Perk: Kristaps Porzingis needs to SHOW UP! + Bucks’ uneven season in must-win mode? | NBA Today

Perk: Kristaps Porzingis needs to SHOW UP! + Bucks’ uneven season in must-win mode? | NBA Today

Celtics taking on the heat loved seeing the Celtics honoring Bill Russell with the number six on their warm-ups today would have been his 90th birthday but to the game we go chriso porzingis in the first quarter Ramona boy he has given them so much of optionality on offense and defense surprisingly correct second

Quarter you know who was going to get into his back Jason Tatum the Celtics would lead 5950 at half but to the third quarter scary moment here Terry Rosier watch this he drives in for the layup but lands awkwardly on his leg he would head to the locker room and would not return

And would get an MRI later today now in the fourth quarter Celtics their lead is nine and then things got chippy Jaylen Brown Duncan Robinson Arms were entangled words were said do you like this Ramona from the Celtics yeah these two teams have so much history these

Players have so much history this was the Eastern Conference finals last year we all know how that ended talk your is not a lot to the Celtics that is true but a little bit Revenge mode because Tatum had 26 10 and N flirted with a triple double Celtics go on to win 110

106 look at the allstars right there bam covering his mouth don’t read my lips the Celtics led by as many as 15 against the Heat team that was without by the way major pieces but Boston came up clutch In the End Boston outscored Miami 11 to6 in clutch time and that was all

The difference in the win and that’s something that they’ve actually done all season long the Celtics have been one of the best clutch teams in the League this season so the Celtics are winning but it has not been easy essentially half of their games have come down to clutch

Time so perk you’ve been pretty critical of Boston at points this year what if anything is keeping them from being your title favorites right now well it’s the physicality offensively we know that they have all World Defenders when you think about Drew holiday Derek white Jason Tatum jayen Brown right porzingis anchoring

The defense and being the hell of a shot blocker but but when you also have that Personnel I would love to see more post-ups from the wings and the guards when you think about Jason Tatum 69 610 wide shoulders and his variety of moves that he have on that low block and mid

Post area Drew Holliday is a underrated Post Guard post player in the league when he gets a player to of his size his strength and his ability to get to his spots is so underrated it’s times where you see jayen brown somewhat disappear throughout the offense so again it’s

About F finding that balance and not just be being a three-point shooting team because if those threes are not falling what else are you going to lean on and I feel like they they have the Personnel to do it they just have to get it done and start practicing it now

You’re right perk uh you know they are 26 or around there in points in the paint but when you and I sit at this desk right here we’re always talking about signature wins Boston they don’t have many since we hit the calendar year of 2024 take a look they are one in four

Against teams in the top four their lone win was in overtime against Minnesota so Ramona do you have any reservations about the Celtics right now you know look they’re so dependent on that three-point shot they’re designed to create a lot of great sh shooting and

From the outside that if they have a bad night I suppose that I have reservations there but when you see them at full strength especially with porzingis in the lineup now they look pretty unbeatable to me because they went out like we all sat here when they traded

Marcus Smart went out made that big bet on porzingis and we all thought what are they doing that’s the heart and soul of their team that they’re trading porzingis though has been all that they could have ever dreamed he could be and more I mean his his post UPS he is of

The in the last 10 years he has two of the best stats okay 1.48 points per postup two of the top three the other one is Nicol yogic oh okay he is so good in the post right now gives him that advantage and you know Brad Stevens said

To me because all you have to do is find him when he has an advantage which is pretty much always why you always has an advantage why all you have to do is find him and what he does when he has an advantage whether it’s a smaller

Defender on him and they try to get up under him or if they put a big on him and he’s quicker all you have to do is find him and that takes so much pressure off Jason Tatum or if their shots are not falling well what well Momo I was one of

The ones that were very critical when they made this trade because we have witnessed what Marcus Smart has done in the postseason m when it comes down to the postseason when it matters the most Kristof pinga still has to show up I understand he’s having a spectacular

Regular season but I need to see this in meaningful games and when it comes to the pressure of playing in the city of Boston in the state of Massachusetts he don’t realize if you not if you disappear the media out there the fans out there would give you the

Business so I need to see how he responds when adversity where start where was he the Unicorn New York City baby with the Nick you don’t think the media was big on him no no but they didn’t have expectations they their expectations wasn’t to win the championship like it

Is right now with the boss of Celtics that’s a different that’s a different it’s true but he has played with that kind of media attention and that’s one of the things Brad Stevens liked about him is that he he started his career with the Knicks when Kevin Durant

Himself called him the Unicorn so like that man knows what it’s like to play when the when the lights are bright look I’ve always thought that Chris STS porzingis is the absolute xfactor because he unlocks their spread the floor offense but when I look at this team I really think that their weakness

Is not necessarily that they shoot too many threes it’s their choice in doing it in the fourth quarter when they can get downhill and attack the basket and also people will say like okay you can’t win the game that way by shooting so many threes they take the most threes in

The NBA well teams that have one we’re talking about dynastes today off of the Super Bowl the Golden State Warriors they were top two in defense when they were shooting those threes the the Celtics they have very similar rubric of success but now they have to get the

Championship that golden state has been seeking after but if there are some small questions on the Boston Celtics there might be some bigger questions with the Milwaukee Bucks because they are still third in the conference but just two and five since Doc Rivers took are we in the whole must-win for the

Milwaukee Bucks especially with a match matchup against the defending champs let’s dial back must wind let’s pump the brakes on that but I think this is the single biggest story in the NBA over the last 30 games of the regular season what kind of team are the

Milwaukee Bucks going to be because it’s been uneven a little rough not as good as the record Doc Rivers haven’t hasn’t solved the problems at least yet and at some point look this team is old Giannis has spent a lot of this season cranky in

The media they got to go on a run where for two or three straight weeks they look like a team that can actually win four playoff series cuz that’s the goal and they haven’t looked like that team for any stretch of this season of consequence or any real length and the

Last thing I’ll say on this bucks Nuggets game start to keep an eye on the race for the number one seed in the west cuz home court was big for Denver last year in their playoff run we got a big Minnesota Clippers game later tonight those four teams are all close together

And I think that number one seed is important it is very important perk are you a believer in the Buc because last time we talked I I just remember you saying deer hunting season yeah well well one Zack let’s not pump the brakes actually let’s smash the gas

Even more and put the pedal to the floor look this is a must-win for the Milwaukee Bucks this is a signature win we when the Lakers was struggling when the when the Lakers was struggling after the allar I mean after the n Season tournament I heard Anthony Davis going

To Oklahoma City and say we in a we’re in a must-win situation you know why because a team that have Championship aspirations and they’re going against another elite team that is actually doing what they supposed to be doing that’s their measuring stick so when I think about what’s with this game

Tonight you have jic the finals MVP the defending champs are coming into your hometown into your house and they and they have plans on tracking mud all through that standing on your furniture it’s time for your two top 75 players in Yiannis and to show up and show out you

Have a new coach you have Patrick bevle who is the emotional leader a guy that’s going to hold guys accountable you’re pretty much healthy yes you’re missing Chris millon but you have pieces that can fill in for tonight’s game so if you’re Yannis TPO and Damen Lillard you’re walking into your Arena and

You’re going to take this personal and this should be your signature win to turn your season and the chemistry around tell this look at him per what did you think when you saw grabbing the clipboard I was thinking I told you so because didn’t I tell you that was the

Effect that was going to happen when he got there look at it I mean but how can you hate it like you want a guy with that much passion Doc Rivers love that and the players should embrace that a guy that actually care that gives a damn

About winning I wouldn’t say that today is a must-win for the Milwaukee Bucks because they’re going up against joic and the defending champs but I will say that we need to start seeing these wins and what a luxury it is to have some sort of identity crisis you have a

Coaching change and you’re trying to figure things out and still be third in the East Rona look they have bought themselves some time to figure this out because they racked up the wins right I mean as Doc Rivers laughed about coaching the All-Star game because of of

That record and he just got there but they bought themselves some times to figure this out but it has been rough as Zach said it’s uneven defensively they haven’t they haven’t been the team that they should be they’ve missed Drew holiday more than I I think that anyone would have imagined especially

Defensively Chris Middleton hasn’t been healthy like they were expecting and and and Dam and jannis have not quite found their groove yet now before the season they said we know this is all happening Giannis signed that extension took some of the pressure off them but anyone in Milwaukee will tell you this Giannis

Will tell you this when you have Giannis on your team the pressure is always on the pressure is always on to win and what Zach is alluding to and what he said there was very important the way you said that Zach the type of team that

Bucks are the rest of the season is the most important story in the NBA for the rest of the year I tend to agree with you there because of how important Yannis is because of the pressure he puts on organizations and around the league even despite that extension [Applause] [Applause] yeah

Kendrick Perkins, Zach Lowe and Ramona Shelburne join Chiney Ogwumike on NBA Today to discuss their biggest concerns for the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks heading into NBA All-Star break.

0:00 Boston Celtics
6:10 Milwaukee Bucks

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