Latest / NY's Sports Loud Mouth (VIDEO) / JAYSON TATUM returns for the CELTICS! Are they the BEST team in the EAST?

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JAYSON TATUM returns for the CELTICS! Are they the BEST team in the EAST? · NY's Sports Loud Mouth (VIDEO)

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They're going to have a ton of money to spend.
0:01
Why not pulling in one of the top three offensive players in
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the league? We're going to be looking at
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Aaron George and saying that he can't win the big game, Michael
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Jordan said. I played 82 games.
0:20
You don't see LeBron doing that. A game where you got to go, I
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told you, giant feet, Saquon Barkley at this moment,
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Say whatever you want about that quarterback in the NFL, really.
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You're listening to Jabba and the Mouth. 631-672-3108 is that
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1:40
the Mouth. My name is Harold Marks.
1:42
They call me the mouth. And tonight my Co host as
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always, Mr. Speedster himself, Speedy Petey, executive
1:51
producer, Mr. Aaron Fish. Fishman, you just heard him.
1:53
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2:19
March Madness is around the corner. 3 weeks, 2 weeks away
2:23
from March Madness. They're going to have the
2:26
weekend next, this Sunday actually is going to what do
2:29
they call this Selection Sunday? And then the week right after
2:33
that we're going to be starting that Thursday will be March
2:36
Madness. So exciting time for a betting
2:38
man or betting woman or or kids over the age of 18, I can bet.
2:43
So you'll, you'll be excited for that.
2:45
You get a chance to see Kim Boozer and Peterson and the
2:49
Beza. So it's this is a fun time for
2:53
sports and golf and NASCAR is going crazy and all the NASCAR
2:58
fans are going nuts because they're the racing has just
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begun. And I didn't realize around the
3:03
country how big and how popular NASCAR is.
3:05
And it it's very, very big around the country.
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So a lot of people are excited. Michael Jordan's definitely
3:11
excited because it's a race team is absolutely kicking butt.
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So it'll be fun it it's definitely a fun time for all
3:18
you New York and fans around the country that are tuned in and
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ready to go and ready to listen to us.
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We will have our draft party this year.
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We're going to have a lot of special guests and it'll be fun.
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Speedy 6 Pack of the week. Let's have a sixer.
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Hey, who wants to play Drink the Beer?
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It's time for the speedy 6 pack of the week.
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That's. Part in?
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No, we're not going to put any sex parts in.
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How would I want to pull jobless fannies down?
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Yeah, that would involve sex parts.
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Tender pain. To.
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Smack a live oyster? Well, these guys will not be
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smacking live oysters because unless you're a Red Wings or
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Predators player, you don't see seafood being thrown on the ice.
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We'll get to the Red Wings in a bit.
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We'll start with your team there, all the New York
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Islanders. They acquire Braden Shen for
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Jonathan Druan, goalie prospect Marcus Gilding, the Avalanche
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first round pick they just acquired last year for Brock
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Nelson and the New Jersey Devils third round pick as well as
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Shannon, a good playoff player in his career, was a big part of
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the Saint Blues. Blues club problem was good with
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the Flyers as well. What are your thoughts to your
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team making this move? I love it.
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You bring in a veteran guy, a captain.
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He was the captain of Saint Louis Blues.
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He was a part of the championship team, which by the
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way, I was on the ice four and watched them hoist the Cup in
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Boston. I think Shannon adds a little
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bit more veteran personality in that locker room.
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It's going to help Matthew Schaefer how help him develop as
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a young player. He's becoming a superstar right
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in front of her eyes. And and by the way, I don't know
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about the first round pick. I think I would have stayed away
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from the first round pick, but it's a late first round pick.
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It's really a second round draft pick.
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I, I, it's not going to make a difference.
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They didn't have to give up theirs and it's going to
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probably be around 2022 depending on where they fall in
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in the regular season and the playoffs.
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I, I love it. I think it's great and he has
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they still have them for one more year and he waved his no
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crate clause. So think about it.
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They're not many players in the past that have waved their no
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trade clause to come to the island.
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Well, ladies and gentlemen, you got one.
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And this guy was a captain and a pretty damn good player.
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Yes. And that that was a common theme
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of the no trade clause this year.
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That's what gets my next two of that.
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So the Sabres were denied of their no no.
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Trade clause. They wanted to trade for Blues
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young defenseman Colton Perico, and the Sabers turned it down.
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Apparently there was a story that Doug Armstrong was
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interrogating a lot of their social media guys and stuff
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like. That is this another Brown
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story? For leaking, no.
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No, For leaking a trade that never happened and like getting
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it out there, like it actually was actually to go through.
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But Perico was denied. So he ends up he ends up staying
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with the Blues. Buffalo would counter with
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Braden Shen's brother Luke, as well as defenseman Logan Stanley
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from the Winnipeg Jets to try to bolster their defense.
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Interesting. You know, it's not surprising.
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And again, the Buffalo Sabres are an organization that has
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been pretty good with some of their players.
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But when you hear a story like this, you kind of get yourself
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wondering if this organization really doesn't have a head on
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the right head on their shoulders.
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I again, Luke is a good player. He's not braiding and, and I
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again, they add these pieces to a team that is looking for
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talent and, and Buffalo's going to make a run.
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They're going to make the playoffs and it could be very
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dangerous. And they the one thing I could
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say about them this year that they haven't had over the last
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couple years is the goaltending. So I think it's great.
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I I think there's a good move, but it to me, it's starting to
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get me worried about the Buffalo Sabres and who's running that
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organization if they're doing stuff right.
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All right, another team that got turned down of a player was the
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Detroit Red Wings. So Tyler Myers was the one that
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I heard about this, exercised his no trade calls to not go to
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Detroit. So they actually oddly enough
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countered by trading for Justin Falk from the Blues took on a
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big contract. They gave up a first round,
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first round pick in order to do it.
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The Stars instead get Tyler Myers instead and also get
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Michael Bunting for a second and a fourth round pick, sending him
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to Nashville and two and a four to the Canucks for Tyler Myers.
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I am for Detroit. I would not have given up a
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first round draft pick because that could be early first round
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draft pick. And as far as Myers going to
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Dallas and and the pieces, the pieces that Dallas got, Dallas
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is a team that's scary. If they can, if they can make a
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run at the tail end of the season, they could be dangerous
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in the playoffs. They still have a a abundance of
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great offensive players. They are good, they have great
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goals and Ottinger is one of the best goalies in the league.
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If Dallas gets into the playoffs, I think they could be
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as dangerous as any team. Even at the as an 8 seed or
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seven seed, they could be very dangerous.
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I like what Dallas did, not what Detroit did.
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Yeah. So right now they're going to be
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second in the division. They could be third.
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They're interchanging with Minnesota right now, but Dallas
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is. Those three teams have been the
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best teams in the NHL for pretty much all year regular season
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wise. Let's go get to their main
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competition in Colorado. They reunite with the guy that
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helped them in the playoffs, Nasim Qadri.
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He goes back. Viktor Olafsen was a former
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Buffalo Sabre along with prospect Max Quran.
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Flames getting conditional first and second round picks.
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They actually did well as sellers.
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They were one of the teams that were a lot of people liked what
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they were doing as sellers. They're always sellers.
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And then Colorado also gets Nicholas Roy from the Toronto
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Maple Leafs, who had a good year this year, won the Stanley Cup
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with Vegas as one of their third line centers as well.
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Of course Colorado gets everything and it seems like
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they're flourishing. Joe Saket looks like a God.
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He looks like a genius on their way to a Stanley Cup finals.
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I love what Colorado did. Calgary sells off pieces.
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It's pathetic. Calgary just for all the things
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they should have never traded Matthew Kuchuk and they gave up
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really if you think about what Florida did getting Matthew
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Kuchuk in the long run, Calgary got nothing for that deal
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because cadre who they went, they brought cadre and after
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they lost Matthew Kuchuk, he goes back to Colorado and and
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Matthew Kuchuk in Florida they want 2 Stanley Cups so.
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And not to mention they traded their primary piece in that deal
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in Mackenzie Weger already last week to Utah and the mammoth,
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yeah, Jonathan Huberdos, but nothing but injury prone over
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there there with the Calgary Flames as their alleged
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offensive replacement. All right, two more.
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We got another Vancouver player and Connor Garland, the one that
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was linked to the Islanders a lot.
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He goes to the Blue Jackets for a third and second round pick.
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And now Columbus, I was talking about it.
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We'll get to the last team in a bit with the with the Penguins
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having the injuries with Sidney Crosby, maybe there's a window
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for Columbus. They're also fighting for that
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last wild card spot. And Vancouver's just selling off
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a lot. They a lot of people said that
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Vancouver didn't get enough for Garland.
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I don't know what's going on with Vancouver.
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Vancouver is just selling off and Peterson, they're they
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didn't move him yet and they're going to move him in the
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offseason. There'll be teams lining up for
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him. They're going to get something
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for him, but they're not going to get as much because if you
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think about it, look what they traded.
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They created traded that one of their best players in Quint
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Hughes. You saw what he did in the play.
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You saw what he did in the Olympics.
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And now look what he's doing over there with Minnesota.
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I, I mean, Vancouver doesn't know what they're doing.
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I, I, just, I don't know, man. I, I, I, I look at hockey and,
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and, and some of these teams and some of these organizations, you
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wonder if, if they're trying to lose it and like the Rangers as
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they're rebuilding, as Chris Jerry came out with how many
10:14
letters, 1-2, maybe 3. Now, I mean, rebuilding doesn't
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tell me anything about that organization.
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It just tells me that the organization doesn't know what
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they're doing. So all these moves make you
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wonder if these teams actually know what they're doing and
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where they're going. Yeah, apparently they were
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trying to leverage. Vancouver was trying to leverage
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for an extra, not necessarily a guarantee first round pick, but
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maybe a conditional pick or conditional second that could
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turn into a first. Picks don't mean anything.
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You don't know if they're going to be players, stars.
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You're reaching, you have a great player and you're just
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going to get rid of them for picks.
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Yeah, doesn't make any sense. Well, they were trying to
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leverage Minnesota, they were trying to leverage Detroit, and
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both those teams had to go other directions.
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Minnesota was actually very active at the deadline, though.
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They get multiple pieces as well.
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We'll finish it off with a team that I thought was a surprise
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seller. You were talking about last week
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with Florida being a surprise seller, the Washington Capitals,
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I would have thought they would have had a window with the
11:05
Penguins injuries to try to make the playoffs.
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They were a good young team last year, won the Metropolitan
11:09
Division, but they trade away. They trade away Nick Dowd to
11:12
Vegas and for two players and two draft picks in Vegas getting
11:17
another guy. They love X Capitals players
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over there, but this was the big.
11:20
Rich get richer. Colorado and Vegas.
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Vegas getting very productive. They were very active last week
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and then this was the big move probably after Alexander
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Ovechkin, their next longest tenured player with the
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Capitals, and Jon Carlson being traded to the Anaheim Ducks for
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a conditional first round pick and a 2027 third round.
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Pick I I, I'm going to tell you this, right?
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Anaheim's getting better and better and better.
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I I in Anaheim, I'm going to tell you they could be
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dangerous. They could be dangerous this
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year. They could be dangerous next
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year. They got a ton of talent.
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They got a great a bunch of young prospects and they're
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giving up draft picks because they have one of the best farm
11:52
systems in all of hockey. They didn't really give up any
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young superstar on that roster right now.
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They're laughing to the bank right now.
12:00
And, and by the way, it pisses me off because the Vegas Knights
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in the Colorado Avalanche, every single year at the trade
12:07
deadline, they win. They win.
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Vegas was my Cup pick at the start of the year and Colorado,
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they have their regular season record going, which really
12:15
hasn't. Again, with those types of
12:17
teams, sometimes it doesn't work in the playoffs for them.
12:19
But like those those four and then Anaheim's probably entering
12:22
those gauntlet with Dallas, Minnesota too.
12:24
They're going to think they can enter that gauntlet too with the
12:26
moves they're making. I I think both Colorado and
12:28
Vegas are dangerous in the playoffs.
12:30
They always are with the talent that they have.
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The the question with Colorado every single year is do they
12:36
have enough goaltending just like Edmonton?
12:38
If they do, I expect Colorado to go all the way this year and the
12:42
only team that might get in their way.
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I mean, watch out for Minnesota, Yes, really.
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Yeah, but that's what I'm thinking because they got, they
12:48
got bigger forwards too. Bill Guerin changed his
12:51
philosophy a lot because I think he was on the hot seat and they
12:54
got some bigger forwards to to go along.
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With, I mean winning the gold medal.
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Does that keep him on the hot seat?
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Anyway, I mean, yeah, but I'm just saying Minnesota hasn't won
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a playoff series in a long time since Patrick Guam was coaching
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the Colorado in. Keeping I I would I would tell
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you as a Bill Guerin fan because I like Bill well, Garen, him
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making that move for Quinn Hughes and practically not
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giving up anything for one of the top five defencemen in all
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of hockey and probably the best, I believe United States
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defencemen in all hockey for nothing.
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I think he he keeps his job no matter what.
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Yeah, now. That that was a guarantee and
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also the fact that we were thinking all offseason they were
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going to trade Caprice off and look how far they've come since
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then. Oh my God, they're flourishing
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right in front of our eyes, ladies and gentlemen.
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All right, that's speedy 6 pack of the week.
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Speaking of 6 packs, I don't know if he has a six pack
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because he's been sitting out for 10 months, but he he's back
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ladies and gentlemen and seeking some a vengeance for the New
13:51
York Knicks, maybe. Celtics star forward Jayson
13:54
Tatum made his season debut on Friday night against The
13:57
Mavericks after missing almost 10 months with his torn
14:01
Achilles. He suffered in the NBA playoffs
14:03
versus the Knicks on May 12th last year.
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Tatum finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists in
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the Celtics 121 hundred win over The Mavericks, but struggled
14:15
mightily with his shot and had a poor dunk attempt go badly
14:21
before regaining his form some the rest of the game.
14:26
His second game was on the road at Sunday versus the Cavaliers,
14:31
where he had 20 points, 3 rebounds and two assists,
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helping the Celtics win 109 to 98.
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Reports say that Tatum was medically cleared at to return
14:43
late February, but Tatum told people in his inner circle that
14:47
he wasn't mentally mental, mentally ready to return.
14:51
Speedy, you missed the word at the time and wasn't even sure if
14:55
he would return when he did. Tatum also told people People
15:00
magazine that back in October he had doubts about the about his
15:06
basketball career and that he was under the belief that the
15:11
Celtics could trade him despite all the success he had with
15:14
Boston pre injury. ESP NS Brian Winhorst said on
15:20
First Take that he was very pleased how Jayson Tatum looked
15:24
in his return and believes that the Celtics are serious
15:27
contenders with him back and have surpassed the Pistons as
15:31
the best team in the East. The Celtics are currently 43 and
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21, two .5 games ahead of the Knicks for the second seed in
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the East and 2.5 games behind the Pistons for the number one
15:45
seed in the East. Although the Detroit Pistons is
15:49
in in the midst of their four-game losing streak, the
15:53
Knicks fell to Luca and the Lakers Sunday without LeBron,
15:57
giving the Celtics a legitimate shot at the top seed in Eastern
16:01
Conference going into the playoffs this year.
16:03
Who cares where they land first, second, third, 4th, 4th?
16:09
We know the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
16:12
We know they're going to be matched up against the Knicks in
16:14
the second round. I don't think it's blind to
16:17
understand what is going on. What scares me here is Jason
16:22
Tatum Torres, Achilles against who?
16:24
The New York Knicks and the same New York Knick team that was up
16:27
three O against them in that playoff run where everybody was
16:31
shocked, including Celtic fans. How are the Knicks beating us
16:34
three O and the Celtics play chase?
16:38
I think this could be completely different.
16:40
Jayson Tatum is an explosive player.
16:42
He's going to get his feet onto him and eventually he's going to
16:45
be an elite player again. He is not what you call an
16:49
athletically gifted kid. Now, I'm not saying he's not
16:52
athletically gifted, but his game is not athlete.
16:56
You know, his, his, his ability is his gifts as as as
16:59
athletically gifted kid. His gifts are his shooting
17:02
ability, his perimeter jump shot, what he does on the boards
17:06
as as a power forward or three. He's he completely sets up
17:10
mismatches against a lot of teams in the Eastern Conference,
17:13
including the Western Conference.
17:15
And to me, when he is on, he is probably one of the more
17:19
unstoppable players in the league.
17:21
When you have a guy like Jalen Brown who's up for an MVP this
17:24
year, he's got the ability to take over games and he can
17:27
defend multiple positions and you got this guy.
17:30
I the problem, what I think the Celtics are going to have
17:34
against these bigger teams like the Knicks, like Detroit, is
17:38
their size, that that's going to be the problem.
17:41
And now, and does that matter over the last couple of years
17:46
when we've seen teams like, I don't know, OK C that are not
17:49
quoted as a big, big team. Now they play small and OK C won
17:54
a championship. Indiana, they played small
17:57
against the Knicks and they beat the Knicks and they almost beat
17:59
OK C. So again, when I look at these
18:04
teams, including the Celtics, does not worry me.
18:07
No, they have one of the one of the best coaches in the league
18:10
right now. And I wouldn't I, I wouldn't go
18:12
out there and say that after what I seen this year and what
18:15
I've seen over the last two years.
18:16
They do have a very good quality coach that knows what he does
18:20
and nobody knows how he is going to call his plays and how he's
18:23
going to get these players to play.
18:25
And and I, they have the best six man in the NBA right now.
18:28
I don't think that's an argument.
18:30
The problem with also with the Celtics that worries me if I'm a
18:32
Celtic fan, is their bench, do they have enough to be teams
18:36
like the Knicks or Detroit? Or even if they get out of the
18:40
Eastern Conference, are they going to be able to beat OKC or
18:43
or one of these teams in front of them that Minnesota or, or
18:47
the teams that have very strong benches over the last the last
18:51
couple of weeks? So that is my question that I
18:54
would have to ask the Celtics. Jayson Tatum is a great player
18:58
and if you're a Celtic fan, I know Mikey C is a Celtic fan, so
19:02
he's going to sit there and say he loves it.
19:03
I am not. I, I root for Jayson Tatum
19:06
because he's the Duke Blue Devil.
19:07
I followed him when he played for Duke.
19:09
I love the kid. I did not like when, when the
19:11
Celtics drafted him at #4 But he's really developed into a
19:15
sensational player. So I, I root for him because
19:18
he's a Duke player. I root for every Duke player
19:20
that comes into the NBA, even if they play for teams I can't
19:23
stand. So I'm rooting for him.
19:25
Not against the Knicks. I'm worried about the New York
19:29
Knicks. I am.
19:30
I don't care what anybody says. The Knicks didn't do enough in
19:34
in my eyes at the trade deadline.
19:36
I I like Alvarado. I do, I like him.
19:39
And it's we're yet to see the best of out of Jose Alvarado.
19:44
We're yet to see it. But you needed to add a unique
19:50
piece to this roster because, you know, guys like Karl Anthony
19:53
Towns, OG and Anobi and and half of these players do not play
20:00
consistent basketball. The only one that plays
20:03
consistently offensively is, you know, Jalen Brunson and Karl
20:09
Anthony Towns scares me as well because Karl Anthony Towns is
20:12
good. Of the games that we've seen him
20:13
play back-to-back, he plays these one or two bad games that
20:16
make you shake your head and wonder if he even knows what
20:19
team he's playing for or if he knows what position he plays for
20:23
or plays at. He plays sometimes as a as a
20:27
guard when he's a big man and it doesn't make any sense.
20:31
And and to me, this is a make or break year for Karl Anthony
20:35
Towns this year because if this team doesn't go all the way to a
20:40
championship and you ought to go through the Celtics who now have
20:44
you. And I'm going to give Jason
20:46
Tatum a lot of credit because tearing your Achilles, we're not
20:48
seeing Hal Burton come back. They already knew the Indiana
20:51
already knew what they were doing going to the season.
20:53
They were going to choke. They were going to make sure
20:55
that they're a bad team so they can get a top five pick so they
20:58
can add a player to play with Hal Burton.
21:00
That's what they were going to do.
21:01
Everybody knows what they were going to do going into this
21:04
season. The Knicks, their best chance
21:08
and their window is open now and even if they may add Giannis in
21:13
the offseason, which I'm going to get into that tomorrow with
21:15
Quran because I'm going to be joining.
21:18
We and him are going to be doing a show together moving forward,
21:20
which I'm going to make an announcement.
21:21
We're going to be doing 2 shows together, the War Room, and
21:26
we're going to be doing something else after games.
21:30
As a Knick fan, you cannot be happy that Jason Tatum's coming
21:34
back. All of you guys, every one of
21:37
you guys in the studio right now, including Fish, our Nick
21:41
Fence, everybody and all the people that are listening to the
21:44
show right now are not going to argue with me right now.
21:47
When you look at Jayson Tatum, you look at Jaylen Brown playing
21:49
at a high level that he is and the way they've done it all
21:53
season long with less of the talent they've had over the
21:56
years. There's no more poisonous.
21:58
I know White's on the team. There's no more Holiday.
22:01
They they don't have the they don't have old man Horford
22:04
coming off the bench. They don't have that anymore.
22:07
This is a different team, different roster and what
22:10
they've done with just white and Jaylen Brown and and and, and
22:14
who's the six man again? Pritchard, Pritchard, Pritchard
22:16
who's probably going to win six man again this year.
22:20
I, I mean, it's incredible. It's an incredible coaching job.
22:24
Honestly, the Celtics, their coach is going to win coach of
22:27
the year. I I would think so after the
22:30
season that he's having with less of the talent that he's had
22:33
over the years. Jayson Tatum just adds the
22:35
little cherry on top. The little cherry on top.
22:40
Maybe a big cherry, but some strawberry topping on it.
22:44
He's a great player, man. Now is he enough to to beat the
22:49
New York Knicks in a semi game series?
22:51
Time will tell because he was on that roster last year before he
22:54
tore his Achilles in game 4. The Knicks were up three O and
22:59
he was in the lineup. But we all know that the Celtics
23:03
are going to go out. They know what happened last
23:06
year and they're going to they're as of right now, they
23:08
look like they're going to have home field advantage, homecourt
23:11
advantage against the Knicks, just like they did last year.
23:13
The Knicks are a better home team than they are away team
23:16
this year, something that they were a better away team last
23:19
year than they were home. If you're a Knicks fan, you
23:22
cannot be excited to see Jayson Tatum come back and if and he's
23:26
going to get enough reps, enough time to get on that basketball
23:29
court to be ready for the playoffs.
23:31
That's the scary part here. Yeah, and that's the thing where
23:34
you look at the Celtics, the way they were just operating this
23:37
year, they a lot, a lot of people.
23:39
I never thought they were going to miss the playoffs like a lot
23:41
of people did at the beginning of the year.
23:42
I thought they were like the five or six, see, But now
23:44
they're the 2. They can really still still be
23:46
comfortable in their game and let Tatum ease himself back into
23:48
the game. Now again, the Celtics assist
23:50
per game and wise they're not great this year, but pretty much
23:52
every other category they're doing very well and obviously
23:55
White getting more minutes to full time point guard with them
23:58
getting rid of a lot of other guys makes a big difference in
24:00
that. But Even so, they have a lot of
24:02
productive players in Jason Tatum's prediction that can get
24:05
a combined production. Peyton Pritchard obviously being
24:07
the 6th man of the year. Kennedy, He also trade for a guy
24:10
in Anthony Simons that was a good three-point shooter when he
24:12
was in Portland alongside Damian Lillard.
24:14
After they traded McCollum, they got good production from him.
24:17
They trade for Nicola Vujovic, who's now hurt, but it's going
24:20
to be a. Production.
24:20
Another tow job. When he comes back, a young kid
24:23
and Kate Son was a big, big man who's replaced the role of
24:25
Horford. Well, they have guys that got
24:27
the combined production to work where they don't have to like
24:29
rush Tatum to back into what he's doing.
24:31
I think down the road, yeah, in the playoffs they're going to
24:34
have to rely on Tatum being more of a ball handler again because
24:37
we saw a certain playoff series, Jaylen Brown, and sometimes it's
24:40
not a good ball handler, and Derek White.
24:42
He takes himself. Undersized in certain matchups,
24:44
so that'll be up to Missoula to do that kind of thing.
24:46
But you mentioned it like the Celtics are not going to be that
24:48
fundamentally flawed team that you saw at certain points where
24:51
they got too comfortable against the Knicks.
24:53
Remember, they had the 220 point leads against the Knicks early
24:55
in that series and they just kept shooting too many threes
24:57
and. Then I think the Celtics are in
24:59
a driver's seat. Yeah, I I think because of the
25:01
adversity they had to overcome, which is something that Missoula
25:04
was not having to be tested with for his first couple of years as
25:07
the coach for the Celtics. I think now you're really seeing
25:10
that there are a lot more intention to detail type team
25:14
that is going to help them in the playoffs.
25:16
And Tatum is not somebody that has to rely, like you said,
25:19
honest athleticism on him having the ball on his hands all the
25:21
time because the Celtics have a good system that gets that in
25:24
place. I am worried about the size
25:25
overall like you are, especially if Vuchevik does miss more time,
25:29
too and he's not having to come back kind of quickly in the
25:32
playoffs. Obviously losing Porzingis this
25:34
offseason, they have to trade him.
25:35
Losing Horford, obviously, he's not really big for his side at
25:38
this point in his career, but still, maybe that could be a
25:40
question. But you look at the way they're
25:42
built right now, they have a lot of guys that can play multiple
25:44
roles and concepts in this basketball team that's still
25:47
very strong, where Tatum can still be eased back very well.
25:50
I think it's if you're a Knick fan, you have to worry that
25:54
Jason Tatum is coming back. Everybody thought it was going
25:56
to be Detroit that you have to worry about.
25:57
It's not Detroit, it's the Celtics.
25:59
They have won a championship with practically this roster.
26:02
They are a little bit smaller than they usually are.
26:04
There's no more poisoning us on this roster.
26:06
Their size is is limited. But everything else,
26:10
athletically, they're as good as anybody in the Eastern
26:13
Conference. Everybody keeps talking about
26:14
what the Cavaliers and they watch out for the Cavaliers with
26:17
some of these secondary teams. I think the team to watch now is
26:20
the Celtics, and I think the Celtics are going to win this
26:22
division. I really do.
26:24
I think the Celtics with Tatum coming back only 2 1/2 games
26:27
behind the Detroit Pistons. Detroit.
26:29
My question with Detroit is they have the hardest schedule left
26:33
out of all these teams. Are they going to be able to
26:36
keep up the pace? Are they going to be able to
26:37
keep teams like the Celtics or even Knicks catching them?
26:41
I, I, I don't believe they will. I think they're going to lose
26:43
their spot. There's a lot of basketball left
26:45
before the season's over. So I think there's like 20
26:48
something games. Left yeah, and they have a lot
26:49
of veterans that have really over performed this year too,
26:52
Tobias Harris, Robinson, Duncan Robinson, who I always liked,
26:55
but again, kind of a question mark.
26:57
And I I don't know if their depth like has the consistency
27:01
that the Knicks depth does or even the Celtics with their wing
27:04
spot. I just worry about the Celtics
27:05
size. The Pistons have size.
27:06
They definitely have the size advantage, which Stewart and
27:09
Duran and guys like that. But there is some concern with
27:11
the lack of experience and the lack of just untrustingness of a
27:14
lot of those starting players at this level.
27:17
Because we've seen now in today's NBA where you probably
27:19
have to be a top three seed to win an NBA title, but you don't
27:22
really need to be the number one anymore.
27:24
Like home field homecourt advantage, was that relied upon
27:26
anymore? So, Speedy, we talked earlier
27:29
today about the Pistons and how this is this the year that they
27:35
get their experience or is this the year that we find out Kate
27:40
Cunningham is the next big guy? Kind of like how Derrick Rose
27:45
years ago had a great regular season, but then he was like
27:49
dominant putting up stats when they got to the play offs too.
27:53
And then all of a sudden now he's the next guy.
27:55
He wins an MVP. Obviously had the injury, but it
27:58
reminds me of that. Kate is doing it all this year.
28:01
He's third in MVP odds, but they've never done it as a team.
28:06
As a Knicks fan, I'm not as afraid of Detroit as I am Boston
28:10
at all, but it's a very different Knicks team this year
28:14
than the one they faced last year.
28:15
Offensively, defensively, it's the same guys and I would argue
28:19
OGN and Obi's levelled up a little bit this year on both
28:22
ends of the court, even though he was already great
28:24
defensively. Bridges kind of shut those guys
28:27
down last year too. If you remember one of those big
28:29
end of the games, Bridges had the huge block of Tatum before
28:32
he got hurt. So I think it's still a really
28:35
bad match up for the Celtics. Brunson's not afraid of Derek
28:38
White. He's not afraid of Peyton
28:40
Pritchard. Those guys scare a lot of
28:42
people. Not Brunson.
28:43
I just think they don't match up well against the Knicks,
28:45
especially if Mitch is playing well inside against them.
28:48
I think they're going to have a lot of trouble still.
28:50
And with Tatum at like 80%, I still think they don't want to
28:53
face the Knicks. They're hoping they don't.
28:56
Not necessarily that Tatum's afraid of them.
28:58
I bet Tatum gives everything he has in that series, but they
29:01
can't play in more than 28 minutes.
29:03
Speedy. What did he play 27 one game and
29:05
like they're. Not going to need to because I
29:08
think, like I said, they have enough systematic things.
29:11
They're the two seed right now. They're not going to go away
29:13
from what's working for them right now and they will ease
29:15
Tate him back into a obviously he's comfortable in pretty much
29:18
everything, but not far have to force it into one role like they
29:22
have to be a savior for them. Yeah, I mean, look, it's they
29:25
had this guy that you got to tell me where he's from.
29:28
Speedy, this is this white guy Shireman Crate from Kratom.
29:33
All right, so Shireman. Yeah.
29:36
So he was doing like the Jason Tatum minutes.
29:39
And now and like a couple other guys, they traded Simons, who
29:44
was getting some of those minutes.
29:45
Now, Tatum's going to take those minutes in the lineup and they
29:48
have depth. So now look at this is a
29:51
different Celtics team because they have more depth in the
29:53
rotation, maybe at the forward position, because all of those
29:55
guys had to get in there when Tatum was out.
29:57
So they have that going for them.
29:59
Just, I just don't know. I just don't think this is a
30:02
better Celtics team than last year.
30:05
And the Knicks were beating the Celtics before Tatum got hurt.
30:08
So that's how I see it. And I'm very optimistic about
30:11
the Knicks this year. This is the most optimistic I've
30:13
ever been as a Knicks fan, I think in my entire life, dating
30:17
back to when I was a kid when they went to the, you know,
30:19
they, they snuck in as an eighth seed in 2000 or 99 or whatever
30:23
it was. I don't know what do you?
30:25
Think, I think I'm worried if I'm, if you're a Knick fan.
30:28
I am a Knick fan and anybody that knows me, I the Knicks are
30:32
my favorite team out of all the sports teams that I root for.
30:35
I would worry that the Celtics getting Tatum back and giving
30:38
them that punch and give him that confidence that you're
30:41
going to have that secondary offense.
30:43
You're not going to have to worry about, you know, Derek
30:45
White being that secondary offense because we saw what he
30:47
did when Tatum went down in game five.
30:50
He was bad. He really was.
30:51
It was Jaylen Brown or nothing and Pritchard.
30:55
As good as Pritchard is as a 6th man in the playoffs, he was up
30:58
and he was down. The Knicks left him open.
31:01
If the guy that you have to worry about is Jason Tatum.
31:03
But when Jason Tatum went out after game 4I, I think the
31:07
Knicks smell blood. They knew that this series was
31:09
over. There was no way the Celtics
31:11
come back, even though a lot of people didn't think they were
31:13
going to come back in, in after three games and in the next
31:16
pretty much sweeping them over there in Boston and then beating
31:19
them that one game at home. So I, I, I don't trust some of
31:24
these guys. I, I, I, I'm, I'm just telling
31:26
you, OG and OB is one of the best defender defenders in all
31:29
of all of basketball. There's no question perimeter
31:32
defenders probably the best, but you have Mikhail Bridges.
31:35
Is he going to play enough? Is he going to score enough?
31:37
Are they going to be consistent? There's inconsistency.
31:39
McBride hasn't played this year. We'll see him in the playoffs.
31:42
Is that going to cut out Jose Alvarado and his time on the
31:45
basketball court? There's a lot of things that you
31:46
wonder and Mike Brown, how is he going to run this roster?
31:49
How is this going to work in the playoffs when they're making
31:52
that run, that playoff push in that run?
31:54
And you need to get Karl Anthony Towns more more, you know,
31:57
touches and in games that sometimes I believe Karl Anthony
32:01
Towns disappears in. So I I think you need to see
32:05
where that secondary option is going to come.
32:07
And I don't know if we're going to be able to see that against
32:10
teams like the Celtics or even Detroit.
32:12
I think the Knicks match up very well against Detroit in A7 game
32:14
series. I have the Knicks against the
32:16
Celtics, the Celtics, and every time the Knicks beat Jaylen
32:20
Brown and the Celtics, every time Jaylen Brown calls a
32:23
meeting, always. He does not like losing against
32:26
the Knicks ever. So I'm telling you right now
32:30
when he was shocked at the Knicks beat him in the series
32:33
last year. So best believe Jaylen Brown is
32:36
going to go out there and he's going to try to torture the
32:38
Knicks. If, if, if the Cavaliers can't
32:40
knock off the Celtics or somebody knocks off the Celtics
32:43
early into the playoffs. So that's what I worry about.
32:46
Unfortunately to me, teams like the Celtics are going to smell
32:50
blood and they might, you know, feast on teams like the Knicks.
32:53
What's interesting with the Knicks depth this year, the way
32:55
it's structured too, is there's a lot more of those guards, and
32:58
the Celtics depth is much more of the wing type.
33:00
No size. And that's what I worry.
33:02
That's where you were mentioning Fish with with Shireman and I
33:05
think and Simon's before they trade him.
33:07
A lot of those guys like those would be the matchups way the
33:10
offseason went to counter the Knicks perimeter defense depth
33:13
and the Knicks accumulated more perimeter defense depth to
33:16
counter that very well as well. Yes, the size is still a concern
33:19
with the Celtics too, if because obviously Kate is not going to
33:21
be 1 playing that's playing a lot of the big minutes and they
33:23
were trying to work Futuvik back in it was an older guy.
33:26
Will they be able to make that kind of thing work?
33:28
The Knicks like is this low management playing with Mitchell
33:30
Robinson going to work to that same advantage too?
33:32
But then, will Towns play enough defense to make it work?
33:35
Thank you to all the fans on Spotify and Apple.
33:38
Spotify and Apple video and audio 16,000 downloads last
33:42
night. It was sensational, so thank you
33:44
to the fans out there tuning in and reading and writing, I guess
33:49
or watching whatever you're doing.
33:52
You're definitely reading my shows or I'm sorry, not my
33:54
shows, my stories. Anyways, I'm a little tired.
33:57
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you to the Instagram fans.
33:59
Thank you to the X fans. Thank you to the TikTok fans job
34:03
in the mouth. Thank you to the YouTube fans,
34:06
job in the mouth and job in the mouth New York sports.
34:08
I I want to thank our interns for all the work Dom and zoot
34:13
and all those guys, all of them, everyone of you for doing what
34:16
you guys do and and really help us out on the back end.
34:20
It definitely helps us and and keeps keeps us really charging
34:25
our batteries and getting our batteries out there on speedy.
34:28
You have batteries, right? Sure.
34:30
You use the batteries for something to satisfy you at
34:33
night. What do you use batteries to
34:35
satisfy you at night? No, no, you don't have anything
34:38
to satisfy you. No, nothing.
34:41
Nothing satisfies you. Something electric.
34:44
What satisfies you? Food.
34:48
What kind of food? I don't know.
34:50
Depends on what I'm in the move for.
34:51
You just give me some food. I don't know.
34:53
Same thing. Give me, give me something.
34:54
Alright, something cheesy I. Don't know something cheesy?
34:56
Yeah. Yeah.
34:57
You like cheesy stuff? Sure.
34:59
Squeeze the cheese. That's actually fitting.
35:02
Yeah, well, something's fitting. Maybe between the cheeks.
35:04
No. OK.
35:05
All right. Anyways, that's it for our show.
35:08
Ladies and gentlemen, who do we have on Thursday?
35:10
All right, returning the show at 8:15 PM will be our friend,
35:13
nhl.com deputy managing editor and host of the NHL Draft.
35:16
Prospect Adam Kittleman will be coming back on our.
35:18
Show Adam. I like Adam.
35:21
Adam knows his stuff. He knows his hockey, knows his
35:24
Islanders. So interesting.
35:25
Anyways, we'll have Adam on the show.
35:27
We'll go back and forth with some hockey conversation and
35:31
hopefully you don't get lost between the cheeks.
35:33
Baby, you do get lost sometimes, right?
35:36
You know, get lost. Lost in translation.
35:40
How about fish? Would you squeeze his cheeks?
35:42
No. Why?
35:44
What's wrong with his cheeks? Nothing's wrong with any of his
35:46
body parts. But his cheeks.
35:47
I'm not touching them. All right, you slap them.
35:51
I'm not touching them. How about Juan Soto?
35:53
If he he funny ass naked in the bathroom getting out of the
35:56
shower, would you would you grab his cheeks?
35:57
No. Why not?
35:58
Because I'm not Mickey Callaway. I think you think his cheeks a
36:05
night. I don't care.
36:08
Anyways, I gotta go. I'll see you later.
36:10
Goodnight it. Is the worldwide sports radio
36:14
network, Radio Network.