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00:00High noon, Jones and Keefe here on WEI, jam-packed Would You Rather Wednesday.
00:06If you missed any of the Would You Rathers, they are up now on the Odyssey app, A-U-D-A-C-Y.
00:12Take it with you wherever you go. It's free, it's easy.
00:15Use the rewind feature, hear Keefe's top 10 movies.
00:17Very controversial, very controversial.
00:20He just counted them down. You've tweeted those out as well, right?
00:22Yeah, put them out there at Keefe21.
00:23Try to get them up on Instagram as well, at RichKeefeWEI.
00:27But yeah, 10 best movies I saw all year.
00:29Okay, so go check those out. We'll have Mike Vrabel on the way at 1 o'clock.
00:33We have the best of Jones and Keefe continuing at 1245 with our random ball players.
00:38It's been every Wednesday at high noon.
00:40We also have Justin Turpin from WEI in studio.
00:43We call it Pure Hoops with Turp. What's up, Turp?
00:46What's up, guys? I like the hair, Rich.
00:48Thank you. You're not alone.
00:50I've gotten a lot of positive feedback.
00:53Maybe the most positive feedback, actually, now that I think about it, that I've ever received.
00:57I can't think of anything more positive.
00:58No. So I've got to keep it now.
01:00Got to keep it going.
01:01Got to keep the do.
01:02I noticed it on the clips yesterday. I was like, dude.
01:04Really popping off yesterday. Thank you.
01:06Hey, see? A lot of compliments.
01:08Turp.
01:09What is it?
01:10What is that?
01:10A catculls on my way to pick up the kid yesterday?
01:12You're going to get the wolf whistle ready.
01:13Construction workers are just like, hey!
01:16Hubba! Hubba!
01:17I'm not a piece of meat, you know?
01:20Jeez.
01:20Yeah, no, the hair does look good. Feels good.
01:23I've never had this much confidence.
01:24You can't go back to a hat.
01:26Never.
01:26I don't think you can.
01:27Burn all my hats.
01:27Yeah, you kind of have to.
01:28I have a hat burning when I get home.
01:30You kind of have to do that.
01:31How are you feeling about your basketball team, Turp?
01:34Nice winning streak of, what was it, five games.
01:36Going into these last two, they were beating a lot of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
01:39Cleveland, New York, Detroit.
01:41Last two, they lose at Milwaukee in a frustrating one without Giannis.
01:46And then their last game out, a loss to Detroit, which I think on some level makes sense.
01:50Detroit's a good team.
01:51On another, it's a game where they have the lead and Jalen Brown can't make free throws.
01:54So how are we feeling about the Celtics?
01:56I feel like we're seeing some of the issues that might have been masked during that win streak.
02:01And I look more than just the five games.
02:02I look at the eight games that they played when they went 7-1 and seven of those teams that had 500 records.
02:08You kind of look at that, and they shot 41% from three over those eight games.
02:13And now you're starting to see that kind of drop down a little bit where you're seeing those three-point shooting droughts that they've had the last two games.
02:19So I think a little bit of that was shot luck when they were on that win streak there.
02:23And I think you are starting to see that come down a little bit.
02:26Jalen Brown's streak that he has been on has been pretty impressive.
02:30You know, he did miss a bunch of free throws, and that's sort of one of his, I guess, Achilles heels, right?
02:34Like, he's never been a great free throw shooter.
02:36There's been times that, you know, late in games, he's missed clutch free throws.
02:41But, you know, not to whistle past that or ignore that.
02:45He has been on quite a run.
02:46And you were on this.
02:47We gave you credit a few weeks ago, even three weeks ago maybe.
02:50You were saying he was playing like an All-NBA player.
02:53And then since then, I feel like he's gotten even better from when we were talking about this.
02:56Yeah, and he's doing it on both ends of the ball.
02:57I know he's not picking up the best players on the floor anymore.
03:00And that's kind of another aspect that I'm really interested to see when Jason and Jalen get to play again for a full season.
03:06Because in the past, it's been Jalen Brown picking up the best player on the opposing team.
03:11And now it seems like you have guys like Jordan Walsh and Ugo Gonzalez that can do that.
03:15So he doesn't have to carry that burden.
03:17And he couldn't do it this year just with what they're asking him to do offensively.
03:21It would be way too much to ask him to do both.
03:23But what he's doing offensively is just impressive.
03:25I mean, he's one of the best mid-range shooters in the league, one of the best isolation players in the league.
03:30And the playmaking, too, has been just terrific to watch.
03:33And that's something that people have been kind of critical of him for the last couple years.
03:38And for him to see that growth has been really encouraging.
03:41You're not concerned about the free throws?
03:43No, the free throws are certainly a concern.
03:44And I know he's been shooting better this year, but you can't miss seven in a game that you lose by seven.
03:50Like, you make even five of those and the game's completely different.
03:53That can't happen.
03:54And that's a mental thing.
03:55And Keith alluded to it.
03:56That's been an issue for him for years to come.
03:59And, you know, you just can't whistle past the graveyard on that.
04:02Like, you know, that has to improve.
04:04So my issue with it, I guess, is, and Keith brought this up the other day,
04:08you can hide it if you're up three points at the end of a game.
04:13And you can run a play for Pritchard on an inbounds to send him to the free throw.
04:16I'm not worried about that.
04:18But if you're down a basket or two like they were the other night,
04:21and now Jalen's getting touches because he's your best offensive player,
04:25I'd hack the crap out of him.
04:27Like, to me, without Tatum, it's a more exposed flaw.
04:31But this, if Jalen fancies himself as a franchise type of player,
04:36I don't know that you can be with a free, as a free throw shooter like this,
04:39unless you're like Shaq in his prime or something like that.
04:41Yeah, I don't know if you're at the point where you start hacking him just to send him there,
04:44because he's not that bad of a free throw shooter.
04:46No, but he's, what, he's in the high 70s, mid-70s now?
04:49He's 71 or whatever for his career?
04:51Yeah.
04:51I'd rather have that than his mid-range game.
04:53Especially a guy that's driving to the hoop that's looking for calls.
04:56Because remember, a couple weeks ago, he wasn't getting any calls.
04:58And he made it very vocal.
04:59He was frustrated about that and was asking for calls.
05:01And now he's getting them.
05:03He's getting put to the line more, and he's not making those shots.
05:05So if you're going to want to get to the line, if you're going to want to score that way,
05:08you've got to score when you're put on the free throw line.
05:10So that is one area of his game this year that you can really kind of critique.
05:13Because the rest of it, it's been great.
05:15I mean, you're going to look at the turnovers, right?
05:16But for a guy that's handling the ball as much as he is.
05:18More touches this year, yeah.
05:20Right.
05:20You know, it's kind of tough to judge him on those.
05:22And if you look at the minutes he's playing, how much he has the ball,
05:25he slots in pretty average with some of the other guys, the high-volume ball handlers.
05:30So I'm not as worked up about the turnovers as other might be.
05:33But the free throws are something he needs to improve.
05:36NBA.com does their MVP ladder, and they update it.
05:39And so the last, I think it was updated, was on the 12th, so less than a week ago.
05:42And they had Jokic, number one.
05:45They had Shea Gildress-Alexander, two.
05:47They had Luka, three.
05:48They had my guy Cade Cunningham, four.
05:50And then Jalen Brown, number five.
05:52Oh.
05:53So it feels like, and I know, you know, Jason Tatum has probably, what,
05:58jumped up to, like, number three some years?
06:00I think that's the highest he's finished.
06:01Highest he's finished at the end of the year, right, was third.
06:03Right.
06:04So, I mean, like, going into the year, there were a lot of questions about, like, Jalen Brown.
06:08And it was a combination of, like, you know, getting the respect he feels like he deserves
06:12or being the player that he thinks that he is.
06:14He's made comments about sacrifice and this, that, and the other thing.
06:17And it's like, I don't really know if you can ask for much more than that.
06:20And as long as the team still wins at a decent clip, he's probably got a pretty good chance
06:25to stay in the top fives, don't you think?
06:27For sure.
06:27I mean, the way he's playing right now.
06:28I mean, I feel like there's, sorry to cut you off, but I feel like Jokic and SGA, it's
06:32like, it's another tier.
06:34Yeah, it's a two-horse race.
06:34It's like a tier, then there's like an empty tier, and then there's everybody else.
06:37And that would have been the case probably with Tatum, too.
06:39But I'm just saying, like, for Brown, like, I don't know, like, to this point through
06:43the season, he's pretty much accomplished what he said he was going to do and what he's
06:46hoping to do.
06:47And it's just night in and night out, you expect him to come out and drop 30.
06:50He's averaging almost 30 this season.
06:51Oh, he was minus money for 30 the other night against Detroit.
06:54Yeah, I know that.
06:55And that was like Tatum territory from the last couple of years.
06:57Tatum MVP finishes, by the way, and I'm sorry, Terp.
07:00Yeah, top four, four, six, four, six, going back to the last four years.
07:03So top four was the top?
07:04Yeah.
07:05Brown has a chance to be a top four guy.
07:07According to that, Brown's right in that Tatum territory, yeah.
07:09And if you're looking at it, just taking it a step further, like, I think a more realistic
07:13expectation would be All-NBA, first-team All-NBA.
07:16And if you're looking at guys like Giannis, probably aren't going to reach the eligibility
07:19of the 65-game threshold.
07:21And there's a couple others in there.
07:22Maybe it's a little, it's very early, right?
07:23It's not even Christmas yet.
07:25I mean, if Austin Reeves hits that mark, though, you've got to continue with Austin Reeves.
07:28I mean, he has been terrific.
07:29That's a machine.
07:30He has been great.
07:30Yeah.
07:31But yeah, I mean, you're looking at it like, there's no reason he can't be All-NBA,
07:34first-team this year.
07:35Right, right, right.
07:35I mean, he's just given what they expect every night, and he's been terrific.
07:39We were talking about this yesterday.
07:40Who do you fear the most in the East if you're the Celtics?
07:44Or I guess, put it another way, who's the best team in the East?
07:47Is it Detroit?
07:47Wait, is it New York?
07:48We were kind of arguing about this yesterday.
07:49New York, by the way, NBA Cup champions.
07:51Congrats to them.
07:52Not raising a banner.
07:53Oh, they're not going to?
07:54Oh, I hadn't seen that mistake.
07:56No.
07:56That's a mistake.
07:57Good for them.
07:57Also makes LeBron look even worse.
07:58So great job, Nick.
07:59They hang a banner for everything, but they're not going to do it for that.
08:01Yeah, I think that's a mistake.
08:02Like, the top of MSG is just all these, like, crummy banners.
08:05Yeah.
08:06Like, Atlantic Division champions.
08:08Nice.
08:09Yeah, I know.
08:10This is probably just as a pressure.
08:11Just put that up.
08:11Yeah, Billy Joel drove his car into another house, something like that.
08:14Like, they put the banner up there, big WrestleMania moments.
08:17Who is the best team in the East?
08:19I still think it's New York, and I've been kind of consistent, pretty consistent with that,
08:23where I think they are the best team.
08:24We saw that last year.
08:25Obviously, they ran into the buzzsaw that was the Indiana Pacers, but when this team is
08:28healthy, I think they're the best team in the Eastern Conference.
08:31I know people look at Detroit, but I think that team still has some figuring it out to
08:34do, and the Celtics have played them tough both.
08:37Obviously, they are two of the three times.
08:39Even the first game where they lost, they played them tough, but I still think it's
08:43New York.
08:43I think that team, just they have so much talent.
08:45I think they're really starting to click now under Mike Brown.
08:48The only issue with them is they can't win on the road, so once they figure that out,
08:52they'll kind of separate themselves, but they're a really impressive team.
08:55I think Cade Cunningham's the best player between the two teams, but maybe he just doesn't
08:59have as much help.
09:00And you even saw it last night, or the other night when they were playing.
09:04I feel like if you really have to, Derek White or somebody on the Celtics in a crunch
09:10time, they might be able to slow down Jalen Brunson because of his size.
09:13He'll get his points, so obviously Brunson's very good.
09:16But I feel like I'd take my chances with that matchup than Cade Cunningham.
09:19There might be part of that where something Cade Cunningham does on offense, you just kind
09:24of put your hands out, you're like, I don't know, what are we really supposed to do?
09:27So he has that part of it, but I don't know if he has a Carl Anthony Towns, Mikael Bridges
09:33kind of 2-3 with them.
09:35Right.
09:36The Knicks have a lot of talent.
09:37That's just the reality of it.
09:38Last year, they weren't really healthy.
09:40This year, it's been kind of catching up to them now.
09:42They're starting to get healthy, but I think the answer is the Knicks.
09:45I think Detroit's up there as well, but it's still wide open.
09:47There's no team.
09:48Last year, you kind of have this conversation.
09:50It's just Boston or Cleveland.
09:52Those were the only answers.
09:53If you're looking at the Western Conference, it's Oklahoma City.
09:56That's the only answer.
09:57For the Eastern Conference, really, any of the top five teams have kind of a case.
10:01That's just how wide open it is.
10:03We've talked about Anthony Simons as a potential trade chip, now that they do it today, I don't
10:08think, although he's eligible to be traded now, right?
10:10Yes.
10:11So, I don't know.
10:12Where do you think they stand with him?
10:14He was part of a closing lineup the other night against Detroit.
10:17Where do you think things stand with Anthony Simons and his fit in Boston?
10:20I still think it's a weird fit, and he's been very underutilized.
10:23I mean, he is one of their top four, just pure scorers, pure bucket getters.
10:28Like, you're looking at Jalen Brown, obviously, up there, Peyton Pritchard, Derek White, and
10:31then I'd put Anthony Simons.
10:33But the bench scoring just hasn't been there.
10:35And he's the one that kind of needs to lead that charge.
10:38And if you were to be sitting here on December 17th and say, Anthony Simons only has four
10:43games, I believe it is, over 20 points, I feel like that'd be a little bit of a surprise.
10:47Yeah.
10:47You know, it's just been kind of a weird fit for him here.
10:50I don't think he's kind of adapted to the role as well as people would have expected him
10:53to be.
10:54But, you know, it's kind of disappointing.
10:55What does that mean?
10:56On the court or off?
10:57On the court.
10:58On the court.
10:58Just on.
10:58On the court.
10:59Yeah, off the court.
11:00No, off the court, like, the group seems pretty tight and all that.
11:02But on the court, it just feels like, you know, going from that primary option in Portland
11:07to being kind of a minimized bench role.
11:09And there's more emphasis on defense here.
11:11Right.
11:11You know, not to, you know, I don't really know what's going on in Portland, but just from
11:14a sense, you know, in the case, when you would watch them the last few years, it was like
11:18Dovers.
11:19He did.
11:20Yeah.
11:20That's true.
11:21Yeah.
11:21That's a different kind of approach for those guys.
11:24You know, I think it was a few games ago before they'd lost these last two, they were third
11:29in the Eastern Conference.
11:30It was like, look, look what's happened.
11:31Look at the pace that they're on now.
11:33And then when you look at the standings and it's only 26 games in the season for them, but
11:37they're a half game back from the three seed in the East, but they're also one game
11:42up on the nine seed in the East.
11:44So it seems super competitive with Toronto, Orlando, Philly, Cleveland, Atlanta, and Miami
11:50like out of that group.
11:52And like the amount that you've seen them, do you feel like they're on the top end of
11:55that group?
11:56Or as we play more games, there's how realistic is it that they slide down and a team like
12:01Cleveland starts to, you know, really put it together.
12:03I mean, I was saying last week that I think Cleveland's going to turn around.
12:06Like, are they?
12:07Yeah, maybe not.
12:08I mean, they've played a bunch of games.
12:09Just not the team we expected them to be.
12:11I think Orlando is really starting to get it going.
12:12I think Toronto is starting to slip back a little bit and you see they might have been
12:16a punching above their weight class early on.
12:18But I think, you know, we've been kind of consistent.
12:20Us three have all kind of had them as a top six seed.
12:23The Celtics that is.
12:24And if you're looking at it like Detroit, New York, probably stay up there.
12:27Who really slides in below those, like those two?
12:30It's wide open.
12:31I don't think it'll be Toronto.
12:32Like the Sixers, no.
12:34Orlando, I'd probably say yes.
12:35And I don't know, we keep banking on Cleveland turning it around, but they've shown no reason
12:39why they should.
12:40Also, like the East is wide open, which I agree with.
12:44And, you know, the Celtics should be a top six seed.
12:47I don't rule out based on the games against Detroit this year and based on the games against
12:50New York, they could win a series against one of those teams.
12:53And those are the best teams in the East.
12:55I wouldn't pick them head to head in a series against those teams, I don't think.
12:58I mean, tell me how they're playing.
12:59Well, and also not to get too far ahead.
13:00That's not crazy to say the Celtics could pick off a series from New York or Detroit.
13:04And those are the two teams where like, those are the best two teams.
13:07But if you're the four, five, or six, you wouldn't even play them in the first round.
13:10Good point.
13:10You know, so you'd play somebody else, one of those teams I just mentioned, you might
13:13open up with Orlando or Toronto.
13:15And then you're like, okay.
13:17And that's whether Tatum comes back or not.
13:18Let's get our weekly Tatum update.
13:21Where do we feel on Jason Tatum right now?
13:24It's still the same.
13:25I mean, honestly, they didn't have any practices here last week, so we weren't really able to see
13:28much of them.
13:28So it still seems like there's just no limitations from what he's sharing, from the little clip,
13:33the snippets of practice that we've seen that he's there.
13:36It's just, there doesn't seem to be any limitations.
13:38And I mean, I still think sometime in February before March, I think, like you're going to
13:43see him this year.
13:44But again, how much pressure are you going to put on him?
13:47Like, I think it's unfair to expect him to come back and be an all NBA player.
13:50Like, yeah, it's still going to be Jason Tatum and just his gravity and his playmaking and
13:54all that.
13:55But yeah, like he'll still be a good player, but to expect him to come back and be an all
13:58NBA player playing 35 minutes a night, whatever, that's not going to happen.
14:02Right.
14:02It's kind of, it's, it's a rehab state and that's what it is.
14:05It is.
14:05And you know, the expectation this year was you weren't really competing for a championship
14:10and they made that clear in the off season.
14:11So just getting him on the floor, getting him reps, getting, letting him relearn his body
14:16and get over that mental hurdle.
14:17I think that's more important.
14:18But if they're the three seed without him and he comes back, I'd start looking at at
14:23least a run to the finals.
14:24Like I'd start looking at that.
14:25I don't know if they could take down OKC.
14:27No, no, no.
14:27But like, yeah, the way the East is.
14:28But if you're the three seed without him, even if you're not getting a vintage all NBA
14:32Jason Tatum, I'd start looking at it and going, yeah, they can.
14:35I mean, they can do it without him.
14:36Like, like you were just saying, look at the standings.
14:39Like they can beat Detroit or New York.
14:41Like they don't need him to do it.
14:43February 8th.
14:44February 8th is the day.
14:45February 8th, he's going to be back.
14:46The timestamps.
14:46But according to voice of the Celtics, that was a report.
14:49No, I'm just kidding.
14:50But yeah, February 8th would be the day.
14:52But even like the idea of them being a buyer of the trade deadline is something that, you
14:58know, I don't think we really discussed or thought about as the season.
15:00You're like, oh, it's a year.
15:01It's going to be Jalen Brown show.
15:03Tatum may or may not come back.
15:04But it's like every game they win.
15:06Every game they win.
15:07And the closer they get to the three seed, Bill Chisholm like pounds a fist into the
15:10desk.
15:10He's like, crap, I have to buy.
15:12I have to invest in this team.
15:13He doesn't want to do that.
15:14They need to get a BIC.
15:15They definitely do.
15:16As good as the small ball lineups have been.
15:17Will they add or will they use Simons to get that?
15:20And now it all kinds of nets out.
15:22Maybe they even shave some salary.
15:23Like that's that's the million dollar question.
15:25I think like you're OK trading Simons if it nets a return of a BIC because you need
15:29it.
15:30Like again, there's like no disrespect to Josh Minot.
15:32He's been great at what he's doing, but he's not a center.
15:34No.
15:35But the point is, I think you could have both.
15:37Like if you really wanted, you could have both.
15:38If we weren't worried about the luxury tax and saving the new owner money, you could have
15:42both.
15:42That'd be easy.
15:43Simons is your most intriguing trade ship, though.
15:45And I think if you're looking at this team with Jason Tatum back and it's a long term view
15:49of it, you're probably more inclined to trade Simons than a guy like Sam Hauser.
15:54And I think because he fits in so much better with Jason Tatum.
15:56So I think if you are going to make a trade, the most intriguing ship that you have is
16:01Anthony Simons.
16:01OK, he's Justin Turpin.
16:03Check out his work at W.E.I.
16:05He joins us every Wednesday at high noon.
16:08We call it Pure Hoops with Turp.
16:09Give him a follow on Twitter at Justin M.
16:11Turpin.
16:12Turp, good stuff.
16:13All right, guys.
16:14Maybe I'll go to that next week, too.
16:15Yeah, I didn't hear anything about my hair when we were talking about Turpin.
16:18He doesn't like hair.
16:18He looks straight as well.
16:19He doesn't like hair.
16:20I understand.
16:21I got the new do.
16:22Feeling good.
16:24Feel good.
16:24Feel good.
16:25Take good.
16:25Is that how your good takes?
16:26That's what it is.
16:26Come from the good feelings.
16:28OK.
16:29Every Wednesday with Pure Hoops with Turp.
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