RakimAbdulJabar wrote:I'm sticking with my preseason prediction of Celtics vs Rockets in the finals.
While it's never a good idea to try and judge any series off 1 game, there was a lot to like if you're a Boston fan from game 1
Firstly no matter what the score was throughout the game, it didn't really ever look like the Celtics were going to lose. The consistency of playing a game 7 vs sitting a number of days definitely showed from the outset. Some of that is Bostons defense which is an upgrade as opposed to facing the Heat but the Sixers looked off from the start.
They weren't terrible other than the 3 point shooting but they just didn't look in synch out there compared to how they were playing against the Heat. Simmons inability to knock down free throws at a respectable rate is going to be a factor and the main reason why I want the Celtics to advance and face the Cavs.
Both teams play good D, both have numerous 3 point shooters and bigs that can spread the floor as well as home court advantage over the Cavs, but with the ball in his hands so often, I feel like Simmons is going to be a liability if they choose to send him to the line and I don't think the Sixers have the composure that the Celtics have in facing a Lebron lead team.
While the Celtics will still rely heavily on young guys like Tatum, Brown and Rozier, they do have guys like Horford, Smart and Morris who are unlikely to be phased by the challenge
The Celtics deserve credit for their ability to step up as a team and the coaching staff deserve credit for putting a system in place that you could be without Irving and Brown and have guys step in and continue to play such a high level of basketball. When you factor in Hayward missing the entire season and Smart playing through obvious pain, this team if healthy is a testament to Ainge's vision and he deserves a lot of credit for what he's been able to do while so many others have failed spectacularly, and I say that as someone who doesn't like Ainge.
The icing on the cake for Ainge and the Celtics is watching Tatum out there playing like an Allstar while Fultz sits on the bench. That doesn't mean Fultz's career is over, but right now you're ecstatic with that trade if you're Boston and kicking yourself if you're the Sixers. For all the talk of Tatum potentially being phased by the moment, I haven't seen any signs of it, he doesn't look like he's about to slow down either. I'm sure the Sixers will bounce back, and they're definitely a better team than the Bucks, but I don't think this one is going 7, sticking with Celtics in 5 or 6
Finally how about Rozier, the kid came out and played as perfect a game as you would want for someone having to fill in for one of the best and most creative scoring guards in the league. He won't do that every game but again another guy who simply isn't afraid of the moment and has that confidence that can be misguided if it's not controlled but Stevens seems to have him playing within the system as opposed to just Crawfording his way out there. I'm happy for him, but sad that it's now too late to 'steal' him off the Celtics
+1. High quality objective post.
A matchup with the Cavs would be very interesting. I'd still favor Lebron in that matchup - not because he's "the goat". I actually have no issue with guys even ranking him outside of the top 50 - but mainly because of lebron's ability to control the flow of a game. He's going to be on the court for 44 to 46 mins. In that span he is going to control almost every single one of his teams possessions and leave "nothing" to chance. Yep, watching these games I can understand why kyrie wanted out. On defense he is going to call the opponents plays in an effort to help his team, while he himself will play atrocious D for stretches. So yea, he is gonna have his handwriting all over the game.
But here's the difference between east and west. When guys say the raptors or celtics are gonna beat lebron, their arguments are usually centered around how valfleet and siakam and morris and rozier and larkin etc. are going to be too much to handle.
However, when they talk about the west, the arguments are more about how a 73-9 team with a unanimous mvp that added another mvp in his prime will be too much or about how a perennial mvp candidate in harden now has an amazing point guard in cp3 to bolster his team led by a revolutionary coach in d'antoni and good role players. But they never name pj tucker or david west etc.
That said, I wouldn't be surprised if TOR proves me wrong starting tonight.
So many people who attain the heights of power in this culture—celebrities, for instance—have to make a show of false humility and modesty, as if they got as far as they did by accident and not by ego or ambition.
