Tatum's shot.

[scaryjerry]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Have you considered that the road was easier because the Celtics squad was that much better?

Think about 2022 a little bit more - where we absolutely overachieved in the second half of the season into the playoffs. That was a 'tough' east in the sense that the top four seeds all made it to the second round... but we swept Brooklyn, and save a big seven-game series against Milwaukee, it was also notable for Tatum setting the all-time record for turnovers in a single postseason. Which means that your claim really lies on the fact that the Celtics beat a big, bad, and wildly inconsistent Heat team.

The Heat did win 53 games, but also set postseason records for scoring just one point in the first eight minutes of a game - the longest amount of time from tip-off to a single successful field goal since the 90's - and saw their entire starting lineup combined outscored by one of their bench players. They had one of the worst shooting performances from deep in playoff history. They were always a regular-season paper tiger.

I?m aware this Celtics team was great and much better than that 22? team. Their run was clearly easier, trying to argue otherwise is laughable. 22 teams wins under last years circumstances, rather easily in my opinion.
That 22 team beat KD/Kyrie in the first round, defending champion bucks with a healthy Giannis in the second and won a game 7 in Miami against the 1 seeded Heat before matching up with the curry warriors.

[Muzzy66]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Have you considered that the road was easier because the Celtics squad was that much better?

Think about 2022 a little bit more - where we absolutely overachieved in the second half of the season into the playoffs. That was a 'tough' east in the sense that the top four seeds all made it to the second round... but we swept Brooklyn, and save a big seven-game series against Milwaukee, it was also notable for Tatum setting the all-time record for turnovers in a single postseason. Which means that your claim really lies on the fact that the Celtics beat a big, bad, and wildly inconsistent Heat team.

The Heat did win 53 games, but also set postseason records for scoring just one point in the first eight minutes of a game - the longest amount of time from tip-off to a single successful field goal since the 90's - and saw their entire starting lineup combined outscored by one of their bench players. They had one of the worst shooting performances from deep in playoff history. They were always a regular-season paper tiger.

I?m aware this Celtics team was great and much better than that 22? team. Their run was clearly easier, trying to argue otherwise is laughable. 22 teams wins under last years circumstances, rather easily in my opinion.
That 22 team beat KD/Kyrie in the first round, defending champion bucks with a healthy Giannis in the second and won a game 7 in Miami against the 1 seeded Heat before matching up with the curry warriors.

Yet this team in the regular season was FAR more dominant then that team was, and I don't think the regular season run was any less competitive then it was back then. 

So were the playoff opponents easier?  Yeah probably.  But what does that mean?  It means that if the team is great, we should have gotten trhought hose oppoennts fairly easily.  Which we did - in none of those series did we lose more than one game. That's dominance. 

[scaryjerry]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Have you considered that the road was easier because the Celtics squad was that much better?

Think about 2022 a little bit more - where we absolutely overachieved in the second half of the season into the playoffs. That was a 'tough' east in the sense that the top four seeds all made it to the second round... but we swept Brooklyn, and save a big seven-game series against Milwaukee, it was also notable for Tatum setting the all-time record for turnovers in a single postseason. Which means that your claim really lies on the fact that the Celtics beat a big, bad, and wildly inconsistent Heat team.

The Heat did win 53 games, but also set postseason records for scoring just one point in the first eight minutes of a game - the longest amount of time from tip-off to a single successful field goal since the 90's - and saw their entire starting lineup combined outscored by one of their bench players. They had one of the worst shooting performances from deep in playoff history. They were always a regular-season paper tiger.

I?m aware this Celtics team was great and much better than that 22? team. Their run was clearly easier, trying to argue otherwise is laughable. 22 teams wins under last years circumstances, rather easily in my opinion.
That 22 team beat KD/Kyrie in the first round, defending champion bucks with a healthy Giannis in the second and won a game 7 in Miami against the 1 seeded Heat before matching up with the curry warriors.

Yet this team in the regular season was FAR more dominant then that team was, and I don't think the regular season run was any less competitive then it was back then. 

So were the playoff opponents easier?  Yeah probably.  But what does that mean?  It means that if the team is great, we should have gotten trhought hose oppoennts fairly easily.  Which we did - in none of those series did we lose more than one game. That's dominance.

I?d argue in the second half of that season they were just as dominant especially defensively.
I?ve also already agreed last years team should?ve won no matter what and they were dominant with the path they had, I?m simply pointing out that it was an easy path and no one can handle that.

[celticinorlando]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

As I recall we heard a lot of how great the Bucks were all regular season and how dangerous they were going to be in the EAST playoffs....

I was clearly proven wrong about the bucks last season my guy?.but again Giannis didn?t even play in the playoffs because again another team was injured. Congrats on pointing that out.

The Bucks were a highly flawed team even when he played. They weren't going anywhere with or without him.

My point is you label this title as easy for the Celtics but you haven't looked back at previous champions that have had the same kind of things line up for them...

Toronto wins the title after Durant and Klay get hurt
Cleveland wins the title after Draymond gets suspended
GS beat a first time in the finals Celtics team that absolutely has nothing left after getting through a weak west
Denver played 2 play in game champs on their way to the title
Lakers won a ring in the bubble

You can go back and pull these kinds of narratives from each team that has won a NBA title.

What this year will satisfy you for Boston? The hardest playoff path? Four sweeps? Tatum averging 30 per game in the playoffs?

For me, it is just winning a title. I do not care how it is done. It just feels like you are so much harder on Boston than any other team in the league even when those other teams lose or win in the same fashion as the Celtics.

[gift]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

As I recall we heard a lot of how great the Bucks were all regular season and how dangerous they were going to be in the EAST playoffs....

I was clearly proven wrong about the bucks last season my guy?.but again Giannis didn?t even play in the playoffs because again another team was injured. Congrats on pointing that out.

Toronto wins the title after Durant and Klay get hurt
Cleveland wins the title after Draymond gets suspended
GS beat a first time in the finals Celtics team that absolutely has nothing left after getting through a weak west
Denver played 2 play in game champs on their way to the title
Lakers won a ring in the bubble

it's worth pointing out that none of those teams repeated as champions. ultimately, i don't think the main concern is the validity of the championship. once you get a few years removed, 90% of critics forget the specific impact of the circumstances. it's a realistic hope for this team to repeat, but it's also a worthy concern whether this team is the type of champion to do it. i say this as someone who believes they absolutely can.

[Vermont Green]

You can play this both ways.  Yes, the path through the East was made easier due to injuries on other teams.  That is indisputable.  I think what is in dispute is whether or not this indicates that the Celtics team has weaknesses or flaws.  I don't think those dots connect.

In 2022, GSW were the better, more experienced team in the finals.  They played better than the Celtics and more clutch.  They deserved the title and no one questions their talent.  The Celtics had an even easier time with the Mavs than GSW had with BOS yet people question the Celtics.

[Goldstar88]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

I never said Dallas was missing anybody I?ve only mentioned that they were easily the best matchup we could?ve ever dreamt of getting. Disagree with that too?
I?ve also mentioned in every one of my posts that Boston deserved the easy path because they earned the easy path and were the best team all year.

Every team would have been a good matchup for the C?s. They had a historically great team. Smh

[Donoghus]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

I never said Dallas was missing anybody I?ve only mentioned that they were easily the best matchup we could?ve ever dreamt of getting. Disagree with that too?
I?ve also mentioned in every one of my posts that Boston deserved the easy path because they earned the easy path and were the best team all year.

Every team would have been a good matchup for the C?s. They had a historically great team. Smh

Yup.  I think MIN or DEN would've been more difficult matchups than DAL in the Finals but last year's Celtics squad was an all-time team.

A schtick is a schtick, though.

[scaryjerry]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

As I recall we heard a lot of how great the Bucks were all regular season and how dangerous they were going to be in the EAST playoffs....

I was clearly proven wrong about the bucks last season my guy?.but again Giannis didn?t even play in the playoffs because again another team was injured. Congrats on pointing that out.

The Bucks were a highly flawed team even when he played. They weren't going anywhere with or without him.

My point is you label this title as easy for the Celtics but you haven't looked back at previous champions that have had the same kind of things line up for them...

Toronto wins the title after Durant and Klay get hurt
Cleveland wins the title after Draymond gets suspended
GS beat a first time in the finals Celtics team that absolutely has nothing left after getting through a weak west
Denver played 2 play in game champs on their way to the title
Lakers won a ring in the bubble

You can go back and pull these kinds of narratives from each team that has won a NBA title.

What this year will satisfy you for Boston? The hardest playoff path? Four sweeps? Tatum averging 30 per game in the playoffs?

For me, it is just winning a title. I do not care how it is done. It just feels like you are so much harder on Boston than any other team in the league even when those other teams lose or win in the same fashion as the Celtics.

I get that the Celtics were a phenomenal team and I?m more than happy with the results last year and they should?ve won no matter what?that was my expectation. Just simply pointing out it was an easy run and you and others can?t handle it?I also realize injuries happen every year and the Celtics deserve credit for their durability?but if anyone gets hurt this year we will then turn around and say whoever wins had an easy path because of injuries

[Goldstar88]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

As I recall we heard a lot of how great the Bucks were all regular season and how dangerous they were going to be in the EAST playoffs....

I was clearly proven wrong about the bucks last season my guy?.but again Giannis didn?t even play in the playoffs because again another team was injured. Congrats on pointing that out.

The Bucks were a highly flawed team even when he played. They weren't going anywhere with or without him.

My point is you label this title as easy for the Celtics but you haven't looked back at previous champions that have had the same kind of things line up for them...

Toronto wins the title after Durant and Klay get hurt
Cleveland wins the title after Draymond gets suspended
GS beat a first time in the finals Celtics team that absolutely has nothing left after getting through a weak west
Denver played 2 play in game champs on their way to the title
Lakers won a ring in the bubble

You can go back and pull these kinds of narratives from each team that has won a NBA title.

What this year will satisfy you for Boston? The hardest playoff path? Four sweeps? Tatum averging 30 per game in the playoffs?

For me, it is just winning a title. I do not care how it is done. It just feels like you are so much harder on Boston than any other team in the league even when those other teams lose or win in the same fashion as the Celtics.

I get that the Celtics were a phenomenal team and I?m more than happy with the results last year and they should?ve won no matter what?that was my expectation. Just simply pointing out it was an easy run and you and others can?t handle it?I also realize injuries happen every year and the Celtics deserve credit for their durability?but if anyone gets hurt this year we will then turn around and say whoever wins had an easy path because of injuries

Did you miss the part where KP, arguably the Celtics 3rd best player, was injured throughout the playoffs? Yeesh.

[scaryjerry]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Who was Dallas missing? You seem to leave them off your easy list every time. Also, you do realize that the Celtics were dominant in the regular season. They had the 5th highest point differential In NBA history. Did Boston have an easy regular season schedule as well?

As I recall we heard a lot of how great the Bucks were all regular season and how dangerous they were going to be in the EAST playoffs....

I was clearly proven wrong about the bucks last season my guy?.but again Giannis didn?t even play in the playoffs because again another team was injured. Congrats on pointing that out.

The Bucks were a highly flawed team even when he played. They weren't going anywhere with or without him.

My point is you label this title as easy for the Celtics but you haven't looked back at previous champions that have had the same kind of things line up for them...

Toronto wins the title after Durant and Klay get hurt
Cleveland wins the title after Draymond gets suspended
GS beat a first time in the finals Celtics team that absolutely has nothing left after getting through a weak west
Denver played 2 play in game champs on their way to the title
Lakers won a ring in the bubble

You can go back and pull these kinds of narratives from each team that has won a NBA title.

What this year will satisfy you for Boston? The hardest playoff path? Four sweeps? Tatum averging 30 per game in the playoffs?

For me, it is just winning a title. I do not care how it is done. It just feels like you are so much harder on Boston than any other team in the league even when those other teams lose or win in the same fashion as the Celtics.

I get that the Celtics were a phenomenal team and I?m more than happy with the results last year and they should?ve won no matter what?that was my expectation. Just simply pointing out it was an easy run and you and others can?t handle it?I also realize injuries happen every year and the Celtics deserve credit for their durability?but if anyone gets hurt this year we will then turn around and say whoever wins had an easy path because of injuries

Did you miss the part where KP, arguably the Celtics 3rd best player, was injured throughout the playoffs? Yeesh.

lol dude I?ve mentioned it many times and given them all the props by winning with zinger out and with Tatum shooting poorly. It doesn?t change the easy path.

[Kernewek]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Have you considered that the road was easier because the Celtics squad was that much better?

Think about 2022 a little bit more - where we absolutely overachieved in the second half of the season into the playoffs. That was a 'tough' east in the sense that the top four seeds all made it to the second round... but we swept Brooklyn, and save a big seven-game series against Milwaukee, it was also notable for Tatum setting the all-time record for turnovers in a single postseason. Which means that your claim really lies on the fact that the Celtics beat a big, bad, and wildly inconsistent Heat team.

The Heat did win 53 games, but also set postseason records for scoring just one point in the first eight minutes of a game - the longest amount of time from tip-off to a single successful field goal since the 90's - and saw their entire starting lineup combined outscored by one of their bench players. They had one of the worst shooting performances from deep in playoff history. They were always a regular-season paper tiger.

I?m aware this Celtics team was great and much better than that 22? team. Their run was clearly easier, trying to argue otherwise is laughable. 22 teams wins under last years circumstances, rather easily in my opinion.
That 22 team beat KD/Kyrie in the first round, defending champion bucks with a healthy Giannis in the second and won a game 7 in Miami against the 1 seeded Heat before matching up with the curry warriors.

But this is it, right - the '24 squad is clearly better than the '22 team, we all agree on that, but you can just as easily say that '22 only really beat one 'good team' in Miami (Brooklyn was combusting all season long and only managed 44 wins, Milwaukee had no Middleton, and Miami is already discussed) before getting dismantled by the Warriors. The '22 team swung above their weight, but they were also playing teams that weren't that much better or worse than they were.

So it doesn't seem like anyone disagrees with you on the point that the '24 team more or less waltzed to the championship - I think where we differ is that a lot of us are attributing that 'easy' run to just how much better the '24 C's were compared to everyone else they played during last season & the playoffs, rather than the level of the opponents.

[scaryjerry]

People that are saying there is no issue are just blind homers  that potentially aren?t even watching.
He?s been a dismal shooter since the playoffs started and there?s a clear ugly hitch to his jump shot that borderline looks like the hitch in Charles Barkley golf swing. It?s bad. But yeah nothing to see here I guess.

On a practical level, it doesn't matter because we just won a championship - and no one 'wins better' if they have a jump shot that looks more like Ray Allen than Shawn Marion.

If we win a ring with Tatum shooting poorly, we should be more than fine with Tatum shooting well. There is fundamentally no reason to get in a twist about it.

one of the reasons i'm bullish on another title. if we could somehow get a hot Tatum and/or a healthy KP in May and June...

It is wild to see how good the Celtics are. They destroyed their competition in the playoffs without playing their best. Imagine if there's another gear....

Listen I love that the Celtics won and I give them credit for playing awesome all year and beating the teams they had in front of them but everything broke their way, every team they played in the east was missing there best player for most of the series and then they miraculously drew the best possible matchup in the finals. Awesome!
But I feel like now we are just going to ignore and think we can just waltz through everyone again with Tatum playing poorly and porzingis injured. Maybe that?s true, maybe every last thing will go our way again.

Rather than setting yourself up for another season of negativity, it might be better to admit that you were wrong throughout last year, that they were an excellent team, and that they have a roster capable of winning again in 2024-25.  It wasn?t that everything went their way, it was that they were the best team in the league and you were wrong all year. They may not win again, but they are clearly again a top tier team. Like every team in the history of every sport, things can go wrong. But on balance, this team goes into the season with a better chance than most teams and as good a chance as any.   They won last year not by fluke but because they were the league?s best team, talented, well-enough coached, and mentally strong. There is zero evidence of complacency and not a single person on earth thinks theyll walz to another championship.  It?s great, though, that they have a team that is capable of repeating.

I prefaced my whole comment by saying they played awesome and were awesome and I give them all the credit and was super thrilled by the title?I can?t just say the truth and say they had a ridiculously easy run in the playoffs? They deserved it and they won the title but if every playoffs was that easy they?d already have 3+ rings

It was no easier than Denver's path to the title. But yet all of last year you went on and on about how Denver was the champs and the best team. You never once mentioned their easy path, yet you now have focused on this for the Celtics, which is a weird flex.

They beat Minnesota, the Suns and the the play in Lakers. Then they got the Heat who had nothing left in the tank.

Who cares who they played. The schedule is the schedule.

The Celtics are the favorites and the front runner to win the title this season, just like the nuggets were last season.
Glad we can?t admit the heat without butler, the cavs without Mitchell for half the series and the pacers without haliburton for half the series was an easy run. Homerism at its finest. I literally give the Celtics all their flowers, best team in the league all year, dominant in the playoffs, amazing team?but there run was easy, sorry we can?t admit that here.

Also I?m not taking anything away from the Celtics for winning last season, I know they?re more than capable of making it through a tough east just like they did when they made the finals in 22, I?m thankful for the easy run because they didn?t run out of gas

Have you considered that the road was easier because the Celtics squad was that much better?

Think about 2022 a little bit more - where we absolutely overachieved in the second half of the season into the playoffs. That was a 'tough' east in the sense that the top four seeds all made it to the second round... but we swept Brooklyn, and save a big seven-game series against Milwaukee, it was also notable for Tatum setting the all-time record for turnovers in a single postseason. Which means that your claim really lies on the fact that the Celtics beat a big, bad, and wildly inconsistent Heat team.

The Heat did win 53 games, but also set postseason records for scoring just one point in the first eight minutes of a game - the longest amount of time from tip-off to a single successful field goal since the 90's - and saw their entire starting lineup combined outscored by one of their bench players. They had one of the worst shooting performances from deep in playoff history. They were always a regular-season paper tiger.

I?m aware this Celtics team was great and much better than that 22? team. Their run was clearly easier, trying to argue otherwise is laughable. 22 teams wins under last years circumstances, rather easily in my opinion.
That 22 team beat KD/Kyrie in the first round, defending champion bucks with a healthy Giannis in the second and won a game 7 in Miami against the 1 seeded Heat before matching up with the curry warriors.

But this is it, right - the '24 squad is clearly better than the '22 team, we all agree on that, but you can just as easily say that '22 only really beat one 'good team' in Miami (Brooklyn was combusting all season long and only managed 44 wins, Milwaukee had no Middleton, and Miami is already discussed) before getting dismantled by the Warriors. The '22 team swung above their weight, but they were also playing teams that weren't that much better or worse than they were.

So it doesn't seem like anyone disagrees with you on the point that the '24 team more or less waltzed to the championship - I think where we differ is that a lot of us are attributing that 'easy' run to just how much better the '24 C's were compared to everyone else they played during last season & the playoffs, rather than the level of the opponents.

Celtics should?ve won no matter what and were a great team/ best team all year?they didn?t play a single healthy team in the east playoffs, in fact all of the teams were missing their best players and matched up with the 5th seed in the west in the finals. Like?

[Kernewek]

I think the point is that they were so far ahead of everyone else that it doesn't really matter who they played. Could there have been tougher matchups? Sure. Were they ever (or would they ever be) in real danger of losing a series? Not really.

Does the '22 team do just as well? I'm not so sure I agree.

[scaryjerry]

I think the point is that they were so far ahead of everyone else that it doesn't really matter who they played. Could there have been tougher matchups? Sure. Were they ever (or would they ever be) in real danger of losing a series? Not really.

Does the '22 team do just as well? I'm not so sure I agree.

You don?t think the ?22 team could beat 3 average teams without their best player and that mavs team? Interesting