A lot of fun subplots:
1) Kyrie going against his old team.
2) Zinger too going against his old team.
3) Luka's first Finals.
4) A lot of talk about who is 'the man' on the Cs...Tatum or Brown? I find this talk silly, as Tatum is a top 6-7 player in the NBA & has made three straight All NBA First Teams. Brown is a helluva player no doubt, winning ECF MVP.
4) Cs have been knocking on the door of an NBA title for awhile now. Is this the year they break down that door?
I'm rooting for Dallas. I fucking love Luka. I love his game & his intensity. That said, Boston has been the best team since the jump this season. They're 78-20, including the postseason. I'm going Boston in 7, with Tatum winning Finals MVP.
What say you?
Why do they wait a full week for game one....of course, they then wait three days before game two, so one game in 10 days.
I kind of lost track of the series with all these days off.
Glad others enjoy the NBA; obviously, many do and it should be a great series....
Heart says C's in 6.
Head says Dallas seems destined to win it
Mavs are on a roll now. Kristaps's health has me worried if I'm Beantown.
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I hope he is healthy enough to play, hate to see another KD situation
Doncic and Kyrie are forced to go 1 on 1 the entire time
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question in my mind is how close to 100% he is.
I hope he is healthy enough to play, hate to see another KD situation
He looks like 200% right now!
Triggered!
Here comes Luka…
He is like having Marcus Smart without the dumb play.
He is like having Marcus Smart without the dumb play.
I love Smart, but he was too erratic. This group is just very surgical. And when the effort level gets low, Brown is the shot in the arm.
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Holiday looks like a street baller. His moves around the hoop are so slick. I love his game.
He is like having Marcus Smart without the dumb play.
I love Smart, but he was too erratic. This group is just very surgical. And when the effort level gets low, Brown is the shot in the arm.
Brown having a left hand has taken his game to another level. He is embracing these playoffs much more than Tatum.
RE: Tatum, at this point it's almost like he's underrated. He is who he is. With the talent around him, he's just kind of settled into a role.
Fuck you too. I smell a sweep coming.
Dallas has gotten absolutely shit from Jones, Lively, Gafford, and Kleber.
Both teams are awful from 3 right now, wonder if one teams gets hot the rest of way.
He was limping before the leg whip
Both teams are awful from 3 right now, wonder if one teams gets hot the rest of way.
Brown has been significantly better than Tatum this series.
Tatum has been shooting poorly this whole playoffs though while Brown has been shooting well. But there’s no question who the best player on that team has been throughout the year. I just think people hate on Tatum because he’s closer to the 7th best player than a Top 3 guy like Jokic/Luka/Giannis.
Series isn’t over. But it will be tough unless Kyrie drops 25+ alongside Luka. Maybe he does better at home.
Tatum has been shooting poorly this whole playoffs though while Brown has been shooting well. But there’s no question who the best player on that team has been throughout the year. I just think people hate on Tatum because he’s closer to the 7th best player than a Top 3 guy like Jokic/Luka/Giannis.
Series isn’t over. But it will be tough unless Kyrie drops 25+ alongside Luka. Maybe he does better at home.
Porzingis will be out game 3, and Kyrie seemed to find his game in that last 4th quarter. I’m expecting Dallas to win.
ESPN is a complete joke.
Same dan be said for Dallas tho. Outside Luka - the rest of the team was 2-17.
Shooting was horrendous last night.
The most troubling thing for Dallas is Tatum is too good of a shooter to continue on like this.
No they took Luka out at the 4:00 mark when he was cooking and Dallas was up 11. Boston went on a 7-0 run and he came back in.
Luka got hit 3 times on that play and now a challenge will give Boston the ball.
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now still in for the 2nd, he is not the type that can play 48 minutes
No they took Luka out at the 4:00 mark when he was cooking and Dallas was up 11. Boston went on a 7-0 run and he came back in.
Luka got hit 3 times on that play and now a challenge will give Boston the ball.
Really? must of missed it then, nba.com had him at the full 12 minutez
He's given up several transition baskets in the series complaining and not getting back.
Officials have been brutal tonight. They’re letting Boston be. Physical.
Dallas got absolutely robbed at the end.
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He’s auto-mute for me.
Tatum by default?
he leads the Celtics in the playoffs in ppg, rpg, apg so seems like it should be him but hard to say he's been a super star these finals. In fact, Brown has been the leading scorer and arguably better player, in two of the three games and in the third game Holliday led in points.
Tatum by default?
he leads the Celtics in the playoffs in ppg, rpg, apg so seems like it should be him but hard to say he's been a super star these finals. In fact, Brown has been the leading scorer and arguably better player, in two of the three games and in the third game Holliday led in points.
Right now it’s Brown. Finals MVP is strictly finals appearance.
My guess is whoever is the leading scoring in the closeout game.
To that point, Stevens built one of the most talented 6-man rotations in the recent memory. Hauser and Prtichard would start on a handful teams as well.
They lose Porzingis and they go from untouchable to just a lot better in an NBA finals series. That's ridiculous.
He’s auto-mute for me.
I don’t like him, but that doesn’t mean what he said here is wrong. He’s spot on, Luka what the bed.
Luka was playing lazy defense and trying to draw offensive fouls on the Celtics instead of moving his feet in good defensive positions. Boston knew it and attacked it and his dumb ass tried to do it with 5 fouls. It's all on Luka.
This Celtics team reminds me a lot of UConn. Deep/versatile perimeter play that’s smothering, and any one of 4 players can drop a ton of points on you, and enough of an inside presence to play with anyone. Also excellently coached.
But when a star bitches because he can't get away with it on both ends, that rings hollow.
Dude sat on the ground pouting while his teammates defended 4 on 5.
Derrick White and Jrue Holiday are some of the most likeable players in the league
Every star pushes off. It’s allowed by the refs.
But Doncic was getting two hands on him every time he drove and it was rarely called. He didn’t get a fair whistle last night - his bitching aside. If you let Boston to be physical, then don’t call the same on him.
Putting two hands on an offense player while he drives is an automatic foul. Not calling it is a perfect example of bad reffing. Not moving your feet - yes is bad defense. But so is using both hands on a driver.
One was called last night A the other wasn’t. That’s bad reffing. It has to be called both ways or not at all. Doncic last foul was a flop by brown and the refs fell for it. And I would argue so was the fifth foul on a post up.
Luka has really been exposed on the defensive end this series and throughout the playoffs. To reach that next level, he needs to fix his deficiencies on this end. Right now he’s basically just a bigger and clutcher Harden with a better middy.
As of today, I think I’d still say Jokic is pretty clearly still the best player in the league ahead of him and others. Luka is close though. Hope he figures it out because his shot-making is maybe the best since Kobe I’ve seen besides Curry. So fun to watch when he’s on.
& I love Luka. Outside of Brunson, he might be my favorite star in the league.
Now that Tatum and Brown have broken through, I wouldn't be surprised to see them back here next year. This could be the start of a two or three year run in which their season ends with a championship.
Mavs are on a roll now. Kristaps's health has me worried if I'm Beantown.
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Boy, was I wrong! lol ☝️🙈🤭
Agreed
also glad to see horford get a ring, one of my favorite players in the last couple decades.
boston's build was extremely impressive and diligent. they earned that championship. would have preferred to see denver in the finals though, mavs disappointed and were clearly over matched.
Brown deserved the Finals MVP, but Tatum was the best player on the team and solidified himself as an elite player. Tatum shot poorly but he led this dominant team in Points/Assists/Rebounds during the playoffs which is nothing to sneeze at, I believe only Hakeem/Duncan/Bird/Jokic/LeBron have ever done that (maybe I’m missing someone) for a title team. Hell of a start to both Tatum and Brown’s careers, and they are set up to be a great team for the next handful of years. Jrue Holiday has also solidified himself as a truly great supporting player, 2 rings on 2 different teams as a key piece. I’m sure some Bucks fans are feeling weird today.
Luka is a great player, I’d rank him 2nd/3rd with Giannis as the best players in the game behind Jokic. But he’s clearly behind Jokic imo. He’s an awesome shot-maker and creator but he needs to become a more well-rounded player, defensively first but also needs to become more diverse offensively. I think health is the only thing keeping him from winning a ring down the line though, awesome young player with a chance to go down as a great.
Kyrie is an amazingly skilled ball-handler, shooter, and finisher at the rim. The most aesthetically pleasing game in the league, which is why so many players praise him. But he was awful in these Finals and really let down Luka and the Mavs who are built around him and Luka averaging like 55 PPG combined. I hope all these kids and casual fans calm down with the talk about how Kyrie is one of the best PGs ever, he’s great but there are plenty of guys ahead of him.
Next year should be fun. I feel like the league almost expects Wemby to become the next all-time great who runs the league, so they’re going really hard to try and win these next 2-3 years before he becomes impossible.
riding shot gun to lebron, tatum/brown, kd, luka he had a chance to get championships but sabotaged those teams every step of the way with the exception of the one year with lebron.
perhaps he hasnt sabotaged dallas since they did get to a final this year...though with 2 years left there's still time.
It took Billups a while to get in and he was a better player than Jrue. Kyle Lowry is ahead of Jrue in terms of HOF resume, and he feels borderline.
I don't think either Horford or Jrue become HOFers. Hall of Very Good for sure though.
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Horford undoubtedly becomes a HOF now. Does Jrue?
It took Billups a while to get in and he was a better player than Jrue. Kyle Lowry is ahead of Jrue in terms of HOF resume, and he feels borderline.
I don't think either Horford or Jrue become HOFers. Hall of Very Good for sure though.
Horfords 2 NCAA titles will help his cause IMO
You beat me to it.
Cousin-big time Celts fan, but watches a ton of hoops-has been banging that drum with Luka for awhile. And I don't disagree.
No. & I love the Knicks.