Does Anybody Wish We’d Taken A Different Path

[celticsclay]

I mean I still do. Philly is probably getting a sweep (to be fair this is immensely aided by Trent, Young and Barnes all getting injured in game 1 which probably doesn't happen against us). But yea, if the same thing happened against, given this would be a lot of extra time to get Rob Williams healthy.

When did Trent get injured?  I thought he was on-court in the 4th.

Sorry he is ill. He was ill before game 1, but tried to gut through it (part of the reason he had one of his worst shooting games of year probably). Is now doubtful for game 2 with the illness. One of the few advantages Toronto may have had was a deeper team (as Milton, Fork, Jordan etc are worse than the raptors bench and really shouldn't be in the playoffs roations, at least Doc benched DAJ). Now down three rotation players including a critical player like Barnes, I expect blowouts the rest of the series if nobody comes back.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33756676/toronto-raptors-likely-gary-trent-scottie-barnes-thaddeus-young-game-2-vs-philadelphia-76ers-coach-says

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/33756676/toronto-raptors-likely-gary-trent-scottie-barnes-thaddeus-young-game-2-vs-philadelphia-76ers-coach-says

[RPGenerate]

Nah, not really. If we can't beat this unbalanced mess of a team, there's no way we're winning anything.

[angryguy77]

TBD.  Home court may very well be the difference in a Bucks series. 

Of course, let's get this one wrapped up first.

This is what is being lost in the conversation over the last few weeks imo. Yes, avoiding the Nets would be preferable, but HCA is huge in this league. MKE will be a tough out and having that game 7 in Boston is huge.

With the poor officiating they had yesterday, Idk if they win that game on a hostile court.

[Moranis]

Had Jarrett Allen been able to go, the Cavs might have beaten the Nets, and I'd have rather played the Cavs than Bulls.  Just no way to know what was going to happen in the play-ins. 

[Phantom255x]

I do, but the way Miami looked in Game 1, they may still have been a tough opponent for the C's in the 2nd round, especially with them having HCA.

[tazzmaniac]

I would have rested the starters to avoid injury not to tank for opponent.  Doncic getting injured cost the Mavs game 1 and it could end up costing them their series with Utah.  Imagine if Tatum had gotten injured playing the last game against Memphis. 

As far as opponent, Toronto doesn't have the star power but overall they may be better than the Nets.  The Sixers shot 50% from 3 and even more importantly only committed 3 turnovers.  Don't see the Sixers repeating that performance anytime soon.  Without the injuries, Toronto probably would have made it a competitive series.     

[Moranis]

As far as opponent, Toronto doesn't have the star power but overall they may be better than the Nets.  The Sixers shot 50% from 3 and even more importantly only committed 3 turnovers.  Don't see the Sixers repeating that performance anytime soon.  Without the injuries, Toronto probably would have made it a competitive series.   

All true, but Embiid was also just 5 of 15 from the floor and Harden was 6 of 17.  I can't see those two combining for just 11 FG's on a pretty awful 32 FGA's in any game the rest of the series.

[sgrogan]

We’re one game in.  That was one of the most entertaining finishes in Celtics playoff history.  You couldn’t ask for much more from a first round series if you’re a fan of basketball.

All that said, Toronto didn’t look all that imposing against Philly.  Does anybody wish we had tanked that last game against Memphis?  Has anybody changed their minds at all?

I still think the C's are not good enough to manipulate their effort.
I'm still skeptical about Jaylen's availability in Toronto.
I think home court against the Bucks could be huge.

If we are so confident we can regulate the outcome, we should have played Tatum against Toronto in their last meeting, and played Tatum against the Bucks in their last meeting and we would be #1 seed.

Control what you can control, go out and play your best.

[Neurotic Guy]

Too soon.

Yes, too soon to have an opinion.  If the series is 7 games that are like last night's game and the Bucks sweep the Bulls, then I guess a different path would have been preferable.

[Kernewek]

I'd rather just watch the most entertaining/high stakes games. Playing Brooklyn means we'll have that almost every game.

If we don't win the series, we had no shot winning the Eastern Conference anyway. So I'm basking in the heart attacks!!

This is how I feel, more or less.

[blink]

Amazing series....

Doesn't change the fact that Celts are gonna likely play close to 21 games to get to the Finals. We may be too beat up by that time. That's a tough road.

That being said, home court in rd2 is huge and I don't really see how they could've done too much different. Not sure we could "out lose" to the Grizz and don't think that's the mentality coach is instilling in this team.

It is a tough call.  The Nets already proved in game 1 that this is going to be rough series.  But I think home court in the semifinals and potentially finals (if Philly knocks off Miami) would be worth it though.  Sometimes a series comes down to just a few sequences in one or two games.  If you have HCA then I think it is a big deal in a tight series.

[moiso]

I'd rather just watch the most entertaining/high stakes games. Playing Brooklyn means we'll have that almost every game.

If we don't win the series, we had no shot winning the Eastern Conference anyway. So I'm basking in the heart attacks!!

This is how I feel, more or less.

Yeah I'm happy to get Brooklyn early.  The stakes are high, it's super competitive, we get to see two offensive geniuses in their primes, and plenty of people pick the Nets to win.  But the Nets have been fools gold so far this year, and yesterday was more of the same- the team decided not   to play defense on the last two plays and gifted the Celtics a victory.  So we get to be entertained by playing a villianous team with Hall of Famers but it seems like their lack of effort and attention to detail make them as beatable as anyone else.

It's also nice to play another team with a my turn your turn mentality, because that's not how the Celtics play anymore.

[#1P4P]

No… Most labeled the Bucks soft after being eliminated from the 2020 playoffs 4-1 by the Heat, they faced the same team in the first round the following playoffs and eliminated them 4-0 en route to the Championship.

The confidence reinforcement from eliminating a team with one of the 2 best players in the world and a HOF scorer in the first round will far outweigh having to play and extra game or 2.

I expect this series to go 5-6 games.

[PAOBoston]

You play to win. You play for home court advantage. You will need to play good teams to advance. Maybe for this team, this is the dragon they need to slay to help them learn how to win in the playoffs. The KD and JT relationship. Kyrie vs Boston. The Nets and Billy King trade. These teams will be linked together for a while. Maybe they just need this to get over that hurdle. The KG Cs needed 7 to beat the Hawks. That was probably the toughest series they had that entire playoffs. Maybe this series serves the same purpose for this team.

I’m a firm believer in facing your troubles and difficulties head on (in life and in sports). If they are going to be considered title favorites, to me, it doesn’t matter whether they face the Nets in round 1 or the ECF. Play them and beat them.

[86MaxwellSmart]

It's all about Timelord's injury. We all knew he'd be out for the first round. Tough first round opponent. Hope we make it to round 2-cause it would be a shame if this amazing season ends too soon because of RW's injury.