'22 Celtics as the '15 Warriors

[Big333223]

Jayson Tatum as Steph Curry, an MVP candidate who is basically unstoppable when he gets hot on offense.

Jaylen Brown as Klay Thompson, an all star running mate who scores 20+ and plays terrific defense.

Marcus Smart as Draymond Green, an all-league defender who plays facilitator on offense.

Al Horford as Andre Iguodala, a highly intelligent defender and veteran presence who usually comes off the bench.

Robert Williams as Andrew Bogut, the defensive anchor whose passing from the center position keeps everything flowing.

Josh Richardson as Harrison Barnes, an opportunistic scorer who rounds out the starting lineup and defends whoever he needs to defend.

Dennis Schroder as Shaun Livingston, bringing stability and change-of-pace off the bench.

I'm stretching a little here. Can Tatum be an MVP-caliber player? Does Horford have anything left in the tank? Can Timelord stay healthy and consistently contribute what he was contributing in the second half of last season? Does Schroder buy in? Is Richardson more like Miami-Josh or Dallas-Josh?

A lot of question but I don't think any crazy ones.

And I didn't mention Pritchard, Nesmith, Jabari, Bruno, or Ime Udoka - a former player first time head coach from the Pop tree.

[Big333223]

Shamelessly bumping my thread because I still like this comparison.

[gift]

Shamelessly bumping my thread because I still like this comparison.

I mean, I like the positivity. Hope it's a fun season.

[Moranis]

If Tatum wins the MVP then perhaps this is a decent comparison.

[Big333223]

If Tatum wins the MVP then perhaps this is a decent comparison.

Tatum was 26-7-4 last season and came on stronger as the season progressed. No Kemba this year. If the Celtics outperform expectations a little and Tatum winds up with numbers like 28-7-5 he'll definitely be in the MVP conversation.

[action781]

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS!

[Jvalin]

With all due respect, I stopped reading at ''Jayson Tatum as Steph Curry''.

[LilRip]

Is this the GSW team that beat a hobbled Cavs team to win a championship? I’ll take it! A ring is a ring, regardless of any asterisks opposing fan bases put on it.

That said, I do think our identity is vastly different from that Warriors team. What gives me hope (other than the luck of health) is that the rules changes miiiiiiight make Smart and some of our other guys better defenders since they play physically. On top of that, our team is really bad at foul-baiting so it hurts us less than others. I mean, Smart might already be the best at drawing those Harden-esque fouls on this team and he’s still not very good at it

[Celtics4ever]

Quite a reach, I would put forth the argument that team would not win it today.   The league has moved on from small ball to a great.  The last two champs had tall big players.   I know it's hard to let go, but we've seen us get murdered going small quite a bit by big players.   This is like in the military where we fought the last year instead of forward thinking.

Brad Stevens got this and made moves to make us more able to compete with bigger teams.

Small ball is a tactic, not a way to build a team around if you want to win.   It might change the pace of a game here and there but sooner or later teams will punish you and take you inside and you get murdered.

[Surferdad]

Not a bad comp.  The only one I would nitpick is that Barnes >>> Richardson.  I don't see Josh as a decent 3rd/4th option the way Barnes was on that team.  Frankly I like the Barnes - Nesmith comp much better.

[Moranis]

Quite a reach, I would put forth the argument that team would not win it today.   The league has moved on from small ball to a great.  The last two champs had tall big players.   I know it's hard to let go, but we've seen us get murdered going small quite a bit by big players.   This is like in the military where we fought the last year instead of forward thinking.

Brad Stevens got this and made moves to make us more able to compete with bigger teams.

Small ball is a tactic, not a way to build a team around if you want to win.   It might change the pace of a game here and there but sooner or later teams will punish you and take you inside and you get murdered.

That team was always abnormal.  That is the only championship team since Thomas' Pistons where the best player was under 6'4" (and even 6'4" Wade is the only guy shorter than Jordan).  The reality is wings and center sized people have always dominated the championships.

[Big333223]

With all due respect, I stopped reading at ''Jayson Tatum as Steph Curry''.

Why? Compare Tatum now to Steph after his 4th season. Tatum's better.

That doesn't mean Tatum will ever be as good as Steph has been over the last handfull of seasons, but Tatum is already an elite scorer in the NBA and his size and defensive abilities means his floor is a lot higher than Steph's.

Has it happened yet? No. But I don't think it's a stretch to think it could.

[gouki88]

With all due respect, I stopped reading at ''Jayson Tatum as Steph Curry''.

Tatum is pretty comparable in terms of on-court impact to '14-'15 Steph. Thing is, Steph made an absurd vault in scoring volume the following season.

[Jvalin]

@Big333223, gouki88

Steph is the best shooter in basketball history. He was already way more efficient than Tatum has ever been in all kinds of shots. What exactly are we comparing here?

My comp for Tatum would have been Paul George. I actually think Tatum was better than George last season (albeit worse than peak George during the 2018/19 season). Obviously, George wasn't part of the '15 Warriors.

The Warriors even without KD were a historically great team. I mean, they ended up breaking the Bulls record for most wins in a single regular season (in 2015/16). Do you guys think the C's are on their way to challenge the Warriors record in the not-too-distant future? Cause if you do, perhaps you should lower your expectations.

[Big333223]

Steph is the best shooter in basketball history. He was already way more efficient than Tatum has ever been in all kinds of shots. What exactly are we comparing here?

Just what I said in the op: an MVP candidate who is basically unstoppable when he gets hot on offense. Tatum wasn't an MVP candidate last season but he had three 50 point games and continues to get better (he's still only 19!). If he takes that next step and the C's have a good record, he'll be an MVP candidate this season and while not as good of a shooter as Steph, definitely as good of a scorer. 

The Warriors even without KD were a historically great team. I mean, they ended up breaking the Bulls record for most wins in a single regular season (in 2015/16). Do you guys think the C's are on their way to challenge the Warriors record in the not-too-distant future? Cause if you do, perhaps you should lower your expectations.

Nowhere has anyone said this is what is expected. This is an, If everything goes right, I see a path toward contention for this team in the similar makeup to another champion.