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Breakout Ballers (Hour 3)

Zach Gelb Show / Zach Gelb
The Truth Network Radio
June 13, 2024 6:07 pm

Breakout Ballers (Hour 3)

Zach Gelb Show / Zach Gelb

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June 13, 2024 6:07 pm

NFL breakout players this season I Abby Chin, NBC Sports Boston I Zach Gelb PSA

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She's going to stop by as she is currently in Dallas with the Celtics taking a three games to none lead in the NBA Finals and last night. The way that I look at the game is in two different ways. Number one it's credit to the patience of the Boston Celtics Brad Stevens and so many people wanted to break up the duo of Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown didn't do so. You had Brown and Tatum last night combining for 61 points. It looked like they delivered a knockout punch in the third quarter. I know the Mavs ended up going on a 22 run, but when you have one player score 31 the other player score 30 with Tatum and Brown and Brown hit clutch shot after clutch shot down the stretch.

I never felt like even when the Celtics looked like they were squandering a game that lead that lead and they were squandering away that game that they were ever actually going to lose the game. So you saw a Boston team that kept their duo together. They went through some tough times.

They went through a lot of adversity. They made the right moves in the off season. I know there was no Kristaps Vrzingis last night because he was hurt, but Kristaps Vrzingis won in game one, Drew Holliday won in game two, and since then Brown and Tatum they did take over the series in game three. I would have said that after game two that Drew Holliday was your MVP with how Brown played in game three and also factoring in what he did in games one and two being good. I would say Jaylen Brown is going to be your NBA Finals MVP and the Celtics are going to win this championship. I don't see a way, and I know it's never been done before in the NBA, so it's not like oh this is some big bowl take, but I don't see any way that the Mavericks come on back and win this series.

I don't. They're down 3-0 and quite frankly this team looks just, they're not as mentally tough as the Celtics are. They're mentally soft compared to what the Celtics are. Kyrie and his antics talking about the crowd in games one and game two. Then Luka Doncic complaining to the officials and costing his team not getting back on defense. Jason Kidd basically begging his team to just have fun in game one, and then after game one he had to go to oh Brown's their best player to try to start this debate that would maybe get the Celtics players distracted.

That's not what champions do. They don't, and they don't look ready for the moment, and in game two the Celtics were begging them to win the game. They couldn't find a way to get the job done even after having a good start in game three. The Celtics got right back in it, and then the Celtics just took it to them in that third quarter on the home court of the Dallas Mavericks.

So that's where I'm at right now. I'm sick and tired of seeing Luka complain to the officials and being a baby. I know he's done it all throughout the season. The guy's an incredible player.

He's the top five player in the league, but I know he doesn't play much defense to begin with, but when you are literally not getting back on defense because you're bitching to the officials, it's just unacceptable, and you can't win a championship that way. Alrighty, I want to get back into a football point. We'll get back into the hoops coming up in 15 minutes from now. We'll go down live to Dallas to talk to Abby Chin, Celtics' sideline reporter. Before I get to the NFL, Ariel Hawany has this update because it seems like this UFC 303 between Chandler and McGregor is just not going to happen.

There's just a lot of communists reporting about it. In addition to working on a new main for 303, Ariel Hawany said, he's told UFC is also looking at a new co-main for that card. The current co-main, Hill versus Olberg, might need a new replacement now, too, and if so, it could get bumped down. One new fight that has been discussed, not for the main, is Brian Ortega up against Diego Lopez. I'm so disappointed that, and I said this from the start when that press conference was canceled, when Conor McGregor was supposed to be in Ireland with Michael Chandler and Dana White.

It was just bizarre. I was there at the press conference at the Barclays Center, and Dana said, the minute when this ends, I'm getting on a plane, I'm going to Dublin, Ireland, and then you find out from Saturday to Sunday, then to that Monday when the press conference was supposed to occur, that there was no press conference, and it got canceled. For a while, after being told how many times this fight was going to happen, and then it gets delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, delayed, I never thought it was going to happen, but then once they gave you the date, and they had the press conference, they started to look at it like, okay, this is going to happen, but once that press conference got canceled, I said, I hope I'm wrong, but this is starting to remind me of Mayweather and Pacquiao with all that nonsense, and how long it took to get that fight, and I'll believe McGregor's returning to the Octagon when I see it. So at this point, you know, people are like, oh, that's a hot take, saying that this fight's not going to happen. It's looking like it's going to be a right take, and Hawani is the Schefter of the UFC, and he's kept on reporting that after there was some optimism, after the original pessimism, that now they're back into thinking that this fight is not going to happen, and we'll wait to see what does transpire with the UFC. I hope at the end of the month.

I hope I'm wrong. I hope on June 29th, we go to the kickball game, we have a good kickball game, and then that night, I get to watch McGregor up against Chandler, but I don't expect that's going to be the case. All right, let's get back to the gridiron. Here's Anthony Richardson, who I think is going to have a big season for the Colts. He was asked about the difference between NFL and college football.

Here is Anthony Richardson on the Club 520 podcast. See, playing in the NFL, I feel like it's easier than college, for real, for real, because in college, you got players that are good. They know they're good, but they're not as confident. They got to rely on other players to do this for them to do that.

But in the league, everybody trying to work, just stay in the league, trying to get their job, everybody trying to ball out. For sure. That just let me know, hey, you got to do too much. You got to do my job. Hell yeah. And he going to do his job.

It's going to work. You know, I think that's very interesting because I think we were all in agreement, right? When he first said that, oh, it's easier in the NFL than college, my eyebrow was like, huh? Like I raised an eyebrow and even saw Carlos was like, what?

And then Santa when he first heard it, he looked perplexed too. And then eventually at the end of the clip, we all get that look like, yeah, you know what? You're right. Like he is kind of right when he lays it out that way. Now, I do think the NFL is tougher than college. Don't get me wrong on that. But when you talk about the commitment level and how everyone's like all in and and right, it's a grown man's game.

I understand what he's saying, Samter, from from the personal side of it. We're in college. I'm not saying there can't be immature people in the NFL, but in college you have teenagers, right? Young adults. And in the NFL, everyone's trying to go to get theirs where, you know, I guess you could make that case for college, too.

But, you know, we're talking about actual contracts and things like that, where NIL is basically like you get your signing bonus and then it's how long do you stay there before you go get a signing bonus somewhere else? Yeah, I mean, and at the end of the day, especially as a quarterback, where you have to know every position and every route and every blocking scheme, sometimes in college or in the pros, whatever, there's too much information. And so it could be almost overwhelming. And his point is, I don't have to worry about all that other stuff. All I have to do is know where people are going to be, know what I have to do and trust that they're going to get there. And I've never heard it like that before, because it's always the opposite. Always like, oh, man, I'm swimming in information, I'm seeing ghosts or all this stuff.

The game is too fast for me. That's the first time I've really heard a guy be like, you know what, now I just get to worry about myself and I can see that side of it. And honestly, Anthony Richardson, one of those dudes, if he can stay healthy, he is going to be an absolute monster. He's just bigger, faster and stronger than everybody. He's Cam Newton just 20 years later. Yeah, and it's going to be, can he get the arm consistently together? And I won a lot of money earlier on this year with Anthony Richardson with anytime touchdowns before he got hurt, even in the game that he got hurt and then was down for the season.

I'm pretty sure I won money on him with an anytime touchdown. The only thing, though, that I'll just push back quickly, and I don't know if he meant it this way, but out of any position in the NFL, quarterbacks are the one where you just can't show up and expect that everyone's going to have X, Y and Z taken care of. And I don't know if he meant it that way, but I was watching Brady last night and like Brady always went out of his way with every position to meet and highlight the mistakes that they made right before the game all throughout practice and things like that. I don't think it's that easy where Richardson could just show up and he only has to worry about himself. As a quarterback, you still have to worry about every other player that steps on the field on the offensive side of the ball. So that's like the only pushback that I have on that.

Now, I think we can all agree. Anthony Richardson stays healthy. I think he's going to have a good season this year. You know, Anthony Richardson either was about to become a fantasy football star is the way that that I'll say he was on his way to becoming one of those steel players in fantasy football. And that team almost made the playoffs last year, even without Anthony Richardson. So I'm not saying the Colts have big expectations this year, but the Colts are definitely in that playoff mix.

So I want to go around the room right now and I'll do this. Give me an NFL player that's about to have a breakout season. One's a quarterback and one's a non quarterback. And my quarterback hasn't played it down yet in the NFL, but it's Caleb Williams. Caleb Williams goes into as good of a situation as we've ever seen for a number one pick.

Even with an organization that's all they're known for is we're basically quarterbacks go to die. But you have Keenan Allen, DJ Moore and Roma Dunza. They have a good offensive line now. And this is an a spot where Caleb Williams can be a playoff player and be on the playoff team in year one. So I think Caleb Williams is going to have a monster year one in the NFL for the Chicago Bears and my non quarterback.

This guy has been good, but I think not having a quarterback has held him back from being very good. But you look at this guy's first two years in the league, 72 receptions, 866 yards in 2022 and four touchdowns. Last year, 69 receptions, 905 yards and two touchdowns.

So that's two years in the league, 141 receptions, 1771 yards and six touchdowns. I think Drake London is easily going to be one thousand yard receiver this year. And Drake London, he made some big physical catches last year. And he's a big physical dude.

Like he's got to be six four to twenty to twenty five, maybe like he's a big dude. I think Drake London getting a quarterback now and Kirk Cousins is going to have a big time season. So my quarterback that's going to break out this year is Caleb Williams and my non quarterback is Drake London. Samter, what do you got cooking for me? Well, I'm going to go with my non quarterback first. I was first thinking JSN, but there's... Ooh, I like Jackson Smith and Jigbo. But new coach and there's two other big name receivers in front of him.

So it's going to be... I think he's great. I just think that the situation is going to be tough for him.

So I'm going to go to Zay Flowers. He had a good rookie year. You add Derrick Henry to that Ravens offense with Lamar Jackson coming off a second MVP.

Zay Flowers is going to ball out. I mean, he was really good as a rookie. I think he's going to break out and be dominant this year. And my one question about the former Boston College wide receiver, who is a speedster, he's a speed demon. He had that big fumble in the AFC Championship game. And I don't think we always recognize this in sports. But when you're a young player like that and, you know, there's a little bit of chagrin that happens in a big moment like that.

How quickly are you able to mentally recover from that? But I think Zay Flowers is an excellent one. And who's your quarterback? So I was going to go with Anthony Richardson, but then I started seeing some stuff coming out of a camp in the Midwest. That's making me start to think that maybe a guy who had high expectations and hasn't lived up to them might finally get his opportunity.

High expectations and hasn't lived up to them. Yes. And what was the last part you said there? So they finally get an opportunity? He's going to finally, he's had opportunities, but he's going to finally break out.

In the Midwest? Yeah. Who is it? Sam Darnold.

Oh, Lord. Sam Darnold, former number three overall pick. He still goes with the Jets because there was nothing around him at the time. Went to Carolina, had nothing around him. Then he went to San Francisco, was so good in San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan as the backup there that they got rid of the number three overall pick Trey Lance. They were so confident in Sam Darnold.

They're like, you know what? We moved up to trade for Trey Lance. We're going to just get rid of him and sell him off for nothing because we have that much faith in Sam Darnold backing up a quarterback who's coming off a serious elbow injury. So clearly he impressed enough in Kyle Shanahan. Then he goes to Minnesota and he's impressing so much with Kevin O'Connell and that smart offensive minded coaching staff that their top ten quarterback, JJ McCarthy, is getting third team reps. And Kevin O'Connell is already saying Sam Darnold is our guy. He said he's QB one in the depth chart right now. Yeah, but here's the thing.

No one thinks he's their guy long term. You know what? Can I tell you what's going to happen with Sam Darnold?

Just saying. Who has some weapons. Sam Darnold plays the Giants week one. You know he's going to destroy the Giants and you will have every dope in a matter of the Giants actually have a good defense. You know, they have a lot of guys that get to the quarterback with Dexter Lawrence.

You got Kavon Thibodeau and they just got Brian Burns who doesn't get enough national credit and he's a phenomenal player. But you know, like Sam Darnold going to MetLife Stadium, even though it's not going up against the Jets, like he'll have a good week one game. And everyone's going to say, oh, see, it was the Jets.

It was the Jets. Then Sam Darnold plays the Niners, the Texans, the Packers, and then the Jets. And he'll lose if he's still the quarterback then three out of four or maybe four straight games.

I have let me be abundantly clear. I have zero confidence in Sam Darnold. And I think it's football mile practice to not start J.J. McCarthy week one if you're starting mono and seeing ghosts in Sam Darnold. I'm just going to say Drew Brees struggled in his first few years in San Diego. Then he went 11 and 4, 9 and 7, but they drafted Phillip Rivers. Drew Brees broke out because they drafted Phillip Rivers. And the next thing they know, he became a Hall of Fame, one of the top 15 greatest quarterbacks of all time. You know Drew Brees made a Pro Bowl with the Chargers.

You know that, right? Not before they drafted Phillip Rivers. They drafted Phillip Rivers, then he went 11 and 4 in 2004. You know he made a Pro Bowl with the Chargers. Not before they drafted Phillip Rivers. When did they draft Phillip Rivers? 2004.

Okay, so what's the point? He still made a Pro Bowl with the Chargers. My point was they gave up on him. They drafted a quarterback, number one overall, Eli Manning, and then traded him for Phillip Rivers. They drafted a quarterback, number one overall, in 2004 because they didn't believe in their second-round quarterback Drew Brees. Drew Brees blew up, then went on to New Orleans, and it was amazing. You're not saying Sam Darnold is about to beat Drew Brees.

I'm just saying that the Vikings might have an existential crisis on their hands in which J.J. McCarthy is not going to be able to get playing time. Sam Darnold is going to blow out, blow up, and crush it in Minnesota with Jordan Addison and TJ Hockinson if he's healthy and Mr. Jefferson with that contract. Sam Darnold is in a position to succeed. He's going to look good, and then eventually they're going to have to get rid of him, trade him for some assets.

J.J. McCarthy is going to be good, but Darnold is going to blow up, and he's going to be a Hall of Fame. Can I ask you a serious question? You now take the train in from Connecticut on your new commute. Yeah. You drinking that entire train ride? On the way home, yes. Yeah, you sure not on the way in?

You're not sniffing and drinking things? No. Do I honestly think that Sam Darnold is going to be a Hall of Fame quarterback? No.

That's all I'm saying. I do think that Sam Darnold is going to play very well in Minnesota to the point where J.J. McCarthy will have a hard time getting on the field this year. Please. And moving forward, Sam Darnold will be a star. With the talent around him, it's going to be impossible for him not to play well. He's going to have to be, honestly, a... Is he the starting quarterback throughout the duration of the season? You said this question is breakout season. You're saying Sam Darnold.

You know what? I think... No. I think so.

Yeah, I think so. I think J.J. McCarthy, maybe towards the end of the year... Alright, Carlos. Maybe towards the end of the year, J.J. McCarthy gets the shot. But I think Sam Darnold is going to play well enough that they're going to have to keep him in until eventually they're going to be out of the playoff picture, and they'll throw in J.J. McCarthy. I have no reason to hate the Skoll Nation.

I'm not rooting against the Minnesota Vikings this year, and I've been very publicly supporting the Minnesota Vikings the last few years. Carlos, who's your breakout quarterback and non-quarterback this year? Yeah, so I have a real answer. My breakout quarterback... Kyler Murray, man. Everyone... That's a good one! Everyone has been heaping praise about Marvin Harrison, but, dude, he doesn't have slouches in that receiver room also. Michael Wilson showed out as a rookie. I love me some Trey McBride.

There's a lot of weapons. James Conner's still in the backfield. There's a lot of weapons for Kyler Murray. I think Kyler Murray is going to be a breakout candidate for quarterbacks this year. I thought about that, but I wondered if it was too cheap just because he's already had success and then kind of lost it.

So that's what I was just thinking, but that's a good one. Alright, who's your non-quarterback because we've got to get to break. Yeah, real quick, I'll give you Khalil Shakir from the Buffalo Bills. Someone's got to catch these balls from Josh Allen, and I know everybody loves Keon Coleman and how much he saves at Macy's, but Shakir had two touchdowns and 264 yards last five games, so I'll take me some Khalil Shakir. Yeah, jabbing Samter with both those answers.

You give him a real answer on the first one, and then you give him a Buffalo Bill there. Which, by the way, Samter put up a poll question on INF Sportsnet. Brady had Payton, who will end up being Patrick Mahomes' biggest rival. He put up Burrow, Allen, and Lamar Jackson as the choices. Lamar right now is at 17.2 percent, Joe Burrow is at 40.6 percent, and Josh Allen is at 42.2 percent.

Take a time out, Abby Chinn will join us next from Dallas as the Boston Celtics are one win away from the NBA champions. You bring financial management, inventory, HR into one platform and one source of truth. With NetSuite, you reduce IT costs because NetSuite lives in the cloud with no hardware required, accessed from anywhere. You cut the cost of maintaining multiple systems because you've got one unified business management suite, and you're improving efficiency by bringing all your major business processes into one platform, slashing manual tasks and errors. Over 37,000 companies have already made the move, so do the math, see how you'll profit with NetSuite. Backed by popular demand, NetSuite has extended its one-of-a-kind flexible financing program for a few more weeks.

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Download June's Journey now on your Android or iOS device or play on PC through Facebook games. Celtics one win away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy. They're up three games to none. Up against the Dallas Mavericks. What a third quarter that was last night for the Boston Celtics. And in the fourth it got a little hairy. It got a little bit close.

But then the Boston Celtics did prevail. Let's go down to Dallas. Abby Chin does a great job covering the Celtics for NBC Sports Boston as their sideline reporter. And she's kind enough to join us right now.

Abby, thanks for the time. How you been? I'm doing well. We went to Fort Worth today and got some custom cowboy hats. So I am feeling very Dallas right now. Any barbecue? Get some barbecue?

Yes. Well, actually, I ate barbecue at the arena last night. But that's I had sushi the first night.

I'm not sure that's very sushi in Dallas, Texas. Yeah, it was delicious. Absolutely love that. I was not expecting that.

Hey, by the way, last time I talked to you, I had you on last year. It was after the Celtics came back down 3-0. They forced the game seven. Tatum gets hurt. Brown doesn't really show up in the game seven. And there was a big conversation, obviously, in Boston.

Are they going to break up the duo? Is this it for Jalen Brown? Now we know Jalen Brown got the richest contract that NBA player has ever got. And not only that, he's probably going to be the finals MVP. Just how about what Jalen Brown has been able to do in this postseason? Jalen Brown has been phenomenal.

I will push back. If that was a question surrounding the team, that was not a question within the team. There was no doubt after last season ended, regardless of the fact that they were knocked out of the Eastern Conference Finals. I mean, Jalen was getting that contract, particularly after making the All-NBA team.

So that was a done deal. So the thing about Jalen is no matter what is happening, he takes the summer, he goes and works on his game, and he comes back better. And this season, it is on display. I mean, he took on the challenge of being a leader for this team, but also being the spark on defense. And that's something that, without Marcus Smart, there was a real void with this group. And he took it upon himself to be that for this team. And you saw it in the results throughout the regular season. That has carried through this postseason. And the thing with Jalen is his consistency, and that has been a goal for him ever since he came into the league. But I think that he really found that this year.

And being able to take those snubs, not making an All-Defensive team, not making the All-NBA team, he's channeled that into this postseason performance that, you're right, like the Eastern Conference MVP, and right now you could argue you're the front-runner for the Finals MVP. And the cool part is, because I know what you just said in regards to that was never really a conversation in the Celtics organization, but you know what it's like living in Boston. You've got a big passionate city, people trying to break up the duo.

It's not easy to remain patient. I know that Brad Stevens, to us nationally, is kind of out of sight, out of mind, because he's no longer coaching. But keeping that duo together and kind of taking on some of the criticism and then making the move to get Porzingis and then also Drew Holliday, I'm really impressed with the patience that Brad Stevens has displayed.

No question. I mean, I know he won Executive of the Year, so it's not like he's underrated in some way. But this is a team that has been to the Eastern Conference Finals five of the last seven years and was coming off an NBA Finals appearance less than a year ago. And last summer, they got together, the front office, the heads, with the owners of the team, and they said, we cannot keep this status quo, and freed up Brad Stevens to go and make the moves that he did to add Kristaps Porzingis moving on from a team, I mean the heart and soul of the team in Marcus Smart, which I think to me that's the only thing that's sad about this run is that Marcus couldn't be a part of it. And then also, of course, adding Drew Holliday, but the move that he made at the deadline and adding Xavier Tumman to this group to add some depth to that front court, now we saw that come to fruition in Game 3 last night. X got his first call off the bench in these Finals and was prepared for the moment and came through, hit a big three, and really allowed this team to be able to sustain success even without Kristaps Porzingis.

Abby Chin here with us. Naturally, people are always going to try to divide and break up a duo with Tatum and Brown. It was very fitting that both combined last night for 61 total points. How do you kind of sense their relationship because, you know, I understand people say, oh, this person's jealous, and they're like, I thought it was a lot of stupid stuff after they won the Easter Conference Finals and some of the commentary that they had about those two. Oh, yeah, that was completely ridiculous that Jason didn't smile big enough when Jalen Brown was named at the Easter Conference Finals. I mean, you saw his reaction on the floor. There were cameras everywhere.

He was thrilled for his teammate. And they are in a great place. Are they best friends off the floor? No. Do they need to be?

No. They have a mutual respect. They challenge each other on the floor in practice. They've made each other better, iron sharpening iron, and they have found a way to coexist in this Celtics ecosystem and franchise that, I mean, has won more games than any other team in the league this year in the regular season with 64. I mean, all they're doing is winning right now. They've lost two games in this postseason, and their net rating is off the charts. So there is absolutely no beef, nothing hung on between Jason and Jalen, and there hasn't been all season.

We've heard some audio from Jason Tatum earlier. Abby Chin is here with the Celtics sideline reporter, and he kind of poked fun at the Celtics not really getting credit throughout most of the season. I get why they didn't, because it was championship robust for this team. How much of that was kind of motivating behind the scenes that this team has been great all year, but nationally and even locally they weren't going to really get their respect until they hoist that Larry O'Brien trophy, which now they're one win away from doing so. I don't think that that was a motivating factor for this group. This group understood that the mission was to get to banner number 18, and the reality is when you play for a Celtics franchise, anything less than a championship is a failure. And so, yes, while that was around this group, I think the thing that has stood out to me about this team in this season is that they have not been affected by that outside noise.

In the past, you couldn't say that. And this team, and it's the leadership, I think it's the addition of Drew Holliday and just a calming, professional presence inside that locker room. Kristaps Porzingis also adds just an element of fun. He's been so joyful playing this season. And then you also have the steady veteran in Al Horford.

They just have not, they hear the noise, they understand it's going on, but they also understand why those conversations are happening, and they don't allow it to affect them inside that locker room. What's the latest on Porzingis with his help for Game 4? So he just got out of practice, and he was on the floor. It didn't look like he was wearing some large, overbearing brace on that injured ankle. But he was kind of just, and he was moving, he was doing some shooting around the basket and doing some pivots in and around the elbow. And he was walking, we just saw him walking back to the hotel with no noticeable limp.

So I think it remains day-to-day. I'm not sure that with that injury that you really need to risk it. The Celtics proved that they can still beat the Mavs without him. And so I think it will 100% depend on how he feels tomorrow. And as Joe Missoula made very clear before Game 3, it is not a decision that is in his hands. It is in the medical staff's hands on whether he'll be able to go for Game 4. I'm so confused with the injury, and I don't play doctor on this show, but it seems so serious when people say it's a rare injury, and then hearing day-to-day, I wonder if there's any gamesmanship that's going on there. Do you have any understanding of the exact injury after it initially broke and then where we are now? Yeah, talking to team personnel, so what is torn is the sheath that wraps around the tendon in the ankle. So the tendon itself is fine and intact, and so that's something that you can brace once the swelling goes down. And I think the swelling was an issue to begin with, and I'm not sure how much that has gone down. And then it's also something that the reason it's rare is because it's basically a sprained ankle, right? And so if you're Joe Smith walking down the street, you get a sprained ankle, you're not going to go get an MRI that looks into detail of the sheaths covering your tendons.

You have an ankle sprain. And so it is rare in the fact that it has not been diagnosed in NBA players. I think, right, they've only found one other case, so there's not very much literature and study on it. But it's also something that while Joe Missoulas sat at the podium and said it is serious, it is something that I think, depending on the circumstance, can be braced and dealt with.

By the way, I don't know how much of this is just social media, and then how much is it like maybe it being falsely portrayed on social media. Did the Mavs like skip out on practice today? I was seeing something on that in their open availability, Abby Chin.

Not that I saw. So the way it works is the teams get two hours on the floor. The last half hour the media can watch. And then they do their media availability. So they set some press conferences up on the floor, and they set another one up in the back big podium. And that's where the coach and Luka and Kyrie spoke. So from what we saw and were able to see, it didn't seem like anything was out of the ordinary.

Gotcha. Let me ask you about the Mavs. Luka Doncic, what did you make of him last night? It seemed like he was more focused on complaining to the officials than getting back on defense. It didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary to me for Luka, right? I mean, that's what he does. And I think he clearly did not believe that those refs were going to foul him out of that game, which is why he was so aggressive in getting that sixth one.

But he put his team in a terrible position. And I will tell you, I was watching from the bomb because we get to do a walk-off on the floor. And I was pretty concerned when they had cut it to a one-possession game. But then Luka fouled out, and I said, oh, this thing's done.

I've got to focus on who we're going to talk to. The Mavs, to me, their approach in this series has been bizarre. Like, I know the Kyrie storyline is always going to be big. I know he played well last night, but in Boston, there was that old back and forth with the fans where he was trying to basically make it seem like it was no big deal, but his actions didn't reflect that. Jason Kidd with all the mind games that he was trying to play, and then Luka worrying more about the officials. It just seems like the Celtics are a mentally tougher team here, Abby.

No question about it. I think that that's been proven through these three games. And I think that that is going to be the biggest test for the Celtics going into Game 4, is if they can focus on this without looking ahead, because you can't deny the numbers that no team in the NBA in a seven-game series that's gone up 3-0 has ever lost. So I think that Game 4 has been a challenge. The team themselves have maintained a very even keel and will be the first ones to tell you that the job is not done yet, and that is all anyone would say last night. No one is celebrating.

No one is getting excited yet. And so I think that it's clear the Celtics are the more mentally tough team, and it is the most mentally tough team that I have covered in my time with the Celtics, and this is my 13th season. Abby Chin here with us for a few more moments of the Zach Gelb show. He does a great job at NBC Sports Boston as a sideline reporter. I thought there was a lot of unfair criticism with Joe Mazzulla last year. How do you think he has grown from last year to this year as a basketball coach? He's grown immensely, and he'll be the first to tell you that, and he will also be the first to tell you that he believes we as humans and him as a coach should be continuing to grow. He was thrust into an impossible situation last year.

I was going through the timeline with someone recently. He got the job on Wednesday. Training camp started the following Monday. So there is no way to go from the back of a bench assistant coach to a head coach and be the best coach in the NBA, but he still led his team to the Eastern Conference Finals, and he took all of those experiences, and this summer was able to really set a culture with this team and with this group, and they did it together in a conversation, and it has just been really cool to see him and what he's been able to do this season.

Derek White could not sing any more praises about Joe Mazzulla. He's been so good at keeping the group together, keeping them focused on the mission, and then also challenging them and making sure that they are prepared for these moments. He talks throughout the regular season about how he likes those times when the Celtics let the lead slip and they had to figure out how to respond, and everyone's like, Really? You do? And he's like, Yeah, that was fun. I don't know if anyone can explain it better, Derek, why.

I was like, Yeah, he's a sicko. He's just super competitive, super driven, and willing to do whatever it takes to get his team to win, and so it's been really cool to see. What do you think we'll see from the Mavs in-game for? I don't know. Listening to Kyrie today, I don't have much hope for them.

They sounded just kind of done with the whole thing. It's the ultimate definition of a must-win game, and so if they can come out desperate, if Luka can come out and put up 50 and Kyrie can add his 30, they've got a chance, but I still like the Celtics. She's Abby Chin. She does a great job. Celtics are the reporter for NBC Sports Boston. Abby, enjoy the sushi and also the barbecue, all right?

Thank you. There you go, Abby Chin joining us. Great perspective on the Boston Celtics as the NBA Finals is three games to none in favor of Boston. And it's fitting that what she said at the end about the Mavericks, it seems like they're kind of done with this series. That's just the way it feels, because the series is over. There's no way, absolutely no way, that the Dallas Mavericks are coming on back to win this series. And even last night, you saw in the third quarter, Boston displayed that killer instinct.

You thought the game was out of reach, and then boom, in the fourth, they go on that 20-2 run. Okay, we're going to have a big game here. We're going to have a good game. We're going to be a good finish.

And then Boston found a way to snatch it right back to take that commanding 3-0 series lead. All right, we'll take a timeout. We'll get to a Zach Gelb show PSA on the other side. Update time first.

Here is the act man, Rich Ackerman. Hey, this is Howie. And this is Nick. We're the faction boys, and you're listening to the Zach Gelb show.

And guess what? Zach is back, all right. All right, Zach Gelb show, Infinity Sports Network. We'll get to a Zach Gelb show PSA in a second.

855-212-4227, the first. Let's go to Larry in Baltimore next up on the show. Larry, what's happening? Larry in Baltimore, Zach, how we doing, guys? Larry, I'm doing fantastic. How are you, you jabroni? I don't know why I come up as Larry in Baltimore, but we're going to be Larry in Baltimore tonight, Zach. I thought this was the same guy that sounded like John in Arkansas. Bro, John in Arkansas, Larry from Baltimore, twin.

Well, I think you have something to say to some of the people behind the glass, right? Well, I'm a little disappointed that Stu's not there. I already, look, the reason why I'm calling, I didn't think it was going to be a sweep. I hope it's not a sweep because Zach, I have tickets for Monday night's game five.

I'm going back red-eye tonight, going to the Red Sox, Yankees tomorrow, and I want to go to game five and watch them win it on the parquet, dude. Wait, I got a text from you. Do you remember this late night text that you sent me last night?

Which one? It said, you're more than welcome to attend game five with me. I got a ticket for you. Oh, yeah, sure. I'll send you my Venmo offline.

Sounds good. Okay, I guess I don't pay attention to basketball so much because I've been watching this series. Man, Luca is terrible with the complaining.

I thought LeBron was mad. He's off of this whole series. It's what he does the whole year. Every call he doesn't get, he doesn't play a lick of defense. He's a great player, don't get me wrong. He's a top-five player in the league, but all he does is bitch the officials.

And when you're at this stage, you've got to give something on the defensive end. Like, he doesn't play any defense. He still got six fouls out of the game last night. I don't care about him. Let's talk about Jaylen Brown. Well, Larry in Baltimore, I love you, but your cell phone sucks. So, we'll talk about Jaylen Brown, though. Jaylen Brown is sensational.

He is making every hater shut up now, and he's going to win the Finals MVP. So, Larry in Baltimore, a.k.a. Sully, a.k.a. John in Arkansas, a.k.a.

our dear friend that takes us to Piero's and gives us a lot of veal parm. We love you. Your cell phone sucks. Terrible. But your cell phone thinks you're good, and you're going to win a championship. Your Bruins?

Not so much. I love Sully. All right, let's get to a Zach Gelb Show PSA. So, last night, I was all over watching the Tom Brady Patriot Hall of Fame presentation and induction ceremony. And it got me thinking when they were introducing Belichick and Brady.

They're like, oh, here's the greatest coach of all time. Here's the greatest quarterback of all time. You know, Brady, it's not even a debate. Belichick, he's one of the greatest coaches of all time. You can easily argue he is the greatest coach of all time. But for Brady, it's not up for debate.

But my PSA is this. We use the word and the term GOAT way too freely now in society. For Brady and Belichick deserve. But you get into the league, and you have a little respect. You have a little impression on the league now, and you have a little success. And people are like, oh, he's the GOAT. You know, it was Brandon Miller who was like, oh, my GOAT is Paul George going back to the draft this time last year.

So all I'm saying is, only call someone the GOAT if they actually deserve it. That's my PSA on this Thursday. Carlos, what do you got for us, CK? All right, I don't know who needs to hear this, but stop teaching AI how to make music. I don't need to hear any more fake songs about bandages and butts and any other crap that you want to throw at it. And you're trying to sell songs to your wife.

Stop it. We had enough bad music already made by humanity. We don't need the robots to start making bad songs. So stop making AI do dumb things. Did you say butts? Yeah, I'm just doing random stuff now.

I like big butts, and I can't not lie. Was created by a human, all right, by a human. Let us make bad music. We don't need the robots to do it. You're working with Maggie and Pearl off tomorrow, right? I will be there tomorrow morning. Well, hopefully they don't do any AI songs then tomorrow, because that'd be a little bit awkward for you. I almost guarantee they will.

That puts you in a little bit of a weird situation. Samster, send us home. What's the PSA today, my friend? You know, this is all thanks to Danny Hurley. In every interview that we've heard from him today, from Colin Coward to Dan Libertar to his interviews with the reporters there at UConn, he has been nothing but forthright and honest. Now, we don't know exactly how honest, but he's giving you real answers. As honest as a coach can be. He's giving you real answers. He's messing with his players. He's talking about how money matters and that actually, like, the right number would have actually helped convince him. He's talking about all these different things that you don't hear coaches talk about.

It's such a breath of fresh air. Here's my PSA. I'm sick and tired of coaches giving you coach speak.

I'm sick and tired of all the nonsense, right, because you see right through it. We call them out when they're doing it and then when they leave, all we can say is, we told you so. This guy was lying the whole time. There's nothing worse than hearing a coach blow smoke up your ass and then do the exact thing that you're saying that he's going to do that he denied that he's ever going to do.

I hate that crap. If there's a true report about you and you come out and deny it, but you do the exact same damn thing that the report says anyway, then own up to it afterwards and say, you know what, I was lying to you guys, but I had to at least preserve things at the time. If you're going to lie about it, own up to it, but try not to lie about it. Be like Dan Hurley. Be honest. Be real.

Give honest, good answers. Dan Hurley is now my favorite coach in college basketball. Yeah.

You were fired up. Do you want everyone to be like Micah Parsons? No, Micah Parsons is just an idiot sometimes.

Whoa. He says some stupid things. Let's not call him an idiot. No, some of the things, some of his sports takes are idiotic. He's not an idiot. His sports takes, him saying the NFC East is the best division in football is an idiotic sports take. Carlos, didn't we do a show today where this Samter fellow was basically comparing Sam Darnold to Drew Brees? Yeah, that was a real thing.

You can check it back on the Free Odyssey app. It's something with those M's. Michael, Micah, and then you get them talking football. INS Sportsnet, final poll calculation. Brady Ed Payden, who will end up being Patrick Mahomes' biggest rival. Joe Burrow, 43.7 percent. Josh Allen, 39.4 percent.

Lamar Jackson, 16.9 percent. Big thanks to Abby Chen. Big thanks to Moist Mike.

Carlos Ortiz, CK, each and every one of you. We'll be back, Minyana, for a big Friday show at 3 p.m. Eastern, noon Pacific. We out. Bye-bye. Have a good night.

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Whisper: medium.en / 2024-06-13 21:05:42 / 2024-06-13 21:27:27 / 22

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