EC FINALS, Gm 1 – Pacers @ Celtics – 8:00PM, Tues, May 21, 2024

[bisme37]

Remaining teams and starting five playoff experience (by minutes):
• BOS: 18,543 mins.
• NYK: 5,180 mins.
• IND: 4,688 mins.
• DAL: 6,073 mins.
• DEN: 11,020 mins.
• MIN: 7,356 mins.

Horford, who became the 25th player in NBA history to exceed 6,000 career playoff minutes during the Cavs series, has more playoff experience than the remaining East teams' starting fives. Celtics have the top 3 players with most playoff experience among all remaining starters -- Horford, Tatum, Brown.

The only players with 6K+ career playoff minutes and no NBA title are Stockton, Malone, and Horford (for now).

Udonis Haslem says the Celtics aren't battle tested though.

Didn't listen to the quote but I think they mean not battle tested enough this postseason with the weak competition we've had so far. I kinda agree with them. Also wish we had KP throughout most of the run so they'll have that playoff experience together but them's the breaks.

Whatever Udonis Haslem lover!

[tfribs45]

Cs basically have the same team from last season if KP is unavailable.

The difference is Jrue replacing Marcus Smart.

So far we're getting the same solid defense, better shooting, and more stability from Jrue.

Can’t compare stats, a lot of what Smart did wouldnt end up on the sheets. Love him or hate him , he was a dawg! That being said we were lucky Jrue fell on our lap. Not sure where this squad would be without Cobra and Jrue

What will also not show on the stat sheet is how opposing coaches will intentionally leave Smart open at the 3pt line.

Right now you just can't do that with Jrue.

Meh I’m not seeing anyone on this roster right now besides maybe JB , willing to give up their body to win a 50/50 ball etc. let’s see if our “soft” group can fight there way to banner 18! I’m not crowning anyone, Jrue wasn’t before good in the first series and started the second series the same way. Obviously ended it in a high note.

[Shak_Celts]

Udonis Haslem says the Celtics aren't battle tested though.

Didn't listen to the quote but I think they mean not battle tested enough this postseason with the weak competition we've had so far. I kinda agree with them. Also wish we had KP throughout most of the run so they'll have that playoff experience together but them's the breaks.

Whatever Udonis Haslem lover!

They have been battled tested in their careers tho. KP is the only one who hasn't been. Also, people just assume that the teams that we just walked through wouldn't have been a tougher test for other teams. We'll see how the rest of the way goes but just because we walked through them it doesn't mean every team could have walked through them. When people say that we faced the worst teams left in the playoff they're only saying that because they were injured not because they actually know how they would perform against other teams. I think Miami could have given another team a better test but none of us know really. To say the Cavs were worse than everybody else is wild. They had their guys the first three games and we blew them out in the two wins, yes they were missing one of their bigs but so were we. Celtics aren't the first team to under perform against teams missing good players, what makes everybody so sure that no other team wouldn't have slept on mia and cavs and ended up losing more games?

[zoyathedestroya]

Didn't listen to the quote but I think they mean not battle tested enough this postseason with the weak competition we've had so far. I kinda agree with them. Also wish we had KP throughout most of the run so they'll have that playoff experience together but them's the breaks.

Whatever Udonis Haslem lover!

They have been battled tested in their careers tho. KP is the only one who hasn't been. Also, people just assume that the teams that we just walked through wouldn't have been a tougher test for other teams. We'll see how the rest of the way goes but just because we walked through them it doesn't mean every team could have walked through them. When people say that we faced the worst teams left in the playoff they're only saying that because they were injured not because they actually know how they would perform against other teams. I think Miami could have given another team a better test but none of us know really. To say the Cavs were worse than everybody else is wild. They had their guys the first three games and we blew them out in the two wins, yes they were missing one of their bigs but so were we. Celtics aren't the first team to under perform against teams missing good players, what makes everybody so sure that no other team wouldn't have slept on mia and cavs and ended up losing more games?

The Cavs were worse than anyone in the West semis. Full stop. In that sense, we're less battle-tested than anyone that would come out of the West. The KP part I'm less worried about since we've had him when we played some of the tougher teams in the regular season. There was some muscle memory stored in those games.

If it turns out that the Nuggets-Wolves went for 7 mostly lopsided games not because they're these great teams that beat up on each other but inconsistent ones with glaring, exploitable flaws, good for us!

[zoyathedestroya]

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[Kalela]

NYK and Indy are both so beatable, but I am looking at it differently. With Indy, the only player I fear is Nesmith.. Not for his game, but rather for his reckless style that may lead to a Boston player getting injured.. For the NYK, it's basically... Everyone...

So I vote Indy..

lol Hart is very similar to Nesmith. While Nesmith's recklessness is not intentional, Hart does it on purpose. Knicks entire gameplan is just them outworking the other team and getting a lot of offensive rebounds. Oh and Brunson scoring almost 40 every night. You are always in the game against them as they rarely blowout teams off the court.

[zoyathedestroya]

Just me or does he have a limp?

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[Shak_Celts]

Whatever Udonis Haslem lover!

They have been battled tested in their careers tho. KP is the only one who hasn't been. Also, people just assume that the teams that we just walked through wouldn't have been a tougher test for other teams. We'll see how the rest of the way goes but just because we walked through them it doesn't mean every team could have walked through them. When people say that we faced the worst teams left in the playoff they're only saying that because they were injured not because they actually know how they would perform against other teams. I think Miami could have given another team a better test but none of us know really. To say the Cavs were worse than everybody else is wild. They had their guys the first three games and we blew them out in the two wins, yes they were missing one of their bigs but so were we. Celtics aren't the first team to under perform against teams missing good players, what makes everybody so sure that no other team wouldn't have slept on mia and cavs and ended up losing more games?

The Cavs were worse than anyone in the West semis. Full stop. In that sense, we're less battle-tested than anyone that would come out of the West. The KP part I'm less worried about since we've had him when we played some of the tougher teams in the regular season. There was some muscle memory stored in those games.

If it turns out that the Nuggets-Wolves went for 7 mostly lopsided games not because they're these great teams that beat up on each other but inconsistent ones with glaring, exploitable flaws, good for us!

I would say that too, but it still doesn't change the fact that no one really knows how those teams would do facing other teams. I bet people were saying the same things about all the teams that the 08 team had to go 7 to get by. Playoffs are a different animal, underdog teams pull off wins or give tough series all the time. I wasn't a Cs fan at the time but that 08 team didn't have one series under 6 games and I bet people were confused why those teams they faced early weren't being demolished. Probably because the Cs players had to actually play the games while everybody else had their own ideas in their heads of how the games should go. We all say this stuff but don't actually have to do it. It's fun to talk and debate it but at the end of the day, we're just talking.

[zoyathedestroya]

They have been battled tested in their careers tho. KP is the only one who hasn't been. Also, people just assume that the teams that we just walked through wouldn't have been a tougher test for other teams. We'll see how the rest of the way goes but just because we walked through them it doesn't mean every team could have walked through them. When people say that we faced the worst teams left in the playoff they're only saying that because they were injured not because they actually know how they would perform against other teams. I think Miami could have given another team a better test but none of us know really. To say the Cavs were worse than everybody else is wild. They had their guys the first three games and we blew them out in the two wins, yes they were missing one of their bigs but so were we. Celtics aren't the first team to under perform against teams missing good players, what makes everybody so sure that no other team wouldn't have slept on mia and cavs and ended up losing more games?

The Cavs were worse than anyone in the West semis. Full stop. In that sense, we're less battle-tested than anyone that would come out of the West. The KP part I'm less worried about since we've had him when we played some of the tougher teams in the regular season. There was some muscle memory stored in those games.

If it turns out that the Nuggets-Wolves went for 7 mostly lopsided games not because they're these great teams that beat up on each other but inconsistent ones with glaring, exploitable flaws, good for us!

I would say that too, but it still doesn't change the fact that no one really knows how those teams would do facing other teams. I bet people were saying the same things about all the teams that the 08 team had to go 7 to get by. Playoffs are a different animal, underdog teams pull off wins or give tough series all the time. I wasn't a Cs fan at the time but that 08 team didn't have one series under 6 games and I bet people were confused why those teams they faced early weren't being demolished. Probably because the Cs players had to actually play the games while everybody else had their own ideas in their heads of how the games should go. We all say this stuff but don't actually have to do it. It's fun to talk and debate it but at the end of the day, we're just talking.

There's no alternate universe where we can glimpse into the Nuggets playing the Cavs. I can only base my opinions on how we looked vs. the Cavs and how the other West teams are playing. I'm sure the Cavs gave it their all, but IMO, the roster we faced are a bad matchup for the Cs, even more so with a diminished backline w/o Allen. The Wolves roster Nuggets are going against match up well with them (having 3 bigs they can cycle through Jokic and defensive wings that can hound Murray). The Wolves are also relatively healthier. So if we face the Nuggets in the Finals for example, I'd say they're more battle-tested than us.

[zoyathedestroya]

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[zoyathedestroya]

KP averaged 22/8/2 on 45/41/81 splits in four games vs. DAL/DEN/MIN.
KP averaged 18/6/2 on 50/46/93 splits in nine games vs. NYK/IND.

[Fencer reregistered]

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Frankly, he doesn't look very close to returning in this clip:

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[Tyakack]

Just me or does he have a limp?

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Dude looks like he's still 2-3 months away or something.

[The Corey's]

KP will be ready. Chill out.

[Tyakack]

[The Corey's]

Speculating he looks out out for 3 months watching footage the Celtics want you to see doesn't do anything for anyone.

That's for their opponent.

But I got good news for you. Celtics winning it all with or without KP.

[chrisab123]

Cs basically have the same team from last season if KP is unavailable.

The difference is Jrue replacing Marcus Smart.

So far we're getting the same solid defense, better shooting, and more stability from Jrue.

Can’t compare stats, a lot of what Smart did wouldnt end up on the sheets. Love him or hate him , he was a dawg! That being said we were lucky Jrue fell on our lap. Not sure where this squad would be without Cobra and Jrue

What will also not show on the stat sheet is how opposing coaches will intentionally leave Smart open at the 3pt line.

Right now you just can't do that with Jrue.

Jrue also doesn't believe he's Steph Curry. Marcus had a tendency to shoot a 3 as soon as he got the ball. The 2022 ECF vs Miami when Marcus made some great plays, then almost subsequently shot the Celtics out of the game in Game 7. Yes he would have "hustle plays" and show heart on plays that would have been basic for most but Marcus made it look gritty, which is why he's the most popular Celtic with the fan base since Paul Pierce and I'd even go as far as to say he's the most popular Celtic since Bird.

But he was extremely, extremely overrated.

[Shak_Celts]

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Frankly, he doesn't look very close to returning in this clip:

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He may not play again this season, they always say people are close who never are, but that clip doesn't tell me anything because KP has a weird gait naturally. when I would watch his workout videos over the offseason I thought the man was injured but then during his good days during the season he walked the same. look at how jb walks. kp walks the same if you look back at clips.

[tfribs45]

Looks like a rematch from
The inseason tourney?! Be ready to run back on defense, no complaining after a shot because the Pacers will run run run boyeeeeeee. Let’s go!

[Ben-N1ce]

Track meet. Porzingas looks cooked so this will be a long series. Al is going to need some serious icy hot lol