ECSF: P1 | (2) Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers (3) | BOS 1-0

[Captain_Caveman]

Philly did not have Belinelli or Ilyasova in any of the losses to the celtics. This is a completely different team not sure why everyone is just going along with they were beating weak teams narrative.

Are we really comparing those guys to Hayward or Kyrie?

Or even Marcus Morris?

Enjoy your team, man. Don't care in the least about them or my own team in this playoffs.

Let's calm the **** down on Hayward okay. He played all of 5 minutes before a season-ending injury. You have no idea how he would fit with the celtics. You also have a huge dilemma now with Jaylen Brown and Tatum playing well enough to start next year. Who is going to come off the bench? Hayward is also not a superstar. He's an allstar on occasion, and not at the level of Kyrie Irving. He's a little better than Dario Saric at the moment. Kyrie Irving is the only known quantity that you are lacking on this team right now. Just like how you guys tell us to stop getting ahead of ourselves with the Sixers, you need to stop getting ahead of yourselves with Hayward, and what he could be. You guys have some questions to answer this offseason and next year. What happens to Rozier? Smart? What are you guys going to do about Tatum/Brown/Hayward (I guarantee you that Ainge will need to trade one of them). What are you going to do about an aging Horford who doesn't fit the timeline of the rest of your players?

Let's not forget the biggest elephant in the room. Kyrie Irving's health? Will he be the same player when he's back. Having all these surgeries on his knee looks a lot like a degenerative condition. But yeah, keep telling yourself that Danny Ainge will save you, and will pull some lopsided trade out of his ass. How's that worked out so far? Obviously not his fault, but the way you guys act so condescendingly when you get threatened by another team's success, and bring your past history of success as a measuring point, is inherently flawed.

What point are you even trying to make? We'd be worse off with a top 15-20 player? That having a trio of talented and versatile wings at SG/SF/PF is somehow a dilemma in the modern NBA? That I shouldn't get ahead of myself on an 8-year veteran All-Star, who is only "a little better than Dario Saric"? That Kyrie's knee is somehow this huge injury risk, but not Embiid's foot? That Rozier is a huge question mark, more than a year out from restricted free agency status?

What a terrible, terrible take all around.

Please don't take this as an invitation to reply. You are not a good or honest thinker, and I just have better things to do with my life than read inane drivel like that, lmao.

[ProcessMeUpFam]

Philly did not have Belinelli or Ilyasova in any of the losses to the celtics. This is a completely different team not sure why everyone is just going along with they were beating weak teams narrative.

Are we really comparing those guys to Hayward or Kyrie?

Or even Marcus Morris?

Enjoy your team, man. Don't care in the least about them or my own team in this playoffs.

What did my post have to do with anything you said? I simply stated they have different rotations than when we lost to the Celtics, therefore i think we are a better team than when we last played. That has 0 to do with Hayward, Kyrie, or Marcus Morris.

[JR Hawks]

Simmons and Embiid are 2 of the top 5 players in the game....and the Sixers have an elite bench. As such, anything less than a championship this year will be a tremendous disappointment.

[XDevilBoiX]

Simmons and Embiid are 2 of the top 5 players in the game....and the Sixers have an elite bench. As such, anything less than a championship this year will be a tremendous disappointment.

I like your enthusiasm

[MR28]

Simmons and Embiid are 2 of the top 5 players in the game....and the Sixers have an elite bench. As such, anything less than a championship this year will be a tremendous disappointment.

[the_process]

Oh if it’s PHI-BOS... it’s on

[76ciology]

Nothing’s definite. We all thought that Lakers pick will end up top 5 and now it’s a top 10 pick with likely ending up with a role player.

But let’s be fair to say that Sixers is the better team than the Celts this play-offs and have a brighter upside in the future. And also be fair to consider that upsets are possible this season and the future.

[76ciology]

Boston

Their starting unit is very solid and very great on D that it’s tough to get an early lead.

They’ll try to catch-up or get the lead when they replace Baynes with Morris. Recently, this unit has been problematic on D, that should be solved with the addition of Smart.

Celtics have only two players who are disruptive (high deflections per game) on D, Smart and Jaylen Brown. The rest are mostly very good individual defenders

Celtics doesnt have that margin of error with their offense, with their offense built around two guys Kyrie and Hayward.

[WMDman]

Yeah this thread will get toxic

[Dupp]

Trust the process

[LordCovington33]

Yeah this thread will get toxic

No doubt.

[FlatearthZorro]

Boston Celtics:
on DEC 31, 2017: 30-10
Since (including playoffs): 28-19

Sixers:
on DEC 31, 2017: 17-19
Since: 39-12

It would be tough to find anything more irrelevant than this. Means less than zero.

Yet you guys keep quoting past success against us, and your championship pedigree as a reason for us to be scared.

Scared is a weird word to use in a basketball game and considering we're only fans. Nobody's going to die I hope so nothing to be scared of and non of us play right?

We got nothing to lose if we make it, I haven't seen a single person outside of C's fans here think we would win, so if we win it's probably be overreaction thread for days.

[FlatearthZorro]

Assuming Celtics make it (which isn’t a given):

This will be a great rivalry-building series. It will be a face-off of Phily’s generational rookies vs Celtics hot young guns.

Obviously Phily has a huge talent advantage but Boston plays with heart and guts and will not just lay down easily.

Phily is now used to playoff basketball however and Boston’s well coached, gritty team play will be no surprise to them.

Let’s look at the starting lineups:

Young King >>>>>>>>> Scary Terry
Redick = Brown
Cov = Tatum
SuperDario >>>>> Ojeleye
Phantom >>>>>>> Horford

So just from this I would say Celtics in big trouble.

Reddick is as good as Brown. Covington and Tatum might agree. By the way, if this comp is true, imagine if our slightly worse than Saric, Simmons and Embiid All-stars were playing.

[FlatearthZorro]

Did someone mention a preseason game? I'm going to get another beer.

Sixers haven't done anything since like 1984, and wouldn't know winning basketball if it jumped up and bit them in the ass.

The Sixers are in the second round of the playoffs. The Celtics have dropped two games to a seven seed. We will see if Boston lasts long enough to have the honor of being dismantled.

The Bucks are easily a better team than the Heat- who do the Heat have that is better than Middleton or Giannis?

Middleton has been superstar-ish in the playoffs. Has made every big shot there is to make.

[FlatearthZorro]

Why are you here on this message board posting in this thread that is a topic you don't care about? Seems like reality has angered you, you've lashed out, realized you were being silly and now it's just too late to apologize. I'm willing to forget this ever happened if it makes it easier for you.

Enjoy the "made the 2nd round" parade, lol.

I think the Sixers will probably win the championship, but I will be sure to enjoy each round along the way haha.

You forgot the green front.

[nurseryc]

Simmons and Embiid are 2 of the top 5 players in the game....and the Sixers have an elite bench. As such, anything less than a championship this year will be a tremendous disappointment.

Wouldn’t say top 5. Both arguably top 15 though. The Last part of your post is BS

[ric munchn]

Boston Celtics:
on DEC 31, 2017: 30-10
Since (including playoffs): 28-19

Sixers:
on DEC 31, 2017: 17-19
Since: 39-12

Sixers led by a 24 yr old and 21 yr old with a compressed schedule have ran through the league in 2018. The only teams better than then in the last 4+ months are GS and Hou.

Boston is a tier below us. Even with Hayward/Kyrie I still think they'd take them.

Sixers are top 5 offense and defensive team. Celts even with Kyrie were an average offense at best.

We'll beat them and their fans will spend the whole offseason telling us how a tandem of Kyrie and Gordon Hayward is somehow good enough to compete for a title.

This is exactly the reason why a lot of people hate philly. You have two unbelievable young players. They both act like they are magic and Kareem though despite just recently winning their only playoff series and routinely blowing giant leads all year. More likely next year we beat you if you make it to us and you say wait til embiid comes back. I like philly but to say that a team hat finished with a better record than you despite major injuries all year is a tier below you is just a bad look.
Boston if healthy will compete for a title next year. Probably lose but they will compete. Philly will be right in the mix as well if healthy.

[michaelm]

Boston Celtics:
on DEC 31, 2017: 30-10
Since (including playoffs): 28-19

Sixers:
on DEC 31, 2017: 17-19
Since: 39-12

Sixers led by a 24 yr old and 21 yr old with a compressed schedule have ran through the league in 2018. The only teams better than then in the last 4+ months are GS and Hou.

Boston is a tier below us. Even with Hayward/Kyrie I still think they'd take them.

Sixers are top 5 offense and defensive team. Celts even with Kyrie were an average offense at best.

We'll beat them and their fans will spend the whole offseason telling us how a tandem of Kyrie and Gordon Hayward is somehow good enough to compete for a title.

This is exactly the reason why a lot of people hate philly. You have two unbelievable young players. They both act like they are magic and Kareem though despite just recently winning their only playoff series and routinely blowing giant leads all year. More likely next year we beat you if you make it to us and you say wait til embiid comes back. I like philly but to say that a team hat finished with a better record than you despite major injuries all year is a tier below you is just a bad look.
Boston if healthy will compete for a title next year. Probably lose but they will compete. Philly will be right in the mix as well if healthy.

Probably mostly true, but contracting Kyrie then proceeding to “if onlys” in regard to him being injured Is not an overly strong argument. Cleveland let him go because he was going to have the surgery he eventually had when at the Celtics immediately, and perhaps oddly he is not contributing to Boston’s chances in the current play - offs.

Sure there are injury concerns with Embiid, but this year as opposed to Kyrie has been positive in that regard, and he will be lining up against the Celtics if they make it against a team which doesn’t Include Kyrie. My concern long term with Embiid like Kyrie would be his knees rather than his feet, btw.

[maRioGrande]

Philly wins series

[ric munchn]

Boston Celtics:
on DEC 31, 2017: 30-10
Since (including playoffs): 28-19

Sixers:
on DEC 31, 2017: 17-19
Since: 39-12

Sixers led by a 24 yr old and 21 yr old with a compressed schedule have ran through the league in 2018. The only teams better than then in the last 4+ months are GS and Hou.

Boston is a tier below us. Even with Hayward/Kyrie I still think they'd take them.

Sixers are top 5 offense and defensive team. Celts even with Kyrie were an average offense at best.

We'll beat them and their fans will spend the whole offseason telling us how a tandem of Kyrie and Gordon Hayward is somehow good enough to compete for a title.

This is exactly the reason why a lot of people hate philly. You have two unbelievable young players. They both act like they are magic and Kareem though despite just recently winning their only playoff series and routinely blowing giant leads all year. More likely next year we beat you if you make it to us and you say wait til embiid comes back. I like philly but to say that a team hat finished with a better record than you despite major injuries all year is a tier below you is just a bad look.
Boston if healthy will compete for a title next year. Probably lose but they will compete. Philly will be right in the mix as well if healthy.

Probably mostly true, but contracting Kyrie then proceeding to “if onlys” in regard to him being injured Is not an overly strong argument. Cleveland let him go because he was going to have the surgery he eventually had when at the Celtics immediately, and perhaps oddly he is not contributing to Boston’s chances in the current play - offs.

Sure there are injury concerns with Embiid, but this year as opposed to Kyrie has been positive in that regard, and he will be lining up against the Celtics if they make it against a team which doesn’t Include Kyrie. My concern long term with Embiid like Kyrie would be his knees rather than his feet, btw.

Haha Cleveland let him go. Pretty sure he shot his way out of town. I’m actually more worried about embiid having back issues and just overall the injuries adding up and stealing his youth. Kyrie is also in the same boat it’s proabbly safe to say it’s shortening the prime of these guys if not outright taking away from it.