GET UP | Nikola Jokic scores 32 points as Nuggets beat Eastern Conference leaders Celtics 115-109.

GET UP | Nikola Jokic scores 32 points as Nuggets beat Eastern Conference leaders Celtics 115-109.

Sirius xm80 altitude radio network there TNT as well on the highlights the Celtics and the Nuggets last night Denver over Boston 115 109 in a potential finals preview in the NBA along with Michelle small and Chris KY Evan Cohen with you good morning everybody good morning Evan good morning

Smalls how you doing good morning guys and you know it’s going to be a good day when jovante hits us with Outcast to start the show no doubt well you know it was a request right I was in an outcast kind of mood I don’t know if you heard

Me but I was rapping outcast on the way into the makeup room I I don’t know why it just feels like an outcast kind of Friday is Evan okay with that cuz he’s the one who thinks they’re over well there’s three members that are on air on

This show so I don’t think what he wants matters if the other two are on board with it because you know I am there we go well there’s a little bit of a controversy then already you said you requested it javante said he already had

It lined up oh it’s not a controversy we were just on the same page get credit for What’s Understood ain’t got to be said I mean Joon is the one that’s playing the music so I will give him full credit credit okay but I just it it

Sets the right tone for the show that we’re going to have kind of like Jen set the tone last night against the Celtics 115 109 they win and Boston has now lost two games in a row after winning 11 games in a row and you saw last night

With the joker 32 12 rebounds 11 assists Jaylen Brown for Boston had 41 and this is one of those moments that you can’t sit here and say okay well this means that Denver is going to beat Boston the finals or that Denver and Boston are going to play in the finals but that’s

Where we all went mentally yesterday and I don’t know why I’m trying to put my finger on it and I think it has a little bit for me to do with their nasty and like their toughness a little bit in in big moments for some reason I just I

Know everyone thinks that Celtics we going to win the championship I just don’t think that I just don’t think that for whatever reason that I think they’re going to be teams whether it’s in the Eastern Conference or once they get to the finals that they’re going to try to

Like beat them up a little bit and there’s something weird about Jason Tatum Lon games like is is numbers are not great in clutch time yet he’s a great player we know he’s a great player so you don’t think it’s a talent issue you think it’s more of a team identity

Issue or or a mentality issue yeah I think there’s just it just feels to me like something is missing with this team as great as they are as this is not an X’s and O’s take or anything like that it’s just in a seven game series when it

Gets physical and nasty like against a team like Denver I would pick Denver you just called him salted mentally and physically that’s well you just that’s what it sounds like you’re saying that you’re saying that they Wilt against teams that are more physical they Wilt in the moment Jason

Tatum one of five last night in clutch time I mean that’s what you’re calling is too strong I will not say so what are you calling them if you give if you present a tough physical nasty hard-nosed team against them I would say that that team could beat them in a

Seven game series so you’re saying they’re not tough in hard nose though I don’t think they’re as tough as like Milwaukee will be in a seven game series I I have more faith in Yannis and Chris Middleton in a seven game series than I do anybody on the Celtics well you’ve

Seen Giannis get it done you’ve seen the Denver Nuggets get it done so I can understand why you wouldn’t be willing to go there with Boston because last year they were in a position where we thought that they would advance and they got beat at home in a game seven yep so

I could understand why you would go there because we’ve seen moments where they’ve come up short but I don’t know if I if I would think that maybe a tough if they couldn’t rise to the level of toughness though yeah here’s the thing with Boston I I

Don’t think that loss last night is a referendum on what kind of basketball team they are I I think they’re still a really really good basketball team and I expect them to Breeze through the Eastern Conference playoffs I don’t believe in the Bucks I I don’t trust

That the Knicks are going to be healthy in time I don’t think the Miami Heat have enough Firepower so when I’m look at the Eastern Conference landscape yeah I think the Boston Celtics will make a run to the NBA finals now it’s a matter of what they’re going to be able to do

Once they get there right because we’re judging Jason Tatum and jayen Brown on their ability to be able to win a championship we’ve already seen him in the NBA Finals we’ve seen him in four Conference Finals that’s not a thing for us like what will tell the tale is how

They perform and based on last night and based on their season series against the Nuggets which Denver swept y like it’s it’s fair to be skeptical of their prospects of being able to win some Hardware this year I mean think about it out of the West teams that we think can

Be real contenders the Denver Nuggets can be a real Contender I mean we believe that the LA Clippers if they can stay healthy can a real Contender we can’t dismiss OKC or Minnesota even with the Carl Anthony towns injury so yeah there are more teams in the Western

Conference that we view as contenders and I think whoever comes out of the West will be battle hardened in a way that Boston doesn’t have the opportunity to be by virtue of the conference that they play in so yeah I I I don’t necessarily trust that the Boston

Celtics even when they get to the NBA finals which I’m expecting that they’re going to be able to come through based on what I saw last night I mean Jaylen Brown was outstanding but he was 7- 14 from the free throw line Jason Tatum he has an opportunity with 45 seconds left

For a go-ahead three from the corner misses it and that that leads to an alyu from yic to Aon Gordon like those types of plays have to happen I mean when it comes to the fundamentals with Jaylen Brown making free throws when it comes to Jason Tatum showing up in the last 5

Minutes you need your best two players to show up in those moments and those guys came up small yeah Jason Tatum I think in order for the Celtics to win a championship will have to be better in those clutch situations um I was going through our Sig notes from this game

Last night and Jason Tatum only making 31.9% of his shots in the clutch this season and that clutch percentage has actually declined every season so I think that’s a huge component for the Boston Celtics he’s going to be the guy that’s going to have to will them to win

Yeah and the other thing that you got to acknowledge with the Celtics last night their bench got out scored 28 to 10 that’s not great but when you have the Denver Nuggets with Reggie Jackson and Christian braa and Justin holiday when you’ve got guys giving you quality

Minutes off the bench I mean it just it just shows it just first of all it puts your team in a position where you’re going to get the best version of your Superstar players but it also allows you to go through a game without these lulls

Or or without these spells where guys uh you know where you allow the opponent to get back into the game so I I just there’s a there’s there’s a lot to like with what Bost is and I’m not trying to discount them and I love Drew holiday

The dog that’s in him but when you compare them to the teams that we expect to be there in the in from the Western Conference I think they measure up short if the Denver Nuggets bench is significantly better than the Boston Celtics bench the Boston Celtics have a

Problem because that bench is the biggest knock on both of these teams because remember Denver lost some guys off of last year obviously with Bruce Brown who’s Now by way of Indiana in Toronto and Jeff Green who’s in Houston and like you’re right like that bench was better than Boston ‘s bench last

Night now the other game that became a big game that had to be really frustrating to somebody sitting to my left here because on his Best Bets at the end of our show he took that’s CC of course he took the Carl Anthony towns injury and said okay that’s that’s awful

That stinks for Carl Anthony Town stinks for the t-wolves probably going to be a lull last night against the Pacers a one game kind of sulking which is completely understandable then they start the game and Anthony Edwards really hurts his ankle and literally I’m writing down in

My notes oh Edward’s out and Cat’s out and then I wake up and I’m like wait he had 44 points last night they won the game by two but here’s the thing towards the end of this game last night right at the end Anthony Edwards had one of the

Most ridiculous chase down blocks that you’ll ever see or just in general where he actually hit his head on the rim and he explained it last night on Bal Sports North and we got to start with the way this game ended that block to close it

Out look like you hit your head on the back for yeah I hit my head I think on the rim it’s hurting real bad and I landed on my wrist but I mean you know I saw him with the lane I knew he was going for the for the layup and I was

Just like man I’m going to go get this I ain’t never jump that high in my life he had a game-winning block where he hit his head on the rim and then fell to the ground after that after already really twisting up his ankle and he dropped 44

At a win Ant-Man last night ladies and gentlemen he’s unbelievable yeah he’s special man I mean listen I don’t want to go there but I have to I mean when it comes to chase down blocks Lebron James is the gold standard right the playoffs time and score like the impact that that

Play had and the meaning of it because we’re in the postseason but what Ant-Man did last night on East mid that that ain’t far off dog like that that is unbelievable I mean just when you look at it from a basketball play it’s ridiculous I mean it’s insane it

Actually comes off impossible and yet he made it possible but that that’s what I’m saying and we’re talking about this guy having an ankle injury earlier in the game he he turns his ankle early in the first half and he misses 15 minutes of real time I’m not sure exactly how

Much game clock but guess what he plays the rest of the game I mean he played damn near 39 minutes Ry go bear play damn near 40 minutes gon to have to well well that’s my point though like those guys set the tone for that game they

They did they absolutely did in a game where you got right before you got the news Carl Anthony towns was going to be out for at least a month your two superstars needed to step step up and send the message to not only the rest of

The league but to send a message to the rest of the players in that locker room hey guys this is what the standard is going to be we all got to pick our game up because we’re going to miss our All-Star our four-time All-Star in Kat

And they did and that to me is the most impressive part of it that is leadership what we saw from Anthony Edwards last night that was leadership from what we saw from Woody Gober last night and that’s why I don’t think people should be so quick to dismiss the Minnesota

Timberwolves not take them serious seriously as true title contenders doesn’t that feel like a team that has Championship DNA that you can overcome something like that and make a statement like that and still Prevail and that it’s Anthony Edwards your star that’s going to be able to make the plays and

Be the one to carry you to a victory Evan like if we’re comparing them to the Boston Celtics it feels like they have a little bit more of what you’re saying that you think maybe the Celtics lack well not the DNA but the nasty the nasty

Yeah the I mean Anthony Edwards has the N like Anthony Edwards would fight you in the playoffs if he needed to physically fight you yeah well I think Anthony Edwards is capable of being best defensive player and the best offensive player on the court on any given

Night should be there there ain’t a whole lot of guys in the league that can say that and and I don’t think it’s either guy for the Boston Celtics I’m saying they should they no I mean they should I don’t think they I don’t think

They are I mean we we haven’t seen it like confidence comes from demonstrated performance I haven’t seen it from them I’ve seen it from Anthony Edwards I mean here we here we go here we go hot take alert if I’m building a basketball team as good as Jason Tatum is I’m not sure

That I wouldn’t take Anthony Edwards first that that’s that’s the way this thing is trending for Ant-Man he’s that good I I trust Anthony Edwards in terms of what the potential is once we get into the postseason this year I know that this guy ain’t gonna Wilt now I

Don’t know about the inexperience of the rest of the team but I know Anthony Edwards is going to show up every single game I know that’s what this guy does as a matter of fact he told us I want to play in every single game I don’t want a

Load manage this is a guy that is an absolute dog in terms of that mental toughness that you need to have especially in the Western Conference based on where these two teams are at right now based on where those two players are at right now give me Anthony

Edwards out ride with that even though he’s way more inexperienced than Jason Tatum he’s got the nasty like I my prism is maybe not correct but I look through it as like a Heat fan of who would they want what kind of what you said the he’s

Got the a dog in him is that what you said he’s a dog literally and figuratively Anthony Edwards Georgia yeah that’s right that was that was so corny and cheesy that I’m now mad that I didn’t say it so I have nothing else to say because I have to finish on

A corny and cheesy note unsportsman like is presented by Progressive Insurance drivers who switched to Progressive could save big quote today at progressive.com coming up has Russell Wilson found a home we’ll find out next it’s on Sportsman like on ESPN Radio [Applause] Okay Jo Go Spe Bo Spe I always find my mark Your tower has destroyed take the shot an ally Deated our base Tower is under Attack I never miss a shot for acquiring Target For I always find my mind for let me take the shot spe spee spee our base Tower is under attack toy our base is under attack Fore our base is under attack let me take the shot I always find my Mark I never miss a shot Acing Target let me take the shots it’s all skill acquiring Target it’s all skill for spee spe I never miss a shotg no matter how long it takes I will it’s all skill find my Mark it’s over it’s all skill let me take the shot it’s all SK for

GET UP | Nikola Jokic scores 32 points as Nuggets beat Eastern Conference leaders Celtics 115-109.