Chris 'Mad Dog' Russo: The '86 Celtics Would Have Swept This Denver Nuggets Team
By Liam McKeone
ESPN bumped Mad Dog Wednesday to Mad Dog Tuesday this week to capitalize on increased viewership following the Denver Nuggets' championship-winning Game 5 victory last night. Chris Russo immediately delivered for everybody tuning in, saying the Nuggets are a great team but not an all-time great team and the '86 Celtics would mop the floor with them.
Yes. The stereotypical old head said the most stereotypical old head thing possible, even if it was a bit tongue-in-cheek. JJ Redick's reaction sums it up neatly.
.@MadDogUnleashed says this is NOT an all-time great Nuggets team 👀
— First Take (@FirstTake) June 13, 2023
"The '86 Celtics would beat this team in four games. ... This is a good team. This is not an all-time team. But Jokic is an all-time player." pic.twitter.com/hRYfrZHXSK
This clip is exactly what most people hate about sports talkshow discourse and why they usually only consume it when forced to, like in the waiting room at the Jiffy Lube. Why is the discussion immediately framed in this way? And why, oh why are the 1986 Boston Celtics the first team everybody over 50 mentions when they want to discredit current competition? Is Mad Dog actually doing a Bill Simmons bit?
Russo seems self-aware enough in this clip to know what he's saying is too on the nose for the reputation he's garnered. Yet he said it anyway, argued his point with sincerity, and then did it again a few minutes later.
Mad Dog just said the #Nuggets won't repeat because the 1975 Warriors didn't repeat and the 1977 Trail Blazers didn't repeat. Those were apparently the most recent teams he could find as comps.
— Cork Gaines, Ph.D. (@CorkGaines) June 13, 2023
But could the '86 Celtics beat the Miami Heat? Next, on First Take.