Event THE 2024 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP! The Boston Celtics vs The Dallas Mavericks!

lolol

 

defending Portland from weirdos in Miami was entertaining. The fan projects this summer are lacking spice.

 

Kleber played 16m at Mavs Center.
0-4, 2reb, 0 ast, 0 blk, 0 stl, 0 points
nearly fell down trying to guard Brown

did someone tight with Coach Kidd put money on the Celtics ??

 

I kind of was hoping for a Bucks vs Celtics series at some point.

 

So Luka was questionable with an injury. Appears he was limited in game2. If he continues to be limited or has to sit out a game is this the least impressive title in a few decades? Celtics are currently 10-2 in the playoffs, after a 64-18 season so 74-20 total.

Boston played Miami without Butler in Round1
Cavs without Mitchell in Round2
Pacers without Haliburton in ECF

This Boston team is super good so even if those guys are healthy they probably still win the whole damn thing. But thats a shockingly easy set of opponents.

I wonder if this changes some calculus of what you need for an NBA roster to contend for a title. A lot of NBA rosters over the years could have won a title going against those 4 opponents with those stars injured. Lakers or Phoenix which were both swept this year in round1 may have even been able to do it.

 

Don’t forget that Boston beat those teams while missing a star player too (KP).

 

I was just looking at the opponents Boston had to go up against. KP out is a different type of point but yes it's valid.

Also had Giannis out for Milwaukee, Embiid for the 6ers, Kawhi for the Clippers, Brunson for the Knicks, Zion for the Pels, etc.

Just seems like half the stars were injured for the playoffs and we've seen similarities other seasons. Really makes me wonder if that dynamic lowers the bar of what is needed to field a contending roster.

 

This is before the game. He is playing through a few nagging injuries.

 

So this is IMO, exactly why the regular season and the playoffs are a totally different animal. Players go all out in the playoffs and they get dinged up pretty quickly. Seems all season we watch players go hard for about 10 mins a game in the 4th quarter if the game is in reach.

Making the playoffs is the key as everyone watched last year. I cannot remember a finals that did not have a team playing that didn't benefit from playing a team that had injuries at some point of the run. Injury Luck is very real. We all watched Golden State win a chip playing every team that was injured. The Heat made the finals last year playing teams that were injured. Boston this year.

Seems like older players that know how to take care of their body all season and play at a high level in the playoffs are very valuable.
Players like Danny Green who went from playoff team to playoff team after playing for the Spurs and we are watching Al Horford make huge contributions. Even Kevin Love steps up in the Playoffs.
Josh Hart looks like he will end up like these guys. Obviously Jrue has a game that translates like this as well.
You can be one of the very best to play the game but if you are not on the court you can't contribute.

 

Every game except 7 was a blowout for the home team.

 

Has anyone else made the comparison between this finals and the finals where the Sheed Pistons beat the Shaq-Kobe Lakers? Because the Celtics are looking a lot like the Sheed Pistons. With Jrue as Chauncey.

Another analogy: Luka as Jerry West, the only guy to get a Finals MVP on the losing team.

(Shit, I better not have just jinxed the Celtics.)

 

I don't think you can count a guy who just got a 30+ point triple double as "missing".

At this point in the season everybody's banged up. Maybe if Luka got in better shape he wouldn't have so much wear and tear.

 

And Dallas beat a string of 50-win teams. So if the Celtics beat Dallas, they inherit that record?

Of course the Celtics had an easier path - that's the benefit of winning the most games IN THE REGULAR SEASON.

 

It's a lot easier to love this Celtics team if you just focus on the players (especially guys like Jrue, White, Horford, Brown) and try to ignore the unis.

 

Luka a great offensive player but he cannot guard a fire hydrant.

 

I saw a good explanation of how he gets all those rebounds (all defensive) - he never boxes out, always sags off his man to get near the basket for rebounds. Same reason Rodman's defense tanked once he started chasing rebounds full time.

 

Luca is a great player, but he makes a lot of stupid passes IMO. Not just last night but in general. I have seen him make too many long passes on the break when a his teammate was covered. Every possession counts in the playoffs

He had 70 more turnovers than Scoot did in the regards season. (8 more games) And that is with having Kyrie on his team to help handle the ball

 

Yeah and I remember Dame homers thinking that was a horrible trade.