Picks 'n Pops: Tired Legs, hunting the wrong thing, and flight delays

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because I got locked out of the house and needed an extra day to thaw out.

- I don’t care that I’m saying this for the millionth time. I don’t care how much money someone has, playing five NBA games in seven nights, especially with three of them on the opposite end of the country, is tough to do. I don’t care that they are in nice hotels and planes, facing five different NBA teams in seven nights takes a toll. 

I stayed up until 5 a.m. two days in a row to cover this team and my brain literally would not produce words all day Friday. I stared at my screen for hours trying to write something and couldn't do it. 

And that's just me trying to think. I don’t care if someone put $10 million in my bank account today, those words weren’t happening. If we kept score today I would have gotten blown out by 40. 

- Explanations are not excuses. And it’s okay to be upset with the team’s performance and concerned while also acknowledging things that are working against them. I’m never saying “don’t be upset.” What I hope to do is maybe help you channel your rage. 

- The Cavs lost to the Sixers on Friday night, their second loss in a row and fourth in seven games. 

Man, it’s a shame they're not taking things seriously anymore. 

- I have to take a closer look, but I think the Celtics offense is doing too much mismatch-hunting and not enough ball-movement and weakness-hunting. Going after mismatches can be slow and lead to a lot of standing around. Mining for weaknesses involves cutting and moving. The Celtics need to move more.

- Congratulations Jayson Tatum for becoming a six-time All-Star and a starter for the fifth straight year. I remember the look on his face when he got named to his first one. I can’t believe that was six seasons ago.

- Do you know how hard it is to miss 16 shots in the restricted area in a single game?

- This is your weekly reminder that a Jimmy Butler trade feels almost impossible because he keeps getting suspended, other teams don’t want Bradley Beal to help facilitate the deal, and Beal has a no-trade clause. 

- Jaden Springer has shown something in his last two games. Maybe the Celtics will be able to move him without attaching a pick. 

- I appreciate the season Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having. I can understand wanting to include Giannis Antetokounmpo because of the current Bucks run. 

But Nikola Jokic is 1.8 points, 1 rebound, and 1.6 assists per game away from leading the league in all three categories. AND he's leading the league in 3-point percentage. That's INSANE. Denver is the 4 seed entirely because of him. 

Obviously either Gilgeous-Alexander or Antetokounmpo deserve the shine they're getting. Each might be the MVP in a different year. But Jokic is having one of the most amazing seasons in NBA history right now. To me, he HAS to be MVP. A year like his can’t go unrecognized because people are a little bored with how much he’s dominating. 

- People are so afraid of John Henry owning the Celtics that they choose to freak out at erroneous reports. The thought of him owning the team is so bad, that even when they know the report is wrong, they still scream “Dear God NO!” like they're a Michael Scott meme from The Office. 

- The Blazers are probably going to trade Robert Williams. I hope he ends up somewhere good, and that he can stay healthy for a while. 

- Joe Mazzulla love to see some fight 

“Yeah, it's just competitive nature. It's a fight,” he said. “I think that stuff's important, and you need to show a level of spirit and, and we did that. That was great. You’ve got to feed off that, and it’s a representation of the Celtics and the mindset that we're trying to have. And so I thought it was great.”

I’m with Joe here. The Celtics showing a bit more fight would be great. I do think there's a bit too much passivity in their game right now. 

This goes to the preseason concept of hunters and predators versus defending something. The Celtics aren’t hunting anything right now. The schedule doesn’t help, but that's just taking the passivity and shining a big light on it. It’s the same reason why I say they're hunting mismatches, not weakness. 

They need to be the aggressor more often.

- Jayson Tatum on that Hawks tussle: “I think the fans enjoy it; we got the crowd going. Give the refs credit. It shouldn’t have been a tech. They didn’t call it. They separated us, and we kept playing.”

Tatum is such a chill guy that I think the team follows his lead. Unless you have a whistle in your mouth that you chose not to use when Tatum drives, he’s not a high-energy guy. This is part of why I liked Marcus Smart here. He brought that out of guys. I know he came with other issues, but that's the trade off. I think having Smart right now would be helpful. 

Maybe Jaden Springer can be rebranded into that guy over the next couple weeks and stick around?

- This really was a fun awkward postgame moment in Golden State.

Jaylen Brown definitely ignored Steve Kerr. I’m not sure Jayson Tatum saw him, but we can all just accept that he did just to maximize the cringe. 

- I can’t believe no one got the hint and put $10 million into my account. 

- Brown says he’s banged up and playing through things. I’d rather guys just sit out a game instead of doing that right now. I appreciate the effort, but taking a night or two off and coming back healthy is better than fighting through it, struggling, and explaining it away to being hurt after the game. 

- Cade Cunningham and the Pistons are a great story, and it’s more proof that it just takes some guys longer to develop and reach their potential. Players come into the league at 19 and we make snap judgements on them after a year or two without taking their situation into consideration. They're almost always on bad teams, which matters. We need to be more patient. 

Keep that in mind with Scoot Henderson.

- Nick Khatchikian of Mesrobian High School scored 102 points in a 119-25 win, setting a California state record. His brother Dylan set a record with 35 assists in a triple double with 15 rebounds and 13 steals. Dylan took no shots. 

Man, something feels very unsportsmanlike about this scenario. 

- The best thing I’ve read is how Dan Snyder is livid about the Commanders success without him. 

Ya know, just when I give up on karma, she gives me gems like this. Well done. 

- Shout out to Antetokounmpo for keeping proper perspective after the Bucks travel mess that got them into their own home town two hours before their game against Miami.

Leave it to Giannis Antetokounmpo to give a little perspective on the Bucks' tough travel schedule today.

Antetokounmpo: pic.twitter.com/TAbVYZxnFB

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) January 24, 2025

Because of that awesome quote, and the Bucks winning five straight after that blowout of the Heat, Giannis and the Bucks are having the Best Week Ever!

- Your current NBA Belt champion, the Memphis Grizzlies! 

- This week’s Bing AI-generated image, all aboard the roller coaster!

That's a mighty long roller coaster, huh? And l love the amalgam “Celtson” jerseys. I think we have something there. 

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