NBA TODAY | I’m done with Boston – Perk on Nuggets to season sweep of Celtics; Jokic’s triple-double

NBA TODAY | I’m done with Boston – Perk on Nuggets to season sweep of Celtics; Jokic’s triple-double

Presented by ESPN bet on this fine Friday we have an Allstar lineup here in studio we have our ESPN senior writer Ramona shelburn our do it all analyst Chan AUM the Hall of Famer Becky Hammond is here I’m Malika Anders and Becky you know a thing or two right about

Championship caliber teams as she’s about to start a quest for a three p over here but it sure looked like a finals preview between the Celtics and the Nuggets last night in Denver CH if we get seven of these in the NBA you know what I’m not going to be mad at it

Another playoff atmosphere for sure as we talk pregame you know you got to give the Celtic fans credit you know they uh they always come out strong um you know but you know what we say right they can take that L on the way out baby feel

Like I should have guarded Jo get a little bit a little more um I wish I would have had those opportunities a little bit I could keep them away from the basket and we could have took away some of those layups they got um but I

Feel like you know uh we still had every chance to win this game we just came up short so Jaylen Brown he said he wanted a crack against jic but nobody has been able to slow this guy down I mean look at this his second season with 2030

Point triple doubles only Oscar and Russ have had more years posting those kind of numbers it was a statement win from top to bottom for the defending champs the reigning Finals MVP but Becky what did the Nuggets prove to you last night well they proved they’re still the team

To beat at the end of the day I think the championship runs through Denver and jokic just proved he’s unable and the reason why he’s unguardable is because you do this he does that you do that he does this he is constantly just making the right play and what I really love

About him is there’s zero hesitation about making the right play he doesn’t care if it’s an assist a hockey assist he is making the right read every time he touches the ball and he just puts your defense in huge dilemmas so Becky are you saying it’s a little bit of this

And a little bit of that just a little bit of this and a little bit of that look he put on a master class of being able to be dominant and versatile different ways when he was on the Block he finished off the block and then when

He was on the Block he passed off the block the Denver Nuggets to me you said it best the title runs through de Denver maybe not literally because Boston Celtics I think they have like a five or six game Edge overall so if these two meet in the NBA Finals it will go

Through Boston game one but still it seems to me that niika yokichi is the best player on the floor and I know we argue about these Supporting Cast because that has been their big Improvement Boston it feels like yic is his Supporting Cast is is tailored perfectly for him right he’s got

Perimeter shooting you’ve got um you know Porter Jr knocking down shots kcp you’ve got Jamal Murray who knows how to Bob and dance and weave they do a beautiful Tango and most importantly you know there’ be some games where maybe some people would say Okay Aaron Gordon shoot the ball doesn’t matter he’s

Cutting he’s moving and it feels like he has you know that That’s So Raven I don’t have to look at you we can just throw it behind my head and throw it to you you know that’s okay I’m glad you guys not to mention I mean we that he

Can see exactly we had all these questions about who is going to replace Bruce Brown and Payton Watson is so seamlessly stepped up into that sort of Sixth Man type of position particularly defensively Ramona well I thought I thought Watson was big in that game that is the big question with Denver and

Their bench because they let a lot of those guys go they didn’t pay them they elevated the young guys but to me like when you watch that game this felt like a final showdown it felt like if Jason Tatum was going to make a case to be the

MVP over yic this was the night that was the shot we just showed it he didn’t hit it but when I the the Denver Nuggets you cannot Double Y because they have all Shooters and they have the best lob threat in all of basketball and Aaron

Gordon I mean yes that was an incredible pass I cannot watch that play enough like I just want to see it over and over and over but Aaron Gordon with the follows Aaron Gordon is always there and every team needs one of those like when you when you talk to teams around the

League like who what player do you need on your team we need someone like Aaron Gordon we the Olympic team what do you guys need we need someone like Aaron Gordon who can guard on the perimeter one to five and be a lob threat to where

You can not double yage because of how dominant Aaron Gordon I do wonder how much of that though was Joe Missoula not wanting to completely tip his hand to what we could see potentially in the NBA Finals we saw them do the porzingis Xavier Tillman double a little bit here

And there didn’t work porzingis took the brunt of that assignment we didn’t really see Drew holiday so are we going to see that more and he just doesn’t want to show it like maybe that’s something that we’re only going to see in the finals but let let’s shift to the

Boston side of all this because Jason Tatum he had the same amount of shots as has turnovers it just wasn’t his night his second underwhelming game against the Nuggets this season he’s averaged 18 and a half points on 38% shooting against Denver this season both his second worst against any opponent so

Here’s Tatum after that game it’s not a Bor me to like hijack the game and you know try to make it about me and it’s a national TV game uh other guys had it going so you know if I had to be in the corner if I had to you know be a

Facilitator at times uh you know so be it everybody everybody’s allowed to have an off night but Tatum essentially saying there that he’s willing some nights to take the back seat as their best player what what’s that deep breath for you have a problem with that I you’re the man Jason you’re

The man I want you to hijack the game I want you to do that um look at the end of the day he’s a great team guy I think people like playing with him like being his teammate um but in these situations what what Denver really sent is a

Message of we can take your guy out you’re you’re the man we’re going to take that guy out and Boston can’t do that with joic so it is a problem when you’re starting to game plan and figure this thing out because any any for me

And a lot of this is not even like a physical aspect of skills and this and that this is a mental switch that has to be switched on in not just Jason Tatum the whole Boston Celtics team cuz I feel like they have this this like little brother syndrome almost because they’ve

Been so close anything less is a championship but they get beat down in these big games and I think that just wears mentally on you so they need to reset the mindset more than anything the jumpers okay they weren’t falling we know those will fall but going into the

Playoffs you need to find a way to win when that three Ball’s not going well they were they were blitzing Jason T not letting him isolate and they basically said we are we it’s not the same thing the Warriors did where they didn’t guard Jaylen brown right they that was drastic

That was drastic and it was over the top and it was like we all could see what they were doing but they essentially said we want Jaylen Brown to shoot more the the the the Boston Celtics are seven and seven when he shoots more than 20

Times a game they’re eight and 10 when he shoots more than 25 times a game so even though he had 40 points that’s what they’re trying to get him to do they’re taking the ball out of Jason Tatum’s hands and making Jaylen Brown shoot he

Had 40 right but as you said Jason Tatum is the guy in his Idol Kobe Bryant there are games when you te Tred to do that to Kobe too but he just kept shooting but if they’re going to win a championship tonight do they need more from their

Best play player J who is Jason Tatum absolutely they need much more in those crucial moments and I think you know I had this situation where one of the greats in the WNBA Simona Augustus told me what makes Diana terasi great and she’s the all-time leading scorer in the

WNBA is that she has that vulnerability to take the tough shots knowing that there might be failure on the other side I think when we look at the Boston Celtics they’re all like okay we’re all working together as key pieces but he needs to go out there and those field

Goals and I would take you know someone like you coach Becky cuz I know when you coach Asia in the toughest moments you say I don’t care what happens be aggressive and we’ll live with the consequences I’m not saying Coach Joe Missoula is not saying that but in some

Regards you would see that especially that confidence in him if he had the whole system behind him in those circumstances and I think they fall pre to that more often than not now lastly I’ll say this when it comes to Jason Tatum I think there’s a lot of criticism

On him oh his MVP case we all knew was probably going to be a long shot based off of the rest of the field and they also have the highest margin of Victory the Celtics so you look at those crunch sign numbers I don’t think that tells

You everything plus we’ve seen them show up 51 points in a game seven to close out a series we just want to see it consistently for them to build the requisite confidence for them to move forward and I think the point being uh no you don’t want to hijack the game

Like that that’s a very I don’t know kind of even killed statement in a sense because you got to know when to hijack the game and when not to and when your team is in limbo of losing a game that is the time to jump in and hijack the

Game and that back and forth that they had going on right like that down the stretch down the wire like you have to find ways to make an imprint and and here’s the thing you got to live with the consequences being great or being good you got to be good with both but

You got to be able to take that shot and take it with confidence every single time you let it fly well Jason Tatum knows that in the finals against the Golden State Warriors he wasn’t that guy he was not the best guy on the floor and it’s something that still plagues him

That he still thinks about and when we sat down at all-star weekend he seemed ready he really did he knows it he has all the tools I actually expect to see it and it’s one game it’s one game yes it’s one game yes next next game Sun now

It’s going to be a 50o performance on ABC so we come on NBA today we got a lot to get to my friends I got two words for you Chan Ant Man my goodness H his head on the rim ever seen a block likeon Edwards I hope someone gave him some ice

For his head after that we’re going to take for Hello who the h Spee spee spee First Blood an ally has been defeated familiar you [Applause] defeated Enemy Ultimate Enemy double kill your tower has been destroyed enemy Crush You You an ally has been defeated this you way to tra enemy ultimate Shot down enemy blood an ally has been defeated Enemy ultimate our base is under attack Defeat Fore look good foree speee Spee made you asking the wrong person for kindness an ally has defeated have defeated enem those C bastards are never satisfied an ally has been defeated I the my hungers an enemy has deated time enemy has been defeated an ally has defeated those C bastards are never satisfied For soong person for kindness you’re right foree failure is an option surrender is not for for

NBA TODAY | “I’m done with Boston” – Perk on Nuggets to season sweep of Celtics behind Jokic’s triple-double