Re: Playoff thread 2023

[Ktron]

Don’t dare count out the Bucks yet.

[Ktron]

Okay all: Take care of the Hawks and we have home court advantage up until the FINALS..at the least.

Cue Tom Brady: LFG!!!!!!!!

[gyso]

Okay all: Take care of the Hawks and we have home court advantage up until the FINALS..at the least.

Cue Tom Brady: LFG!!!!!!!!

HC in the finals as well!

The Bucks go into the fourth quarter with a 16 point lead and lose.

Celtics, don't be the Bucks.

[cowens/oldschool]

Please stop being like Bucks

[Ktron]

Okay all: Take care of the Hawks and we have home court advantage up until the FINALS..at the least.

Cue Tom Brady: LFG!!!!!!!!

HC in the finals as well!

The Bucks go into the fourth quarter with a 16 point lead and lose.  

Celtics, don't be the Bucks.  

Yes!!!!!!!


No…….:>)

[Ktron]

Please stop being like Bucks

Lets not duplicate what happened to Mil Walkup>

[dbrown4]

Yeah, let's take a look at a couple of things here before we get all crazy with the heavens opening up.

First off, there are several teams right now in the playoffs playing like championships and to take a quote from Yellowstone, playing like they don't deserve it.

MIA has to be the most glaring example. Unbelievable. And you can't even be pissed at them. Or say well, they're just playing out of their minds. They'll get swept/knocked out in the 2nd round and come back down to earth. They are downright scary.

GSW - THAT'S how championship teams respond with adversity. Amazing.

PHI - They took care of business. Didn't matter who was in the line up. And they're waiting for whoever coming out of our bs series. And they haven't eaten in a few days.

On a slightly lower tier, the NYK. They are playing gutsy basketball and great defense. They wilted CLE like Jesus did talking to that fig tree. To see Donovan Mitchell admit he's tired of these same press conferences at this point in the playoffs was priceless. He has come to realize that all he did was change cities. Classic NVC with shoulders hunched over, 1,000 miles away look in his eyes, head tilted. He just got in the mail the Charles Barkley Club Invitation like you get the one from AARP every week once you pass age 50 until you realize you really are old and sign up. He's the victim of shitty ownership. He's still going to make his money, but he'll never win a championship. Not at CLE. How many years of brow beating when LeBron was there the first time, left and came back did it management there to figure it out? Donovan's going to have to wait the same time, probably longer. He'll be long retired by that time.

And I hate to write this on a Celtic site, but the Lakers. They are giving MEM ALL they can handle even though LAL came up short last night. They are in the mix.

MIL got punked. Jimmy Butler punked Jrue Holliday. Got in his head. The whole MIA team got in Giannis' head, so much so that at the end Giannis "hot-potatoed" the jump ball tap to someone lese so he wouldn't get fouled. At least he realized he was part of the problem. He couldn't fall out of a boat in the ocean and hit water from the free throw line. That was it. That's why the Bucks lost. Something so simple as free throws. WOW! He makes 2 or 3 of those free throw and they're at least back in MIA for G6. Plus the Bucks found out that when you rely on one player, and that player may not be as good as everyone thinks he is, your sand castle comes tumbling down. Eric Spoelstra is a genius.

For as much as we complain about our players bitchin' to the refs, MIL is the complete opposite. Absolutely no showing of any emotion on a lot of crazy calls in that game against the Bucks. Solution is somewhere in the middle. Both approaches are annoying. But make no mistake, the Bucks came completely apart at the seams. That really was like watching a train wreck. So much so, I've put Coach Bud on temporary Ax Watch. That's how bad that culminating meltdown of a series was.

Then you have us. I'll say this once and not repeat it. If we come out and lose tonight, our playoff run is over. We have to win tonight just to keep pace with and show some championship intensity as seen so far by MIA, PHI, GSW, NYK and LAL at the least. If we dial tonight's game in and say well, we've got G7 at home, it's over. We'll never make it. Not against those teams. And it may be we would/will win a G7, but those 4 teams mentioned above ALL want Boston, especially if we can't wrap this up tonight. And it needs to be a convincing win ala G7 MAVS vs. PHX. It all needs to come gushing out. Right now, with those 4 teams above, we're in the G-League.

Those teams have put the rest of the playoff field, including ourselves, on notice. We're flopping around like a flounder out of water. They've put a choke collar (they still make those for dogs?!) around the rest of the field's necks and have jerked it up like you would training a dog old school to heel and have stated, "Show us what you've got!"

Tonight we will find out what this Celtic team has got. Does it have any championship mettle in it or have we been kidding ourselves like MIL. Hopefully we will have learned the lesson SIASJ hoped we learned by blowing closeout G5 AT HOME!! It wasn't the end of the world but with that loss we start to look an AWFUL LOT like the Bucks. We'll really look like the Bucks if we lose G6 tonight. And they are now safely at home.

So while it may appear that the heavens have opened up for us with MIL out of the picture, who's left may be worse for us if we don't turn it the Hell up and soon. You really want PHI, MIA or NYK? Well, that's who's left. And if we can't figure things out or dial another game in for homecourt G7 thinking the crowd will will us to victory, just call up Giannis.

So as in Pulp Fiction during the Bonnie Situation scene where Mr. Wolf said, "Let's not start.....just yet.", here we are. Show me something tonight Boston so we can get in the same championship meddle conversation as those around us. Because we aren't there yet. Nowhere close. This is G7 for us. Remember, we brought this shoot on ourselves. Anything less and we're kidding ourselves.

This is a full blown, four alarm holiday emergency!!

Hallelujah! Holy shoot!! Where's the Tylenol?!!

db

[bobheckler]

Yeah, let's take a look at a couple of things here before we get all crazy with the heavens opening up.  

First off, there are several teams right now in the playoffs playing like championships and to take a quote from Yellowstone, playing like they don't deserve it.  

MIA has to be the most glaring example.  Unbelievable.  And you can't even be pissed at them.  Or say well, they're just playing out of their minds.  They'll get swept/knocked out in the 2nd round and come back down to earth.  They are downright scary.

GSW - THAT'S how championship teams respond with adversity. Amazing.  

PHI - They took care of business.  Didn't matter who was in the line up.  And they're waiting for whoever coming out of our bs series.  And they haven't eaten in a few days.  

On a slightly lower tier, the NYK.  They are playing gutsy basketball and great defense.  They wilted CLE like Jesus did talking to that fig tree.  To see Donovan Mitchell admit he's tired of these same press conferences at this point in the playoffs was priceless.  He has come to realize that all he did was change cities.  Classic NVC with shoulders hunched over, 1,000 miles away look in his eyes, head tilted.  He just got in the mail the Charles Barkley Club Invitation like you get the one from AARP every week once you pass age 50 until you realize you really are old and sign up.  He's the victim of shitty ownership.  He's still going to make his money, but he'll never win a championship.  Not at CLE.  How many years of brow beating when LeBron was there the first time, left and came back did it management there to figure it out?  Donovan's going to have to wait the same time, probably longer.  He'll be long retired by that time.  

And I hate to write this on a Celtic site, but the Lakers.  They are giving MEM ALL they can handle even though LAL came up short last night.  They are in the mix.  

MIL got punked.  Jimmy Butler punked Jrue Holliday.  Got in his head.  The whole MIA team got in Giannis' head, so much so that at the end Giannis "hot-potatoed" the jump ball tap to someone lese so he wouldn't get fouled.  At least he realized he was part of the problem.  He couldn't fall out of a boat in the ocean and hit water from the free throw line.  That was it.  That's why the Bucks lost.  Something so simple as free throws.  WOW!  He makes 2 or 3 of those free throw and they're at least back in MIA for G6.  Plus the Bucks found out that when you rely on one player, and that player may not be as good as everyone thinks he is, your sand castle comes tumbling down.  Eric Spoelstra is a genius.

For as much as we complain about our players bitchin' to the refs, MIL is the complete opposite.  Absolutely no showing of any emotion on a lot of crazy calls in that game against the Bucks.  Solution is somewhere in the middle.  Both approaches are annoying.  But make no mistake, the Bucks came completely apart at the seams.  That really was like watching a train wreck.  So much so, I've put Coach Bud on temporary Ax Watch.  That's how bad that culminating meltdown of a series was.  

Then you have us.  I'll say this once and not repeat it.  If we come out and lose tonight, our playoff run is over.  We have to win tonight just to keep pace with and show some championship intensity as seen so far by MIA, PHI, GSW, NYK and LAL at the least.  If we dial tonight's game in and say well, we've got G7 at home, it's over.  We'll never make it.  Not against those teams.  And it may be we would/will win a G7, but those 4 teams mentioned above ALL want Boston, especially if we can't wrap this up tonight.  And it needs to be a convincing win ala G7 MAVS vs. PHX.  It all needs to come gushing out.  Right now, with those 4 teams above, we're in the G-League.          

Those teams have put the rest of the playoff field, including ourselves, on notice.  We're flopping around like a flounder out of water.  They've put a choke collar (they still make those for dogs?!) around the rest of the field's necks and have jerked it up like you would training a dog old school to heel and have stated, "Show us what you've got!"  

Tonight we will find out what this Celtic team has got.  Does it have any championship mettle in it or have we been kidding ourselves like MIL.  Hopefully we will have learned the lesson SIASJ hoped we learned by blowing closeout G5 AT HOME!!  It wasn't the end of the world but with that loss we start to look an AWFUL LOT like the Bucks.  We'll really look like the Bucks if we lose G6 tonight.  And they are now safely at home.  

So while it may appear that the heavens have opened up for us with MIL out of the picture, who's left may be worse for us if we don't turn it the Hell up and soon.  You really want PHI, MIA or NYK?  Well, that's who's left.  And if we can't figure things out or dial another game in for homecourt G7 thinking the crowd will will us to victory, just call up Giannis.  

So as in Pulp Fiction during the Bonnie Situation scene where Mr. Wolf said, "Let's not start.....just yet.", here we are.  Show me something tonight Boston so we can get in the same championship meddle conversation as those around us.  Because we aren't there yet.  Nowhere close.  This is G7 for us.  Remember, we brought this shoot on ourselves.  Anything less and we're kidding ourselves.  

This is a full blown, four alarm holiday emergency!!

Hallelujah!  Holy shoot!!  Where's the Tylenol?!!

db        

dbrown,

A great recap to the playoffs to-date. 100%.


Bob


.

[bobheckler]

LeBron didn't shake hands with the Grizzly players after the Lakers eliminated them by 40 last night in Game 6.  Ja was 3-16.

The Memphis Grizzlies have some serious soul searching to do.  They were the #2 seed in the Western Conference.  I realize there is more parity in the West than in the East but this was an absolute embarassment for the Memphis franchise (which is considering moving, I have heard.  Sometimes the difference between leading a parade and being a few feet ahead of a lynch mob is how you sell it).


Bob


.

[RosalieTCeltics]

I am not a LeBron fan, but really, if I were him I would have done the same thing. Those group of immature Grizzlies embarrassed themselves, their organization and tried to embarrass him and he would have no part of it. JaMorant took ten steps back to becoming a "superstar", as he wanted to be seen as. Dillion Brooks is a fool who will end up out of the league or on some teams bench warmer. Alot of growing up to do there in Memphis. I am sure they are scratching their heads right now trying to figure out what is next for them. The league should take a look at this kind of behavior, it makes the games unwatchable at times

[dbrown4]

OH! So THAT'S how your team looks after you trade away all your defenders to get one of the greatest scorers of all time and study the BOS vs. BKN 2022 1st Round tape. Got it. 2nd verse same as the 1st. Ass meet platter.

That said, PHX will still probably win G2 because that's the way these later rounds go, but it doesn't matter. DEN is deep and complete on both sides of the ball. So deep and complete that sizing them up against us if we make it that far by keeping our proverbial heads out of our asses it does not look good for us initially. Just first blush, we don't play like that all the time. As dboss puts it, we like a little melodrama and come in and out of championship play as we feel like it.

You can only ask so much of KD, who actually played very well except for the glaring 7 TO's. Booker, too, but that's all you've got and no defense and no bench. DOH!!! But that's you bed. Watch film all you want, nothing's going to change.

I realize, too, like the rest of the NBA that I left DEN off the championship mettle list above. They just moved to President/CEO. My bad. Many pardons. You have my undivided respect and attention. Anyone going forward that overlooks DEN is a complete and total moron, myself included.

Now Monty will make a couple of adjustments by putting together a couple of schemes and win a couple of games, but he is only delaying the inevitable. DEN literally ran PHX out of the gym with their tongues wagging. DEN is fun to watch.

db

[dbrown4]

BTW, you can dry anything out coming out of Doc's mouth or PHI and fertilize the lawn with regarding whether Embiid is "doubtful". The fact that Doc used a gambling reference to express his probably means Embiid will be starting Monday. That you can push all-in on. Idiots.

But by some infinitesimally small chance he doesn't start or play Monday, we had best have learned the ATL lesson about what happens when you are playing against a team that has one of it's top scorers missing, lest we look like idiots yet again. My son has PHI winning G1. While I was initially shocked, I'm leaning toward agreeing with him until I see we've mastered and conquered the ATL "missing starting scorer lesson".

We're probably going to need yet another wake up call. BTW, champions don't need wake-up calls. While it won't look good as we would be potentially staring at going down 0-2 and headed to PHI, that's should be enough to wake us the Hell up after our brief break.

db

[dboss]

The Celtics lost to the Hawks in game 3 because of the +19 rebounding Deficit.  They loss game 5 because Trae Young had a superb offensive night.  

The Celtics shot the ball extremely well during the 6 game series.  There will be games when the team needs to score more points or better still, keep the other team from scoring more points.  

If the Celtics hold their own on the glass in game 3, they win.

If they came up with a defensive scheme to limit Young's scoring opportunities in game 5, they win.

Throughout the remainder of this playoff run, the Celtics defense will be the difference between winning and losing.  

Defense wins championships and that is the reason why they have 17 banners.  Each of those championship teams left an indelible defensive footprint.

[RosalieTCeltics]

you are right Dboss, good defense brings good offense. Whenever they turn it on and start playing like they should, they go on a run. That is how they beat Atlanta in the end, defense.

[cowens/oldschool]

Steph Curry with monster game 7, 50 points on 20-38 fg’s, amazing!! The guy has a lot of toughness and durability that I didn’t know he had.

[RosalieTCeltics]

Curry could not miss, this is too bad, the Kings had a good first half,were up by 2. You could just tell that he was not going to lose this game. Must be great to have that kind of talent. I do not think I have seen him have many bad games in the years I have been watching him

[cowens/oldschool]

Curry could not miss, this is too bad, the Kings had a good first half,were up by 2.  You could just tell that he was not going to lose this game. Must be great to have that kind of talent.  I do not think I have seen him have many bad games in the years I have been watching him

He just set the record for most points in a game 7 playoff game.

[cowens/oldschool]

Watching Sabonis usually play pretty well makes me know my childhood idol Dave Cowens would do very well in this era. Having said that, Sabonis couldn’t get the job done this series. Looking at that team on paper, its amazing how far they got on a great backcourt led by Fox. Team still obviously needs some pieces, as Barnes-Sabonis is not gonna strike fear in anyone at the 4-5.

[bobheckler]

Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
The Warriors' Game 7 win Sunday was their 100th playoff win in the last decade.

How dominant have they been in the West in that time?

The next five teams on the list are all from the East.

Houston is 2nd in Western Conference in playoff wins since 2013...2nd...with 40.

https://twitter.com/SeanGrandePBP/status/1652915613700874240


Bob
MY NOTE:  

GSW - 100
Boston - 56
Cleveland - 56
Miami - 50
Toronto - 46
Milwaukee - 46

Lakers nowhere to be seen, while the Celtics are enroute to breaking the tie for 2nd.


.

[bobheckler]

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/dillon-brooks-fined-25k-for-ducking-media-vs-lakers-but-his-clown-antics-could-cost-him-way-more-than-that/


Dillon Brooks fined $25K for ducking media vs. Lakers, but his clown antics could cost him way more than that


Brooks is entering free agency with his value in the proverbial gutter


By Brad Botkin
18 hrs ago
•
4 min read


Dillon Brooks has been fined $25,000 for a "failure to participate in team postgame media availability" during the Memphis Grizzlies first-round loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA announced on Sunday.

That's a formal way of saying Brooks wimped out of multiple mandatory media sessions following some of the Grizzlies' losses in the series, opting to duck all the smoke he was blowing after Memphis tied the series following Game 2. You'll recall that Brooks infamously dismissed LeBron James as "old" and proudly announced himself as a professional bear-poker who only respects guys who score 40 points on him.

Last Friday, the Lakers hammered the Grizzlies in Game 6 -- by 40, ironically -- in a 125-85 rout that sent Los Angeles to the second round and Memphis into the offseason.

Here's a clue for Brooks: Nobody, not on single person in the NBA, and I would venture that this includes his own teammates, cares about having his respect. He's not Draymond Green, despite his obvious desire to be regarded in that kind of light.

There's no accountability, and certainly no championship tradeoff for his antics. There's no substance to his words. He just talks, then goes out and averages 10 points on 31% shooting, including 23% from 3, for the series against the Lakers, who spent the entirety of the series flat out ignoring him like the largely irrelevant player he's in danger of becoming.

Brooks has always been something of a clown, but for a while there was something to the charades. You could at least respect his on-ball defense, and there were times when he could hurt you as a shooter, his delusional shot selection notwithstanding. He was a real part of a top-three Grizzlies defense.

But the foolishness during this series utterly exposed him. He's not worth what he costs. This comes at a bad time for Brooks, who enters free agency this summer looking for a big contract with his value in the proverbial gutter. Who wants anything to do with dealing with the childish behavior of a guy whom for the season, gave you 14 points on 32% 3-point shooting?

First off, do the Grizzlies want him back, particularly in the new, more punitive financial climate that will tighten every team's belt? Consider this from our Sam Quinn:

While the [new CBA] didn't explicitly create rules to prevent teams from retaining their own players, it did add a second luxury tax apron that inflicts enormous penalties on the league's biggest spenders. Teams that cross that line will lose flexibility in free agency, pay higher tax rates, face severely restrictive salary matching rules on trades, and in some cases, even see their first-round pick drop to the bottom of the round. The days of handing out extensions first and asking questions later are gone. The NBA is about to enter a new period of fiscal responsibility.

The timing is less than ideal for a Grizzlies team that is about to get pricey. Ja Morant's max rookie extension kicks in after the season, and Desmond Bane will be eligible for a similar deal this offseason that will begin during the 2024-25 campaign. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Brandon Clarke have also been locked into long-term deals, and Steven Adams, Tyus Jones and Luke Kennard are all set to earn eight figures next season. As it stands, they currently sit around $25 million below the projected tax line for next season.

That figure does not include a new deal for Brooks, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Memphis can easily afford to re-sign him and still duck below next year's tax line, but once Bane's expected new deal kicks in a year later, keeping Brooks would surely push the Grizzlies deep into the tax. Memphis has already shed De'Anthony Melton and Kyle Anderson in service of their future finances.

If the Grizzlies punt on their own guy, who's going to pony up? Brooks is an NBA player. His defense is worth a decent deal, but my guess is that he has cost himself a lot of money over the past few weeks. Potentially tens of millions.

Brooks' last contract from Memphis was $35 million over three years, in the $12 million annual range. That's a non-taxpayer mid-level exception number, and it feels like Brooks is now that kind of player, at best, when there was a time when it was not entirely unreasonable to think he could've fetched something close to $20 million annually.

Do the math on that over two or three years. That's potentially a $25 million loss over the life of a deal, and that's if he gets the $12-13 million MLE number. I could see him getting even less than that. The perception of him has taken an extreme turn for the worse over these past few weeks, and he did it to himself.


Bob


.

[bobc33]

How about these outlet passes from Kevin Love!  Shades of Wes Unseld and Bill Walton.

[dboss]

Watching Sabonis usually play pretty well makes me know my childhood idol Dave Cowens would do very well in this era. Having said that, Sabonis couldn’t get the job done this series. Looking at that team on paper, its amazing how far they got on a great backcourt led by Fox. Team still obviously needs some pieces, as Barnes-Sabonis is not gonna strike fear in anyone at the 4-5.

Dave Cowens could definitely play in this era. He was a big who could stretch the floor and score in the paint, blocks shot, rebound the ball, pass, run the floor and dive for loose balls.

[cowens/oldschool]

Watching Sabonis usually play pretty well makes me know my childhood idol Dave Cowens would do very well in this era. Having said that, Sabonis couldn’t get the job done this series. Looking at that team on paper, its amazing how far they got on a great backcourt led by Fox. Team still obviously needs some pieces, as Barnes-Sabonis is not gonna strike fear in anyone at the 4-5.

Dave Cowens could definitely play in this era.  He was a big who could stretch the floor and score in the paint, blocks shot, rebound the ball, pass, run the floor and dive for loose balls.

Absolutely his teams were ahead of their time, they had already figured out how to play small ball. I loved watching him defend and crash the boards. If only they broadcast all the games back then like they do now. I only saw the C’s on national broadcasts back then living in Jersey. In 77, they were defending champions going against the upstart Dr J Sixers. I remember being so pissed I couldn’t see game 6 in Boston with us down 3-2, still remember what a disappointment it was watching some other game while the biggest game wasn’t even being seen. In that game that I didn’t see Dave Cowens had 36 points and 21 rebounds, and then later when game 7 was being shown; I had to hear Brent Musberger talk about how magnificent Cowens was willing his team to victory the game before. Still remember that sh!ty feeling.

[bobheckler]

There are teams that are built for the regular season, and there are teams that are built for the playoffs.

The Lakers are now 3-1 vs GSW. After a very disappointing regular season they are like a bunch of old fire house horses who hear the claxon. They are showing they are a team built for the playoffs.

Our Celtics need to show which team they are.


Bob


.

[RosalieTCeltics]

Those of you who have lost faith, beware. The Boston Celtics will win big tonight, I predict. I am just praying that Tony Brothers does not ref this game. I refuse to believe otherwise.

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