On this jumbo-sized episode of Green With Envy, hosts Will Weir (@willbon13) and Greg Maneikis (@miniminoe / @maneikis_music) are joined by Steve Ceruti of The Ryen Russillo Podcast and The Ringer Podcast Network to have a fun conversation about the NBA landscape amidst this putrid stretch of “basketball” from the Celtics. (0:00-20:00) Will and Greg remain confused about why the Celtics suddenly stink, (20:00-42:00) Ceruti talks about his beloved Orlando Magic and Greg re-pitches his Rookie of the Year Belt idea, (42:00-49:00) Celtics vs. Bucks, (49:00-65:00) NBA Trades and the Western Conference, and (65:00-END) holiday life advice.
There were hundreds of reasons the Celtics lost last night to a spunky Indiana Pacers team, but the one that stood out most to me was the Celtics inability to convert “bunnies.” Per NBA.com, the league average in the restricted area is 66.2%. Last night the Celtics were an abysmal 47.1%
Take a look at the Celtics shot chart last night compared to the rest of the NBA.
What hurt the most was that a lot of these missed layups stopped would-be runs or turned into 5-point swings with the Pacers getting out in transition to knock down three after three. This is probably just one of those games where nothing went right, but the Celtics needed tonight’s game to get back on track. Now they face a borderline must-win game against a hot Minnesota team before the Christmas Day showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks.
Programming Note: Green With Envy will be on break for the holiday season, so enjoy this extra long episode with Ceruti. Split it up into multiple listens and stay safe! We’ll see you in 2023!
