Moranis, ur facts don't out weigh the facts of who actually won. You can argue for some alternate universe to support ur argument all u want, doesn't change the actual outcome. Boston finished as one of the last 4teams standing last year, they were in contention. Thats the biggest fact.
Yes, it’s not really legitimate to say that Toronto is better because they had a better regular season record, while saying Miami is better because they beat us in the playoffs.
But that isn't what I was saying. I'm saying I don't put much stock in the outcome of the playoffs last year in the bubble. I don't think Utah blows a 3-1 against Denver if they were playing games in Utah. Of course they might never have had a 3-1 lead if they were playing games in Denver. Same goes for the LA and Denver series. The games in the bubble, especially the playoff games, were just weird. I don't think you can put much stock in the results and reach some conclusion as to the actual ability or talent of a team. That said, the Lakers were the best team last year and while I think the bubble probably helped them, I'm not sure they don't win the title in a more normal close to the season anyway. I don't think Miami makes the Finals though without the bubble. They were a good, but not great, team for much of last year and while Butler is a top 10 guy, he isn't a top 5 guy, so even them getting hot at the right time probably isn't enough in a normal season (Butler though clearly makes a difference for them as they are 8-5 with him and 3-9 without him on the season).
I don't think Boston beats Toronto last year if they have to play 4 games in Toronto and 3 games in Boston. That is based off the fact that Boston rarely wins games in Toronto and that Toronto was a good team last year (they split the season series). I think ultimately the home court advantage of the Raptors would have been the deciding factor had home court actually mattered. I didn't consider either to be a realistic contender though because neither had a top 5 nor even top 10 player.
I think there are 5-7 realistic contenders this year. The Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, Jazz, Bucks, Nets, Sixers (the Nuggets need to start winning and I'm not sure the Jazz are really this good). I don't see any other team, as currently constructed, having any sort of real shot of making the Finals, let alone winning them without some pretty dramatic injuries or another bubble situation.