NBA next- The Lebron-less playoffs?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

3 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

When Stephen A Smith contemptuously said he'd cancelled his Sunday hotel reservation in Miami, I knew the Celtics were in trouble...

I think at one point he got seven straight Finals predictions wrong. ESPN's leading voice on the NBA...

That said, I still think your Celtics are going to win. Boston is beat up, but Miami is a MASH unit.

[DanteGabriel]

8 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

 Miami is a MASH unit.

Tell that to Butler and Lowry!

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

6 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

Tell that to Butler and Lowry!

God knows what they shot them up with. Did you see the funny video of Lowry limping off the bus?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

Lol, every seemingly logical prediction in the playoffs has gone wrong...

ETA: Shades of LeBron's game 6 in Boston a decade ago:

L. JamesSF

45

19-26

2-4

5-9

2

13

15

5

0

0

4

3

+22

45

 

J. ButlerSF

46

16-29

4-8

11-11

3

6

9

8

4

1

1

1

+7

47

[WarGalley]

Definitely taking Warriors over Heat or Celtics. I didn’t follow this game too closely but Boston looks too inconsistent and I don’t know about Tatum as your #1 scorer in crunchtime across 7 games (especially against the Warrriors). Heat are still apparently banged up right?

[Maithanet]

Hats of to the heat, and particularly Jimmy Butler, for a helluva performance last night.  I did not think they had that in them.  Now it's game 7 at home.  Typically the home team wins game 7s like 75% of the time, but I'm still expecting the Celtics to pull it out.  It took an all-world performance from Butler to win game 6.  Could he do it again?  Yes, but you can't expect it.  And if he's merely good, they will probably lose. 

[Calibandar]

On the other hand, the Celtics have been nothing if not inconsistent.

Its the only time when I dont like listening to the Bill Simmons podcast much, thats when the Celtics are on.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

2 hours ago, Calibandar said:

Its the only time when I dont like listening to the Bill Simmons podcast much, thats when the Celtics are on.

Or any Boston sports debate. I find him to be horrible on the mic, but can't hate the content he creates when he's not the focal point. Grantland and 30 for 30 have produced so much great content.

 

Can't wait for a totally unpredictable game seven. I think Boston takes it in another rock right, but at this point no result would shock me. 

[DanteGabriel]

*sigh* Now I can unclench.

This is the best Celtics team I have seen in a decade but damn they need to clean their shit up at the end of games.

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

4 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

*sigh* Now I can unclench.

This is the best Celtics team I have seen in a decade but damn they need to clean their shit up at the end of games.

The Warriors aren't going to miss that many easy open looks. 

[DanteGabriel]

4 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

The Warriors aren't going to miss that many easy open looks. 

Yeah, there's no margin for error any more.

I understand why the Warriors are favored, but the Celtics will be tougher than anything they've seen too.

 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

8 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

Yeah, there's no margin for error any more.

I understand why the Warriors are favored, but the Celtics will be tougher than anything they've seen too.

 

And the Warriors 4th best scoring option might be more dangerous than what the Celtics faced in the last two rounds. 

[Maithanet]

Butler could have drove and taken the 2, but he went for the win and bricked it (just like so, so many shots this series).

The Celtics offense just goes to shit in the final 3 minutes.  Gotta clean that up before next week, cuz the warriors aren't gonna be down 10+ four times.

[Relic]

5 hours ago, Maithanet said:

Butler could have drove and taken the 2, but he went for the win and bricked it (just like so, so many shots this series).

Yeah, it was an awful shot. Down by 2, 16 seconds left, and no one underneath to rebound in case you miss... Maybe you're ok with Curry taking that shot, def not Butler. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

How do people feel about Strus's 3 being overturned? It was an extremely close call and it was surprising it happened so late after the fact.

[DanteGabriel]

9 hours ago, Tywin et al. said:

And the Warriors 4th best scoring option might be more dangerous than what the Celtics faced in the last two rounds. 

And they're ten feet tall and shoot fire out their asses!

Let's get a grip. Yes, the Warriors have great shooters, but the Celtics have faced Giannis and Butler.

[DireWolfSpirit]

The flip of that same argument is that the Warriors post season hasn't faced anything as dominant as that Celtic D.

[Calibandar]

If they can get a few Wiggins games out of him like they did against Dallas, I do like GS's chances.

[DireWolfSpirit]

Going back to the first week of January, Boston's last 60 games post and reg season they've went 44-16.

Warriors have went something like 35-25 over the same sample size of post and reg season games from 2nd week in January forward.

Of course injuries are always a factor, or excuse , depending on what viewpoint one is tailoring.

My viewpoint is that Boston believes it can win this and will not be intimidated by a odds favored Warriors. They've been in the trenches churning out victories for months come one come all and GS is viewed as merely the next notch on a long belt.

I remain convinced they can slow down GS and win this in 6 or 7. 

Eta: Which should be a huge relief to Dubs fans because I'm about as adept as Stephen A. at "pickn em."

[Proudfeet]

I think that both teams tend to have the odd game where they just carelessly turn the ball over so consistency should be key. I don't know, both teams just look unconvincing to me. I'll favour the Warriors just because they seem more able to dig out of their own holes.