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So far the Thunder are blowing out teams by an average of 20 pts. The Celtics are the Celtics: The clear favorite to win it all.

With the way Chet has been playing (demolishing Wemby was insane) and JDub looking like a young Dwade out there, is this Thunder team better than the Celtics?

Thoughts?

Hell no. Please. I'm on the floor rolling in so much laughter I can't gather a thought at the moment.

On paper i guess you can say the Thunder are the most balanced team. One of their few flaws from last year was their rebounding and they added Hartistein to address the issue.

Their defense has been suffocating because holding opponents under 100 points in this era is impressive. I expect their shooting #s to improve throughout the season so they will a challenge for anyone, but their only weakness is that they only have 1 reliable shot creator. In a playoff setting both Chet and JDub need to be better than last season but that isnt as big of a glaring hole as it used to be in years past. They remind me of a better version of the Jimmy Butler Heat.

If this is the Finals im looking forward to the 2 coaches going at each other. Im looking forward to Tatum vs SGA as a star billing.

Im bias so ill go Celtics and their experience should give them an edge in theory, but i know how good OKC is because i still remember that game they blew us out in OKC by 50 a few seasons ago.

bluejerseyjinx wrote:Hell no. Please. I'm on the floor rolling in so much laughter I can't gather a thought at the moment.

I wouldnt call it a resounding "hell no" nor would I be ROFL at the question, but until proven otherwise the Celtics are the team to beat. I just dont think its as far-fetched of an outcome if the Thunder do win as you're making it out to be. Though you are a Celtic fan so I can understand the confident post, however smug it is.

If everyone is healthy including Porzingis I think the Celtics have an edge.
Without him I could see the Thunder being stronger.

Celtics in 6.

Celtics are the better team until proven otherwise but the Thunder are scary good looking right now. Still nod to the Celtics they have proven it.

bluejerseyjinx wrote:Hell no. Please. I'm on the floor rolling in so much laughter I can't gather a thought at the moment.

Why hell no?

This team is the youngest first seed in history. Chet is going to be a superstar, and who would have thought he would dominate Wembanyama in their first matchup? These young players have significantly improved: JDub is playing like a young DWade; Caruso is worth every penny; and Cason Wallace is a strong contender for 6th of the Year.

The Celtics have aged and Porzingis is injury prone.

Oh yea, Chet also outplayed Jokic. That's two of the best centers in the league.

So basically the Thunder not only have the best guard in the NBA (Shai), but possibly, the best center as well.

So far ....

I know it's a small sample, but Chet is different this year. He could very well be the best center in the NBA. He's the 2nd biggest reason why the Thunder are as good as they are.

Lo Wang wrote:Oh yea, Chet also outplayed Jokic. That's two of the best centers in the league.

So basically the Thunder not only have the best guard in the NBA (Shai), but possibly, the best center as well.

So far ....

I know it's a small sample, but Chet is different this year. He could very well be the best center in the NBA. He's the 2nd biggest reason why the Thunder are as good as they are.

Best center in the NBA is textbook hyperbole.

I've watched both teams very closely in the PO, Thunder defense is underrated still, Chet was a monster defensively, at the level of prime DPOYs, better than anything Celtics has to offer at C, which closes the gap a bit 1-4 where the Celtics are elite at every position, still, Celtics are better defensively IMO, but offensively it wasn't close, at all, Celtics are just much better, JDub and Chet would need to prove they are legit #2 options offensively, they simply weren't against the Mavs, while all 5 on the Celtics are legit #2 offensive player, except maybe White.

Mavrelous wrote:I've watched both teams very closely in the PO, Thunder defense is underrated still, Chet was a monster defensively, at the level of prime DPOYs, better than anything Celtics has to offer at C, which closes the gap a bit 1-4 where the Celtics are elite at every position, still, Celtics are better defensively IMO, but offensively it wasn't close, at all, Celtics are just much better, JDub and Chet would need to prove they are legit #2 options offensively, they simply weren't against the Mavs, while all 5 on the Celtics are legit #2 offensive player, except maybe White.

That is not a fair assessment because you are basing it on last year.

This year, with the improvements and addition of Caruso, they are literally destroying the league.

20+ pts wins. That's not a win; that's an annihilation. And they are doing this to EVERY team so far.

This team is 2x better than last year. To use the metrics of last year is being disingenuous. No offense.

Please evaluate accordingly.

Infinite Llamas wrote:

Lo Wang wrote:Oh yea, Chet also outplayed Jokic. That's two of the best centers in the league.

So basically the Thunder not only have the best guard in the NBA (Shai), but possibly, the best center as well.

So far ....

I know it's a small sample, but Chet is different this year. He could very well be the best center in the NBA. He's the 2nd biggest reason why the Thunder are as good as they are.

Best center in the NBA is textbook hyperbole.

How is this hyperbole?

You can't base his metrics on his rookie year because it does not take into consideration how hard he worked over the summer and how much he bulked up.

Those are factors that should be a metric.

It should also be a metric he outplayed Jokic and destroyed Wembanyama.

This is not the same weak Chet from last year. We are dealing with a different monster.

Experience wise, the Thunder are babies compared to the Celtics, can’t ignore that.
The Jays, White, KP are in their prime, Jrue is still effective, basically the entire starting five are elite 3/d players, and can be second option any given nights.

Lo Wang wrote:

Infinite Llamas wrote:

Lo Wang wrote:Oh yea, Chet also outplayed Jokic. That's two of the best centers in the league.

So basically the Thunder not only have the best guard in the NBA (Shai), but possibly, the best center as well.

So far ....

I know it's a small sample, but Chet is different this year. He could very well be the best center in the NBA. He's the 2nd biggest reason why the Thunder are as good as they are.

Best center in the NBA is textbook hyperbole.

How is this hyperbole?

You can't base his metrics on his rookie year because it does not take into consideration how hard he worked over the summer and how much he bulked up.

Those are factors that should be a metric.

It should also be a metric he outplayed Jokic and destroyed Wembanyama.

This is not the same weak Chet from last year. We are dealing with a different monster.

It is too small a sample size to make sweeping conclusions from. If he spends all year looking like the DPOY, with double digit rebounding, near 25 ppg and mid 40% 3 point shooting then we can throw him in that conversation. Jokic has been incredible this year, and being slightly outplayed by Chet in one game doesn't swing the scales that far. Let alone healthy versions of Embiid and also Anthony Davis' amazing start.

Love the enthusiasm, but have a little patience Lo Wang.

Thunder haven’t proven anything in the playoffs but they look great as a regular season team and are obviously very talented. If this is the finals it might just come down to who’s healthier.

So obviously I'm biased. I just think with the Celtics you can't understate how schematically PERFECT that starting 5 is, even if it's Horford in there for Porzingis. They don't lack size anywhere. They can all shoot. They can all rebound. When Porzingis is in there they can all create for themselves one on one (w/ Horford "only" 4 out of 5 can). All good defensive ability and all good size for their positions. There's just no schematic weakness or advantage you can pull over them with those starters and in the playoffs those guys get their minutes extended (and it's not even like the bench is that weak either for those limited minutes).

Obviously the Thunder are awesome but until BOS gets knocked off I'm going to trust their group to get it done just because I think they're still the only team that in a playoff game can go most of the game without really any skill set trade off anywhere. I don't think there's a team that can put 5 guys out there with no schematic flaw like BOS can.

Yinwest wrote:Experience wise, the Thunder are babies compared to the Celtics, can’t ignore that.
The Jays, White, KP are in their prime, Jrue is still effective, basically the entire starting five are elite 3/d players, and can be second option any given nights.

You can say the same thing as the Thunder but they don't stop with their starting 5. You still have Wallace, Wiggins, and Joe on the bench.

Thunder 5 > Celtics

Thunder bench > Celtics

Hell the coach is even better. Pozingis is probably going to be injured 50% of the games.

I'm not even taking Hartenstein into the equation.

Lo Wang wrote:

Yinwest wrote:Experience wise, the Thunder are babies compared to the Celtics, can’t ignore that.
The Jays, White, KP are in their prime, Jrue is still effective, basically the entire starting five are elite 3/d players, and can be second option any given nights.

You can say the same thing as the Thunder but they don't stop with their starting 5. You still have Wallace, Wiggins, and Joe on the bench.

Thunder 5 > Celtics

Thunder bench > Celtics

Hell the coach is even better. Pozingis is probably going to be injured 50% of the games.

I'm not even taking Hartenstein into the equation.

Lol cmon. Nobody can match the Celtics two way perimeter players, not even the Thunder. The hope for the Thunder is that they have the best player and the best big. But as a unit the Celtics have ridiculous perimeter D and shooting.

if Tatum flakes like he is known to do on the big stage, the Thunder have a chance