Eastern Conference | Round 2 | (2) Boston Celtics VS. (3) Milwaukee Bucks (TIED 3-3)

[Antinomy]

I’m more pissed about the fact that I started trolling in the game thread once we built the 10+ lead, only for Boston to come back & whip our ass.

[th87]

As a Celtics fan I am concerned the league has already sent memos to the refs confirming DEFCON I. Giannis will have flagrant foul immunity and can hold the refs, coaches and maybe even fans to the ground, not just Marcus Smart, to catch his breath. The Celtics must not be allowed to win. Period.

Awesome, new whining in the house. Just what this thread needed.

[th87]

I’m more pissed about the fact that I started trolling in the game thread once we built the 10+ lead, only for Boston to come back & whip our ass.

These things are fragile man. I thought you'd learned from the Raptors series in 2019.

[Antinomy]

I personally think the series is over tbh.

Before Game 4, I started to notice how Giannis started to wear down late in games.

The longer this series goes, the less chance we really have of winning.

I’d bet that Boston comes out & blasts the Bucks next game, then win “comfortably” in Game 6.

[Antinomy]

I’m more pissed about the fact that I started trolling in the game thread once we built the 10+ lead, only for Boston to come back & whip our ass.

These things are fragile man. I thought you'd learned from the Raptors series in 2019.

Man, I was disgusted at what I saw — couldn’t even watch the last 2 minutes.

Jrue & Bud single-handedly cost us that game.

[th87]

I’m more pissed about the fact that I started trolling in the game thread once we built the 10+ lead, only for Boston to come back & whip our ass.

These things are fragile man. I thought you'd learned from the Raptors series in 2019.

Man, I was disgusted at what I saw — couldn’t even watch the last 2 minutes.

Jrue & Bud single-handedly cost us that game.

Yup. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion, and I don't understand it. Are they so caught up in the game they can't see what's happening?

Mike Budenholzer is Mike McCarthy.

[Slax]

Game 4 was a game we usually win with Khris Middleton. Giannis, just like game 3, went all in the 3rd quarter and built a double digit lead. Usually this is where Khris is taking over for a few minutes to score a few buckets and keep the lead intact until Giannis gets a 4-5 minute rest to comeback and close the game with him. We don't have that, Giannis has to come back immediately and go to work again. He couldn't even see infront of him in the 4th quarter. No legs to attack, no legs to close out, no legs to even jump for rebounds or walk up he court.

But even with Giannis gassed out the Celtics needed two b2b career games from Holford to make the comeback in the 4th quarter. There is no way we win the series without a decent 2nd scoring option though. Jrue has to do better than that.

And stop comparing efficiency with the regular season. Ofc it will drop. This is a series where teams barely scoring 100 points a game and Giannis is averaging 32-13-8 with great defense. He scores or creates most than half his teams points while also playing elite defense. We are nearly dominating in all his minutes on the court and collapse without him.

I think Bucks with Middleton are a better team than the Celtics and probably leading this series, and even without Middleton this has been competitive. It is also true that Horford has had a couple absolutely amazing games which helped the Celtics stay in both the Milwaukee games and take leads in the fourth quarter. But I would reframe this a bit: the Bucks have made a conscious decision to throw multiple defenders at Tatum and take away the paint, and that has been effective at limiting Tatum's scoring. Horford is a guy who's capable of hitting uncontested three pointers at a high clip and has been a huge beneficiary of open looks. He isn't going to score 30 points again or sustain >50% three point shooting, but he also isn't the only player on the Celtics who can hit an open three, so even as Horford will not be repeating these sorts of performances consistently, you could absolutely see Jaylen Brown or Grant Williams or Payton Pritchard or maybe even Derrick White step up and start hitting them in the next game. Or maybe they won't, the very nature of the type of offense the Bucks are forcing the Celtics into is that it's super unpredictable and can come in spurts.

Also, I don't think this is really a reflection of Giannis's play in any way, but it's actually not true that the Bucks are dominating nearly every minute with Giannis on the court. Giannis had that incredible +23 in game 1, but has been negative or close to zero in +/- every game since (-16 game 2, -2 game 3, +1 game 4). I assume this is mainly because he is playing against the Celtics' starters more than anything. Personally I think he has looked really good but just hasn't figured out how to consistently make the Celtics pay (or doesn't have the shooting around him at least?) for throwing so much attention at him, which is why his efficiency numbers aren't there. I don't think that says anything bad about Giannis in the slightest. He's a tremendous player, just playing a tremendous defense that is uniquely qualified among NBA teams with the personnel to defend him and also specifically targeting him.

This is a competitive, fun series. It doesn't always look pretty but it is an extremely high level of play from both sides, especially impressive considering both the Bucks and to a lesser extent the Celtics are dealing with health issues.

[GotDaSauce]

I’m more pissed about the fact that I started trolling in the game thread once we built the 10+ lead, only for Boston to come back & whip our ass.

[Tyakack]

I’m more pissed about the fact that I started trolling in the game thread once we built the 10+ lead, only for Boston to come back & whip our ass.

Hey man, it be like that sometimes.

[Tyakack]

I personally think the series is over tbh.

Before Game 4, I started to notice how Giannis started to wear down late in games.

The longer this series goes, the less chance we really have of winning.

I’d bet that Boston comes out & blasts the Bucks next game, then win “comfortably” in Game 6.

I felt that way about us the last game. Very reactionary feeling. All it takes is 1 win for you to feel differently. The series is far from over.

[Antinomy]

I personally think the series is over tbh.

Before Game 4, I started to notice how Giannis started to wear down late in games.

The longer this series goes, the less chance we really have of winning.

I’d bet that Boston comes out & blasts the Bucks next game, then win “comfortably” in Game 6.

I felt that way about us the last game. Very reactionary feeling. All it takes is 1 win for you to feel differently. The series is far from over.

Going up 3-1 & only having won 1 more game is very different from being 2-2 with only 1 home game left & your best player running on fumes.

They’re clearly wearing Giannis down & we simply don’t seem to run an offense.

We were up double digits & all we had to was play smart — all they DID was let Horford shoot practice shots while Jrue went into tunnel mode.

[Hal14]

Despite doubling us up on FTs on touch fouls. People see what they want to see man. In no universe would small market Milwaukee enjoy ref favoritism against the NBA's second most famous franchise.

Giannis is the most marketable player in the league, whose team is still alive in the playoffs.

Only player I can think of who's perhaps more marketable right now than Giannis is LeBron. However the TV ratings for the 2021 NBA finals (with Giannis) were up 32% compared to the 2020 NBA finals (with leBron)

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/nba-finals-2021-bucks-suns-championship-series-up-32-percent-in-viewership-versus-2020-finals/3x5x61e8rol11eadirffyyb9v

Wow, that's crazy. You would think for that kind of difference, 2020 would need to have been played during civil unrest and a global pandemic while also playing with no fans after a long hiatus that left a lot of fans uninterested or against the fact they were playing games......
Now since I did zero research, someone is gonna own me and compare 2021 to 2019 and show the ratings boost.

1) it was still a pandemic in 2021.
2) No fans in 2020? NBA finals played in the bubble in 2020? You would think if anything, that would mean more people watching on TV, since no one could attend the games in person
3) How about the other point i made about Giannis being the most marketable player whose team is still alive in the playoffs? Interesting how you chose to not address that..

There's really no denying that superstars (especially LeBron, Giannis and Embiid) get favored heavily by the refs.

[jfs1000d]

Series is 2-2.

Milwaukee one game quarter away from being up 3-1.

Boston a couple of plays away from being up 3-1.

2-2 feels right.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pachinko_]

And the NBA and the refs had the fingers on the scale in favour of... Milwaukee.
Because why again? Sorry if I missed it

Despite doubling us up on FTs on touch fouls. People see what they want to see man. In no universe would small market Milwaukee enjoy ref favoritism against the NBA's second most famous franchise.

Giannis is the most marketable player in the league, whose team is still alive in the playoffs.

Only player I can think of who's perhaps more marketable right now than Giannis is LeBron. However the TV ratings for the 2021 NBA finals (with Giannis) were up 32% compared to the 2020 NBA finals (with leBron)

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/nba-finals-2021-bucks-suns-championship-series-up-32-percent-in-viewership-versus-2020-finals/3x5x61e8rol11eadirffyyb9v

But Giannis has been around and winning MVPs for years, why did they suddenly decide to rig the games and refs in favour of Milwaukee and let us suffer with no help in the bubble, against KD and against Kawhi's Toronto previously? Was it the lucrative the Canadian market they were trying to capture?

Help me understand those hidden truths

[Infinite Llamas]

Despite doubling us up on FTs on touch fouls. People see what they want to see man. In no universe would small market Milwaukee enjoy ref favoritism against the NBA's second most famous franchise.

Giannis is the most marketable player in the league, whose team is still alive in the playoffs.

Only player I can think of who's perhaps more marketable right now than Giannis is LeBron. However the TV ratings for the 2021 NBA finals (with Giannis) were up 32% compared to the 2020 NBA finals (with leBron)

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/nba-finals-2021-bucks-suns-championship-series-up-32-percent-in-viewership-versus-2020-finals/3x5x61e8rol11eadirffyyb9v

But Giannis has been around and winning MVPs for years, why did they suddenly decide to rig the games and refs in favour of Milwaukee and let us suffer with no help in the bubble, against KD and against Kawhi's Toronto previously? Was it the lucrative the Canadian market they were trying to capture?

Help me understand those hidden truths

I don’t think the league tries hard to market Giannis at all. 99.9 % of the population couldn’t spell his last name with a gun to their heads and being a foreign big man is obviously another strike. Just like the league doesn’t bother to market Jokic. I feel like someone like Reign Man and Grandmama were marketed way more back in the day and their stats and credentials can’t touch guys like Giannis and Jokic. Definitely a small market thing at this point. But yeah, these guys have 4 MVPs combined and alls people want to talk about is busted up Zion and old Lebron and Ben Simmons back and Trae Young these days.

It’s really like Hakeem back in the day. He didn’t appear in commercials or get promoted much but he was the best player in the league when Jordan retired in 1993 and all the press went to the youth movement of Shaq and Kemp. I guess it’s just guys that don’t generate much drama just have little appeal to the masses who sometimes seem more concerned with combustible personalities than transcendent basketball talents.

[Fencer reregistered]

Mike Budenholzer is Mike McCarthy.

What's the basketball equivalent to ignoring special teams?

Actually, I don't know that McCarthy did that. I just recall one particular breakdown, which he had foretold due to injuries.

[Fencer reregistered]

I personally think the series is over tbh.

Before Game 4, I started to notice how Giannis started to wear down late in games.

The longer this series goes, the less chance we really have of winning.

I’d bet that Boston comes out & blasts the Bucks next game, then win “comfortably” in Game 6.

I felt that way about us the last game. Very reactionary feeling. All it takes is 1 win for you to feel differently. The series is far from over.

Going up 3-1 & only having won 1 more game is very different from being 2-2 with only 1 home game left & your best player running on fumes.

They’re clearly wearing Giannis down & we simply don’t seem to run an offense.

We were up double digits & all we had to was play smart — all they DID was let Horford shoot practice shots while Jrue went into tunnel mode.

Giannis is obviously wearing down over the course of games, especially by expending tremendous energy in Q3 and having less left for Q4. Do you think he's also wearing down over the course of the series as well?

[ITYSL]

I personally think the series is over tbh.

Before Game 4, I started to notice how Giannis started to wear down late in games.

The longer this series goes, the less chance we really have of winning.

I’d bet that Boston comes out & blasts the Bucks next game, then win “comfortably” in Game 6.

I reject your reverse jinx attempt!

[Curmudgeon]

With Middleton out, Giannis and Holiday have to do more. With Robert Williams out, Horford, Tatum and Brown have to do more, particularly on the glass.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Giannis is the most marketable player in the league, whose team is still alive in the playoffs.

Only player I can think of who's perhaps more marketable right now than Giannis is LeBron. However the TV ratings for the 2021 NBA finals (with Giannis) were up 32% compared to the 2020 NBA finals (with leBron)

https://www.sportingnews.com/ca/nba/news/nba-finals-2021-bucks-suns-championship-series-up-32-percent-in-viewership-versus-2020-finals/3x5x61e8rol11eadirffyyb9v

Wow, that's crazy. You would think for that kind of difference, 2020 would need to have been played during civil unrest and a global pandemic while also playing with no fans after a long hiatus that left a lot of fans uninterested or against the fact they were playing games......
Now since I did zero research, someone is gonna own me and compare 2021 to 2019 and show the ratings boost.

1) it was still a pandemic in 2021.
2) No fans in 2020? NBA finals played in the bubble in 2020? You would think if anything, that would mean more people watching on TV, since no one could attend the games in person
3) How about the other point i made about Giannis being the most marketable player whose team is still alive in the playoffs? Interesting how you chose to not address that..

There's really no denying that superstars (especially LeBron, Giannis and Embiid) get favored heavily by the refs.

1. In July 2021, the pandemic was briefly 'over' cases were down to 10k a day, stadiums were full and 100k people were outside the bucks stadium. It was also held at the normal time.
2. https://www.nba.com/news/2021-nba-finals-finishes-up-32-percent-in-viewership The finals were up 32%. But overall the playoffs were up 35%. So you could make make an argument 2020 finals was better watched compared to the rest of the playoffs vs 2021 compared to the rest of that playoffs. And you could make a case the Bucks/Suns was just a better overall series. Lakers were up 3-1 and needed a butler 40 point game to lose game 3. That series was never in doubt. Bucks/suns was tied 2-2 and game 5 was insanely close and decided by the Giannis alley OOP. Game 4 was close too with the Giannis block. There were probably some moments in the heat/Lakers series but it wasn't ever really in doubt.
3. Yes Giannis is the most marketable, but Tatum isn't far. He is younger and a rising star who finished 6th(?) in MVP voting. I don't think Giannis from a marketability standpoint makes up for Boston being a market 4* the size of Milwaukee. And as someone mentioned above, Tatum is a home grown American which tends to get more marketing in the nba)

And I'm not even disagreeing stars get favorable calls, but 1. I don't think that means NBA is wanting Milwaukee over Boston 2. I think your original stat above about Giannis out drawing LeBron was totally without context.