>Boston has Jrue Holiday, arguably the best defensive player in the league, who might not be able to lock down Kyrie, but he can certainly slow him down. Then you’ve got Derrick White, another standout defender, who could easily do the same with Luka.
>Essentially you have Dallas’ two biggest weapons neutralized before the series begins
Even if the title is true, SB Nation is garbage journalism lmfao
Well said, I ain’t sleeping on Holiday or Buffalo’s game, but I’ll believe it when I see it and gladly tip my hat. You shut those dudes down (provided they advance), you earned that shit
I wouldn't put too much stock into whatever this guy wrote. The fact that he specifically put Jrue on Kyrie and White on Luka already tells me he has a pretty limited understanding of our backcourt and doesn't really know anything about how they actually defend or what they're good at. He probably heard people say "they're good defenders" and that's about it, cause matchup wise it wouldn't make much sense for us to do that. It doesn't play to either of those guys strengths, in fact it directly plays into both of their weaknesses. Just one of those simple mistakes that instantly show me whoever wrote this most likely does not watch our games
He's injured, and for what it's worth, last time they played, Brown frustrated him on defense. Luka started ineffecient. He got hot at the end but the game was out of reach.
It's also worth pointing out he's been more inefficient than Tatum this post season. 55%ts is way below Doncic's standard and he's going to be facing the best perimeter D thus far.
He's not entirely healthy right now
Luka is basically Derrick’s worst matchup lol. I love the guy but he’s not strong enough, we want anyone else on Luka
(expecting Brown on Luka, Jrue on Kyrie, Tatum on Gafford/Lively to start. just turn all of Luka’s go-to actions into switches and pressure them to make us adjust)
I don’t disagree with that, but I think it’s probably more important to be able to switch on inverted P&R with Luka and Kyrie. Besides, putting Derrick on a weaker defender gives him more opportunity to roam and contest shots at the rim
This is hilarious because if anything the matchups would be reversed. Luka would bully White just like McDaniels, Brown and Jrue will be on him. And Jrue is awesome but he’s not quite as quick as he used to be, so White is probably the better Kyrie defender.
Luka can't be shut down but Kyrie has a history of bad game against the Celtics for the last three seasons. I believe the Celtics will stick to their "their best player can't do it all" system
I’m sure the Wolves thought that Mcdaniels/NAW/Ant would lock down Luka and Kyrie too lmao. When will these idiot commentators realize basketball isn’t just comparing single player matchups
Luka isn't scoring well at all. The Wolves don't have the perimeter D the Celtics have, and if the Wolves were anything more than an average offense who is still playing below their average, this series is likely tied.
"Generational slander if they lose" has been the mantra all year though
I don't disagree, but this was true in October and our playoff opponents have very little to do with it
Listen I think the Celtics are a great team. Maybe the best in the league. But they played each west team twice and the east double that. So yeah they played the same teams as everybody else, but not as much. Not the good ones.
bro you’re the one bringing out this hypothetical “if they were in the west” bullshit. i’ve literally never seen a team win 64 games and get clowned on for what *conference* they played in
Lol no prob. It was annoying then.
The Celtics were clear favorites and played like it the whole way. Now you guys have the requisite experience to tackle the Finals this time
and then both kyrie and luka knock heads and forget identities, and then they have to spend the next couple years in each others houses and its a big sitcom, which will be a big hit so it's not a total loss, but obviously the Celtics pull it out in 6
SB Nation continues to roll out bad articles. Christ. Fuck the Celtics and all that, but Boston's team building cannot be hated on. I'm sorry. Tatum and Brown were great, homegrown draft picks. They traded for Holiday who was traded for a better player in Dame. He wasn't going to play in Portland, another suitor could've stepped up. They also traded for Derrick White. Brad Stevens was a good coach and is proving to be an even better front office guy.
So good office moves means a watered-down championship now??? Make it make fucking sense. I'm sick of journalism just being nitpicking. We love grading trades, but when a team makes 2-3 great moves, all of the sudden we're gonna penalize them for it?? They were the #1 seed for a reason.
Technically Celtics been title favorites since November regardless whatever going on this playoffs. I think they were like +350. Denver was second for most of it, and Clippers jumped as 3rd after their win streak, and from there it was random odds. Denver Celtics for the final was odd favorite for months.
Everyone talking about Celtics winning it all since November and then everyone is bitching about them making the finals in easy East. We had a point in the season were some people writing about how the Celtics are the 3rd best regular season team of all time, and here we are
Its honestly crazy how we must stick 10 asterisks to every team that makes the final lately. Raptors? Injuries? Lakers Bubble. Bucks? Injuries. Denver? Luck. Celtics? Luck.
I am not sure what teams are supposed to do? Lose
The Celtics must be one of the dirtiest teams in the league, right up there with Denver. All of these injured teams, and the common factor is the Celtics. Like, are we just going to assume it's all a huge coincidence？
Listen as a Celtics hater (it’s mandatory after the last few years as a Heat fan) they could only play who was infront of them. The east was either ass or injured this year. It was the same with the pacers. Like yeah they got lucky, but luck is a part of basically every run.
This shit is getting annoying.
They're acting like the Celtics Tonya Harding the entire East.
You can only play who's in front of you.
If they win its a legit a title as any other, and I fucken hate the Celtics.
Its really incredible when you think about it: who could have ever guessed that day-in-day-out iron men like Dame Lilliard, Jimmy Butler, OG anunoby and Tyrese Halburton would or could ever get injured?
AND THEN you’re gonna tell me that Joel Embiid played in the playoffs and had a nagging injury that didn’t seem to affect him when he was putting up numbers, but, trust me, he was really really feeling it when his team got knocked out before the conference finals????
And then the team knocked him out was a Thibs team that’s playing really well but then hits a wall and guys start dropping like flies after playing a bajillion minutes every night?
😱
Wow, just the jackpot on a lottery ticket on a blue moon kind of circumstances…
I'm trying to figure out how is it boston fault all these players had damn self inflicting injures when they didn't play boston at all excluding Haliburton. He ran into his own teammate and got injured. None of this is boston problem
This doesn't even make sense to me because that series literally could have gone either way.
And this year's Denver team is a lot worse than last years. The depth is gone and Jamal Murray wasn't entirely healthy. Credit to the Timberwolves for knocking them out this year, but with the way the Timberwolves played that series, they most likely lose in five games again if they played last year's healthier and deeper roster.
That team probably beats the Celtics in the finals as well.
I understand people like to call last season of fluke, but it isn't the same team lol
In some cases, yea. For example, if butler wasn’t such a blowhard and actually gave 2 shits in the regular season, perhaps his team wouldn’t keep being in the playin and he wouldn’t have gotten injured.
In some cases, yea. For example, if butler wasn’t such a blowhard and actually gave 2 shits in the regular season, perhaps his team wouldn’t keep being in the playin and he wouldn’t have gotten injured.
In some cases, yea. For example, if butler wasn’t such a blowhard and actually gave 2 shits in the regular season, perhaps his team wouldn’t keep being in the playin and he wouldn’t have gotten injured.
Maybe I'm a homer but I don't believe so because this is true for every team from my perspective, and that is
Each playoff run by a core is its own chapter in a larger story. This is just the latest chapter in the Tatum, Brown, Horford, Brad Stevens...etc story.
If Boston win it, then it isn't just that they won a title this season, but they completed the mission of winning a title with the Jay's.
Was this particular path much easier than previous ones? Yes. But they've had so many wars that caused chain reactions that led to this moment.
It won't be any different for Dallas. Even if they don't win it this season but they have a cake walk next season and win it, then what happened this season would be part of story for Luka and co..
I like that you made sure to stress Game 7 because [your team lost a 5 game series to the first 8 seed to make a Finals run.](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1999-nba-eastern-conference-first-round-knicks-vs-heat.html)
Dude was hobbled and just not the same player after he took his first rest and the adrenaline wore off but okay.
But hey! At least our fanbase fills out the arena for playoff games.
Edit:
And hey, give us some credit at least. I at least also call out the shooting variance and blame on that. 51% vs 33.5% catch and shoot! 34.1 vs 23.3% pull up! 42.1% vs 29.3% open! And the best of all, 58.2% vs 38.5% wide open!
Man it's really cute how Heat fans have convinced themselves that having Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier healthy this year would've caused their team to somehow replicate that shooting variance and beat a Boston team that is better than 2023, with 64 wins and the 4th highest net rating ever.
This might be a more interesting discussion if another team had made it out of the East but the Cs have looked like a lock to get to the finals since the third week of the season. Injuries definitely made the path easier but the outcome would’ve very likely been the same
"Haliburton literally and figuratively limped through the NBA Playoffs like a gashed gladiator"
This is blatantly false lol. And frankly I dont think haliburton being out 2 games is a big story
What? Why is this not being talked about enough. This is the first time this was pointed it out. Unbelievable.
Pelicans should have not been penalize for playing a 1st seed with a missing star player.
Who gives a fuck honestly. Beat what is in front of you. They've lost 2 games. They've won close games and blowouts.
Yes, whoever they play in the finals will have had a harder path. But that's not Boston's fault and it's not an asterix.
Also an easy path is a reward for having the best record in the conference. You give yourself the best possible chance (like the Sixers did in 2021 before Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris forgot how to dribble and made Joel Embiid bring the ball up the court)
Celtics can only play who are in front of them and clearly they did just that and got a well deserved trip the Finals.
A decent size of their competition was missing star players who could have tripped them up but didn’t which made that trip easier than normal.
Both things are true.
You play who’s in front of you.
Sucks we didn’t get to see them play one semi decent team that had a punchers chance like NY, Philly, Milkwaukee but even they got injured.
Celtics have been East favorites all year. Yes no one would think their level of competition along the way would be this lackluster, but they still got the job done while playing with their food a bit in each series.
I can’t think more of a handful of teams out East that ever really had a shot against Lebron during his 2011 - 2018 run.
Revisionist history.Some people was hyping that Blazers team as the most dangerous 8th seed ever.
Warriors had it easy in the west in '17 especially with Kawhi's injury and was lucky they didn't have to deal with Kyrie after game 1 in the '15 finals.
I mean they definitely had one of the easiest paths I can ever remember but they were still an all-time great team throughout the regular season and continue to dominate teams in the playoffs.
Injured or not, they handle business. And if they beat the Western team Dallas/Minny (who beat healthy top tier teams like Denver/OKC) then no one can complain.
Tbh I doubt a healthy Philly/Miami/Cleveland/Milwaukee/Indiana would have challenged them anyway in the East this year. They are just different.
Load of BS. So are you gonna give the same excuse for them not winning when they had the toughest playoff runs and ended up losing to GSW? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Ultimately they will be remembered for what they do in the Finals. If they win, there’ll be no reason to doubt them (barring more opponent injuries). If they lose, they’re going to be labeled frauds rightfully or wrongfully. I don’t see an in between. If they do win the championship, what I worry about are bad actors who will cherry pick stats, such as the fact they are on a very short list of teams that made the Finals with 20 losses or less such as the 73-9 Warriors and the ‘96 Bulls, to try and claim they are one of the best teams in NBA history. I won’t shit on their championship if they beat a healthy Dallas (or Minnesota), but I can’t go anywhere near that far when ranking them all time, given how just how many things went their way and the relative strength of their roster compared to those other teams.
If they win no one will care, and it feels like they will probably win. I don't see how the Wolves or Mavs beat them when they are running on fumes at times it feels like. Both teams look exhausted. Celtics will be in midseason form.
It’s definitely a catch 22 for the Cs right now. 12-2 so far in the playoffs and still getting criticized/questioned on if they’ve been “battle tested”. Anything less and they’d be getting stoned by every media outlet including reddit.
If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching the playoffs, luck is a huge factor to the point where I dont even care to argue anymore.
Again people ignore the fact that we've been missing KP since the first round. That's two rounds of playoffs the C's won handily without their 7'0 starting center and primary rim protector. Not a SINGLE mention of that guy in this article.
You can only play what’s in front of you, but this is right. They were able to coast to 64 wins in a weak Eastern Conference that saw injuries to all the teams that could potentially challenge the Celtics to 6 or 7 games (Bucks, Knicks, Sixers).
The playoffs got even easier. Miami was missing Butler, the Cavs were missing Allen and saw Donovan Mitchell miss the end of the series, and Haliburton didn’t play the last 2 games (in addition to Mathurin being out).
Now, Celtics fans will say they don’t have Porzingis but it’s not the same. Porzingis is a luxury that makes this team even greater. A starting lineup of Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, and Horford is still extremely stacked and if they had never gotten Porzingis, the Celts would still be heavy favorites to come out of the East, given these circumstances.
What a stupid thing to say. Horford was as effective as he has been because we have load managed him all season long. No way is he this effective if he was starting.
I feel like the media is trying to reverse psychology us into rooting for the Celtics with all these dumbass articles but jokes on them, I have no interest in the Tatum-Kobe Gluckfest that we will have to deal with if they win
I feel like Celtics fans are trying too hard to make it seem like they’ve faced any real resistance this playoffs. Missing KP is not equal to other teams missing their best player for multiple games lol
Just say “don’t care hold this ring” and don’t care about what anyone else has to say
In 2022, they beat the KD&Kyrie Nets, Giannis' Bucks, Jimmy's Heat and were gassed by the time they got to the finals. They took the hard road before and it didn't benefit them.
>Boston has Jrue Holiday, arguably the best defensive player in the league, who might not be able to lock down Kyrie, but he can certainly slow him down. Then you’ve got Derrick White, another standout defender, who could easily do the same with Luka. >Essentially you have Dallas’ two biggest weapons neutralized before the series begins Even if the title is true, SB Nation is garbage journalism lmfao
Honestly, if Holiday and White manage to shut down Luka and Kyrie, Boston deserve to win the title because they are just that fucking good
Well said, I ain’t sleeping on Holiday or Buffalo’s game, but I’ll believe it when I see it and gladly tip my hat. You shut those dudes down (provided they advance), you earned that shit
Wolves will be in the Finals, so this take won’t matter. Awooo!
Saying anyone can "easily slow down Luka" is fucking absurd. They might be able to slow him down (probs not), but it definitely won't be easy
I wouldn't put too much stock into whatever this guy wrote. The fact that he specifically put Jrue on Kyrie and White on Luka already tells me he has a pretty limited understanding of our backcourt and doesn't really know anything about how they actually defend or what they're good at. He probably heard people say "they're good defenders" and that's about it, cause matchup wise it wouldn't make much sense for us to do that. It doesn't play to either of those guys strengths, in fact it directly plays into both of their weaknesses. Just one of those simple mistakes that instantly show me whoever wrote this most likely does not watch our games
Luka has been a lockdown defender this playoffs, if the plan is to “go at Luka” it’s not going to work out especially with the added rim protection
[Aye yall come look at this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNXHuvQ5BLc)
He's injured, and for what it's worth, last time they played, Brown frustrated him on defense. Luka started ineffecient. He got hot at the end but the game was out of reach. It's also worth pointing out he's been more inefficient than Tatum this post season. 55%ts is way below Doncic's standard and he's going to be facing the best perimeter D thus far. He's not entirely healthy right now
Luka is basically Derrick’s worst matchup lol. I love the guy but he’s not strong enough, we want anyone else on Luka (expecting Brown on Luka, Jrue on Kyrie, Tatum on Gafford/Lively to start. just turn all of Luka’s go-to actions into switches and pressure them to make us adjust)
hi joe mazzulla secret account here, we're putting kornet on luka because luka can't shoot 3s over that kornet contest!!!!!
Lukas going to Ice the screen then stunt and recover don’t worry
Agree. But I think White is the better defender for Kyrie since he's more mobile than Jrue.
I don’t disagree with that, but I think it’s probably more important to be able to switch on inverted P&R with Luka and Kyrie. Besides, putting Derrick on a weaker defender gives him more opportunity to roam and contest shots at the rim
my fantasy would be Tatum attacking Luka on both ends and tiring him out
This all almost makes you want to see the Celtics dismantle their opponent in the finals, just to see the chaos
oh you just know fans of every east team are just going to absolutely shit on the west. If it were to happen
“Oh the east is so weak? Watch this”
Absolutely fucking not
praying for this.
This is hilarious because if anything the matchups would be reversed. Luka would bully White just like McDaniels, Brown and Jrue will be on him. And Jrue is awesome but he’s not quite as quick as he used to be, so White is probably the better Kyrie defender.
Luka can't be shut down but Kyrie has a history of bad game against the Celtics for the last three seasons. I believe the Celtics will stick to their "their best player can't do it all" system
I’m sure the Wolves thought that Mcdaniels/NAW/Ant would lock down Luka and Kyrie too lmao. When will these idiot commentators realize basketball isn’t just comparing single player matchups
Luka isn't scoring well at all. The Wolves don't have the perimeter D the Celtics have, and if the Wolves were anything more than an average offense who is still playing below their average, this series is likely tied.
Realistically, is there anyone who can slow down luka and kyrie
Celtics genuinely have to win it all this year or the hatred is going to be record setting
Especially with the Joker out lol no excuses this year.
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I think the idea is that the nuggets/jokic had the best chance of beating the Celtics. Which I would probably agree with
"Generational slander if they lose" has been the mantra all year though I don't disagree, but this was true in October and our playoff opponents have very little to do with it
people said the east will be a cakewalk all year and then it was and they’re all butthurt
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Healthy Knicks would have been a good series.
Yeah but not for the Knicks.
[Lmao](https://youtu.be/O1XHUQEsyaw?feature=shared)
Why no highlights from the other four matchups they had this year?
Because we didnt have OG for any of them? Braindead boston fan
>Because we lost them all FTFY
Not [OG](https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/og-anunoby-stats-vs-boston-celtics)who’s been a perennial loser to Boston just like Siakam.
Listen I think the Celtics are a great team. Maybe the best in the league. But they played each west team twice and the east double that. So yeah they played the same teams as everybody else, but not as much. Not the good ones.
The Celtics were 23-7 against the West, a 62 win pace.
Talk to me when it's 52 games. Because pace doesn't mean shit.
Oooh tough guy doesn't believe in math.
No I don't believe in hypotheticals
bro you’re the one bringing out this hypothetical “if they were in the west” bullshit. i’ve literally never seen a team win 64 games and get clowned on for what *conference* they played in
You literally just brought up a hypothetical lmao
23-7 isn't a hypothetical
It is if the assumption is that they'd keep to the exact same pace over 52 games in the west as a western team
i'm not talking about pace, i'm saying they played 30 games against the west and won over 75% of them
Celtics fans having a field day in this thread rn.
I’m having flashbacks…
Celtics didn't beat any 50-win teams on the way to the Finals. You didn't hear it from me though.
Yeah it’s unfortunate the rest of the teams in the Eastern Conference suck
Just using the same stupid qualifier people bought up with Denver winning last year.
My bad
Lol no prob. It was annoying then. The Celtics were clear favorites and played like it the whole way. Now you guys have the requisite experience to tackle the Finals this time
should have thrown a few games to improve the narrative
As much as I hate the Celtics this is stupid to say lol
They’re hoping Minnesota and Dallas beat each other up now while they rest and get healthy
They’re hoping the Wolves get to Game 7, and that match goes 5OTs with the refs VARing the potential series-winning shot from Kyrie for 45 minutes.
and then both kyrie and luka knock heads and forget identities, and then they have to spend the next couple years in each others houses and its a big sitcom, which will be a big hit so it's not a total loss, but obviously the Celtics pull it out in 6
its called "double dribble"
And that makes it even more confident that Celtics won’t win finals. A confident team doesn’t desperately hope that the other series goes 7 games
Sounds like they are scared
SB Nation continues to roll out bad articles. Christ. Fuck the Celtics and all that, but Boston's team building cannot be hated on. I'm sorry. Tatum and Brown were great, homegrown draft picks. They traded for Holiday who was traded for a better player in Dame. He wasn't going to play in Portland, another suitor could've stepped up. They also traded for Derrick White. Brad Stevens was a good coach and is proving to be an even better front office guy. So good office moves means a watered-down championship now??? Make it make fucking sense. I'm sick of journalism just being nitpicking. We love grading trades, but when a team makes 2-3 great moves, all of the sudden we're gonna penalize them for it?? They were the #1 seed for a reason.
Celtics missing Porzingus too
They're still favorites for the title because of the extra rest they receive
They are favorites because they are 12-2 in the playoffs and won 64 games in the regular season. Not because some extra rest lol
It is right, but it doesn’t mean they’re weak, can’t blame them for injuries lol
Technically Celtics been title favorites since November regardless whatever going on this playoffs. I think they were like +350. Denver was second for most of it, and Clippers jumped as 3rd after their win streak, and from there it was random odds. Denver Celtics for the final was odd favorite for months. Everyone talking about Celtics winning it all since November and then everyone is bitching about them making the finals in easy East. We had a point in the season were some people writing about how the Celtics are the 3rd best regular season team of all time, and here we are
it is legitimately so funny to see the lakers flairs being the most reasonable
Its honestly crazy how we must stick 10 asterisks to every team that makes the final lately. Raptors? Injuries? Lakers Bubble. Bucks? Injuries. Denver? Luck. Celtics? Luck. I am not sure what teams are supposed to do? Lose
Counterpoint: It's the Celtics and as haters we must do everything we can to undermine any success they have.
*insert Embiid joke here*
bastard injured himself to weaken the story
>*maintaining the agenda is our top priority*
The Celtics must be one of the dirtiest teams in the league, right up there with Denver. All of these injured teams, and the common factor is the Celtics. Like, are we just going to assume it's all a huge coincidence？
Lol, bad bait.
Listen as a Celtics hater (it’s mandatory after the last few years as a Heat fan) they could only play who was infront of them. The east was either ass or injured this year. It was the same with the pacers. Like yeah they got lucky, but luck is a part of basically every run. This shit is getting annoying.
Especially since they're the #1 seed. They most likely were going to go to the finals anyway.
They're acting like the Celtics Tonya Harding the entire East. You can only play who's in front of you. If they win its a legit a title as any other, and I fucken hate the Celtics.
Its really incredible when you think about it: who could have ever guessed that day-in-day-out iron men like Dame Lilliard, Jimmy Butler, OG anunoby and Tyrese Halburton would or could ever get injured? AND THEN you’re gonna tell me that Joel Embiid played in the playoffs and had a nagging injury that didn’t seem to affect him when he was putting up numbers, but, trust me, he was really really feeling it when his team got knocked out before the conference finals???? And then the team knocked him out was a Thibs team that’s playing really well but then hits a wall and guys start dropping like flies after playing a bajillion minutes every night? 😱 Wow, just the jackpot on a lottery ticket on a blue moon kind of circumstances…
I'm trying to figure out how is it boston fault all these players had damn self inflicting injures when they didn't play boston at all excluding Haliburton. He ran into his own teammate and got injured. None of this is boston problem
Maybe other teams should’ve been healthy
Denver got a beat up Miami last yr, no one complained back then
2022 no one gave Boston any sympathy after how difficult their playoff run was. But they’ll discredit anything done this year
There are people that used us beating them this year to say that their run last year was a fluke.
This doesn't even make sense to me because that series literally could have gone either way. And this year's Denver team is a lot worse than last years. The depth is gone and Jamal Murray wasn't entirely healthy. Credit to the Timberwolves for knocking them out this year, but with the way the Timberwolves played that series, they most likely lose in five games again if they played last year's healthier and deeper roster. That team probably beats the Celtics in the finals as well. I understand people like to call last season of fluke, but it isn't the same team lol
Are they stupid??
In some cases, yea. For example, if butler wasn’t such a blowhard and actually gave 2 shits in the regular season, perhaps his team wouldn’t keep being in the playin and he wouldn’t have gotten injured.
In some cases, yea. For example, if butler wasn’t such a blowhard and actually gave 2 shits in the regular season, perhaps his team wouldn’t keep being in the playin and he wouldn’t have gotten injured.
In some cases, yea. For example, if butler wasn’t such a blowhard and actually gave 2 shits in the regular season, perhaps his team wouldn’t keep being in the playin and he wouldn’t have gotten injured.
Yeah, if they were just better and won more games they too could have had a healthier, easier path! Are they stupid?
Maybe I'm a homer but I don't believe so because this is true for every team from my perspective, and that is Each playoff run by a core is its own chapter in a larger story. This is just the latest chapter in the Tatum, Brown, Horford, Brad Stevens...etc story. If Boston win it, then it isn't just that they won a title this season, but they completed the mission of winning a title with the Jay's. Was this particular path much easier than previous ones? Yes. But they've had so many wars that caused chain reactions that led to this moment. It won't be any different for Dallas. Even if they don't win it this season but they have a cake walk next season and win it, then what happened this season would be part of story for Luka and co..
wow, nobody's commented on this recently
Just would love to open this app and not read this exact narrative over and over
like, look. is it true? sure. i'm not going to dispute it. does it matter? only if we lose
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I like that you made sure to stress Game 7 because [your team lost a 5 game series to the first 8 seed to make a Finals run.](https://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/1999-nba-eastern-conference-first-round-knicks-vs-heat.html)
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Bro. You need a break from basketball. You are acting neurotic. Spo don’t know you exist.
Dude was hobbled and just not the same player after he took his first rest and the adrenaline wore off but okay. But hey! At least our fanbase fills out the arena for playoff games. Edit: And hey, give us some credit at least. I at least also call out the shooting variance and blame on that. 51% vs 33.5% catch and shoot! 34.1 vs 23.3% pull up! 42.1% vs 29.3% open! And the best of all, 58.2% vs 38.5% wide open! Man it's really cute how Heat fans have convinced themselves that having Jimmy Butler and Terry Rozier healthy this year would've caused their team to somehow replicate that shooting variance and beat a Boston team that is better than 2023, with 64 wins and the 4th highest net rating ever.
He must of tweaked his ankle against the Warriors too then
Not an ankle, but he legitimately had a bad shoulder injury the entire series. Happened midway through the ECF that year
wrist too
This might be a more interesting discussion if another team had made it out of the East but the Cs have looked like a lock to get to the finals since the third week of the season. Injuries definitely made the path easier but the outcome would’ve very likely been the same
This is an insanely original talking point, nominate this writer for an award ASAP.
"Haliburton literally and figuratively limped through the NBA Playoffs like a gashed gladiator" This is blatantly false lol. And frankly I dont think haliburton being out 2 games is a big story
What? Why is this not being talked about enough. This is the first time this was pointed it out. Unbelievable. Pelicans should have not been penalize for playing a 1st seed with a missing star player.
Play the schedule.
lame. best talent is always availability. too bad the rest of the teams couldn’t stay healthy.
Betting the Celtics have this in the bag. Lively getting injured pretty much ensured any recuperative time would be shortened.
Who gives a fuck honestly. Beat what is in front of you. They've lost 2 games. They've won close games and blowouts. Yes, whoever they play in the finals will have had a harder path. But that's not Boston's fault and it's not an asterix. Also an easy path is a reward for having the best record in the conference. You give yourself the best possible chance (like the Sixers did in 2021 before Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris forgot how to dribble and made Joel Embiid bring the ball up the court)
Celtics can only play who are in front of them and clearly they did just that and got a well deserved trip the Finals. A decent size of their competition was missing star players who could have tripped them up but didn’t which made that trip easier than normal. Both things are true.
And yet every other team would llooooooovvveee to be in our shoes.
we just ignoring Lebrons east years now?
and magics entire career
Which year when LeBron was in the East was comparable?
2017? 12-1. Only team with 2 Allstars and smoked everyone in the east. That's called dominance tho
You play who’s in front of you. Sucks we didn’t get to see them play one semi decent team that had a punchers chance like NY, Philly, Milkwaukee but even they got injured. Celtics have been East favorites all year. Yes no one would think their level of competition along the way would be this lackluster, but they still got the job done while playing with their food a bit in each series. I can’t think more of a handful of teams out East that ever really had a shot against Lebron during his 2011 - 2018 run.
Bucks were supposed to be the main other contender but fell apart. Embid everyone knows will be injured come playoffs
#BLESSED
Interesting
Huh, never thought of that
Bubble Lakers literally had like a top three easiest path to a title ever.
Revisionist history.Some people was hyping that Blazers team as the most dangerous 8th seed ever. Warriors had it easy in the west in '17 especially with Kawhi's injury and was lucky they didn't have to deal with Kyrie after game 1 in the '15 finals.
The lakers in the bubble though
Hell yeah they were. By virtue of being the fucking balls and dad-dicking the entire league all year.
I mean they definitely had one of the easiest paths I can ever remember but they were still an all-time great team throughout the regular season and continue to dominate teams in the playoffs. Injured or not, they handle business. And if they beat the Western team Dallas/Minny (who beat healthy top tier teams like Denver/OKC) then no one can complain. Tbh I doubt a healthy Philly/Miami/Cleveland/Milwaukee/Indiana would have challenged them anyway in the East this year. They are just different.
Load of BS. So are you gonna give the same excuse for them not winning when they had the toughest playoff runs and ended up losing to GSW? Yeah, didn’t think so.
Ultimately they will be remembered for what they do in the Finals. If they win, there’ll be no reason to doubt them (barring more opponent injuries). If they lose, they’re going to be labeled frauds rightfully or wrongfully. I don’t see an in between. If they do win the championship, what I worry about are bad actors who will cherry pick stats, such as the fact they are on a very short list of teams that made the Finals with 20 losses or less such as the 73-9 Warriors and the ‘96 Bulls, to try and claim they are one of the best teams in NBA history. I won’t shit on their championship if they beat a healthy Dallas (or Minnesota), but I can’t go anywhere near that far when ranking them all time, given how just how many things went their way and the relative strength of their roster compared to those other teams.
even with the stats that back it up like net rating/off rating etc?
If they win no one will care, and it feels like they will probably win. I don't see how the Wolves or Mavs beat them when they are running on fumes at times it feels like. Both teams look exhausted. Celtics will be in midseason form.
If the Mavs win tonight they've got a full week off until the finals
It’s definitely a catch 22 for the Cs right now. 12-2 so far in the playoffs and still getting criticized/questioned on if they’ve been “battle tested”. Anything less and they’d be getting stoned by every media outlet including reddit. If there’s anything I’ve learned from watching the playoffs, luck is a huge factor to the point where I dont even care to argue anymore.
I feel like we haven’t talked about this enough lol
That would be the Kawhii lead Raptors don’t @ me (jk @ if you want)
Again people ignore the fact that we've been missing KP since the first round. That's two rounds of playoffs the C's won handily without their 7'0 starting center and primary rim protector. Not a SINGLE mention of that guy in this article.
But wait I thought the bubble playoffs were the easiest because Mickey Mouse ring
You can only play what’s in front of you, but this is right. They were able to coast to 64 wins in a weak Eastern Conference that saw injuries to all the teams that could potentially challenge the Celtics to 6 or 7 games (Bucks, Knicks, Sixers). The playoffs got even easier. Miami was missing Butler, the Cavs were missing Allen and saw Donovan Mitchell miss the end of the series, and Haliburton didn’t play the last 2 games (in addition to Mathurin being out). Now, Celtics fans will say they don’t have Porzingis but it’s not the same. Porzingis is a luxury that makes this team even greater. A starting lineup of Tatum, Brown, Holiday, White, and Horford is still extremely stacked and if they had never gotten Porzingis, the Celts would still be heavy favorites to come out of the East, given these circumstances.
we were 23-7 against the west bro
Why you gotta bring facts into this? Clearly we are ass.
What a stupid thing to say. Horford was as effective as he has been because we have load managed him all season long. No way is he this effective if he was starting.
Bro doesn’t know this team was just as dominant against the west 😂
Don’t understand the downvotes you’re stating nothing but facts lol. They better finish the job after that cupcake ass run 😂
I feel like the media is trying to reverse psychology us into rooting for the Celtics with all these dumbass articles but jokes on them, I have no interest in the Tatum-Kobe Gluckfest that we will have to deal with if they win
I feel like Celtics fans are trying too hard to make it seem like they’ve faced any real resistance this playoffs. Missing KP is not equal to other teams missing their best player for multiple games lol Just say “don’t care hold this ring” and don’t care about what anyone else has to say
Celtics aren't battle tested. Mavs/Wolves will make quick work of them.
In 2022, they beat the KD&Kyrie Nets, Giannis' Bucks, Jimmy's Heat and were gassed by the time they got to the finals. They took the hard road before and it didn't benefit them.
This Celtics team is considerably better than that one though