[FULL] NBA TODAY | Perk on Ant-Man’s T-Wolves slow down Mavs; Brown or Tatum is better for Celtics?

[FULL] NBA TODAY | Perk on Ant-Man’s T-Wolves slow down Mavs; Brown or Tatum is better for Celtics?

today presented by ESPN bet Kendrick Perkins schneid gum Adrian wowski Zack low beaming in from home I’m Malika Andrews perk yo can you taste it can you taste the clam chowder can you taste the lobster rolls because the Boston Celtics they’re just two wins away from another trip to the NBA finals after taking control of the series in game two last night the Celtics they’re 0 and2 in game twos and nine and0 in all other games going into this one you see there Bill bellich watching as well we’re going to pick this up early in the second quarter of the Celtics up 29-27 and N CH they proceeded to go not on a 70 run it kept building and building and building to a 20o run sis this wasn’t a run this was a Sprint this was a marathon this is them finishing first place they just set the tone by attacking driving this was quintessential Celtics basketball the ball moving around them putting pressure on the rim and also getting open looks jayen Brown was so key for them particularly early here perk absolutely and he was just playing with Force but the Celtics were playing with Force collectively attacking downhill with a purpose and being able to do what they do best drive and kick for wide open threes but Pascal cakam this is why they call him spicy P putting together a little run here for the Indiana Pacers people forget that he kind of struggled after the bubble right but then he has found his game in a huge way watch this turnaround fade away before people said oh he’s a transition player oh he’s got that spin move y’all he has everything in his bag now and he’s a problem for Boston going ahead to the third quarter here watch Tyrese halberton on this play he seems to just stumble a little bit there and he would exit the game with left hamstring soreness that is what the team was calling it and he did not return just take one more look here where he stumbles obviously this is not what the Indiana Pacers want to see more on that in just a second but remember Tatum he’d been kind of quiet perk all game long ah ah bam yeah but that’s look getting the ball in this sweet sweet spot and and the look the Pacers are trying their best they’re trying to do everything in their power that’s just that’s good defense better offense finding a little bit of Rhythm here for the Boston Celtics to extend their lead and then Chen watched Jaylen Brown here just beating Andrew nard off the dribble they had no answer for him and I just love the dog that he plays with perk I said that they were looking for someone that would really emotionally Galvanize a squad well they found that guy it’s JB jayen Brown had 40 points five rebounds Tatum had 23 six and five assists but it feels like this whole series May hinge on the status now of Tyrese halberton so wo what is the latest on his hamstring for this game three well they’re still evaluating that hamstring uh in Indiana but there’s no question There’s real concern for tyres Halbert and not just if he would potentially miss a game three or game four but if he plays and he’s not at 100% they need him at a really high level to get back into this series remember he missed 10 games in January with that left hamstring came back once for Pascal siakam’s debut and Portland uh didn’t feel right and missed more time uh but certainly a lot of concern around it they’re evaluating it still today you know no clear answer yet on his availability for game three but we know with that injury you saw OG anobi come back uh with a hamstring injury was not himself didn’t last long in that one game that was over having been out uh over a week right uh but certainly tyres halton’s going to do everything he can to play game three to play game four to still you know try to help this Indiana team but still too soon yet to know about his availability tomorrow night in those 10 games that he missed right in mid to late January the Pacers were six and four in those games but it it seems difficult to imagine them being able to advance with a hobbled Tyrese Halbert and Chan yeah based on what w said they need a high level Tyrese hurn to really advance so I think it’s going to be very difficult but the bright spots maybe would be Pascal SE his play was truly tremendous and I think it forced a lot of people to question why do you keep him on the bench so long even if you could try to chip away at that lead and then secondly Miles Turner he got into early foul trouble and I think that affected his chemistry moving forward he only had eight points so if he stays out of foul trouble he provides some defense Pascal they could be in the mix but overall I think it’s a hard uphill climb without Tyrese should we give the Indiana Pacers fans some good news just reminding everybody that they are undefeated at home right this postseason why you laughing this week well they’ve been very very good at home they have been good at home I’m just trying to give something know I I tried to hang on to with the reality status there of Tyrese Alberton with or without them though dominant performance right from from Boston it was the Celtics sixth 15-point win of the postseason tied for the most in a single playoffs in Celtics history they have done this three times previously won the title all three times perk you remember the most recent one 2008 your title team you’ve had plenty of questions though right about the way the Celtics have gone about their business as season despite the wins they’ve been stacking up you have still had those questions so what did you learn about Boston in last night’s win well one that that was the most impressive win of the season I thought I thought they were actually prepared they played they style I thought you know although Pascal seum got in his bag they were tough contested shots two that jayen Bronson I mean Jaylen Brown is the best player on the team he’s the best player on the team he’s been the best player in this postseason when he comes down to him been in attack mode and standing on business averaging 20 close to 25 points a game shooting almost 55% from the field I mean damn what else do we have to do and last night last night is a prime example of rising to the occasion and taking things personal right not making an all NBA team he came into that game pissed off and he handed them a 40 piece all Flats lemon pepper that’s lemon pepper that’s what I preferred hold on perk perk perk perk hello from beaming in first of all first of all 2 2008 Celtics mention everybody drink oh H all it’s Friday you said you said Jaya I just want to be clear on on a couple of things number one you said Jaylen Brown is now the best player on the team and number two does that mean in your opinion that the Celtics should run more of their offense through him than they do Jason tat that he’s now the number one ball handler number one option in your mind in big games yeah why not I mean because all all postseason long we’ve been waiting for Jason Tatum to have his moments and wondering if he could come come up big in a clutch did he have a good performance uh in game one in overtime absolutely but they had to get to overtime how did they get there on the back of uh Jaylen Brown and a little bit of help from Drew holiday so personally I I get a little I get a little jittery when we do this because teams don’t like it teams don’t like it when we pit their best players against each other and full and fullment and fullment division within the team why can’t it just be both of their teams but perk last night I was in Boston watching that first half last five minutes of the second quarter first couple minutes of the third quarter Jason Tatum was doing nothing he was standing in the left corner not involved in the offense over and over again and some of that was Jaylen Brown was just cooking so let the guy cook let him show the all NBA voters that they were wrong but some of it was he’s slumping from three and he’s just got to be more involved than that and I was watching those possessions and thinking to myself oh my God is Jason Tatum kind of having a moment right now is this going to be are we going to look back at this if the Celtics lose the finals as the moment the game where their season kind of went sideways and then he got him back he got himself back into the game but I’ll say this perk I still think Tatum is the best player on the team but I don’t really care because it’s all their teams but remember just remember when we’re ready to move on from Jason Tatum is 1A this dude scored 50 in a game seven last year and 40 something in Milwaukee in a must-win game six two seasons ago he’s going to have a game sooner or later where he reminds everybody why he has been the onea on this team Zach is not about having a game is about putting together multiple games in a row he haven’t done that this season then he’ll do that then he’ll do that he’ll do it it’s coming it’ll come after the Championship would he go play Summer League well look but look let’s face it perk the Celtics are getting a buy to the finals I mean that’s what’s happening here and so we’re going to judge them based on what happens in the finals assuming they get here because if tyres halberton can’t come back and play this series you would be hard pressed to find an easier road to the finals in the entire history of the league so it’s it’s what happens after this series that’s ultimately going to matter the most sure you’re looking at injuries basically they faced injury written teams no Jimmy Butler in the first round no Donovan Mitchell or Jared Allen in the second uh even Jaylen Brunson couldn’t finish uh or excuse me uh in the first and second rounds you’re talking about injury-ridden teams obviously Jaylen Brunson uh facing the Indiana Pacers and now tyres halberton but let’s just do this as a thought exercise Chay let’s say Jaylen Brown is the best player right now on the the the Boston Celtics let’s just say that for argument sake what does that mean for their Championship aspirations that they got to the championship round that they got to the NBA finals because of Jaylen Brown I mean his talent is good enough for them to advance with him in this series being the best and guess what that’s okay one of the favorite games that we had in childhood was tag y’all and what I love about tag is you take turns being it why is it that when it comes to this Boston Celtics team we have issues when they take turns being it because the way you talk perk about the Dallas Mavericks it’s like oh Kyrie stepping up it’s so important for them and their cohesion and all of that right but when we talk about the Boston Celtics it’s like oh well Jason Tatum has leaves much to be desired which true there are some blemishes to what we have seen so far in this postseason he didn’t start the game off well but he finished well he’s still averaging 29 points per game in the postseason when people were so critical of him in game one he had 36 and 12 and so if Jaylen Brown is able to shoulder some of the load in which Jason Tatum did the same thing in the regular season which earned him ver Team all NBA like it’s okay if the pressure is not necessarily always on him what’s different about Boston they have a greater erir for margin for error than anybody in the league they are the best team they are the deepest team and Derek white can carry them in a night Chris STS porzingis can carry them it doesn’t have to be brown and Tatum all the time that’s what makes them so unique Drew holiday and so they don’t depend on their two best players necessarily the way every other team still alive in the postseason does I understand that but ma’am I wasn’t the one that come that went on the interview with Malika Andrews and said that every single night I feel like I’m the best player on the floor I have a question does Anthony Edwards have that same mentality what you mean like doesn’t he believe that same thing when he steps on the floor does Luka donic believe the same thing he’s saying he’s manifesting it in his game but listen my thing is is we’re talking about two different things right when you look at Anthony Edwards and Luca we’re talking about guys who are finally going through it Jason Tatum has been there he needs to complete the mission he knows that he’s the one that’s been on record saying he can’t wait for this moment and when you can’t wait for this moment Dam the moment here embrace the moment but by Design as W said the Boston Celtics were to take the pressure off of him to be able to have different quick quick question if Jason Tatum continue this play right here you believe they could complete the mission and win the NBA championship he’s averaging almost 30 points per game can they complete the mission against Dallas they will need more from Jason yes can there Z yes they can see up next their first Conference Finals game in two decades Anthony Edwards and the Wolves they are going to have a chance to bounce back tonight in game two against the MS now head coach Chris Finch he seemed optimistic that his Squad would turn it around he said yesterday quote it’s hard to imagine that we’re going to play much worse but Finch didn’t stop there he added hey the Western Conference Finals they started and he was not sure his Squad got the memo but they got it in the film session that they had so look at this Anthony Edwards he he’s averaging just over 17 points on 30% shooting over his last two games that’s after scoring 30 a game on 54% shooting in his first 10 games of this postseason they’re going to need more from him so Zack low how can they get him going again well first he’s just going to have to put his head down sometimes and look the Mavs are an elite defensive team elite so that’s hard to do but sometimes he’s going to have to just catch it and go but when they load up their defense and show him all those bodies everywhere and make that lane look impenetrable the wolves have to get into their passing game and if there’s one possession from game one that shows how they’re going to have to play every single possession to beat this team it’s this one here we go an got the ball staggered pick roll here’s the double team the key jayen McDaniels is up high on the floor and can see him and then from there here comes the blender help tilts toward him skip to Carl Anthony towns pump fake Drive lob to Rudy goar not not not a sexy play by ant but that’s when they’re at their best when they give him that quick release valve pass and by the way sometimes the ball gets all the way back to him and and then he can get downhill because the defense is scrambled and not loaded up they’re going to have to play that way over and over and the other thing is he’s guarding Kyrie a lot yeah that tired him out there’s a benefit to that on the other end which is if Minnesota gets a stop Kyrie is stuck on Ant they can’t get the matchups jiggered the way they want to and if they can just go to him on the Block go to him at the deil let him play a little bully ball against Kyrie that might get him going too Anthony Edward said Zach that he was a little tired after game one and perhaps his FL play reflected that a little bit 13 of his 16 shots they were threes that’s not typical from what we see from Ant do they need to help create more opportunities does he need to be more aggressive what do they need I mean I mean if we look at Anthony ‘s points per game in his offensive production for scoring the ball it’s been going down over the last like three or four games to be hon with you and that’s because he’s been playing in the crowd right he’s been playing in the crowd team’s been loading up team’s been trapping him but that’s part of it if you’re going to play a double big lineup I think you know they’re at their best when they move car Anthony towns to the five and now Reed go to the four four now Anthony Edward have more space to operate and get down here because you got to respect you got to respect the shooting but if you’re going to keep that double big lineup on the floor I’m not saying bench Rudy I’m not saying that but in order to open things up for ant so you know that he can get going can get to the hole can’t get to the free throw line you’re going to have to go small otherwise he’s going to continue to come off and shoot those pullup jump shots I completely agree with you perk because a lot of times people think oh Aunt he just needs to score early or he needs to blow through that wall that they really built the Dallas Mavericks but you’re right because if there was one St to me that was the most important it was the points in the paint the fact that the MAV scored 62 or so to the 38 of the Timberwolves when you have guys that are so talented like cat who can shoot threes like Rudy who can finish at The Rim we’ve seen him put up like 15 and 12 over the regular season he’s capable but also Nas Reed this has been a breakout season for him you got to use utilize that versatility so you’re right if Rudy is not able to help you in certain circumstances maybe you roll those lineups out where you go smaller earlier so that there’s more movement on the offensive end but you have to be able to hold down the fort defensively because that is where they’re going to make their biggest statement hold up hold up hold up hold up are we just G to just skirt right past the fact that Rudy goar has the best plus minus on the Wolves for the playoffs by a mile and their defense got destroyed to Smither by the Mavericks in game one when he was off the flo we don’t care we’re not going to mention that we’re just going to just throw that out because because Zach like plus minus is the most overrated uh that in the league you can ask anybody like it’s hard not over not over 15 20 games this is not a one game sample now this is the whole playoffs okay well Z since you want to go over the whole playoffs tell me this what Minnesota best game was when against the Denver Nuggets in game two who was out Rudy was out when you go to it was so what are you saying perk play him 15 minutes a game what’s what you say you going to have to try something because here’s here’s the fact of the matter you’re playing against one of the elite coaches and Jason kid who has this team well prepared defensively loading up boxes and elbows they’re not getting anything question okay so it you’re going to just continue to let Anthony El was shoot three no but it starts with their defense if they’re able to be better defensively that means you get out and go quicker so it’s not necessarily the liability that Rudy can be offensively it’s that if they limit that 62 points in the paint which he is very integral in that part then they’re going to be better off okay well Zach tell me this since since you got all the where Zack at cuz I need a s since you got all the stats pull up the stats on how many times the Dallas Maverick scored when Rudy was in the pick and roll in that drop coverage pull that up but if you if you I can pull you want me to pull that up yeah I want you to pull it up bring the show huh I got one I got I do have one more question for Zach on on the other side of this though because as as long as we’re talking about defense the Wolves defense it has been their calling card right all season long how can they slow down Zach this devastating Duo of Kyrie Irving and Luca donic so you want to know a little a dirty little secret from game one always they did slow them down Dallas’s offensive rating in game one that’s a stat perk I’m sorry it’s a stat was way below the League’s average not below the Dallas Maverick’s very good average it was a bottom 10 offensive rating in game one yes Kyrie had 30 yes Luca had 30 they had to work for those 30 the flip side was they only shot 25 threes the entire game it was their second lowest share of three-point attempts in the the whole season regular season and playoffs combined their defense was not the problem in game one they lost because they could not score and their offense was bad z z look I I what stat you just do offensive whatever you just do out there listen can we could just say points per you want to I’m just I’m just telling you this okay watching those clips and watching the game Luca thrived in the in the in the high ball screen pick and roll action why because you have live threats like Derek Lively and Daniel Gafford that you have to that you have to pay attention to and so when he’s coming off he either has the mid-range what no keep going you want to finish your point no go ahead the reason why they struggle defensively is because they lost the point of attack and that’s what Anthony Edwards said after the game he said hey they were blowing by me I was not aggressive I was not capable of what I I was not doing what I was capable of if Anthony Edwards and Company were more aggressive in that point of attack then that drop coverage that Rudy had would not be so bad and that’s why they lost we’re going to get back to this later in the show because it feels like we have a lot more to cover on this matchup but let’s head back e perk who was cooking he finished 16th in all NBA voting we’re going to hear from him on that in a little bit I’m not sure whether or not he was thinking about that when he was playing but he was on a mission yes he was and playing with fors attacking downhill putting that shoulder into him floaters in the lane being aggressive not looking for others to you know depend on he said I I got this over and over again look at him here Jason Tatum this is when they at their best Malika getting out in transition from True holiday though holiday been balling Brown had 17 points in the second quarter tied for the most in a playoff quarter in his career and then we’re going to head to the third here look at this this is when you in the zone right here this is when you in the zone getting to this midi right here look head down I’m going to get Buckets and that’s great defense and he was still able to get it to go then just over 330 here left in the third 50/50 ball he wanted the more and and one he had 40 point game it’s tied for the third most in a conference or division Finals game in Celtics history the Celtics they go on to win this one 126 110 but Chan how was he able to sort of be the Catalyst here for the Boston Celtics last night for the record I voted Jaylen Brown all MBA okay but for those who didn’t he may have played like he had a chip on his shoulder but he made a clear postgame that being left off all NBA was not top of mind but as we take it to the court I’ll show you exactly what he did as he went downhill what I love is that they sent the help and he made pay the Celtics had an 81% effective field goal percentage when he was able to draw the health and watch this beautiful ball movement as we rotated around this is Celtics basketball now for the hater us to this is a play for you because when you watch this he gets the ball at the top of the key there’s good defense there it’s Pascal sakam who has a length even Tyrese Halbert in his ball Hawking but he goes to his left y’all he’s had 68 either dunks or layups that is the most in the NBA postseason so far but last but not least I say he’s him especially when he gets to the rim because as he gets downhill y’all last night he had 18 points in isolation that is a career hide he was fully in his bag but also he was unselfish because watch he draws a help again and throws it down so overall I just loved his performance he had 40 piece but what we love about Jason Tatum and Jay Jaylen Brown is that they do it together and they don’t care who really gets the credit at the end of the day they don’t care who gets the credit but the odds makers May because look at this shift in East Finals MVP favorites and look where Jaylen Brown is after these game one and game two performances you you mentioned what he said about all NBA let’s take a listen to that was there any U motivation for you um after hearing that you didn’t make an all NBA team no I want to say that what would you say I mean we two games from the from the finals so you know honestly I don’t got the time to give a okay then what do you think of that mentality from Jaylen Brown that’s the right mindset it’s the right mindset and look I didn’t vote for Jaylen Brown this year for us all NBA because I know you know his points from last year he was averaging right around 27 dropped to 23 points per game but this is the GIF and the curse of having a championship level team and a roster around you right you’re going to have to sacrifice individual goals and is it’s like I hear this big like fuss all around the NBA like oh jayen Bronson was left I mean jayen Brown was left off the N all NBA team but who are you taking off right like that’s a hard thing who are you taking off Tyrese Maxi was left off the all NBA right averaging almost 27 points per game at the end of the day we’re looking at a Celtic team with five guys that are Allstar caliber players you’re going to sacrifice and with that being said they got their ultimate goal is win the NBA championship it sometimes individual goals are going to be sacrificed Zach was in the building watching them take one step closer to that quest of winning Banner number 18 Zach do you feel better or worse about the Boston Celtics after you saw them sort of take over in that game too I guess I feel better only because the East has fallen apart all around them I mean it’s not even just the opponents that they’ve played getting one star after another inj it’s that embiid went out in the first round Giannis didn’t play in the first round they went out they’re just walking in to the finals and if you’re in the finals you’ve done a lot of the work towards the championship as great as they’ve been statistically I still don’t think they’ve hit the level that they’re going to have to hit to win four games out of seven against Minnesota or Dallas assuming they finish the job against Indiana I think they’ve got to get to a higher level than they’ve reached maybe part of that is they don’t feel threatened by any of these teams or pushed by Any of of these teams and part of it is obviously also porzingis being up but I think they’re going to have to ratchet it up next round the one thing that I am keeping just an eye on though in the west Zach is that if these two teams if the Mavericks and Timberwolves are beating up on each other and you just detailed the the easier path if you will for the Boston Celtics by the time yeah he did he said a buy I was I was trying to take it down one not you know what I mean though J that if these two teams beat up on each other in the west we saw how tired Anthony Edwards was after that grueling seven game series if this does become a longer series then potentially the Celtics could be facing a a more depleted a more tired team when they do and if they do get to the NBA finals they’re going to try to take the next step in that journey in game three against the Indi the Pacers remember the Pacers are a perfect 6 and0 at home we’ll see if they can hold that record 8:30 Eastern on AB ABC our countdown crew tips off our coverage all right Kendra throughout the entire show we’ve been asking everyone who their favorite who the best co-star is left in the playoffs we’re going to reveal the results of the fan boat at the end of the show but I want to know your big list of alltime Championship co-stars here well first of all hello world I know it’s been a minute you know I was off yesterday but I’m back like I forgot something and again this is not your list this is not Malika list this is my list big perks big list alltime Championship co-stars coming in at number five Bam put it up there oh yeah Kyrie Irving Kyrie Irving with LeBron James one of the greatest championships of all time down 31 what first time ever in NBA history going against a team that was 73 and n and they lied shout out to my boy cuffs the Leger and they lied and he got it done Kyrie was fantastic in that Championship run Malik give it to me bam that’s it Kevin Mel okay I wasn’t sure we were going before that’s a old that’s a old ass picture Kevin mcel to Larry Bird okay when you talk about the slippery eill damn it he bought it out when you talk about footwork and the post UPS the up and unders the playing the darker spot Kevin Mel was him one of the most underrated post players to ever play the game of basketball all right d let’s go number three bring the energy now bam there we go oh the lightskinn the lightskinned brother with the green you’re saying co-star he was a co-star yeah to to one or two of the greatest teams ever assembled to Kevin Durant Steph Curry yes we know what they did in those two backto back Championship runs Steph Curry was a beast but Kevin Durant led the way winning two finals MVPs who how you feeling about that energetic bam now don’t worry about bring it Malik cuz that bam there we go put it up there Kobe Kobe oh you going to the fire with Kobe it was a three PE him and the big diesel big diesel had three finals MVP damn it Kobe was the co-star in that threee with the Lakers they got it done backto backto back Championship Dam it they got it done I know some people may be in their feelings but this is my list coming in at number one we going to do this collectively on three 1 2 3 B okay oh Scotty the greatest co-star Robin of all time no debating that six NBA championships alongside the great the legend Michael Jordan tell me anything else tell me something one of the greatest allaround players to ever play the game of basketball this list per this is a great list but Zach low I need to bring you in here to get your thoughts on this list St co-star Kobe co-star I’ve been a little cranky at perk today we went back and forth a little bit perk I want to congratulate you that list is perfect I was prepared I was prepared to be angry about Kevin mccale not being on the list and Bam there he was no notes perk perfect list I appreciate that Zack I this is what we call Perfection in Zach’s in Zach’s mind all right that is perk’s list we still need to know yours the best co-star in these Conference Finals get your phones out now scan that QR code and vote let us know we will reveal the results at the end of the show just a huff and a puff you cut it out First Blood an enemy has been defeated e an ally has been defeated an enemy has been defeated an ally has been defeated an ally has defeated enemy double kill [Music] your tower has been destroyed e for spe e can you hear me aena I’m coming for you you’re already First Blood just passing through time to put these future Allo a slice in time you’re just passing through you have been defeated far from over [Music] an enemy has defeated an ally has been defeated you have been defeated an ally has been defeated

[FULL] NBA TODAY | Perk on Ant-Man’s T-Wolves slow down Mavericks; Brown or Tatum is better for Celtics?