The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hoops Tonight - Celtics-Heat Game 5 Reaction: Jayson Tatum & Boston stomp Jimmy Butler & Heat

Episode Date: May 26, 2023

Jason Timpf reacts to Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics' 110-97 victory over Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat to force Game 6 in the Eastern Conference Finals. Jason analyzes Jayson Tatum's 21-point, 11-assist performance, highlighting how it propelled the Celtics and breaks down Jimmy Butler's underwhelming showing. Finally, Jason shares his predictions for Game 6. #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight here at The Volume. Happy Thursday, everybody. We are live on Amp.

So if you're watching this on YouTube or listening on a podcast feed, don't forget Amp is the very first place that you guys can get these shows. Also, coverage of the Eastern Conference finals here at Hoops Tonight is brought to you by Chase Freedom Unlimited. How do you cash back? Well, the Boston Celtics are now halfway to the great. greatest comeback in the history of the NBA. And I did a video yesterday talking about three things that I thought they had to do to have a chance to pull this off. And I thought a lot of those things kind of came to fruition in this particular game. I'm excited to break it all down. You guys know the Joe, before we get started, subscribe to the volumes YouTube channel so you

don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason LT. So you guys don't miss any show announcements. And if for whatever reason you miss one of these videos and you can't get back over to YouTube to finish, don't forget you can find them wherever you get your podcasts under hoops tonight. Last but not least, you guys have heard me talk about Game Time, the fastest-growing ticketing app in the United States. If you're looking to get out to an NBA game, a baseball game, a concert or a comedy show, Game Time has amazing last-minute deals on tickets to all of these. So if you're looking to get out to a game in the NBA finals, Game Time has you covered. If you're in the Miami area and you want to be there for an incredible Game 6,

game time has a deal for you. They've taken great care of me in the past. And I, um, You're going to find a great seat. You're going to get a great deal on it. You're going to know exactly where it is. It's a smooth user experience. I highly recommend it. So no matter where you live, get out and have some fun this week. Download the GameTime app, enter your email, and redeem code Hoops for $20 off your first purchase.

Terms apply. Again, enter your email and the code Hoops. That's H-O-O-P-S for $20 off. Download game time today. Last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. All right, let's talk some basketball. So, you know, there's this old cliche. I think it actually originally was from a basketball coach.

I might be wrong about that. But the cliche goes, hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. Now, in this series, it's a little more convoluted than that because it's not just hard work from Miami. It's also better execution, which was kind of a theme during the NBA finals last year, that that was probably the biggest driving factor was execution. So it was less about trying hard and more. about making the right basketball decisions on a play-by-play basis. But fundamentally, the biggest difference between this year's Boston team and last year's Boston

team is their consistency of effort. Last year, execution kind of ebden flowed, and they would get out of whack that way. But they were always consistently a dominant defensive team. And they just haven't been that way this year throughout the entire regular season. And then again, in this postseason run going into game four, they were eight-pointed. worse per 100 possessions on the defensive end than they were in last year's playoff run. That's a huge difference. Think about how much that would be on the offensive end of the floor. Like for that Denver series, they score 122 points per 100

possessions against the Lakers. Imagine if that's 114 instead. You're not looking at a sweep anymore. You might be looking at a long series or a Laker win. Like that's a huge, that's a gigantic difference in commitment to the defensive end of the floor. So hard work does beat talent when talent doesn't work hard. But when the talent does work hard, there's nothing you can do about it. And that combination with Boston in particular is so devastating. We did that video yesterday talking about the three things Boston had to do to pull off this comeback. And the first one was fight because in game three, they did not fight. They let go of the rope and let themselves get their ass kicked by an inferior team from a talent perspective, right? And they brought

the requisite fight in game four. They responded to the runs. That was step one. Could they continue that into this game? Absolutely. And you saw that in all of the effort and energy parts of the game, they had a 17 to 7 advantage in second chance points, but particularly you saw it on the defensive end of the floor. Like you're going to see certain things that are impacted by length and athleticism, which is an advantage that Boston has. You're going to see that contested rebound situations. Boston out rebounded them tonight. You're going to see that running up and down the floor in transition. You know, Boston got out on transition more tonight. That's a huge natural part that comes with athleticism. And that's easy because the offensive end is kind of easy,

right? But the defensive end is the number one place where your athletic tools can impact winning. And so to not devote resources in that direction is to play directly in to Miami's strengths. The defensive intensity has to be the identity of this team that everything flows from. Remember, last year, they would have these stretches where they would struggle with execution. They'd take some bad shots. They wouldn't be driving to kick. They'd be driving to try to finish in traffic. They'd complain about fouls and they'd struggle with some transition defense stuff as they're getting stuck in the front court. But the defensive end was a consistent piece for them last year. It has to be part of their identity. They forced

the heat for the second consecutive game into 16 turnovers. And just like in game four, those 16 turnovers led to 27 points off of turnovers. They dominated the game on the defensive end of the floor, and that was the difference. That has to be the identity of this team. But those of you guys who remember, the third piece that I mentioned was Jason Tatum has to be the focal point of the offense. And the idea there was rhythm.

This is one of the most under-discussed elements in the game of basketball. basketball, but, you know, all things considered, why does a shot miss versus make? Right. There's a muscle memory involved. And I talk about this a lot, but like, you know, NBA level shooters, like if I put Jason Tatum on a shooting machine or just gave him two assistant coaches to rebound, and I said, take 100 catch and shoot threes from the top of the key, he's going to make close to 80 of them, probably somewhere right around 75, 77 of those 100 shots, if not more. You have Steph Curry to do that drill. He's making 90 of them, right? So why is it that that dips down to 40% or less in a big playoff game?

And the answer is because in a basketball game, it's not as clear cut. It's there's a rhythm. There's a flow to the game. And it's the guy that feels most comfortable with the basketball in his hands that typically ends up handling the ball better, shooting the ball better. The game slows down for them mentally and they make reads. better, but you have to be in a flow. It's something you gain over the course of the game.

And so if you disperse your ball handling responsibilities too much, you can end up in a situation where no one is really feeling good. It's kind of like the too many hands in the pot element. Those of you guys who listen to the show, and I know there's some of you out there that high school or playing college, you ever go up to like a rec center or just any L.A. fitness or something to play pickup and you meet up with a bunch of your buddies who also play in college and they're all good players and you all get on the same team and just the team just feels

janky and there's not really a ton of flow even though you're all talented and you all know how to play but it's because you all can do stuff with the ball in your hands and there isn't a clear cut hierarchy and sometimes it helps to just have one guy who's the guy and everyone else kind of playing off of them and that's where boston is at their best offensively when the majority of possessions are dictated by Jason Tatum, and then Jalen Brown gets his token isolations on the side, and then everyone else is playing off of that attention. Everyone else is attacking on the second side when Jason Tatum kicks to them and the defense is already in rotation, attacking closeouts, looking to shoot catch-and-shoot jumpers rather than trying to run plays for

themselves. That's when Boston is at their best. And from the very start of this game, Jason Tatum absolutely dominated the basketball on the offensive end of the floor. First possession, transition, push. Don't mess around with the half court if you don't need to. He's one of the best athletes on the floor. Gets a nice left-handed lay-up off the glass. Then next possession runs a side pick-and-roll with Al Horford, hits him with the pocket pass, right?

So hasn't really done anything too extravagant, but the ball's flowing through him. From there, he starts attacking Kevin Love in pick-and-roll, so much so that Eric Spolstra promptly picks him out of the game. So first one, he runs a, I think, if I remember correctly, at this point in the game, Kyle Lowry's guarding him. So he runs a pick and roll with Kevin Love and Al Horford's the screener. And he comes off to the right side and Kyle Lowry's chasing over the top of the screen.

And Kevin Love just decides to leave and go back to Al Horford. So Jason Tatum goes up, boom, dunks it with two hands. Very next possession, they run the exact same play, right? Just don't need to do anything else. Don't need to go to a different player. Don't need to run a set. Like you've got an action that's working with the real. good player that's now in rhythm. So Tatum dribbles off the screen. This time Kevin Love lingers and stays with

Jason Tatum while Kyle Lowry's chasing over the top, throws the pass back to Alhofer at the top of the key, quick swing in the corner to Jalen Brown, who's wide open because a baym had a bio had to rotate, gets a wide open three and he knocks it down. After that, a couple possessions later, cleared side ISO against Max Drews. We talked a lot about this in our show yesterday, but when you clear the side, it makes it so that help can only come from one side. And when help is only coming from one side, that makes it a lot harder for that defender, gives you more space to work with.

He ends up beating struce off the dribble to the right into the middle of the lane. Marcus Smart cuts down the middle, relocates to the left corner. Tatum throws a beautiful hook pass back over his head, too smart in the left corner, knocks down the three. After that, a nice little transition push

and apply some rim pressure, draws multiple defenders, swings to El Horford, another extra pass, Marcus Smart in the corner, another three. Then you guys might remember him trying to post up Max Struce on the right wing in a clear side ISO situation. Jalen Brown kind of looks him off.

Jalen Brown starts mixing up with the basketball. Jason Tatum is still calling for it. Then he spins off because Max Struz is trying to front him. And on the spin-off, Jalen actually does lead him towards the basket. And Tatum makes this ridiculous touch pass to Al-Horford in the corner. Because again, he's just seeing everything before it. it's happening because he's dominating every possession. He has control of the flow of the game. Now, Horford ends up not shooting the ball. It ends up getting worked around. It goes back to Marcus

Martin in the corner. He misses a three. But there's an offensive rebound and Jason Tatum gets a wide open three on the left wing, which he's going to make because the ball feels great in his hands because he's had control of it over the course of the game. Then Tyler Zeller checks into the game. Jason Tatum immediately starts attacking it. So Robert Williams, has a really nice job on the first one of flipping the screen. So he sets up like he's going to go to the right side, on the right side of the screen. So to get Tatum going to his left.

So Zeller sets up in a drop coverage on the right side of the screen if he's facing Tatum, right? At the last second, Rob Williams flips the screen, and as a result, Tatum gets around him, gets into the lane and ends up making a really nice and one layup over Cody Martin. So, again, you can tell in Miami's coverage, Zeller has to pick a side of the screen based on which way he thinks Tatum is going so that he can catch him as he's driving to the rim.

So flipping the screen caught Zeller on the wrong side. So very next possession, again, don't need to do anything different. You've got something here that's working. These Miami Heat pick and roll defenders, these screen defenders in particular, cannot guard Jason Tatum in high pick and roll. So they're on the exact same thing. This time, Zeller stays on the right side this time, expecting wrong. Rob to flip the screen again, just like he did on the previous possession. Nope, this time Rob stays on the right side of Tatum.

Tatum goes right around him, goes up and throws down that vicious one-handed jackhammer smash towards the end of the first quarter. Again, at this point, the game's basically over. They're up, what, 18 or whatever they were up at that point. Everything's through Tatum. Again, I've said this a million times. I think Pawson has the most talented roster in the entire NBA. But there needs to be a natural...

They have to organize themselves just like any other basketball team. They need guys who run primary side action, secondary side action, guys who could spot up and attack close out big men that can operate in screen and pop screen and roll situations, right? Same thing goes for the defensive end of the floor. There's a list of responsibilities. You need your point attack guy, your lock and trail guy, your ball screen defender, your low man defender.

There's all these different things that you're trying to fill in responsibilities on the court. Just because you have more talent doesn't mean that those responsibilities don't need to be filled. They do. And one of the key responsibilities, like we talked about, talked about is you need to have not just aggregate ball handling, but top end ball handling. Your best ball handler needs to have good control over a basketball game. Now, Jason Tatum, I don't think, is as good as Jimmy Butler. I think Jimmy Butler's proven that over the last few playoff runs with less talent. He's going toe to toe with Jason Tatum and back-to-back

playoff series, right? But if you run everything through Tatum and you let him be the focal point of the offense, he can at the very least play Jimmy Butler close. And if he plays him close, then your athleticism advantage, your off-ball shooting advantage, your overall talent advantage, your overall, all of those things will carry you the rest of the way. And it just slots everybody into a role, right? All of a sudden, Derek White's taking a lot more catch-and-shoot threes instead of doing stuff off of the bounce, right? All of a sudden, Jalen Brown's ISO touches that he gets aren't taking away from Tatum.

They're taking away from the other players, which, who cares? Tatum's the guy we want in a rhythm. Now Jalen Brown's in a better rhythm because he's getting his touches. It all just flows better when they slot properly with Tatum acting like a superstar rather than just one cog in a complicated offensive system. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that

not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a gas. galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Angie's list is now Angie, your home for everything home. Angie doesn't just get your home projects done. Angie gets them done well. With 20 plus years of experience combined with new tools to simplify the process, Angie makes completing home projects easy.

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You can have Angie tackle your home service project from start to finish. Download the free Angie mobile app today or visit Angie.com. That's A-N-G-I.com. And, you know, one of the biggest advantages of the way this game played out, same thing goes for game four, was there was a big lead. Like in game four, they were up double digits, the vast majority of the fourth quarter. Game five, they're up 20 plus most of the second half, right? What that does is that relieves the pressure.

This Boston team, they're so talented that when they play low pressure basketball and they're just kind of free-flowing and it's okay if somebody randomly takes a bad shot, it's not going to totally disrupt things that can get back down. and go execute properly on the next possession. They just play free. They play low-pressure basketball, and they look great. But when things slow down, this is crazy. This stat is just mind-boggling.

In the first two games, when the game was in a clutch situation, so when the score was within five, with less than five minutes left, they played seven total minutes of clutch basketball in the first two games of the series. Miami had a plus 70.2 net rating in those seven minutes. minutes. They held Boston to a 53 offensive rating, and they scored against Boston at a 124 offensive rating. They dominate Boston in the slowdown environment, because in that slow down environment, that's where Miami's execution advantage becomes a big deal. Suddenly Boston tightens up. They start to get nervous. That starts to lead into their worst tendencies,

and they can have problems. Big margins equals loose basketball, small margins. equals tight basketball. You get the point. And in a tight basketball game, Miami has a huge advantage. And so as we look forward to game six, Boston, I haven't seen it yet. And maybe Ryan, you can check that out and text it to me. But I'm not sure what the line is yet, but my guess is that it's somewhere around five or six points. Like, Boston is going to be a significant favorite. But everything is going to come down to can they keep the game in that loose kind of free-flowing nature? If Miami can keep it close, if Miami can keep it close, they have a chance to end this series in six.

Ryan just texts me, it looks like Boston's only a three-point favorite, so it's a little bit less than I thought. Again, they're probably factoring in there that Miami's going to play a very, Miami's going to play a very desperate brand of basketball, which I expect them to. Miami's not going to want anything to do

with a game seven on the road in Boston. But I think Boston would win a game seven. So everything comes down to game six in Miami, got to keep it close, got to find a way to slow the game down into a slow down half-court environment. Now, I was generally impressed with Miami today in the sense with just how they competed. You know, I thought Duncan Robinson did a lot of really good stuff off of the bounce creating shots. I thought that Caleb Barton still had his scoring pop that he had earlier, Hayward Highsmith, Haywood Highsmith, just using his athleticism to make plays defensively, knocking down

open shots, attacking the rim when he had opportunities to. They competed, but there's a talent advantage here. And so, again, for Miami in particular, they're going have to throw the kitchen sink in game six to keep this thing close. And then from there, it's the exact same thing that they use to win games one, two, and three. Slow down the game. Keep it in the half court. Take care of the basketball so you can keep your defense set. And then on the offensive end of the floor, matchup hunt with cleared side ISOs for Jimmy Butler, with Bametabio operating in that kind of dunker spots a semi-circle area as a release valve. That's when they're at their best and just letting Jason Jimmy Butler make plays.

Again, like, it's going to be, they've dug themselves in a hole, the Celtics have. So it's going to require perfection in order to close this thing out. In Miami's a great team with two fantastic players up top and the best coach in the league, and they're going to have their home crowd behind them in a desperate situation to get to the NBA finals. but you are the more talented team, Boston. And when you play hard and you run everything through Jason Tatum, you are the better team. And so that's going to be the key for them in game six.

All right, guys, that is all I have for tonight. Keep an eye on the feeds tomorrow morning. I've got a 35-minute special that I recorded today. That just goes over all things NBA off-season for the Los Angeles Lakers, dove into a bunch of stuff there. And then we will be going live again on Saturday night after the final buzzer. of game six to the Eastern Conference Finals. As always, I appreciate you guys rocking with me,

and I'll see you tomorrow morning. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day

and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.