Celtics 2024 Playoff Run Thread

[Birdman]

Tired of these “experts” saying Celtics having a easy road cause of players from Miami, Cleveland & Indiana were hurt but they don’t say that one of our main player have been out also in Porzingus

[SparzWizard]

Tired of these “experts” saying Celtics having a easy road cause of players from Miami, Cleveland & Indiana were hurt but they don’t say that one of our main player have been out also in Porzingus

Yeah I'm getting flack from Lakers friends lol saying we have the easiest finals road of all time lol.

I tell em we got our fair share of injuries and deal with whatever we were given. Injuries are part of the game, right? If Tatum didn't go down last year Game 7, Boston wins series. If Perk didn't go down in Game 6 2010, we win that series too. Same with KG in 2009. 

[Donoghus]

Tired of these “experts” saying Celtics having a easy road cause of players from Miami, Cleveland & Indiana were hurt but they don’t say that one of our main player have been out also in Porzingus

Yeah I'm getting flack from Lakers friends lol saying we have the easiest finals road of all time lol.

I tell em we got our fair share of injuries and deal with whatever we were given. Injuries are part of the game, right? If Tatum didn't go down last year Game 7, Boston wins series. If Perk didn't go down in Game 6 2010, we win that series too. Same with KG in 2009. 

Ask them about their road in '87.

[Vermont Green]

We need Hauser to find his shot.

I think he will. All those shots that aren't falling now will in the Finals.

Interesting that for the playoffs overall, Hauser is 33% from 3 and Tatum is 29%.

[Vermont Green]

Tired of these “experts” saying Celtics having a easy road cause of players from Miami, Cleveland & Indiana were hurt but they don’t say that one of our main player have been out also in Porzingis

I am not sure why that is bothering everyone.  The Celtics have had an easy path to the finals.  Many top players were hurt, and not just on the teams that the Celtics beat.  IND benefited from Giannis, Lillard, and Randle being hurt.  NYK benefited from Embiid being gimpy.  All 3 teams that BOS beat were down their best player for at least part of the time.  It is a fair point.

It is also fair that BOS went 12-2 against these undermanned teams, while being a little undermanned as well.  BOS is a really good team so they are still really good even without Porzingis.  BOS will have to play up a notch to win the title.  DAL has been on a roll.

On paper, it does seem that BOS should be slightly favored even if they don't have Porzingis.  But on paper, MIN was favored too.  As was OKC.  I feel like we need Porzingis, we are going to need everyone.  I like where we are at coming off the IND series, but DAL will be feeling good too.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Didn't Dallas beat The Clippers who were without Kawhi..?

[celticinorlando]

Didn't Dallas beat The Clippers who were without Kawhi..?

That they did

All these other teams and their fans would crawl over broken glass to switch positions with Boston right now.
They are just salty.

[Vermont Green]

Didn't Dallas beat The Clippers who were without Kawhi..?

Yes, Kawhi only played in 2 games and wasn't that good.  But DAL beat favored OKC and are on the verge of sweeping MIN.  There is no sense in trying to argue that BOS didn't have an easier path to the finals.  It is a fact, but it also doesn't matter, it doesn't mean anything.  It doesn't change how good the Celtics are as a team.

Let the talking heads talk about the previous 14 playoff games if they want.  DAL is kind of a Cinderella team.  16-4 in their last 20 regular season games.  Surprise winners vs. OKC.  On the verge of sweeping MIN.  Kyrie and Luka finally figuring out how to play together.  Kyrie finally figuring out how to be a good teammate.  That is a more interesting story.  But it doesn't make them a better team.

I am not bothered by the talk at all.  It is not surprising.  I am concerned that Tatum is shooting 29% from 3 in the playoffs (is there something wrong with his wrist?).  I am concerned that Porzingis still has not played in a playoff game since Apr 29 (is his calf still sore?).  I am not concerned at all about who was injured or not on the teams that BOS has already beaten.

[celticinorlando]

I will say it...the west is vastly overrated. If the Pacers were in the west they would have given everyone of the western teams fits.

Dallas beat a Clippers team we all knew would flop and most wins came without an injured Leonard.

They beat a young Thunder team that did not know how to win on this stage.

They avoided Denver and got Minnesota who really thought they won the west when they beat the Nuggets. Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets.

Dallas was an afterthought heading into the playoffs.

Celtics in 6.

[Vermont Green]

I will say it...the west is vastly overrated. If the Pacers were in the west they would have given everyone of the western teams fits.

Dallas beat a Clippers team we all knew would flop and most wins came without an injured Leonard.

They beat a young Thunder team that did not know how to win on this stage.

They avoided Denver and got Minnesota who really thought they won the west when they beat the Nuggets. Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets.

Dallas was an afterthought heading into the playoffs.

Celtics in 6.

I think in the end, a lot of what you are saying here will become "conventional wisdom" by the time the playoffs are over.  I have been saying all along that I thought the hype around OKC and Shai in particular was overblown.  Shai got more MVP votes and more all NBA votes than Tatum.  How does that look now?  For MIN, I thought the "Ant Man" hype was overblown, but I thought MIN was a good team.  I don't know what happened to Towns in the DAL series but he disappeared.

And IND is good.  Siakam and Turner are a very solid front court.  Haliburton is an emerging star.  They have a ton of really athletic players to fill in around.  It was a sweep but they made BOS work for it, even without Haliburton.

But it would be as wrong to minimize what DAL has done as it is to minimize what BOS has done, even acknowledging that the west may have been overrated some.  DAL has been the best team in the west for the playoffs and the last 20 games or so of the regular season.  DAL will be a tougher series for BOS than any of the others so far.  But we will be a tougher series for them too.

I actually think this is going to be a really good finals series for the NBA.

[Briantir]

I will say it...the west is vastly overrated. If the Pacers were in the west they would have given everyone of the western teams fits.

Dallas beat a Clippers team we all knew would flop and most wins came without an injured Leonard.

They beat a young Thunder team that did not know how to win on this stage.

They avoided Denver and got Minnesota who really thought they won the west when they beat the Nuggets. Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets.

Dallas was an afterthought heading into the playoffs.

Celtics in 6.

The West is definitely better then the East... I would argue Lakers Denver OKC Wolves would all best Cavs Miami Indy and Philly in a series.

The Wolves OKC and Denver are all better then Indiana so are the Lakers especially considering those teams in the West know how to do late game execution.

I think this Mavs Celtics will be a 6-7 game series with Celtics winning but hey I thought the Celtics would win in 2022 when they played the Warriors and boy was I wrong.

My biggest concern is Celtics play to their opponents level they have the last two rounds and come through in the end because Indiana and Cleveland just don't have a true superstar closer, Dallas has two of them and Kyrie has gone supernova in the finals before in 2016.

Jobs not done yet let's hope the Wolves can muster a win tonight extend this series and give more film to work off of.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I'm pretty curious what our defense looks like. I like a switch everything defense that basically forces Kyrie and Luka to score with high efficiency, but takes the role players out of the game.

Struggle here is you probably can't switch Zinger onto Luka, and can probably only switch Horford or Tillman a handful of times per game.

Still, I think you make Luka the scorer beat our one-on-one defenders.

[hpantazo]

I'm pretty curious what our defense looks like. I like a switch everything defense that basically forces Kyrie and Luka to score with high efficiency, but takes the role players out of the game.

Struggle here is you probably can't switch Zinger onto Luka, and can probably only switch Horford or Tillman a handful of times per game.

Still, I think you make Luka the scorer beat our one-on-one defenders.

Yeah if go with switch everything, Dallas will kill us with putting Porzingis or Horford in pick and rolls with Kyrie or Luka.

[86MaxwellSmart]

Wolves might win tonight if they would bench Rudy.

[bello_man09]

Holiday and white have been my favorite- white as a 6-5 Rim Protector is crazy he trys to block everything. the play he broke up an alley hoop from topping caught the ball and i think he assisted for a 3 on the other end. dude is Awesome!!!!