2024 NBA Playoffs: Eastern Conference Finals: #1 Boston Celtics vs #6 Indiana Pacers (BOS WINS 4-0)

[UglyBugBall]

Read on Twitter

That's terrible news for Celtics fans, because you know Luka will outscore, outrebound and outassist Tatum in the finals.

[EastonEddy]

Too much disrespect for the Pacers. Ya they got swept but it was a competitive series and they were in the drivers seat for each game with the exception of G2.

Carlisle deserves credit for bringing this team to the ECF but he really failed on every level in winning time. This is a talented team with great guard depth and they could have made this series more competitive.

G1 - where do we even start?

G2 - Rick inexplicably just gave up

G3 - Rick failed to call TO Nembhard tried to play hero ball and then Rick called Neismith number for a fall away three on the move with Nembhard inbounding the ball? Isn't Nembhard the best shooter in the move in the playoffs statistically?

G4 - Nembhard hero ball

You went out and got Pascal who has reps as a #1 he's hit big shots before including a championship winning shot in G6 and you let Nembhard run wild. Now, in fairness, Pascal was brutal in the clutch, particularly in G1, but I don't know why Rick wasn't able to get him the ball in favorable spots. Nembhard averaged under 10 PPG in the regular season and you bet a finals berth on a guy who was on a heater.

It's been my criticism of the Pacers since March that they lack structure and let the guards run amuck. They are talented but Rick's chaos ball style doesn't cut it in the ECF against the best team in the league and it showed with the Pacers god awful execution in G1, G3 and G4.

[Nuntius]

Read on Twitter

This is what they gotta fix.

I mean we are a top 3 defense for a reason. That defense was gonna catch up and decide the series when both teams offenses are as potent as they are. They were not gonna shoot 80% from the field all game and they just regressed at the worst time for them when our defense clamped. Both are top 3 offenses and got what they wanted most the series. Our elite D Vs their bad D in stretches and runs decided the series.

Yep. Your defense was able to clamp down in the clutch and get crucial stops. Ours wasn't. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White, man. That is the best defensive back-court that I can remember.

[yitur]

Too much disrespect for the Pacers. Ya they got swept but it was a competitive series and they were in the drivers seat for each game with the exception of G2.

Carlisle deserves credit for bringing this team to the ECF but he really failed on every level in winning time. This is a talented team with great guard depth and they could have made this series more competitive.

G1 - where do we even start?

G2 - Rick inexplicably just gave up

G3 - Rick failed to call TO Nembhard tried to play hero ball and then Rick called Neismith number for a fall away three on the move with Nembhard inbounding the ball? Isn't Nembhard the best shooter in the move in the playoffs statistically?

G4 - Nembhard hero ball

You went out and got Pascal who has reps as a #1 he's hit big shots before including a championship winning shot in G6 and you let Nembhard run wild. Now, in fairness, Pascal was brutal in the clutch, particularly in G1, but I don't know why Rick wasn't able to get him the ball in favorable spots. Nembhard averaged under 10 PPG in the regular season and you bet a finals berth on a guy who was on a heater.

It's been my criticism of the Pacers since March that they lack structure and let the guards run amuck. They are talented but Rick's chaos ball style doesn't cut it in the ECF against the best team in the league and it showed with the Pacers god awful execution in G1, G3 and G4.

I know this story somehow...

[LaLover11]

When Jaylen Brown was asked about Myles Turner

" He's a good kid"

M Turner 28yrs old
J Brown 27 yrs old

Lol

[davidfr94]

I have mixed feelings about this postseason. Yeah we went to ECF and it was not expected but tbh losing to the struggling (and hobbled) bucks team and the injury depleted knicks would have also been desappointing. We went to the ECF like we should have.

Also, Turner is 28, Siakam is 30 (and won a championship), tj is 32, Toppin and nesmith have both played in the playoffs. I am not sure we can really say that we are that much of an inexperienced team and at some point how many close games you have to lose to actually gain that needed experience ? We lost in such a terrible fashion 3 games out 4 that i'm more frustrated right now.

Our real problem is that we don't have a closer and maybe the way we play becomes a problem in crunch time when we have to execute and not create on the fly.

Mathurin could have helped us on that part because he is our only player with some kind of poise and confidence, that can create his own shot and also get to the line.

I am still a bit nervous giving siakam that max contract. He is a good player but he was so bad in crunch time these playoffs and is also not a really good defender anymore. So is giving a max to a player that is not elite on both sides of the floor really a good idea ? I just hope it won't limit us from resigning our young players with upside. I trust our FO on this subject, they have been pretty good rebuilding that team.

I like Turner but that guy just can't grab a rebound when his team needs it. It would be nice to upgrade that position with a lob threat to pair with haliburton but with siakam you pretty much need a floor spacer at that spot so i don't know.

Overall yeah we had a great season but man i wanted to throw my reamote at my tv so many times during these playoffs lol

[FarBeyondDriven]

Congratulations! Still fire Joe Mazzulla or nah?

[Duffman100]

Watching the 4th on replay. Man obi toppin is one terrible defender.

[Oscar9992]

Read on Twitter

That's terrible news for Celtics fans, because you know Luka will outscore, outrebound and outassist Tatum in the finals.

Mavs aren't in Finals yet. Don't get ahead of ourselves here.

[Oscar9992]

I wonder could Celtics sweep Wolves too?

If Wolves were in place of Pacers.

[Fencer reregistered]

When Jaylen Brown was asked about Myles Turner

" He's a good kid"

M Turner 28yrs old
J Brown 27 yrs old

Lol

I've long thought the Celtic players had a bad teammate experience with Turner in the summer of 2019. Otherwise, it would be hard to understand why Ainge seemed so uninterested in getting Turner cheaply or for free around Hayward's free agency.

[The Real Dalic]

I mean the other teams best player went down halfway through game 2 and the Celtics still might have been down 3-1. Not seeing the flex.

Are we really going to bring up injuries considering the teams the Pacers faced?

It’s whataboutism. Pacers got some breaks to get here, sure. But patting yourself on the back for a 4-0 prediction here comes off more like someone who watches box scores and not games. It was WAY closer than the result implies. Any objective observer would agree.

I watched every single game and only missed about 3 of the Pacers games in general. And it wasn't "some breaks," both teams they beat were so decimated by injuries that they didn't even seem like the same teams we've seen all season.

Giannis, Lillard, Brunson, Randle, OG, Robinson, Hart, Bojan, all missed at least some time against them. That's not insignificant at all.

Lastly, I wasn't patting myself on the back. I predicted a sweep. I gave my opinion, and for that, a poster or two laughed at me. It was just an opinion based on what I saw from the Pacers all season and still someone thought it was funny or disrespectful for some reason. Not sure why.

[DaGawd]

Watching the 4th on replay. Man obi toppin is one terrible defender.

this is why he couldn’t play for thibs

[The Real Dalic]

Are we really going to bring up injuries considering the teams the Pacers faced?

It’s whataboutism. Pacers got some breaks to get here, sure. But patting yourself on the back for a 4-0 prediction here comes off more like someone who watches box scores and not games. It was WAY closer than the result implies. Any objective observer would agree.

I watched every single game and only missed about 3 of the Pacers games in general. And it wasn't "some breaks," both teams they beat were so decimated by injuries that they didn't even seem like the same teams we've seen all season.

Giannis, Lillard, Brunson, Randle, OG, Robinson, Hart, Bojan, all missed at least some time against them. That's not insignificant at all.

Lastly, I wasn't patting myself on the back. I predicted a sweep. I gave my opinion, and for that, a poster or two laughed at me. It was just an opinion based on what I saw from the Pacers all season and still someone thought it was funny or disrespectful for some reason. Not sure why.

I did also expect the games to be non-competitive though. This part I did get wrong and forgot to mention it in my first post.

[tfribs45]

Going to the finals, but shouldn't celebrate. LMAO.

Going to catch another L there

I guess Heat fans would be very familiar with fake finals appearances and catching Ls there

the SALTY fans are spiraling right now. Heat fans celebrate Jimmy Buckets like he's an NBA champion, cmon man lol. Celts haven't won anything yet, but they've been knocking on the door since the J's have been a pair..... Haters going to hate but you can't deny what the C's have accomplished this year. We shall see how it all ends.

[Pacernation]

Good series Celtics, well deserved victory. Kinda sad that we couldn't get one win when we had a lot of chances, but we got outexecuted bigtime when it mattered. The guys will learn a lot from those meltdowns and will be better next year. Go Pacers!

And to all those whiny Knicks-fans. Congratulations to your Joel Embiid second round participation banner. Well deserved!

[Joshyjess]

One thing I've notice over and over in this thread. Pacers and Celtic's fans seem to have a lot of respect for each other and their teams. Other fans from different teams are the ones who seem to get off on throwing crap around.
Anyway, great series Pacers. They gave it all they had every single night, and they were within a few points of having a large series lead right now. I think their lack of experience, more than anything else is what hurt them most, and series like this is where you get the experience from for the next time. Boston has been where they are for the past couple of years, and it seems to have helped them when it counted the most. I think that is what the Pacers have to look forward to in the future.

[Slax]

Good series Celtics, well deserved victory. Kinda sad that we couldn't get one win when we had a lot of chances, but we got outexecuted bigtime when it mattered. The guys will learn a lot from those meltdowns and will be better next year. Go Pacers!

And to all those whiny Knicks-fans. Congratulations to your Joel Embiid second round participation banner. Well deserved!

The Pacers impressed me. You don't need me to tell you the sweep doesn't really reflect how competitive the series was. And I disagree with anyone saying the Celtics were just playing down to a worse opponent. Maybe in parts of game 1, but for the most part the Pacers elevated their game, played defense with a level of intensity and consistency they didn't show during the regular season, and hit a ton of tough shots. Nembhard looked great, and I'm really excited to find out if that was a one time thing or if he can grow into a big time scorer in the future. Yes offensive execution completely fell apart a bit in the late game, but I think that's understandable for a young team missing its best scorer for half the series and facing an experienced playoff team with a pesky defense. I look forward to seeing how they do over the next couple years with a bit more seasoning.

[Larry_Russell]

I wonder could Celtics sweep Wolves too?

If Wolves were in place of Pacers.

I wonder if Pacers would have swept the Mavs is swapped places with Minny.

They went 2-0 aggainst dallas in the RS with an average point differencial of 19.5/game in the wins

[Darth Celtic]

To be fair the Mavs were kind of terrible till they got two big men at deadline.