How are you feeling about Boston now?

You know what?

I'm feeling a hell of a lot better.

They being Indiana, Washington and the corporate, Uh, so I'm feeling a lot better about them.

They needed to step up, and that's exactly what they're doing.

Remember, we never lamented them from a talent perspective.

We know that Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum studs, and we know that even though Paul George had a big game, he didn't have a big game in the fourth quarter.

A And be more importantly, it was primarily because of Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown and the way they defended against them, because he shot like 14 11 against them and was lights out against everybody else.

So those brothers deserve a lot of credit.

But Kimball Walker's got to get most of the credit.

He had 25 what Max and I are both lamented last week was the fact that he clearly was not healthy.

His knee has been bothering, and we know what Kemba Walker can do when he's healthy.

Here's the thing we pointed the finger at Brad Stevens, or at least I did and your damn it.

I ain't apologizing for it because at the time he deserved it.

You gotta find the pulse of the team and peel out whatever is necessary.

Now, whatever has happened since he's been on the hot seat, it ain't just the players that has responded.

It's Brad Stevens who has responded.

Problem is what he was doing up until a week ago was very unimpressive, and it looked like the team was going in the wrong direction.

And if you're going to point the finger at anybody else, why the hell should he get let off the hook?

But ever since that noise was percolating, particularly after they lost to Atlanta and and and Dollar, Gallinari gave them 38 For crying out loud, uh, we saw Brad Stevens be more demonstrative in this post his postgame interview than ever before, and ever since then they went in basketball games so major props to him because whatever modifications that needed to be made clearly he has made them as a coach as well.

Whatever conversations he may have had whatever motivational tactics he may have employed, whatever you want to point to, Brad Stevens has stepped up.

But damn it.

He needed to step up based on the way they were looking and props to him for doing so thus far.

Now I totally disagree, and this just goes back to like, Here's some new evidence and you and I are exactly on the opposite side of it.

Still, I don't think it's about Brad.

Steven Steven A.

We both knew last week that this season, Kemba hadn't been Kemba.

That's the bottom line.

And Danny Ainge put a roster together, heavily reliant on Kemba being that playmaker in the backcourt in order to make it a real Big three on offense.

Now you can talk about defensive effort, and I can point to the fact that it's still going to get better when Marcus Smart gets back and he hasn't been there.

But that also affected the offense because even if he's not a dynamic offensive player, he can play in the backward.

He can.

He can play your point.

So no Marcus smart and no real Kemba Walker and Kemba is too much of a leader to make excuses, even ask him now.

Hey, are you feeling better?

He won't even tell you.

Yeah, that's the reason he says he's playing better.

He's not gonna give you excuses is one of the things that makes him a real leader and a guy that they wanted in that locker room.

But he wasn't Kemba Walker.

And how does that affect the defense?

Stephen A.

We don't have to like it, but we know it's reality.

And in fact, I'm sure you have mentioned this on the air in the past because everyone knows it in basketball.

If you want a big man to play defense, what do you have to do if he runs the floor?

You gotta feed him.

You gotta feed him to get him to go on the other end, right?

Like people understand this, and that goes really for teams in a lot of respects, when you it shouldn't be this way, you should find the resolve to play defense.

Even when the offense isn't working.

A good defense can lead to better offense.

But the reality is when the offense is flat and things aren't going your way, it can take the energy out on the other end.

Kemba Walker looks like Kemba Walker again, so now the offense is clicking again and So now the defense is being played with more intensity.

This was always, in my estimation, a Kemba Walker not being Kemba Walker issue and secondarily, not having Marcus Smart.

Oh, and by the way, I'll say it again as I said it last week.

Time Lord needs more minutes.

Look what happens when this dude is on the floor.

He can really play.

My feeling about the Celtics is exactly as it was.

They need a healthy Campbell Walker period.

They got him.

Now it looks like, Well, first of all, let me say this.

Kemba Walker all of a sudden didn't get healthy the last three games.

He's got 32 21 25 points over the last three games.

He didn't all of a sudden get healthy.

The reality of the situation is that you have to figure out a way, whether it was to motivate him, get him to motivate other people.

Whatever needed to be done was done thus far anyway.

And that's why I say I'm still not going.

I'm still not backing off of what I had to say about Brad Stevens.

Nobody said he couldn't coach.

Nobody said he didn't have a resume.

Nobody said that he deserved to be fired or anything like that.

What we said was, Excuse me, Brad Stevens.

This is what the expectation is for a team with this level of talent, and I don't give a damn.

Kimber Walker.

No Kimber Walker with Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, You have no business being a below 500 team in the National Basketball Association.

With those two studs on the court for you, you just don't be a threat.

You can't be a below 500 team, which at the time was the worst team than the New York Knicks.

There's no excuse for that.

And so even though Kimball Walker's getting 30 to 21 25 over the last three games are sort of resurrecting himself, even though he's still fighting those knee injuries and we understand because we know what he can do when he's healthy, the bottom line is that still doesn't absolve Brad Stevens from what he has to do.

If you go to any coach inequality coach in the NBA, and you say, here's Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown, nobody wants to hear an excuse as to why you're below 500.

That's why we were having a discussion about Brad Stevens.

It wasn't some long term thing or anything like that.

We were looking at the Celtics and we were like, Yo there below 500.

No excuse for that.

Well, look at this way.

You could always say like Brad Stevens.

A perfect coach?

No.

Is it legitimate to say, Hey, you still got enough to be more competitive than No, It's perfect, but it to be more competitive than you are.

Yes, that is a legitimate point to make.

My point is, what is the top point like, What's the reason if you have to pinpoint one?

Is it Brad Stevens?

No, it's Kemba Walkers, Health and Stephen A.

You said, I mean, just look what happened.

You can watch.

A movie is obviously moving better than he was.

He's obviously more healthy than he was.

And lo and behold, as you mentioned 32 25 they're starting to win.

And in fact, when you say that he's suddenly get healthy.

No, he gradually got healthy.

He had the procedure right in the off season and he and at first it was no good and little by little, he's regained his health.

And in fact, what I think we're seeing knock wood is that over the last week or so, he's feeling much closer, if not back to his normal self.

And here we go.

So it could.

Could Stevens do a better?

Everyone could do a better job when you're losing, but if you want to say, What's the reason, they're losing?

They didn't have Kemba.

They got him now and they're winning.

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