Celtics-Knicks Game 3 Reaction: Boston dominates New York | Colin Cowherd NBA

Celtics-Knicks Game 3 Reaction: Boston dominates New York | Colin Cowherd NBA

[Music] All right, instant reaction on a Celtic blowout win where they hit six of seven threes in the first quarter. Got out to a huge lead, shot 58% early on. And uh this thing was never even remotely competitive. And the Celtics haven’t lost three straight games in two years. They’re they’re I’ve said this before on FS1 and u on my radio show is they’re a very strange championship team. Um, like Denver’s not I kind of know what Denver is. When they got rid of KCP and Bruce uh Brown, they just weren’t quite as good on the edges. But I kind of know what I get in these close clutch games with the Denver Nuggets. Boston’s a better road team than they are a home team. And that’s been a couple of years now. They were 35-9 on the road this year. That’s the second best road win percentage ever. They’re a better road team than a home team. That’s just unheard of. I mean, all championship teams are usually viable on the road, right? They’ve got some experience, aren’t intimidated by crowds. College kids get overwhelmed on the road. I have always said this in college football. You know, outside of your great teams, you know, you know, Ohio State last year lost at Oregon, but they weren’t overwhelmed and Oregon was a good team. But most of the time, a college football team that’s not a top three or four team, they go on the road and you get a different team. College basketball, different team. In the NBA, if you have a veteran team, you know, I remember a few years ago in the finals, Warriors went in and stole one and Boston, the Celtics were a younger team. It’s just not that big of a deal. Boston now is a veteran team. There’s no other way to classify them. Tatum Brown, um, you know, Porzingis, Al Horford, Derek White, it’s a veteran team. So home and road’s not really a thing, but to be that good on the road is pretty remarkable. I’m trying to wrap my arms around why they’re not a more dominant home team. We know Boston is one of the more intimidating uh crowds. Uh we know every game’s a sellout. Is does this team play with a certain level of anxiety at home? Do they take their foot off the gas at home? I don’t know what it is, but I do think the team is a really close unit. And I think that kind of uh community and collaborative. I mean, we all know Boston’s sometimes to a fault super collaborative. We wish Jason Tatum was more selfish. So maybe that um kind of unified spirit. I’ve compared them to the Warriors a little bit. Um you know, where you have a lot of shooters, a lot of guys that are smart, they get along. Young guys don’t necessarily fit in these Celtics or those Warriors. uh they’re just they’re really close and there’s a certain unity that bonds on the road and maybe they just take their foot off the gas at home. I can’t explain it but um and the Knicks by the way uh are not great at home either. One and three and the New York crowd is fantastic. So the Knicks this year are one and three at home in the postseason. So who I don’t know what to make of it. I I will say this that um Boston’s got better players and Payton Pritchard’s a great example. At one point, Pton Pritchard had 27 points in 23 minutes. And you know, another guy that spent some years in college and has come out and been an incredibly viable player. And you know, I watched Cleveland dispose. Cleveland now is at full strength. Um and boy, Indiana struggled to stop him. Everybody this year struggled to stop Cleveland when they were at full strength. So now you look at that series differently. That thing wasn’t competitive. Uh the Pacers could not make stops. So you know all of a sudden now the cream rises over the last 24 hours with the Cavaliers and the Celtics. It has been a very unique postseason where underdogs have done well and road teams have done well. I think that’s great for the league. Uh I still don’t know what to do um with a Denver OKC series. I I said this walking around my neighborhood this morning is that OKC is like Boston, brilliantly constructed. Sam Presky, great GM. Boston between Ames and Stevens, a brilliantly constructed team. Um, but if you’re telling me I I’m not so sure. I could argue if you just gave me every starting five in the NBA and said, “All right, let’s play five minutes.” I’d take Denver. Uh, I get Joic. Murray offensively can be an exceptional playoff player. Aaron Gordon, I’ve loved for years. he now can suddenly hit threes. So, you know, these playoffs have been just so dramatic. I think the one team we’re all kind of confused with is Denver. When the when the line and the odds came out for OKC Denver, it was so disrespectful to the Nuggets. It’s like, what are we doing here? You know, basically in the league, we all know who’s good. We know Boston’s good. We know OKC’s good. We know Cleveland’s good. Um, I think Denver’s good. And I don’t think the oddsmakers do. And I will remind everybody that if you have the world’s best player surrounded by ex really good players, um, you know, history tells you you will prevail, usually at least getting to the conference finals. So, I think Oklahoma City with a deeper roster is built to win a long series. Uh, I think they’ll bounce back and I think they’ll they’ll they’ll win game four in Denver. That’s my guess. I mean, they they led the entire game last night, but when you watch all these playoffs, um I think there’s an understanding of who the really good teams are in the NBA. And uh we don’t put the Knicks in that class and that’s not a knock on them. I think the Knicks have benefited greatly from the way the games have been officiated. I mean, OG is just a big dog. He’s a big pro alete. And you know, the Knicks have Mitchell Robinson and really good defenders and even their best scorer Brunson who again was good today. He’s just he’s tough. He’s just a tough physical Villanova guy. So I think that the benefit the Knicks have is that this is not regular season basketball where the Knicks really struggled against deep and excellent offensive teams like Cleveland, OKC, and Boston. The Knicks really struggled. Now, the NBA is allowing these playoff games to get muddy and to get grabby and to get physical, and that really benefits the Knicks. So, my guess is the Celtics come out in a much closer game four and even the series and it goes back to Boston. Boston’s the better team. I mean, at one point the Celtics, you know, they’re hot and cold on threes. At one point they were 12 for 19 on threes. Um the the one advantage um playing Boston is that you don’t commit a ton of fouls because Boston doesn’t get to the free throw line. The Knicks only committed 16 fouls. That’s not about officiating. Boston shoots threes. So the the good news for New York is their rugged, physical players shouldn’t get in a ton of foul trouble because very rarely does Boston attack the basket. And so, you know, you got Male Bridges who plays a lot of minutes and never misses games. And you got Jaylen Brunson who’s a workhorse and a warrior. So, I mean, you’re not you’re not this isn’t this isn’t a series where New York’s going to worry about, you know, tickytack fouls and being physical. The referees are allowing this series to go right into New York’s hand uh hands, but they’re not as gifted offensively, and you really saw it today. Every time they got felt like he got close, Tatum hit a three, Horford hit a three, Pritchard hit another three. uh it was a real mismatch um like it was when they played during the regular season. So I I think the playoffs have been um really good and really fun and I my guess is tonight without Steph going back home the Warriors and the T-Wolves have a really really good basketball game. Uh I don’t know if it’s mustwatch. It’ll be a very entertaining watch. it will have to be low scoring or Golden State’s got no shot because the dexterity and the size and and the options you have. Um I mean Minnesota’s got a really good roster. The other night you’re watching Golden State play 14 guys. It’s just it’s not it’s not a a symphony. It’s not an orchestra without Steph Curry. It’s just kind of whoever’s hot. Give it to Jimmy Butler. Cross your fingers on Buddy Heal. Uh this team offensively just not the same team. They play a different style. It’s it’s I I said it’s like open mic night. Who’s got the best material? Who’s hot? Get him the ball. And that’s not that’s not the ecosystem when Steph is playing. So, I think we’ll have a close game tonight. I would probably take the T-wolves. Um, Aunt Edwards has to perform better. I would take the T-Wolves tonight to beat Golden State in a really, really close game out west. Th This really has become, I’ll read you a stat, a make or miss league on three-pointers. It’s hard when fans I know fans want to complain about officiating, but Boston doesn’t get to the free throw line, right? They settle for threes. So, you can complain the NBA wants Boston in the final. Why don’t they get to the free throw line? They jack up threes. Before Jimmy Butler, Warriors never got to the free throw line with Steph. So, the three-point avalanche, it it really hurts guys who think the league is rigged. The teams that really shoot threes well don’t get to the free throw line. Here’s what a make or miss league it is. If the Celtics had gone went 27 of 100 from three in the first two games, they would be up 300 in the series. But, you know, that’s that’s the downside. And I and I remind people when um you know KD staff and Clays had had so much overwhelming talent, but preKD and postKD even teams that won championships for the Warriors when the Warriors got blown out a lot because they didn’t get to the free throw line and it’s a make or miss league and Boston feels a lot like that. I do think they have so many players who shoot well from beyond the ark that eventually uh it’s a bit of an aberration to shoot as poorly as they did in game two after game one’s performance. So I think the Celtics will even it up. Um but it’s I think there’s a a certain winning fatigue. It’s going to be hard to beat the Knicks four to five games. It’s the leagues allowing these series to be muddied up and I think that’s really hard. I think I think this was one of those games. I don’t I don’t know what the numbers say. When you beat a team twice uh in their place, you come back home for game three, that’s a hard one to win. Boston was going to win, right? I think game four is close, but I take the Celtics again in a six to seven point game. All right, Derek Carr retired, four-time Pro Bowler. Um, we all know for rookie quarterbacks, where you land is about 75% of the game. I mean, Sam Darnold now looks really good. He didn’t with the Jets in Carolina. Okay. Bone nicks look great with Shawn Peyton. Would he have looked that good with Matt Eberfloose in Chicago? Probably not. Or Dennis Allen in New Orleans. So, I there’s a bit of uh um like a pity for Derek Carr, who I think second round out of Fresno State, good player, not great, but a four-time Pro Bowler. Basically, he comes into the league and goes to the Raiders, and the Raiders were mostly an eso the entire time. And he was a bit of a life preserver that made them viable. He was making Pro Bowls. He was a very solid quarterback. And I not great, but I thought a little like Kirk Cousins, a gamer. Um, and then he leaves and thinks I’m going to go to New Orleans, but he’s getting Dennis Allen, who in two head coaching stints proved to be more coordinator, a good coordinator, not a head coach. So, even for veteran quarterbacks, I mean, I always use Tom Brady as the example. So, Tom Brady is getting older. He’s in New England. and New England could not draft and develop wide receivers. So, you know, of the teams that Tom Brady looked at going to, Chargers had like Kanan Allen, you know, a legitimate receiver and the Buccaneers that had Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and then he, you know, he um gets Gron out of retirement gets AB to come down to Tampa. So, you know, Brady figured it out. He went from grumpy defensive guy Bellichic to kind of life of the party Bruce Aren’s offensive coach and a team that was stacked uh at wide receiver. U Jamus Winston if he not thrown so many interceptions, Tampa had all sorts of offensive talent. They just, you know, Jamus did his pick six thing. Um Brady is a great road map for what veteran quarterbacks are looking for. I mean, one of the reasons Matt Stafford wanted to go to Los Angeles, Cooper Cup was in his prime and Shawn McVey and Andrew Witworth, the left tackle. He knew he’d have a great coach, a great weapon, and a great left tackle in protection. That’s why Matt Stafford was gung-ho about coming to the Rams. And so, I mean, Derek Carr is not as good as Stafford or Tom Brady. But to get had he inherited Shawn Payeyton, I think it would have gone better clearly in New Orleans. So, I do think Derek had a lot of talent, but where you land even for veteran quarterbacks matters a lot. And that’s why like when Pton Manning, if you look at him and he chose, remember when everybody out of Indie was after Pton Manning, Pete Carol in Seattle, San Francisco, you know, he went to John Elway in Denver and they had a couple of good receivers. Uh they had a decent offensive line and he looked around and thought, you know, I’ve had neck surgeries. I’m going to have protection. I’ve got weaponry on the outside. They had a pretty good defense. I don’t have to win by shootout. So, you know, ideally Derek Carr would have gone to a situation where he didn’t have a head coach who for the second time was struggling and it just never worked out. So, I think Dererick had a really good career. He was able to like Kirk Cousins monetize his career. I mean, he made over $200 million and I get it like if you what’s New Orleans right now? They’re not a Super Bowl contender. I don’t think they’re a viable playoff team. I think when Derek got to the Saints, the NFC was weaker than it is now, but now Detroit’s a power. Washington, watch out. Philadelphia, Rams are through their rebuild. San Francisco still decent. Um, Baker Mayfield in Tampa. Pennocks in Atlanta. I like Atlanta’s personnel, uh, at least offensively. So, I mean, what what’s the point of taking hits? He doesn’t need the money. He doesn’t need the fame. You know, he’s a guy that’s deeply religious. Um, he’s very much about family and why get beat up? What’s the point? And I I totally get that. That that’s the advantage for football players now. Not making NBA or baseball money, but making great money. What’s the point? Football practice is hard. Basketball practice, baseball batting cage is fun. Uh, hockey and football practice can be hard. If you’ve got the money and you’re not really a playoff level, playoff viable team, what’s the point? But I thought Dererick had a really good career. He just Raiders Saints. There’s only so much you can do. Find the great quarterbacks, you know, find the Staffords, find the Payton Mannings, find the Bradies. When they have a choice on where to go, look what they select. You wouldn’t select once Shawn Peyton left. You’re not going to select the Saints.

Colin Cowherd reacts to the Boston Celtics winning game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals over the New York Knicks. Jayson Tatum, Jalen Brown and company hit their 3 pointers today and continued their road dominance this season. Knicks lose their 3rd straight home playoff game. Who does Colin like to win the series now? Colin gives his prediction for Timberwolves-Warriors and discusses why he is loving the Denver Nuggets right now. Colin gives his take on Derek Carr retiring from the NFL & what it means for the New Orleans Saints going forward.

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