Five questions at the halfway mark of the season with Eddie House | Celtics Talk

Five questions at the halfway mark of the season with Eddie House | Celtics Talk

[Applause] At the a mo [Applause] round take that the Celtics Talk podcast is presented by 24 autogroup.com 11 locations across New England what’s up everybody the off day edition of the Celtics Talk podcast coming to you from our studio here at The BMC Eddie House alongside Eddie we

Are at game 41 halfway point of the regular season first off isn’t it crazy like we looked up I felt like we were at Game 12 game 13 and all a sudden you blink your eyes it’s been so busy lately boom we’re at the middle of the Season

Well that’s how it happens most people think that the All-Star break is the halfway point and it’s not usually that’s the last quarter or last third of the season and so you know these games pile on top of each other and before you know it you look up and we’re halfway

Through the season and sitting in a pretty good spot that’s the best part of it is the Celtics have a pretty comfortable lead at top the Eastern Conference and so I wanted to kind of take a look back here at the at the previous 41 games pick out some

Storylines some moments from the first half of the year and let’s start right there one of my my first of five questions to you Eddie House what is the biggest storyline from the first half of the season for the Boston Celtics well Chris forsberg let me tell you what the

Storyline is I think the storyline is if we’ve actually seen Joe moula and his coaching staff really be um a whole lot like all of the questions that were coming into this season about last season you know with clock management with timeouts with certain ways that

They play whether they will be down or they will be up the way that they would attack games is totally different from this year I think that this staff has been phenomenal I think the reason why they have been is because they have not only they also you know we know that

They embrace the three the three right that that’s something that they’ve been doing the last couple years but I also think that the mid-range game has come into play post-ups has come into play finding mismatches has coming into play and everybody buying in on the defensive end and everybody being selfless so to

Me those are all characteristics of the the coach a reflection of the coach and to me that’s one of the biggest story lines for me isn’t it crazy how we spent the whole summer obsessing oh they added Charles Lee they brought in Sam Cassell like you know is Joe going to be looking

Over his shoulder and Joe just confidently came in and was like yeah cool my team I’m going to just leave my imprint on this thing and I do think that’s a huge part of this is that he is so much more settled in we’re going to

Get into a little bit more Joe talk a little bit later my thing was coming into the season I wondered how much this team could buy into sacrifice your team was the epitome of it where 2008 Ray and Paul and Kevin and who would who would

Take less shots but for the greater good of the team they all downshifted and understood there was a greater goal involved here I think that’s you know unclear when they sign when they trade for Chris Taps porzingis when they add Drew holiday right before the start of

The Season you’re rolling the dice a little bit moving out a Marcus Smart a Robert Williams guys that were part of that 2022 core I wondered how would all come together and pretty quickly it was clear like everyone was okay with downshifting a little bit Tatum not

Taking as many shots Jaylen just being super efficient Chris STS bringing it on each end of the court I just really like how is that easy like could you sense that immediately when you guys got together in 08 was there a okay we’re just we’re going to be willing to do

That and do you get the same vibes from this team I get the same vibes from this that that team our team was different from this team as far as personalities are involved in um you know the way that that team was constructed to way this team is constructed but there this

They’re both were constructed in winning ways with guys that are winners right that number one winning is the most important thing and whatever it is that single night and and that’s the one thing about this team that they live by that when you hear people say man you

Know I’m willing to do whatever and I’ll take sacrifices as long as it comes to winning right and then you see a guy go out on the court take 30 shots that are bad shots has guys wide open not sacrificing on the defensive end that’s

Not the case here the case is this is a team full of winners the coaching staff want to win this is a winning organization from top to bottom and what everybody is doing is whenever you’re called to do something every single night is different every game has its

Own story Y and it’s going to unfold a certain way we know that Jaylen and Jason are going to be the focal points of the offense right but then now they becoming the focal point of the defense so what does that do raise the level of the defensive effort from everybody else

On the it’s hard to come in if you’re a role player and look at the best players on the team working extremely hard and you’re not bringing anything you’re not working hard you’re not putting in the extra work you’re not putting in the overtime you’re not putting in the the

Extra shots or putting in time in the film room or or just collaborating with the guy sometimes it doesn’t even take the actual ex’s and O’s part of it sometimes it’s about just hanging out together and we’ve seen that picture those guys hang out together they kick

It and that’s that’s important when you like who you’re going to work with and you’re working for it makes it not work at all they didn’t have that overseas trip like you guys did the Ford some of that chemistry but man they found it pretty quickly and even if it’s just a I

Guess I guess the Toronto trip was International as we Bond over team photo so at least they found the a little bit of inspiration there let’s go on to question number two what is the biggest surprise to you about the C like something that you you didn’t expect

Coming into the season or just the way this the season has played out so far I would say the biggest surprise I would say Kristof porzingis for this reason because he’s been a guy who has been the number one or number two option he’s gotten R through the Cs for maybe not

Being as aggressive as he needs to be at times because they were looking for him to do more I I I didn’t know that he could protect the rim the way he does he’s a great team Defender now we’re not asking him to just go clamp up somebody

And be the physical dominant presence of a guy like Alonzo Morning right and and that would still get end up with three blocks on the night but it was a different type of three blocks he also would get dunked on to me I look at what

Christ stops brings to the table and he knows that he could get a match up whenever he wants to he doesn’t he’s not demonstrative when he wants the ball I think that the players realize when he needs to get the ball the coaching staff understands that too so to me the

Biggest surprise is how good he is defensively because that’s that I know what he could do on the offensive end but defensively and it’s not only to block shots it’s just being in the right spot being in the right place being there for your teammates and then in

That drop coverage his drop coverage is not the same as some other drop coverages because of his length and because of his size so he can recover to some of those mid-range shots that guys are trying to take and he also could take away that mid-range shot and also

Take away that lob at the top of the at The Rim so to me those are been that’s the the most what surprising right that’s the most surprising thing is how really dialed in defensively he is and not only I’m not talking about a one-on-one Defender I’m talking about A

Team Defender because for the most part we think of when you talk about guys that are clamped down locked down Defenders those are one-on-one things he’s a great team Defender and that’s that was very surprising for me and the metrics had suggested he was so much better than maybe when he first came

Into the league when the focus was all on oh look at he’s a unicorn he can stretch out to the three-point line and he’s 7 foot three and he can do all these crazy things but but even in Washington I thought he brought a good defensive energy and was a very good rim

Protector but still you wonder how it’s going to fit and the Celtics were essentially changing their philosophies is to in to to to go to more of that drop now and it has been seamless like he has just been really good on that back line he’s freed up everybody else

To sort of be a little bit more aggressive knowing they have that safety net and I thought losing Rob that that might be a little bit of a downturn on the defensive side my biggest surprise for me is just the Celtics have been really good without Jason Tatum not at

The start of the year when Tatum went to the bench at the first probably 10 games they was like oh boy you know here we go again and the Celtics for for multiple Seasons now have had trouble in that instance this year like and I don’t know

If this is just jaylen’s development I don’t know if it’s the influx of talent if it’s just the bench guys are so much better at at at at keeping this team afloat but the there’s no drop off anymore and the numbers have supported it it used to be that Tatum goes to the

Bench and you’re just trying to tread water now you’re thriving and you’re actually extending leads you’re feeling good about that you’re not forced to bring Jason back he doesn’t have to play 40 something minutes a night and so I just think that’s huge for the long-term development of this team it’s huge in

Terms of like making sure Tatum is upright at the finish line of the Season as well and I think we’ve just seen him you know running on on low or empty in the playoffs in in in two of the previous Seasons here and I’m I’m encouraged by what they’ve been able to

Do you brought up Joe manoula all right our friends over at ftic sports book their updated Coach of the Year odds do you want to take a guess at where Joe’s slotted he got to be at the top it’s it’s got to be him OKC’s coach um Mike Malone

Obviously got one more who else is who else is thriving in the west what’s the what’s our simulation station telling us about oh Milwaukee oh yeah I fig Minnesota what’s his Minnesota excuse me Chris Finch so here here it goes no he’s he’s going to get plenty of attention

Believe me uh we got Mark dull in OKC at plus 115 Chris Finch in Minnesota plus 250 Joe manoula it’s a big drop down the plus 900 I find this interesting if there was a while Joe was at like seventh or eighth in in the odds and I

Think this was just indicative of Boston had high expectations but was meeting them early on and so the sports Brooks were sort of sitting there saying you know like okay he might win 60 games but that’s kind of what we expected from the Celtics but now as we see just how much

Better they are than everybody else in the East I think there’s an understanding that man Joe is really leaving his imprint here you know what what is the you mentioned just like how good that coaching staff has been over all what has jumped out the most about

The way Joe has coached this team what is how is he leaving his imprint here like you you mentioned last year they definitely shot the threes Missoula ball was the big kind of talking point about what they would do and you know the way they attacked this but what jumps out to

You about Joe and year to well just the understanding of the game and the rhythm of the game I think when you thrown into something that you never been a part of right and that’s being a head coach you’re learning on the Fly and it’s hard

To learn anything on the Fly you know I mean you want to have reps and and once you get those reps underneath you you could go back and look and reflect and say okay I could have been better here and I think that’s what I’ve seen from

Joe he’s been better in the places that we all knocked him or had something negative to say about like hey man maybe he could have did it this way or I think he’s CH he’s changed with that and also I think self-reflection and self-awareness right what he say at the

Beginning of the season was the things that I’m not really great at I got I’m hiring guys that are great at those things that I’m deficient in and that’s it takes being confident in yourself to say that right do that like to me is is

It shows that all you’re trying to do is win okay and I’m not whatever you CU you can’t control some things right and how you you said it earlier like when people like oh he’s going to be looking over his shoulder with the coaching staff because Charles Lee came in Sam castelle

Came in he’ll be looking over but at the same time it’s like that’s an uncontrollable you can’t control what’s going to happen what you control is making sure you put yourself in the best situation be successful and put this team in the best situation for them to

Succeed and by hiring those guys that’s what it did he was able to recognize that I’m not great at X Y and Z but these guys are really good at that and what I’m good at maybe they’re not so good at so if we put that together and

Oses to the side and I think that’s you know how everybody say the team is a reflection of their coach right so when you see that from the coaching staff guys’s putting egos to the side God’s saying hey I’mma lean on you when I need

This you’re going to lean on me when you need this that’s when you see the selflessness within this team so I think this team is a reflection of not only Joe moula and the whole coaching staff but just also the the maturation that we’ve seen from these guys knowing that

You know we got close you know when you get to the mountain toop you know you either got when you get close to the mountain top you want to get up there and plant your flag if you don’t plant your flag you go back down and then you

Got to try to climb back up so I think that they understand that and and they’re just together and it it’s it’s a reflection of Joe and his coaching staff we talk a lot about authenticity around here like even with what we do like you

Got to come on there and you got to be yourself like cuz people see through it if you’re not and what I think I respect most about Joe is like we can quibble about timeout usage we can quibble about his obsession with you know the four factors and winning the shot battle and

Three-point but it’s like he believes in that you got to believe in it if you don’t believe in it yourself your coach is your players are going to see through that and once the player saw that what he believes and works then it’s just complete buying around the around there

And I think we see and you know there’s so much talk about the way em pushed these guys and and and and was hard on them in the media and Joe doesn’t do that but he is hard on them behind closed doors and you’ve said you know

Being in some of those practices you were kind of walk away going like oh wow he does you know push these guys and is firm and can be a bit of a hard ass on them when he needs to be and I think they respect that because again it’s all

Pulling towards the same goal of being a championship team and so I still think there’s even more room for him to grow but like the basketball IQ and the way he sees the game and what he wants to do and showing them how to get there I think has just been been super

Impressive and you talking about how being authentic and the the you know players can see through that right so I was talking with Joe one time on the plane I think it was maybe coming from Atlanta last year in the playoffs and he was talking about MMA I was like you

Really get down and stuff he’s like I really do I was like you didn’t been choked out before he’s like yeah oh you need to try it and like to me he really was selling it to me like I want I said how close did you get like yeah okay

That might that might be oh never I don’t want to get nowhere near choked out to where I can’t breathe or pass out I’m I’m trying to stay on my feet and stay upright with my mind focused so but the fact of the matter that he really I

Really felt that he believed that like when he was telling that to me I’m like man ain’t no way you want to get choked out he’s like no for real you got to if you got to try it one time I’m like uh no thank you well uh I’m we’re going to

Keep an eye on Eddie making sure he stays upright we’re also keep an eye on we’re going to keep an eye on those uh not voluntarily Coach of the Year odds powered by fanatic Sportsbook where you can earn up to 5% fan cash on your bet look no further than the

Award-winning 24 Auto Group with over 2600 vehicles in stock the brands you love backed by the savings and service you can count on visit today or shop online at 24 autogroup.com all right let’s go to question number four we can’t be all sunshine and puppy dogs around here there’s got to be

Something that’s still nagging at us what is your biggest concern moving forward with this team I would say that my biggest concern is is health and that’s the thing that I think that’s the that’s the one thing that every team is concerned about for I don’t care if

You’re a team that’s competing for a championship if you’re a team that’s competing to be in the playoffs fighting for seating or if you’re playing for the playing game or if you’re just at the bottom right cuz we look at what San Antonio is is still Health right is

Number one importance what are they doing they’re they’re making sure they’re they’re watching uh wi’s minutes they’re bringing him along slowly they’re not allowing him to just go out there because they don’t want anything to happen so to me it’s the health of this team I seen stuff uh earlier today

I I forgot the guy’s name who wrote it on on ESPN but he was talking about what the Celtics need to add and maybe it’s another rotation player and I I want to disagree with that because sometimes you I’m going to tell you why um you’re jumping the gun that’s our fifth

Question oh when I I’ll wait for that next question in I I I will that was a teaser I love it but you but health I mean and and the hard part with health though is right like you can’t control it someone steps on an ankle something

Happens you know you but I do think the Celtics are doing everything possible to best manage it right like the big injuries is what we’re saying like you know the ankles you’ll get back from that and in the playoffs you’ll play through that you’ll find a way to tape

It up right is the it’s those major injuries that I have a guy out like how what happened with Rob he came back in with his injury he just wasn’t the same player when he came back in the and I will say this like the cels have done a good job downshifting christops

Porzingis but you know the way they manage Al on the second night of back to back like all the data out there no one knows what to do what the right uh way to to load manage is but I think the sellers have found a good Rhythm and

Because they have so much depth they’ve been able to get by when they don’t have all their horses out there and like situation like the other night against San Antonio down two starters doesn’t matter you still go out there and just dominate the first half and give

Yourself an easy night my other my one concern concern longterm here is just late game execution you’ve heard me say this a bunch of times on the program they’ve had good moments they’ve had more bad moments they just need to be to me a little bit more locked in at the

End of games we’ve seen this in past playoff series but I think it just shows its head like the number of overtime games they’ve played they’ve had chances to hit some game winners haven’t always gotten to the finish line of those but I I know you don’t seem as worried as me

Do you mean late game execution offensively because I think they’ve done a great job defensively in late game 100% that should be stressed where I think their ability to lock in defensively is what probably one of the most encouraging things about this team for me it comes down to some of those

Times where Joe’s like I’m not calling this timeout go figure it out and you settle for like a tough Jason Tatum fade away you know like I think there’s instances where there’s just too much talent to not let Joe drw a play I want to see him work his magic jayl Brown get

Hit upside to hit true that I mean you can’t scheme that like referees um Joe will tell you about the scene in the town that he thinks about what with those reps but I just want to see I want to see the best teams to me are the ones

That in the biggest moments when you know butts get a little tighter it’s time to to lock in and be ready and maximize those moments I hate to keep saying like Damen Lillard’s name but we’ve seen him hit a couple big Winners this year we know their Rivals have guys

That can step up in that moment I’m not saying the Celtics don’t I just want to see them do it consistently and build those good habits but those shots that Dame Lillard hit that ain’t execution that’s just a player being a that’s just a player being a player stepping up all

Right so Jason tat starts Hing 27 Footers I’m just going to be like You’ be like great execution right right probably you know that’s what I would probably spin it that way all right you you you jumped the gun on me but I’m now going to bring you back in question

Number five our final question uh I was reading an article today as well I think the Boston Globe put it up and it said Brad doesn’t need to make a move the chemistry is great here don’t do anything and before I give you my thoughts on that give me yours you said

You don’t think they need to make a move no I mean you could could make a move but I don’t want it it don’t make a move to where what you have going right now you put somebody on the back burner for that person and you try to incorporate

Somebody who hasn’t been around this team I mean and every everything’s not seamless every trade and every every person that comes to a new team is not a seamless transition right so you’re not going to feel good if somebody comes in and takes your minutes right you have to

Act like you do you have to do all the right things and play that role but you’re not feeling good deep down inside because you’re like man I’ve been here this whole time look at our record though you know that’s the difference it’s like okay if it’s not working then

Okay we might need to tweak something but it’s working right now now I’m not saying that if there’s somebody out there that you you could go get and you don’t have to mortgage some of your future and disrupt chemistry that could be a seamless type guy to come in and

He’s I I’ll give you a perfect example PJ Brown PJ Brown was a guy who he came in he wasn’t going to get extensive minutes you know but when he came in he did take some of Leon’s minutes took some of big baby’s minutes and so those

Guys had to stay ready he had to always stay ready but because he was a true professional on a chase he was chasing a championship he was able to put that ego to the side now those are the type of guys I don’t have a problem coming in

Same way with Sam Sam was coming in to win a championship he took some of my minutes he had he put his ego to the side when it was my turn I put my ego to the side when it was his turn because we were all on the same Mission it’s hard

To find guys like that especially if they’re in a in the younger tenure of their career because they’re trying to get paid they’re trying to show their worth so it it will have to be somebody that’s like hey man you know what this is probably within my last 3 four years

Of my career playing I’m still in very good shape of of playing and I can help a team then I can see that you know that he’ll be a guy that that’s used here and there and you have to lean on him some games and some games you won’t need need

Him and he’s fine with that so to me I just I think chemistry is important it’s super important I it’s a fascinating conversation because well one like from a high level you start you step back and you say well the S don’t even have a lot

Of assets to go get somebody right like you can use the Grant Williams trade exception that’s $6.2 million go through the list of players that make 6.2 or less in the NBA there’s not a lot of guys they’re either young players like you said who are going to come in

And might be prioritizing their next contract over the championship goals or their you know role players who you probably have a better talent and chemistry with what you’ve got right now so I do think it’s hard you’re going to want to maximize that asset but is it worth compromising what you have and

Maybe polluting like your locker room a little bit you know I’m not saying necessarily the player is going to be a bad influence or whatever but just like you said there sometimes it conflicts with what you’re trying to do like if a guy comes in and just wants minutes he’s

Not pulling the Rope the way every player on this team appears to be pulling right now I think the more likely scenarios what you laid out is probably the buyout Market okay Celtic don’t have a ton of money to go sign somebody but there’s going to be a

Championship chasing veteran who says I can help them I don’t care if I play once a week I think back to Blake Griffin last year it’s too bad his back acted up in the playoffs and he wasn’t able to play really any minutes in that

I think he only played one game in the postseason but you know the perfect veteran who was ready who all mattered was winning was good with the guys could sit there and tell Jason Tatum what it’s like to be an MVP caliber player so I

Don’t know if that player is out there I wish Blake’s back F felt better coming into the season I thought there was a a chance they would call him up but maybe there’s a guy out there and now the other hurdle here is because the Celtics

Are a second apron team if the player makes more than 12 million dollars right now and they get bought out by their team Celtics can’t go get them they’re just kind of excluded from that pool so guys like Gordon Hayward like say Charlotte moves on from Gordon Hayward

Celtics can’t go make a play for him but there will be guys that are in that range that maybe can help you and like is that easy for a buyout guy like did PJ come in and are you guys like yeah like because of his reputation because

Of the way he of what he had done with his career you guys were on board with he can help us it didn’t matter if we was on board or not he was there and so we embraced it and accepted it and it was this is what has to happen I think

More so than the team embracing I think is he has to embrace that he’s coming whoever it is if they if that happens that they’re coming to a team and it has to be guys that are great in the locker room I mean you can’t have a guy that’s

Coming on the trade and he don’t talk to anybody all he does is show up to practice then handles his work and he’s not really a GU guy and so that’s why Blake was seamless PJ was seamless cuz PJ was quiet but he was a gu’s guy his

Work when we talk basketball you know exactly you like man he knows exactly what we talk about so we all on the same page and he was there right away because he had been a veteran he came from playing in Big Time moments you know of

In Big Time games so those are the type of guys that you look look for if you could get those but if not I mean I think what we have is good enough I’m not going to sit here and say that we need something else because that will

Be doing a disservice to this team and what they’re doing right now they’re the best team in the NBA record-wise they’ve been proving it night in and night out you their net rating is up there they’re top what three top five in every statistical category that you could

Think about so at that point just keep it rolling right let’s just keep it going and so that’s the big decision and like I don’t envy Brad Stevens position like this is why he gets paid the big bucks he has to he has to explore everything that’s out there but it is

Refreshing that like look if there just isn’t something there that you think makes your team better the balance is I I say that and then in back of my mind I’m like but man these opportunities don’t come along every day you got to like you got to make sure you’re loaded

Up like they were maybe one player short in that 22 season they you know you don’t want to get to the finish line and been like man if you just made that move but it has to be the right move and we’ll see if if Brad is able to do it

Let’s let’s wrap on this any bull predictions for the next 41 are they going to go undefeated at home I don’t want to like throw that like I don’t want that’s that’s hard to do but I I still think but isn’t it ridiculous that we’re even talking about it yeah that’s

Baller I think that they’ll they’ll be up there with with the top teams that’s that’s protected home court I think they’ll be up there I think they because it seems like they have made it a priority they’ve talked about it’s not something that they haven’t talked about

You could see Jason Tatum talk about it you could see uh Joe moula when he was getting interviewed by Abby when he was asked about it he smiled you know he kind of lit up so it’s something that’s on their mind it’s a point of emphasis

And they’re taking pride in that so I would not be surprised if we see them if they don’t break the record to be right there any worries with sakam going to Indiana no I think but they definitely got they got a whole lot better but it’s not going to change the way Indiana

Plays defense that one player is not going to yeah and I’m eager to see how it all plays out because that that those two teams feel like they’re on a collision course if they end up at the fourth or fifth seed and Celtics of the one that’ be a second round match up

Eager to see how that goes Eddie how you get to go home what’s the first year besides like getting getting to see your girl I’m going to get a kiss and a hug I’mma see macavelli go see my boys go check out one of their games what’s the

First what’s the first food you got to get you got to get when you’re back home I know she probably going to make something we’ll probably put something together where you know get a homecooked meal uh I’ve been eating out all this time so I’m not going nowhere else I’m

Not I’m not eating out when I get home it’s going to be a homecooked meal for sure I kind of love it all right well um we’ve seen the benefits of homecooked meals with OA Brett and and ha rubs and the head rubs which is just turned into

A Perpetual thing on on all of our Tel talk platforms out here everybody go like subscribe check us out on the YouTube page back with you with the postgame pod tomorrow after the Denver game we’ll catch you next time on the Celtic Talk Podcast

We are officially halfway through the season! Chris Forsberg and Eddie House give their biggest storylines, surprises, concerns, and debate what move they want to see at the trade deadline.

1:00-Biggest storyline of the season so far
5:00-Biggest surprise?
9:00-Assessing Joe Mazzulla’s job in his second year
15:00-Biggest concern going forward
18:45-What move do you want to see at the deadline?

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