazy.
But is that a punt tomorrow?
Is that more or less saying like all right, well we don't care, so fire the coach now and whatever the morale be danged?
Apparently, So maybe it was okay, and it's a complete speculation, But if it's that toxic, maybe it is like, okay, you know what, they can figure you know, like the assistant or somebody else can figure this out for now and we'll reset in the in the off season because we're going to have some sort of blow up, like for them to make this decision there. It had to have been at that point between.
Yes, they're exactly and they must truly feel they're like, man, Mike will there, Mike Belon cannot get a tune out of these guys at all, like at all, and maybe that is maybe from their perspective, they're like the second this guy's out, these guys will start to breathe again, like because they look, I mean the way he's he's like, he's ruthless as a coach, and you feel like some of those players are shook.
Trying to be like all miss ling from the coach man.
I want to play.
We we need whatever, we need some sort of insider man like get us you know, the locker room guy, the equipment manager or somebody somebody else, I mean, somebody, what's.
The what's what's the matter?
God named Rocky?
What are you here around around the time?
And look, and you don't have to use verbal language with me. You can just kind of gesture and like do drawings and we could do shad. Yeah, I will respect canonically that you do not speak, you know what I mean, But give.
Us the tea please love it all. Right, let's take a quick break. We'll come back and talk about the Celtics.
Man that because March March was only one loss, right, Okay, see feeling good?
Yeah, okay, so he came in there and wiped us up. Yeah you know it was one.
I can remember him because there were only two the last month and nearly a half.
All Right, we'll be right back and talking the.
State of the Boston Celtics right after this. And we're back. So the Boston Celtics. Vegas still thinks the defending champs have these second best odds.
Okay, that makes sense.
I mean like the cab and Boston are still pretty much the runaway teams right there in the East.
Makes a lot of sense.
This would be the first franchise back to backs in sixty eight sixty nine.
That records there.
Yeah, that record though, that record. I mean this this last was this since.
What beginning of March?
Two losses, both without Kristaps Perzingis and Jew Holliday at least one again, Yeah, think again. I remember a few weeks ago we were talking about how the three point shooting is so good that we're about to have three players break the franchise record with many games to go. Has Tatum also broken it already because Derek White and Peyton Pritchriard.
Three away from also breaking it, which is ridiculous.
Okay, so he needs three more three pointers and then he too will out break.
Okay.
So the previous very very very very big season, Warren, you're looking at this, this is good momentum. Things are They're just they're locking in at the right time as you get to the business end of things.
Feeling good.
Yeah, I mean, that's that's the best way to say them. I think, really and truly, this team has looked mediocre at times. You know, December and specifically was was rough in parts of January. But you know, Perzingis took some time to get himself back into proverbial shape. They have, you know, quietly you know, rested him kind of throughout where he probably could have played. Then he had this really strange illness. You know in February he was out
a bunch of games from there too. But when he's out there and holidays out there and why days out there, and all those guys, well Drew and Perzingis have missed the most amount the time. Uh, this team has looked like like the defending champions. So where you know, I think all all team fan bases get a little worried, a little concern, and you know, you want always them to optimize. But people who really understood that, I listen, this
team is kind of coasting. They don't need to win sixty six games or whatever it was, like, they don't They just don't need that.
Now.
While the Cavs came out here like you know, Gangbusters Boston, it's been kindly just like getting getting their stuff together. And now to be at this point of the season where we are where they actually still.
Technically tie Cleveland. Cleveland still has not somehow clinched the East.
Yet completely with the number one seed, shows you just the depth that Boston has had, especially when they've been at the height of their powers. So I credit Joe Miszula for just kind of keeping things like, hey, just riding the ship as necessary.
Has it been a great year for.
Sam Houser and some other other other guys, But this Boston team is rolling and they look like the Juggernauts that they were last year, Like.
Do you feel better about them having seen what you saw last year? Even though you know that the competition maybe, you know, maybe stiffer in this room.
There's there's a little bit more confidence, right like anything else, Like you have to see it one time, you know, And this is a team that hadn't gotten over the hump, had kind of blown a lot of games and just kind of like them, they let things slip through their fingers.
Now they have the opportunity to understand. So even with a stiffer competition in the Eastern Conference with Cleveland and New York to a lesser degree as well too, it's like, all right, there's a certain level of trust you have in this team as long as they can stay healthy. I will say that the shining difference here is I don't think they can lose Porzingis for an extended period like they did last year and have the same results. He is really the key to the ultimate level of
success for Boston. So while they're able to, you know, get past Miami and then get past was Atlanta or whoever it was, I don't even remember what happened last year or whatever, Like you know, it's just like might work. Sorry not Atlanta, Cleveland and then ultimately Indiana. That's again they will need porzingis a healthy porzingis a healthy Drew Holiday in essence, to be the best versions of themselves, otherwise the East could be a lot more challenging than they saw last year.
Yeah, I mean it also feels like, just like you're saying that that sort of wobbly run at the end of the year, beginning of the year, if that was even somewhat normal, like I feel like you guys would have.
Been even your record would be very close, if not better than last season too.
Like that just and again puts it on into perspective, like how still I still feel like there's not much has been lost there.
If anything more is gained because you have KP playing.
I mean, I'm interested from you all standpoint though, right because I obviously follow the team fairly close to you, and there's there's some people say this is a very deep team.
I'm like, I don't think they're that deep, you know what I mean?
I look its like, well, yeah, I think what people mean by that specifically is they have so many different guys that can you like, look, there's three point shooting team, and they have so many different guys that can you know, that could knock that down. So like when you're a team like like say the Lakers prior to the last couple of years, last year, right, Uh, if you had one guy, you were happy about it. Or if he
had two, yeah, you're feeling real good about it. The Celtics can put out an entire lineup of guys that can knock it down, so like that that is crazy, but in terms but that is an excellent point in terms of their ultimate depth. Uh, you know, and and of course you're not wishing anything negative upon you know, any team at this point, at this point in the game especially, but like, yeah, if someone were to go down, I would be a little bit worried. I would be
much more worried for you. So I think that was an extullent.
Jelly Brown only want some nagging knee thing right now as well too, So he's got to kind of keep an eye on that.
He's a trooper.
He's gonna continue to play through things because that's just who he is, and he understands the gravity of what they are altimately trying to do. But for me, I've always been like, well, I wish they would have just did a little something else to kind of shure up the wing, you know, kind of just just in case, and it doesn't need to be like this. You know, twenty five point per game guy, because that doesn't exist
coming off your bench. But just somebody who could give you a little bit more wiggle, you know, off that. I don't think that's gonna be Tory Craig or even a guy like Baylor Shireman, you know, I mean that's going deep dive for some folks here.
But I mean, I don't know if Shireman will even make the playoff roster.
But but I just wish they would have had something else there. But because they have so much interchangeability, we know through their lineup where Holiday can play up and White can even play up if need be, like you know, up to the three position, that's where they feel like, all right, maybe we don't need all that depth, but I just wish they would have had something else.
But this team is is obviously very very strong.
Well yeah, to that point. Wasn't Monnie Walker on the roster earlier this year? And I'm not calling him a savior of any kind, but look, I personally watched him have a very solid postseason performance, even if it was a singular one. I've watched that happen. So like, you know, how come they didn't, you know, why do you think they weren't interested in him.
It was just the numbers game, you know, because Tatum and Brown played they also play heavy minutes. So but I would like you, I was surprised that, you know, they let Lonnie go. He goes overseas, comes back science with Philadelphia, you know, and he's doing all right over there in Philly, and I think he's like, he's like kind of like the perfect guy, you know, for that
for that last roster spot. You know, they're they're they're trying to develop a guy like Tim when they're trying to develop Drew Peterson as well too, you know, from the main team as well. And sure, sure, right, there's nothing like a proven veteran, if you will. And again, I think we all kind of like Lonnie Walker, but there's some people who like the idea of Lonnie Walker and then what like she really is, you know at times, and I think I'm in the probably like the idea
better than maybe what he really provides. But I think from a depth standpoint, it could have been a solid move to kind of keep somebody like that on this roster, especially behind Tatum and Brown.
That was it.
We had a good run with Lonnie didn't we to worry at that one when he was Monnie Walker the fourth quarter, the fourth quarter exactly, good times, good time.
Oh, I'm glad you do that. Cheer four an organization where we would really have to hold onto that. But yes, that was a fun one.
He also has the most consistent smile in a roster feed, to the point that I'm wondering if they are just photoshopping different jerseys on Yeah, like photo this one between these two from the Celtics to the Sixers.
I'm like, the same.
Photo, the same photo. Shout out to photos out the jersey on them, right, Okay. I was like, if this man is able to hit the angle so accurately with the same expression, sign him up for modelings. I don't know what it is, but sign him up. Okay, just looking at this this postseason run, is there any kind of nightmare scenario for y'all? Is there someone you are
shooketh by or someone you're like rather not? Obviously you have all the confidence in the world defending champions, but is there What's what's the nightmare scenario and what's the ideal scenario?
Uh?
Well, listen, the Celtics have kind of exercised some demons against this Orlando team.
I don't I don't love it. No, listen, I'm not afraid. I just don't love.
It because we've we've had we've had some trouble with you know, their size.
You know.
Then you got guys get Isaac and Ben Carrow and Wad like said, they're just all very very rangy. You're kind of across and the Celtics have struggled with those types of things. So it could be a harder first series potentially, h then they would potentially want to be dealing with. But the rest of the acism really figured out in any way capacity as well too. Atlanta beat Boston twice this year as well. So I mean, like those first round matches again, not scared, you're just like a I mean, but.
There's no getting around it.
Yeah.
Yeah, And the last thing I'll say about it, like it comes from the first round because they're really no great options, Uh, get another series with Miami. There's just the lore of Miami that annoys Boston people to no end. So those three potential matchups in the first round, I was like, again.
Yeah, well should beat them? Should not?
You know, not be much of a series, but it could be like a hard five games, do you know what I mean as approached to like, hey, we just you know, running through them one way the then you look at the rest of the East. I mean, you know, they've handled the Knicks very very well, so not really concerned about what the Knicks bring to the table there. But Indiana also gives Boston a lot of our problems. Beat us twice again well two, they just run and
race up and down the floor. So to me, it's like if you end up in some semblance of that, Indiana cannot climb up, you know, to get into that second round, so you wouldn't see them until a conference finals potentially. But ultimately I think, you know, if you have to knick somehow, you know, don't do well in their first round. Again, I think even what what Detroit Detroit brings to a lesser degree make the series harder, not again, I want to reiterate, not something that's going
to threat, but just makes it harder. But you feel like against the Detroit team if they are somehow to upset the Knicks, Detroit is just like so inexperienced. But ultimately, for me, you know, the biggest nightmares one of those first round teams with all the history that Boston has with all three of them in terms of Orlando, Atlanta, Miami, all three of those could be it could be problematic in the first round.
Heard it here, first focus. What that means. What that means is if you were an anti Boston guy, if you're the local on the show, you know, shout out to you, Jack, and you want to see the Celtis go down. It's probably not going to happen, like in a shocking sense, but it's got to be death by a thousand cuts. So yeah, stiff, you know, you know, stiff competition throughout getting every round, get to get to the finals, and the Lakers go ahead and take y'all out.
I understand. There you go, and we tied it up. We tie it up. Oh no, no, we're still we got we got.
Work to do it. No, no, no, we would be tired at that point.
Oh yeah, because it's seventeen eighteen.
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready.
Has been brought to you, buddy.
And then we signed Nicolie Okis in the offseason. Baby, you couldn't write a better script for me to go to Fantasy town. Man, all Right, let's move on, because Warren, we do respect your acumen and looking at basketball teams, looking at the horizon, looking at.
The teams out there.
We've been doing a segment the last couple of weeks contender verse pretender and in some cases chicken tender if you feel that contender or pretender doesn't fit. And maybe this is more better described as a crispy, delicious, umptuous piece of chicken meat. Uh And there's no right there. The chicken tender is a noble piece of food, no disrespect. But it rhymes also, and that's why we did it.
So contender vers pretender, We've had the following the Calves contenders, Clippers, chicken tenders, Pacers, Dino Nuggies.
Nuggets, burnt.
Okay, Wolves pretenders, doves contenders but with a side.
Of your favorite dipping sauce.
Thank you so much for that, Jabari. But let's take a look now at some obvious ones and some hopeful just to get your assessment here, Warrenshaw, Boston and.
Tender Yeah okay, okay, just wanted to make sure just listen and keep it a butt Yeah okay, contender, what about the no sorry, the Rockets.
Pretender I'm not going, I ain't going, ain't going nugget them.
But but okay, they're they're yeah, they're they're not ready.
Fifteen to two over the last seventeen doesn't count.
They need more season than my guy, Like, they need to get get those get those playoffs bruises as you all were talking about, Like I just I got to see it to believe.
But again, they're gonna be hard out Yeah, sure.
Yeah, I mean they had Look that's that's they had a pretty easy run. Well I don't know, no disrespect, but that wasn't the most difficult running games, was it?
The Warriors begrudgingly oh oh nah nah, I'm standing on business pretender.
I don't believe this, oh.
Warren, I don't. I don't think.
I think yeah, I think there's a there's a lot of juice that Jimmy has obviously brought to this, to this, to this organization, and I think Draymond is kind of like willing it into existence since the All Star Game that we're gonna contend for an NBA championship or whatever. But I think, similarly to what we said in the kind of the outset is that they're going to end up in a first or second round matchup that is maybe a little bit above their their punching class.
And I even if again.
They get through, they probably get battered and bruised to ultimately not get to the to the promised Land.
I just can't see it with this roster.
Miles, stop you if you heard this. The Doves are as great as Steph is on a given night, and that's not shade several recent games he's been dominated, you know, fifty two to the other night, thirty seven, thirty six, they look incredible. Then he has a stinker against the against the Rockets, he shoots one for ten, doesn't ever really get you know, make an impact on the game. And you know, we see what takes place. Now that's to say the hell out of him. They did.
They blitz like he it was rap city. He had no space.
And yes, that's a young, plucky Rockets team that has the horses in essence to do that. But again, as you alluded to, if he ain't cooking, then it it's rap city.
For that team.
It's rap city because his shooting was in the basement.
Okay, you know, just some light turn of the century. I see you like turn of the Century BT references Okay, we're gonna have hits from the street on the next.
Episode, Cameron count his money while he's flowing for you.
Hits come on this show, baby, we need And finally Warren the Lakers just to get your take their temperature real quick.
Yeah, Oh man, I will I will, I will not.
I will not cave in the way that I would order now I want to. I will give you guys the nod of contenders here.
Oh okay, beyond all hell.
But I think when people y'all got Luca and it was it's.
Gonna take some time, they don't have it, and then Mark Williams thing, you know, back the way, so forth and so forth, I just think it was overlooking and maybe just flat out hate and understanding. These are generational geniuses playing together. And yes, the defense can be suspect at times. But I think there's there's this aspects of
situational defense. I talk about a lot of time, like, hey, if you can start to clamp up, you know, you keep the game close, and you clamp up the last six minutes of the fourth quarter or whatever it is, you can see a lot of things, especially with Luke and Lebron, you know, on your roster, and they make jack guys like Jackson Hayes, who you know probably should be a journeyman for all intensive purposes.
You make him look like a viable NBA player, are It's yeah, it's wild.
So they said, y'all make me a little bit nervous, but you know, I'll get y'all contender route.
Okay, that's fair.
Look, that's why, Warren you are our most respected Boston fan.
You know exactly. That love.
That's love. That's love.
I mean, we we only respect one and it's you.
Hey, it's a small club.
A jacket.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, shout out Josh Gondleman. Shout out Alicia to.
Uh you know, you know from Boston. Yeah yeah, we we have a couple of people, you know. But that's it. That's it.
That's small club.
All right, cool, all right.
Let's take another quick break and we come back. Warren Shaw sign for.
The fourth quarter rapid fire round of questioning right after this, and we're back.
Warren Shaw. You are a respected fan of the Celtics.
We respect you as a person, as an analyst, but now it's time to enter the zone of disrespect. It's the fourth quarter round of rapid fire questioning. We're gonna ask you a question. Just act quick, don't think, keep it, move it. If you hold the segment up, we will be rude. And I tried to rap like one of those SoundCloud kids that's not really rapping but real talking. But we've been away with it. I'm you know, I
hate to be an older head. We were just talking about rap City of the Basement hits from the street. But these kids ain't rapid.
No, I think everybody.
No, I don't want to I want to speed I do.
I'm like what okay?
What?
No?
Now you did sound like somebody that I was in too.
I mean that's like a lot.
That's a lot.
Anyway, this is called the Old Head Basketball Wrap Podcast, but it's not for the fourth rd question Naing Warrenshaw, you know the deal.
Here we go. Are you ready? It's her Brian, start the clock started. This is gonna go quick.
You want to go first?
Should I go first? I don't know how you feel about it, Warren? Which one of us should go first? Yeah? What are you sorry? Okay? Okay, that was quick. That was quick.
And not take that as disrespect.
I will I will. You know they don't.
Okay, I see it's on now.
It's not most or more dominant player Tatum in Bird's era or Bird today.
Bird today, and why that's the answer mentality.
Yeah yeah, bird Bird at meantime in the league.
Give me that, and I know, I just you want to see it.
Yeah, you gotta see that.
You gotta see it.
This is guy from some and they used to cry actual tears. Same about about Larry Bird.
Same you're saying, saying actual.
Tears about how much I but yes, give.
Me, but you gotta see it, you gotta see And an all time trash poker, I mean, come.
On yeah, yeah yeah, And Warren, I'm about to talk to some trash too, because we need to keep this thing moving.
Man.
Thanks you for trying to sneak that last comment in I'm keeping this going, Warren.
You can pick any former Celtic yeah, exactly.
You can pick any former Celtics legend to make a run with this current squad, except for the aforementioned Larry Bird because we already that.
That's I want to see that too.
Anybody else KG Yeah, yeah, I mean it's when you.
Have teams that are that in sact though, but yeah, you know, it was like it's only a few teams where you like any player and then you just say one of their greats and like, yeah, of course.
You're gonna get that one of the best.
Yeah, that's a good I would love to see, man, I would love to see KG playing with these dudes because it's I I love his commentary about it, Like these guys right now. I would love to see that energy on the court miked up zoomed in documentary Now, thank.
You ag hyping up porzingis Oh yeah, taking his chest, Oh my heart, that's what your boy would be saying.
Oh yeah, oh man, all.
Right, keep it going, keep it going. Seize trivia here for you. Who do you think they're all time franchise leader in triple double suits triple Holy hell eh Anton Walker he's number six on the list with thirteen. Yeah, let's see, I mean you can get Yeah, he's with thirteen.
He's sick Rondo he is four with twenty two. Oh my god, triple doubles.
Oh, it's all the people you think, number one fifty nine of them things.
Wow, number guy G seven and a half. Is this at some point eight and since yeah, yeah. Yeah, so that's I guess that's probably more obvious than than I'm giving it credit for.
Number two is someone I have disrespected in your presence on several occasions. Pires, No, that's that's just he's.
Number seven all of this.
Yeah, you got me.
I don't know old school go old school old Yeah, one hand, one hand on them one hand.
Who are you talking.
About, Bob Coosey.
I didn't know if they were keeping the record back then. Yeah, thirty three.
Cleaning it up, John having a third, thirty one, Yodge and Rondo twenty two. Bill Russell was seventeen.
Wow, that's what sorry, ye learned something today?
Yeah, thank you for this bonus. Best guess how many times has Larry Bird scored forty or more points?
Forty two?
Whoa close? Damn close?
That was very close the answer forty seven?
Man Warren, Okay, okay, I wasn't familiar with your game, young man.
Respect you.
I respect that, I respect that, I respect that. I knew you were all right when you were making Rap City references.
Sir, I knew you were good people. What about some bonus bonus? Can you?
Okay?
Are vetus be exactly the bonuses of the Booms. Give us how many Tatum.
Has forty point games?
Yep. And is it higher or lower?
I think it's slightly lower.
It is lower.
I'm going to say thirty seven.
Still close twenty nine?
No, dang, he's not.
Yeah. I was surprised by that, to be honest with Yeah.
Yeah, I mean I scaring like high thirties too.
Yes, they feel like yeah, yeah, they feel like And he's sitting in the fourth quarters of a lot of these games over the last couple of years at least.
Yeah, that's they're feeling like forties.
You know what I mean.
If you go by this per thirty six, maybe we get better exactly exactly.
Well, Warren Shaw, thank you for joining us. But before you go, oh, you have to help us pick the game of the week.
That's the game we're gonna.
Watch, all the listeners gonna watch, so we can talk about it briefly up top of the next show.
Our options are. Here's what we have on the menu.
On Thursday, we have the Calves at Pacers on TNT, Friday Houston at Lakers on NBA TV, and Sunday Clippers at Warriors.
Are your local or league pass.
The most important game will probably be Clippers Warriors Sunday, honestly just by virtue of where they're all like, they're like some sort of crazy five way times I know.
Right, is it like four through eight?
So like it could potentially have some kind of weird tiebreaker if they had identical records or something.
I thought.
I think the Clippers can control their destiny to like maintain in that in that five position or get as high as four, I think potentially. So yeah, Clippers Warriors by far and away of those three and Calves and Pacers.
No, no, thanks, I'm good, fantastic well, Warrenshaw again, thank you so much for joining us on miles and jabarga man Boosti's where do the people find you?
Follow you taking your work, taking your genius.
You are gentlemen's on scholars. I appreciate you can follow me at Shaw Sports NBA. Still kind of rocking out on next a little bit. I know I need over the Blue Sky donate me, but definitely follow the baseline of my guy Cali on what we're doing over there, especially with the great and the mighty nineteen Media Group as well to nineteen MediaGroup dot com brothers.
Thank you so so much. Guys are amazing, always great to hav it.
Thank you.
You can follow us. I'm on Twitter everything. If there's an ad symbol, search Miles of Gray, I'm there.
And on Twitter, I think I'm I think I'm still Joria Davis. I'm pretty sure.
Get it together?
What is it?
This is?
I need to well because I changed it a couple of times but didn't win because the league tweets it out. I was like, oh, I need to actually change that back. So I think it's Boria Davis and in on Blue Sky it's j Bori Davis NBA. For old school sake.
I will say, I will confirm now you are jabbari A Davis over there on Twita and look, you can follow the hashtag bad Boosty's BA sd I e s. That's your fin show leagues updates, and that's how you join the conversation on the discord.
Again.
All of that is very much available if you just search.
The hashtag mad boosties.
That is going to do it for us this week. We'll be back next week. Oh you get just one step closer, baby, the postseason, the business, and maybe all my dreams will be fulfilled or I will be a crumbling mess of pathetic emotion because I had deluded myself into believing that the Lakers were somehow infallible.
Stay tuned to see.
Which option we get.
It will be thrilling. We'll talk to you that Bye bye bye