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Hmm ðŸĪ” Do my eyes deceive me or is that 2 wins in a row ON THE ROAD!?!?

One is an "oopsie"....TWO is a trend.

The Bucks defense looked good again & Dame is hitting shots and getting into a rhythm....

Malik Beasley adding some 3's and Brook is Brook protecting the rim. Even Connaughton playing better. WTAF is going on out there?!?!

Portis with another good game....I wonder why that is??

What will happen once they get Kha$h money back?

Hmm ðŸĪ”

Last edited by Boris
@Boris posted:

If all 3 are healthy for a full 7 game series....

Boston will NOT win that series

I think a healthy Bucks team will have a chance, but I think Boston wins a series against Milwaukee 8 times out of 10.

The caveat to all this is that, for the most part this year, the Celtics have been very healthy. The Celtics top 5 (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and Horford) are better than any team in the league.

But they don't have much depth and they are relying heavily on a soon-to-be 38 year old Horford. Without Horford, Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, or AD are going to eat the Celtics alive.

Porzingis hasn't played more than 65 games a year since 2016. He can't guard Giannis or those other guys if Horford goes down.

Jrue Holiday is almost 34 and was never a fast-twitch athlete (meaning when he regresses it's going to happen fast).  He was roasted on defense the last two seasons in the playoffs (Tatum and Butler).

Again, the Celtics have had relatively good health. If any of their top 5 goes down, they are in deep trouble. They also may not have the best player in several playoff series (Giannis, Embiid, and Jimmy Butler would all be the best player in a playoff series with Boston).

Right now, the media is starting to place the Celtics in a group as one of the best teams of all time. We'll see.

Right now, the media is starting to place the Celtics in a group as one of the best teams of all time. We'll see.

That's just it...isn't it?

This is the same media that said a KC / Eagles rematch in the Bowl was a foregone conclusion.

This 2024 Celtics team is one of the best teams of all time? ok....if that's true then they shouldn't lose a game in the playoffs because the competition is weak. They're not even one of the best teams in their franchise history.

Boston is held together with a 37/38 year old Horford... He going to play 41 minutes to match Giannis?!?! Because, as you said, he's the only guy on that team that can guard him.

Boston better pray for health....Bucks too.

Even if Boston gets there, the team that comes out of the West will not suck and will be battle tested.

It's hard to win a title...it's easy to lose.

Should be fun the rest of the year.

Last edited by Boris

I think a healthy Bucks team will have a chance, but I think Boston wins a series against Milwaukee 8 times out of 10.

The caveat to all this is that, for the most part this year, the Celtics have been very healthy. The Celtics top 5 (Tatum, Brown, Porzingis, Holiday, and Horford) are better than any team in the league.

But they don't have much depth and they are relying heavily on a soon-to-be 38 year old Horford. Without Horford, Giannis, Embiid, Jokic, or AD are going to eat the Celtics alive.

Porzingis hasn't played more than 65 games a year since 2016. He can't guard Giannis or those other guys if Horford goes down.

Jrue Holiday is almost 34 and was never a fast-twitch athlete (meaning when he regresses it's going to happen fast).  He was roasted on defense the last two seasons in the playoffs (Tatum and Butler).

Again, the Celtics have had relatively good health. If any of their top 5 goes down, they are in deep trouble. They also may not have the best player in several playoff series (Giannis, Embiid, and Jimmy Butler would all be the best player in a playoff series with Boston).

Right now, the media is starting to place the Celtics in a group as one of the best teams of all time. We'll see.

Who is calling for the Celtics to be thought of one of the best of all time?

@Pikes Peak posted:

Who is calling for the Celtics to be thought of one of the best of all time?

The advanced stats types have been floating this for a while, but there is an article in The Athletic this morning saying this (behind a paywall unfortunately).

I agree that comparing this Celtics team to the 1986 team with prime Larry Bird, McHale, Parish, Dennis Johnson, Ainge, and a healthy Bill Walton is ridiculous, but that's what some are starting to suggest. This is from Shams Charania.

https://theathletic.com/529981...nba-news-the-bounce/

The Celtics have won eight straight games, hold a 7.5-game lead over the second-place Cavaliers and are on pace to win 65 games, which would be the fourth-most in team history. This team has the highest margin of victory in franchise history, even higher than the 2008 champs (66-16) and 1986 champs (67-15). Could it be the most dominant Celtics team ever?

@PackerHawk posted:

Celtics rely way too much on the 3 point line for a team as talented as they are. It's gonna catch up to them in the Spring. I know it worked for the Warriors but I don't see prime Klay and Steph suiting up for Boston.

Maybe Beverly will be the wild card they need out on perimeter D.

Essentially the Celtics flipped out Marcus Smart for Jrue Holiday. There are probably no two more similar players in the NBA once you get to the playoffs than those two. The biggest difference is that Smart is a dirty player and Jrue is one of the more beloved teammates in the league every place he's ever been. Otherwise, they are both outstanding defensive players that struggle to shoot under playoff pressure. Smart has actually shot over 35% from three the last two years in the playoffs and Jrue has shot 30.4% as a Buck from three in the playoffs. The biggest knock on Smart is shot selection - and he's averaged about 12-13 shots per game in the playoffs the last 3-4 years. We all love Jrue, but he averaged 18 shots per playoff game as a Buck - it was way, way, way too many. If the Celtics win a title this year, it probably won't be because of the difference between Jrue and Smart.

If the Celtics do win, it's because Porzingis is much better on offense than the Williams' were (Grant and Robert) and offers enough rim resistance at 7'2" to counteract the loss of overall defensive ability they got from the two Williams.

The other thing that's overlooked is how much better Brogdon was as a 6th man than Pritchard is this year.

So, the overall trades were really Marcus Smart, Malcolm Brogdon, Robert Williams, Grant Williams and an unprotected 2029 first round pick for Porzingis and Jrue Holiday.

If the Celtics had the chance, they'd probably trade Holiday for Smart and Brogdon right now. Especially since Holiday is making 37 million this year (with a 40 million player option next year) and Brogdon and Smart are making a combined 41 million this year.

Essentially the Celtics flipped out Marcus Smart for Jrue Holiday. There are probably no two more similar players in the NBA once you get to the playoffs than those two. The biggest difference is that Smart is a dirty player and Jrue is one of the more beloved teammates in the league every place he's ever been. Otherwise, they are both outstanding defensive players that struggle to shoot under playoff pressure. Smart has actually shot over 35% from three the last two years in the playoffs and Jrue has shot 30.4% as a Buck from three in the playoffs. The biggest knock on Smart is shot selection - and he's averaged about 12-13 shots per game in the playoffs the last 3-4 years. We all love Jrue, but he averaged 18 shots per playoff game as a Buck - it was way, way, way too many. If the Celtics win a title this year, it probably won't be because of the difference between Jrue and Smart.

If the Celtics do win, it's because Porzingis is much better on offense than the Williams' were (Grant and Robert) and offers enough rim resistance at 7'2" to counteract the loss of overall defensive ability they got from the two Williams.

Yeah, they are going to need Porzingis and Horford to be healthy during the playoff run. And that might be asking too much.

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