- 9 hours ago
Chris Mannix from Sports Illustrated and NBC Sports Boston joins the show to dissect the Celtics season, their collapse vs the Sixers, and what's next for the C's.
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00:00Chris Mannix from Sports Illustrated.
00:01Wow, the tenor has changed a little bit on the Celtics
00:04since we last spoke, oh, six days ago, hasn't it?
00:08Yeah, a lot.
00:10I mean, really as surprising an outcome of a series
00:13that I can remember, being up 3-1 against a team
00:17that you have owned over the last decade,
00:20a team with a lot of the same players, same superstar,
00:23and it took a lot like that, and then Game 7
00:25to have it play out the way it did with some of the miscues
00:29that we can get into, yeah, I mean, disappointing.
00:33There's no two ways to look at it.
00:34Let's start with Joe Missoula, Chris, if you wouldn't mind,
00:36because that's the one that we've been talking about the most,
00:39especially that starting lineup that he put out there,
00:42and it's one thing to put out one that, you know,
00:44to try to light some sort of spark, but to put out one
00:47that literally had not played one minute together
00:51all season long, what did you think of some of the ideas
00:55and some of the moves that Missoula made in Game 7?
00:58I didn't understand any of them.
00:59To be honest, you know, you give going in, Joe,
01:03the benefit of the doubt because I think he is the coach
01:07of the year, and I think the job he did getting this team
01:10to 56 wins earns you some of that credibility,
01:14but to completely revamp your lineup, your starting lineup,
01:18going into a win-or-go-home game using guys that have not been
01:23part of the road, you know, forget the fact that they hadn't
01:26played together. I mean, how many minutes have Baylor Shireman
01:29played in that series up until that point?
01:31Luka Garza had been second fiddle, third fiddle to Keita and Vucevic
01:36for most of the series to kind of just, you know, in a video game,
01:40you wouldn't do that.
01:41So it just didn't, none of it seemed to make any sense.
01:45And sure enough, as the game started, you know, what did they fall into?
01:48A 15-point hole early on?
01:50Like, and then they spent the rest of the game trying to dig themselves out.
01:53You can certainly make the case, a reasonable one,
01:55that if they had just started the same starting lineup with somebody else
01:59in for Tatum, that they would have been competitive in that first quarter,
02:03not had to dig themselves out, maybe won the game.
02:05I just think that was a, that was a pretty egregious mistake.
02:09And I think that cost the team in game seven.
02:11It's weird, Chris, because I can't remember a series that has made me
02:16change my opinion of a team so drastically.
02:20Like going into this, I just thought, well, I mean, they're going to,
02:23I don't want to say they're going to sleepwalk.
02:24That's not fair.
02:25But I just thought that they would have answers.
02:27You know, to me, I always thought they were like a three-headed dragon.
02:29If it wasn't Jason, it was Jalen, or it was Missoula figuring out something,
02:33some great way to, to get the bench involved and be able to stop whatever
02:37thing was when it was getting out of control.
02:39But now I have to kind of question so many different things about this team.
02:44Did your impression change of, of who they are and maybe what their DNA is
02:48by the time it was done?
02:50I think they've, they've become overly reliant on the three-point shot.
02:55And I think that was probably the case coming in, but, you know,
02:59to skeptics, they could say we won a 2024 championship,
03:03playing the exact same style.
03:05They played that style in the series.
03:08They didn't have the horse to do it.
03:09And in the four games they lost, they shot 27% from three.
03:12Like that's, that's the ball game.
03:14And the games they were winning, look at the first three of the first four.
03:17I mean, they were like a plus 87, you know, on three-pointers made.
03:20Like that's, that's how you, I mean, that's how they've had success in the past.
03:24But when that three-point shot went cold, not only did they not have kind of a counter to it
03:32or a fallback to it, they just kept shooting and kept putting them up.
03:35And I don't know, that, that, that was, that was a big problem for them.
03:39That's another adjustment I thought, you know, should have been made.
03:41Now, granted, they don't, they don't have a lot of, you know, go to the rim types of guys
03:45that built a roster around, you know, guys that largely shoot threes.
03:49And they built a team around that way.
03:50But, you know, they lost this game because like the series, they couldn't make threes.
03:54It's kind of as simple as that.
03:55They made a ton of threes in the three games they won.
03:57They made, they made no threes in the games they lost.
04:00And I think moving forward, you, you have to assess and say, hey, you know, we, maybe
04:04we've got to become more of an inside the arc type of team in some ways.
04:08Get some more players that can play that way.
04:10Because look, guys, the teams that are left in the playoffs, and this is the first year
04:14in a while, I don't know the exact numbers, but you look at the top 10 in three teams
04:18that in terms of three points attempted and three points made, they're not in the playoffs
04:21anymore.
04:22Like the teams that are having success now are more inside the three-point line type
04:27of teams.
04:27Maybe that's an aberration.
04:28Maybe it'll go right back to the way it was next year.
04:31But I thought that was noteworthy that teams like Detroit and, you know, Cleveland and New
04:34York and, you know, now obviously Philadelphia, who are not prolific three-point shooting teams,
04:40they're now having success.
04:41So I think that's something that has to be evaluated by Brad Stevens and, you know, evaluated
04:45by the coaching staff about how they're going to play.
04:47Well, it's interesting you say that because I'm sure, I mean, Brad Stevens is going to
04:50be his executive of the year here, Chris, but do you think like Joe Mazzola and the
04:54players even would look back and say, what if we had Anthony Simons?
04:58What if he kept Al Horford?
04:59What if he kept Drew Holiday?
05:00Were they one player away from winning this series?
05:02I mean, I know a lot of that is ownership-driven tax issues, but how about the roster this year?
05:07Was it flawed construction-wise?
05:10Well, yeah, it was because most people, including many in the Celtics organization, no matter
05:16what they say now, like most people thought it was a gap year.
05:20And the whole point of this year was to get under the aprons and maybe even get under the
05:24luxury tax.
05:24Nobody thought this team was going to be a 56-win number two seed with a better offensive
05:29rating than they had a year ago.
05:31So like the Horford stuff, I don't, yeah.
05:34Would they be better with them?
05:35Sure, but like I don't, that's a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking for me to do to say
05:39they should have kept them because they didn't think they were going to be in this position.
05:43They saved some money, you know, because of that.
05:45They put themselves in a better position long-term because they let him go and stayed under that
05:50apron.
05:50The Simon stuff, like, could Simons have been useful?
05:53Probably, but I think you've still got to take a flyer on Vucevic.
05:56Like he didn't, it didn't work out.
05:58Simple as that.
05:59Like he not only didn't bring anything defensively, he couldn't make a three-point shot.
06:03What was he, seven for 24, I think, in this series?
06:06Like, if you're going to be horrific defensively, you've at least got to be, bring something
06:09on the offensive end of the floor and he didn't do it.
06:11But I don't fault them for doing that.
06:13They needed a big, much more than they needed a backup guard at that time.
06:17It didn't pan out, but I probably would have done the exact same thing if I was in that
06:21situation.
06:22Well, Chris Mannix, the one thing that this leads us all to is, what is this offseason going
06:26to look like?
06:27And there's been a lot of questions about whether you can reach out to, because I guess
06:33that it was, the clip that we played when you came in here was Mark Stein talking about
06:36how Giannis is a name that is being thrown around when it comes to a potential trade for
06:42the Celtics.
06:43Now, I don't know what you would have to give up to get him, even if it's a thing or
06:48it's
06:49something that, you know, they would be open to do to make that trade.
06:52But what have you heard?
06:54What do you think this organization would do here in the offseason, whether it involves
06:58Giannis or not?
07:00I look, I would say that getting into the bidding war for Giannis Tendekumpo would be
07:06catastrophic for this organization because it's not like, hey, we've got Jalen Brown,
07:11you've got Giannis, let's swap stars.
07:13That's not what Milwaukee is looking for.
07:15They're doing a rebuild and they want your young talent.
07:18They want your draft picks and they want your star.
07:20Like they want a little bit of everything.
07:22And I think they sniffed enough desperation out there that there'll be a team or teams
07:26that are willing to do that.
07:29So I wouldn't get into the weeds on that because you could wind up trading all that
07:34stuff for Giannis and these injuries that have become a big part of his story now.
07:41Like he's missed a lot of time in the last couple of years with soft tissue injuries.
07:45He's over 30.
07:46Like I, and he's going to want a new brand new contract at five years and, you know,
07:50300, whatever million dollars that to me would be a mistake given the position this team
07:55is in.
07:55I, I don't, I don't think they should overreact to what happened this season.
08:00Mostly because I think we have to remember, remember where we were back in September and
08:04what we saw of this team back then.
08:06We didn't think they were going to do anything.
08:08Now they've got their first round draft pick.
08:09They've got a little bit of flexibility to make some trades.
08:12I would use that flexibility and that draft capital to build on what you've got.
08:15I would absolutely be addressing the front court problems.
08:18You need a defensive minded big.
08:20I think they need more depth in their backcourt as well.
08:22But this is not the type of team in this conference that you, you would just nuke or do something
08:28major given the results of this season.
08:31I would continue nibbling around the fringes with this group, add to areas that you're
08:36weak, and then go into next season with this team, with a healthy Jason Tatum.
08:40They're going to be the favorite to be the one seed.
08:43It's, I think it's, that's realistic.
08:45So I don't, wouldn't do anything crazy with this roster.
08:48Who's out there.
08:49Who do you like?
08:49Cause I, cause I agree.
08:50Listen, you couldn't have watched that Sixers series and not agree that they need some front
08:54court help.
08:55But who do you think is out there that would be interesting for the Celtics?
09:00Uh, that's a good question.
09:02Um, free agency is tough because free agency doesn't really exist anymore.
09:05Right.
09:05Like it's everybody kind of signs extensions.
09:07It almost becomes a matter of, of pre-agency.
09:10Um, you know, they, they could have used Luke Cornett.
09:13That's for sure.
09:13He would have been a valuable piece to, to what they were doing, but I'm, I'm pretty
09:17sure it's San Antonio is pretty happy, uh, with what he's got down there.
09:21I mean, you have to look at the, the, the, you're looking for like those Andre Drummond
09:24types.
09:25You're looking for somebody that can bring some size, some versatility to that front
09:29of course.
09:29Maybe you can get that player in the draft.
09:31I mean, that's certainly possible, but I mean, the depth is going to go like Vucevic,
09:35I'm sure is not going to be back.
09:36I'm not sure, but I mean, I would imagine not gonna be back next year.
09:39Uh, so you've got to find some help there.
09:41I'd look, I think if they do do a deal, uh, put it this way, cause I don't think I
09:44can
09:45give you an exact name who they might be targeting, but if they do do a deal with one of
09:48their,
09:49you know, quote unquote star marquee type players, I think you're more likely to see them deal
09:55one of these guys for multiple pieces than you are, see them try to get another star
09:59back.
10:00Uh, so if you have a player, you might be looking to trade, then maybe that player can
10:04get you back a big or somebody that can bring some more, a couple more pieces back in return.
10:09So I think it's more of the trade market that you're looking at your Boston.
10:12Chris, what do you think the organization thinks about Jalen Brown's last couple of
10:16days here after the loss, the, uh, the Twitch stream, you know, about the comments about
10:20the flopping and the refs and, uh, his favorite season.
10:23Do you think that they care about that or they're fine with it?
10:26I think they care about it.
10:28I haven't talked to anybody over there about it yet, but I can't imagine they loved it.
10:32It brought a lot of negativity, uh, to the team.
10:36It sounded a lot like sour grapes.
10:37I mean, you can't complain about flopping when you lose a three, one lead.
10:40It's as simple as that.
10:41Like you, you can't, uh, they missed a ton of shots.
10:44Uh, he also, you know, took, it seemed to me like took some not so subtle digs at the
10:48coaching philosophy there, but how they were playing and who they were playing.
10:52I'm sure that resonated a little bit with Boston.
10:54I like the stuff about him loving that season.
10:56I didn't bother me.
10:57Like I knew coming into this year that Jalen Brown was going to relish the opportunities
11:01that he was getting being the number one guy chance to make all NBA first team, be an
11:05MVP, um, or an MVP candidate.
11:08I knew he was going to relish that, but you know, griping about it.
11:11The whole, you know, the, the end of the series and the flopping, complaining about
11:15the much, much that he did.
11:16That's the kind of stuff I think that really, that probably stuck with, with the, uh, with
11:22the ownership group, with the front office.
11:23Also, you can't drop a line.
11:25Like referees, I'm paraphrasing.
11:28More referees were telling me there's an agenda against me.
11:30Like you can't drop stuff like that without like naming names on it.
11:34I mean, the NBA, the NBA took, I had been texting with people, the NBA, they took attention
11:39of that.
11:39So I think there's, there's, there's still going to be some fallout from that stream of
11:43Jalen Brown, whether it's internally or, or an issue that he might have with the league
11:46moving forward.
11:47Is Joe Mazzu on the hot seat?
11:51No, no, no, not after the year he had, and it was catastrophic the way it ended, but I
11:55mean, 56 wins and winning coach of the year, I don't, and winning a championship two years
12:00ago.
12:00Now, might there be changes to staff?
12:03That's usually the first thing that happens.
12:04If you have an issue with how a team is being run, um, could you see another voice being
12:08brought in?
12:09Maybe.
12:09Look, Brad Stevens has always liked to have really intelligent guys on the bench.
12:14Like, you know, when Eimeo Doka was leading the team to the, to the finals, you know,
12:18Will Hardy was there alongside him.
12:20You know, Joe Mazzu was there on the bench.
12:22Like, could we see maybe an infusion of some more brain power on that bench with some different
12:26philosophies?
12:27Yeah, I think that's certainly possible, but I don't see Joe Mazzu in any kind of trouble.
12:30Who are the hot, like coaching commodities right now, Chris?
12:33Would Sam Cassell ever get a look?
12:36He'd get a look, uh, I think for sure.
12:39Uh, there's a lot of respect from people I talked to league wide.
12:41He's interviewed for jobs in the past.
12:43I think the, look, the hottest name in the coaching market is Sean Sweeney, who is the
12:46associate head coach in San Antonio.
12:48He is going to get a job this off season.
12:51Um, Jared Dudley, a friend of ours from BC, uh, you know, he's the next guy along with Sam
12:56Cassell that's high on people's list to interview.
12:58So those are the kind of the, the front burner guys who are most likely to get jobs this off
13:04season.
13:04But I think Sweeney, whether it's Orlando, Chicago, and the job that opens up, he's, he's
13:08probably going to be the guy that everybody's running, uh, gunning for.
13:11Well, Chris Mannix, you and I both can sit back and watch the 76ers wilt back into the
13:18pumpkin that they, uh, should have been when the Celtics played him.
13:21It's so frustrating.
13:22Cause I knew this was going to happen.
13:23I knew they were going to go there and Paul George was going to play like old Paul George
13:26and then, and bead was going to be tired.
13:29And, and, and, and then in max, he only had, I think 13 points last night.
13:33You just knew it was going to happen.
13:35But, uh, either way, what a weird ass ending to what was otherwise a fairly inspiring season.
13:41Who knows what they're going to do this off season, but, uh, Chris, thanks for coming
13:45on with us.
13:45We really appreciate it.
13:46It takes a lot of energy to like that game.
13:48I would have, if I was betting on the NBA, I would have bet the next hard on that one.
13:52Like it takes a lot of energy to win three games in a series.
13:56Then you turn around, go on the road two days later against a rested team.
13:59That, that was an easy one for, to predict, uh, that would play out.
14:02But by the way, we're now like, I'm as disappointed as somebody that likes to sleep in his own
14:06bed.
14:06I would have loved to have had the Celtics in the finals.
14:08We're now like two weeks away, maybe from talking about like Detroit, Oklahoma city in
14:13the finals or Cleveland, Oklahoma city in the finals.
14:16I'm okay with that.
14:17I don't think, uh, I don't think I need that in my life.
14:20That's right.
14:21Absolutely.
14:21All right, Chris, great stuff.
14:22Thanks for coming on, man.
14:23We appreciate it.
14:24You got it guys.
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