00:00But it's not officially a good move until Terp says it is.
00:03Justin Turpin, a top-tier Terp from our own WEI.com.
00:08Let's pull him up on the phone, shall we?
00:10Terp, what do you think of these moves, my man?
00:12I love it.
00:13I absolutely love the Mitchell Robinson move.
00:15I actually just published a column on WEI.com that there is obviously some risk
00:19in the Mitchell Robinson signing here, but it is much worth it.
00:23Obviously, like, the injuries are a question mark, right?
00:26First time since the 21-22 season that he played 60 games last year,
00:30and they very carefully managed his workload.
00:32But when he's healthy, he is a beast.
00:34Obviously, you guys were talking about the offensive rebounding,
00:37any kind of advanced metric.
00:38He would point to him being the best offensive rebounder in the league,
00:42and that is such a key part of the Celtics' identity.
00:44And also, we talked about it since Brad Stevens' end of press conference.
00:48What do they need to do?
00:49They need to put more pressure on the rim, and he does just that.
00:52You know, his average shot distance last year was one foot from the rim.
00:56That was the shortest distance from anybody in the league.
00:58Love it.
00:5951% of his shot attempts were dunks.
01:02That's exactly what they needed.
01:03They addressed a huge need there, and he's a great screener,
01:06fits right into what they're trying to do.
01:08And defensively, he's a lot more able on the perimeter,
01:10and they needed somebody like that more so than what Garza can bring him
01:13and what Kata can bring him.
01:14So I love it.
01:15I actually think he's going to slot in and be the starter right away,
01:18just given, obviously, we've seen the hack-a-mitch style before
01:21and how teams try to foul him when they're in the bonus, put him on the line.
01:24And that's harder to do when you're not in the bonus.
01:26So I'd start him right away.
01:27But I really do love this signing.
01:29Are you surprised that they got him for as little as they did?
01:31I thought he would have cost the team more than that.
01:34I was surprised they got him, period.
01:36I mean, this was number one on my free agency big board here.
01:39I remember we talked about that a couple weeks ago,
01:40but I didn't think New York was going to let him go.
01:42Obviously, that kind of changed after James Dolan went out
01:45and said that they were avoiding the second apron by all costs.
01:47But to get him at the mid-level,
01:50he's probably the best available for eighth and center this year.
01:54That's a huge pickup for them.
01:55So I was a little bit surprised that he left in general,
01:57but obviously Dolan kind of left the door open for that.
02:00And the fact that they were able to get him at the mid-level is huge.
02:02So who's your starting five, Terp?
02:04All right, so he's starting.
02:05Who do you got your starting five?
02:07So assuming Jalen Brown's on the team?
02:09Yes, assuming he's on the team.
02:10Okay, so we'll go.
02:11It'll be Derek White, Peyton Pritchard, Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown, and then Mitchell Robinson.
02:18Not bad.
02:19That'd be my five.
02:19Is that right there good enough?
02:22I think it is.
02:23I mean, obviously, they still need some additions, right?
02:26Like, I don't think these moves enough is going to do it, right?
02:29Like, obviously, I think Sam Hauser, we've talked about this,
02:32will be traded in some sort of capacity this offseason.
02:35Obviously, the big domino waiting to fall is Jalen Brown,
02:37but they're already a good team as constructed.
02:40Like, we've been beating it to death that they are the favorites
02:42to win the Eastern Conference this year as currently constructed.
02:46And I think part of that is obviously because of the past history
02:49and teams not getting back to the finals and winning the conference again
02:53in the next year.
02:54Like, it hasn't happened.
02:55They haven't had a back-to-back champion since the Cavaliers did it
02:57four years in a row in the Eastern Conference.
02:59So maybe you're looking at the Eastern Conference and just the history
03:03and, like, the trends of that, but also it speaks to how open it really still is.
03:07I think all last year people were hesitant to buy in on the Knicks
03:10until they got it done in the finals because of how weak the Eastern Conference was.
03:14So I think right now it's a step in the right direction.
03:17I agree with Ted.
03:18I heard him before.
03:19Like, this is – you're a better team today than you were yesterday,
03:22but I think there are still moves to be made.
03:24Is Mike Conley the Al Horford we've been looking for,
03:27the Drew Holiday, the veteran kind of adult in the room?
03:31Off the floor, yes.
03:33I mean, I don't think he's going to play all that much.
03:35I mean, the production has steadily declined,
03:37and that's to be expected when you're entering your 20th season in the NBA.
03:41Mark, only 14 players have reached.
03:43So you can kind of expect that, but he could still be trusted.
03:46I mean, I was looking at it earlier, some of his playoff numbers.
03:49Like, in the three games that he played over 20 minutes a game in the playoffs,
03:52they won all three, and he was huge for them in game one against the Spurs.
03:56He scored, like, 12 points, had a couple of assists
03:58and helped them win that game and steal a game over the Spurs.
04:01So at the very least, you're getting a veteran presence
04:03and a guy that's just rounding out the depth of this roster, right?
04:06He's not going to play over Derek White.
04:08He's not going to play over Peyton Pritchard.
04:10But if you are in a pinch where you need to break the glass in case of emergency,
04:13you can count on him to go in there and deliver strong minutes.
04:16He's also one of the most respected voices in the league,
04:19one of the most respected veterans in the league.
04:20Obviously, you guys were talking about, like, the Teammate Awards
04:23and the Sportsmanship Award.
04:25Like, that's the type of character he is,
04:27and that's the type of character that Brad Stevens values,
04:29and they needed a leader in there.
04:31So I think this is a great signing,
04:32especially if you're just rounding out the end of your depth bench.
04:35Like, you're not really going to rely on him to play 60 games for you
04:38at 20 minutes a night.
04:39Like, he's going to be more of a kind of a veteran presence.
04:41They needed that big time.
04:43They needed just a veteran that you guys respect in there,
04:46and so that's certainly what Michael Conley is.
04:48Terp, what does Mike Conley and Mitchell Robinson signal to you
04:54from an offensive standpoint?
04:55Does it tell you anything about where they might go differently or not
05:00with their offensive system?
05:02What does that tell you with these two guys from an offensive standpoint?
05:06It tells me that they were truthful.
05:07Brad Stevens was truthful in trying to put more pressure on the rim.
05:11Again, like I said, like, 51% of Mitchell Robinson's shot attempts were dunks, right?
05:16And he's generating all these shots afoot from the rim,
05:19and the Celtics were dead last in that category last year.
05:22So it signals to me that they were being truthful about their intention
05:25to go out and try to put more pressure on the rim
05:27because he's one of the best in the league at doing that.
05:29He also is excellent in the pick and roll.
05:31He's a roll man.
05:32He's in, like, the 99th percentile.
05:34So I think they were being truthful in that.
05:36And it is interesting, too, because when you're looking at your collection
05:39of centers here, Cade is not a shooter.
05:41Mitchell Robinson has never taken a three-pointer in his NBA career,
05:44and Luka Garza's in there as well.
05:46But as long as Luka Garza's just ready, because, like,
05:48I would imagine the Celtics kind of handle Mitchell Robinson
05:50the way that the Knicks did last year,
05:53where he's not playing back-to-backs.
05:54You're carefully watching his minutes,
05:55just making sure he is ready to go for the postseason
05:59because the injury history is relevant, and it's real.
06:01So as long as you have a guy like Garza that can come in
06:04and plug those minutes when Mitchell Robinson's out,
06:06which he proved he can last year,
06:07you really feel pretty good about what you have with your front court now.
06:10So...
06:10So...
06:10So...
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