Around the League - Donte to Knicks 4/$50

[drew881]

lol at Udoka stealing 3 Boston assistant coaches to Houston.

[rilamann]

This probably is just the salty fan in me, but I never understood what sort of magic beans Boston took last February, to suddenly go from a .500 team with no identity, to this juggernaut that made every three point attempt the top eight guys in the rotation would toss up.

The whole thing seemed like a house of cards that couldn't last. And it finally fell apart as Miami figured out (and had the personnel) to take them out of their comfort zone.

Same with me, I lost track a long time ago of how many times over the past 16 months I've said or thought to myself, how is Boston this good?

They're a solid playoff team obviously, but looking at them on paper, you wouldn't think they would be quite the top tier contender that they have been over the past 2 seasons. On paper, I would have them as a 50 win team with a 2nd round ceiling. On par with a team like the Cavs for example.

I think Boston has some intangibles which is what makes them better than you'd think. Boston seems to have an edge and an intimidation factor against most teams, the Celtics are bullies and they're actually pretty good at it. If you're a soft, fraudulent, low BBIQ team (like the Bucks) the Celtics are going to punk you around and take your lunch money. Like the Celtics did to the Bucks to the tune of a 41 point blow out late in the season in Milwaukee as Middleton walked off to the locker room with a bloody mouth.

Unfortunately for the Celtics, they ran into the one team that wasn't afraid to punch the bully in the mouth, the Miami Heat.

Like I said before game 1 of Celtics vs Heat, it was going to be refreshing to finally see a team play Boston that doesn't play like they are terrified of them. I knew Miami wouldn't back down against Boston like Milwaukee or Philly would, but I didn't think Miami had the talent to win the series. I'm sure you guys remember, but I said before game 1 of Celtics vs Heat that the Bucks and Sixers have the talent to beat Boston, but they don't have the brains or the balls to beat Boston. Miami had the brains and balls, but not the talent. I either underestimated Miami's talent, or brains and balls are an even bigger factor than even I thought.

Miami went into Boston and punched the bullies in the mouth in a game 7. It's funny, I was actually about to say that if the Bucks played a game 7 in Boston they would **** themselves. For a split second I almost forgot that the Bucks actually did play a game 7 in Boston last season, and the Bucks actually did **** themselves.

When the Bucks lost game 5 to the Heat, the first thing I said was This sucks. The 2nd thing I said was I would be nervous if I was Boston.

The post is buried somewhere on here, but I know in the days following our game 5 loss to Miami, I said any Boston fan celebrating the Bucks getting knocked out in round 1 by the Miami Heat is a fool.


One other intangible that makes Boston better than you would think, is that they also seem to have guys who make plays when you really need them. Sure, they got blown at home in game 7 Monday, but going into that game, the Celtics were 8-0 over the last 2 playoffs vs the east in games in which defeat would have meant elimination. That's pretty damn impressive even with the loss Monday.

I would be a bit worried if I was Boston though, the whole neighborhood just watched you get punked and now everyone knows you're not as tough as they thought you where. That was a big part of Boston's edge that will likley be gone now. Even Grayson Allen probably won't be **** himself as much now when we play Boston.

The Heat Celtics series was like when Deebo got knocked out by Ice Cube in Friday.

[rilamann]

Nuggets in 4/5. Gonna enjoy it. Good for jokic and good for the league to avoid a repeat for 5 years now?

On paper Denver should win in 5.

But on paper the Miami Heat should have been relaxing on the beaches of Cancun well over a month ago.

[AussieBuck]

On the one hand good coaches should make Max money on the other hand dude is having his PR put out how much he's being paid so it doesn't look bad for him he's going to Detroit

Too hard to edit this into something coherent. I think I wanted to say good coaches are grossly underpaid but also, this **** reinforces that Monty is a **** phoney. I only took this job because I got a **** of money. If this doesn't work, know why I took it, this doesn't reflect negatively on my market guys!

[Daver]

Yep, if we got this version of Horford last season then we're in the 2022 Conference Finals and not Boston. Just sucks that we had to face the last visage of Dirk Horford (he actually shot worse from 3 vs. us than any other series) before he finally dropped off a cliff.

I still can’t believe he scored THIRTY against us in Game 4 last year

I mean what the actual f-ck?

And how many of those 30 were absolutely wide open practice in the gym 3s cause our HC unlike other coaches was constantly leaving him n grant wide fricking open

[JayMKE]

Monty got paid a ton, I do think money is something people discount with Griffin we're probably paying him half of what we'd be paying Nurse.

[aboveAverage]

Nuggets in 4/5. Gonna enjoy it. Good for jokic and good for the league to avoid a repeat for 5 years now?

On paper Denver should win in 5.

But on paper the Miami Heat should have been relaxing on the beaches of Cancun well over a month ago.

I also wouldn’t sleep on the Heat. In my opinion, Boston was the best team in the league, and they dominated them in multiple games. Miami’s confidence is sky high right now, and they also have no pressure to win the title. They’re in the ideal position.

I think Miami steals game 1 due to Denver being rusty. If that happens, it’s anyone’s series.

[AussieBuck]

Monty got paid a ton, I do think money is something people discount with Griffin we're probably paying him half of what we'd be paying Nurse.

Seems like a bargain then.

[HKPackFan]

Nuggets in 4/5. Gonna enjoy it. Good for jokic and good for the league to avoid a repeat for 5 years now?

On paper Denver should win in 5.

But on paper the Miami Heat should have been relaxing on the beaches of Cancun well over a month ago.

I also wouldn’t sleep on the Heat. In my opinion, Boston was the best team in the league, and they dominated them in multiple games. Miami’s confidence is sky high right now, and they also have no pressure to win the title. They’re in the ideal position.

I think Miami steals game 1 due to Denver being rusty. If that happens, it’s anyone’s series.

Miami is good but I don't think they have an answer for jokic, and he's a miles ahead better passer than Giannis and u know how much I love Giannis.

I think even if they go stop jokic mode he will still make other guys look good with great passes.

Denver could drop 1 or 2 I guess but I don't see Denver losing.

I do agree game 1 Miami has a shot.

[raferfenix]

Jimmy needs to be the best player in the finals to win.

Like he was vs the Bucks.

However Giannis being busted up (thanks to Kevin and horrific NBA incentives with charges) was a big factor Miami may not be so lucky to repeat with Jokic.

[chonestown]

I think Miami matches up well, but I'll also cop to not thinking much of Hip Velocity and Porter. Strike me down for the wild sht I'm bout to post, but the series hinges on the play of Bruce Brown and Clinton administration holdover, Jeff Green.

[crowhead76]

lol at Udoka stealing 3 Boston assistant coaches to Houston.

What are the rules about hiring assistants from other teams, I tried to find an answer but have not been successful. I am just wondering if anyone knows.

[M-C-G]

Great coaches and GM’s have always deserved to be paid at levels much closer to the players. Let’s be honest, Spo, Pop, Bud, Monty at $10 to $15 million a year can be worth tons more than “Terry Rozier” at $22 million per.

But what evidence is there that Monty is a great coach? That's an insane thing to type out.

Monty isn’t as good as those other guys. But I think he’ll get them over .500 and be a stabilizing force for the young guys. That’s worth a lot more than say signing Drew Gooden as a free agent for full MLE money.

I think that is what it is all about. Having a guy that can create a good culture for a young team is probably the most important thing he can do for a franchise is such a dismal funk.

[MartyConlonOnTheRun]

Monty got paid a ton, I do think money is something people discount with Griffin we're probably paying him half of what we'd be paying Nurse.

Even before AG, we have a top 10 paid HC staff next year. We are gonna end up close to paying a 9 figure tax bill and we are hinging this hire on whether or not we will be able to spend $1/3b on a single player.

Maybe you are right. But the simplest answer is Giannis wanted AG. I know it is fun to say the billionaires are cheap **** but nothing we have seen in the past 5 years have shown us they would go cheap on a coach.

2 instances where we were 'cheap' - PJ: we still spent the money and took on more with Serge. I think either Bud hated PJ or they thought he was done
Drafting 2 -way guys or some BS at the end of the round. I still don't understand how that was cheap and at most saved us a mil or two and we are talking about the 15th man....

[SupremeHustle]

...I only took this job because I got a **** of money. If this doesn't work, know why I took it, this doesn't reflect negatively on my market guys!

That was definitely me working on [REDACTED].

[chonestown]

...I only took this job because I got a **** of money. If this doesn't work, know why I took it, this doesn't reflect negatively on my market guys!

That was definitely me working on [REDACTED].

<Furiously googling writing staff for "The Squeakquel" and determining probable nom de plumes>

[paulpressey25]

I'm very surprised. Does Gilbert think he's somehow sticking it to Ishbia? Does they not think it makes them look desperate?

You mean the Pistons not Dan Gilbert, right?

On the Monty thing, I have many times cited the words of George Karl from August 1998 when he was hired. He said he was waiting around to see if he could get the Lakers job that summer, but it didn't materialize for him. So when Kohl called offering to make him the then highest paid coach on a $20 million dollar deal, he took it. Because the national media was wondering why one of the top five coaches would head to Milwaukee to work for Kohl.

Was classic George. And two years later, summer of 2000, he leveraged the North Carolina job opening up into an even bigger deal, where Kohl gave him 1% of the team.

[emunney]

I'm very surprised. Does Gilbert think he's somehow sticking it to Ishbia? Does they not think it makes them look desperate?

You mean the Pistons not Dan Gilbert, right?

On the Monty thing, I have many times cited the words of George Karl from August 1998 when he was hired. He said he was waiting around to see if he could get the Lakers job that summer, but it didn't materialize for him. So when Kohl called offering to make him the then highest paid coach on a $20 million dollar deal, he took it. Because the national media was wondering why one of the top five coaches would head to Milwaukee to work for Kohl.

Was classic George. And two years later, summer of 2000, he leveraged the North Carolina job opening up into an even bigger deal, where Kohl gave him 1% of the team.

Yeah I got Gilbert's homebase mixed up with which team he owned. *Feels* like he should own the Pistons.

Gotta feel not great for Charles Lee that they're willing to give Monty the biggest contract ever so they don't have to use him as a fall back.

[Antinomy]

Jimmy needs to be the best player in the finals to win.

Like he was vs the Bucks.

However Giannis being busted up (thanks to Kevin and horrific NBA incentives with charges) was a big factor Miami may not be so lucky to repeat with Jokic.

One of their players will end flopping into Jokic’s landing space.

Seems to be one of their best plays.

[Matches Malone]

Hopefully griff is announced soon.

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