Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:31 am
by TOO
It's interesting that they won like 66 games and people still aren't sure if they are for real.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:53 am
by In2ition
How many games have the Celtics lost in these playoffs so far? They are ultra deep and talented across the board. It's a very even and balanced team.
What's their weaknesses?
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 7:57 am
by ShelC
I think they're kinda bullsht. The fact they went thru the East without Porzingis proves how easy they had it. People still talk about the '21 Suns beating injured teams on their way to the Finals but the Cs beat the Heat without Butler, the Bucks without Giannis and the Pacers without Haliburton. And the Pacers only beat the Knicks because the Knicks were missing 4 starters. No way the Cs beat a healthy Knicks team. I don't even think the Mavs are all that good either, not Finals worthy but the NBA's been shifting and it was kind of a down year for a lot of teams.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
I think they're kinda bullsht. The fact they went thru the East without Porzingis proves how easy they had it. People still talk about the '21 Suns beating injured teams on their way to the Finals but the Cs beat the Heat without Butler, the Bucks without Giannis and the Pacers without Haliburton. And the Pacers only beat the Knicks because the Knicks were missing 4 starters. No way the Cs beat a healthy Knicks team. I don't even think the Mavs are all that good either, not Finals worthy but the NBA's been shifting and it was kind of a down year for a lot of teams.
But why are we discounting the fact that they destroyed the East during the regular season? You can only beat who is in front of you and they've done it all year.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
I think they're kinda bullsht. The fact they went thru the East without Porzingis proves how easy they had it. People still talk about the '21 Suns beating injured teams on their way to the Finals but the Cs beat the Heat without Butler, the Bucks without Giannis and the Pacers without Haliburton. And the Pacers only beat the Knicks because the Knicks were missing 4 starters. No way the Cs beat a healthy Knicks team. I don't even think the Mavs are all that good either, not Finals worthy but the NBA's been shifting and it was kind of a down year for a lot of teams.
I respect this take but don't agree with it. Yeah the East playoffs were pretty easy this year. But Boston has a really nice roster and I think they would have beaten the 100% healthy Knicks, Bucks, Pacers, and/or Heat. They're one of the best teams in the league on both offense and defense. They have a lot of guys who can score, and almost everybody who gets minutes is a plus defender. During the regular season they racked up 60 wins against all these teams when they were healthy as well as the best of the West. And to invert your initial argument, the fact that they went through the East without Porzingis shows just how scary good they are now that they do have him back. I don't think this Boston team is a Warriors or Bulls level dynasty or anything crazy like that, but I do think they're a legit championship-level team that doesn't need any asterisk next to them if they win it all.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 9:16 am
by ShelC
Regular season is a different beast. A lot of teams can win 50 games blowing thru the regular season. Kidd's Suns used to do it all the time, the Cavs did it last year and they were 1st round outs.
And I don't understand inverting the argument because the crux of the argument is that they went thru an injured East without him. All the teams they played were missing their best player. There's no way they have the bodies up front to handle guys like OG, Randle, Mitch Robinson and Hartenstein in a 7 game series. They have a ton of depth and firepower on the perimeter but only KP and Horford up front.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2024 9:26 am
by Split T
I think the Celtics are legit, but they absolutely had the easiest path to the finals I’ve ever seen..and people doubt them because they don’t have that one guy you can trust to carry you when times get tough. Tatum has disappeared far too many times(like last year vs Miami).
I think Boston will win because their team is just a lot better, but I don’t think they are some juggernaut…and they really didn’t play an elite team all playoffs…8-4-6-5 seeds. Kinda like Denver last year.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 3:28 pm
by AmareIsGod
Jaylen Brown is highly intelligent and was offered an opportunity with NASA:
- Brown was offered an internship with NASA, likely due to his interest and aptitude in physics and other sciences.[4][9][10]
- He took graduate-level classes at UC Berkeley as a freshman while also playing college basketball. He was at the top of his high school class academically.[4][5][6]
- Brown was on the chess varsity team at UC Berkeley and learned multiple languages including Spanish and Arabic.[5][6]
- At age 22, he became the youngest elected vice president of the National Basketball Players Association.[4][6]
- Brown has given lectures at prestigious universities like Harvard (where he was the youngest ever guest lecturer), MIT, and his alma mater UC Berkeley.[4][6][9]
- He is an MIT Media Lab fellow and has collaborated with MIT to create educational programs for underserved youth interested in STEM fields.[4][6]
- Some NBA scouts and executives were concerned Brown was "too smart" coming out of college and had too many diverse interests outside of basketball.[1][5][10]
So in summary, yes, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests Jaylen Brown has exceptional intelligence across many academic domains, to the point he was offered a rare opportunity to intern at NASA. His intellectual pursuits are highly unusual for an NBA player.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 4:14 pm
by SunsRIt
Damn
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 5:14 pm
by TOO
I thought Browns academic exploits were widely known.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 5:28 pm
by SunsRIt
I had no idea.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 10:58 am
by Superbone
How Holiday was traded from the Bucks to their top rival who are now on the verge of a championship. (Maybe that Lillard acquisition wasn't the best move for the Bucks. You could say the same about the Suns and KD but at least Bridges/Johnson aren't competing for the top prize with a Western Conference rival.)
NBA Finals 2024: The twists and turns that led Jrue Holiday back to the Finals
How Holiday was traded from the Bucks to their top rival who are now on the verge of a championship. (Maybe that Lillard acquisition wasn't the best move for the Bucks. You could say the same about the Suns and KD but at least Bridges/Johnson aren't competing for the top prize with a Western Conference rival.)
NBA Finals 2024: The twists and turns that led Jrue Holiday back to the Finals
That one is really coming back to bite them. Jrue was great for them. Dame was flashier but IMO a worse fit for their roster. And now Jrue is helping a key conference rival get directly to a title in his first year there.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2024 5:04 pm
by Split T
Boston would’ve won the East with or without Jrue..he’s great but I don’t think he actually made the difference here.
And Milwaukee lost in round 1 because Giannis was hurt, not because Dame replaced Jrue
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2024 9:19 am
by Mori Chu
If you watched Game 2 last night, you saw Jrue contributing mightily to the Celtics' win. He's been maybe their best player outside of Jaylen Brown. With Porzingis also playing great, it's interesting to see that Jayson Tatum is maybe only the 3rd or 4th best player on the Celtics in this series. That speaks to how much talent and depth they have.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2024 9:33 am
by Split T
Also speaks to Tatum being overrated. Boston is winning because their top 6 is elite. He’s clearly closer to Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday than he is a Luka Doncic for example.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2024 9:44 am
by AmareIsGod
They're up 2-0. I'm sure their fans don't care who's best, who's aligned most to other superstar players, where Tatum is on the pecking order. What a blessing it must be to be on the cusp of another championship. We can only hope.
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread
Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2024 10:05 am
by Split T
They care…I’ve talked to Boston fans and they are a little sensitive about Tatum
Re: 2024 Playoffs: Around the League NBA Finals News Thread