Toucher & Rich: Celtics Season Preview With Brian Scalabrine
BOSTON (CBS) - Former Celtic and current CSNNE broadcaster Brian Scalabrine joined 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich in studio Tuesday morning for a Celtics season preview!
After talking about his recent appearance on Jim Rome, the guys started talking Celtics, starting with the 44-minute game preseason experiment.
On shortened NBA games:
"It's ridiculous. I think there are many ways to speed the game up. Taking four minutes of play away from what people go and pay to see, I think is ridiculous. I like the elimination of one mandatory timeout in the second and fourth quarter. Taking away that timeout was good. I like that. I like the flow of that."
On back-to-back games:
"I think that [starting the preseason] earlier was a great idea by Tony Parker. There's like 22 back-to-backs in a season, somewhere around there -- back-to-backs are very difficult. It's tough. I like his idea. Four preseason games and let's start the season. Don't forget now. Parker is a guy who practices all summer with his national team, so he doesn't need eight preseason games."
On Rajon Rondo:
"I think he's a fantastic player. I think he's very bright. He is the smartest player I've ever played with. He understands the game on a higher level. Does he have his moments that are difficult, like if you had to coach him? I would say yes. His relationship with Doc Rivers was fine. Don't think it wasn't. Rajon Rondo is a great player."
On Rondo's future:
"They'll max [contract] him. They'll sign him back."
On Rondo's injury:
"He's coming off the ACL and that's what people remember him as last year. This little knuckle thing is going to be nothing. He'll be back playing and you guys will be like, 'Man, this guy is legit.'"
On Marcus Smart:
"They can play Marcus Smart as a backup point guard and off the ball. You can play him at the 3 because he can guard 3's. He can guard 2's and 1's. You can have Smart and Rondo on the same team.
On trading Rondo to make room for Smart:
"I can promise you, Marcus Smart is not ready to be the starting point guard for the Celtics to get where they want to go. They want to win championships. This isn't about making the playoffs. To win championships you need studs. You need guys that can play."
On the 2014-15 team:
"This team is better than what everyone thinks, because they're not factoring in what Rajon Rondo can do."
CSNNE's Gary Tanguay disagreed with most of Scalabrine's takes. Listen below to hear them debate!
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