Picks 'n Pops: Recoveries, punishments, and a surprise Hall of Fame case

Every week I gather some thoughts about the Celtics, the NBA, and beyond and dump them here. Because my Emmy's speech went way long and I need to raise money for the Boys and Girls Clubs.

- It seems that Jayson Tatum’s rehab is going well. Marc Bertrand and Scott Zolak of 98.5 The Sports Hub apparently had a dinner with Joe Mazzulla, and they said this of Tatum’s recovery: 

“The Celtics are very happy with how hard Jayson Tatum has been working at his rehab, and his focus and intensity in the rehab process. He did not leave time. He has been here the entire time … since the injury, he has not left town and he has been inside the building, at the Celtics practice facility, with their people and their team almost every single day for months.”

There was a little more sprinkled in there. Here’s what they said: 

It’s not the meatiest update, but I’ll take it. 

Nothing has changed my mind about Tatum coming back this season. The All-Star break will mark nine months since his injury. The SpeedBridge repair technique boasts faster returns, with six months within the target range for a full recovery. 

If Tatum doesn’t hit any setbacks, I fully believe that he’ll be back around the All-Star break. 

And as I always say after making a declaration like that, I’m talking about a FULL RECOVERY. That's fully healed, fully ramped up. 

THIS. IS. NOT. RUSHING. HIM. BACK. 

If the leg is healed, then it’s healed. Sitting him more time won’t heal it more. If he’s ramped up and ready, then he’s ramped up and ready. If the doctors, trainers, and everyone else gives him the go-ahead, then he should play. 

If you fill a glass with water, pouring more water into it to “make sure it’s full” doesn’t make any sense. There's nothing past 100%. If Tatum is 100% ready to go tomorrow, then he’s ready tomorrow. If he’s not 100% until August, then he goes in August. 

I’d love to see Tatum back, not because I think it’d be a boost to the Celtics, but because I want him to figure out if he’s a different player or not. I want him to give the new wheels a test drive, see what’s changed, and what he needs to work on in the offseason to adjust his game. The wins and losses this season don’t matter, so getting Tatum some real court time to shake off the rust, get back to a good place mentally, and figure out what he needs to add to his bag over summer would be an incredible advantage for him. 

The unintended consequence of pushing his return to next season would be that all that stuff I just mentioned would be happening at the beginning of a season that matters a lot. That adjustment would be much more difficult. 

If … again, IF, he’s 100% this season, then he should take the floor. 

- Paul Pierce’s advice to Jaylen Brown is pretty good. 

“He can’t have the mindset like, I’ve got to go in and score more points because we’re losing points in Tatum. No, I’ve got to be more responsible. I’ve got to make the players around me better. I’ve got to learn the game more well-rounded. That’s what’s going to make him better in the long run as a player.”

- I never thought Anfernee Simons would still be here at this point. But now I’m wondering if there's a chance he’s a long-term answer for the Celtics. 

- The pile of circumstantial evidence against the Clippers and Kawhi Leonard keeps piling up. At this point, the people trying to justify the Clippers’ actions sound like a cheating boyfriend caught with women’s underwear at his house. Now we’re finding random numbers on the phone and receipts for expensive dinners. 

What I love most about Pablo Torre’s recent report is that he followed what Mark Cuban said Steve Ballmer should have done to cover his tracks and found evidence of Ballmer doing those things. 

The NBA is going to have to punish the Clippers somehow. They might not have enough evidence to take away draft picks, but they might have enough to impose second apron penalties against the Clippers. Treat the circumvention as if they paid the money to Leonard, put them over the second apron, drop future picks to the bottom of the drafts, and freeze them. 

They don’t have enough evidence to go full “death penalty” but they can put the Clippers in prison for a long time. 

- ESPN reports Al Horford will get the Taxpayer MLE ($5.7 million) from Golden State. Horford has never undercut his value. He hasn’t taken less money to stay anywhere, though I’m curious to see if that's a strictly financial thing or if circumstances pushed him that way. 

The last two times he left Boston were after the Kyrie Irving debacle and now, with Tatum hurt and the team retooling. The Celtics wanted him to stay both times, but those situations were coupled with more money elsewhere. I wonder which was the more important factor. 

- Your vague headline du jour: “Luka Doncic just called former Celtics player one word”

Ooooh. ONE word? That can be anything. Fragrant? Loquacious? 

The headline is super vague, which means the payoff has to be eye-rolling bad. I’ll make you wait for it. 

- Trivia: What Celtics thing do Chris Boucher and Tack Fall have in common? That's later, too.

- Rotowire compiled all the fines and suspensions of the past 10 years and they determined that the Miami Heat are the dirtiest team of the past decade. 

As is the current standard, I don’t know the methodology but it just feels right, so I’m going to accept it as fact. 

- Add Tyler Herro to the list of guys who got hurt in offseason workouts. He’s getting surgery and will miss the start of the season. 

- Dennis Schröder is such a different player in international competition. He’s decent in the NBA, but he’s a GOD in international competition. 

- Giannis Antetokounmpo on winning EuroBasket bronze with Greece: 

"This is probably one of the biggest accomplishments that I've ever accomplished as an athlete. I know I've won an NBA championship, but there's no feeling like representing your national team and representing 12 million people that breathe and live this national team. This is probably the greatest accomplishment I’ve accomplished so far in my life."

This stands in stark contrast to our “if you’re not first, you’re last” culture. Playing for a national team means so much more elsewhere than it does here. 

- ESPN’s WNBA ratings were up 6% this season, averaging 1.3 million viewers per game. Not bad considering Caitlin Clark missed most of the season. 

The ION ratings were down, though, which means people are tuning in for the big national games, but they're still not diving into the grind of the regular season. Those are the games where the bigger stars really boost the ratings. 

Ultimately, the more exposure players like Paige Bueckers get on the national stage, the more people will realize how good they are and start to trickle to the other games. 

Also, who the hell knows how to find ION? That's one of those channels you get right before you hit all the music-only stations. I don't think anyone reading this can name a single other ION program without Googling it. 

I'm going to guess they run SVU marathons because those run on like 15 different networks. 

- The NBA and WNBA continue to harp on Boston’s decision not to apply for an expansion team as a justification for standing in the way of record offers to buy the Connecticut Sun. 

Just stop pretending and come out and say what the truth is: The league is desperate for an expansion fee. I’d have more respect for everyone involved if they just say “we want more money.” 

Frankly, I’m getting tired of the NBA’s ultra-focus on simply doing what brings in the most money. Sometimes it’s okay to take a little less if it means a better overall product. 

- Jay Marine, head of Prime Video for U.S. and global sports, said of Amazon’s coverage of the NBA: 

“Celebrate the game, celebrate how great these players are. The modern player in the NBA—the skill level up and down the bench—is incredible. Sometimes there’s too much weird negativity out there, when really, we should be celebrating how good these guys are. And that’s true, by the way, with the WNBA as well.”

I’m looking forward to this. All this fracturing of where to find the NBA is tough, but if one of these entities starts covering the NBA better and sets a new standard, then it will be worth it.

- Stephen A. Smith makes $40 million a year to do what he does. In a related story, the force of my eyes rolling and head shaking from that news has caused a Grade 3 neck strain. I’m now day-to-day. 

- I’m still dizzy from the Patriots-Dolphins game. That game should have been sponsored by Dramamine. 

- Victor Wembanyama’s cameo on Futurama is actually pretty funny, and I’m not just saying that because I’m tall. 

I lied. I liked it because I’m tall. 

- The one word was “headache,” and the former player is Marcus Smart. As in Smart is a headache to face. 

I can’t even be mad at that headline. I’m actually amazed. 

- I can look past a lot with professional athletes, but Jayson Tatum holding up a Jets jersey is really testing the tensile strength of my convictions. 

- Trivia answer: Both are #99 for the Celtics. Boucher’s number was just announced this week. 

- Schröder was named EuroBasket MVP as he led Germany to a gold medal. Some people are actually starting to wonder if his international accomplishment make him Hall of Fame worthy. That's not a discussion I ever thought would be happening about him, which makes this Schröder’s Best Week Ever!

I'm still skeptical of his overall HOF case. Yes, it's the "Basketball" Hall of Fame and not the NBA HOF, but I can't get past him being just okay in the NBA no matter how good he's been in international competition.

- This week’s AI-generated image: The season is almost here. 

All of the NBA writers and podcasters I’ve spoken to this past week are desperate for practices to start. Give us something new to talk about!!

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