Celtics Playoffs 2024

pete wrote:Pacers are scary

And relatively healthy.

Yes and shooting % is unbelievable

Yes they worry me

Was not close at all. It’s going to be an interesting series with the Pacers. Injuries stopped the Knicks, right to the end.

They shoot extremely well, they are long and energetic. The Celtics have their work cut out for them. This is going to be a very difficult series.

I could not identify a weakness that we can exploit. If we pull it off, the final matchup may actually be easier.

Pete

All the injuries finally caught up with the Knicks and to add insult to those injuries, Jaylen Brunson fractured his left hand during the game.

The Pacers it is

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2024/05/brad-stevens-aggressive-gamble-pays-dividends-with-celtics-sweep-robb.html



Brad Stevens aggressive gamble pays dividends with Celtics sweep


Published: May. 28, 2024, 6:00 a.m.


By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com


INDIANAPOLIS — Brad Stevens did his best to stay out of the limelight as usual after the Celtics clinched their second trip to the NBA Finals under his watch on Monday night. The team president of basketball operations greeted players in a side hallway on their way to the locker room, staying out of view of most cameras.

Wyc Grousbeck gave Stevens a shoutout during the trophy presentation but Stevens otherwise succeeded in keeping a low profile after the win, just the way he prefers to operate. This was a night for the players and coaches, not for him. Make no mistake, Stevens fingerprints was all over this win as Boston overmatched their third straight East opponent on their way to securing the franchise’s first title in 18 years.


Boston had plenty of luck go their way when it came to shorthanded opponents in the past few weeks. However, this team created some of its own luck with the way it was built last offseason.


Building a roster to withstand injury

The path to the NBA Finals couldn’t have been much easier for the Celtics but it’s easy to forget Boston cruised despite not having Kristaps Porzingis available for their last ten games. A lot of that is a credit to Stevens and his front office for building a front court to withstand that possibility. A variety of low priced options fortified Boston’s pricy top talent all year long coming off the bench and those pieces came through during the postseason. Luke Kornet came through with multiple big games off the bench as a backup center while Payton Pritchard was a net positive in a sixth man role all postseason long. Even deep reserves Oshae Brissett and Xavier Tillman had their moments during the Pacers series.

More important than the bit players, Stevens built a core of starting talent capable of withstanding the absence of a player like Porzingis on the postseason stage. Jrue Holiday and Al Horford were able to slide into bigger offensive roles without taking away anything from their defensive contributions. All year long, Boston’s front office brushed off any declarations that the team needed flashier depth behind Porzingis and Al Horford. Through three rounds, that calculation looks the proper one.


Nailing the big gambles

Stevens wasted no time putting his fingerprints on this roster when taking over in the summer of 2021. He brought back Al Horford with a first round pick and proceeded to value veteran production over future draft assets by sending out a first round pick and a highly unprotected pick swap for Derrick White in 2022.

Horford has served as a rock for the team in the middle since his return, with the added bonus of Boston re-signing him on a discount extension after his max deal expired. His fit next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had always been ideal and bringing him back as a supplemental piece has put this group in position to succeed. The same can be said for betting on White two years ago who has surpassed the offensive upside even the most positive pundits probably had him pegged for in San Antonio. Finding a guy with his durability and defensive versatility has taken some pressure off Boston’s top talent, even if it took Joe Mazzulla an extra year to give him the role he deserved.


Stevens fixed that problem though this offseason by sending Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon out the door to bet on White and sizable upgrades in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. The window of opportunity was clearly here and now with this group with supermax salaries set to kick in a mere two years from now for Brown and Tatum. It was now or never for the Celtics to push all their chips in and they did so in a way that put them above the pack talent wise for the rest of the NBA. Betting on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to fill a leadership void opened by Smart’s departure was also a calculated gamble that worked well for Stevens as both stars have showed their improved maturity during this playoff push.


Placing faith in Joe Mazzulla

After a tumultuous run last postseason, year two of the Joe Mazzulla has been a far smoother ride. Stevens placed a ton of faith in the young coach in the wake of Ime Udoka’s suspension and he showed plenty of warts managing a top-tier contender in his first year on the job.


Stevens stuck with Mazzulla through the turmoil and a full offseason of preparation worked wonders for the 35-year-old in year two. His growth was apparent as he was able to put more of his stamp on the team day in and day out. With simpler lineups choices for crunch time and a dynamic offensive lineup, Mazzulla had his team playing consistently and was able to manage minutes and personality well. It was a boring 64-win season in a way that Stevens likely loved. No drama, no long losing streaks, just steady play for the better part of 82 games with guys enjoying doing it for Mazzulla.


One more test

This team has not completed the job yet after cruising past an undermanned Eastern Conference but Boston will be the heavy favorites no matter what happens out West. With Porzingis expected to be ready for the NBA Finals, the Celtics will be well rested and have their full arsenal of weapons to go against their toughest test of the season. Stevens has put this group in the best possible position to succeed and it’s now on the players to finish the job.


Bob
MY NOTE:  Danny earned his nicknamed 'Trader Danny' because he would pull off blockbuster coups, but how many trades did he actually make?  I remember a lot of seasons where Danny would just sit pat at the trade deadline even though we all saw needs.  He wanted to cut someone's throat and, when they didn't oblige, he just waited.  Brad Stevens waits for no man.  Brad the Barterer doesn't have the same ring but that's who he is.  In previous years how far did we go when we lost a key player like The Time Lord?  Brogdon?  Isn't having much of an impact this year.  We're down our 3rd scoring option and we're in cruise mode and only some of that can be attributed to luck.  Jimmy Butler or no Jimmy Butler we were going to win that series.  Same with Cleveland, Jarrett Allen or no Jarrett Allen. The only game that threw any scare into us in this series was Game 1 and Halliburton played that game. Turns out Brad Stevens is pretty good at this GM-ing stuff. Who knew? Wyc did..


.

The first person Wyc applauded last night after congratulating the team, players & coaches. was Brad. He knows he has hit it out of the park with him. And, more and more, it looks like Brad's decision to stick with Joe has been a major plus. The guy is alot smarter than anyone wants to give him credit for. These ATO's that have proven successful recently have been coming from a play drawn up by Joe & his staff. Brad's confidence is soaring, signing Holiday to that extention was a big deal. Now on to White and Tatum The bench may be the one place that sees a little shakeup in off season, we will see Right now, let's enjoy what has been achieved by these guys. I was awake half the night last night, so wound up by that game. No way did I think they were not coming back to Boston. This is what great defense does. Indy did not know which way to turn in those final minutes. why they did not ride Siakam more is beyond me

Our 2008 championship team went 16-10

Even if the finals goes to 7 games with the Celtics winning, the worse they can do is finish at 16-5

Danny drafted the Jays and we cannot overlooked the impact. Brad however put the finishing touches on this team. All of the pieces fit tightly together.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 1 hour ago
One of the remarkable Jayson Tatum under-27 years old playoff stats is that he is likely going to pass Kobe for most points ever. But the most shocking one is he’s going to pass Kobe for 6th in assists and finish behind Magic, Rondo, LeBron, Tony Parker & Mo Cheeks (he’s 40


Bob


.

Yeah, I've stated before the 2008 team almost maxed out.  Two more G7's and they would have been 16-12.  This team is 12-2.  And still rolling.  But yet somehow we suck or the brackets fell apart or whatever.  

I'm sitting on my Finals prediction waiting for the 2nd team to join us.  No one's going to buy it.  Then again, no one else picked 4-0 ECF!!  Some close at 4-1.  I'm coming in hot!!

db

The thing is, we really have not played our best basketball yet, and are one huge starter short in the lineup. I just pray KP comes back as he is needed, period. Al needs to have him on the floor. I know Dboss feels Al has been maxed out, but, I believe this guy wants this so bad that he will dig deep, do whatever it takes to win and be on the floor when necessary. Bring the rest on, a couple of days and then back at it

RosalieTCeltics wrote:The thing is, we really have not played our best basketball yet, and are one huge starter short in the lineup.  I just pray KP comes back as he is needed, period.  Al needs to have him on the floor. I know Dboss feels Al has been maxed out, but, I believe this guy wants this so bad that he will dig deep, do whatever it takes to win and be on the floor when necessary.  Bring the rest on, a couple of days and then back at it

Rosalie

If Boston has yet to play their best basketball we have something to really look forward to.  I will say this.  During these games we have seen them play their best basketball when the game was on the line.  What we have not seen is a consistent 48 minutes of high quality performance at both ends of the court.

Yes I am concerned about Al Horford being maxed out.  I think the term that I used was worn down.  

He just finished his best series of the 3 while averaging 35 MPG.  Against the Cavs he averaged 31.6 MPG and against the Heat he averaged 25.6 MPG.

He has yet to match up with a real physical center with length.  Kornet is a scrub so we definitely need KP to return so that we have a more equitable matchup at the 5.

Big Al will turn 38 years old before we tip off in the finals.  He has helped us win all 3 rounds.

Over a week off, i believe Al wants this so bad that he will do whatever it takes to rest and be ready

dboss wrote:

RosalieTCeltics wrote:The thing is, we really have not played our best basketball yet, and are one huge starter short in the lineup.  I just pray KP comes back as he is needed, period.  Al needs to have him on the floor. I know Dboss feels Al has been maxed out, but, I believe this guy wants this so bad that he will dig deep, do whatever it takes to win and be on the floor when necessary.  Bring the rest on, a couple of days and then back at it

Rosalie

If Boston has yet to play their best basketball we have something to really look forward to.  I will say this.  During these games we have seen them play their best basketball when the game was on the line.  What we have not seen is a consistent 48 minutes of high quality performance at both ends of the court.

Yes I am concerned about Al Horford being maxed out.  I think the term that I used was worn down.  

He just finished his best series of the 3 while averaging 35 MPG.  Against the Cavs he averaged 31.6 MPG and against the Heat he averaged 25.6 MPG.

He has yet to match up with a real physical center with length.  Kornet is a scrub so we definitely need KP to return so that we have a more equitable matchup at the 5.

Big Al will turn 38 years old before we tip off in the finals.  He has helped us win all 3 rounds.

Without question, we are way better with KP and, hopefully, the extended pause before the Finals will be helpful, both to his recovery , and to Al getting a breath.If he doesn't come back, we'll have to soldier on without him, as other teams have done without star players, and we have so far.Like you, and everybody else on here, I'd rather not go through that slog, but it is what it is' X is just too damn small to be an effective big for more than 5 minutes or so a game. I think calling Luke a scrub is a little harsh, but his lack of athleticism certainly limits him. I haven't been a church goer for a minute but I might just sneak in and light a candle for the Latvian assassin. None of the talking heads mentions him, except as an afterthought ,while they go thru their lamentations of other team's injuries. Hey, Halliburton is a good player, but the Pacers actually played better without him. Butler is over the hill, and does a frequent dissappearing act, hurt or not. i'm pretty sure we'd have beaten Cleveland if they had two healthy Donovan Mitchells. Think I'll watch a little baseball to wind down.

'

bobheckler wrote:Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 1 hour ago
One of the remarkable Jayson Tatum under-27 years old playoff stats is that he is likely going to pass Kobe for most points ever. But the most shocking one is he’s going to pass Kobe for 6th in assists and finish behind Magic, Rondo, LeBron, Tony Parker & Mo Cheeks (he’s 40


Bob


.

Kobe Bryant- 2698

Jayson Tatum  - 2600

LeBron James  - 2578


Bob


.

Foot

yeah I guess scrub is a bit harsh.

Kornet is a backup to a backup.  With KP out he became the backup center.  He actually played that role when KP missed 25 regular season games and when AH did not play in all 14 B2B games.  He was pretty much up and down all year

AH will be just fine as long as he does not have to log 30+ minutes per game.  The additional time off will help AL and hopefully provide more time for KP to get back to playing basketball at a high level.

Should KP come off the bench when he returns?

dboss wrote:Foot

yeah I guess scrub is a bit harsh.

Kornet is a backup to a backup.  With KP out he became the backup center.  He actually played that role when KP missed 25 regular season games and when AH did not play in all 14 B2B games.  He was pretty much up and down all year

AH will be just fine as long as he does not have to log 30+ minutes per game.  The additional time off will help AL and hopefully provide more time for KP to get back to playing basketball at a high level.

                                                      +1

dboss,

Has KP ever come off the bench after an injury? I'm trying to recall. If he has, then yes. And if yes, then only for that game just to get his legs back. If he hasn't then no. Al does not have an ego problem either way. He made clear what his intentions are. He wants that championship more than anyone in the Boston organization. And he's going to get it.

db

KP could be very good in a 6th man role and devastating against normal back up centers. Dallas has 2 worthy young centers that are interchangeable and make alot of impact doing very effective dirty work. Neither is a shooter though, so our guys boost our offense and open the floor. I wouldn’t mind seeing Al and Zinger playing together.

Some of these talking heads (Smith, Perk, Haslem even Wilbon. To name just a few) are so anti-Celtic it is ridiculous.

They are crying now what an easy path we had to the finals. They don't mention KP has been out the last 10 games, and don't remember history. How many Celtic titles were possibly lost due to injury? Dating back to 1973 when a 68-14 Celtics team lost Hondo when he hurt his shooting shoulder in the ECF rendering him ineffective or out for the rest of that series. Garnett going down in 2009, so we couldn't defend our title at full strength. Perk himself couldn't play game 7 in the finals in 2010. We may have won that game with him, as we got killed on the boards. Wade broke Rondo's elbow in the 2011 EC semifinal series vs Miami, and Shaq went down that same series. Kemba's knee, Hayward's injuries, JT's ankle in Game 7 last year etc etc etc. Unfortunately injuries happen. You have to be lucky in regards to injuries to win a title. I'm just hoping KP is healthy for the finals, so we can play our whole team, and show everyone what Celtics basketball is all about!

Celtics17

The Celtics earned the best regular season record while going a 64-18.   Although regular season does not mean that you win during the playoffs it should at least give pause to anyone that embraces a dismissive attitude about the Celtics.  Great habits were built throughout the season and have carried over into the playoffs.  The Celtics have no control over who they play.  We had a double digit point differential in the regular season and are a +10 through 14 playoff games.  

I guess the big criticism from all the talking heads begins and ends with our 3 point shooting volume.  Not all of their attempts are good shots.  As the Celtics wait for their next opponent they are #1 in scoring now that Indy is gone and we are #1 in 3PA and #1 in 3PM and percentage.  We are #1 in FT shooting and #1 in rebounding.  

The Celtics will not be morphing into something that they are not but they have proven an ability to win big, small or in between.  Contrary to some opinions, the Indy series pushed us to play faster on both offense and defense.  We closed them out in 3 of 4 games when we were behind.  That is a sign of championship iron.  

If you cannot win the 3 point shooting battle you cannot beat the Celtics.

Much to ESPN's chagrin, the Celtics landed on their feet and into the finals. They wee hoping for a Cinderella team finish and Indy sweeping in with whoever from the West. Tired of it all. I have not put that channel on in months, and they are all over the internet ripping Celts apart too. Now I just read that Shannon Sharpe is warning Jrue Holiday about the Mavs and Luca. Did anyone think to warn the Mavs about Holiday????? Really reaching the stupid is as stupid does stage. God bless the radio and Grande and Max!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rosalie

More revisionist history from  ESPN

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/40206394/mike-breen-bang-tracker-calls-2024-nba-playoffs

I guess none of them knew anything about Johnny Most.