Celtics are crushing the toughest part of their schedule w/ Richard White | First to the Floor - video Dailymotion

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Richard White (Derrick's dad) returns to the pod to discuss how the Celtics have managed their "11 games in 18 nights" stretch, and how his perception of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum has changed since Derrick joined the team. Plus, comparisons to last year's team, and are we still surprised with Horford's production at this point?  UPDATE: The Bucks have fired Adrian Griffin, and Terry Rozier has been traded to the Miami Heat!  Check out this week's underrated plays vid:      • The most underrated Celtics plays fro...   ️Subscribe to the podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast... Follow us on Instagram:     / firsttothefloor18   Watch live Celtics games with us: https://playback.tv/celticsblog  Please LIKE this video and SUBSCRIBE to the channel!  Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media Network! Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED when you place a FIVE DOLLAR BET. That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS in BONUS BETS – WIN OR LOSE! Go to https://FanDuel.com/BOSTON! The app is so easy to use and there are so many different ways to bet like:  ● Live Same Game Parlays ● Find Bets in the NEW Explore Tab ● Make a parlay in the Parlay Hub – the best way to find popular parlays ● And more!  DISCLAIMER: Must be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Tennessee, and Virginia. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.

Transcript

00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]

00:24 Wayne Spooney here for the First to the Floor podcast.

00:27 I'm here with my guy Jake Eisenberg.

00:28 Jake, how's it going?

00:29 Right, doing well.

00:31 Celtics are winning again.

00:33 Enemies are both improving and falling by the wayside,

00:37 it feels like.

00:38 But no, I'm good.

00:40 And far more importantly-- no offense, Jake--

00:43 we are here with Richard White, a.k.a.

00:45 Rambling Wreck, the king of Celtics Twitter,

00:48 I think, at this point.

00:49 Mr. White, how are you doing today?

00:51 I'm doing fine.

00:56 Thanks for having me on the show today.

00:59 So yeah, thank you for joining us.

01:03 And we got some-- we were going to jump right into the Cs,

01:07 but there's been some huge NBA news today, like a lot of it.

01:11 And probably far more importantly,

01:14 my kids' daycare is closed for the next two weeks.

01:16 So I'm struggling over here.

01:19 Yeah, it's going to be a tough couple of weeks for me.

01:21 But Terry Rozier traded to the enemy, maybe the worst team

01:27 he could possibly be traded to, the Miami

01:30 Haight for a protective first round pick,

01:32 and Kyle Lowry, which basically just contract matching.

01:38 So Mr. White, any concerns?

01:41 Do you have some PTSD?

01:43 Where are we going with that?

01:46 No, because I mean, I wasn't here when Terry was there

01:52 and everything.

01:52 So some of the history that some of the ex-Celtic players

01:58 have built up with the fan base is pretty

02:01 difficult to overcome.

02:03 So I mean, for now, I mean, at least by Miami doing that,

02:09 they can't get another player that's

02:11 playing in the state of Tennessee.

02:13 So yeah.

02:16 That's the different thing.

02:18 So it's-- but I see--

02:22 I saw online a lot of people like, oh, you know.

02:26 But that's the way the NBA is.

02:29 Somebody becomes available, and somebody

02:32 on a team that's not doing well goes to another team.

02:35 And that's supposed to be the final straw.

02:38 It was like Miami wasn't doing anything.

02:41 They get Rozier.

02:42 And now they're supposed to be favorites,

02:44 when the Celtics have pretty much 34 and 10.

02:51 If everybody's healthy, what does Rozier--

02:56 if everybody's there, what does Rozier have to do?

02:59 Rozier's got to go against Drew, Derrick, or JB.

03:05 OK, so I mean, if he can do--

03:07 That's right.

03:09 --more power to him, then he should be an all-NBA player.

03:12 I mean, that's basically what it comes down to.

03:16 I mean, Hero's going to have to go against whoever

03:19 doesn't guard that, or Derrick could be on Jimmy Butler again.

03:24 Miami seems to have PTSD when it comes to certain things.

03:28 It's like, oh, Jimmy took care of Drew.

03:33 So he did have a very good series against Drew,

03:37 but he didn't have a very good series against Derrick.

03:39 But so it's--

03:44 Mizzou is not going to allow them to dictate

03:47 who gets to cover who.

03:50 Because you see when the smart teams get to it,

03:53 and if they can pick out a weak link, they're going to do it.

03:57 A.K.A.

03:57 Luka and Kyrie last night, they just went over and over

04:02 and over again.

04:02 Because they didn't have Porzingis,

04:04 so they couldn't run that mismatch.

04:05 So they found the Js against either one of Luka or Kyrie,

04:12 and then that was like-- it was over.

04:13 So I'm not concerned about what other teams do.

04:19 And like you mentioned, Milwaukee's getting a new coach,

04:23 and New York's going to be doing something.

04:27 But if you're 9 through 2, you've

04:34 got to go a ways to get to number 1.

04:36 So no matter what chances--

04:38 what changes you make on their end,

04:41 you still got to get to the level.

04:43 If those changes actually work, as you're saying,

04:46 best case scenario, no team ever loses.

04:48 But just because you get--

04:51 Milwaukee got Dame, they're not doing

04:55 what they thought they would be when they got Dame.

04:58 So it's all a matter of chemistry.

05:00 It's all a matter of fit.

05:01 I mean, when it came to the Celtics,

05:03 everybody was-- worst case scenario,

05:05 oh, Porzingis isn't going to be able to do this.

05:08 And Drew, he didn't have a good playoff series.

05:11 And Derek came from the Spurs.

05:13 We never heard of him.

05:14 But I mean, if you choose to look at it with that lens,

05:19 then it all makes sense.

05:21 But there's probably something that's

05:23 going to be in the middle.

05:25 See, this is what we needed.

05:26 We needed Mr. White to come on here.

05:28 We've got to say it with our chest.

05:29 We're not scared, right?

05:30 We're not scared of the Miami heat.

05:34 This has really helped me personally, like my PT.

05:36 I felt like-- so living in Australia,

05:38 I'm a relatively early riser.

05:41 I get up 6.30 AM usually.

05:43 But I woke up at like 5.15, 5.20 AM.

05:46 And I could just like--

05:47 I could feel a disturbance in the force.

05:49 I could just-- I could tell.

05:50 I woke up.

05:51 I tried to look at my phone usually.

05:53 But I was like, I can feel something's happened.

05:55 Terry Rozier has the absolutely special place in my heart.

05:58 And to see him go to the heat is frustrating.

06:02 I think it is an upgrade over Kyle Lowry.

06:05 But it is important that like Kyle Lowry played pretty well

06:09 against us in the conference finals.

06:10 It doesn't seem to matter too much who

06:13 the heat kind of roll out there.

06:15 But I mean, I think it's a nice move for the heat.

06:17 But yeah, the size of this Celtics team

06:19 compared to the heat, like heroes--

06:23 hero, Rozier, and then they go Heywood, Highsmith,

06:26 or Jaime Jaca, Jimmy, and Bam, compared

06:30 to the size of this team, that's--

06:32 I'm never going to forget the devil magic and see Mr. White.

06:37 You've only been through one Miami Heat series.

06:40 We've gone through three wars in the past four years.

06:44 So I've been beaten down.

06:47 We lost two.

06:48 He's got two.

06:49 We won one in the finals.

06:51 True, true, true, two, two, two.

06:52 That's right.

06:53 Because I see that.

06:55 And they're always talking, oh, we beat them.

06:58 And back of my mind, I said, OK, you've

07:00 had two series since Derek's been there.

07:02 And it's 7-7.

07:03 So I mean, yeah, it's not as good as what you think it is.

07:09 And it's not as bleak as some of Celtic Twitter will think of it.

07:15 But this is a whole new year.

07:18 This is-- teams have thrown zones

07:21 at the Celtics earlier this year.

07:24 And they've done a lot better this year than before.

07:27 You can stick Kuzingas at the free throw line.

07:29 He can do like Jack Gibbons and just pop that shot all the time.

07:33 And there's not a lot they can do.

07:34 And then if you double and converge to him,

07:37 then you've got a disjointed defense trying to cover a slashing J.

07:42 And then when it comes to Miami, Derek shoots very well against Miami.

07:48 So--

07:48 He does.

07:49 --you're going to have him spotting up behind the three-pointer.

07:51 [AUDIO OUT]

07:54 Yeah, like earlier in the season, the first game--

07:56 Yeah, I mean, the--

07:57 [AUDIO OUT]

08:00 Because Derek White's kind of become the--

08:02 Yeah, they did win that--

08:03 [AUDIO OUT]

08:06 Yes.

08:07 [LAUGHTER]

08:08 He does well against Nixon line--

08:12 Atlanta, Charlotte, Miami.

08:14 [AUDIO OUT]

08:19 That's right.

08:20 All right, so how about you, Spoonie?

08:22 How are you feeling about the Rozier trade here?

08:25 OK, so on the zone thing, the Celtics, fifth most efficient offense

08:31 against the zone this year per synergy.

08:33 So yeah, absolutely dominating the zone.

08:36 That's kind of what Miami befuddled us with over the last two series, really.

08:41 And I think a lot of that is Porzingis, who's

08:43 one of the most efficient high post guys in the NBA.

08:48 I do think it's an upgrade on Lowry.

08:50 It's like a massive upgrade offensively on this version of Lowry.

08:55 Probably a pretty significant downgrade defensively, too, though.

08:59 Because Lowry's super annoying.

09:02 He just gets his hand into you.

09:06 Jimmy Butler gets his hand into the Jays' handle

09:09 and when they get to the high post area, stuff like that.

09:13 But he also takes a bunch of charges.

09:16 Terry Rozier ain't taking a charge.

09:18 That ain't happening.

09:20 And for all his athleticism, he's not a great on-ball defender.

09:25 We saw it when he was at the Celtics, where

09:28 it seems like he should be a great on-ball guy and he's just not.

09:31 So I do think it's a minor upgrade for the Heat.

09:36 But I think they give up a lot in a playoff series

09:39 on the defensive side of the ball, really.

09:42 Yeah, because they're going to have to play zone

09:44 because they won't be able to match up man to man.

09:49 Because the Porzingis thing is really going to be a big, huge thing.

09:54 So depending on what they do, where do they put Bam?

09:57 Because they only have one, like his handle, one of one.

10:01 They only have one Bam.

10:02 So Bam is going to be where?

10:04 And if Bam is not on Porzingis, that's problematic.

10:10 If Bam is on Porzingis, then he's picking and popping

10:14 and then the Jays have nobody at the rim.

10:16 Because like you said, Lowry's gone, so there's no charge taken.

10:19 Juro's not taking a charge, Duncan Robinson's not taking a charge.

10:23 Their options are limited.

10:28 But I mean, I get it.

10:30 The fans have seen Caleb Martin and those guys go off on whatever.

10:36 But--

10:36 [LAUGHTER]

10:39 Mm-hmm.

10:41 Oh, yeah, all right.

10:43 But the thing is, the last thing that I say

10:47 is this team is different in the aspects of things

10:52 that Miami could befuddle the Celtics with.

10:56 This team, as currently right now from what we've seen,

11:00 if they play like this in the playoffs, that's not a real big issue with Miami.

11:04 Because Miami likes to do things based off of time in the shot clock.

11:09 So like if we would get the ball to the Jays with--

11:17 seven seconds are left with the shot clock,

11:19 have a defense that would trigger the clock going down.

11:29 But we've seen--

11:30 [AUDIO OUT]

11:40 Oh, all right.

11:41 I think he's--

11:42 I think we lost Mr. White for a second here.

11:45 Here, there we go.

11:46 All right.

11:48 Here he is.

11:51 OK.

11:52 So what I was saying was if you get to the point where you're getting it early,

11:57 then the Miami can't use their voodoo magic.

12:00 Miami can use their voodoo if you get down to less than seven seconds

12:03 on the shot clock.

12:04 Yeah, that's right.

12:08 So look, the devil magic, it's our turn.

12:13 They got their win last year.

12:14 We didn't have the Latvian legend in Porzingis, the zone buster.

12:20 Yeah, having one bam, very crucial.

12:24 Especially now that we have Porzingis, that

12:27 feels like one of the main reasons that Stevens went and got Porzingis.

12:30 Like now, zone, switching defenses, that's no longer an issue anymore.

12:35 Like you saw it against Houston.

12:37 That was one of the first times we've seen them really just force

12:41 feed Porzingis like that over and over and over again.

12:44 It was like every possession.

12:46 I don't care who it is.

12:47 Is it Dylan Brooks?

12:47 Is it Jayshon Tate?

12:49 Which kind of reminds me of some of the defenders of the Heat,

12:51 some sturdy guys, even Jimmy, sturdy, smart defender.

12:55 Jimmy's 6'6", 6'7".

12:58 Porzingis can shoot over that.

12:59 7'3", that's not going to be a problem.

13:01 I don't care if you get a hand up.

13:02 That's going to be money.

13:03 And so that's definitely the absolutely the X factor

13:07 in that specific matchup.

13:08 But the Heats still have bigger problems.

13:10 If we're going to see the Heat, it's going

13:12 to come at the earliest in the second round

13:14 or in the conference finals again, just because of where

13:16 they're placed in the standings.

13:18 Still a little while to go.

13:20 But we'll leave the Heat there, and we'll

13:23 move on to our good friends at the Moccybox.

13:28 And I know the people in the chat, they want to see this first quickly.

13:31 [VIDEO PLAYBACK]

13:32 - The Sixers.

13:33 - Chantreuse.

13:34 - The Lakers.

13:35 - Chantreuse.

13:36 - The Heat.

13:39 - Chantreuse.

13:40 - Milwaukee Bucks.

13:42 - Chantreuse.

13:43 - Warriors.

13:45 - Chantreuse.

13:45 [END PLAYBACK]

13:48 All right.

13:49 All right.

13:50 So we get the Terry Rozier news, and we

13:53 feel like that's going to be the news of the day.

13:55 And then out of nowhere, the Milwaukee Bucks

13:58 have fired Adrian Griffin.

14:02 And there was no whispers.

14:04 I mean, obviously the Bucks, despite having a really good record,

14:08 have felt like a house of cards to a lot of people

14:11 that are really watching these games, mostly because of the defense

14:14 and Dame struggling a little bit.

14:16 But they still had their second best record in the East,

14:22 one of the best records in the NBA.

14:24 This is the best record after David Platt ever

14:27 of a coach that has been fired in season.

14:31 To do this before the All-Star break is a really big call.

14:35 So I'm trying to figure out if this is good or bad,

14:38 because I think it's pretty clear that he was doing a lot of stuff

14:43 on defense in particular that people didn't agree with.

14:46 And I think a lot of that has to do with the Bucks roster.

14:49 But if they are able to get a good coach like a Kenny Atkinson,

14:55 someone like that, that would potentially be an upgrade.

14:57 But I'm not sure if Kenny Atkinson is going

15:00 to turn Malik Beasley and Damian Lillard into a positive defensive backcourt,

15:06 or Damian Lillard is going to help Damian Lillard shoot better than 42%

15:10 from the field this year as a 33-year-old aging guard.

15:14 But at the top of the list, old friend, Doc Rivers, a Celtics champion,

15:20 reported that he has been kind of a voice in the ear of Adrian Griffin

15:25 throughout the season, which now feels kind of like an inside job.

15:31 Was Doc angling all season long to get this job?

15:36 And he was sabotaging Adrian Griffin the whole time with these schemes?

15:39 I'm not too sure, but I don't know.

15:43 Mr. White, how are we feeling about all this news today?

15:46 I mean, it doesn't really change anything.

15:52 It's a new voice.

15:53 They've got to put in a whole new system.

15:55 They have 39 games before the playoffs start to put in a brand new system.

16:00 And it's kind of like a cooking analogy.

16:03 I mean, if you have low-cut meat, then you're not--

16:09 I don't care if Bobby Flay is cooking.

16:11 It's not going to make any difference.

16:14 They don't have-- I mean, they have certain pieces.

16:19 Do you want Giannis chasing around after Jason Tatum on the perimeter?

16:25 Do you want Brooke to be guarding Porzingis?

16:30 And if so, then what Brooke does best, which is block three to six shots

16:35 the game, is null and void.

16:37 Because if he's there, he can't be out there where

16:41 Horford and Porzingis are bombing away from three.

16:46 The guards are the antithesis of the Celtic guards.

16:51 They don't keep people in front.

16:54 You can post up Damian Lillard.

16:57 You can beat them off the dribble, which is the bane of any defense,

17:01 because then you're in rotation.

17:03 And all it takes is if you make two smart passes is the first guy rotates,

17:09 OK, we got that.

17:10 But the second guy is iffy, and the third guy is non-existent.

17:13 And then you're going to get wide open catch and shoot.

17:19 Or if they're running around, you'll be able to attack a closeout

17:24 and then get back to the rim.

17:26 And then Giannis and Lopez are out outside of the paint.

17:32 And Jaylen Brown can go hammer away at the rim.

17:35 So that's the way I look at it.

17:41 I mean, yes, the season series is tied at one and one.

17:45 But that second game, it was like they weren't there.

17:50 I mean, it was almost like the one when Derek was there and Derek went

17:56 and everybody else sat.

17:58 Because it was that part of the season, and they were tired.

18:01 And they just kind of said, hey, we'll try this.

18:04 I mean, that was--

18:06 other than it being a national televised game, which the other one was too.

18:11 But it was like there was no energy whatsoever.

18:16 The Celtics didn't run any offense, so Milwaukee

18:20 couldn't get a read on what to do.

18:23 I mean, there's the closing lineup and the closing

18:30 offense in the last five minutes.

18:32 They never even showed any of what that was.

18:34 And what they do usually in those periods

18:38 is what will work against Milwaukee.

18:42 Yeah, and I think I always look at everything

18:46 through the lens of the Celtics.

18:48 And Joe Mazzulla takes his--

18:50 he takes his medicine every time this team loses.

18:53 And the way Miami looked, how discombobulated

18:58 they look defensively compared to how this team looks,

19:04 that's what a bad first year coach looks like is Adrian Griffin.

19:08 Right?

19:08 And then you look at how the Celtics looked.

19:11 Even last year when Joe was put into an impossible position,

19:16 he's not a bad coach.

19:17 And I think we all kind of can take that away

19:20 as if Brad Stevens thought he was a bad coach,

19:22 he would have been gone January 23, 2023.

19:27 Because they're not going to have this roster just lazily play

19:31 through a season with a bad coach.

19:33 I kind of respect the Bucks brass for just moving on quickly.

19:39 I mean, if you know he's not the guy, move on.

19:42 Get somebody else.

19:43 I'm not sure if that guy is Doc Rivers, who I think

19:46 is a fantastic personality coach.

19:49 Maybe not the best playoff coach.

19:51 But looking through the Celtics lens,

19:55 it's like clearly Brad Stevens believes in Joe Mazzulla

19:58 in a lot of ways.

19:59 And we've got an example of another team that

20:03 is on the cusp of a championship, one of the favorites.

20:06 And they've moved on.

20:07 So I just think through that lens,

20:10 it's kind of an interesting sort of dichotomy.

20:14 Yeah, I think it's a great point, Spoonie.

20:17 And I think a lot of this, the reports coming out today,

20:20 that Giannis was against Nick Nurse becoming the Bucks head

20:24 coach.

20:24 And that's kind of looking like a bit of a dodged bullet

20:27 from a Celtics perspective.

20:28 Obviously, he goes to the Sixers.

20:30 But I think he could have been more dangerous with the Bucks,

20:34 who need more creativity, given the roster that they do have,

20:38 as opposed to the Sixers, where they've got Maxi and B.

20:45 And they've got some more defensive pieces around them.

20:48 Whereas, yeah, you've got to find a way to get creative.

20:51 Like Spolstra, working some magic the way

20:53 that he does with the Heat.

20:55 The Bucks need a little bit of that.

20:56 Whereas, so you think a lot of the philosophies

21:01 and a lot of ideas that Adrian Griffin had,

21:02 that the Bucks front office kind of had no choice

21:05 but to be like, OK, this is Giannis' guy.

21:09 Giannis can decide to not extend right now.

21:13 We're kind of held over a barrel here.

21:15 We kind of have to do what Giannis says.

21:17 And one of the greatest things about Jason Tatum

21:20 is that he takes his hands off when

21:24 it comes to coaching decisions, personnel decisions.

21:26 He is lucky in the sense that Danny Agin and Brad Stevens are

21:29 some of the best ever coaches and GMs out there.

21:33 So he hasn't needed to kind of put his finger on the scales.

21:36 But Giannis so far, not exactly proven to be an awesome GM,

21:40 because Nick Nurse would have clearly been a better choice.

21:42 And now it looks like the Bucks are in a bit of a tough spot,

21:46 because changing coaches halfway through the season,

21:50 implementing new philosophies, new schemes,

21:54 it's really only ever worked a couple of times.

21:56 And usually those exceptions evolve peak LeBron James

21:59 when Tyronn Lue took over from David Blatt.

22:02 Yeah, absolutely.

22:07 OK, so Mr. White, we're going to jump--

22:10 oh, go ahead, please.

22:11 Yeah, the only thing was with the coaching and stuff

22:17 is if you study history, it makes a little bit more sense.

22:22 Because right now in 2024, everybody is glowing.

22:28 Spolster is the best coach ever.

22:29 When Spolster was in the same boat as Missoula,

22:33 LeBron wanted him out.

22:34 Riley said no.

22:36 Or else we're not even having this discussion.

22:38 I mean, Spolster is not Spolster.

22:40 If LeBron got his way, Spolster would

22:43 be doing video coordinating and all this other stuff.

22:47 So I mean, that's how tenuous it is.

22:50 Because one minute he's-- now he's

22:55 the greatest coach of all time.

22:57 And two or three years into it, just like Joe Missoula,

23:03 it wasn't there.

23:05 And they wanted to get rid of him.

23:07 So sometimes the transactions you don't make

23:12 are the best ones for you going forward.

23:16 Yeah, dude, absolutely.

23:18 I've brought up the Spolster first season,

23:21 LeBron trying to get rid of him multiple times

23:23 in defense of Missoula.

23:25 So I'm completely with you on that.

23:28 But before-- well, we're going to talk a little bit

23:31 about the Mavs Celtics game quickly.

23:33 But we have to jump into our ad read real quick.

23:35 And then we'll be back.

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24:10 Jake, Mr. ASMR Abby, do you have a bet for us?

24:16 No, I don't have a bet coming up.

24:18 But I have picked up, and I've been going to this.

24:21 Anytime Porzingis is out on a back to back,

24:25 do a same game parlay with Al Horford.

24:27 Because that man just steps up every time he's out.

24:30 11 points, nine rebounds, or six rebounds,

24:32 three assists last night.

24:35 And just chuck all the Al Horford stats together

24:38 when Porzingis is out.

24:39 And that's proved to be quite fruitful for me.

24:44 Yeah, I mean, absolutely.

24:45 Al Horford's perfect.

24:47 We will get to that in a little bit.

24:49 So obviously, Mavs-Celts were on, I think,

24:52 in a fifth game in seven days, I'm pretty sure.

24:55 Obviously, a back to back with travel.

24:57 Texas travel, so not that big of a deal.

24:59 They probably took a bus over to Dallas.

25:03 Tatum, 39.

25:05 Jalen, 34.

25:08 Derek White, six, but pretty impactful otherwise.

25:12 Drew, 17.

25:14 Drew was getting his threes up.

25:15 He had 12 threes.

25:18 And Horford, a tidy 11, six, and three.

25:21 So Mr. White, we want to know, has your opinion of the Jays

25:29 changed this season from before Derek got to the Cs?

25:35 And have you seen an evolution in them

25:37 since he first started playing for them?

25:42 Yes, they've kind of overhauled their most operandi.

25:49 When they started the season, Jason

25:54 was big on getting everybody in the room,

25:56 saying this is our goal.

25:58 It's not any of the individual awards, the distractions,

26:03 the noise, and all those things.

26:06 Because there's other one or two trick ponies in the league

26:12 that are always going to score between 35 and 40 points

26:16 a night because they can.

26:18 I mean, anybody with the amount of talent

26:22 could score 35 to 40 points a night, if that's what you want.

26:26 And then we saw last night, Cat scored 62,

26:29 and they lost to Charlotte at home.

26:32 So as far as the Jays, their willingness

26:38 to get off of the ball, to accept a double team

26:42 and pass early.

26:44 Before, they would get the double team.

26:48 Because they're good enough, they

26:49 could break a lot of the double teams that they got.

26:53 And then sometimes they can't.

26:56 So every time you do it, you say, well, I can do it again.

27:01 And then that's when you kind of fall into the Miami

27:05 seven seconds or less trap.

27:07 That's what they want.

27:08 They want you to take it mono.

27:11 So they've decided to swing the ball, which it keeps everybody

27:19 alive.

27:20 I mean, Derek is spotting up over there.

27:23 He knows the ball is going to come to him at certain spots.

27:29 So it's just like muscle memory.

27:30 And then your percentages go out.

27:32 I mean, there are times before where the ball doesn't

27:36 come on time on target.

27:38 And then you get it with like 1.5 seconds on the clock,

27:44 and you have to rush your shot.

27:45 And then your percentages go down.

27:47 And then on the other end was JB saying

27:50 he wanted to be all defense.

27:52 I mean, he already got paid and everything.

27:57 And some people was like, exhale, I made it.

28:03 I could just do what I did because you

28:05 paid me what I did before.

28:07 You didn't pay me for extra.

28:09 I mean, I wasn't paid $300 million for defense.

28:12 But he's really stepped up on defense,

28:16 which really makes the Celtics difficult because now JB

28:22 has one guard.

28:23 Derek has the other guard.

28:24 And you've got free safety Drew causing havoc

28:28 because he doesn't really have a per se guy.

28:32 And that's what makes the defense work

28:34 because you got basically with five starters and Al.

28:42 So it's like you have five guys on the floor that

28:46 can do multiple things.

28:48 And that's what makes the defense work.

28:51 You have Porzingis guarding the rim.

28:53 You have Al.

28:54 I mean, sometimes it looks like, oh, Al's on a guard

28:58 and he's getting beat or whatever.

28:59 But he's giving a good effort.

29:02 He's staying in front for most of the time.

29:04 And then that allows the Celtics to do stuff on the back end

29:07 because Al is not completely getting

29:10 blown by a guard or anything.

29:14 So that's the big thing that changed from the Jays

29:19 because you always knew they could score.

29:21 It was like the first year we got there,

29:23 Tatum was first on the distributing the rock train.

29:30 And now Jalen's doing that and playing defense.

29:33 And Tatum's playing defense.

29:35 I mean, when you get those six guys and five of them

29:38 are on the court, it's really competitive.

29:41 I don't want to be the one that lets it down.

29:43 So Drew's running around getting steals and deflections.

29:48 Tatum got-- he got the block on Grant.

29:51 Tatum got the one where I think Hardaway

29:54 was coming in the fourth quarter.

29:55 He got that block and went down.

29:57 And that pretty much sealed the deal.

29:59 So if you get to the point where everybody's pulling in the rope

30:06 where it's like, well, those guys are playing defense.

30:08 I'll just conserve my energy.

30:10 But it's like, no, those guys are playing defense.

30:12 I don't want to be the one that messes it up.

30:16 Yeah, I think that's a really good call out because I think--

30:18 in particular, Jalen--

30:20 but Tatum's absolutely guilty of this, too--

30:22 is that we know that Jason in particular

30:25 can be one of the best wing defenders in the NBA.

30:28 Jalen, I thought, specifically last year,

30:31 definitely slipped a little bit on that end.

30:33 And that is a rare-- it's a rare thing.

30:36 You get paid the biggest contract in NBA history.

30:38 And instead of trying to prove it

30:41 through getting out more shots, he's

30:43 actually taking less shots, willing to try and play

30:46 to make more, and also he's playing

30:47 the best defense in his career.

30:49 And it's not particularly close whatsoever.

30:51 And that was going to be one of my questions for you,

30:53 is that the defense was technically

30:55 ranked second overall in the NBA last year.

30:59 But it definitely wasn't as consistent

31:01 as it has been this year.

31:03 I think one of the most consistent things

31:05 about this team is how every night--

31:07 and that's why they won the Rockets game.

31:08 While Jalen and Jason looked potentially

31:12 like they had a late night in Houston,

31:14 turning the ball over offensively,

31:16 but they still brought it defensively.

31:18 And that's what kept them all in the game.

31:20 And Porzingis was able to take them home.

31:22 And I've got a little clip here on the Mavs pick and roll

31:26 defense.

31:28 And so you got Drew coming over the screen.

31:30 An underrated defender, Luke Cornett, plays it well.

31:33 And then you may recognize that guy at the end here.

31:37 He plays the lob perfectly, gets a hand in there,

31:42 and the Celtics are able to go down the other end.

31:45 But do you think that Jalen really taking it to a new level?

31:50 Because the consistency from a defensive perspective

31:53 is really on a different level this year.

31:56 Yeah, I mean, before Jalen, we'd have--

31:58 and we'd watch, and then maybe one and a half times the game,

32:04 he'd get beat on that door.

32:06 I mean, he does that to a lot of people.

32:08 So it's kind of like pressing teams

32:11 like to be pressed.

32:13 So he would get caught looking and get beat back door.

32:19 Well, those numbers of backdoor cuts are way, way down.

32:24 And even then, if they're up, the collective defensive IQ

32:29 of the team is someone's there.

32:32 It's not a straight line to the basket.

32:35 You're going to have to meet somebody at the rim

32:37 even if you do get that backdoor cut.

32:40 Yeah, and first of all, Derek coming over from the corner

32:47 and breaking up a lob.

32:49 There's not a lot of guards in the league

32:50 who have that timing and that ability.

32:52 So that's such an incredible play.

32:54 And Luke is kind of getting underrated at this point.

32:59 I was not a huge Luke guy going into the year.

33:01 But I think he's been playing really well.

33:03 And in that drop coverage against Luke v. Luka,

33:07 you know, he did a really good job.

33:10 But we can't.

33:13 And Mr. White, you can dodge this question if you want.

33:16 But we can't talk about that game

33:18 without talking about Grant Williams.

33:21 I would say the reception for Grant was like kind of icy.

33:25 I didn't expect it because it seemed like the guys really

33:29 liked him.

33:31 But also, I described him as like the friend you love

33:35 but don't want to spend like a 10-hour car ride with.

33:39 So how they-- like Tatum was going at Grant.

33:43 He like swatted that half-court shot

33:45 and was talking some stuff to Grant.

33:48 So was that the reception you expected?

33:52 And like what is your perspective

33:54 on the relationship with Grant and the other guys?

33:59 No, I mean, they're still friends.

34:02 I mean, at the end of the game, Derek waited.

34:05 And they did--

34:06 I saw that.

34:07 They did their startup dance and stuff.

34:10 So they still remember.

34:12 But I mean, the big thing is that they did not

34:16 want Grant to win because then you would hear nonstop stuff.

34:22 You would hear--

34:24 I mean, Celtic Twitter likes to pregame,

34:28 come up with angst scenarios.

34:31 Oh, Grant's going to make 50 threes.

34:34 He's going to--

34:36 well, I mean, sometimes they don't listen or pay attention

34:40 to those things.

34:41 But I'm sure it probably got to them

34:43 that you really didn't want Grant going on Instagram Live

34:48 tweeting his own form because--

34:51 so from that perspective, they were

34:54 going to play hard against him.

34:56 They weren't going to give him many open looks.

35:00 He got that one layup and kind of broke down the defense.

35:03 And Luca came in and spoon fed him an easy layup.

35:06 And nobody was there.

35:08 But all the other shots, they were like there, right?

35:11 So he was like 0 for 7.

35:13 So that's what they--

35:16 they put their mind to it to not let that person

35:21 have that different thing.

35:23 So I'm-- and Grant's going to be Grant.

35:27 And he had that one with WJB.

35:31 I don't know because that was in the second half.

35:33 I don't know exactly when that happened in the second half.

35:36 But I don't know if that kind of lit a fire under JB

35:39 because he was torching people.

35:43 Everybody.

35:45 Yeah, JB was-- yeah, the Mavs don't have anybody

35:47 to guard either of the Jays.

35:49 It was very evident.

35:52 But yeah, the Grant thing-- yeah, Spoony, like--

35:55 and we all have those friends.

35:56 It's like they're absolutely your friend.

35:58 You love them.

35:59 But they just-- they talk so much nonsense.

36:02 And they can't beat you in FIFA.

36:05 They can't bench more than you.

36:07 They talk like they can.

36:09 So I think that's probably what it was.

36:10 It's like, Grant, we're not letting you beat us.

36:13 There's just no way we're letting

36:15 you beat us, which is very funny that Grant has jumped Kyrie,

36:18 I think, in the motivation revenge rankings

36:22 for the Celtics.

36:23 Before we move on, I just wanted to note this comment

36:26 from Christine Ryan here.

36:28 Mr. White, I took my 10-year-old to meet and greet your son

36:30 and was so starstruck and froze.

36:32 Your son went above and beyond with kindness

36:34 to put him at ease and got him to smile.

36:36 I thought that would just be a nice thing to hear as a dad.

36:38 But I'm sure that's not very surprising to hear about Derek.

36:42 No, but that's the compliments that we love.

36:47 I mean, sure, he's done some pretty remarkable things

36:51 on the basketball court.

36:53 But if you get parents and stuff,

36:55 they come by and say, your son is doing this, this, and this.

36:59 I mean, that's the greatest compliment

37:02 a parent could get.

37:03 I mean, you don't want to walk in and have

37:05 them go the opposite and say that your child did

37:09 or something like that.

37:12 So that was really, really good.

37:14 And we tried to--

37:16 I mean, it doesn't take a lot.

37:18 And he's kind of growing into that as far as with the Celtics

37:22 that he could give just a little bit of something

37:26 and people just feed off of it.

37:29 They cheer for him.

37:32 And all he does is sign some autographs after he warms up

37:39 and says hi to people.

37:41 And it's pretty easy to do, but sometimes not a lot of people

37:47 do it.

37:49 Well, I like to hear that it's pretty easy to do

37:51 because I'm the father of a kid who's about to turn three.

37:55 So I hope he turns out half as good as Derek at this point.

38:00 Yes.

38:01 Yeah, I think that's a great part.

38:03 If we could all be more like Derek White and the White

38:06 family, I think we're all going to be on a good path here.

38:10 So very important question here.

38:15 I'm sure it's difficult at this point to control Derek.

38:19 He probably hasn't had a curfew under your roof for a long time.

38:22 But can you please enforce the rule

38:25 that he is no longer allowed to go on the JJ Reddick podcast?

38:28 And why did you let him go back a second time?

38:31 He already made the-- oh, yeah, I'm going back on there.

38:40 So yeah, he went back on there.

38:43 So we just got back.

38:45 We got him back.

38:50 Yeah.

38:53 So on Derek's shooting, because that's

38:57 kind of what the JJ Reddick curse is all about.

39:00 You guys still there?

39:01 Oh, yeah.

39:02 Can you hear us?

39:03 We good?

39:06 We got a little bit of a delay.

39:15 Can you hear us, Mr. White?

39:16 Yeah.

39:17 Can you hear us now?

39:26 We good?

39:27 Yeah.

39:28 OK.

39:29 Yeah.

39:30 All right.

39:31 So yeah, on the JJ Reddick curse, Derek's, I think,

39:36 gotten over it at this point.

39:39 And we're basically on a year and a half

39:42 of him being basically an elite three-point shooter

39:45 at this point.

39:46 Like, he was never bad as a shooter with the Spurs.

39:50 But I think his role on the Celtics and some of the shots

39:55 he's taking are shots he just never

39:57 would have thought of even bothering to take on the Spurs.

40:00 So what do you credit that improvement to?

40:05 Just his confidence level, personally,

40:08 his confidence level, as well as the confidence level

40:11 that his teammates have in him.

40:15 So a lot of these shots that you're seeing now

40:18 was like college Derek when he was the main go-to person.

40:23 The pull-ups, step-up threes, the come-off-a-screen,

40:28 hit the three.

40:29 Those were all shots that I've seen him do before.

40:32 And it was kind of like, well, why don't you do that in the NBA?

40:36 And it's like, well, there's so many other options.

40:42 But now it's like you can see them actually run plays for him.

40:50 When he first got there, he was kind of the guy in the corner.

40:56 If they got into a double-team situation,

40:58 they would do a kick-out.

40:59 Now it's like he's running the UCLA cuts

41:04 and cutting across.

41:06 And it's like, OK, when that comes,

41:09 then it's like he is 1A option on that

41:14 when he goes in motion on that.

41:16 So he knows he's going to get it if the defense shifts.

41:23 But then again, he's running it off of Borzangas.

41:27 He's running it off of Tatum.

41:30 No matter how well he's shooting,

41:33 he's third on the depth chart as far as defensive awareness.

41:38 So you can't guard everybody.

41:40 And that's what makes the Celtics' offense run

41:43 so efficiently, because they really, truly

41:46 don't care who scores.

41:49 Sometimes you'll see during the game,

41:51 it's like you don't have to force anything.

41:55 If you just run your offense, the shot distribution is there.

42:03 Sometimes it changes, like the Houston game.

42:07 Derek and Borzangas had a lot more shots,

42:10 because it wasn't necessarily a J day.

42:13 And then last night, it wasn't necessarily Derek's day.

42:17 And Borzangas was out, and it was a J day.

42:20 So you have different things.

42:25 Last year, the Miami curse or whatever,

42:28 if they locked down the Js, they didn't have an offense, per se,

42:34 to generate anything.

42:36 So in game seven, Tatum's on a bum ankle.

42:43 And then they could concentrate on Brown.

42:46 And it didn't go well.

42:48 And then Derek had a stretch where he brought it back,

42:52 and then he got hurt.

42:56 So it was like, oh, if we'd just beaten the Nuggets,

42:59 I mean, just gotten beaten Miami.

43:01 It's like, the team that would have showed up

43:05 playing the Nuggets is not what you would have wanted.

43:08 Because JT would still be coming off his,

43:12 and Derek would be down there.

43:14 And Brogdon had the shoulder or whatever.

43:17 So they were pretty limited.

43:20 So sometimes you learn to live another day.

43:24 And hopefully, again, hopefully this year,

43:26 they get back there again.

43:28 Yeah, absolutely.

43:29 As long as Derek continues to be aggressive.

43:32 So obviously, pass along the message from us

43:35 is that this podcast and our giant audience is--

43:41 to see him continue to fire away.

43:43 And he's talked about through Popovich and coming to Boston

43:47 and knowing that he belongs.

43:51 And the season that he's had this year,

43:54 to see him blossom into a guy that we were really

43:57 confident and excited that he could be this year,

44:00 from what we've seen as a Celtic,

44:02 he gets more and more comfortable.

44:05 Even if it isn't necessarily an improvement,

44:07 it's just a willingness to fire away in a way

44:09 that he hasn't before.

44:11 He's shooting 6.63s per game this season.

44:15 That's the highest of his career.

44:18 Actually, there was a year in San Antonio, 6.8.

44:20 And he was 35% in that year as well.

44:22 But to do it on 40% this year, the poor zingers,

44:27 Derek White, pick and roll, late in games,

44:29 I mean, that's turning into just--

44:31 like, when teams are collapsing in on that because of how

44:34 dangerous it can be, and then Derek's finding Jalen

44:37 and Jason out of that into compromised defenses,

44:42 I mean, it's so hard to stop these guys.

44:44 So as long as Derek remains aggressive,

44:48 that's the most important thing to us.

44:50 And you can dodge this question.

44:53 But the chat's asking me to ask.

44:54 But obviously, the Celtics weren't able to get--

44:57 and Derek wasn't able to agree to a contract extension.

44:59 But can we dream of Derek White's jersey

45:05 going in the rafters one day?

45:07 [LAUGHTER]

45:09 I don't know.

45:09 First thing is, get Derek's jersey in the stores.

45:13 Because people are like--

45:15 they're like DMing me.

45:17 How do we get Derek's jersey?

45:19 We can't find it.

45:20 It's not in the store or whatever.

45:21 So yeah, we were there last week.

45:25 And yeah, there weren't any jerseys in the stores.

45:27 What?

45:29 No.

45:31 Blasphemy.

45:33 I know.

45:33 Because people are always asking.

45:35 They were asking me how to get his Colorado jersey.

45:38 And they don't have those.

45:40 And they didn't have other jerseys.

45:43 So yeah, so I mean, it's going.

45:47 And like you said, you don't really

45:50 have to tell them to be confident because we saw that

45:52 last night because in the past, when he was one for six,

45:57 he had to shut that down.

45:59 He would not have taken another shot.

46:01 So he took six more.

46:02 So he made one big.

46:05 But he was still out there taking the shot.

46:08 So people-- sometimes you just have to keep going.

46:14 I mean, he took his shots early in the quarter.

46:19 But then when they got down to the crunch time,

46:22 then it was pretty much the Jays.

46:24 And so he could be aggressive.

46:28 But then when it came to winning, it's like, well,

46:30 this isn't really my night.

46:31 But we'll let somebody else carry.

46:35 Because him and Porzingis carried the night before.

46:37 Yeah, I mean, they absolutely dominated in Houston.

46:43 And the Jays were going.

46:44 I mean, when those two are going off like that,

46:47 sometimes you just got to step aside.

46:49 So I totally get it.

46:50 But so the Celtics had the audacity

46:55 to lose their 10th game of the season

46:58 after over half the season is over.

47:01 I mean, how could they?

47:04 But you're very on Twitter, Mr. White.

47:07 And I'm sure you see--

47:09 Yeah, which we absolutely love.

47:11 Which I'm sure you see the overreactions

47:14 to when this team loses a game by two points

47:17 to the defending champs.

47:20 That one hurt.

47:21 Yeah, that--

47:22 [LAUGHTER]

47:23 Yeah.

47:23 [LAUGHTER]

47:26 That one hurt.

47:27 But also in the grand scheme of a season,

47:31 kind of not a big deal.

47:32 Are you surprised at how people react to this team?

47:35 And do the guys in the locker room see that stuff?

47:41 I mean, they have to be aware of that.

47:44 So basically, the Celtics, they play, what, 44 games?

47:50 Their record is 34 and 30.

47:53 So I mean, that's basically what it is.

47:56 Every loss is a referendum.

47:58 Every loss is three times what it normally is.

48:02 Oh, we lost to the Nuggets.

48:03 Oh, with the defending champs.

48:04 Oh, I guess we can't win the championship

48:06 because we lost to them.

48:07 We hadn't won.

48:08 Oh, we lost to Charlotte, which was an overtime.

48:13 Oh, we lost the game to Philadelphia.

48:15 Oh, we got boat raced against Milwaukee.

48:20 But that was extenuating circumstances.

48:23 That was the ultimate schedule loss.

48:25 And there was no way that--

48:28 the Bucs had rest.

48:30 The Bucs could not lose that game.

48:36 They could not lose that one.

48:38 And so it's like--

48:42 the one thing I don't know-- and sometimes I

48:44 have to check myself before I put stuff out there,

48:48 where some people just tweet and just let it go and then

48:53 deal with the repercussions.

48:54 I actually think about it.

48:57 But I think that it's disappointing that they lose.

49:02 But they're 34 and 10.

49:05 Everybody, all the other 29 teams, are less than that.

49:09 So yes, the whole league is flawed.

49:13 So if everybody wanted to say the whole league is flawed,

49:16 this team can't do this, this team can't do that, that's fine.

49:19 But if you just want to single out, oh, the Celtics are

49:21 supposed to be the number one team, they can't lose.

49:26 I mean, they're not the Warriors.

49:31 They're not the Bulls, 72 and 10.

49:35 But in stuff like 73 and 9, I mean--

49:39 but you don't have to be.

49:41 You just need to win enough games to get the number one

49:45 seed, get to the playoffs healthy,

49:48 and then take it for what it's worth.

49:53 If we get to the playoffs with a high seed and everybody

49:57 healthy, the odds are in their favor.

50:00 Now, that doesn't guarantee that you're going to win,

50:02 because there are upsets.

50:04 I mean, Buster Douglas beat Tyson.

50:07 Was it Virginia lost to a 16 seed?

50:12 I mean, things do happen, but there's

50:16 a lot of people on Twitter playing 14-game parlays

50:20 to figure out how to make it so the Celtics team isn't good.

50:27 Just appreciate what they're doing.

50:31 They're playing well.

50:33 And I saw somebody in there today, Griffin.

50:38 Griffin was let go.

50:40 And he was like, oh, Brad, you should let Missoula go.

50:43 It's like, Joe is fine.

50:46 Joe is doing awesome.

50:47 But I mean, when teams don't make shots,

50:51 when teams don't defend, and they

50:53 don't play with the energy and force,

50:55 they're going to look bad.

50:56 And the 34 times it worked, it's all the players.

51:03 And the 10 times it didn't, oh, Missoula didn't do this.

51:05 He didn't put in this rotation.

51:07 They're shooting too many threes.

51:09 It was like, they had to shoot threes.

51:11 You realize the second highest shooting team that

51:15 shoots threes is the Mavericks.

51:18 And the other time that they did it was against Sacramento.

51:22 And two teams set a record, pretty much,

51:25 for most combined threes.

51:27 So you lose the math advantage if you don't take threes.

51:32 I mean, it's one thing.

51:33 And you're not guaranteed that if you

51:35 take all the mid-rangers that you'll actually

51:38 make them either.

51:40 Yeah, well, I would never play a 14-leg parlay.

51:43 That's definitely not me.

51:45 The seven.

51:47 The audience would love to know.

51:48 I mean, if anyone was going to be the one to kiss Derek White

51:55 on the bald head that wasn't his wife or his family,

51:58 I was hoping it was going to be me.

52:00 But unfortunately, Porzingis has beaten me to the punch.

52:04 What did you think of the beautiful moment

52:06 between Chris Tapps and Derek?

52:08 I mean, I didn't see it.

52:10 Because we were--

52:12 Oh, you were at the game.

52:13 We were at the game.

52:14 And it was on the far end.

52:16 So I mean, I could see him sitting down or whatever.

52:19 But I didn't see that until later.

52:22 And then I saw clips of that.

52:25 But yeah, once Porzingis got traded here,

52:30 and it was kind of-- it's like, Derek is like,

52:33 well, how do we get clips?

52:35 Where does he want the ball?

52:37 And how he could use that.

52:40 I mean, Derek's always done really well

52:42 with pick and rolls, with bigs who can set screens.

52:46 I mean, he had Marcus Aldridge, and all the good screen setter.

52:50 Jakob Perl is an excellent screen setter.

52:54 And Porzingis is a screen setter.

52:56 I mean, a lot of people set screens in air quotes

53:00 just because they think they're going to get the ball.

53:02 And they slip.

53:03 And they do all the other things except put a body

53:06 on the person guarding the ball.

53:08 Beat him.

53:08 [LAUGHTER]

53:12 So I mean, the minute you actually make contact,

53:16 you're more apt to be open.

53:17 Because then Derek's going to turn downhill,

53:20 and the defense is going to leave you.

53:22 And then you're going to be wide open.

53:24 So that's the big thing, especially in the NBA today,

53:28 where you see a lot of people going to kind of set a screen

53:33 and slip.

53:34 Al is awesome on screens.

53:36 And sometimes I think the refs pick on him.

53:39 Because I mean, technically, if you want to call Al,

53:43 Al gets all these illegal screens,

53:45 then bam, it's in foul trouble every game.

53:47 Yeah, I think if you--

53:52 bam, I mean, that guy, he hasn't set a legal screen,

53:57 I don't think, since he's set foot in the NBA.

53:59 Since high school.

54:01 It's absolutely ridiculous.

54:04 Before we let you go, Mr. Y, I know

54:06 Spoonie's got a play for you that we'd

54:09 love to get your reaction to.

54:11 Just go ahead, Spoonie.

54:13 OK, if I can set the stage here, right?

54:16 Like I said, I have a about to be

54:19 three-year-old Ben Vallis, the guy who started this podcast

54:23 who can't make it because he's traveling.

54:25 And I think Jake, probably going to be a dad sometime soon

54:28 because he's married.

54:30 So you're on the phone.

54:32 I want to make sure you can see this play.

54:35 But to set the stage, the Raptors game,

54:39 I think it's 107, 105.

54:42 And I just want to get your thought process

54:45 while you're watching your son make a play like this.

54:49 So let me know.

54:51 Can you see the play when I run it right now?

54:54 Yes.

54:55 OK, all right.

54:56 So Derek's going to get the ball here.

54:58 He's going to be defended by Gary Trent Jr.

55:01 So when he gets it and he loses the ball and spins around,

55:08 what are you thinking as a father

55:10 when he's got the ball in this position

55:12 and he's losing it?

55:14 OK, so this is something that's happened actually before.

55:19 Senior year on senior day, last game at CU, same spot.

55:26 I mean, the college has the--

55:29 the bench is a little up higher.

55:31 But it was like the same spot.

55:32 He got stuck.

55:33 He got stuck.

55:34 And the announcer goes, he's got a-- he backbreaker.

55:38 So he had done that exact same thing before in college.

55:43 So when he got into that, I thought, here we go again.

55:46 I didn't know he was going to make it.

55:48 But I think they made that exact same shot before.

55:51 And that's what you said, aggressive Derek.

55:55 Because he would have gone in and maybe tried to do something.

55:59 But nothing was really open at that thing.

56:01 Because he can't get it to Sam because that's

56:04 too long of a pass.

56:06 And he could have passed it to Jay at the top.

56:10 I think that's true.

56:10 But that's--

56:11 It's true.

56:12 That's logo.

56:13 [LAUGHTER]

56:17 That's not his-- that's not his forte.

56:19 So I've seen him be aggressive.

56:21 I've seen him take it.

56:22 And then when it went in, it was like,

56:25 that's exactly the same shot.

56:27 So it's not something that he hasn't done before.

56:30 So when he's releasing it, what are you thinking in your head?

56:35 Are you concerned?

56:37 Or are you just thinking, oh, it's just a regular season

56:40 game.

56:41 It doesn't matter.

56:43 No.

56:44 I've seen them work on that during the summer.

56:50 Came out, they worked on that elbow extended three.

56:56 So I've seen him take it before.

56:58 So I had confidence in him.

57:02 I mean, at that point in the season,

57:04 he was shooting even better than he is now.

57:08 Yeah, he's been ridiculous.

57:14 And especially the clutch shot making.

57:17 I mean, he's a heat killer.

57:19 I mean, the Toronto Raptors must hate Derek White.

57:21 He has just been just ridiculous in the clutch

57:25 against those guys this year.

57:27 But Mr. White, I mean, we really appreciate you coming on

57:30 and sharing some insight on just basketball

57:34 in general and Derek White.

57:36 And we love having you as part of Celtics Twitter.

57:39 I mean, you and Dan Greenberg sharing

57:42 the throne of Celtics Twitter is not something

57:45 I think we all saw coming.

57:47 But we're happy that that's the universe that we're living in.

57:50 No, I mean, that's awesome.

57:53 If you get data points out there,

57:56 let people do what they may.

58:00 I mean, you can have a dissenting opinion or mindset

58:04 or whatever, but at least have it be factual based.

58:07 If you can't put numbers to it, oh, well, they never make that.

58:11 So never and always, the minute you say that,

58:14 my ears perk up because you're not right.

58:17 - Yeah, absolutely.

58:22 And like the ATO stuff, people hating on Joe for that.

58:27 And he's one of the best in the league.

58:28 But we won't get into that.

58:30 Mr. White, this was awesome.

58:32 Thank you so much for spending an hour with us.

58:35 We truly don't deserve it, but we appreciate it.

58:39 Jake, buddy, as always, love your work.

58:41 And first to the floor, Wayne Spoonie, we are out of here.

58:45 - I love the Celtics!

58:48 (upbeat music)

58:50 (upbeat music)

58:53 (upbeat music)

58:56 (upbeat music)

Celtics are crushing the toughest part of their schedule w/ Richard White | First to the Floor

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