Previewing tonight’s Celtics-Spurs matchup/NBA Finals preview?

0:00I'm Spencer and I work at United Health Care. Suspenser, why do you care? I care because my daughter Adeline has special needs. I am motivated by Adeline who inspires me every day. I am driven to help families like mine navigate the healthcare system. I'm so blessed to lead an amazing team at United Health Care focusing on the member experience and making that better. I'm Spencer and I'm committed to care. Hey y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with WayFair. Ever order furniture online and wonder, what if? Like, what if it doesn't fit? Uh, little to the left. Wait! Yep, should have gone with WayFair. Or what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. Should have ordered from WayFair. Or what if it's that material that makes that noise? It was a sofa, I swear. With WayFair, there's no what if. Just style you love, quality you can trust, and furniture that actually fits your life. Visit WayFair.com or download the WayFair app. WayFair, every style, every home.

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2:08Visit IXLlearning.com slash audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. Tatum, searching for some room, maxed out another three. Tatum gets inside and banks at home. He's been much more aggressive to start looking for a shot here in game two. Tatum kicks it out, Tatum. Tatum hits the three. Jason Tatum, a big fucker there, and it's back up to 12. Celtics will beat the cast for the third time this season, 3-0. Celtics now 2-0 since Jason Tatum's return, and they have proved to 43 and 21. Our two, Jones and Keith, here on WEEI, we've covered a lot of ground as we always do. Unfairly, we get a maligned. Yeah, what was that guys? As we only talk football. Who was that guy yesterday? You cooked him good, Keith. You fileted him real good yesterday. Johnny C-4? Is that what it was? Johnny C-4 is what it goes by. All right, I guess you're only talking football again. That's what he sounded like on Twitter. He's like, all these guys do is talk football.

3:09We did a full hour on the Celtics and the Bruins. We talk Red Sox, we talk WBC. We got everything yesterday. What more do you want? Plus, I mean, I would say the grab bag, I would say, considering the grab bag, we talk about every sport, every single day. Our entire bracket is nothing to do with football. I'm not sure other shows could make that claim. And then yesterday, specifically, we covered a lot of ground doing the same here today. We did start football today. Apologies, Johnny C-4, with the Patriots and what they've done or haven't done. In free agency to that point, we talked a little bit of the World Baseball Classic and the Red Sox right in the middle of it. You can still discuss it. 617-779-793-7. I tried to warn you. Green Dan supply, I think, is going to be close for a 116. I think it's going to be close. It's like 55.45 right now. The early voting tends to hold in these things. So it's very early. But I'd agree with Doom ZD on Twitter. Guys, come on. This is a tough one. It's come on.

4:09Well, listen, the other side of the bracket was pretty one-sided. So we're due for some close ones. Yeah. It's tough. Vote with your heart. Also, farm. In your ears. Green day way better than sublime. Just use your ears. Fart noise is also yelling at me that I claimed yesterday. 7 Mary 3 has two hits. They did have two hits. If you don't respect water's edges, they hit. Is he arguing three or one? He's arguing one. Oh, yeah. I think he's probably right about that. It's a good hit though. So the bracket, as always, has a lot of discussion at Jones and Keith on Twitter and Instagram go vote. Jones and Keith 1990 slash early 2000s. Heavy metal, new metal grunge, alternative pop punk, butt rock, rock bands, bracket. We're into the final region of the opening round. Yes. We'll be on around to my Thursday. Yeah. So get ready to vote there at Jones and Keith. Follow Keith at Keith 21. Me at Jones, WWE, we will tear off alien movies coming up about 25 minutes from now on a tier Tuesday. We'll talk to Tommy E. Curran, NBC sports Boston and high noon.

5:11We call it a Tommy Tuesday and a key for madness for you at 1245. So stay tuned. I mean, I find it very interesting. The Celtics are going to have back to back what we could consider. Finals previews. The OKC games probably more accurately and NBA finals preview. You catch any of that last night. No, I was. It was an idiot podcast thing. Then I was watching shows and movies. Unbelievable. I saw a million tweets about the game. I mean, the nuggets thunder, the thunder nuggets game. Yeah, thunder nuggets. It's always good. At the end was just an incredible. I like Yokech kind of. I don't know. I was a slip walk through it. But he like took over at the end. SGA. I think you'll hear from him later on in the grab bag. Hit the big bucket. Had a monster game. Like, that's about as good of a regular season NBA game as you're going to get. But for the Celtics, these next couple of days, you're getting the spurs. You're getting OKC. And I think this is their opportunity to prove what we were talking about yesterday. Forget the East. Like, they should be the favorite in the East. They are the favorite in the East. A hundred percent. You know, I don't know if I'm going to crush them for not getting to an NBA finals. But they should be the betting favorite to get to the finals.

6:13Tuesday, tonight and Thursday against the spurs and thunder. They can prove they should be the pick to win the whole thing. Yeah. So it's three of the four best records in the NBA, right? The other thing would be the pistons, even when they're losing streak. They still have the best record in the East. But those are the teams. And the thunder probably should be the overall favorite. But the spurs take it to the thunder. You know, and when I'm a Chet Hungry, it's a great rivalry. Apparently, those guys have hated each other forever. Do you still have those clips from, like, U-18s and stuff? Like, USA, France, like they... They don't get along. They hate each other. So it's a good, little rivalry. They're like... I'm skinnier than you. No, I'm skinnier. No, no, no, no, no. I have the bigger boy body. They call me slender, man. Yeah. Yeah. So those guys are strange builds, but they're both very good. Yeah. Also, yesterday, too, just points out the nuggets right now were the six seed. So, like, one of those teams is going to have to go through Denver and then each other. So, like, who knows who's coming out of the West? Which is good news for the Celtics. But, yeah, I'm really looking forward to both these. Especially with the backdrop of Jason Tatum has already returned

7:13and he's looked good for two games. Because it would have been, you know, this was his debut. Right? It would have been like, all right, what are we going to get out of them? And maybe that's going to be a little bit of a slow start. And that kind of thing. It was a slow start form against Dallas, but it didn't matter. Because it was Dallas. And then they ended up just, you know, blowing them out. These two games, I'm really excited about. And we'll see how he does against the best competition. And I know it's just a, it's a one-off here regular season game. But this could get you thinking what would it look like in June? If these teams got to face each other for a seven game series, I wouldn't rule out the spurs. I would bet money right now would be the thunder. But I think the spurs have themselves a pretty good chance. So Celtics and Thunder on Thursday are going to get the two best defensive teams in the league, at least points per game, you know, rudimentary stat. But just if you want to... I'm Spencer, and I work at United Healthcare. Suspenser, why do you care? I care because my daughter, Adeline, has special needs. I am motivated by Adeline who inspires me every day. I am driven to help families like mine navigate the healthcare system.

8:15I'm so blessed to lead an amazing team at United Healthcare focusing on the member experience and making that better. I'm Spencer, and I'm committed to care. Hey y'all, it's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder what if? Like, what if it doesn't fit? Uh, little to the left. Don't wait! Yep, should've gone with Wayfair. Or what if it doesn't hold up? That sofa was four days old. Should've ordered from Wayfair. Or what if it's that material that makes that noise? It was a sofa, I swear. With Wayfair, there's no what it. Just style you love, quality you can trust, and furniture that actually fits your life. Visit Wayfair.com or download the Wayfair app. Wayfair every style, every home. Testing season is right around the corner, and this is when confidence really matters. When kids take time to review key concepts and strengthen their skills before assessments, it can make all the difference. IXL helps reinforce what they're learning right now, so they walk into every test feeling prepared,

9:15capable, and confident. IXL is an award-winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning, whether they're building math confidence, strengthening reading and writing skills, or reviewing science concepts. Designed for students from pre-K through 12th grade, IXL delivers personalized interactive practice that adapts to your child's level and pace. It's an easy, effective way to support learning as the school year heads into its final stretch. Studies show kids who use IXL score higher on tests, proven in all 50 states. IXL is used in 96 of the top 100 school districts in the US. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now, and listeners can get an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when they sign up today at IXLLearning.com slash audio. Visit IXLLearning.com slash audio to get the most effective learning program out there at the best price. Porthand one. The spurs are in the top 10, their seventh points again.

10:16So what I do think if you want to stick with Tatum for a minute, and the reason we're elevating the ceiling from Win the East, which I think they had a chance to do even without Tatum, the way they had been playing and coming on before Tatum came back. I think they're the no-brainer now that Tatum's back. And dot, dot, dot. We've seen what Tatum looks like, which is incredible and way ahead of schedule from what I thought, even if he's a little dramatic about the Achilles injury, you know, a horrible, horrible thing that happened. It's a sports injury. On the injury scale, it's bad injury. But even if he's a little overly dramatic about it, I can stomach that with the way he's come back and played and looked. The spurs, followed by the thunder, those are going to be real good tests early to see what he's capable of because the calves are not a great defensive team. The mavericks are terrible. And I think those are teams that you don't have to work too hard to go get buckets against. These next two games, you're going to have to work. And is he out on the perimeter? Is it all fallaway threes? Is he going to the basket? It's early in his recovery. So I don't think we need to say, or early in his return, rather.

11:18So I don't think we need to say Tatum struggled. And he's been inefficient already against two bad defensive teams. Caves are middle of the pack. Maves are bad. If he's inefficient and struggles against the spurs and the thunder, I don't think we throw it out and say he can't score against those guys in June. Yeah. But this is a real good measuring stick for him to see what level he's at. Now that he's back, because I kind of expect him to produce these next times. Uh, yeah. So do I. Um, he's averaged what 17 and a half in the two games. Actually, I should look up what the number is for him tonight. See what Vegas is. Yeah. Good. But I was going to say the spurs are coming off the blowout win over the rockets. The spurs are pretty scary. And it was last year. Remember you and I were hyping up when by Alma. And we were talking about how he'd be like the number one pick if you're doing an expansion draft. And then played the Celtics and wasn't very good. Got hurt. You're like, oh, all right. Never mind. We jinxed him. But this year he looks like a MVP candidate, certainly an all in B a first team guy. They got a good balance team. Plus now they got Dylan Harper off the bench.

12:18You got a little Harper brothers reunion. Uh, you got a Kelly olympic reunion. A Luke Cornette. We got a little something about Luke Cornette coming up in madness. Oh, we do. Yeah, there's a little bit of update to that story. Okay. I was just about to mention it. I didn't realize that's madness today. Okay. Yeah. What a nerd he is. Um, but yeah, they know the spurs are spurs are tough. And I would say like a little bit ahead of schedule, right? Like they maybe like the thunder a year ago and even the Celtics a few years ago. Like they're the team that you're like, well, you know, when be so young and they got castle and like, they'll be, they'll be good in like three years. Like, no, they're really good right now. Uh, take number. Tatum is 19 and a half juice on the under though. Oh, okay. That's that spiked. That's that draft Kings. Tom, I'm sorry. Yeah. I was warned again. Jones, you're my dog, but don't you ever bet against Jason, don't you ever bet against Jason Tatum again. Don't do it. So I'm not allowed to take Tatum's under. But if I was going to bet tonight, 19 and a half over or under, I probably would bet the under on 19 and a half. I'd actually probably wait for the number to go up because and that's not disrespect the Tatum. No.

13:18The spurs are a good defensive team. I think buckets are going to be hard to come by. But I think that's also pretty telling because I know it went up to 14 and a half, but it opened his first game opened at 12 and a half. And it dipped down early in the day to like 11 and a half, remember? It's 19 and a half. I bet you games. Well, I think people he's going to play 30 minutes or approaching that. Yeah, yeah. So I think now that we know that I think it's okay to revise those numbers. I'm surprised he's back playing so much, which is credit to him. Yeah. Like credit to him. He's not just bad. He's not on a minute's restriction. I expect him to play in both of these games. Like if you told me before he came back, he'll play against the Mavericks and then he'll probably sit one of these games on the road trip, either Cleveland or San Antonio or OKC. I thought he'd sit it out. Like I don't think there's any talk he's going to sit it out. There's no talk of a minute's restriction. So credit to him on that. Oh, yeah. But yeah, I mean, I think I think it's going to be a lower scoring game tonight. Celtics are three and a half point dogs. Spurs really good at home. You see, they're 24 and six at home. I mean, they're really good overall, but like at home, they are, they're pretty dangerous. So it'll be fun when you watch in eight o'clock.

14:18Start. What are your instincts on this game tonight? Because you, I don't know if people realize this, but you've hit your bed of the week, two weeks in a row, both on the Celtics. I'm heating up as they say an NBA jam parlance. Last week, that is exactly what you're doing. You are heating up. Last week was a Tatum centered bet the week before was a Jalen centered bet. Oh, I think I maybe I'll pivot. I'm not going to do this sports bookward island pick of the week for tonight. I think maybe I'll do it for Thursday, though. I'll do one for the Thundergate. You'll get an OKC one. Yeah. OK, now this one plays out. Let me, let me watch this. You're not as research. You're not ready to give the people free money. You've been given the people free money. I have. All right, so stay tuned for Thursday. I would take the over on Tatum, though, because you never bet on there's on Tatum. I did it. I did. I have not placed that bad. I just said, if I were to bet, I would probably bet the under is all I said. Yeah. I could also see what my ear most out there. Great game. Oh, you like it tonight. Well, you know, we never even talked about yesterday because we were so so busy talking only football was a Vousavitch. Yeah, that's tough. That's a bit. That's it. Well, it's not like he was laying the world on fire. Well, in fact, I wonder if he was playing through something because he played like such

15:21trash in the Hornets game and even the way he was starting the cast game, I'm missing it. Oh, the Maverick game in between. Yeah. I'm sorry. The Maverick game is where he got hurt. But that was tough. And obviously you're caught up in, you know, hey, Tatum's back. Tatum's back. But then you're like, man, Vousavitch out. I wonder if he was playing through something. And maybe he kept it to himself. New team. He tried to play through it. He was such garbage again. Charlotte. Yeah. I wonder if he was playing against something through something. I think maybe this will help. Sit three, four weeks. Well, say he's the timeline is he's supposed to be back for the postseason. Yeah. I'd say no harm, no foul. But if you're without him in the playoffs, that's a big loss. In the regular season, you'd like him tonight against San Antonio. You'd like him against OK. See, you want him for those Detroit matchups. But like if he's back for the postseason, I'd largely say no harm, no foul. Yeah. Maybe even in the first round, depending on who you drawn the first round, I might not be in the end of the world. But then after that, like you said, any of those other top four seeds, you certainly want Vousavitch. He, you know, Kato's played so well that it's not as crushing of a loss, but it was like such a good pick up. You got real value in return for Simon's and then just to see him go down, right?

16:24So like right when Taden returns, it's not even like those two guys can get some minutes together. Like that's going to be different. But, you know, hopefully he is back for the playoffs. Six, one, seven, seven, seven, nine, seven, ninety, three, seven. You could jump in here with all your Celtic thoughts. We got the Jones and Keith bracket at Jones and Keith on Twitter and Instagram. Go vote. Top half of the grab bag region is underway between Green Day and Sublime. We'll get you another matchup coming up about a half an hour from now. It's a Tommy Tuesday. We'll talk to Tom E. Current at high noon from NBC Sports Boston. We got a key for Madness for it at 1245 NBA related tied to tonight's matchup between the Celtics and the Spurs. Maybe you can do the math on that and on the way next right after trending with Billy Lanny, tearing off alien movies on a tier Tuesday. I'm Brian. I work at you. Not healthcare. So Brian, why do you care? I care because I don't want to leave anybody behinds. I oversee one of the biggest resource center and you're not a healthcare. I see people walked in in my office every day, just like my parents.

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