13 Rules: NBA Random Thoughts - March 30, 2024

1 00:00:00,000-->00:00:02,240 It'stimetotalkbasketball. 2 00:00:02,240-->00:00:04,920 I'mJoseSalvianieditoratthebeachbasket.net. 3 00:00:04,920-->00:00:06,080 He'sStevePrasiello, 4 00:00:06,080-->00:00:07,280 alongtimeeducator, 5 00:00:07,280-->00:00:09,760 viceprincipalandathleticdirector, 6 00:00:09,760-->00:00:14,160 andthisisthe13RulesRandomMBAThoughtspodcast. 7 00:00:14,160-->00:00:18,000 Undeniably,thebest15minutesofrandomthoughtsonline. 8 00:00:18,000-->00:00:19,480 Ifthisisyourfirsttimelistening, 9 00:00:19,480-->00:00:20,320 asalways,thankyou. 10 00:00:20,320-->00:00:23,360 Wearesogratefulandthankfulthatyoufoundus. 11 00:00:23,360-->00:00:27,040 ThispodcastisbornoutofSteve'sarticles 12 00:00:27,040-->00:00:31,920 thathecreatesweeklycalledNBARandomThoughts. 13 00:00:31,920-->00:00:33,800 13RulesNBARandomThoughts. 14 00:00:33,800-->00:00:36,040 SteveandIhaveexactly15minutestodiscuss 15 00:00:36,040-->00:00:38,160 what'sonhismindaroundtheNBA. 16 00:00:38,160-->00:00:44,040 Today,we'lldiscusshislatest13RulesRandomMBAThoughtsarticle. 17 00:00:44,040-->00:00:45,240 Steve,areyouready? 18 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:46,160 Ready. 19 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:46,920 Let's do this. 20 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,720 I'm going to start the timer now. 21 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:55,680 All right, the focus this week was on coaches on the hot seat, 22 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,680 as well as some random thoughts mixed in. 23 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,640 So we're going to talk a little bit about some coaches 24 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:01,320 that might be in trouble, 25 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:02,920 and then a little random thought at the end. 26 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:03,920 We're going to start. 27 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:05,640 We'll start, rather, with a team 28 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:07,760 that we don't talk a lot about, really. 29 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:09,800 And that's the Charlotte Hornets. 30 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,880 Their coach Steve Clifford is on the hot seat, 31 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,640 despite being well respected in the coaching industry. 32 00:01:16,640 --> 00:01:18,160 So I got to ask, 33 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,280 what went wrong in Charlotte 34 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:22,760 if a coach is well respected 35 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:25,760 as Steve Clifford can't get things done there? 36 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:30,440 No talent and new ownership. 37 00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:32,040 Those two things you put them together, 38 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:34,160 and they're going to want their own person. 39 00:01:34,160 --> 00:01:37,080 I believe they just hired a new GM 40 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,560 or a new president of the operation. 41 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:42,880 I'm sure he's going to want to clean the house, 42 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:46,240 and that leaves Clifford out of work. 43 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,480 Don't forget, Clifford was hired 44 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,480 after Kenny Ackinson turned the job down a couple years ago. 45 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:54,320 So he was not their first choice. 46 00:01:54,320 --> 00:01:57,360 This is the second go-around with him. 47 00:01:57,360 --> 00:01:58,560 He does a great job. 48 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:00,640 I think the players like playing for him, 49 00:02:00,640 --> 00:02:02,440 but at this point, 50 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,960 it's just natural when a new owner 51 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,840 in a new situation turned in their people. 52 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,760 And I don't think Clifford is their people, 53 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,920 but Charlotte has a major problem. 54 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:15,880 They don't have good players. 55 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:18,440 They have a few, but not enough to compete 56 00:02:18,440 --> 00:02:19,920 with the good teams. 57 00:02:19,920 --> 00:02:24,240 So I don't know where it's going to go. 58 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:25,560 It's going to take a while. 59 00:02:25,560 --> 00:02:29,360 And whoever they hire is going to need a couple of years. 60 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,040 It's not something you would judge 61 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,200 whose work after the next year. 62 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:34,600 Yeah. 63 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:36,120 This show is called Random Thoughts. 64 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:37,400 Your article is called Random Thoughts. 65 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:38,440 I got a random thought for you. 66 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:39,920 It just came up. 67 00:02:39,920 --> 00:02:41,520 I got two situations for you. 68 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,360 You got a team with phenomenal players, a great team. 69 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,280 Let's say the Denver Nutties. 70 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,880 And then you got a team that's kind of floundering 71 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:51,240 not a good team, not great players. 72 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:52,920 Let's say the Charlotte Hornets. 73 00:02:52,920 --> 00:02:56,800 You take the best coach in the NBA, historically. 74 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:02,280 Any great coach, give that coach to the Charlotte Hornets. 75 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,240 And then you take me and you put me in charge 76 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:06,920 of the Denver Nutties. 77 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:07,880 What's going to happen? 78 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:10,960 Are the Denver Nutties going to tank? 79 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,000 Or are the Charlotte Hornets going to all of a sudden 80 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:14,920 be really, really good? 81 00:03:14,920 --> 00:03:16,840 Who's going to have the greater impact? 82 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,960 Me and with the Nuggets or Red R back with the Hornets? 83 00:03:21,960 --> 00:03:24,840 Well, first of all, before we make that crazy analogy, 84 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:26,960 you'd be fired in the first week. 85 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:34,480 But there used to be an old thing where they said, 86 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,560 he can-- that coach is so good. 87 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:42,600 He can beat you with his or yours. 88 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:45,080 I think obviously, Denver is always 89 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:46,440 going to win more games. 90 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:47,920 They've got so much more talent. 91 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:53,120 But I think every team's got an area where, before a season, 92 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:55,440 you sit there and say, OK, bad year there 93 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:59,200 will win this, good year there will win that. 94 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:02,520 First, Charlotte, you'd probably say something like bad year, 95 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:06,680 15, good year, 25 to 30. 96 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,640 So you can, again, measure your coach accordingly. 97 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,000 The other factor that you've got to bring into it is injuries. 98 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:14,880 Charlotte's been killed by injuries. 99 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:17,320 Well, Mel O'Bolves has been out most of the season 100 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:18,920 for the second year of that. 101 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:24,000 So that doesn't help in the qualifying. 102 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,680 So you've got to look at what you have and then figure it out. 103 00:04:27,680 --> 00:04:30,760 But I think in this case, it's just complicated 104 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:32,400 because it's new orders. 105 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,560 And they're not going to want to present the same old mess 106 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:37,560 that they have. 107 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:41,120 So it's got to put a little paint on the building. 108 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,920 And by putting a paint, that means getting a new coach. 109 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:46,160 Yep. 110 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:46,840 Agreed. 111 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:50,320 Yeah, I think at the end of the day, it comes down to players. 112 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,360 Coach has certainly had an impact, but you've got to have the players. 113 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,520 You've got to have a good, good, good team of players. 114 00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:05,200 And a coach that can kind of maneuver that and manage those egos. 115 00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:06,640 But it all starts with good players. 116 00:05:06,640 --> 00:05:09,680 One of the first things you learn when I coached, 117 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:13,080 one of the first things I learned was if we're going to win, 118 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,160 I've got to get better horses. 119 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:16,520 I can coach all night. 120 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,400 And know all this stuff. 121 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,160 But when you lose in my 30, you're going to draw a nice plate. 122 00:05:22,160 --> 00:05:23,240 Doesn't work. 123 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:27,680 So it's all about the half. 124 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,000 Well, speaking of good players, the Cleveland Cavaliers 125 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:32,440 have got good players. 126 00:05:32,440 --> 00:05:33,560 They're a good team. 127 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:35,880 They're a 45-win team. 128 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:37,880 Currently, or at least as of yesterday, 129 00:05:37,880 --> 00:05:41,440 third in the very top Eastern conference, 130 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:47,680 they were undeniably the hottest team in the NBA just about a month back. 131 00:05:47,680 --> 00:05:51,240 But you wrote that their coach, JB Bigger Staff, should be worried. 132 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:52,840 Why? 133 00:05:52,840 --> 00:05:57,400 Because I think for a while now, they're 134 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,040 looking to make incremental progress. 135 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:04,680 If they get knocked out in the first round, that's not an incremental progress. 136 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:06,400 They went out and they got in strut. 137 00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:09,800 They were in struse, and they were in the air again. 138 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:13,520 The problem was they felt they didn't have a bench and against the mix in the playoffs. 139 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,720 They didn't shoot well as well as didn't rebound well. 140 00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:22,520 So they figured these two guys would take here and help them shoot as a shooting team. 141 00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,520 So they did make these steps to improve themselves. 142 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:26,960 They've been beat up with injuries. 143 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:28,440 Nobody's going to argue that. 144 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:31,680 But now they're starting to get healthy, Mitchell played last night, 145 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:33,280 and all the other good things. 146 00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:42,960 But if they don't get better, you got to think that Bigger Staff is going to be gone. 147 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:44,400 Dan Gilbert just had a stroke. 148 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:47,240 He's the owner a couple of years ago. 149 00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:48,480 He's not real healthy. 150 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,720 And I think he'd like to be around the finals at some point. 151 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:58,480 And if he doesn't see progress, you just have to do something. 152 00:06:58,480 --> 00:06:59,520 Yeah. 153 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:03,600 So you're saying specifically they're in trouble if they don't get out of the first round. 154 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:08,720 Yeah, I think they'll be okay, but next year will be again. 155 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:11,120 They'll be out of the high, you know, in a situation. 156 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:15,920 And you know what, the other day Miami beat them big. 157 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:18,280 It shouldn't happen this time of year. 158 00:07:18,280 --> 00:07:21,800 And I know again, Mitchell didn't play and they're injured. 159 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:26,880 I and Struse has been out, but still you don't get beat by 30. 160 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:33,920 You don't get blown out of a game at this point in the year if you have dreams of going far. 161 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:36,080 And I'm sure that didn't go over good. 162 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:41,040 And it's going to become a point where Kobe Altman is the general manager. 163 00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:45,760 It's going to become a point where for Altman's might have to save his neck. 164 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,120 That means Bigger Staff goes. 165 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,960 You know, Altman's done a decent job getting them better. 166 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:53,880 So that's my sense. 167 00:07:53,880 --> 00:07:56,040 You know, I could be wrong again. 168 00:07:56,040 --> 00:08:02,080 Well, yeah, honestly, after talking to you now for years, right? 169 00:08:02,080 --> 00:08:05,640 You lean, you lean more on right than wrong. 170 00:08:05,640 --> 00:08:07,120 I'll give you that for sure. 171 00:08:07,120 --> 00:08:09,120 We're still waiting. 172 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:13,320 Well, Houston Rockets are charging for that play in spot. 173 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:15,120 We're still waiting on that one. 174 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,120 And believe me, I'm watching you see. 175 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:18,120 That one mine. 176 00:08:18,120 --> 00:08:19,120 It's so close. 177 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:22,120 And Jaylen Green is become a big time player. 178 00:08:22,120 --> 00:08:24,720 Yeah, yeah, no, it's fun to watch. 179 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:26,760 And certainly keeping keeping an eye on that. 180 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:31,480 I do think that Cleveland Cavalier's job should have become available would be by far the 181 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,680 most attractive job for any coach. 182 00:08:33,680 --> 00:08:38,840 Because this is a very, very good team, assuming they keep their core in place. 183 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,880 It'll be an interesting thing if it does come open. 184 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:48,040 What the GM does, I have to sit and think about who the experienced coaches are out there. 185 00:08:48,040 --> 00:08:51,320 Yeah, bring an experienced coach in. 186 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,840 The GM is going to be in trouble if he doesn't do well. 187 00:08:54,840 --> 00:09:00,560 If they don't bring an experienced coach in, you know, that he might be able to skate through 188 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:01,560 that. 189 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:04,640 But usually you can't fire two or three coaches, you know, GM. 190 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:05,880 You got one. 191 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:08,280 And then after that, it better work. 192 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:09,280 Yeah. 193 00:09:09,280 --> 00:09:15,400 So they'll keep an eye on Cleveland, another high profile team that we talk a lot about here. 194 00:09:15,400 --> 00:09:17,520 Because cover the NBA. 195 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,280 And then the NBA is about, you know, let's say. 196 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:23,440 You know, globally two teams, right? 197 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,760 Yeah, Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. 198 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:28,840 I thought it was one, but God. 199 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,160 It's two. 200 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:33,760 It's two. 201 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:38,600 Their coach, Darvin Hamm, has been in the hot seat really since the week after he started. 202 00:09:38,600 --> 00:09:43,120 And LA is a tough place to play because they demand greatness. 203 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:45,120 Their fans do. 204 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:47,120 I think their ownership does. 205 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:49,520 And the Lakers really haven't been great. 206 00:09:49,520 --> 00:09:51,400 They've been mediocre. 207 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:53,600 They did win in 2020. 208 00:09:53,600 --> 00:09:56,400 That wasn't, you know, beforehand. 209 00:09:56,400 --> 00:10:01,040 And with him, they've been, you know, they won in sense of, you know, they won the in-season 210 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:02,040 tournament. 211 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:07,280 They made it to the Western Conference Finals, which was not what was expected of them. 212 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,600 But this is a chip or skip town, right? 213 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:12,080 You win the chip or you skip town. 214 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:13,640 You get out of here. 215 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:18,760 Is that a fair way to assess coaches in general? 216 00:10:18,760 --> 00:10:22,320 I think you've answered that question actually earlier, but I want to ask it straight up. 217 00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:25,280 In LA, Darvin Hamm's in trouble. 218 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:26,280 Is that fair? 219 00:10:26,280 --> 00:10:27,280 Let me ask you this. 220 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:32,600 If they don't get out of the play and round, who gets the heat, polink or ham? 221 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:33,600 Yeah, ham. 222 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:34,600 Ham. 223 00:10:34,600 --> 00:10:35,600 He's gone undeniably. 224 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:36,600 Okay. 225 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:38,320 There's your answer. 226 00:10:38,320 --> 00:10:46,040 If they get into the playoffs and they lose the first round, what happens? 227 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:47,440 That's tough, right? 228 00:10:47,440 --> 00:10:48,800 You made the point earlier, right? 229 00:10:48,800 --> 00:10:54,600 You said you've got to gauge the team based on, you know, what their top ceiling is, right? 230 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,800 And that's where I think the Lakers and Laker fans get a little unrealistic, right? 231 00:10:58,800 --> 00:11:01,680 They think their ceiling is always the finalists. 232 00:11:01,680 --> 00:11:03,520 It's not necessarily their ceiling. 233 00:11:03,520 --> 00:11:05,960 That's what you aspire to. 234 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:07,440 And that's fine. 235 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:09,000 But this team is constructed. 236 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,800 I don't think, especially when you look at the other teams in the West and even a lot of 237 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:17,400 teams in the East, the finals is, I mean, you've got to get lucky to get there. 238 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,360 This team's ceiling is not quite there. 239 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:24,160 I would say second round, Western conference final, that's it. 240 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:29,400 So if they're out in the first, I think that is below expectations, for sure. 241 00:11:29,400 --> 00:11:32,600 And then you got to have a conversation. 242 00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:36,360 But you get to the second round and you're out, then I think Derby and him is bottom self 243 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:37,360 some time. 244 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:38,360 Oh, yeah. 245 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,200 First of all, you got to win two games to get into the playoffs. 246 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:42,200 Yeah. 247 00:11:42,200 --> 00:11:46,120 So, you know, you got to, you can't put, you know, the card ahead of the horse. 248 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:50,400 And again, Bill Parcell is your, what your record says you are. 249 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:51,640 Their record isn't real good. 250 00:11:51,640 --> 00:11:55,000 And think about this for a minute. 251 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:57,160 Anthony Davis having a great year. 252 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:02,880 But your best player, your best player is day to day. 253 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:04,880 And he's 38 or so. 254 00:12:04,880 --> 00:12:05,880 39. 255 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:06,880 39. 256 00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:07,880 Think about that. 257 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:14,200 So you're asking for a 39 year old man to carry you when he's got a bad ankle and he's 258 00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:18,400 having trouble, you know, playing a couple of days, a couple of games in a row. 259 00:12:18,400 --> 00:12:21,080 So is that unrealistic? 260 00:12:21,080 --> 00:12:24,600 And then you've got two Austin Reves is a nice player. 261 00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:25,600 How does that? 262 00:12:25,600 --> 00:12:30,480 And the actual, but Russell is the best guy in the court tonight and tomorrow night. 263 00:12:30,480 --> 00:12:32,320 He has to be in the jail. 264 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:36,960 So if you don't have any consistency, where are you going? 265 00:12:36,960 --> 00:12:37,960 Where are you going? 266 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:43,480 And the rest of those guys are just complimentary pieces or supplemental, you know, they're 267 00:12:43,480 --> 00:12:44,480 not real good. 268 00:12:44,480 --> 00:12:50,080 I mean, they're getting more out of Jackson Hayes than I think he knew he had. 269 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:53,200 You know, so it's those are role players. 270 00:12:53,200 --> 00:12:58,480 So the fans are a little bit crazy about what they are. 271 00:12:58,480 --> 00:12:59,480 He said that. 272 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:00,480 Take your fans. 273 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:01,480 Not me. 274 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:02,480 He said that. 275 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:03,480 Yeah. 276 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:04,880 Yeah, I did just being clear. 277 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:11,240 Being real is to, you know, when a team, if the Cavalier started talking about the title, 278 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:12,240 right? 279 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:14,240 You'd say you're crazy. 280 00:13:14,240 --> 00:13:16,240 Now I'll put the question to you. 281 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:17,240 Who's got more talent? 282 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:19,240 The Cavaliers or the Lakers? 283 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,400 Yeah, that's your mic drop moment. 284 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:22,400 Yeah, the Cavs. 285 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:23,400 Yeah. 286 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:24,400 Great point. 287 00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:25,400 Yeah. 288 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:26,400 Great point. 289 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:28,720 You know, I feel for Darvin Ham. 290 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:30,440 I think he's done an okay job. 291 00:13:30,440 --> 00:13:34,880 He had him in perfect, but you know, perfect coaches don't exist. 292 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:38,120 You know, he makes a few arguments, but not many. 293 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:39,640 I think he's done okay. 294 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:41,440 We think the Lakers. 295 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:46,120 I think it all in the middle of the year when a couple of players returning on him doesn't 296 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:50,680 say how he's, it doesn't tell you how well that he's regarded well in the last. 297 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:51,680 Yeah, yeah, yeah. 298 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:52,680 Yeah, yeah. 299 00:13:52,680 --> 00:13:59,600 And so if they do go down, I think fingers from every side are going to be pointed at 300 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:00,600 him. 301 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:04,640 The one thing I'll say, the Lakers don't spend a lot. 302 00:14:04,640 --> 00:14:08,520 I don't know how many years this contract is and how much. 303 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:12,360 I don't know if Genie Busch really likes to fire people. 304 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:17,760 So that might be to his, uh, yep, might be to his benefit. 305 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:18,760 Let's see. 306 00:14:18,760 --> 00:14:23,000 I made the point earlier that the NBA globally was kind of about two teams. 307 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,320 We talked about one. 308 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:26,800 Let's talk about the other team. 309 00:14:26,800 --> 00:14:28,160 The boss is Celtics. 310 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,240 I think it's a team Steve knows a little bit about. 311 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,200 They were meant the best team in the association, record wise, but they had their first losing 312 00:14:35,200 --> 00:14:38,280 week of the season in week 23, right? 313 00:14:38,280 --> 00:14:42,000 So the right now they're row into, I know they've got a game tonight, but the best they're going 314 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:47,160 to be one and two this week, first losing week, all season long. 315 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:49,440 And they lost after being up 30. 316 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:55,760 So I got to ask you, you know, as a Boston fans, are other teams figuring out the Celtics? 317 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:57,680 Is there a problem here? 318 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,360 Other teams are heating up as the playoffs are starting. 319 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,680 Are the Celtics cooling off? 320 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:04,680 Are they in trouble? 321 00:15:04,680 --> 00:15:07,360 I think they stopped playing defense. 322 00:15:07,360 --> 00:15:12,320 I think it's been a major problem the other night. 323 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:18,080 And even with holiday and white playing, Mary took 44 shots. 324 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,960 So you take that many shots, you can score some points. 325 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:25,880 But the dog, Donovitch as well, we're getting wide open off the dribble and that tells me the 326 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:27,520 defense wasn't there. 327 00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:32,040 The other interesting thing in that game and Mizzoula tried to cover it after the game, but 328 00:15:32,040 --> 00:15:38,560 in the overtime, they kept running high screen and roll trying to get Porzingus on Mary. 329 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:43,640 And every time he did, Mary just beat him off with a junk shot. 330 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:49,320 I'm sitting there and Mizzoula said he was doing it because he's practicing situations, 331 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:50,320 which sounds great. 332 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:52,840 But you know what? 333 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:59,720 I'm sitting there saying to myself, if he's doing this, A, if you take Porzingus out of 334 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:06,440 the game, or B, you got to get that player guarding Mary through the screen. 335 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,880 But you can't let Porzingus stay out on him and he didn't. 336 00:16:09,880 --> 00:16:16,320 So if he didn't make the adjustment and it wasn't what he was saying that he was just practicing 337 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:18,680 something, that's a problem. 338 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,680 And you've got to have the adjustments made. 339 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:26,960 And Porzingus defensively in the last couple of weeks has not been nearly as good as he 340 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:28,480 was earlier in the year. 341 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:33,680 Now, Tatum, because it's a one point game at the end, Tatum's getting a lot of heat. 342 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:35,760 He's really getting beat up about it. 343 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:36,760 But you know what? 344 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:41,200 When you think about it, if you defended all games and played, I want to offer one more 345 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:44,360 on that, you wouldn't have Tatum having to worry about that. 346 00:16:44,360 --> 00:16:49,080 And by the way, in the last five or six games, Boston is number two defensive rating in 347 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:50,080 the league. 348 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:54,720 Now, in the last five or six games, they are, I think, number 20. 349 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:59,920 That tells me that they think it's over and they're just playing it out and figure they're 350 00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:05,040 going to win when they throw their, their, their, you know, the proverbial play. 351 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,320 Yeah, and it's not happening. 352 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:08,320 Tonight will be interesting. 353 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:12,360 They play Houston about a half hour from when we're doing this. 354 00:17:12,360 --> 00:17:15,520 If they don't defend, I think there's going to be a little bit of fear and they're going 355 00:17:15,520 --> 00:17:16,840 to play again. 356 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,640 But I don't know how you stop, sorry. 357 00:17:20,640 --> 00:17:22,240 That's a rough thing to do. 358 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:24,960 You know, I don't know if they're physical enough to do that. 359 00:17:24,960 --> 00:17:28,840 I'm a score for a king guard, but they're going to have a problem there. 360 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,920 They're probably used to do holiday on them, but, but they're going to have a problem. 361 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:34,960 So that, that's my thought. 362 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,080 And if they lose today, I think I'll say there's a problem. 363 00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:39,080 Okay. 364 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:40,080 Okay. 365 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:41,080 So let me ask you this and we'll end on that. 366 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:45,160 No, you heard the, the buzzer go off on a scale of one to 10, 10 being. 367 00:17:45,160 --> 00:17:48,480 I am ridiculously worried about this team. 368 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,640 One being no way, Jose, no problems at all, which year concern level with the South. 369 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:53,640 Five or six. 370 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:55,320 Wow, it's pretty high. 371 00:17:55,320 --> 00:17:57,320 Well, no, it's not that high. 372 00:17:57,320 --> 00:17:58,320 It's middle. 373 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:06,200 Yeah, again, again, you know, during the game the other night, Boston put pressure in. 374 00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:07,200 Pritchard pressured. 375 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,320 I guess, Murray up the court, full court. 376 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,760 And when he got across, he threw a pass, somebody defiled it, it was and picked it off. 377 00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:22,760 Some in sense to me said that you needed to do that and take out man out of comfort and 378 00:18:22,760 --> 00:18:25,560 to continue to bother them. 379 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:27,480 That was the only time they did it the whole game. 380 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:32,200 And that was one of the few times that little stretch, Boston played better, better defense. 381 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,520 That was it. 382 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:35,320 That was it in the whole game. 383 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:40,040 Last thing I'll say on the game, by Donovan, hit the three at the last couple of seconds 384 00:18:40,040 --> 00:18:42,600 in regulation to tie it. 385 00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:43,880 Now. 386 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:44,880 They missed a shot. 387 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,200 They got the rebound. 388 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:56,480 Somewhere a player who's guarding by Donovan is got to say, I'm not going to leave him until 389 00:18:56,480 --> 00:18:59,320 we have the ball. 390 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:00,320 What happened? 391 00:19:00,320 --> 00:19:03,840 Kepel who had a great game rebounded and kicked it out to him. 392 00:19:03,840 --> 00:19:06,440 He was wide open and he's a good shooter. 393 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:12,880 So the mental breakdowns really start becoming, you know, huge. 394 00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,040 And that was what I saw when that happened. 395 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:17,040 All right. 396 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:18,040 All right. 397 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:23,000 I honestly thought that you would be less concerned than a five or six, but let's see how 398 00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:24,440 things play out. 399 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,680 To me, they're still the scariest team. 400 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:29,200 Them and Denver. 401 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,320 And you know, being an LA guy, it pains me to say it, but I think a nugget Celtics final would 402 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:35,320 be epic. 403 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:36,320 Great series. 404 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:41,320 Don't forget, and one more piece to the Celtics thing. 405 00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:46,480 And they're shooting over 40% from three day ball, everybody out the last two games they 406 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:47,480 haven't done that. 407 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:48,480 OK. 408 00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,680 So that's another factor involved in this whole thing to watch. 409 00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:55,560 Any time a team banks two or three, three is in a row. 410 00:19:55,560 --> 00:19:56,560 That's nine points. 411 00:19:56,560 --> 00:20:02,640 I mean, a game goes from close to right in margin, and they're not shooting real well right 412 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:03,640 now. 413 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:06,000 Well, tonight could be the very hot. 414 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:07,880 They still need the ball. 415 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:10,720 No, they're playing the, they're playing the pelicans. 416 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:12,200 Not a team, but it's also really hot. 417 00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:13,800 I think it'll be a fun game to watch. 418 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:14,800 It's good. 419 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:15,800 All right. 420 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:16,800 Well, that's it. 421 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,800 You heard the buzz and go off and you heard us continue to talk over. 422 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,080 It's kind of what we do. 423 00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:22,280 But please make sure to read these entire article. 424 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:28,320 It'll be linked below to get his thoughts on other teams tanking and a few other coaches 425 00:20:28,320 --> 00:20:30,120 who should be worried. 426 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:31,120 That's it. 427 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:32,120 Times up. 428 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:33,120 Thanks as always for listening. 429 00:20:33,120 --> 00:20:38,000 Please consider subscribing and join us next week on the 13 rules NBA Random Thoughts podcast. 430 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,120 It's the best 50 minutes of NBA Random Thoughts online. 431 00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:42,120 We'll talk next week. 432 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:43,120 Steve, thanks. 433 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:43,440 Thank you.Steve and Jose discuss Steve's latest 13 Rules: Random NBA Thoughts article focusing on coaches in the hot seat! Steve Clifford Charlotte Hornets J.B. Bickerstaff Cleveland Cavaliers Darvin Ham Los Angeles Lakers Are the Boston Celtics in trouble heading into the playoffs? Read the full article here: https://thepeachbasket.net/13-rules-nba-random-thoughts-5/