Pick's 'n Pops: Respect, Brad Stevens' best move, and a return from the dead

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because I’m only just now getting over my turkey coma.

- Everything is a reaction to something. So if we want to start breaking down why today’s NBA players are more hung up on respect than finishing out games, we have to go back to the previous generation to find out why.

Remember 90’s basketball and how many fights were fought over perceived disrespect? Maybe that has something to do with it. 

- The Bucks just lost to the Bulls, without Zach LaVine or DeMar DeRozan, after allowing a game-tying 3-point buzzer-beater to Alex Caruso that sent it into overtime. So it’s not just the Celtics who lose like that sometimes. 

- The Golden Bachelor really tests the notion of being old enough to know better. 

- Sam Hauser getting noticed for dunks and defense is a cool thing. He’s not just a one-dimensional shooter. He’s turning into a quite the nice role player. The Celtics are absolutely going to pick up his team option so he’s under contract next year for $2.1 million. At this rate, he’s going to earn a nice eight-figure salary after that. 

- Let’s not forget real life when assessing Jrue Holiday’s early struggles. Relocating a family with young children and trying to learn a new city all just days before hitting the court with a championship-level NBA team? That's not easy. 

And then he has to guard the other team’s big? Yeesh.

- When all is said and done, the acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis might go down as Brad Stevens’ best move. 

- If Mark Cuban is selling the team because he wants to run for President, then he’s probably going to regret selling the team. 

- RIP, Sandra Day O’Connor.

- Jaylen Brown on Marcus Smart is refreshingly honest: 

“I couldn’t stand Marcus at first. And that just goes to show. And I love him now, so it just be like that sometimes. You just grow and mature as young men and you learn things about people, you learn why people are the way they are and stuff that goes on behind closed doors. Overall if you just get to learn people a lot more in this world, you can kind of understand the perspective that somebody might be speaking from. And maybe you can relate to a lot of issues and the healing process can start. (The following sentence is a little choppy on my recording but I think I got it right even though it doesn’t make a ton of sense) So being in our world, everybody gets to know anybody and that’s kind of why people are at ends with each other. But me and Marcus, we didn’t start off great. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Marcus when I first got to Boston. … (For) a plethora of reasons. You name it. But over time I realized that me and Marcus have similar spirits. And if I was going to war with anybody, Marcus would be one of my first phone calls.”

A lot of people reacted to that quote as in a “see! I told you!” kind of way. My reaction is the same as my assessment of Smart as a player. You might not like him at first, but if you take the time to get to know him better, you’ll get it. 

I just think Smart always comes from the right place, even if the actions aren’t always ideal. I felt like the intent was pure. 

- You can’t bring back the dodo. Have we learned nothing from movies like Jurassic Park and Pet Sematary? Also, it takes away the phrase “dead as the dodo,” which is both illustrative and alliterative. It’s an abomination on all fronts and I won’t stand for it. 

- Maybe the Heat were right not to include Jaime Jaquez, Jr. in a deal for Damian Lillard? 

- The Celtics’ better be ready for Indiana on Monday. That 50-point win without Tyrese Haliburton is still on their minds, and Haliburton is on a HEATER. He’s averaging 34.6 points on 53.7% shooting and 12.2 assists over his last five games. 

- Bronny James is cleared to return after a heart issue. Man, I hope they're making the right decision.

- Luke Kornet saying he’d pay off his mortgage if the Celtics win the IST and he gets an extra $500,000 fits perfectly with his entire ethos of a seven-foot tall portfolio manager. 

- Whether you like Joe Mazzulla or not, his focus on having the right mindset and treating situations appropriately is correct. It’s business-like and methodical. That's what the Celtics need to be. 

- At practice Thursday, Mazzulla was addressing all the IST point differential stuff and how it’s viewed differently around the world. He relayed a story about his father playing professionally in Chile in a game that, similarly, counted towards a tournament where the opponent needed to win by six. 

They were up two with 10 seconds left, so winning by six was impossible. 

… unless … 

They scored on their own basket, tied the game for the other team, and took it into overtime where they won by seven. So if you think the IST created some outrageous behavior, ridiculous things have been happening around the world for decades because of point differential. 

I tweeted about this story and someone actually found the footage from the game. 

For the record, this couldn't happen in the NBA. Scoring on your own basket doesn’t count and is a technical foul. So Mazzulla would then also have to get a tech to give the other team two free throws. 

- The Clippers are 8-10, 5-8 since James Harden’s debut. Two of those wins were over the Spurs and one was at home against Houston, which is 0-7 on the road. 

Gee, who could have seen that not working?

- The Pistons didn’t give Monty Williams $78.5 million over six years to be losing 16 games in a row. I know Bojan Bogdanovic has been out, but that doesn’t excuse being blown out by the Wizards. 

- How fun would a Celtics-Lakers IST Final be? 

- It’s funny to see Patriots fans go from rooting for Mac Jones as the next guy, then hating him because he’s not, to rooting for him because he’s not and everyone wants the Pats to tank. 

- A paid content link wants to send me to a list of “17 Celebrities Who Have Sadly Died in 2023.” That begs the question, is there a list of celebs who have happily died? 

- Hey Andre Drummond, if you could make your free throws, they wouldn’t be fouling you intentionally.

- I’m not saying Chris Paul is wrong about it being personal with Scott Foster. But I am saying it takes two to tango. 

- I think someone at Adidas forgot to switch to a personal account to reply to Kevin Durant. 

- Your current NBA belt champion: The Toronto Raptors 

Interestingly, if the Knicks win the belt tonight, it enters the In-Season Tournament. DOUBLE THE INTRIGUE! 

- Here’s my latest podcast, if you’re bored.