Picks 'n Pops: Coming for the crown, chasing Payton, and unread texts

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because I want to hurry up and go watch the sunset at 2:30

- There was no more stark contrast of Boston’s standing in the league than the Warriors game. Golden State came in with a purpose while the Celtics were playing an early November NBA game. This Jayson Tatum quote summed it up nicely: 

“They’re better than they were last year. They’re having a better start – I would say to their standard. They didn’t have a great season last year and I’m certain that they wanted to come out this year and have a better start and have a better year, and they’re off to a great start.

“Brad Stevens used to say every game counts as one. You want to win every game you play. We’re no different. If we would have won tonight, we still gotta play on Friday. We lost tonight, we still gotta play on Friday. That’s the beauty of the NBA. We play 82 games, so you can’t get too high or too low in the moment because there's always another game coming up.”

The Warriors, and the Cavs for that matter, had disappointing finishes to their season. They had a LOT of questions in the offseason, just like the Celtics did in the summer of 2023. The Celtics had no real questions this summer, other than a couple of theoretical “what ifs.” 

Wait until the Cavs game in 11 days. That team is going to come into Boston like a hungry lion. The Celtics are going to have to match the energy of their good opponents to win these games. Teams with something to prove are going to love proving it against the champs.

- Jaylen Brown remains day-to-day. That means he can come back any day now. I know each game he misses (like tonight’s) makes people more concerned, but strains aren’t necessarily worse because they take longer to heal. Sometimes even a relatively light strain can linger for a little while. 

And unlike Kristaps Porzingis’ injury, which is something that is healed whenever its healed, a strain is something that can recur if it’s not completely taken care of. That's one of those “make sure” injuries where an extra day might be advisable, and a little bit of a ramp-up period to get him back could be helpful.

So don’t let the extra missed days freak you out. The injury is not bad. The process is just a little more involved.  

- Neemias Queta is more switchable than I thought. He needs to take a ballet or karate class to really get his footwork in a good place. Also, if he takes karate, he can literally fight Joe Mazzulla for more minutes. 

- Jrue Holiday is on board with Mazzulla wanting to bring back fighting. 

“Look, I’m with it. I’m with it,” he said on FanDuel TV’s ‘Run It Back.’ “Get your paws ready, all right? If we gotta get in the boxing gym, if we gotta get in the ring. You know Joe does jiu-jitsu, so I really think he’s ready but to his point, back in the ‘90s and the early 2000s like when people was scrapping and throwing hands, it was pretty entertaining.”

I know I’m turning into “old man yells at cloud” because my reaction to quotes like that is a very incredulous “OH … OH … SO I GUESS A WELL-TIMED BACKDOOR CUT ISN’T ENTERTAINING?? A GREAT SCREENING ANGLE THAT FREES UP A GUARD FOR A DRIVE AND KICK CORNER 3 ISN’T ENTERTAINING???” 

Yup. Time for me to start looking for houses in the middle of nowhere, learn which mushrooms are safe to eat, take up woodworking, and sit around the piles of corn and peanuts I’ve put out for the forest creatures I hope to befriend one day. 

- You want entertaining? These two Ja Morant plays should do it: 

- The Tatum and Derrick White comedy duo continue to grow its act. They're now headband brothers, which means if one of them decides it’s time to wear a headband that night, they both have to do it. 

At what point in the season do they do a version fo “Who’s On First?” 

- The statistical leader after the weekend in Charlotte was Kemba Walker, who led everyone in hugs per minute. 

- Holiday revealed a unique drill the Celtics do: 

That's it. That's the drill. Just guard Payton Pritchad full court. Mazzulla has these guys doing all sorts of weird other sports while preaching the wonders of the animal kingdom, and then he just throws “oh yeah, and you gotta guard Payton full court.” 

They said it in the clip. It’s a great drill to put your defensive skills to the test, but look at how much better it’s making Pritchard, too. 

- Turns out Mazzulla can be quite the comedian … 

- I’m sorry, Jaylen Brown has HOW MANY unread texts?

- Friday night is an Emirates Cup game.

The court is definitely better than last year. They can still tone it down some, but they still have to make sure they're selling the tournament so that won’t happen for a few more years. We’ll take the progress where we can get it. 

- Tyrese Maxey is now going to miss a good amount of time with a hamstring strain. I can’t believe how bad things are with the Sixers right now. This was supposed to be a “go for it” season and now people are already talking about just throwing in the towel. 

While we’re here, three games for Joel Embiid shoving a reporter is not enough. I know the guy probably had it coming, but there has to be more composure there. I was thinking 10 games, but this is Adam Silver’s NBA. Whatever you think the right punishment is, cut it in half and maybe you’ll be close. 

- RIP Quincy Jones, who is one of the most influential people the world has ever seen. His finger prints have been all over popular music since the 50’s. He is what the word “legend” was made to describe.

- I don’t know what Gregg Popovich is dealing with, but I hope he’s okay. 

- I’m not sure JJ Redick was ready to go from expressing emotions in a big way because that's what TV wants to keeping emotions in check in the media because that's what a head coaching gig demands. 

- Speaking of the Lakers, a report that Anthony Davis’ foot issue is plantar fasciitis that has been lingering since last season is NOT what they want to hear. 

- I have not seen the Taylor Hendricks injury nor do I ever want to. His surgery reportedly went well and I hope he can come back and do well in his career. 

- Paul George getting booed in Los Angeles is expected but I don't like it. The guy who should be booed is still on the team … though they might not know it because he barely plays. 

- Happy Birthday Satch Sanders!

- The current NBA Belt Champion: … sigh … the Warriors

- This week’s Bing AI-generated image: The league is chasing one team...

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