Green With Envy podcast: the cookout continues - Uncle Al’s extension and quarter season All-NBA and MVP awards

Dec 1, 2022 - 9:47 PM

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On this episode of Green With Envy, hosts Will Weir (@willbon13) and Greg Maneikis (@miniminoe) react to the Al Horford extension (0:00-7:00), and then they discuss Jayson Tatum’s stellar play (07:00-15:00), the Celtics “zone busters” (15:00-21:00), and the Celtics defense (21:00-29:00). After the break, they give their All-NBA teams and MVP of the first quarter of the season. 1st Team (30:00-36:00), 2nd and 3rd Team (36:00-49:00), MVP (49:00-END).

Join the boys this Friday for a virtual watch party of the Celtics vs Heat on @WatchPlayback. Sign up HERE! It’s FREE!

The Cookout Continues

For those of you who may not be following @GreenEnvyPod on Twitter, after every Celtics win you will see this picture:

Uncle Al, manning the grill, cooking up some meats and veg. It has become a Celtics Twitter favorite, and thankfully the party is going to continue for a few more years. The Celtics announced a two-year extension worth 20 million, which solidifies the Celtics core throughout the remainder of Jayson Tatum’s contract with the team.

One of those nights

Jayson Tatum has long offered the promise of an MVP future with a bag so bottomless you would think Hermione Granger jinxed it, but seeing it on a night-to-night basis has been truly sublime. Tatum’s 49 point night was just another magical performance to add to the resume, and if he continues to play at this level, the NBA is now Jayson Tatum’s league.

Zone busters

The Miami Heat played most of the game in a 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone, defenses which have bogged down the Celtics in the past, but last night it didn’t matter. Any coach will tell you that against a zone, don’t abandon your man principles. You can still pass, cut, and screen against a zone, and the Celtics did well to stick to what makes them special. Tatum obviously was unreal, but Malcolm Brogdon, Al Horford, Derrick White, and Marcus Smart consistently manipulated the defense to get the zone in rotation. Jaylen Brown did have 6 TOs, but he was great in the 4th quarter after sitting the entire 3rd with 4 fouls. It was a nice bounce back quarter from JB.

Tune into the episode for extended discussion on each of these topics, as well as a look into the boys’ selections for All NBA and MVP at the quarter mark of the season!