NBA GameTime | “Boston is the best team in the league” – Shaq react Celtics 120-118 win over Raptors

NBA GameTime | “Boston is the best team in the league” – Shaq react Celtics 120-118 win over Raptors

So Boston hangs on to win that game 120 to 117 without Jason Tatum without Kristof porzingis or Al Horford uh Brendan Haywood Grant Hill right there I’m Matt Weiner game two of our double header coming up in a little while it’s going to be the Grizzlies and clippers

From La first of all talk to me about the intentional Miss on the free throw right how difficult it is to pull off and we’ve seen it happen over the years a few times but it’s really tough to get the carum just so and it’s really tough

To intentionally miss a free throw that you’re taught to make your whole life yeah and so like it it’s it’s hard to get the timing down a lot of times you want to kind of miss it to the side because you want to run a cross screen

Action but right here they kind of get what they want they just unfortunately uh there was nobody home for Toronto to get that rebound but sometimes you see guys try to intentionally miss it and then they end up making it or you see guys try to shoot it off the backboard

It banks in and all types of crazy things it’s very hard to pull off the free throw Miss how many years did you play in the NBA 14 did you ever have a team where you practic that situation a um I practice it more in college than I

Did in NBA interesting yeah I never I’ve heard of teams that practice I I never practiced it during my 19 years but you’re right that situation to be able to execute that perfect like the ball go in the right place the re the rebounder in the right like everything has to sort

Of align perfectly and sometimes we see it work and often times we see it not work in college we actually had to play we actually really had to play it it’s like you it was like a cross screen other guy would come across you the mid to a certain side of the

Basket Yeah we actually pulled it off against Duke oh you did really did you win the game no I’m just curious I’m not cuz I was the one that I was the one that got the rebound I got and I got F miss the free throw oh but the play Work

The play Work play Work the play work they put me in they ran the cross screen that’s my freshman my freshman year a Duke freshman year Duke our freshman year they put me in they ran the play I got the ball but instead of getting the

Layup I got fouled who was your head coach that year uh Bill Guth Bill Guth okay I made up for I made I made the free throws the game one free throws my senior year okay all right so it was a great play wrong Personnel yes that gives Philly their biggest lead

Of the night at Two 22 now for Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxi has 35 on 11 of 23 shooting again no Joel and beat tonight for uh Philadelphia give me some thoughts on the Houston Rockets and the turnaround they’ve made under eme udoka this is not a contending team obviously

It’s a developing team but if you saw them play last year this was an irresponsible basketball team they at least seem to have some purpose now they they definitely have purpose I think it comes down to edoka his approach um how he’s changed that locker room and the

Vets that they brought in as well it’s really hard to win when you have just a bunch of young guys all trying to figure it out you need some vets and so that’s why you go out there and you go get a guy like Dylan Brooks and somebody that

Can help stabilize the locker room you bring in a van vet some people criticize those moves in the offseason cuz they thought they might have overpaid but they the Houston Rockets organization understood we needed some stability in that locker room we needed some veteran guys that could still go out there and

Play and tell our young guys this is how you play Championship level winning basketball and they have that now they have a coach that goes out there and demands Excellence from his players in Boston I used to see the way eay would talk to his guys and the way they would

Respond you could just tell he had the pulse of that team in his hands and he has the same thing going in Houston I I I 100% agree I mean you talk about having veterans guys who’ve you know either been in in in in big games playoff games you know Fred Van vet

Obviously winning a championship uh with these young players and and if you don’t you could you know very easily be Detroit you know Detroit right now young team struggling look at you look at you look at Detroit just catching Strays out here no but on the same that te like you

Look at that team in the roster there’s some interesting talent but you don’t have the the mix of older players who can at least you know not a lot yeah you don’t you have bonovich he was bonovich Alec Burks that’s kind of that’s it so

Uh guys though who who who are going to command respect and who are going to be an integral part of your team and so that along with Ma adoka and he just you know it’s interesting he he has a old school kind of way about him where he I think he

Holds you accountable even that whole episode with LeBron and you know obviously we don’t condone you know anyone getting technicals and being tossed but just the the mindset the attitude like we’re not backing down like bringing a toughness a physical and a mental toughness to this team and

Teaching them how to win uh so yeah they’re not contenders but they’re in the mix and they have a chance to be in the playin games and maybe even make the playoffs depending how things play out but there’s progress and they’re moving in the right direction uh and and that

Balance of that roster I think has made a huge difference the most obvious manifestation of of what you’re talking about is their defense they were 29th in the NBA in defensive rating that is second to last they’re currently fourth they were second like a week ago if it’s

That easy why doesn’t everybody do it well how come everybody can’t get their team to D up like this well I mean defense is a hard thing you know and and you know everyone I think we we we get infatuated with the offense and scoring and putting up numbers but getting guys

To buy in to play defense and he and you know look Boston had been a contender Boston had been a a great team under Bradley Stevens it took Boston until the new year his one in Boston before they finally figured things out so that sort of tough love approach uh and getting

Them to kind of play with a with a grit and and you know I think I think that that that took a minute there in Boston they’re doing that in Houston and and you know look when you’ve been really bad and you’ve you know been at the you

Know in the basement of of you know in terms of you know ratings and losses and so on you’re going to be eager to buy in and so he came in has made a good first impression and he’s just demanded that they bring that effort on that side of

The court and you’re right I mean that’s who they have to be to have a chance and uh and now you start see oh this works and we can have some success and you get more and more Buy in as you go so impressive what he’s done he’s turned

Things around and uh trending obviously in the right direction and I think also when you talk about defense it comes down to discipline discipline we have certain principles certain things that are non-negotiables when you have certain well it doesn’t matter what they are but everybody has to be on the same

Page because I have to know that on this drive you’re forcing this guy this way which means this is my rotation and that guy has to know he’s on the next rotation after that and once you get guys consistently doing the right things and drills of practice and you require

It every day like no no start it over we’re doing this the right way I don’t care if it’s we’re switching switching screens aggressively I don’t care if it’s showing out running drop coverages I don’t care what your coverage is but everybody has to do it at do it hard at

Us at a good level and they have to be on the same page and guys have to be able to trust each other that’s a big thing defensively too I have to trust that you’re going to be in the right spot and so when you look at Houston they look more connected defensively

It’s required more and you say why is it so hard for certain teams to play defense because a lot of teams don’t do that and then they play up and down like this if you play very very fast sometimes sometimes it’s going to throw off your defensive balance right uh 114

111 Philly leads in Houston we’ll take you live to that game in just a few minutes for the Finish for spee foreign speech foreign speech fore spee for fore spee First Blood our Slayer Lane Tower is under attack our Slayer Lane Tower is under attack an enemy our Middle Lane Tower is under

Attack you have defeated an enemy dragon and Slayer have appeared an ally has been defeated ultimate our Middle Lane Tower is under attack you have defeated an enemy onl double kill our Middle Lane Tower is under attack an enemy has defeated dominating but head for

NBA GameTime | “Boston is the best team in the league” – Shaq react Celtics 120-118 win over Raptors