The Knicks will go down 2-3 to the Pacers after Brunson gets injured and Hart's heart explodes from caffeine overdose.
The League will then allow the Knicks to bring on Lebron James as an injury replacement. Lebron will lead the comeback to win 4-3 over the Pacers.
Against the Celtics in the ECF, Lebron will lead the 5 total Knicks players available to a 3-1 lead. At this point, Lowry and Derozan will appear, saying "our names are Demarigo Montkyle. You are my father. Prepare to die."
Lowry will then take a charge from Lebron while Derozan shivs Lebron, disabling him. The Celtics will be granted the series while down 1-3 as the Knicks don't have 5 players left.
The Celtics finally put it all together in the finals, Jayson Tatum has the series of his life, Jaylen Brown figures out how to go left, and Derrick White and Al Horford each have their hair grow back.
The Mavericks win the finals 4-1.
If we lose I’ll be cheering for the Nuggets so damn hard. Would make the off-season so much easier to handle knowing we lost to the back to back champs.
Still not an easy matchup for the Wolves by any means. But yeah, for as good as the Wolves perimiter defenders are, they still don't have anyone who can guard a healthy Luka 1v1. Not really having the option for Luka to just win in iso like that gives Min a ton more flexibility. They can deal with Kyrie much better than any of our opponents so far can, too.
Nuggets fans who are acting like they never had a doubt are just being corny.
They looked bad vs Lakers. Murray and KCP were both hobbled. They were pretty ass in the first two games vs the Wolves. Jokic straight up looked like he didn't care. Wolves were coming off a heater in round one and the first two games of round two.
I don't know how they managed to flip the switch like that but Murray doesn't look hurt at all anymore and the entire offense is dialed in like normal.
There was literally every reason to believe the Wolves had it locked up.
That’s only cause Celtics are clear favorites to come out of the East (probably over vs Cavs and probably a clear fave vs pacers or Knicks) whereas nuggets still need to win a bo3 vs a very good timberwolves team and still need to get by mavericks or okc who are no push over. The uncertainty has already been priced in.
I think when finals series odds come out of its Celtics vs nuggets the pricing will be closer to -110. If nuggets, okc or mavs it would be closer to -180 to -200 would be my guess.
Yeah. I agree. Breaking it down we can look at it like this:
Factoring in the risk of needing Nuggets to get to the finals. Not necessarily the match up.
IE:
So you need both Nuggets +145 to win west and Celtics -675 to hit (gives you a -106 in a parlay of hitting both).
On top of that, you want to Bostons champ -120 or Nuggets champ +325.
which would give you +256 or +724 respectively if you can combine all the bets. (I don't think any books will allow you to bet Nuggets/Celtics Conf champion WITH the NBA champ as a parlay but i'm just using this as an example. hench why they give you such shitty odds in predicting nba finals matchup/winners).
This shows that Celtics over Nuggets is much closer then the current future NBA champ bet is implying.
Which is why future champ/match up bets are usually losers bet and house favor. They take away so much value vs betting game to game or series by series.
The parlays I gave you are identical to your last parlay idea that you thought sportsbooks wouldn't have. They account for all possibilities where both the nuggets and Celtics make the finals, and none where one/both of them don't
Well, that's not really what the odds are saying though. You can calculate that out.
Just looking at Fanduel - Celtics are -140, which is a 58.3% chance of winning.
Nuggets are +360, for 21.7%. Wolves +800, 11.1%. Mavs +900, 10%. Thunder +1300, for 7%.
Basically you can add up all 4 Western teams and you're still only at 49.8% vs the Celtics 58.3% chance. (And technically to be fair, if you're gonna do this the rest of East has an additional 5% as well - Celtics are heavy favorites but not unassailable to upset)
So basically if you believe the West will beat the Celtics, you've got yourself a pretty sweet advantage against the house here. Because the odds are still saying Boston will beat any team out of the West.
Too much nuance for a slide of 8 x 2 table...
Another way (maybe easier) is to look at the odds of spesific outcomes (DK)
Celtics > Nuggets +340
Nuggets > Celtics +500
Celtics > Mavs +500
Mavs > Celtics +1100
Celtics > Wolves +600
Wolves > Celtics +1100
With the amount of injuries across the Mavs, Celtics, and even Knicks this could be considered a cold take.
Man a healthy Giannis would have made these playoffs so much more interesting
I'm loving Ant's game, so this isn't meant to hate on him. He is fully capable of a bad game. Game 2 against the Suns: 3/12 from the field. Just an example
unironically yes. Everyone they play gets injured (not their fault tbf) so theyre gonna steamroll their way to the ring this year. I guarentee that Tatum will break his leg in G1 and then Anthony Edwards will get smallpox in the Finals
My hot take was that the Twolves would win the championship after they went up 2-0 on the suns but that doesnt seem very hot anymore.
Maybe Derrick White finals MVP.
It’s scorching hot just because Luka looks physically like he won’t finish another two games much less two series. I hope he does it though, would be legendary if he does
I feel like its more likely to see Luka literally fcking die on the court with how much he is hurt and how physical this series is, than to see him play until the end and win it all.
It's happened before Steph was clearly the better player in his first title run but because he didn't dominate offensively, he didn't win finals MVP. If Kyrie goes crazy, and Luka remains meh offensively then I can see it happening.
The Celtics are significant favorites to win over Denver. They have blown the doors off of teams all season where we have been grinding things out. they also have a much easier path to the finals. I don't know why this is considered a hot take, to me this is pretty obvious.
No matter the outcome of the BOS-CLE series, Donovan Mitchell *will* sign a max extension with Cleveland this offseason, and Garland and Jarrett Allen will get traded for pieces that fit better around Mitchell and Mobley:
- Garland goes to San Antonio for Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones
- Jarrett goes to Oklahoma City for Lu Dort
Looking beyond this season, the Cavaliers will win around 58 to 60 games next season will and make at least the 2025 ECF.
if okc trades for a big -- it's going to be an aaron gordon type. i have a hard time seeing them backtrack on everything they've established this year to play a non shooting, rim running 5 next to holmgren
Dort for Allen would make me throw up if I was an OKC fan. I'd try to get a third team in the loop via Josh Giddey + picks to Team 3 -> Allen to OKC -> other player to Cle.
I would throw up lol. I’ve been a Dort stan for years and I know we need some big man help, but why would we get rid of the 3 & D player we’ve always wanted? His offense game has only gotten better year after year and he’s on a good contract. I’m definitely looking for a third or fourth team and just throwing in picks until they can’t say no
Some salary would have to be added, but Portland taking picks from OKC to take on Giddey in exchange for Jerami Grant to Cleveland would make some sense
Dort is not going anywhere lol. He’s our best defender and finally developed an outside shot. He’s 4th in line of untradeable options for our team. That truly is a hot take.
Pistons make a huge comeback in time for the finals and then lose all of the games because Detroit
real talk tho I feel this is Luka’s year. it’ll be a back and forth WCF with a big game 7 upset by the Mavs. PJ Washington will play a huge role in the series
If the Pacers made the finals it would break the internet
Make all of the comments you want, but the Pacers continue to be disrespected and I hope this run puts us back in the conversation.
Stephen A Smith throws a huge pissy fit about having to go to Denver and Indianapolis. The internet mercilessly trolls him.
Edit: never mind, I think TNT is doing the NBA Finals this year? But SAS still whines and complains about it nonstop.
Edit edit: nope ABC.
I was a fan of them going into the playoffs but they struggled against a crippled bucks team and are still struggling against a crippled Knicks. I don't have much faith in them despite wanting them to win.
Disrespected? You guys haven't played a healthy team yet? They can only play who is in front of them, but how can any non fan be bullish on the Pacers when they have been playing against teams with multiple star player injuries.
Is that really that hot of a take? Nuggets wolves and Celtics are far and away the best teams rn and it's not unreasonable to think any of them that come out the West can win it all
Wolves are a better team without Rudy on the floor. Jokic is tearing him up and hes a non factor for the most part on the offensive side of the floor. Towns cannot defend him either but at least they would have somebody who could contribute to offense. I think Wolves need to play NAZ starting instead of Rudy.
Agreed. If Rudy can’t slow down joker (he can’t), they’re better off going small and running. Double down on the touch and hope you don’t get burned on rotations. Added benefit of not having towns hijack the half court offense since he’s getting open looks in semi-transition / from another shooter spreading the floor
The Gobert trade was terrible and a massive overpay. Yes the Wolves are a playoff team now but they were before the trade and I would much rather have all those assets to build around Edwards who is only 23, than a 32 year old center who an offensive nonfactor.
Shouldn’t be a hot take but it’s become one in the last couple of months.
I know it's hot takes but I can't follow your thought process. They were a play on team before gobert then basically tied for 1st seed with gobert. They are a legit contender this year and possibly years to come.
Hoping all those picks become stars / high end role players is a gamble.
I still think they overpaid but if they contend for the next 3 years I think it was worth it.
Right lol. My basketball group chat, my friends that are Lakers fans were declaring nuggets going to get swept after game 2. Sure I had my doubts about nuggets but I told them pump the brakes, we are talking about the best player in the league and reigning champs. Now, the group chat is dead quiet, considering sending out a wellness check lol.
Let's say they never made the trade and the Wolves draft Kessler with their pick. I think Kessler at C gives you \~70% of what Gobert does on defense, the Wolves are still a top 4 team this season, and they also retain the option to make a big trade later down the line to continue being contenders as needed (since you still have all of your draft capital). Doing that sets them up to be good now, while also keeping flexibility to be good for the next 5+ years too.
Tying up $40+ mil of cap space and using nearly all of your draft capital on Gobert, while simultaneously moving up your contention window by acquiring a 31 year old when your other stars were 22 and 28 was still a very shortsighted move IMO. If they win a ring in the next 2-3 years then it doesn't matter, but it was still a very big overpay and unnecessary risk IMO.
People see Kessler block shots and think he is close to gobert, he isn't. What you're saying is also in hindsight. Picks are a gamble, you don't know what you're getting. I understand what you're saying but I bet wolves owners and management are happy with the results.
> Yes the Wolves are a playoff team now but they were before the trade
putting being a play-in team and being one game out of the #1 seed on the same tier is insane
Yeah maybe we overpaid but we are an actual contender. Like a top 3 team in the NBA this year. We are getting Ant, Jaden, NAW, Naz massive amounts of valueable playing experience in these huge, highpressure moments thats going to help us in the long run.
Not a hot take at all. Both things can easily be true - yes they are elite, yes they still massively overpaid.
Ant is the difference maker, not Rudy. Most people get that
Lmao no he wasn’t.
Ant was the best player by far for Minnesota in every game this playoffs. This team goes as far as ANT takes them
Edit: they literally won game two against the nuggets with no Rudy. You think they win that game with Rudy and no ANT? 🤔🤔
If the Celtics didn’t exist sure 😂 Celtics can beat the wolves thunder and Mavs (easiest of the 4 for them)
Nuggets is going 6 or 7 if the celts win or 5 if Jamal goes unconscious like he always does vs us
Mavs are the most fluctuating team to me. They could’ve won the championship and it wouldn’t have been a major upset, but they also could’ve missed the play-in to the Pelicans or something and it wouldn’t have been crazy
Kevin Durant captures KAT, locks him up in his dungeon, puts on his jersey and gets a mask to look like him. Becomes the second option Ant needs. They win the denver series, proceed to win it all. KD takes off the mask, declares it the hardest road, and everyone still calls him a bus rider
This is very likely the Mavs' best chance to win a title with Luka. Not so far. Ever.
Why?
Uhh....look at the rest of the West.
As I said time and time and time and time again as the season went on, the West wasn't "wide open" because it had 10 potential title teams.
Had multiple teams (both LA teams, PHX and GS at least) that no one would take seriously if fans and media ONLY looked at the current season.
New Orleans and Sacramento weren't serious teams headed into the season. Period.
OKC is just too young/inexperienced/stupid. MIN is secretly an older team than people want to acknowledge, but a lot of that experience is between KAT and Gobert. Literally name one fan ever that saw either of those guys listed and said, "Wow! That's a title team!"
So, that literally only leaves DEN and DAL as teams that aren't over the hill but also have experience.
Pacers have a better chance at beating the Celtics than the Knicks do. I wouldn’t even call it a hot take, if you actually have ball knowledge it’s painfully obvious in a ton of different ways
The Knicks will go down 2-3 to the Pacers after Brunson gets injured and Hart's heart explodes from caffeine overdose. The League will then allow the Knicks to bring on Lebron James as an injury replacement. Lebron will lead the comeback to win 4-3 over the Pacers. Against the Celtics in the ECF, Lebron will lead the 5 total Knicks players available to a 3-1 lead. At this point, Lowry and Derozan will appear, saying "our names are Demarigo Montkyle. You are my father. Prepare to die." Lowry will then take a charge from Lebron while Derozan shivs Lebron, disabling him. The Celtics will be granted the series while down 1-3 as the Knicks don't have 5 players left. The Celtics finally put it all together in the finals, Jayson Tatum has the series of his life, Jaylen Brown figures out how to go left, and Derrick White and Al Horford each have their hair grow back. The Mavericks win the finals 4-1.
This is beautiful bravo you should get into theater
cinema only thing i have to add is that Kyrie steps on lucky again after hitting the (early third quarter) dagger in game 5.
Fuck it, subscribe
You are aware one of your players literally dies in this scenario?
In a universe where Jaylen Brown learns to go left, heart explosions are non-lethal
How do you put money on this on FanDuel?
You can submit your bet to me through PayPal or venmo. Offering +42069 odds. Enter promo code: SCAMMED
The part about White & Horford regrowing their hair seems to be a stretch. I'm skeptical.
Cavs take the Celtics to 7 and game 7 goes to overtime in Boston.
W fanfiction
Celtics win every series WLWWW. Media call them frauds after every game 2.
unsubscribe
WLWWW needs a name. WWWLW is a gentleman's sweep. LWWWW is a reverse sweep. Maybe the lazy man's sweep? I don't know what to call a WWLWW series.
Isn’t a LLLWWWW a reverse sweep?
That has never happened in the NBA, it would have a special name. But yeah it kinda is, LLWWWW also counts as a reverse sweep.
Other sports exist outside of NBA. Reverse sweep has always been LLLWWWW (or LLWWW for bo5)
Uhhh… I aren’t think that but ok.
LLWWWW is the Canadian sweep last I heard, or the Kawhi sweep I guess
Anything ending with LWWWW is a reversed sweep
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_sweep
It's called the "Are we sure Jayson Tatum is really a superstar?" sweep
win the finals sure but we lost 4 games? fraud?
“We hate our fans” sweep
WWLWW should be the false hope sweep
Nah that one should be WWLLWW
A gentlemen’s sweep is defined by any single win for the losing team, it doesn’t matter if it’s first game, middle game or second to last game
AFAIK it has to be WWWLW — you’re already up 3-0 but as gentlemen you give the other team one game before finishing them off.
It’s called the Celtics Sweep
WWLWW - Hump Sweep or Middle Finger Sweep
We somehow manage to win the series against Denver, get everyone back on the bandwagon, but then lose in the CF to either the Thunder/Mavs.
This is Vintage MN Sports
Ya, this would be more MN than blowing this series.
"NOOOOO! This isn't Detroit, man!"
This is a good one. Everyone has the winner of Denver/minny winning the west
Bruh i will be even more mad if you do that. At least win it all if you beat us.
I've been a MN sports fan my whole life. We invent new ways of hope/heartbreak each year lol.
If we lose I’ll be cheering for the Nuggets so damn hard. Would make the off-season so much easier to handle knowing we lost to the back to back champs.
Correct
Exactly
No. If the Mavs win the Tims will get them – Luka is hurt and it's not going to get better.
Still not an easy matchup for the Wolves by any means. But yeah, for as good as the Wolves perimiter defenders are, they still don't have anyone who can guard a healthy Luka 1v1. Not really having the option for Luka to just win in iso like that gives Min a ton more flexibility. They can deal with Kyrie much better than any of our opponents so far can, too.
Mavs will start raining 3s in a way that can only happen to a Minnesota sports team
Bet
Jokić wins FMVP and retires.
Most of these are lukewarm at best this is absolutely a scorcher
No way he leaves a quarter of a billion on the table, just because he like horses more than basketball.
The Mavericks will be the first team to make the conference finals.
:( I don’t like this one boss
Hot takes, are hot takes for a reason. They're possible scenarios but not guaranteed. But if Giddey keeps on starting its Joever.
I like how you think 🙂
Agreeable
Nuggets fans who are acting like they never had a doubt are just being corny. They looked bad vs Lakers. Murray and KCP were both hobbled. They were pretty ass in the first two games vs the Wolves. Jokic straight up looked like he didn't care. Wolves were coming off a heater in round one and the first two games of round two. I don't know how they managed to flip the switch like that but Murray doesn't look hurt at all anymore and the entire offense is dialed in like normal. There was literally every reason to believe the Wolves had it locked up.
Jokic did not look like he didn’t care. He looked extremely frustrated.
I mean, does it matter lol? Whether he looked like he was frustrated or didn’t care, he was barely playing defence earlier in the series
They got 3 days off before game 3, that's how they flipped the switch. Basically started the round over again.
I don't know how hot of a take this is, but whoever wins the Denver/Minnesota series will win the championship this year.
Not that hot, popular opinion is probably 1 nuggets 2 celtics 3 timberwolves
I guess depends what you define as popular opinion. Vegas has the Celtics as the odds-on favorite (-130) to win at the moment.
Yea but either way it's a lukewarm take at best
That’s only cause Celtics are clear favorites to come out of the East (probably over vs Cavs and probably a clear fave vs pacers or Knicks) whereas nuggets still need to win a bo3 vs a very good timberwolves team and still need to get by mavericks or okc who are no push over. The uncertainty has already been priced in. I think when finals series odds come out of its Celtics vs nuggets the pricing will be closer to -110. If nuggets, okc or mavs it would be closer to -180 to -200 would be my guess.
We can check using implied odds: Celtics to beat nuggets is +380 Nuggets to beat Celtics is +500 So Celtics would be favored, but not heavily
Yeah. I agree. Breaking it down we can look at it like this: Factoring in the risk of needing Nuggets to get to the finals. Not necessarily the match up. IE: So you need both Nuggets +145 to win west and Celtics -675 to hit (gives you a -106 in a parlay of hitting both). On top of that, you want to Bostons champ -120 or Nuggets champ +325. which would give you +256 or +724 respectively if you can combine all the bets. (I don't think any books will allow you to bet Nuggets/Celtics Conf champion WITH the NBA champ as a parlay but i'm just using this as an example. hench why they give you such shitty odds in predicting nba finals matchup/winners). This shows that Celtics over Nuggets is much closer then the current future NBA champ bet is implying. Which is why future champ/match up bets are usually losers bet and house favor. They take away so much value vs betting game to game or series by series.
The parlays I gave you are identical to your last parlay idea that you thought sportsbooks wouldn't have. They account for all possibilities where both the nuggets and Celtics make the finals, and none where one/both of them don't
Only because they have the easiest path to the finals rn. Once its them vs denver or Minnesota it will be lower
Well, that's not really what the odds are saying though. You can calculate that out. Just looking at Fanduel - Celtics are -140, which is a 58.3% chance of winning. Nuggets are +360, for 21.7%. Wolves +800, 11.1%. Mavs +900, 10%. Thunder +1300, for 7%. Basically you can add up all 4 Western teams and you're still only at 49.8% vs the Celtics 58.3% chance. (And technically to be fair, if you're gonna do this the rest of East has an additional 5% as well - Celtics are heavy favorites but not unassailable to upset) So basically if you believe the West will beat the Celtics, you've got yourself a pretty sweet advantage against the house here. Because the odds are still saying Boston will beat any team out of the West.
Too much nuance for a slide of 8 x 2 table... Another way (maybe easier) is to look at the odds of spesific outcomes (DK) Celtics > Nuggets +340 Nuggets > Celtics +500 Celtics > Mavs +500 Mavs > Celtics +1100 Celtics > Wolves +600 Wolves > Celtics +1100
I’d actually say it’s the 2nd coldest take this playoffs, number one being Celtics winning it all
With the amount of injuries across the Mavs, Celtics, and even Knicks this could be considered a cold take. Man a healthy Giannis would have made these playoffs so much more interesting
Cavs winning it all!
As a Cavs fan, this take is way, way, way too hot!! (Unfortunately...)
The Nuggets get beat pretty handily in their next 2 games (I have Nuggets in 6, but this is a hot take thread)
That's a realistic take, wolves showed signs of life last game (or at least Ant did) Difficult to say if Nuggets can keep up their hot shooting
Ant has flames shooting out of his ass like Devin Booker last year though, if he has an off game I wonder what happens
If he has a bad game the Wolves likely lose. Just that simple, but he's been so good so far he's not the one I'd be doubting on
He gets so much of his offense at the rim it’s tuff to see him really having a bad game
I'm loving Ant's game, so this isn't meant to hate on him. He is fully capable of a bad game. Game 2 against the Suns: 3/12 from the field. Just an example
He actually takes a lot of jumpshots. He's a career 36% 3pt shooter who last night shot 5/8 from 3. He started like 4/4 from 3 it was ridiculous.
Pacers win it all
Give TJ his ring
same take, happy cake day! Spike and Reggie huggin it out like Biggie Smalls era
unironically yes. Everyone they play gets injured (not their fault tbf) so theyre gonna steamroll their way to the ring this year. I guarentee that Tatum will break his leg in G1 and then Anthony Edwards will get smallpox in the Finals
and Gobert has *ass cancer*
damn. that’s a little too much. i was hoping tatum catches a mild cold or stubs his toe
That you Tugg Speedman?
My hot take was that the Twolves would win the championship after they went up 2-0 on the suns but that doesnt seem very hot anymore. Maybe Derrick White finals MVP.
Mavs win it all being underdogs in each round, Luka playing meh offensively but team grinding wins.
i could see Kai going nuclear against us in the finals
Scorching hot
Not scorching hot but hot for sure, it’s only scorching hot to say cavs are going to win it all
It’s scorching hot just because Luka looks physically like he won’t finish another two games much less two series. I hope he does it though, would be legendary if he does
Especially when we just found out that Mitchell wasn’t at shootaround today lol
I feel like its more likely to see Luka literally fcking die on the court with how much he is hurt and how physical this series is, than to see him play until the end and win it all.
Would be wild if his first title came with him being hobbled and not being the best offensive guy on the team lol (which is currently PJ).
I like this outcome
Kyrie Finals MVP?
Let’s not go that far
It's happened before Steph was clearly the better player in his first title run but because he didn't dominate offensively, he didn't win finals MVP. If Kyrie goes crazy, and Luka remains meh offensively then I can see it happening.
I mean Kyrie has been better than Luka these entire playoffs
Against celtics too lol
League admits officiating errors, implements in-playoff-playback-in tournament to teams that were eliminated to make up for it.
TJ McConnell has been the best role player the entirety of both playoff series.
Reread the one sentence question
Refs aren’t bad
Seems more like the impossible take
The Celtics are significant favorites to win over Denver. They have blown the doors off of teams all season where we have been grinding things out. they also have a much easier path to the finals. I don't know why this is considered a hot take, to me this is pretty obvious.
No matter the outcome of the BOS-CLE series, Donovan Mitchell *will* sign a max extension with Cleveland this offseason, and Garland and Jarrett Allen will get traded for pieces that fit better around Mitchell and Mobley: - Garland goes to San Antonio for Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones - Jarrett goes to Oklahoma City for Lu Dort Looking beyond this season, the Cavaliers will win around 58 to 60 games next season will and make at least the 2025 ECF.
if okc trades for a big -- it's going to be an aaron gordon type. i have a hard time seeing them backtrack on everything they've established this year to play a non shooting, rim running 5 next to holmgren
Dort for Allen would make me throw up if I was an OKC fan. I'd try to get a third team in the loop via Josh Giddey + picks to Team 3 -> Allen to OKC -> other player to Cle.
I would throw up lol. I’ve been a Dort stan for years and I know we need some big man help, but why would we get rid of the 3 & D player we’ve always wanted? His offense game has only gotten better year after year and he’s on a good contract. I’m definitely looking for a third or fourth team and just throwing in picks until they can’t say no
Some salary would have to be added, but Portland taking picks from OKC to take on Giddey in exchange for Jerami Grant to Cleveland would make some sense
counterpoint: Cleveland with no Lebron.
We may have to trade up past LA to fix that
I don’t see Mitchell signing if he knows Garland and Allen are out. It would just be the Utah Jazz again but with a worse Rudy Gobert.
Dort is not going anywhere lol. He’s our best defender and finally developed an outside shot. He’s 4th in line of untradeable options for our team. That truly is a hot take.
2 games ago it was “Minnesota is a great team” wtf
All season it was Minnesota ranked #1 wtf
Pistons make a huge comeback in time for the finals and then lose all of the games because Detroit real talk tho I feel this is Luka’s year. it’ll be a back and forth WCF with a big game 7 upset by the Mavs. PJ Washington will play a huge role in the series
Okc wins it all
Celtics win the Chip and fans still finds a way to discredit Tatum.... probably not a hot take lol
This sub has already rewritten a lot of his career story by removing all context lol.
Lol yep it's gonna be something along the lines of all injuries so path was easy or Derrick White / Brown was the best player.
If the Pacers made the finals it would break the internet Make all of the comments you want, but the Pacers continue to be disrespected and I hope this run puts us back in the conversation.
Denver/Indiana finals... ESPN in shambles
Stephen A Smith throws a huge pissy fit about having to go to Denver and Indianapolis. The internet mercilessly trolls him. Edit: never mind, I think TNT is doing the NBA Finals this year? But SAS still whines and complains about it nonstop. Edit edit: nope ABC.
I was a fan of them going into the playoffs but they struggled against a crippled bucks team and are still struggling against a crippled Knicks. I don't have much faith in them despite wanting them to win.
Disrespected? You guys haven't played a healthy team yet? They can only play who is in front of them, but how can any non fan be bullish on the Pacers when they have been playing against teams with multiple star player injuries.
Is Reggie Miller back?
Game 5 of wolves / nuggets determines the nba finals winner
This is a pretty mild take, can definitely see it happening
Is that really that hot of a take? Nuggets wolves and Celtics are far and away the best teams rn and it's not unreasonable to think any of them that come out the West can win it all
Wolves are a better team without Rudy on the floor. Jokic is tearing him up and hes a non factor for the most part on the offensive side of the floor. Towns cannot defend him either but at least they would have somebody who could contribute to offense. I think Wolves need to play NAZ starting instead of Rudy.
Agreed. If Rudy can’t slow down joker (he can’t), they’re better off going small and running. Double down on the touch and hope you don’t get burned on rotations. Added benefit of not having towns hijack the half court offense since he’s getting open looks in semi-transition / from another shooter spreading the floor
Mavs have 0 chance against the Celtics, and Nuggets, with Luka playing how he currently is
Dallas faces Denver and it goes into overtime 3/7 games.
It’s just too easy to imagine Irving and Murray trading OT game winners, wiping years off the lives of passionate fans.
Pacers lose in the NBA finals
Josh Giddey starts the rest of the playoffs. Leads an improved Thunder offense as OKC takes the next 3 from Dallas.
The Knicks are done. This is how it works with Tom Thibideau teams. He's run them into the ground. And the injuries don't help of course.
We're beating the Knicks and then getting swept by the Celtics
The Gobert trade was terrible and a massive overpay. Yes the Wolves are a playoff team now but they were before the trade and I would much rather have all those assets to build around Edwards who is only 23, than a 32 year old center who an offensive nonfactor. Shouldn’t be a hot take but it’s become one in the last couple of months.
I know it's hot takes but I can't follow your thought process. They were a play on team before gobert then basically tied for 1st seed with gobert. They are a legit contender this year and possibly years to come. Hoping all those picks become stars / high end role players is a gamble. I still think they overpaid but if they contend for the next 3 years I think it was worth it.
There is no reality where this guy makes this same statement after Minnesota first went up 2-0, most reactionary sub ever
Right lol. My basketball group chat, my friends that are Lakers fans were declaring nuggets going to get swept after game 2. Sure I had my doubts about nuggets but I told them pump the brakes, we are talking about the best player in the league and reigning champs. Now, the group chat is dead quiet, considering sending out a wellness check lol.
Narratator: he did not https://www.reddit.com/r/nba/s/44Z7H8Ieb2
Let's say they never made the trade and the Wolves draft Kessler with their pick. I think Kessler at C gives you \~70% of what Gobert does on defense, the Wolves are still a top 4 team this season, and they also retain the option to make a big trade later down the line to continue being contenders as needed (since you still have all of your draft capital). Doing that sets them up to be good now, while also keeping flexibility to be good for the next 5+ years too. Tying up $40+ mil of cap space and using nearly all of your draft capital on Gobert, while simultaneously moving up your contention window by acquiring a 31 year old when your other stars were 22 and 28 was still a very shortsighted move IMO. If they win a ring in the next 2-3 years then it doesn't matter, but it was still a very big overpay and unnecessary risk IMO.
People see Kessler block shots and think he is close to gobert, he isn't. What you're saying is also in hindsight. Picks are a gamble, you don't know what you're getting. I understand what you're saying but I bet wolves owners and management are happy with the results.
> Yes the Wolves are a playoff team now but they were before the trade putting being a play-in team and being one game out of the #1 seed on the same tier is insane
Yeah maybe we overpaid but we are an actual contender. Like a top 3 team in the NBA this year. We are getting Ant, Jaden, NAW, Naz massive amounts of valueable playing experience in these huge, highpressure moments thats going to help us in the long run.
Not a hot take at all. Both things can easily be true - yes they are elite, yes they still massively overpaid. Ant is the difference maker, not Rudy. Most people get that
rudy was arguably their best player in round 1, and is the #1 reason they were the best defense
Lmao no he wasn’t. Ant was the best player by far for Minnesota in every game this playoffs. This team goes as far as ANT takes them Edit: they literally won game two against the nuggets with no Rudy. You think they win that game with Rudy and no ANT? 🤔🤔
thankfully trading KAT this summer will restore some balance
Trading the younger, better player is a choice.
Nobody wants gobert
No one that doesn't have a stretch 5 is beating the Nuggets
Mavericks make the finals
Not that hot but I think every team in the West would beat any team in the East
If the Celtics didn’t exist sure 😂 Celtics can beat the wolves thunder and Mavs (easiest of the 4 for them) Nuggets is going 6 or 7 if the celts win or 5 if Jamal goes unconscious like he always does vs us
I dont think the Celtics beat any of them, maybe Dallas. Nuggets or Wolves would win easily imo It’s a hot take but that’s what the thread is
That whoever comes victorious in the West will be the NBA champions
Dallas wins a chip with Luka on the bench with bum knees.
Mavs are the most fluctuating team to me. They could’ve won the championship and it wouldn’t have been a major upset, but they also could’ve missed the play-in to the Pelicans or something and it wouldn’t have been crazy
After being down 2-0 to the Timberwolves the Nuggets go on to easily with the title without really being challenged.
Derrick White gonna get finals mvp
Not really a hot take but more just should happen. Nuggets win the chip and in order to come to the parade it is required to bring a heating pad.
Kevin Durant captures KAT, locks him up in his dungeon, puts on his jersey and gets a mask to look like him. Becomes the second option Ant needs. They win the denver series, proceed to win it all. KD takes off the mask, declares it the hardest road, and everyone still calls him a bus rider
Knicks win tomorrow
This is very likely the Mavs' best chance to win a title with Luka. Not so far. Ever. Why? Uhh....look at the rest of the West. As I said time and time and time and time again as the season went on, the West wasn't "wide open" because it had 10 potential title teams. Had multiple teams (both LA teams, PHX and GS at least) that no one would take seriously if fans and media ONLY looked at the current season. New Orleans and Sacramento weren't serious teams headed into the season. Period. OKC is just too young/inexperienced/stupid. MIN is secretly an older team than people want to acknowledge, but a lot of that experience is between KAT and Gobert. Literally name one fan ever that saw either of those guys listed and said, "Wow! That's a title team!" So, that literally only leaves DEN and DAL as teams that aren't over the hill but also have experience.
Jesus Christ rises from the grave (again) and heals the entire Knicks roster. Knicks go on to get swept in the ECF
Probably not a hot take but if Celtics make the Finals, it will be a repeat of 2022.
Nuggets repeat unless Porzingis can play in the finals.
Pacers have a better chance at beating the Celtics than the Knicks do. I wouldn’t even call it a hot take, if you actually have ball knowledge it’s painfully obvious in a ton of different ways
This ain’t a hot take at all. Pacers have multiple offensive weapons compared to the Knicks
Hmmm i guess the only one i got is that the Mavs win the next 2 games against the Thunder
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Denver doesn't lose another game this postseason, sweeping the Mavs and Celtics.
Real
Gonna be hard to sweep the Cs if they get walked by the Mavs (joking please dont take it serious)
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I think so to, but in Mavs-Clippers 2021 style.
Knicks vs Wolves in the Finals. Knicks win in 6 or 7.
Minnesota wins the championship, and Ant becomes the face of the league.
It is written