ECF: P1 | (2) Boston Celtics vs (4) Cleveland Cavaliers | BOS 2-0

[afox]

then you aint looking hard enough...
What is laughable to me is that there are so many fools that are over sensitive to critical views

I'm sensitive because I think your take is dumb? You knock him for not getting a vote in the coaches poll. That's beyond stupid. Is Casey a better coach than him because other coaches voted for him? Horrible

If he IS that good of a coach, then you should have no doubts or concerns whatsoever despite him not winning anything. I am more inclined to think he is one of the best scheme planners in the game, but not as much of a great in game coach. Over time I may be proven wrong on this but until he proves capable of carrying an injury laden roster vs veteran loaded powerhouses like Lebron and company we will have to wait until next year to see how much having Kyrie and Hayward in the fold covers his deficiencies.

Deficiencies? He's overachieved to this point as an NBA coach...Broussard as already referred to him as possibly the best coach in the NBA....The fact that he didn't get any votes was more of a story than the guy who won, if that tells you anything...The best player the guy has had is Horford or I.T. thus far as a head coach...Will finish top3 in the actual NBA COTY voting..P.S. Veteran loaded powerhouse?...lol...
I had to come back...SO laughable...His teams have improved every year, including playoff performance...He's been first or second in the division, the last 4 years...But here's the topper...He took BUTLER to back to back national runner-up finishes...BUTLER!...He's forgotten more basketball, even at this young age, than most people know, I expect...One thing he no longer has to prove...Is that he can coach at the higher levels of the NBA...

[AK47MVP]

One thing no one seems to be talking about:

Who will flop more in this series? Marcus Smart or Lebron James?

You can only ask this question if LeBron is facing Harden in finals. Smart is nowhere near those two in flopping greatness.

[hickfromfrenchlick]

Raptors had the coach of the year and look what good that did them...I agree Boston will play with more fire, but it won't be enough.

Actually brad Stevens is on the Celtics

He is considered a great coach by his players that would otherwise be lesser players on other teams, but what has he won? he didn't get 1 vote in the recent coaches poll.
I think he is a solid coach that gets the most from average players, he turned Isaiah into a **** allstar so kudos there but don't think that makes the difference to Lebron and co.

Hot take, bud. Scorching.

"Solid."

[BigTrade92]

Head: Cavs in 6
Heart: Celtics in 7

I think this is going to be a fun one. I see a lot of these games coming right down to the wire.

[Benedict_Boozer]

Did you see guys this? Crazy this was what, 6 years ago? Surreal

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

[50yrceltsfan]

hard to compare to last year because both teams are so different, esp Boston

[Birdie]

I'm standing by my team and voted Celtics in 7.

On a side note, this thread is a lot more civil compared to the Celtics vs. Sixers' and Bucks' series threads. Lots of hot takes and trash talking on those threads.

It's because most of us, at least in BOS/CLE contingent have been doing this dance for what, 3 out of the past 4 years and it seems the trolls for both teams got tired of posting with each passing year and the fact we've pretty much been having the same conversation pre-Game 1 and then once the series gets into the gear, it pretty much devolves into an analysis, "LBJ is the difference". So nothing really to add or forecast much from that. As a CLE fan, our team is what it is. Pragmatically, nothing really to be cocky about but we certainly can be depressed about when Lue thinks playing Clarkson/Hood in some dumb lineup combo where a 10pt lead turns into a 4pt deficit...sigh...but I digress...

Plus I think there is a mutual respect among the avid posters and this thread usually doesn't devolve into a pissing match. It's when the MIA/WAS/TOR trolls come for the BOS homies when things get out of hand but thankfully, early exits have rendered them moot though you see some PHI folk hanging around for a min ready to dance on BOS' grave at the 1st chance.

Now, if ya'll had Kyrie/Hayward, ooeuff, this sure would be a spicy series but personally, even with how BOS had played up until now, I just don't see any X factor/difference from how I approached analyzing our chances from the 2 previous times we've played in the playoffs...Feels like deja vu at times...lol

[50yrceltsfan]

Dude. The Cavs have no talent. LeBron, Love and a bunch of spare parts. Yes, LeBron is god. But, the Celtics aren't shrinking violets like Toronto either.

Let's rank players.

1. LeBron
2. Love (kind giving Cavs this one for arguments sake)
3. Horford
4. Brown
5. Tatum
6. Rozier
7. Morris
8. George Hill
9. Smart
10. JR Smith
11. Korver
12. Baynes
Does it matter?

Clarkson, Nance, Thompson are unreliable. Sorry folks. Semi, Monroe unreliable and Yabusele and Nader are too. Sorry. Cavs have little talent and they are old. They got a lot of firepower, but need 40, 15 games from LeBron to pull this out.

I think Celtics win game 1 and game 2. That puts cavs in a big hole.

Brown is not better than Smith, Rozier is not better than Hill, Morris is not better than Green or Nance.
I also think Tatum is over rated in this series.
Korver is a better shooter than anyone on their roster etc.
Baynes is not better than Thompson defensively.
Regardless of how you see it, the reality is the Cavs are much better than you are giving them credit and they have Lebron
which you don't have anyone close too.

Rozier is better than Hill. Brown overall is better than Smith, but offensively Smith is clutch and can go off, so probably even. I'm not sure a list tells us much but there's some truth to the OP's point which is that after LeBron, Boston's talent level is right there.

Impact wise, the guys that the Celtics need to control are Thompson on the offensive board, Love from the 3 point line, and Clarkson off the bench in general. Baynes' game has improved and I think they'll put him on TT, with Semi in relief. Horford and Love is a great matchup of equals. I think you'll see Smart on Clarkson. A big key is when Larkin can return, he'd been playing well and the depth at guard is not good without him.

[titlebound1]

then you aint looking hard enough...
What is laughable to me is that there are so many fools that are over sensitive to critical views

I'm sensitive because I think your take is dumb? You knock him for not getting a vote in the coaches poll. That's beyond stupid. Is Casey a better coach than him because other coaches voted for him? Horrible

If he IS that good of a coach, then you should have no doubts or concerns whatsoever despite him not winning anything. I am more inclined to think he is one of the best scheme planners in the game, but not as much of a great in game coach. Over time I may be proven wrong on this but until he proves capable of carrying an injury laden roster past veteran loaded powerhouses like Lebron and company we will have to wait until next year to see how much having Kyrie and Hayward in the fold covers his deficiencies.

Wtf? So you are not going to believe that he's a great in game coach until he takes a team that is crippled with injuries past a player like LeBron?? What kind of standard is that??

[titlebound1]

I'm sensitive because I think your take is dumb? You knock him for not getting a vote in the coaches poll. That's beyond stupid. Is Casey a better coach than him because other coaches voted for him? Horrible

If he IS that good of a coach, then you should have no doubts or concerns whatsoever despite him not winning anything. I am more inclined to think he is one of the best scheme planners in the game, but not as much of a great in game coach. Over time I may be proven wrong on this but until he proves capable of carrying an injury laden roster past veteran loaded powerhouses like Lebron and company we will have to wait until next year to see how much having Kyrie and Hayward in the fold covers his deficiencies.

You realize this doesn't make any sense, right?

Actually forget it, great post man.

It makes no sense at all

[infinite11285]

Did you see guys this? Crazy this was what, 6 years ago? Surreal

Read on Twitter

/photo/1

Had no idea he's the nephew of that scrub Larry Hughes. It's a good thing he didn't inherit any of his basketball prowess.

By RJ, does he mean Richard Jefferson?

[nbhadja]

51% still picking Boston? I guess you guys didn't learn after picking Toronto over Cleveland. After Cleveland beats Boston most of the people that picked Boston will pretend that Boston sucks and that Cleveland was a lock to beat them.

[ajones9219]

51% still picking Boston? I guess you guys didn't learn after picking Toronto over Cleveland. After Cleveland beats Boston most of the people that picked Boston will pretend that Boston sucks and that Cleveland was a lock to beat them.

If Boston was healthy I think you'd see closer to 75-80%

[Stillwater]

51% still picking Boston? I guess you guys didn't learn after picking Toronto over Cleveland. After Cleveland beats Boston most of the people that picked Boston will pretend that Boston sucks and that Cleveland was a lock to beat them.

this forum is predominantly toronto and boston fanbases incase you hadn't noticed so that as well obscures reality.

[Stillwater]

I'm sensitive because I think your take is dumb? You knock him for not getting a vote in the coaches poll. That's beyond stupid. Is Casey a better coach than him because other coaches voted for him? Horrible

If he IS that good of a coach, then you should have no doubts or concerns whatsoever despite him not winning anything. I am more inclined to think he is one of the best scheme planners in the game, but not as much of a great in game coach. Over time I may be proven wrong on this but until he proves capable of carrying an injury laden roster past veteran loaded powerhouses like Lebron and company we will have to wait until next year to see how much having Kyrie and Hayward in the fold covers his deficiencies.

Wtf? So you are not going to believe that he's a great in game coach until he takes a team that is crippled with injuries past a player like LeBron?? What kind of standard is that??

doesn't matter what we believe only matters what he can prove, you think he's proved it I don't.

[HeartBreakKid]

51% still picking Boston? I guess you guys didn't learn after picking Toronto over Cleveland. After Cleveland beats Boston most of the people that picked Boston will pretend that Boston sucks and that Cleveland was a lock to beat them.

this forum is predominantly toronto and boston fanbases incase you hadn't noticed so that as well obscures reality.

Lebron fans are certainly up there.

[jfs1000d]

Dude. The Cavs have no talent. LeBron, Love and a bunch of spare parts. Yes, LeBron is god. But, the Celtics aren't shrinking violets like Toronto either.

Let's rank players.

1. LeBron
2. Love (kind giving Cavs this one for arguments sake)
3. Horford
4. Brown
5. Tatum
6. Rozier
7. Morris
8. George Hill
9. Smart
10. JR Smith
11. Korver
12. Baynes
Does it matter?

Clarkson, Nance, Thompson are unreliable. Sorry folks. Semi, Monroe unreliable and Yabusele and Nader are too. Sorry. Cavs have little talent and they are old. They got a lot of firepower, but need 40, 15 games from LeBron to pull this out.

I think Celtics win game 1 and game 2. That puts cavs in a big hole.

Brown is not better than Smith, Rozier is not better than Hill, Morris is not better than Green or Nance.
I also think Tatum is over rated in this series.
Korver is a better shooter than anyone on their roster etc.
Baynes is not better than Thompson defensively.
Regardless of how you see it, the reality is the Cavs are much better than you are giving them credit and they have Lebron
which you don't have anyone close too.

Rozier is better than Hill. Brown overall is better than Smith, but offensively Smith is clutch and can go off, so probably even. I'm not sure a list tells us much but there's some truth to the OP's point which is that after LeBron, Boston's talent level is right there.

Impact wise, the guys that the Celtics need to control are Thompson on the offensive board, Love from the 3 point line, and Clarkson off the bench in general. Baynes' game has improved and I think they'll put him on TT, with Semi in relief. Horford and Love is a great matchup of equals. I think you'll see Smart on Clarkson. A big key is when Larkin can return, he'd been playing well and the depth at guard is not good without him.

Listen. I favor Cavs because there is no Kyrie and No Hayward. Boston is massively banged up.

But, Cavs are not a good defensive team and if Celtics can defend and limit open 3s, they have a chance. Love vs. Horford is interesting.

Boston’s biggest issue is lack of players. Do they even have enough to play the series. Sheesh.



Sent from my iPhone using RealGM mobile app

[Cactus Jack]

Lebron in 6

[Bled]

Cavs in 5 for me. I just don't see how Boston will match up against Lebron. Boston is another one of those teams since 2011 that he has a personal agenda for.

[PierceFan4ever]

How can anyone take StillWater’s posts seriously? He always has awful takes on the Celtics. Same dude I remember at the beginning of the season that said the Celtics will barely make the playoffs before Kyrie and Hayward got hurt lmao.

Also George hill and JR smith better than Brown and Rozier? There’s one thing to be a homer and there’s another thing whatever he is when you say garbage things like that and expect people to take you seriously.