- 2 years ago
The Boston Celtics played like a finely-tuned luxury car in their 114-94 blowout of the Miami Heat on Sunday in Game 1, and it was thanks in part to the addition of star big man Kristaps Porzingis this past offseason. To take stock of that Game 1 win, what we expect to see in Game 2, and a quick chat about Porzingis' luxury car collection (all Mercedes-Benz) the hosts of the CLNS Media "Celtics Lab" podcast put together an extraordinary start to their 2024 postseason coverage.
Do the Heat need to play dirty to win? Should key players come out earlier when Boston is up big, and will they match Miami's physicality? Can the Celtics maintain their focus through all four quarters?
But most importantly, get the inside scoop on KP's love for some of the most interesting vehicles you'll see on the streets of the city of Boston.
0:00 Intro
2:15 DIRTY play by Caleb? + Can Heat can steal a game?
31:30 Kristaps Porzingis INTERVIEW
The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS
Do the Heat need to play dirty to win? Should key players come out earlier when Boston is up big, and will they match Miami's physicality? Can the Celtics maintain their focus through all four quarters?
But most importantly, get the inside scoop on KP's love for some of the most interesting vehicles you'll see on the streets of the city of Boston.
0:00 Intro
2:15 DIRTY play by Caleb? + Can Heat can steal a game?
31:30 Kristaps Porzingis INTERVIEW
The Celtics Lab podcast is brought to you by Prize Picks.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network.
Get in on the excitement with PrizePicks, America’s No. 1 Fantasy Sports App, where you can turn your hoops knowledge into serious cash. Download the app today and use code CLNS for a first deposit match up to $100! Pick more. Pick less. It’s that Easy! Go to https://PrizePicks.com/CLNS
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Alrighty, welcome to the Celtics podcast brought to you by prize picks the exclusive fantasy
00:13 basketball partner of the CLNS media network.
00:15 And if you enjoyed this podcast, check out the How about them Celtics podcast, the first
00:19 of the four podcasts and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS
00:23 media network.
00:24 My name is Cameron Tebbits-Dubai.
00:25 I am your host.
00:26 I'm joined by Alex Goldberg.
00:28 He plays base for Divine Sweater.
00:29 They do our intro music.
00:30 And I'm also joined by Dr. Justin Quinn and down in Mexico City.
00:34 Alex and Justin, what is up?
00:36 Here in Brooklyn, New York, we're hanging out.
00:38 We got the cat on the couch.
00:39 She's sleeping.
00:40 I have Nick's Sixers pulled up and I am watching Joel and Bede flop around like a fish.
00:46 But it's a competitive game.
00:47 Tyrese Maxey is doing things we are vibing, hanging out, chilling.
00:52 It's all good here in Brooklyn.
00:54 Dr. Quinn, how are you?
00:57 Cold.
00:58 And yesterday I was hot, giving me some serious New England vibes here in Mexico City.
01:03 I do miss you guys up there and your weather.
01:07 But other than that, pretty good.
01:09 You?
01:10 Great.
01:11 I might be joined by a cat as well, which is why people come listen to the Celtics podcast
01:15 to hear us talk about our cats.
01:16 I suspect a lot of people tuned in to hear my conversation with Chris Tapps-Porzingis.
01:21 That's going to be in the second half of the podcast.
01:23 We call it the lab portion of the programming.
01:26 And I'll explain more about that later, but that's coming up.
01:29 Until then, the Boston Celtics are playing basketball.
01:32 And actually, I will say it was really important to Porzingis and his camp that we did this
01:36 story where this interview comes from before the playoffs.
01:39 They made it very clear that he was not doing any off the course stuff once the playoffs
01:43 began.
01:44 And that was a private conversation, so it wasn't for lip service.
01:47 They really meant that.
01:48 So we made sure to get that done.
01:50 So this is recorded before the playoffs began.
01:53 But the Celtics are indeed amid the postseason.
01:56 They're playing the Miami Heat again, the seventh time and fourth time in five years.
02:02 So I'm sure listeners to the podcast are familiar with not just the Miami Heat, but with what
02:06 went down in game one.
02:07 So we will predominantly talk about what we're looking for in game two.
02:12 But because it just keeps coming up, let's just talk about it.
02:17 Dirty play, physical play, dangerous play.
02:19 I have my take.
02:20 Alex, what about you?
02:23 My take is, all right, so the normal brain, good basketball analyst who does his research
02:31 and looks at all the angles and thinks about all sorts of things take is that Drew Holiday
02:37 bumped Caleb Martin and he knocked Jason Tatum to the ground.
02:41 Nobody should care about this, blah, blah, blah.
02:43 And I am here, good people, to say screw that noise.
02:49 I hate the Miami Heat.
02:51 I hate this team so much.
02:53 I hate their fans.
02:54 I hate everything about them.
02:57 Caleb Martin, I don't know if you got pushed.
02:59 I don't know what your momentum was about.
03:01 I don't care.
03:02 You nearly injured my star player.
03:04 And so you are my enemy.
03:07 And Caleb Martin has been my enemy for at least two years.
03:10 Because the Miami Heat only won last year in that series because Caleb Martin decided
03:16 to turn into Klay Thompson for no reason at all.
03:20 And then promptly reverted to being Caleb Martin, a regular guy who just does stuff
03:25 and misses threes and brick shots and generally is not very good at basketball, at least on
03:29 the NBA level.
03:31 So my take on this, Cameron, regardless of what the well-reasoned, thoughtful basketball
03:37 analysts are, is that screw Caleb Martin, screw the Miami Heat.
03:41 I hate this team so much.
03:42 I want them to suffer over and over and over again.
03:45 I don't care about whether Drew Holiday pushed him or not.
03:48 All right, Dr. Quinn.
03:52 So I guess I will strike a balance between those two polarities in that I don't think
03:56 it was a dirty play in a vacuum.
03:59 But as I've said plenty of places elsewhere, this didn't happen in a vacuum.
04:04 The Miami Heat did this.
04:05 The Miami Heat always do this.
04:07 And I didn't want to play the Miami Heat, even with Jimmy Butler out, because of this.
04:14 The possibility of getting hurt is always higher in the playoffs because the play is
04:19 more physical.
04:20 But you can look at the Philadelphia 76ers, for example, or the Orlando Magic or the Oklahoma
04:25 City Thunder or even the Minnesota Timberwolves as teams that play physical without brushing
04:32 right up against the edge of what you would call dirty play.
04:37 And maybe individually, we aren't going to call these plays dirty.
04:41 But at some point, we need to, one, and this is a teaser to what's going to come in this
04:48 particular conversation, a different way for the Celtics to play in response to that needs
04:53 to be happening.
04:54 And the referees also are probably going to want to call these games a little bit more
04:58 tightly nuts.
04:59 I know they're de-emphasizing making calls and all that good stuff.
05:02 But if they don't want a malice at the palace kind of a situation to happen, they do want
05:07 to make that whistle happen a little more often.
05:09 The thing that we really need to emphasize and stress here, folks, is that Miami does
05:13 not have a path to doing anything of relevance in this series other than rat mode garbage
05:19 nonsense.
05:21 That's literally the only way that they can win any of these games.
05:25 Without Jimmy Butler, who I have immense respect for, even though he is my enemy as well, without
05:30 Jimmy Butler, there is no path for Miami to win this series other than injuring people.
05:35 So I would fully expect over the course of the next two and a half games, whatever it
05:39 is, that they're going to do all of that on the edge of physical/nonsense whatever.
05:47 And it just makes me loathe this team and want to stomp them even more.
05:52 Because they truly have nothing.
05:54 They have nothing at all other than rat mode garbage devil magic nonsense to throw at people
06:02 and slide tackle people and Bam getting away with 500 illegal screens every game.
06:07 There's literally no team in this universe that makes me more upset than Miami.
06:12 So any slander that should be directed their way, I'm going to take it.
06:16 Yeah, I'm going to take the exact opposite approach because I love Kevin Garnett.
06:21 Bam is setting screens, he's using his body.
06:22 Make him call it.
06:23 That's what you're supposed to do.
06:24 Jason Tatum was supposed to box out there.
06:26 I just I can't be someone who rooted for Kevin Garnett and Marcus Smart for over a decade.
06:31 You absolutely can.
06:33 You absolutely can.
06:35 There's nothing stopping you from doing that.
06:37 No, absolutely nothing.
06:39 Look, if Joe Mazzuola and Jason Tatum wanted to take umbrage with that, then that's fine.
06:44 And this season, they I've been shocked with how consistently they've gotten to the podium
06:47 and told us like, Hey, I didn't like that call.
06:49 I thought that was messed up.
06:52 There's been a few times where I thought they were gonna get fined and they didn't this
06:54 season.
06:55 So they have no problem with saying, Hey, that was a bad thing.
06:58 Guess who didn't care about the play?
06:59 Jason Tatum.
07:00 Guess who loved the play?
07:01 Joe Mazzuola.
07:03 So we spent more time on this.
07:06 Chris Tapps too.
07:07 Yeah, we spent more time on this than I wanted to.
07:08 I just my advice to Celtics fans and maybe to you, Alex is the point of basketball is
07:14 to root for your team and enjoy your team and the Celtics beat them by 20.
07:18 They were up by 34.
07:20 I just like I'm so upset that the headline is like, Oh, we're the we're the heat going
07:24 rat mode.
07:25 It's like, No, the Celtics went nuclear.
07:26 And that should be the headline.
07:29 That's great.
07:30 I am all for not giving Miami credit whenever that's an option.
07:33 But I really just I, I, every time that I have an opportunity to be mad about this team,
07:38 I'm going to take it no matter what.
07:42 I mean, I think the heater sick.
07:44 Um, well, let's look into game two, because I actually disagree with G on this.
07:48 This is ridiculous.
07:49 It's not a heat apology.
07:50 There's the look, they're better coach, they're more physical.
07:53 I would love for the Celtics to be the more physical team.
07:55 They're just not.
07:56 And you know, who else would
07:58 talk about that?
07:59 I would really like to talk about that.
08:01 Yeah, let's talk about that.
08:03 So Alex, I mean, I guess you you set the thesis for the rest of this part of the podcast.
08:10 Can Miami win a game apropos of, you know, fouling people into oblivion?
08:15 I think they can for a few reasons.
08:18 Boston offense is still predicated on the three point shot.
08:22 You know, they're, they're still getting inside.
08:24 There's a lot of touches inside, but they still hit 22 threes.
08:27 That was a huge part of how they won the game.
08:30 Statistically, they're gonna lay an egg one game, and the ball will be in Boston's court,
08:35 perhaps literally, to do something about that.
08:38 In the past, when the shots aren't falling, Boston hasn't really changed gears in the
08:43 playoffs anyways, during the regular season they have.
08:45 So I think statistically, it is likely that Boston will go cold, even if the looks are
08:49 open, and they're generating really open looks.
08:52 And it's on Boston to either shoot through the pain, which they've done in the past or
08:57 pivot, which they've done this regular season, but we haven't seen the postseason.
09:00 So Alex, I agree, Miami is not winning the series.
09:03 I think I disagree that the only way Miami walks away with a win is by injuring another
09:08 player.
09:09 I think Boston could accidentally blow a game.
09:11 Oh, well, I think, let's be clear on this.
09:13 I think Miami is going to win one game.
09:15 And I know exactly how it's going to go already, which is that Heywood high Swiss or some other
09:20 ridiculous loser player that doesn't matter, it's 15 threes, and also somebody gets injured.
09:27 That's the path to Miami winning a game in the series.
09:30 And I'm virtually certain it's going to happen.
09:33 Because Pat Riley is probably going to like sacrifice Udonis Haslam at midcourt for some
09:38 sort of demon ritual, whatever demon ritual he did to get LeBron James, and to add all
09:43 these titles to this ridiculous team that I hate so much and have hated so many times
09:49 for so many years.
09:50 So I'm certain they're going to win a game because the devil magic is that strong, but
09:55 it will take the form of Heywood Highsmith or some other nonsense player hits 15 threes
10:01 and somebody gets injured.
10:03 I already know how this series is going to go.
10:05 I think it could happen even without an injury.
10:08 I think particularly on their home court, particularly if Boston wins the next game,
10:13 they may find themselves, oh, we've got this in the bag.
10:15 And we see that little flash of the Celtics we really don't want to see in this postseason,
10:21 maybe hopefully just for one game, preferably for none.
10:25 But the path is there.
10:27 I have to admit, I think it's going to be a four game sweep.
10:31 But I would not be surprised if they drop a game even without someone getting injured.
10:35 Yeah, and to that end, I mean, part of the intrigue here is how dominant is Boston like
10:40 this isn't the same Miami team.
10:42 They don't have Jimmy Robinson, Terry Rozier.
10:46 I don't know if he's going to come back.
10:48 So like this is a deflated heat team, but they're like the demons are still there.
10:53 Clearly, Alex's birdcage is rattled.
10:56 Maybe, you know, the Celtics players are too.
10:57 So getting over this hump, even if it's a, you know, a smaller version of that hump probably
11:02 matters.
11:03 So I think what we're really focused on is how does Boston advance without like letting
11:09 bad habits set in or letting this drag out too long or like getting fatigued or injured.
11:15 I'm curious about Al Horford played a lot of minutes in game one.
11:21 Luke Cornett has a calf strain, maybe he'll come back and instead of playing 25 minutes,
11:27 Horford like 20 minutes.
11:29 I just I don't like the idea of him playing a ton of minutes early in the postseason.
11:33 I've got a corollary to that, which is I want to see with a game banked in the win column
11:39 a little neemish Kata on the court being physical.
11:42 Yeah, I know you don't want to see it.
11:45 He's going to be a foul machine, but let them be hard fouls, right?
11:50 Let them feel the Celtics a little bit.
11:51 Let them be his instructions.
11:53 Yes, we know we are not going to get any crazy good play.
11:57 And it's yes, it's not the best matchup for him particularly, but he's got the right build
12:02 and he's got the right size to send a message.
12:05 Not a dirty play, mind you, just a basketball play.
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13:02 My only issue with that, Justin, is that I think Xavier Tillman would be better at that
13:06 job.
13:07 Yeah, I think he would too, but I don't see any reason not to give Katus some run.
13:14 I think both of them would be interesting just because it's been so valuable to get
13:17 inside the Miami zone.
13:19 And I suspect that Miami, you know, they had like 36 hour turnaround on this game, right?
13:23 Like between the second game of the play into game one, they probably just stuck with the
13:27 zone because they didn't have time to prep.
13:30 Now they'll have three days off because the next game is Wednesday.
13:34 Yeah, we'll see some new looks for sure.
13:35 We'll see some new looks.
13:36 And last year, the big story was they would switch their looks constantly.
13:39 They'd go to man, they'd go to zone, they'd go to a different kind of zone, they'd blitz.
13:43 And that really threw the Celtics off.
13:45 And we've talked a lot on this podcast about how Missoula has been their coach for a lot
13:49 longer.
13:50 Like they've had a lot more time than the Celtics have to coalesce and figure things
13:54 out.
13:55 It'll be interesting.
13:56 It's not just, oh, how do you defeat Miami's zone?
13:59 It's really how do you defeat Miami's zone when it's played for six minutes spurts throughout
14:02 the game, and then you go back to something else.
14:04 And so Tillman and Kata, because they can pass are really helpful in that way.
14:10 But I would be curious what it looks like if suddenly Miami like goes away from the
14:14 zone and Boston has to beat them with playmaking rather than just like passing the ball in
14:20 and out in and out Jackie Moon style.
14:23 So alright, a couple more things.
14:25 Alex, what are you looking forward to just in game two, which is coming up on Wednesday?
14:29 Let's see, what am I looking forward to in game two?
14:33 I think what I'm looking forward to in game two is abusing Tyler Hero repeatedly over
14:40 and over again.
14:41 And I really hope that that's going to be a big part of the game plan.
14:44 Because to me, the idea that Miami can have a capable offense without Rozier and Butler
14:50 rests almost entirely on Tyler Hero being able to make shots efficiently.
14:55 And so my Joe Mazzuola, go get this man game plan is Celtics should be ruthless in targeting
15:03 this dude every time that he is on the court.
15:06 And I want to make him sad.
15:08 I want this team to make him sad.
15:10 I want him to lose confidence and, you know, just completely flame out and fail to muster
15:17 anything beyond what he's already done and get inevitably traded for Donovan Mitchell
15:22 and waste away in Cleveland for no reason.
15:26 That's my hope is that this series will and this next game will send Tyler Hero into an
15:31 infinite doom spiral.
15:33 This is my Kevin Durant says NBA fans don't like the NBA.
15:37 Don't you want to just root for the Celtics?
15:40 I love rooting for the Celtics and I will be rooting for the Celtics super hard all
15:44 year throughout their playoff run no matter what happens to them.
15:48 So is there like, is there who's your like if they played the Sixers, are you going to
15:53 be I don't care.
15:54 I don't care about the Sixers.
15:55 It's just the heat that you're going to be evil.
15:57 Not even close for the Bucs for the Knicks.
15:59 I have tremendous respect for all of those.
16:01 I kind of feel the same.
16:03 No issues with any Sixers fans, any Bucs fans, any Knicks fans.
16:08 We play the Cavs.
16:09 I'm going to feel the same way.
16:11 I have love and respect for the Denver Nuggets.
16:14 I don't even care that much about the Lakers guys like the Lakers.
16:17 I feel about the heat.
16:19 I don't love the Lakers that much, but like they're fine.
16:23 This Miami team is the bane of my existence and has been for so many years.
16:30 So fascinating.
16:31 I love this Miami team.
16:32 I like when they if the Celtics play the Knicks, I'm going to feel so torn because I love that
16:36 Knicks team too.
16:37 All right, Justin.
16:38 Justin, what is a team that the Celtics could play that would make you this evil?
16:42 I'm like so impressed.
16:43 That would make me this evil?
16:47 They might be playing them, honestly.
16:48 This might be about as evil as I get towards a specific basketball team.
16:52 If we were playing the Lakers for our respective banner 18, I would probably be as evil as
16:58 I am now.
17:00 But I generally don't get very evil.
17:03 I loathe the Miami heat.
17:04 I'm not as evil, quote unquote, as Alex is about them.
17:08 Yeah, maybe if they had like Ronald Reagan at point guard, I would like muster this much
17:12 woo.
17:13 Yeah, there we go.
17:14 In my heart.
17:15 Henry Kissinger at center, but he's dead.
17:17 Can't do that.
17:18 That's just their fans.
17:19 Whatever.
17:20 This is a dream team.
17:21 This is the all the all evil.
17:22 OK, well, that's it.
17:24 We're going to come back to that in the offseason.
17:27 This could be fun.
17:28 Yeah.
17:29 Yeah.
17:30 Jesus, Louise, I admire this heat team.
17:32 I mean, I think it's also like, I guess, Alex, I don't mean to put you on the spot, I guess,
17:37 like reflexively.
17:39 Like for Celtics fans who are like spending and when we when we boom on discourse, we
17:44 just mean Twitter.
17:45 I just I don't know, like are the heat worth it?
17:47 Like it's a pathetic team.
17:48 Like they barely made the playoffs.
17:49 Like just a lot of it.
17:50 Just let it be pathetic.
17:51 I don't know.
17:52 It just seems silly to me.
17:53 It's been four years.
17:54 Cameron, we owe them.
17:55 We owe them.
17:56 I don't know.
17:57 Something's up.
17:58 Seventeen banners.
17:59 You haven't been to Terminal C at the Logan Airport.
18:03 You can barely count.
18:04 And you know what the counter argument is.
18:07 So many years, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
18:10 I hope the Bruins are still winning.
18:12 Dr. Boone, any other game to adjustments?
18:15 Yeah.
18:16 Don't screw around in the fourth quarter.
18:19 Stop it now.
18:21 Make it disappear for the rest of the goddamn postseason.
18:24 Stop it.
18:25 That's it.
18:26 That's all I have.
18:27 I mean, what else do you want?
18:28 They won by 20.
18:29 They probably could have won by 30 if they had done that.
18:32 I mean, didn't he go like 11 or 13 to start the fourth quarter?
18:36 Yeah.
18:37 And they went they the Celtics did not do all that much to stop them, which is part
18:42 of the reason why.
18:43 But, you know, there is some luck in there, too.
18:46 Fair, I guess.
18:47 Yeah, I don't really have much in the way of adjustments, just because I think we didn't
18:52 get a full like I think the heat that was a scheduled loss for them as much as a scheduled
18:56 loss.
18:57 You'll see in the postseason like they just didn't have time to prepare for that game.
19:00 I think game two is like really how you size up the team.
19:03 And again, like they're just they're too injured to be the same beast.
19:07 And even at full strength, I don't know if they're the same beast.
19:09 So I guess we'll wait and see.
19:11 How's that for critical commentary around the league?
19:16 I guess we'll stick to the Eastern Conference that we can go wherever.
19:19 I guess we got a couple games live right now.
19:22 It looks like the lights are indeed way too bright for the magic, which is sad because
19:27 a really plucky team.
19:29 And I thought they were going to make some noise.
19:30 But it just seems like maybe they'll get home and, you know, home game will do them some
19:35 good.
19:36 But it just seems like they're the lights are too bright.
19:37 Alex, actually, give me a real time read.
19:40 My expectation is indeed, is not in shape enough to play a full four quarters of indeed
19:46 basketball.
19:47 How's he doing in the second half in game two?
19:49 He's slowed down a little bit in the second half.
19:51 In the first half, he was looking at he was dynamite in the first half.
19:54 He slowed down a little bit right now he's chilling on the bench with two gigantic leg
19:58 wraps on his knees.
20:00 But you know, this is a really close game, you know, for for what it's worth.
20:04 The guy for me who has been impressing in this game for Philly is Maxie, who has he
20:09 came out like gangbusters to start that first quarter just hitting four threes right off
20:14 the bat.
20:15 He's been playing really well.
20:17 However, the New York Knicks have been chipping and chipping and chipping and chipping and
20:22 now lead by four as I'm watching this possession.
20:26 And I I'm with you, Cam.
20:28 I'm not sure what that fourth quarter is going to look like for him be given how much he
20:33 was huffing and puffing towards the end of the half.
20:36 This is going to be the series for them.
20:38 If indeed is gas by the fourth quarter and the Knicks keep these games close.
20:42 Not sure I see the path for Philly.
20:44 Yeah, and just on that series, like last night, or game one, rather for Boston, six players
20:50 scored in double figures.
20:51 Right now Max is flirting with like triple double ish and be looked pretty good.
20:56 But like who's the third and fourth guy on this heat team like the ghost of Kyle Lowry,
21:01 who was again drafted in the Bush administration.
21:06 It sure ain't buddy healed.
21:07 I'm telling you that right now.
21:08 Yeah, I gotta eat.
21:10 Eat vegan crow on that one.
21:12 Dr. Quinn.
21:13 I thought buddy yield was gonna be a good addition for that team.
21:18 All we do is eat crow.
21:20 Justin, literally, any, any first round things that have like really caught your eye.
21:29 I'm feeling pretty vindicated about even considering how they have played the Timberwolves this
21:35 season that they were not going to be the same beast in the postseason and so far the
21:39 sons are not doing very well against the Timberwolves with the Timberwolves having a one zero series
21:47 lead.
21:48 Also, I'm a little impressed by the Lakers against the Nuggets.
21:54 I did not think it was going to be even vaguely close of a game and they made a game of it.
21:59 They're not going to win more than one game I think in that series, if they're lucky,
22:03 but that's still pretty impressive and I will take anything to slow Denver down that we
22:06 can get.
22:08 I find speaking of like, unbelievable hatred.
22:13 Michael Malone hates the Lakers so much.
22:15 It's so freaking ridiculous.
22:19 I mean that the utter lack of respect that the Nuggets have for the Lakers.
22:24 The Joker showed up dressed as a grew for the game.
22:28 He doesn't care at all like, and it was an admirable showing for the Lakers but then
22:32 in the fourth quarter they just completely closed the door.
22:37 It might be one of those things that the Nuggets lose like two games in route to returning
22:42 to the finals and suddenly we're like, Oh my god, they're a juggernaut again.
22:48 Because sometimes that happens that like smaller market teams don't get the shine that they
22:52 should as repeat champions.
22:54 And then suddenly they kick in everyone's ass and you're like, Oh, wait, what just happened?
22:58 I wonder if we've been sleeping on the Nuggets because it whether or not like beating the
23:03 Lakers once you know, catches your ticket to the finals, that just like the unbelievable
23:10 confidence and poise is really staggering from that team.
23:14 Speak for yourself.
23:15 I have not been sleeping on the Nuggets.
23:17 They have overwhelmingly been my pick to win the West all year and that has not changed.
23:22 I am actively working on a daily basis to not crown them the presumptive heirs to the
23:27 West immediately myself as well.
23:30 So yeah, heard.
23:32 Yeah, it's just like by process of elimination and also like as much as I'm super impressed
23:37 by the Nuggets, the faults, the faults that I think you can find in the playoff teams,
23:43 other playoff teams in the West feel like really obvious and loud right now, but maybe
23:47 that will, you know, shape up it's a long postseason.
23:51 It's gonna be a harder path for them.
23:53 Like this Lakers team is better than last year's Lakers team.
23:56 I think the Wolves, the Mavs, the Clippers, these are all like very good basketball teams
24:02 that I think will give Denver a tougher fight.
24:05 But you know, as you said before, nobody has an answer for the Joker when it's late in
24:12 the game and the game is close.
24:15 It's just been that way all year.
24:16 Yes, we have seen.
24:17 Like when you just throw the ball down to that guy in the low block.
24:20 It's so cool.
24:21 Late in the game, there is virtually nothing that anybody can do and defenses start to
24:26 panic and then it's like, here's Jamal Murray on a cut.
24:29 Here's Aaron Gordon in the dunker spot.
24:30 Michael Porter Jr is open from three.
24:32 It just starts to cascade in a way that is really rare unless you are dealing with like
24:38 the best of the best and Jokic, I think, has now gotten to the point where he inspires
24:43 the level of panic and defenses that Steph Curry was in his peak or that Kevin Durant
24:48 was at his peak.
24:49 Like he is that good.
24:51 And until somebody is able to find an answer for that, I just don't see anybody in the
24:56 Western Conference that is going to be able to pull this off.
24:59 Yeah, I'm looking it up.
25:03 When so Jokic is going to win MVP, I think we're aware of this.
25:08 He's joined Russell, MJ, Will, LeBron, Bird, Magic and Moses Malone as three time MVP winners.
25:17 And on paper, that's like, whoa, that feels impossible.
25:20 But then when you watch him play like that, like with respect to the past and like the
25:25 greats, I don't know, in a given game or a given series or given season, like statistically
25:30 and I test why he's there.
25:33 It's so cool.
25:34 Back to the East, can I ask a dumb question?
25:37 Do the Celtics automatically get the winner of Magic Cavs no matter what?
25:44 So the bracket is broken such that after the first round series are set, the one, the one
25:51 eight matchup will play the four or five matchup no matter what.
25:55 So we are always going.
25:57 Yes.
25:58 And it's never receded in the NBA.
26:00 Don't believe so.
26:01 So if the Celtics win this series, they will get it sure looks like they're getting the
26:05 Cleveland Cavaliers.
26:07 Okay, so they're going to go to Eastern Conference Finals again.
26:13 Like I mean, well, okay, so let's put it this way.
26:16 At this point, if the Celtics don't go to the Eastern Conference Finals, there's it's
26:20 there's nothing to salvage.
26:22 You can't put lipstick on that pig, right?
26:24 Oh, no, there's Yeah, there's no team has any business beating them.
26:30 There is at least two games.
26:32 That's the thing is like, say the Celtics got the Knicks or a healthy box or whatever,
26:37 and they went seven solid games.
26:40 And they lost on like a buzzer beater.
26:42 Like there's there's something redeeming there.
26:44 If they lose to this heat team or that Cavs team.
26:48 There's like, there's no shared good faith.
26:51 Good faith.
26:52 Yeah, that's okay.
26:53 Joe will be fired if they lose before the conference finals.
26:56 Well, that's interesting.
26:58 Yeah, probably.
26:59 I don't even without without a major injury.
27:01 Yeah, yeah, that's true.
27:04 I mean, just selfishly, I think I've said this to you before, Justin, like, this is
27:08 selfish.
27:09 I hear myself saying this.
27:10 If the Celtics lose, it's gonna be such a pain in the ass to cover this team next year.
27:14 Already, like, listen, let's say, memory stick, erase that crap.
27:20 Poof.
27:21 Okay, like I said, we were like, here, like I was saying at the beginning of the podcast,
27:25 like you're allowed to root for the Celtics instead of, you know, wish pain upon the heat
27:30 or find fault and everything they do.
27:34 And I guess we do a little bit of all of that here at the Celtics on podcast.
27:37 So if you are a new listener, or an old listener, and you haven't yet, please like and subscribe
27:41 so you never miss an episode, or otherwise, you got to listen to those guys on the radio.
27:44 And they're so negative.
27:45 And at least, you know, we're emotionally diverse on this podcast.
27:49 So I only like this about the heat.
27:52 I really want to be clear about that.
27:53 Well, if the Celtics catch Ronald Reagan in the Eastern Conference Finals, I'm going to
27:56 be evil.
27:57 And he would do the same wouldn't he?
28:00 So anyways, it sincerely is like life changing to a podcast like ours to get more likes,
28:06 subscribes and comments.
28:07 So if if you could, please do.
28:10 Dr. Quinn, anything else that we missed?
28:13 Or should I segue us to the lab?
28:17 Well, there was this Mercedes Benz aficionado.
28:21 Oh, wait, wait, wait.
28:22 Actually, I have one thing I have one thing.
28:25 Is JJ Reddick really gonna be an NBA coach?
28:28 He might be.
28:30 That's insane, right?
28:31 I mean, he was considered...
28:35 They make bad decisions down in Charlotte.
28:37 Maybe they make better decisions now.
28:39 No offense, JJ, no offense.
28:41 Just you're a new guy.
28:43 I would not go with you.
28:44 I'm sure you're gonna be a great assistant coach and then a coach.
28:47 That's the path you should take.
28:49 But I don't, I don't see it personally.
28:55 I think JJ Reddick is quite happy being an analyst and drinking wine with LeBron.
28:59 Yeah, that also feels like they're I mean, I guess what they call polite enough to take.
29:03 I just...
29:05 New ownership loves to make a splash.
29:06 That would be a really interesting splash, but one that could go so sideways so quickly.
29:12 I don't know.
29:13 I just can't imagine it.
29:15 But I think he could handle the tactical part of it.
29:20 The question for me is the personality management aspect of it, which, as we are seeing in Boston,
29:25 even if you are very, very good at the tactical aspect of it, sometimes you can have points
29:30 of friction with parts of the job.
29:33 I think that specifically with that Hornets roster, that's the worst head coaching job
29:37 in the NBA right now.
29:38 Yeah, I don't disagree.
29:41 But if they called, I might take the interview.
29:44 So, you know, Charlotte, reach out if you need to.
29:48 Okay, so that's it for us.
29:51 Through the magic of editing, we're gonna now fast forward to my conversation with Chris
29:57 Stapps for Zingus.
29:58 But first, let me set the table because it's a little important.
30:01 First of all, it's only about cars, specifically about Mercedes.
30:05 I wanted to do a story with him about cars.
30:07 That's what I pitched them on.
30:08 And they said, we're only talking about cars.
30:10 The only NBA question I asked was, do you speak Spanish without Horford on the court?
30:15 And he said, Yeah, I do.
30:16 So that's the only Celtics thing you're gonna get.
30:18 And I think I didn't record that part of the conversation.
30:21 Second, we're in an active car garage.
30:24 And a few times, I think I say stuff that you're not quite going to be able to hear.
30:27 It was more me to him than for the interview.
30:30 The listener in advance.
30:32 This was not great audio capture on Cameron's part, I could have done a better job of making
30:38 sure all the words.
30:39 But you can hear him because I was just getting an article down, I was getting his words.
30:44 Occasionally, you won't hear me.
30:45 But let's be honest, you didn't tune into this podcast to hear me, you tuned in to hear
30:49 him.
30:50 So stick around, listen to a conversation with Chris Stapps for Zingus talking about
30:53 his Mercedes collection.
30:55 And if you'd like to see some pictures, check out the Celtics Wire.
30:58 We did a story on that.
31:00 I think it came out pretty good.
31:01 So until then, I would like to tell everyone listening that this episode of the Celtics
31:08 Lab podcast was brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive fantasy basketball partner of
31:12 the CLNS Media Network.
31:13 And if you enjoyed this pod, check out the How 'Bout Them Celtics podcast, the First
31:16 of the Floor podcast, and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS
31:20 Media Network.
31:21 Until next time, thank you, Alex.
31:23 Thank you, Justin.
31:24 Thank you, dear listeners.
31:25 And adios.
31:26 Thank you, Chris Stapps.
31:27 Bye.
31:28 All right, Chris Stapps, we're going to talk about this impressive array of Mercedes, but
31:34 first, what was your favorite car growing up?
31:37 Good question.
31:42 You know, as a kid, I always dreamed of like Bugattis and like, you know, the crazy supercars.
31:48 But then once I got a little bit older, when I was like 12, 13, 15, I started to fall in
31:55 love with Mercedes.
31:56 It was my dad's passion.
31:59 And so kind of the love for Mercedes just took over.
32:03 And there's, of course, still BMWs and things like that that I love.
32:07 But Mercedes, for now at least, has my heart.
32:10 What was the first car you ever drove?
32:14 Ford Focus.
32:15 Yeah, it was my first car in Spain, right after I got my driver's license, 18 years
32:21 old.
32:22 And it was tough to get in.
32:23 I'm not going to lie.
32:24 I saw that clip of you in the Tesla, that went viral.
32:27 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
32:28 That one was impossible.
32:29 I don't have that.
32:30 If you can believe it, I don't have that problem.
32:31 What was the first car you ever bought?
32:35 First car I ever bought was a four-door S-Class, S63.
32:42 I wanted to get the coupe, but my brother was like convincing me, "Oh, you know, the
32:47 family's going to come and visit."
32:50 And I was happy, but at the same time, kind of like, "Mm, I wanted something else," you
32:54 know?
32:55 And I listened to my brother, but then a year later, I think I traded in for the S63 coupe.
33:00 That's still to this day one of my favorite cars, too.
33:03 Okay, so we've got four Mercedes here.
33:06 Is this the full collection, or just what you have in Boston?
33:08 This is what I have in Boston.
33:10 Back home, I believe I have five or six more, and a couple more in the restoration process,
33:22 which are going to be just candy, you know?
33:26 Just incredible.
33:27 So I cannot wait for this summer.
33:30 Any that you're particularly excited about?
33:32 Yeah, I would say the main one that I'm excited about is a SEC 500, but it's the conversion,
33:41 SGS Marbella conversion.
33:43 So it's a convertible, and I'm restoring it completely.
33:49 It's going to be a complete zero.
33:51 Everything's going to be brand new, and I cannot wait for that one.
33:56 We bring it to the States?
33:59 You know what?
34:00 I'll drive it this summer if I really love driving it and the feel of it, because every
34:04 car has a different feel.
34:07 Then I might bring it for next season.
34:08 So speaking of which, you just imported this blue Mercedes we're looking at here.
34:14 Why did you have to have it stateside, and what was that process like?
34:18 You know what?
34:19 I was looking for a Koenig for a while.
34:22 It also kind of became my dream car, and I couldn't find it for a while.
34:27 And then I found one in great condition in France, and I believe the idea was first to
34:34 bring it to home, to Latvia.
34:37 But then because the process took so long, and I didn't want to wait, you know, again,
34:41 nine months to get back home to finally drive it, I said, "Okay, I have to bring it to the
34:45 States."
34:46 And yeah, it was a long process, but we got it here.
34:49 Tell us more, like what year, what's the specs, like what made you fall in love with the car?
34:54 Yeah, SEC 500, 1982.
35:01 You know, there's very few of them out there.
35:03 So for me, like as soon as I saw one and it was in good condition, didn't matter the year,
35:09 didn't matter the engine, nothing.
35:12 I just wanted to get my hands on one original one.
35:15 And I got it.
35:16 I think the conversion was done in '92.
35:21 And it's been in great condition, and the previous owner was taking great care of it.
35:25 And we got it from Paris in France, and I'm very happy about the attention and the looks
35:33 that I'm getting when I'm on the road with this beautiful thing.
35:35 So you, when you got it, you reached out to a photographer, and you had a photo shoot.
35:40 Tell me about that.
35:41 Yeah, no.
35:42 To be honest, I just posted one picture on my story.
35:45 I was just so hyped that day.
35:46 My boy took a picture.
35:47 I just posted it.
35:48 And then Rich, he reached out to me.
35:52 He's like, "Hey, you want to take some pictures?"
35:53 I said, "Sure, let's do it.
35:54 It'll be fun."
35:55 You know, and I think that same day we just went to do a little quick photo shoot and
36:01 drive around a little bit.
36:02 And yeah, just, it was a cool day.
36:06 As these two hideous cars drive past.
36:09 Tell me about the difference between American and European car culture.
36:12 It's definitely different.
36:15 I would say, I would say like in big like terms, like cars here are kind of bigger,
36:24 right?
36:25 Parking spaces are bigger.
36:27 The driving culture is not as precise, is not as, you know, refined, you know.
36:35 Here, somebody can be on the left line forever driving slower than the right lane, you know,
36:40 on the highway.
36:41 And you know, you guys don't have a great culture here.
36:43 It's true.
36:44 But, you know, it's my ninth year here and I've gotten used to it.
36:50 And yeah, and it's probably what I drive is not as seen here as it is maybe in Europe,
36:56 you know.
36:57 So I always get more looks and more attention in the States from people that know cars.
37:01 A lot of people don't care, but from the people that know, I get a lot of attention.
37:05 Yeah, my dad's from Iran.
37:07 My first car was in 1993, a Lexus LS with 260,000 miles on it.
37:13 The S600 you got here, it was so nostalgic.
37:17 It's like the kids and cousin.
37:18 Yeah, for sure.
37:19 But yeah, the car culture is, it's unbelievable.
37:22 I was telling Richie, I sent him clips from Top Gear and Grand Tour.
37:25 I was like, I bet Chris Epps knows what this is.
37:29 All right.
37:31 We were told to talk about the G-Wagon.
37:32 So you got the G-Wagon, the AMG G-Wagon.
37:36 Tell me about the modifications and your favorite trip you ever drove with a G-Wagon.
37:40 Yeah, good question.
37:43 So it's a pretty crazy one because, you know, at that time it was like the hype of the G-Wagon,
37:49 right?
37:50 When I bought it and I needed one too.
37:52 But I didn't have the patience to buy a stock one and then put the Brabus because I wanted
37:57 Brabus for sure.
37:58 And then I finally found one with the Brabus package on, with the off-road wheels, which
38:03 I actually love too.
38:08 And it was like perfect timing for me.
38:10 I was like, boom, that's the one I want.
38:11 They brought it from Portland and it has like crazy like engine tune on it.
38:16 Not crazy, but you know, it's pretty powerful one.
38:21 Akrapovic exhaust.
38:24 So that's fun and loud.
38:27 And then it's a little bit lifted and obviously the Brabus package just make it look like
38:30 a tank.
38:31 So yeah, of course.
38:32 And to be honest, it's a very fun, fun car to drive.
38:41 But it's also, it looks very like, like mafia vibes, you know, and I'm kind of...
38:46 Your whole collection does.
38:47 Pretty much, pretty much it does.
38:48 Yeah.
38:49 But that one I feel like now it's, I'm a little bit past that.
38:53 You know, I still love the car, but I kind of prefer a bit more low key and that's why
38:58 I love the GLS now that I have.
39:00 All right.
39:01 Let's talk a little bit more and then we'll get you out of here.
39:03 What's your dream road trip?
39:06 Dream road trip.
39:07 You know what?
39:08 Yeah.
39:09 Going back, my favorite road trip with this car was, you know, going, I was still in Washington
39:13 DC and going, it was like an hour drive if I remember correctly, to, what's the city
39:20 called?
39:21 Little Washington or...
39:23 So it's a three star Michelin, Michelin three star restaurant.
39:29 It's called the Inn at Little Washington or the Little Inn at Little, something along
39:33 those lines.
39:34 And we went there, it was like an hour road trip.
39:38 It's kind of tough to get to.
39:39 It's in the middle of nowhere a little bit.
39:41 And then it's this beautiful hotel and this unbelievable cuisine and restaurant and vibe
39:47 there that I definitely recommend everybody to visit at least once.
39:52 All right.
39:53 Has Mercedes ever reached out to you?
39:55 They have not.
39:56 They have not.
39:57 But I would definitely love to somehow be an ambassador for them, which I am already
40:04 doing that work.
40:05 You're already doing that work.
40:06 You know, I'm officially, I've been a Mercedes enthusiast for a long time and my dad has
40:12 and I believe my kids will be.
40:15 And I think my collection is only going to keep growing.
40:18 Hopefully in some ways I can have some sort of, you know, partnership with Mercedes.
40:25 Okay.
40:26 And who's your F1 team?
40:28 Silly question.
40:29 Of course, Mercedes.
40:30 Good, good loyalty.
40:31 It was a trick.
40:32 Okay.
40:33 I've talked to Booker about his cars.
40:36 Tatum is really proud of his collection.
40:39 What is car culture in the NBA like?
40:41 Is there someone whose collection you're jealous of?
40:43 What do you know about your fellow NBA players and their cars?
40:47 I know Booker has really, I really love Booker's taste.
40:51 He has some like crazy old school cars that are maybe like not my taste, but I love when
40:58 people have like different tastes, you know, and he has like a specific like cars that
41:02 he has and he has some variety also.
41:06 And I love that he just embraces that culture, you know, and I think just that just speaks
41:11 of his, of his like swagger and then how he carries himself, right.
41:15 Driving those old school cars.
41:16 So it's pretty cool.
41:17 Yeah.
41:18 And it's like so true to where he's from.
41:21 What about on the Celtics?
41:22 Anyone other than Tatum have a cool collection?
41:24 Yeah.
41:25 Drew Halday loves cars.
41:28 He has a few here and I think a few in LA.
41:31 I haven't seen the full collection yet, but I've heard he has some old schools also.
41:39 We have a few Mercedes on the team.
41:40 I think, I think Sve drives a Mercedes.
41:44 Well, you know what, actually I wanted to ask you this.
41:47 What do you think the Lamborghini Ur is?
41:49 There's a lot of those.
41:51 Yeah, a few guys have it also.
41:52 Al has it, Drew has it.
41:55 I haven't driven it.
41:56 I haven't driven it.
41:57 I do like the way it looks, but you know, it's, it's, it's a Lamborghini, but it's a,
42:04 it's an Audi.
42:05 [Music]
42:20 ♪ I'm the kind of life ♪
42:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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